COM Newsletter - September 2023
PROVIDENTIAL ENCOUNTER
I want to share with you an incredible story of a providential encounter that, just a couple of weeks ago, I would have struggled to even remember.
In April, 2018, I was invited to speak at a small CampMeeting in Namibia, Africa. I feared the long international flight and dreaded even getting on a plane again. But after just one week, I extended my stay for two more weeks, hoping to have opportunity to speak in some of the local churches. I knew that the message of ‘Coming Out’ Ministries was desperately needed in that country as many struggled with how to talk about the LGBTQ+ issue in a compassionate and hope filled way.
Following CampMeeting in Johannesburg, God opened the door for me to speak in South Africa. The president of the North South African Conference happened to be at the meetings. He contacted the Youth Director, John Africa, and asked him to find me speaking opportunities. They graciously put me up in a high-rise building, had wonderful meals delivered and personally drove me to different churches in the area to present at their prayer meetings, Bible Studies and other church events. They even invited me to share my story with the pastors at the conference, along with hosting a question and answer session. It was amazing to see how God opened the doors for the ‘Coming Out’ Ministries message to be shared! As the meetings were so well received, I was invited back the following year in 2019.
The last Sabbath that I was in South Africa (November of 2018), I spoke at the new and modern Filadelfia SDA Church, located in the Northern Hemisphere of Centurion, Gauteng. The church culture there is younger and they are a larger congregation. Due to audio and video challenges however, we struggled to keep the divine service going smoothly. After several presentations over the entire day, many individuals wanted to talk and receive some personal advice.
There were mothers and fathers wanting to know how to approach their children. There were individuals who were struggling with sexual addictions. These were needing encouragement and information on how to find freedom. Among them was a young man with beautiful long blonde hair by the name of Tim Botha. As we spoke, I saw that he resonated with the many conversations that I had with other individuals. When it was time for me to leave, my heart went out to all the new friends I had made. I prayed that they would be encouraged to walk in the newness of life that Christ offers each of us. I returned to the states with wonderful experiences and new-found friends.
One of those wonderful friendships formed in South Africa was with Daisy Snyman. Daisy is now an Associate Speaker for ‘Coming Out’ Ministries and also helps with our IT needs. Daisy recently approached me about her friend Tim Botha, the same man I had met earlier. She thought that he would be benefited by joining COM's “former’s group” (this group is for individuals who are looking for community and support as they seek sexual integrity). While at ASI recently, I was actually able to have a face to face conversation with Tim. He shared with me his experience while I was presenting at the Filadelfia Church in South Africa four years ago.
You see, Tim was struggling with transgender confusion. He felt that he was a female and that he needed to transition to a female identity so that his body and mind could be in alignment. He told me that he had arranged for doctors to prescribe hormones for him as well as surgeons who would attempt to make his body appear female. Everything was set in motion, yet as he prepared to make those appointments and seek a sex change, he was moved to share with me his situation instead.
He asked me a rather ambiguous question and with my simplistic response, the Lord was able to use that message to help change Tim’s life forever. Just last week, Tim told me that when he got home from that Sabbath afternoon presentation in South Africa, he knelt down to pray at the close of Sabbath. While in prayer, he remembered the advice I’d shared with him to “lay down his rock at the feet of Jesus”. As he finished that prayer and got up from his knees, Tim said he could feel that something akin to a “fishers net” effect came loose from his back. He walked away and has never had the desire to be a female again!
You see, for Tim, living a certain lifestyle for more than three years, including having long blond hair, had a feminizing effect on him. The day after his prayer, God removed the desire for Tim to have long hair and he knew it wasn't right anymore. The following week he cut it all off. You see Tim never did follow up with those doctors, and he didn’t take the hormones or have the surgeries, all because he claimed the power of Jesus Christ and laid his “rock” (his burden and struggles) down at HIs feet. Tim began to realize that he couldn’t change his thoughts or his identity to female and he gave his entire identity to Jesus. Jesus was able to give him satisfaction with the body that God had blessed him with, just as He has told us in Psalms 139.
I don’t always have the opportunity to hear the outcomes of people’s stories after I speak and pray with them. Some are too fearful to come forward to share about their experiences. Many others have never struggled with identity or sexuality, but still relate to our ministry and the stories of overcoming that we provide. You see, we all have burdens and struggles that we need to lay down at Jesus’ feet. Hearing Tim’s story was a beautiful affirmation for me. Despite the challenges that ministry can bring, I am honored that God was able to use a simple illustration to turn Tim’s heart to Christ and walk into his new life with His Savior.
“Are you searching? Are you frustrated by your own attempts to overcome addictions and long-established patterns? It really is much simpler than you realize. The fact is that Jesus has already provided the victory on the cross for me and you. The only difficulty is that Jesus will not wrestle it from you. If you choose to hold on and not let it go, there is nothing that our Savior can do but allow you to identify by it and to claim it as yours. But if you ‘will to’, you can choose to approach the throne of grace. Just as Tim and many others do daily, sometimes hourly, you can leave your struggles there. Walk away from your burden and leave it with Jesus. Don’t run from Jesus, run TO Him and leave it all behind.
TIM BOTHA´S BEFORE AND AFTER
SPECIAL MESSAGE
Watch the presentations and testimonies shared at the week of prayer for
Jesus & Wholistic Sexuality Conference by clicking the image below.
(This playlist is continually updated with more presentations and testimonies)
CLICK HERE TO WATCH
Also you can check Village SDA Church YouTube Channel
if you want to watch the full length services.
Q&A
An interesting point of view: the link between temperance and victorious living.
I have more of a remark than a question. For a long time now, I have been struggling with the burden of unwanted sexual sins. I’d seemingly gain victories only to find myself crashing down in defeat again. Bible promises were repeated, agonized prayers were offered, but to no avail. I believed I was trusting Jesus and looking to Him for salvation, but I was ignoring a very fundamental issue that I didn’t realize was standing in the way of God’s help and grace. It was my diet that was rich in spicy sauces, gravies, meats, pizzas, rich cheeses, sweets, Cokes, Pepsis, and even an occasional beer. Also I liked to “stuff” myself so full that I could hardly walk! All of these pleasures were hindrances to gaining the total victory over my besetting sins. It wasn’t until I started heeding the scriptural counsel offered in the book Counsels on Diet and Foods that I started to gain true victories in my battles. A simple diet is advised, free from those elements that harm the digestive system and the body as a whole.
I also noticed the biblical mandates offered in God’s Word for living a healthful live. I would suggest every one of your readers take a long, intense inventory of their dietary lifestyle and see if it measures up to God’s original plan. Fresh fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains, pure water, and a temperate intake routine has helped me take hold of the rich source of power offered by Christ in His Holy Word, now that my mind is freed from the enervating and debilitating habits of my former life.
Please examine this point of view, Pastor Ron. Of course, diet is not the sole answer to the problems we face, nor is it the one single key to victory, but possibly we ourselves are the biggest obstacles to God’s plan for our lives.
Reply: Wow! You hit one nail right on the head. That is great insight on your part. You are absolutely right. As you have read in the book Counsels on Diet and Foods, I’m sure, there is much counsel about the influence of intemperance on behavior, how it actually brings out the animal instincts in mankind.
Thank you for your thoughts. You make a very good and important point.
Victor J. Adamson (Pastor Ron)
Q&A text taken from:
Author: “Victor J. Adamson”
(Ron Woolsey)
SPECIAL MESSAGE
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or you can send a check or money order directly to
‘Coming Out’ Ministries at PO Box 107, Tilly, AR 72679.
May God bless you for your support!