I rejoined my old company at Lanseria Airport. On Saturday, the airport hosted a big air show. As part of my job, I had to help out that day. We got free tickets for a family member. So, I invited a single mother, Monica, and her little girl to join me for the day. I had met her at church but didn’t know her very well. On our way to the air show, she asked me about myself. As she shared her struggles with her alcoholic husband, I opened up about my divorce. I made it clear I wasn't interested in another relationship—ever. I wanted to invest my energy in my relationship with the Lord. I did not want to get married again.

 

When we returned late that afternoon, I dropped her off at her apartment. She thanked me and said goodbye, but then she halted abruptly and approached the car again. I rolled down the window, thinking she had forgotten something. Instead, she said, “You will meet a man, and you will both become very good friends. You will end up marrying this man.” She turned and walked into her apartment. I sat momentarily, wondering what part of our conversation she didn’t understand.

 

I couldn’t help but think back to a similar remark made by a ‘cowboy’ at the Ranch. “Nutters,” I thought, and then I went home. But then something unexpected happened. Years later, I would see its significance in God's plans for me. It wasn’t long after I got back from the Ranch when it was a home group night. I was ready for the people from my group when there was a knock on the door. When I opened it, I was startled to see a young man I didn’t recognise. I hadn’t expected any newcomers, and I had never seen him at church before. I invited him in, and a realization struck me that I had just welcomed a stranger into my home. Soon after, the others arrived, and I learned that he was a work colleague of Paul’s. Little did I know that a year later, I would be marrying this young man named Hendrik. Hendrik had started attending the Vineyard while I was in America. He first tried another home group but couldn't settle. When the leaders moved away, Paul invited him to ours.

 

Hendrik and I lived close to each other and began sharing the long drive to church every Sunday. Spiritual renewal started to move in the church. So, we had extra services during the week. We couldn't get enough of it, so we attended every service we could. In the process, we became very good friends. I tried many times to introduce him to some young ladies in the group. But, all my attempts were thwarted. Neither of us showed interest in a close relationship. About eight months later, I sensed that deeper feelings were developing between us. In March 1995, I suggested we meet less often. I thought it would help. Instead, it made us rethink our life plans.

 

[Hendrik writing]: I wrote God a letter. It was to organize my thoughts and make a legal case for why we should marry. As I was writing, I remembered a scripture that supported my argument, so I turned to the Bible to find it. I thought I was being clever, quoting scripture to God so He couldn’t argue with it, but God is much smarter than I am! I opened the Bible. It fell open to a page. My eyes landed on these words:

 

 

I was utterly gob-smacked! God had answered my prayer with a passage from His Living Word. Given the Bible's many pages, I was writing to God about marriage. I asked if He was okay with me marrying Leonie. The odds of this being a coincidence were vanishingly small. They were smaller than finding life elsewhere in the universe. That in itself is astonishing enough to baffle science. But think about what it reveals about God—the depths of His wisdom and knowledge.

 

Someone wrote these words 2,000 years before I was born, yet God spoke to me at that moment. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write those words. He knew they would matter to thousands, including me, at that coffee table. So, when I say that God is omniscient, this is what I mean—His Word is living and breathing. They are not a collection of past words. They are living words, waiting for your heart to discover. They are our Eternal, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Immutable God. They speak ageless words into your present reality.

 

[Back to Leonie writing]: Around May 1995, Hendrik walked in and said he had written a letter I should read. He expressed his feelings for me, and I was surprised. To my astonishment, I agreed that we could give it a go. As he left that night, these words dropped into my heart: “He will be your healing Leonie.” I recognised that it was the Lord’s voice. Is this part of God’s plan? It took a lot of convincing for us to accept that God had brought us together.

 

I remember one night at church. We started with worship. At that stage, nobody knew what was happening between Hendrik and me. I was sitting next to a woman who whispered in my ear, “I have a word from the Lord for you. I felt God wants me to tell you that He loves you.” I was expecting more to follow, but that was it. I thought, of course, Jesus loves me; I already know that.

 

After the service, during ministry time, I remained seated. I noticed a guy across the hall packing up. He was looking at me. I recognised him but didn’t know him. He set down what he was doing and walked over to me. He moved a few chairs out of the way and told me he had a word from the Lord for me. Again? Two words in one night? Wow! He then stepped on my toes, applying pressure. That got my attention, and I quickly pulled my foot away. He apologized, saying that was part of the message, which was, “He says He loves you!”

Sitting there, I tried to understand what those two words meant. Hendrik sat on my other side. Immediately I suspected the message was about him. The Lord was giving me Hendrik because He loves me. Maybe that’s also why He told me that Hendrik is my healing.

 

I felt concerned about our age difference and wasn’t completely sure that this was what the Lord wanted for us. So, we decided to speak to Costa, our pastor. He asked me what my concerns were. Was it about not starting a family? I said no, we had already talked about that. He asked if I was worried about needing care when I reached retirement age while he was still young. Again, I said no; we had already discussed it. So what was it? Were you perhaps scared about what people might say? I admitted that I was. Costa said, “Let me tell you something Leonie: People will always have something to say. You will have to accept that and move on.” He also suggested we date for three months. If it got serious, we could plan for marriage or end it. He recommended that it would be wise to let our home group know about our situation.

 

As we told the group, all hell broke loose. Some weren't surprised, as they suspected something. But, oh dear, there’s nothing like a woman scorned. At least four ladies in the church were in love with Hendrik. Some accepted that it wouldn't happen for them. One woman had confided in me long before we were officially dating. I tried to persuade Hendrik to ask her out at the time, but he firmly said he wasn’t interested.

 

The hostility from some friends hurt me deeply. It almost destroyed all the good God had done in my life at the Ranch. As I read through my old journals of that time, some items I wrote shocked me. It was a very tough time. If it hadn’t been for the Renewal and God pouring out His Spirit upon us, I dread to think what might have happened to me. What surprised me most was receiving two direct messages. One was from America and the other from South Africa. They both said God would give me a good friend and we would marry. Yet I kept questioning this special friendship and tried to suppress it. I doubted myself and began to believe I was evil, selfish, and manipulative.

 

I got scriptures quoted against me. They were both out of context and against what God had told me and the work He did for me at the Ranch. One thing is clear: the devil was angry. He hated the plans God had for me. Unfortunately, he did everything to bring me down. It took some encouragement before Hendrik and I accepted that our being together was part of God’s plan.

 

We got married on November 11, 1995, which is also Remembrance Day. The wedding was at the beautiful home of my dear long-time friends, Philip and Marianne. The day before the wedding, Hendrik went to prepare their carport for the ceremony. He found a black snake and killed it. May this be a sign that the spiritual battle I had been facing had concluded.

 

Our wedding day was the same as the opening of McDonald's first restaurant in South Africa. I got stuck in a parade of hundreds of cars and was 45 minutes late. Duncan led worship for us and wrote a song that he sang over us:

"Place me like a seal upon your heart," from Song of Songs 8:6. "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave."

This song was special to Hendrik. It relates to a moment in the book Passion for Jesus by Mike Bickle, where God gives Mike that scripture. Hendrik had asked God to do the same for him as He did for Mike Bickle, and the song was God's answer.

 

Costa conducted the wedding, and then we knelt while people surrounded us in prayer. This was a poignant moment for Hendrik, who remembers his dad’s big hand taking hold of his arm as they prayed for us. He said it felt like his dad was lifting him up.

Our American friend, Marie, wrote to all our friends. She asked them not to give us presents since we had everything we needed. Instead, she asked them to contribute 10 Rand toward a wedding reception. We wanted nothing more than to share this special day with our friends and family. We were fortunate to receive enough contributions to also cover our honeymoon expenses.

 

Sue Perusset used her excellent hosting skills to prepare a feast under the trees. My nephew Herman, who owned a butchery at the time, donated all the meat, and Lisa, our PA at work, provided all the flowers. My boss, Bill Olmsted, and his wife, Rika, attended the wedding. Lisa told me that Bill remarked, if he ever joined a church, it would be this one, because he could see how much the people cared for each other.

 

We enjoyed a lovely week away in a quiet, secluded place. But, we both needed significant healing. Our pasts weighed on us. We needed God's redemption. We had to build self-acceptance, self-love, and trust in each other. Our healing began almost right away. But, we needed to be alone, away from familiar faces, for God to minister to us. This healing was crucial before we could even consider church planting.