An Answered Prayer – Marissa's Story
Vida Li Sik • April 18, 2021
Marissa Rossouw shares her story
“My name is Marissa Rossouw. I live in Port Elizabeth (now known as Gqeberha), where I teach children with special needs who are partially hearing and have speech delays. I was baptised on 9 January 1992.
I was born and raised in Cape Town, but moved to Port Elizabeth (PE) in 1990 and attended a traditional church where I taught Sunday school. In November 1991, I became aware of God’s incredible goodness and kindness towards me and prayed that He would lead me to a church or an organisation where I could serve Him.
In December of that year, I visited my family in Cape Town. A friend who’d been working in London where he had become a Christian, invited me to a party. One sister asked me to study the Bible that night. I said yes and was baptised about two weeks later. During that fortnight, I joined the group in sharing their faith and in other spiritual activities. I saw a group of people who were serious about the Bible and imitating Jesus, and knew that I wanted to be a part of them. I was also amazed at what I was learning from the Bible. Years later, I realised that this was God’s answer to my prayer the year before.
I returned to PE where church comprised a group of seven members who listened to sermon tapes–sent from Cape Town and Johannesburg–at a sister’s home on Sundays. That was because there was no evangelist or brothers who could preach in PE at the time. Through God’s grace, the membership grew and the Port Elizabeth church was established.
In 1999, the church became involved with a local children’s home. There, I met my beautiful, adopted daughter, Masindi, who was only two years old at that time. This was God’s divine plan because I did not intend to be a single mother. But I loved her at first sight and had a burning desire to be her mom. That was how I knew it was from God. He even took care of the entire adoption process. She is now a 23-year-old baptised disciple and part of the singles ministry. She also teaches the toddler class on Sundays. More than that, she serves on the worship team on Sundays. I had a lot of help from God and disciples in raising her, and I’m so grateful for all the help I received.
At church, I’m very involved in the children’s ministry, and I’m part of the Golden Girls Ministry. This group comprises women who are divorced, some who have husbands who are not part of the church, or are mature single sisters. My best friend and discipling partner, Mercia Larkin, leads this outstanding group of women.
I am grateful and privileged to be a disciple of Jesus, and I pray God will continue to use me in His Kingdom, and that I will remain faithful to Him until the day I die.”
More from Southern African Churches of Christ
Imagine you are at a neighborhood barbecue. Your new neighbor arrives late, dressed casually, and barely speaks. Someone whispers, “She thinks she’s too good for us.” You feel the quick sting of that snap judgment. Later, you learn she just lost her husband and is quietly grieving. In that moment, you sense the discomfort of judging wrongly, a rush to conclusions that harms relationships and reveals more about our own hearts than the other person. Yet, the same evening, when another guest makes a racist joke, you feel an inner nudge to speak up. Is that also “judging”? This everyday tension captures what Jesus presents in Scripture: a divine balance between grace-filled restraint and righteous discernment. The two commands in tension “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” – Matthew 7: “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” – John 7:24 At first glance, these seem contradictory. Don’t judge. Judge correctly. Which is it? Matthew 7 warns against a critical, hypocritical spirit that condemns others while ignoring our own faults. The context continues: “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2). Jesus then uses the vivid image of someone with a plank in their own eye trying to remove a speck from another’s. Notice the aim: “then you will see clearly to remove the speck.” Self-examination is not a reason to stay silent. It is how we become safe enough to speak (Matthew 7:3-5). John 7, however, shows Jesus defending his healing on the Sabbath. He challenges the religious leaders: stop superficial, appearance-based judgments and instead apply right, truthful judgment aligned with God’s character and Word. This is not a contradiction but a divine tension, two truths that must be held together. We are called to humility and self-examination (do not judge harshly or hypocritically), while also exercising discernment and moral clarity (judge correctly, according to truth). Christianity rejects both naive permissiveness (“anything goes, no one can say anything”) and harsh legalism (constant condemnation without grace).
Welcome CJ and Sheree Wakefield to Cape Town! With decades of ministry, leadership and teaching experience, they are passionate about forming apprentices of Jesus.
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about next year’s trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro.
