It is hard to believe that tomorrow it will be 3 weeks ago that our beloved Michiah went to be with the Lord. We miss him so very much, yet the Lord has been comforting and giving grace in our grief. The picture on the right was the last one taken of him, at lunch time on that fateful day.
For those of you who do not know what happened to Michiah, please click on the following link which will take you to a report written by Dr. Peter Hammond on how it all happened. Here is the link: Extraordinary Testimony of Michiah Lancaster
I am back home now after 2 weeks, having returned to Mozambique on Wednesday earlier this week. Isaac Lancaster, Michiah’s younger brother, is here with us until the 19th of this month when he will fly home to his family in the USA. We are so glad to have him here, and we hope and pray his time with us will be fruitful and a blessing for him as it is for us. The Lord has really been helping him in this time, giving him special strength and grace. Please pray especially for him and the rest of the Lancaster family for when he travels back, as it will be Isaac returning home alone. No Michiah will be with him.
My time in Cape Town was difficult but very good. Many new friendships were formed, as I think a death of someone so dear certainly draws those around him close together. I am so grateful for everyone’s support there during this time, and I will cherish each of those people who were such a comfort and help in one of the most difficult times of my life. On Thursday the 25th of January we laid to rest the earthly remains of Michiah in Cape Town. It was a beautiful graveside service with hymns, Scripture, and testimonies of Michiah’s life, but there was also such a sense of finality as his casket was lowered into the ground and then covered up. Walking away from that grave was one of the hardest things I have had to do. Yet we know that is not Michiah we buried….it is merely a shell. Michiah is with the Lord!! What a glorious thing.
While sorting through his things, I came across two journals. In one of them he wrote out his own testimony, which I would like to share as I believe it may be a blessing to you:
My Testimony
As a young child my mom and dad taught me the Bible. I grew up with very good parents who loved the Lord and wanted me to do the same. But I did not wan to give up sin. I loved my sin, though I also wanted to make my parents happy. So tried to do all the right things, like go to church, pray, read my bible, and not do a lot of bad things!
I remember thinking I can repent of my hidden sin when I am old! But when I was 12 years old, my oldest brother passed away. He was 17 years old, and that hit me because he was still so young. But I also saw that he was ready and I was not. I saw that I needed Jesus and that none of my good works would save me, and also that I may not live to be old, to be able to repent. So it was soon after that, that I received Christ as my Savior! That changed my life. Even though I did see much change at first, but God has done an amazing work in me. He has given me freedom from the sin I once loved and gave me a hatred for my sin. He gave me joy, peace, and love, that I did not have before. But I do not want you to think it was just that easy and I had it all. No! It was and still is a hard road at times. But totally worth it.
He is still working in me as he will be until the day that I die. God is good!
The morning before he died, he shared this very testimony with Romans 8:28 at a church he with other participants of the course visited. Little did he know that very day he would drown like his older brother, and even cause others to come to Christ through his death! The Lancasters and ourselves have been amazed to see how much the Lord is using Michiah’s death in people’s lives, and we pray that He will continue to do so. Please read a few more quotes below from Michiah’s journal, I believe you will be blessed.
12/12/2017 ~ Today has been a blessing again. The Lord has been so good in answering my prayer in conforming me to the likeness of Christ. In breaking me over being self-sufficient, and helping me to put away sin and to stand strong in the middle of temptation. And for that I must give God all the glory! There is nothing in me that will be able to stand in temptation. In all things I want this and this alone: God be glorified.
26/12/2017 ~ I have made some really stupid choices in my life, and yet God has forgiven me. But not only that, He has brought me close to Himself in it all. Through breaking me, in giving me repentance, and by turning me around for His glory. It is nothing that I have done, but what He has done. Oh thank you Lord! You are a good good Father! What can I ever do to thank You enough? I need You, oh I need You! Thank you Lord!!
01/01/2018 ~ Well, new year’s has come. What a strange year. So much has happened in this past year. Most of all, God has been so good. I would be up for a long time if I were to try to write down what all God has done for me in 2017. There are so many things, that we can only just say, “Thank You”! There has been a lot of hills and valleys. All of which I am so thankful for! God, even when I was going through hardship, temptation, stress, addiction and so much more, He has even grown me through it all! What an amazing God He is! I am so grateful for all that He has done, and really look forward to what He is going to do in the year 2018. I know that He will continue to be faithful to me in this year because God never changes. I am right now in Washington DC. By the grace of God He has given us the blessing of being able to go to Cape Town, South Africa, to the Frontline Fellowship camp. I am really looking forward to what He will do through this camp. Well I must be getting to bed as I have a very long flight tomorrow. Oh Lord, give me a heart for the lost around me! Amen and Amen!
What a blessing it is to know Michiah is with Christ. I often just sit and ponder, and try to imagine what he must be doing, thinking, and feeling! I can’t imagine. But I know he is experiencing joy, delight, wonder, elation, and rapture beyond description, as he worships at the feet of his beloved Lord Jesus! Often as I hear worship songs, I imagine Michiah singing more beautifully than ever before, standing before the Throne of the Lamb, praising Him for His mercy, grace, love, and salvation! What a wonderful and mighty God we serve!!
To close, I want to share below a note my mom, Wiesie, wrote to Michiah on the day we buried him:
Dear Michiah, your sudden death came as a shock and heavy pain into our lives. I know you are beyond happy and I am so happy for you. I just wish we had you a little longer so that we could sit and talk and give each other a hug and to love you. Our God decided to take you home and we do not ask why. But just know that you left a hole in our hearts and an empty place in our lives. Our Father gave you the best of all and He gave us the best. We are so thankful that He borrowed you to us for 21 years. We are so thankful that He started a good work in your life and He finished it. Our beloved Savior is rejoicing over you and has made you perfect. We love you dearly beloved and miss you very much. Please Lord comfort our sorrow and heal our broken hearts and remind us that it is just a little while before we see each other again. Maranatha!!!
Mozambique Missions 
February 4, 2018 at 3:17 AM
What can I say? Praise God Our Father for our many blessings.