Worshipping as a Joyful People

By Julianna Jones

Sylvia Present, ANCT member, recently shared about how she finds joy even in the hard times. She said the last few years have been very tough. She and her family have been directly affected by Covid, even losing some friends and family members.

“How I found joy in worshipping God amidst all these trials and tribulations is remembering that he died on the cross of Calvary,” Sylvia said. “It made it so much easier to find joy in my surroundings.” She said she is drawn closer to God through nature, being with people, and even by studying social psychology to find out why people are the way they are.

Sylvia lives in the Southern Penninsula south of Cape Town. She said she is thankful to live in a valley surrounded by mountains, where she’s able so much joy in watching the beauty of the nature. To find joy in creation that God found joy in making. 

Sylvia is generally a fun-loving, joyful person. “The joy of the lord is my strength,” she says. Even when in hard times, it will always be there. “I find joy in knowing that my father in heaven sees down below and he knows exactly what I’m going through when I’m going through whatever it is.”

Sylvia and her husband Cedric became part of All Nations in 2007 through Floyd McClung when they lived in Johannesburg. Floyd contacted them and they moved back to their Ocean View community for Cedric to take up a position in All Nations right after they started in Cape Town. Cedric and Sylvia went through ANCT’s training program, Church Planting Experience (CPx) in 2008. 

“We were invited into the family and we were accepted just as we are,” Sylvia said. Now they have grown so much, she said, and enjoyed serving in the family. People have come and gone but the Presents are still part of this big global family.