Are You Ready for a Fresh Outpouring?
PneumaReview.com: What ministries have you and your husband been involved in over the years?
Lilian de Fin: Abe and I had an amazing turnaround year in 1980 when we felt the call of God into the ministry. We attended Bible school in Johannesburg and then joined my parents in the ministry they led in Johannesburg. My dad was an outstanding missionary/pastor and we could not have had better mentors than our parents. We were plunged into pastoral work in a local church that dad had planted in our hometown. At the same time, Abe got involved in the mission outreach programs holding several tent (marque) outreaches into rural areas of Southern Africa including Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Many churches were planted.
Abe and Lilian de Fin
At the height of the political upheaval (1981) in South Africa, my dad, Rev Harold Berry, opened a Bible school in the now well-known Soweto Township on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Abe was involved in weekly visits to the Bible school to lecture to the very eager students. Many of the graduates are now well-established pastors running their own ministries today.
When my parents retired, Abe and I took over the ministry in the mid 1980’s and expanded our work, doing development and aid projects into various countries. Our water-drilling program has provided water to hundreds of communities in Zambia. Abe has such a heart for the poor. It began when he was a small boy. He ran into his house one day and said to his mother, “a penny for the poor, please, mom.” She followed him outside and there on her doorstep she found a long line of expectant little faces waiting for the promised penny. Abe is gifted and very creative in recognizing how to develop projects that can make a region self-sustaining. Small farm development has been a feature of this program in Southern Africa and lately into South Sudan.
Skills training have featured high on our agenda as we train young people to do various skills such as electrical, welding and carpentry work.
Our son Peter and his wife Tammy have taken on the pastoral side of the ministry that has grown into a very successful church of over 5000 people with two campuses in the Johannesburg area (Midrand).
Recently, Abe has opened a new science and technology center. This will service some of the older children in our Christian school as well as provide training and upskilling for those who have not been able to complete their education. Once again his heart is to enable young people to enter the work force fully trained and equipped.
We were blessed with three handsome sons who have been a great help in the ministry. Today we have nine grandchildren who are also very involved in the children’s church program, “Kids ministering to Kids.”
Category: Living the Faith, Winter 2018
Followers
Fans
