Vision in PE hospital leads to 5 000km mission trip to Namibia

A Port Elizabeth farmer’s encounter with God during a sleepless night in hospital led him to undertake a 5 000 km road trip to serve poor people in northern Namibia.

His wife Louise, who also went on the trip said the many divine appointments on their trek were testimony to the importance of obeying God’s promptings. In his hospital vision Peter was shown that four people should join him on the trip. He could see three of their faces clearly: Louise and Barbara Bresler, who undertook the journey with him; and Elaine Verreynne who was their intercessor. He could not make out the fourth face in the vision but they later realised it was the Holy Spirit who would be with them every step of the way.

Here is a brief account of the adventure in Peter’s own words: “One night while I was in hospital in September 2014 I could not sleep.  God kept bringing up the faces of the Namibian people I met in April 2014 when I accompanied missionary Silmar Wilbert on a trip to the north of Namibia.

“The first face I saw was of a specific old man who was lame from his waist down. His family would cart him around in a wheelbarrow and just place him under a tree on the ground. God prompted me to take a wheelchair to him. Then I saw all the other faces of really poor people and none of them were begging – there were just big smiles. They need clothes and food and God said and I have to take it to them.

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“Then there were the little children with very dry skins and sores. I had to contact a Pharmacist at our church, the Storehouse, for help. Then I saw myself and three other people delivering all of the needs — God named each one of them. Well, only having a Bantam bakkie,  I did not know exactly how I was going to get all this stuff to the people.  But God knows how to organise;  before I could even share this challenge with my son, he suggested we swap bakkies, because he travels far to and from work and  needed something lighter. So he exchanged his Toyota double cab for my bantam!

 “The first person I shared my vision with at church gave me a wheelchair and thereafter I was given another one. People have been so generous — one of our prayer group men gave a bakkie load of clothes, two ladies each gave 12 bags of clothing. Every week more and more come in. 

“We left on the 9^th of November and delivered our first load 70km outside Rundu [in the north east of Namibia on the border with Angola] where the old man of 98 that I saw in my vision received his first wheelchair. There were two very happy men, one giving and one receiving.

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“God had a bigger plan which was already in place when we met some girls from the Oshakati area [of Owamboland, northern Namibia] while we were in Israel at the beginning of this year. When we contacted them and shared the word I had received from God they were very excited because the Lord had showed their church,The Kingdom Connect Family Church,  10 villages that they had to reach with the Word, clothes and food.  We had the clothes and they had the Word.  We joined them at Akweire Family Church in one of the 10 villages  where we handed over another wheelchair, food, clothes, etc. A feast was had by over 200 people once we cooked a great lamb pot for them. We saw such grateful faces. Our hearts were warmed by just knowing we were being obedient to what God had for us. 

“We visited Oshakati Hospital too, where were brought the Word and prayed for many people, both young and old, most of whom were Aids victims.

We were blessed by wonderful accommodation in Oshakati. The air conditioned house with a pool was an oasis in the desert and our Hosts Marlene and Toni Tommasi were wonderful. Marlene herself obeyed God by giving us the accommodation — something she would never have done before because of her resentment of white people as a result of experiences during the apartheid era. We were privileged to minister to her in a wonderful way after she asked us to pray with her around issues of giving and receiving forgiveness. The Lord needed her to be set free and used us as the instruments. We believe we played a strategic role in Namibia.”

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Since returning to Port Elizabeth the Dawsons have been receiving more gifts of clothing and provisions for poor people in Northern Namibia which they see as a sign that God may yet have another assignment for them in that nation.