{"id":1499,"date":"2026-03-23T10:23:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T08:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/?p=1499"},"modified":"2026-03-23T10:23:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T08:23:23","slug":"1499","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/?p=1499","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n

D\u2019kar and Outreach to Motopi: March 7\u20138, 2026 <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u2019kar <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here in D\u2019kar, our church council is\u00a0currently conducting home visits in\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

preparation for next month\u2019s Easter <\/p>\n\n\n\n

weekend. By the Lord\u2019s grace, it will once <\/p>\n\n\n\n

again be a momentous occasion for us to <\/p>\n\n\n\n

commemorate the death and resurrection <\/p>\n\n\n\n

of our Lord Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The church council has decided to celebrate Holy Communion together this coming Sunday. On Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM, the council was invited by the East Hanahai ward to join them in bidding farewell to Hessel and Coby Visser, who have been involved with the Naro New Testament project in D\u2019kar since 1991. After years of dedication, Hessel and his team of translators were able to see the Naro New Testament published in 2012. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having lived in D\u2019kar for over three decades, their contribution cannot be overstated; it was a daunting task, as Hessel had to learn the Naro language from scratch. Now, the time has come for them to return to the Netherlands, where they will reside in Urk. We pray for the Lord\u2019s blessing upon them. Hessel remarks that it will certainly be an adjustment for them after all these years under the African sun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meeting in Gobabis <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the 25th of last month, Brother Thys Boshoff and I traveled to Gobabis for a meeting with a commission from the Reformed Church Gobabis. In my previous reports, I mentioned approximately 26 white members who had transferred to the Reformed Church D\u2019kar. These members are scattered<\/p>\n\n\n\n

across Ghanzi and Maun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, they were a ward of Gobabis, but about two years ago, the ministry to them was suspended. This left them with two choices: join the local Dutch Reformed Church (currently referred to as a “Community Church”) or join the Reformed Church D\u2019kar. While some opted for the Community Church, twenty-six members chose to join us because they did not feel at home with\u2014or could not identify with\u2014the liberal views of the Community Church. This includes practices such as the “blessing” of infants in place of traditional baptism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting in Gobabis was very encouraging. They expressed a willingness to resume ministry to these members. While the members remain part of the Reformed Church D\u2019kar by certificate of membership, a new ministry agreement has been established. Consequently, they will now be served by both Gobabis and D\u2019kar regarding the sacraments and Sunday services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Motopi <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the weekend of March 7th, Thys Boshoff and I visited Dorette Cronj\u00e9 in Motopi. (Abdul, who usually accompanies me, was unable to join due to other obligations.) We spoke at length with Dorette about the future of Motopi. She humbly insists she is not a minister but “at best a Sunday School teacher,” yet she clearly has a remarkable gift for working with children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fluent in Tswana from childhood\u2014and\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

having taught the language at two <\/p>\n\n\n\n

universities\u2014she faces none of the <\/p>\n\n\n\n

communication gaps that often hinder <\/p>\n\n\n\n

missionaries. Our prayer remains that <\/p>\n\n\n\n

the Lord will send the right person to <\/p>\n\n\n\n

take up the mantle in Motopi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dorette turns 82 this year. Though relatively strong, she struggles with heart issues and tires easily. Despite this, she remains content. She feels a great weight has been lifted now that the river is full again; during the drought, she took it upon herself to provide water for the hippos and cattle in a trough near her property. It was heartbreaking for her to see the animals suffer. After months of waiting, the waters from Angola finally pushed through the Okavango and reached the Boteti River at Motopi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dorette has no intention of leaving; this is where she wants to be. She continues to lead Sunday services with the heart of a teacher, and the children hang on her every word. This past Sunday, she pointed out several adults in the congregation who were just children when she and Thys first began their work there. I was privileged to lead the service. We ask for your continued prayers for her. The Lord truly uses her in her weakness, reminding us of Paul\u2019s words in 2 Corinthians 12:10: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mababe <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The road to Mababe has been impassable <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

for months. One of our contacts there <\/p>\n\n\n\n

strongly advised us not to attempt the <\/p>\n\n\n\n

journey, as even large trucks are getting <\/p>\n\n\n\n

stuck. A few weeks ago, the roads to the <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moremi Game Reserve and Khwai were <\/p>\n\n\n\n

officially closed to tourists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This photo illustrates the extreme road conditions in that region when they become impassable due to mud and water. The combination of deep mud and rising rivers makes it impossible even<\/p>\n\n\n\n

for heavy vehicles to cross, which explains why the routes to Moremi and Khwai are currently closed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They remain in our prayers. Fortunately, communication via mobile phone has not been completely cut off, allowing us to stay in touch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your brother in Christ, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hendrik du Plessis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

D\u2019kar and Outreach to Motopi: March 7\u20138, 2026  D\u2019kar  Here in D\u2019kar, our church council is\u00a0currently conducting home visits in\u00a0 preparation for next month\u2019s Easter  weekend. By the Lord\u2019s grace,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1499"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1499"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1503,"href":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1499\/revisions\/1503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/botswanasending.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}