Newsletter | May 2025

Jesus died so that we can truly be free

Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. —Galatians 5:1

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth beautifully describes what Jesus had to endure here on earth in her book Incomparable: 50 Days with Jesus. She writes:

Imagine being omnipotent, all-powerful, yet requiring the parental care of a mother and father. Imagine being omniscient, all-knowing, yet needing to learn how to walk; being the eternal Word of God, yet needing to learn how to read. Imagine having created the oceans, yet being thirsty for water. Imagine having spoken the stars into place, yet lying down in the night underneath them.

Then she asks the question we should all reflect on again after Easter: Why did Jesus choose to take on our human weaknesses, mortality, and limitations?

Hebrews 2:14–15 beautifully explains why Jesus became human:

He did this so that by his death he might destroy the one who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

He did it so that you and I can live in freedom—freedom from slavery to sin. Are you living free, or is there a sin that still has a grip on you? Would you take time to talk to Jesus about it and ask Him to set you free as well? He can!

The Women's World Day of Prayer 7 March 2025, held virtually via Zoom, was a remarkable event that brought together women from around South Africa and abroad in a powerful display of unity and faith. This year's focus on oppressed women, women burdened by sin, widows, and the fatherless provided a poignant and meaningful theme for the gathering. The event was well attended, and the speakers delivered messages of encouragement and hope, making it a truly memorable experience.

Testimony from Samantha Fernandes from Karachi, Pakistan

“Firstly, I would like to thank you for inviting me to this meeting. At the beginning, John 15:1–17 was mentioned, and it was well explained, especially when brother Jannie said: “If anyone here feels fruitless, you need to get back on track with the Lord” ... that was the moment when I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit—it just HIT me. Jannie de Villiers’ brief message was on point.

Sister Dudu spoke about widows and the fatherless, which reminded me of my dad —having a dad, yet still feeling like an orphan until I came to know the Lord. It was a reassurance that Abba Father is always with me; He will never leave nor forsake me."

Theresa spoke about Gladys—her testimony was very encouraging, truly heartbreaking, but in the end, there was rejoicing.

"Overall, I had a wonderful experience, and I'm looking forward to joining ROH SA again. It would be great if we could have more time for intercession and sharing testimonies as encouragement for others.”

Testimony from Yvette Fraser (De la Port) from Klerksdorp, South Africa

“Good day to all the beautiful women of ROH SA. Thank you so much to all the ROH SA committee members and Jannie de Villiers for an absolutely enriching webinar that you put together. It was such a privilege to be part of this World Day of Prayer.

The sharing of the Word by Jannie and the way he dissected it was, to say the least, enlightening. And the way he ended his message with: ‘God loves you’—wow! We serve an awesome God.

The structure of the webinar was different from any other Women's World Day of Prayer I have attended locally at a designated church. From my previous experience, I expected that there would be Bible readings from representatives ofdifferent churches, followed by prayers with an emphasis on the selected country or island for that year.

I was pleasantly surprised and deeply moved that this webinar included women from all over the world and specifically focused on prayers for the oppressed and persecuted, widows, the fatherless, and repentance from sin. Furthermore, how blessed we were to know that, due to different time zones, we would be covered in prayer for 24 hours on that day by ROH groups worldwide.

The breakout room I was in allowed us to share mutual experiences, offer encouragement to the grieving, and say special prayers together.

I’m looking forward to attending future webinars hosted by ROH SA. God bless you all and keep you.

Watch the Day of Prayer

I came to know the Lord and turned to Him in repentance and faith in 2005 in Dubai while I was working there as a cabin crew for Emirates airlines. I grew up in Tokyo in a happy nominal Buddhist family. I never knew about God or anything about the Bible and what it teaches.

When I joined my junior school, I had my first encounter with the Bible through my weekly bible class because my school was a protestant Christian school. We were invited to go to America for a Christian summer camp through our American Bible teacher. In 1995, I went to the Word of Life summer camp held in New York state and heard the Gospel for the first time. At that time, I responded to the altar call since I thought there was no reason to say no.

However I didn't really know and understand what it means to repent and believe. I started attending church but after 3 years, I stopped going to church when I started my university and thought I "quit" being Christian. After Uni, I got a job in Dubai and went there to start my first job as a cabin crew.

Lord has called me back to Himself while living there, in the heart of 10/40 windows. As I came to faith in Jesus and was nurtured by brothers and sisters who loved the Word, I started to hunger more and more for His ways. In an environment of everyone around me seeking to love God more with our mind, soul and strength, I also wanted to grow in my biblical womanhood.

Around the time I met my South African husband in our church, and got married in 2008. I encountered Revive Our Hearts through the book Lies Women Believe. I realised how many lies of Satan I blindly believed and how destructive these things are. This led me to Revive Our Hearts podcast and all the wonderful and free resources online. Lord used Nancy's teachings straight into my heart often as I was convicted of my foolish and worldly way deep in my heart. I saw how easy it is to "fix" outward appearances and even pretend to be godly, but the Lord sees our hearts.

Marriage exposed a lot of my sinful, selfish and proud hearts. Revive Our Hearts materials have been a great companion for me from those early years of my marriage til now. As I grew in Christ, the Lord has given me passion for discipling women in the Word and I often share Revive Our Hearts podcast episodes or 30 days challenges to encourage women around me to seek the Lord with all our hearts.

After we came back to South Africa in 2014 to be closer to my husband's parents, Lord had given me new women to mentor and do life together in George. It was a huge surprise when I heard that Nancy herself was coming to George!!! How precious it was to hear her speak God's truth along with women I got to know and love here in George, and this is how I met Wilmie ROH South Africa George.

Through her encouragement and contacts which I so appreciated for many years, last year she told me about the Revive Our Hearts Japanese team. Being a believer from an unreached people group, I had a growing desire to serve God's kingdom work in Japan. However I already have current responsibilities at home, in my church and in my community... I wasn't sure how much I could contribute. After praying and seeking His will, He revealed to me my fear of failing and I realized that whatever I can offer, I will offer as unto the Lord. My desire is to bring what helpedme as a new Christian from non-Christian background to understand biblical womanhood from Scripture and I know that the Lord will help me serve Him.

So I joined the team last year - we are 6 women living in US, Japan and South Africa. We all came across ROH material in English sometime in our lives, and are working towards translating Nancy's teachings in Japanese. We focus on Seeking Him 1 minutes episodes for now, and my husband helps edit audio materials. We are in the very first phase of building our team up and have materials translated.

Our challenge is that Japanese culture is not Christian at all, so it takes more time to translate theological ideas and thoughts in such a way women who hear could understand and resonate with. Our team is still very small and feels that the task ahead of us is too big for us. However we remind each other not to despise the day of small things, to work one episode at a time, one blog post at a time, one chapter at a time... faithfully and prayerfully.

This work belongs to the Lord and He will enable us. I am so grateful for every opportunity to serve His Kingdom and how special it is to meet my eternal sisters all over the world through ROH ministry. Please pray for our team to be faithful and courageous.

With love in Christ & gratitude,

Yuri

We are happy to share some exciting news with you! The ROHSA team has started aspecial project called Wonder of the Word. This project comes from Revive Our Hearts Ministries. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth is currently writing and recording the 260 Bible teachings, covering the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Its goal is to help people grow in their love for God's Word.

Our Afrikaans team is working on translating these teachings into Afrikaans, one of the twelve official languages in South Africa. So far, 25 out of the 260 lessons have been translated. A home studio for the ministry and the project was set up with the financial support of ROH. The first test recording of the project was successfully completed.

• Praise the Lord for the Wonder of the Word project that will have an impact on many people's lives.
• Thank the Lord for the recording studio and the equipment.
• Our team needs wisdom for the translations to Afrikaans and technical knowledge for the recordings.