Participants:
Series Code: NOW
Program Code: NOW019007A
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00:15 This is 3ABN Now
00:17 with John and Rosemary Malkiewycz. 00:21 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Now. 00:23 3ABN is one of those Christian television networks 00:26 that goes right across the world. 00:28 In fact, if you are watching somewhere in South Africa 00:31 for example, you'll be very interested in this program 00:34 because we are interviewing two people 00:37 who come from that part of the world. 00:38 What's interesting is when you're young you wonder 00:41 how God actually leads people in their life. 00:44 Well today we're going to have the testimony of Cornelius and 00:48 Ulna Keet. Welcome Cornelius and welcome Ulna. 00:51 Thank you. They're going to tell the story of how God 00:54 has led them throughout their life. 00:56 And it's exciting! And I know for a fact 00:59 as I'm getting older and I start to look back 01:02 I can see that God is leading. 01:04 Oh, they had some very SERIOUS leading at the time! 01:08 That's right. And it's good to know 01:10 God takes care of you all the time. 01:12 But before we start the interview 01:14 Rosemary, Cornelius and Ulna have chosen a text. 01:18 Would you like to read it? Yes. They've chosen Jeremiah 01:21 chapter 29 and verse 11. 01:24 This is a very popular verse around the world. 01:27 It says... God says: 01:30 "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you 01:33 saith the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil 01:38 to give you an expected end. " 01:41 Cornelius: you like that verse. 01:44 I like it very much! I think the background to me 01:50 for that is what I believe 01:56 has played a part in my life. 02:00 I also like the two verses that come after that: 02:04 verse 12 and 13. "Then shall ye call upon Me 02:08 and you shall go and pray unto Me 02:11 and I WILL hearken unto you. " That's right. 02:14 "And ye shall seek Me and find Me 02:17 when you shall search for Me with all your heart. " 02:20 That's right! So those 3 verses go beautifully together. 02:23 Yes. And they explain each other. 02:26 Yes. But we are to pray to God and He promises that 02:28 He will hear. Yes. 02:30 You know the thoughts that God has towards you, don't you 02:33 Ulna? Yes, I know. 02:34 And you've experienced it throughout your life. 02:37 All of my life really the Lord was good to us. 02:40 You know, you cannot believe how the Lord led us. 02:44 It is just... I mean, when I was a little girl on the farm. 02:49 It just can't come in my mind what the Lord has done 02:54 and how He led us, you know. It is just wonderful! Yes. 02:58 So when you discovered the Lord how many years ago was that? 03:01 Many? Oh, that's many years ago. 03:04 Yes, many years ago on the farm already. 03:06 Yes. And you mustn't forget 03:09 how I had the best mother in the world. 03:16 That's good to know you come from a very good family 03:19 and you love your mother. My mother was a SDA 03:22 from her birth till the day she died. 03:28 Um-hmm. But not my father. My father became an Adventist 03:31 afterwards. Uh-huh. But I've had the best mother 03:35 in the world that looked after me. 03:38 And you know one of the main things is 03:40 she taught you about Jesus. That's right; that's right. 03:43 The same with me. I had the most wonderful parents really. 03:47 My dad was a wonderful person 03:50 and mom... both my mom and dad. 03:53 Yeah, but he's saying that his was the best and you're saying 03:55 that yours were? Mine was also! 03:58 I know he had a very good mother and a good father. 04:01 So did you get the best and did you get the best? 04:04 I got the best and I hope he got the best. 04:06 She can... she just told you now 04:10 what she said, and I'm saying the same thing. 04:14 Very good. We should all think that our parents are the best. 04:17 My daughter-in-law here Monique, she always when introduces us 04:22 to people she says: "You know, I've never seen 04:25 people... they never fight. " 04:27 She said: "They never fight. 04:30 Never! " That's a good testimony. 04:34 That's a good testimony really. 04:35 He knows the wife is always right. 04:38 It's the good Lord that looks after us every day 04:41 of our lives... EVERY DAY... He is with us. 04:45 Now I'm just going to ask you to do something 04:47 Cornelius, because there may be people watching 04:50 in So. Africa. English is not your first language, is it? 04:56 No. You started out with Afrikaans, is that right? 04:59 With Afrikaans, yes, 05:01 which is a language derived out of the Dutch 05:05 and a little bit of German. 05:08 But in general that comes from... out of the Dutch. 05:12 Now I understand Dutch I would say 90%. OK. 05:17 And so with the Dutch people when I speak they understand me 05:23 but I cannot speak it. Aah! 05:26 It's a bit annoying, isn't it? Yes! 05:29 Anyway, we are happy. And then I thank the Lord 05:35 that I went to our college therein South Africa. 05:39 Helderberg? Helderberg College 05:41 and there I learned to speak English 05:46 more and better than what I would've if I didn't go there. 05:51 Well, I understand you very well. 05:53 Now I would like to... I don't know if you are going to 05:56 talk in tongues or some other jibber, but would you like to 05:58 greet the people in So. Africa and give them a little comment? 06:22 You can tell me afterwards what you said 06:24 but I'm sure somebody would have understood you. 06:26 Ulna at least. 06:29 You know, I'm very interested. You said you grew up 06:33 in an Adventist home, is that right? That's right. 06:35 My mother was a full-time Adventist. 06:38 So we'll start with you, Cornelius. Tell us a bit 06:41 where you grew up. Where you were born; 06:43 where you went a little bit to school. 06:46 We lived nearby the city of Cape Town. Not too far: 06:52 approx. 130 km. away from 06:58 the city of Cape Town - um-hmm - 07:01 where my father had a general dealer's shop 07:07 on a farm there. 07:09 And my mother was the Adventist part of it. Um-hmm. 07:14 And I grew up as a child there 07:18 and went to the government school that was there. 07:23 But in my younger years, of course. You know what I'm saying 07:29 there? In the years that I was only from 07:34 year six through about 10, 12. 07:39 Then my mother said: "No... oh no. Not here any longer. " 07:44 "You... " I was... when I got up to the grades 07:50 of 8th she said: "No! 07:54 You are going to Helderberg College. 07:58 You're going to go to our school 08:00 not the government school. " 08:02 Well, which I appreciated because she wanted me to stay 08:06 within the run of the SDA church you know. 08:12 So that's what happened and I went there. 08:17 And I thank God in this very day that she did that to me 08:22 because it did a lot to me. 08:26 I'm just wondering... just backing up to when you 08:29 were 10 or 12. You said your mother was the SDA 08:33 and your dad wasn't. Did you find a bit of a pull 08:36 by your dad's way? No! No! No, my dad was very very... 08:41 he was a very good man in this respect: 08:45 that he respected my mother and us. 08:48 Oh good! He didn't... he didn't go - 08:51 try to pull you away? Pull away from that? None of that. 08:55 How old were you when your father became a SDA? 08:59 We were already in years; we were married already I think. 09:04 So it was late in his life? Late in his life, yes. 09:08 He became a SDA because of a series of meetings 09:14 that were held by one of our people there in that area. 09:19 Like evangelistic meetings? Yes. 09:21 Evangelistic meetings. Then he became a SDA 09:25 and you wouldn't believe it but... I WILL believe it: 09:30 you tell it. Then the place where we went to 09:36 was nearer to Cape Town because it was in a place called 09:40 Wellington - OK - Wellington... which is a name 09:44 that I think you can appreciate. 09:46 And in that place he also had a very very big 09:51 general dealer shop... you know, shop. 09:53 And would you believe it that before 09:58 and after he became an Adventist... before 10:00 he had his shop open on Sabbaths, Saturdays - yes - 10:04 and then he decided when he became the Adventist 10:07 he would close the shop. And so the business went broke? 10:10 The business was better than before. 10:14 You wouldn't believe that. I don't know how it worked 10:17 but I think... I KNOW how it worked. 10:20 I've heard that same story many times. Yes. 10:23 And it was a better business after he became an Adventist 10:26 than before. He admitted himself before he died. 10:31 Now when you went to Helderberg College 10:35 what did you study? 10:36 No... I was in the business spot. OK. Yes, I didn't 10:42 go for... One person said to me: 10:46 "But you can become a theology student. " 10:52 Yeah. I said: "No, no, no... I'll 10:53 go for business... I'm not a pastor. " 10:58 Well, you know we don't... The interesting thing is 11:01 God uses everyone in different areas of life. 11:03 You don't have to be a pastor. No. No. 11:05 You can be someone who's a faithful worker 11:08 in any profession. Even if you preach... 11:10 Even if you go to preaching doesn't mean you have to be 11:12 a pastor. No, no. But anyway God looked after me there as well. 11:17 You did accounting? Yeah, accounting. 11:19 And then you wouldn't believe... You believe me, but I went 11:26 when I finished there at Helderberg 11:28 I went and worked outside. That's good experience. 11:32 Yeah. I went and worked outside for a big company 11:35 in Cape Town. Umm. And then 11:39 one morning my boss said to me 11:44 "Go down to the reception. 11:47 There's somebody that wants to see you. " 11:50 Hmm. I said: "Is that so? " 11:52 "Yes. " So I went down there. 11:55 Lo and behold, there was the treasurer 11:59 of the South African Union offices sitting down there. 12:04 And I had to go and have a chat with him. 12:09 And he said to me... he said to me: 12:11 "We want you in our office. " 12:15 Hmm. That's at the Union office. 12:17 So they must have heard some- thing good about you, Cornelius. 12:19 Most probably yes! 12:22 And so I had to... I said to him: "Look, 12:28 thank you very much. I think we both accept your call 12:32 at go. " My parents weren't too happy 12:35 because now I'm moving away from them. 12:38 We lived right next to each other. 12:39 Ah yes. 12:41 We had to go to the city called Bloemfontein. 12:47 Bloemfontein. Yeah! I'm putting it so that you 12:51 understand that. Yes. So we were to go there 12:54 and then we stayed there for four years. 12:58 Then another call for me. 13:01 I'm going to just stop you here because you said "we. " 13:04 You would have met this lady and you were married, is that right? 13:07 We married on the first of January 1964. 13:12 Oh, what an easy date? No wonder you remember the date. 13:16 You must have chosen it so he wouldn't forget. 13:18 Yes. This is a wedding photo with you. 13:22 Who's there Cornelius? In the middle, of course, 13:25 you know who the two in the middle are. 13:27 Me and my wife. And then on my side 13:31 it's my sister and her husband. 13:34 Um-hmm. At that time it was still her fiancé. Yes. 13:39 And on the other side - on her side - 13:41 is her own sister 13:43 and also a friend of mine. 13:49 OK. And who's the little girl? 13:51 My youngest sister. Oh, isn't that lovely! 13:53 She's getting ready and she's still got a sister that's old. 13:57 What year? She was only 5 years old. 14:01 And this is your actual wedding photo? That's right. 14:04 And does it seem long ago? 14:07 Yes! Only yesterday you're saying, isn't it? 14:11 Yes. You wish. And believe it or not 14:13 we are married now in the first of January of this year 14:18 fifty-five years. Fifty-five years! That's a good age. 14:24 That's a very good age. Yeah. 14:25 So... And I'm just going to go to Ulna for a moment 14:29 because we want to know about the lady he married. 14:31 Where did you grow up, Ulna? I grew up on the farm. 14:36 It's called the long cluff. It's a long valley - 14:42 OK - with mountains on the sides, and it's just 14:44 fruit wherever you look. All those farms it's just fruit. 14:48 Good fruit? What sort of fruit? 14:50 Apples and pears were the main fruit 14:54 and then we had lots of apricots, lots of peaches, 14:58 plums, and we had figs... LOTS of figs. 15:03 And then prickly pears. I don't know if you know 15:06 what the prickly pear is. 15:09 And we grew all kinds of vegetables: 15:16 beans, peas, potatoes, beet root, cabbage. 15:20 Very fertile area? Very fertile! 15:21 All kinds... but we never knew broccoli. 15:25 They didn't grow that but otherwise... 15:28 And we had all our cattle, all our own milk, 15:33 cream, and everything. And we were big meat eaters 15:38 at that time... at that time. 15:40 And you had how many sisters? 15:43 I've got me seven sisters. 15:45 I am the eldest. And no boys? No boys. 15:48 And my dad was a farmer. 15:49 No sons to take over the farm. 15:52 Oh, so you girls had to learn like... We were on the farm 15:53 all the time, never in the house. 15:55 Is that right? Yes. So where did you do your schooling? 15:59 I'm in public school. In public school we did it, yes. 16:02 So where did you two meet? 16:05 At Camp Meeting. We used to go to 16:08 Camp Meeting every year and this is where we meet. 16:11 I find a lot of people go to Camp Meeting to find a spouse. 16:14 Yes, yes. Sometimes it's the only reason they're there. 16:19 So you said you went to a public school? Public school. 16:21 What about your mom and dad... were they Adventists? 16:24 My dad was an Adventist. My mom came as a teacher there 16:28 and she was not an Adventist... but when they got married 16:32 she became an Adventist. So I grew up with very very 16:35 strict parents... very very strict parents. 16:38 Well, it can be the other way. I think I'd rather have 16:41 strict parents. VERY strict parents. 16:43 You met... you met at the Camp Meeting. 16:46 At Camp Meeting, yes. And you decided to... Did you... 16:50 did you court together for very long, Cornelius? 16:53 How many years? About two years! 16:55 But we were far apart because he's in Cape Town 16:59 and I'm in Port Elizabeth. 17:01 No e-mail then. No! 17:03 And we used to call now and then because it was very 17:06 expensive you see. And he even when he asked to marry me 17:11 he called my... no, he wrote a letter to my dad. 17:14 Oh! But my dad was very fond of him 17:18 so there were no problems. 17:21 Have the blessing of the father you're OK. 17:26 I like that idea. You went to consult with your parents 17:30 and ask. I think it's a very good thing. Very good! 17:32 So you got married and where did you first go? 17:35 You mentioned a government job. We went to Cape Town. 17:39 We lived in Somerset West 17:41 in that town where Helderberg College is. 17:46 You see, we lived there. 17:47 And then we went to as he said 17:52 then I worked at a big company. 17:56 And that I told you that the secretary/treasurer 17:59 of that company was an Adventist. 18:02 And that was him that recommended my husband 18:05 to the treasurer at the Union office. That was him. 18:10 And so we were there for 4 years 18:14 and then we went to Bloemfontein. 18:17 And I worked also there. I first was secretary 18:22 to the Publishing Dept. secretary 18:26 and then to the youth, and then they brought me down 18:28 to the Accounts Department. You see, 18:30 and that's where my first... We were married 7 years 18:34 before we had children. 18:36 And my first son... he was born there. 18:40 And then we got a call back to Somerset West 18:43 in Cape Town. And then my second boy, he was born there. 18:49 You know, Cornelius, when I think of both of you. 18:52 You meet, you get married. You're SDA both of you. 18:56 Where do you place God at the beginning of your marriage 18:58 and in your early life? Where did you place God? 19:02 I don't know about my wife but as far as I'm concerned 19:07 I had no other options: number one. 19:12 Number one. And you? Yes, definitely! Definitely. 19:15 So you're both together starting out at the same 19:19 understanding of God. On the same page. 19:21 Especially... especially with the father, 19:26 parents that she had. You know, he was a 19:29 qualified. He was an ordained. Not ordained, he was a graduate 19:35 theology student. It was only a few years that he pastored 19:41 because then his dad got sick and he had to go to the farm. 19:44 So only in his later years he went into the ministry again. 19:49 OK... and so my thought is 19:53 did you start to ask God to lead you right back then? 19:58 Well, you know what it's like. 20:05 Remember, we're not saints. Yet! 20:10 We are also human beings, you know. 20:14 And you do make mistakes here and there and so on. 20:17 But on your knees every evening, every morning 20:22 to say: "Sorry Lord, we made a mistake today 20:27 or this or that but we love You. " 20:30 Hmm. That's how we live. 20:34 And then of course being in the organization 20:39 when we were called to come in it makes a big difference 20:44 because you are every day busy with the Lord's work. 20:48 We've got some photos that I want to have a look at. 20:51 The first one is you with your two sons 20:54 'cause you only had the two sons 20:56 and this is a picture. Now who are they? 20:58 Tell us their names. The one on my lap 21:01 is my eldest son Gillum. 21:04 He is in South Africa still. 21:09 The other one... the little one on her lap 21:12 that's our... this is François. François lives here. 21:16 Yes he does. Lives here, yes. So we know him. 21:19 And the couple in the middle? I presume it's Cornelius & Ulna. 21:23 Cornelius and Ulna... yes. 21:25 And we've got another photo of when the boys... they're a bit 21:27 older here. That's right. 21:29 That's a lovely family portrait. 21:31 Yeah. Now they are grown up here and you can see the two of us 21:36 have also grown older. 21:38 The interesting thing is that both of your boys 21:42 went into accounting. That's right. 21:44 So you're all in accounting. They both have jobs as 21:46 accountants, yes. All of us - the whole family - 21:50 is an accounting family. 21:53 I hope you're counting well. 21:56 You're counting well because you're getting more and more 21:58 grandchildren. Well, as you know we have 22:02 gone through a lot as far as this is concerned. 22:06 And we've got another picture I want to look at, and it's 22:08 a specific house. You told us about this house. 22:12 This is in South Africa. This is in South Africa, yes. 22:16 We lived on almost you can say was sort of a compound 22:21 that the church has got there. 22:24 It's in Johannesburg itself 22:28 but a little bit towards the southern part of Johannesburg. 22:34 Anyway, it's a big house that many many 22:40 visitors from overseas came and stayed there. 22:44 That's traditional, isn't it? 22:46 I always had to take all the people every time. 22:50 Well, they gave you a big house! Yes. 22:52 And there were five houses on the compound 22:54 and then the church office and the home health 22:57 and education service office. 22:59 So it was really good. And my children grew up there. 23:04 They finished their university there, you know. 23:08 Everything. That's a special place for you guys, isn't it? 23:12 And my brother-in-law became the president of the conference. 23:15 They lived there; they had three boys. 23:19 And so those five boys 23:21 that was their friends 23:24 so they didn't actually have other friends coming there. 23:27 So that was just too wonderful for them. 23:30 You mentioned that that place was owned by a mining company. 23:33 Is that right? Before. And then tell us 23:36 how God blessed the purchase of that and what happened. 23:38 Well we had a president there... 23:41 he was a VERY suave guy. 23:44 He had a little bit of business in him, too. Yes! 23:48 And he saw this old place and I still remember 23:54 that they bought that place 23:56 for something like 70,000 rand. 24:01 Um-hmm. Now 70,000 rand in those days 24:04 was a lot of money. Yes. 24:07 I may be out a little bit but you know it's too long ago. 24:13 And that place was sold afterwards 24:16 for... I'm not going to give you the precise... but 24:20 for millions. For millions! Yes. 24:22 So that enabled the conference then or the union was it? 24:25 Which one was it? The conference... the conference 24:27 then to buy a new place. A new, fully, properly 24:33 built up office block. 24:37 Completed; ready-to-use. It was a beautiful building! 24:40 Ready to move in and it was a beautiful place. 24:42 So did you work in that place? 24:44 Oh yes, we worked in there. 24:46 I was in there as the accountant. 24:49 A little later on I became the treasurer. OK. 24:54 And a very good time that we were together there. 24:58 We've got a couple of pictures of you two in the office. 25:01 Is it the same office or another office? 25:03 That's the same. This is where you're working in the new bldg. 25:06 New building. Yes, that's the new building. 25:08 Ulna... a busy desk and the man on the phone. 25:12 I see you have a computer there; I can see an adding machine 25:15 you know for adding manually. Yes. 25:18 It's interesting how times have changed. 25:20 You're telling me! Yes, yes. Umm... very much so. 25:24 So I know that you both - Cornelius in particular - 25:28 has a story that I'm sure the viewers would love to hear 25:31 how God really protects you when you're on God's errands. 25:35 Tell us the story about your journey and then... 25:38 Well, you see what happened was 25:40 that the conference had a ministerial meeting 25:44 not in the conference office itself 25:48 but I would say approximately 25:52 170 to 180 kilometers away from there at a certain spot 25:58 where they could have this ministerial meeting. 26:01 And, of course, being the treasurer 26:05 I had to be there, 26:07 and any financial things that needed I was the one to 26:12 stand in and make sure that... everything was OK. 26:17 And also all the equipment that needed to be there 26:21 it was my duty to put it in my car and take it there. 26:26 And then after that meeting was finished - 26:31 it was... for a week... for a week, yes. 26:35 And then after that of course you want to go home quickly. 26:39 Yes. Packed the gear into the car and I left. 26:45 You had all this equipment to take back. All the equipment... 26:48 all the equipment in my car and I had to... 26:50 And he put it all on the back seat and started moving. 26:55 That's why he stopped along the road. 26:57 And I stopped next along the road. 26:59 I didn't see any people around there. 27:02 I learned a lesson that day, too. Tell you now 27:05 what the lesson was. But there I stopped, and 27:08 the next thing... You got out to shift the load. 27:12 I beg your pardon? Re-arrange the load. 27:13 Yes, he was standing like at the back seat... busy... 27:18 yeah but with my back toward the side of the road, you know. 27:21 And all of a sudden I felt an arm coming around my neck 27:25 and I saw a big knife coming to my... and just 27:30 I said to myself: "Is this where I die today? 27:35 Or what will it be? " They pulled me into the bush there 27:38 and they threw me on the ground. 27:40 Yes. There were two of them. 27:42 Didn't have a chance to fight them... not in the least. 27:47 And there I was lying on the ground 27:50 and of course they started looking in my pockets 27:53 and money that I have for the church - 27:56 not a lot, fortunately - was in my pocket here. 27:59 They look that; they took my wallet. 28:02 They took every penny that I had in there. 28:05 They took that out and they made sure that they got everything. 28:09 Then they took my watch. Now it was 28:14 a fairly expensive watch. 28:16 They don't like silver... they want gold. Gold! 28:21 And I told them a little bit of a lie 28:25 which I should... A little bit of an untruth? Yeah. 28:28 I said: "That's a cheap old watch. " He took a look at it 28:31 and he threw it back at me. Can you believe that? 28:35 He threw it back at me and then... 28:37 It wasn't a funny situation, was it? 28:39 It was quite serious. But in the meantime, all the way 28:43 he stood with his knife right against my neck. 28:46 They would... I said: "Please take it away! 28:48 I won't run away... take it away. " No, 28:51 no... he kept it just like that. 28:54 So the one took my car keys. He went to our car and he checked 28:58 in my car to see if I don't have a gun - yes - 29:02 and any more money or something in the car. 29:05 And lately came back. 29:08 Now we had bedding because they had to take their own 29:12 bedding, and stole some food because they had to 29:15 prepare, somebody there that prepared their meals. 29:19 There were some things... we had it in the car. 29:20 So he took some of the food and he took bedding, you see, 29:25 and came back. Yeah, he came back and then 29:27 I said: 'Lord, please, please... 29:33 protect me. " But I said it quietly to myself. 29:37 And but then... I became sort of 29:42 calmed down... after you asked God to? Yes. 29:47 HE gave you some peace. 29:49 As if I said to myself: "Well if it's my day 29:53 it's my day. " But you know what? 29:56 And all of a sudden that one guy 30:01 his eyes got that big. 30:04 He looked and he threw the car keys down 30:10 and he ran. And the other one with the knife 30:14 he took the knife away and his eyes were like this. 30:18 They saw something which I didn't see. 30:21 We're sure it's an angel. Yeah, it must have been an angel. 30:24 And he ran away too? And he ran away too! 30:26 That doesn't normally happen, does it? Never! Never! 30:29 No, no! Because those were troublous times then 30:31 in Cape Town. That's usually what happens: 30:34 they will kill you. 30:37 They'll take everything and kill you before they leave. 30:39 Because if they don't do that 30:42 you're a witness to them for when they are in trouble. 30:47 So they ran away completely 30:51 and here I'm sitting. I said: "Thank you, God! 30:55 You looked after me. Thank you, thank you, thank you! " 30:59 Did you spend very much time sitting there? 31:01 No! I got up; got in my car. 31:05 He said he couldn't get the key in the ignition. 31:07 I couldn't get the key... Couldn't get away fast enough! 31:11 And then eventually I drove off. 31:15 And then I got on the highway between 31:19 Pretoria, the city of Pretoria, and Johannesburg 31:22 which is a very busy highway - um-hmm - 31:25 and lo and behold it started raining. 31:28 But not rain... it's a cloud- burst - yes - 31:34 that came down. I couldn't see. Now all traffic 31:39 came to a standstill on that road. Not again! 31:45 What more for this day? 31:48 And I drove off to... later on drove off to the office 31:54 with all the equipment. And then she was there 31:58 at the office. She's: "Where did you go? Where did you go? 32:01 Look at you! " He was so dirty 32:04 because those people... 32:06 He sat down. When he told the story what did you think? 32:09 I thought "what on earth? " because didn't know what... 32:12 I said: "Where have you been? Look at you! " 32:15 He said: "Don't talk to me like that. " 32:17 He said: "You don't know what happened to me you know. " 32:21 Well, it was God that looked after me that day. 32:25 There is no other answer to this 32:29 than God looked after me that day. He protected me 32:32 completely. Amen! Yeah. 32:36 But that set a different course in your life, didn't it? 32:40 Because... tell us a little bit about that. 32:42 Then I said to myself: 32:45 "If this is what's going to happen to us 32:49 in future years, what... " I got a little bit worried because 32:55 she's here, the two of us. 32:58 Are we going to stay here in this country 33:01 or are we going to move off? 33:04 And you wouldn't believe it... Now I'm going to say something 33:09 you may laugh about it... somebody 33:14 Les Ralian said to him because they worked together. 33:18 He said to me: "Why don't you? It was in the newspaper... 33:20 "Why don't you try the American? " 33:25 Because a lot of people... Green card... green card. 33:28 And Les also try to, you know. Yeah. 33:31 Well Les came to Australia but he first tried there. 33:34 He didn't get in there. The card... what do you call that? 33:38 Green card. It was a green card lottery. Lottery. 33:41 But a lottery now... this is the thing. 33:43 It wasn't a lottery because I didn't buy here 33:47 one penny to get it. 33:49 It wasn't gambling money. 33:53 You put your name in and then they choose it out. 33:55 Yeah, you send your name in. 33:56 I sent my name in and nothing happens. 33:58 I said: "Well, that's the luck that I have. " 34:01 "I never get any... there's no luck for me. " 34:03 And I said to myself: "Wait a minute! 34:07 I'm going to send her name in and my name the next year. " 34:12 And I sent our names in and lo and behold she got it. 34:17 If one gets it and you're married, the other one... 34:20 We're married and then we get it. 34:21 But unfortunately our children couldn't go with us 34:24 because they were overage. Overage... 34:27 they couldn't go. That was very hard. 34:30 Of course, both of them got married over there in So. Africa 34:34 and that made it a bit more easy for us. 34:38 But when we left it was... And then... 34:42 then one day about 3 months 34:46 we had gone through everything that we needed to go through 34:49 and I said to her: "Please call the people 34:53 and let's hear what they say. " 34:55 And she called them. You know what the woman said? 34:58 She said: "You know, madam, 35:01 we are just busy now with yours at this very moment! " 35:07 So when you called? Yes. Can you believe that? 35:10 When she called she says: "I am busy at this very moment 35:14 with yours. " And of course we got our papers, 35:18 on the plane, and we landed on the other side in America. 35:23 Now you must remember: I'm leaving the country 35:26 without a job. You're both leaving your jobs behind. 35:31 Because I... You did this on your own. 35:34 It wasn't a call. I wasn't called. Yes. 35:38 I left South Africa without a job because I went 35:42 over there and "we'll see if we can get a job over there. " 35:45 And... That was a step of faith! 35:48 But before that I can tell you that 35:51 because somebody told me: "Ulna, take your furniture with. 35:55 If you go there you will feel more at home 35:58 if you have your own furniture. " 36:00 So then Monique, my daughter- in-law, and my son François, 36:05 they were still dating. And she was working at 36:08 a shipping agent 36:11 and she worked very high up there. 36:16 She's a very good worker. 36:18 And he was just joking with her. I mean, how can you expect? 36:22 And he said: "Monique, ask your boss if he won't 36:25 send our goods over there... send your container wholesale. " 36:31 Wholesale, you call the word for a discount. 36:34 They know, and he was just joking. I mean 36:38 about three weeks later I was sitting at the office - 36:41 it was a Friday - and Monique called. 36:44 "Auntie Ulna, my boss said 'It's on the house. ' " 36:50 I'm telling you... That's not bad! They brought the... 36:53 You can't get any "wholesaler" than that! 36:56 They brought the container to our house. 36:59 They packed it; they loaded it; 37:01 they took him and he had to seal it. 37:03 They took it down to Durbin where the harbor is 37:06 and it was sent to Savannah without one cent. 37:10 We couldn't believe it. 37:12 Yes. You know, I'm interested to know: how did your fellow 37:15 workers... You were up and you were going to be going. 37:18 What were they? They were very upset. 37:21 They couldn't believe it... they couldn't believe it. 37:24 They were very upset. They did- n't want us to leave, you see. 37:28 They were very upset! But anyway, we had gone over to 37:32 there and here we are: no house, no nothing. 37:37 And you have lots of people you know. Is that right? 37:39 I had a sister and her husband. They were living there 37:43 where we went. But they're the only ones, though. 37:45 The only ones... so we could stay with them you see. 37:48 And so I... we stayed with them. 37:52 Where were they living? In Chattanooga in Tennessee. 37:56 In Tennessee. This is where Southern University is. 37:59 What's the first thing you noticed about from where 38:02 you were living to you're now arrived in America? 38:06 What's the first thing you noticed? 38:09 The other way driving. 38:12 Other side of the road? On the other side of the road! 38:15 That's one thing. And then the first... to get a vehicle 38:20 to drive on that side of the road 38:23 we had to get our license to do that. Yes. 38:25 And once we'd gone through that... 38:27 Fortunately, didn't take a lot of... 38:32 I'm thinking more the ability just to do what you want to do. 38:35 Yeah, yes. But we still had in mind, of course... 38:41 It was still in my mind: "Shall I get a job 38:44 into the church work again? " 38:48 We wanted to go... We wanted to work for the church again. 38:52 We don't want to go and work outside. 38:54 And the Georgia Cumberland Conference - 38:59 um-hmm - which is not far from there, about 39:03 sixty miles I would say. 39:05 We are in mind: "Shall we go there and see if we can get 39:11 a job? " Anyway, we... You don't have a place to live! 39:16 No, that's the biggest... And we didn't want to rent a house. 39:20 You have all household things! And we didn't have a place 39:23 waiting! That was the problem. There was a man that 39:25 started building an area near a suburb 39:30 with new houses there and we met him. 39:34 And I said to him, I said: "Would you be 39:38 able to? Could I rent a house from you 39:42 for two years and then after two years 39:46 I will buy it from you. How's that for a deal? " 39:52 "Sure, " he said, "that's no problem. " 39:55 He said: "Give me a thousand dollars" 39:59 which I had of course because I sold my house in So. Africa 40:02 and he said: "Sure, I'll give it to you. " 40:05 And he says: "Come and see me on Monday morning 40:09 and we can do the paperwork. " 40:13 Monday morning I came there. 40:16 He threw my check back at me. 40:20 I said: "What's wrong? Don't you want to do business with me? 40:23 Am I that bad? " He laughed. 40:27 He says: "No, I spoke to my bank 40:29 and they are going to give you a loan for a house 40:33 so you can get a house immediately. " 40:35 When have you heard this that you don't even have a job 40:40 but you get a loan from the bank? 40:42 You're from another country. I'm from another country. 40:44 You've just arrived; you have no job; 40:46 you have no credit rating. Yeah! You have nothing 40:49 nothing... yet the bank will give you a loan. 40:51 In two weeks we had a key for the house! 40:53 Key for the house before the house is... Now 40:55 what do you think? How did that come along? 41:00 And we've got a picture of the house. 41:02 Yes. That's a big house. 41:04 That's OURS... that's our house. 41:06 That's our Father up there that looked after us. 41:10 He was such a good to me and my wife. 41:15 He looked after us all the way. 41:17 Then I had to go and look for a job. 41:20 Before that you had to bring your furniture. And so 41:23 how did that all work together? 41:24 We went there the beginning of August. 41:28 Our furniture I remember arrived the 18th of September. 41:33 But all the time we stayed with my... 41:35 um-hmm... with my sister. Yeah. And you know, we... 41:39 we couldn't take electrical stuff because there they 41:43 the currents are different and all. So we went and we 41:46 bought the fridge and washing machine and dryer and things. 41:51 It had a dishwasher and a stove in all houses there. 41:54 When you buy it it had... 41:56 So we did that you know. Do little things there 41:58 and buy little things. We were so excited. 42:01 Yeah. But you had to wait for? We had to wait for... 42:04 Our agreement came the 18th also. 42:07 So you could go out in your car. Did you notice 42:11 a difference? You could stop on the roadside! 42:13 Oh yes! What was that like? 42:15 That was fantastic and... and what I couldn't get used to: 42:19 there's no walls around the houses. 42:21 And we've got walls and these security things: 42:27 electric fencing on... in South Africa. I was so scared 42:31 in the beginning to work in my yard 42:33 because I was always looking, you know, 42:36 and later on because there was no walls around you know. 42:39 It was really fantastic. 42:41 Then I said to myself, I said: 42:46 "We must get a job because... " You've got a loan to pay! 42:49 "We can't sit here and do nothing. " 42:52 "I didn't come over here to do nothing. " 42:55 Hmm. So we went over to the Georgia Cumberland Conference 43:00 there. Oh, they are the most fantastic conference 43:05 I have ever worked for. 43:07 And you've worked for a few. 43:09 And... But anyway, we went there 43:12 and I just made a bit of a joke, you know. I said to the one guy 43:17 that I spoke to... Be careful, don't joke, eh? 43:19 Yeah. I said to him: "Listen, do you have work for me here? 43:24 I am coming... " And I told him where I come from and so on. 43:28 I said: "Do you have work? " I said: "I'll be willing 43:30 to be your tea man - the "tea boy" - 43:33 in the morning and the afternoon. " 43:36 So you were prepared to do anything. Anything! 43:37 I said: "Anything. What do you have for me? " 43:39 He laughed. They had a very good laugh about that 43:43 and he said to me: "Come and see us 43:45 in two weeks' time. " 43:47 But in the meantime... That's right; only two weeks... 43:50 the president was in So. Africa; they invited him for a Camp Mtg. 43:55 OK. And that was in that Bloenfontein area 43:59 and the treasurer of the Union office there 44:04 were best friends, and he told the president about us, too. 44:08 And of course, he was you know... 44:11 He knew a little bit about us. What amazes me: United States 44:14 has got many states. 44:15 You could have been in any other state. 44:17 Any one! We went there... Yeah, we call that is it coincidence? 44:20 Or do we call that divine providence? 44:23 Divine providence, I'm sure. Divine providence, 44:24 that's for sure. And so when he went the 2nd time 44:27 when they called us to come in 44:29 the president knew everything about us 44:32 and they knew everything so we got the job... a job. 44:36 But when we went... Is this as a team, then? 44:39 So then after two weeks I went there and the president, 44:44 the treasurer, and the secretary were sitting on 44:48 one side of the table. They looked at me and they said: 44:50 "Sell yourselves. " 44:53 "Sell yourself to us. " 44:55 And so of course I had to tell them who I am, what did I 44:58 do and so on and so on and so on. 45:00 And then they said: "Look, 45:04 we've got three auditors. " 45:09 It's a big conference there. Um-hmm. 45:12 I'm taking my hat off for those people. 45:14 I think they are the most fantastic place I've ever 45:18 worked for, and they have got 40,000 members. 45:21 That's a lot of people. It is! 45:23 And over 200 churches. Um-hmm. 45:29 And that... What now? It was in the 40.. about 40 schools. 45:36 Hmm! So it's a big organization. 45:39 And he said to me: "Look, we've got three auditors. 45:44 Two of them: one retired; 45:47 unfortunately, the other one died. " 45:52 They were all retired people, see. 45:54 The third one that was doing auditing for them 45:58 was the conference had their own plane - OK - 46:02 and he was the pilot. 46:03 He was the pilot of that plane. And he was 46:05 more interested in pilot than in auditing. 46:09 More interested in pilot than the auditing. I don't blame him! 46:12 And so they said: "We want you. " 46:17 And they said: "You are now the head of the auditing dept. " 46:22 That's for me. So you just arrived from Africa. 46:25 You said Africa. I'm sorry... in USA from Africa. Yes. 46:28 And at the right time. At the right time! 46:31 It's amazing! You know, the Lord was really good to us. 46:34 The Lord was looking after us AGAIN! 46:36 So you are the head auditor, what about Ulna? 46:38 I said to them: 46:42 "Now what about my wife be- cause... " You couldn't do this 46:45 work on our own! You're replacing both. 46:48 It's impossible. I said: "What about? " 46:50 "No... she's got a job already. " 46:52 She's also doing... she's got to be with me 46:55 in the auditing department. " 46:57 I said: "Thank you very much. " 46:59 And then they had a problem. 47:01 Then they had a problem. They said to me: 47:04 "You know we don't have an office here. 47:06 Our office is getting... it's expanding. 47:09 Things are expanding too such 47:11 right that we don't have an office for you here. " 47:14 Do you have a place at your home? " 47:16 I said: "Well, the new house that we just... " 47:19 And we immediately started working on it 47:22 and there was a lovely basement. 47:27 And they put... 47:30 We started working and finishing it off. 47:33 So you put an office down in your basement! 47:36 In our basement. A nice big office! 47:39 Yes, but in a few days 47:40 they delivered all the equipment that we needed 47:43 for that office: computers and file cabinets 47:48 and so on and installed it for us there. 47:51 And there we have our office right in our house. 47:54 How good is that! You don't have to drive 47:57 60 miles there and 60 miles back every day. 48:00 Once we started doing the auditing work 48:03 we get into our car and we drive off to where 48:06 we were to go. We had to go all over the conference. 48:09 You will be surprised that in that time 48:12 that we worked for them 48:16 again I say: "The good Lord looked after us. " 48:20 We done approximately 48:24 1,100,000 miles. 48:29 Miles! Are you serious? Really? 48:31 We drove a lot. I was really tired of it. 48:35 Well let me give you the size of the conference: 48:37 it's half of Tennessee, the full of Georgia, 48:42 and a part of North Carolina. 48:45 Umm! So it's a big area. 48:47 It's a big area and we've done... 48:50 And then they said to me: "Listen... sorry... 48:53 we are a little bit behind. There's one year that we 48:57 are behind in our auditing services 49:01 when we started there because of the chaps that got us... " 49:06 So they said: "Sorry... " And in the first year 49:10 we made up everything in that auditing that was behind 49:14 and we told them: "It's up-to-date now. " 49:18 And so from there on... That is good to hear! 49:20 You know, you must have worked very hard. 49:23 Yes! And every month we had to report to them 49:28 what we did. Uh-huh. And they wanted a meeting 49:31 to ask him how... Yeah, that's right. 49:33 They asked me... I had to go to the executive commtitee 49:38 once a year. And the treasurer was very good with me. 49:44 He liked me very much. 49:47 And he said to me: "Can you tell us 49:49 do you have any problems... any problems there? " 49:53 I said: "Yes I do. " I said: "I'm very happy but I do 49:57 have a problem. " He said: "What's that problem? " 50:00 I said: "The problem is I cannot speak Hispanic. 50:03 The Hispanic people don't understand me 50:06 and vice versa. We don't understand each other. " 50:10 And they didn't understand Afrikaans! No! 50:12 No. You see, what happened there in the country is a lot of 50:17 these Hispanic people came over and work on the farms there. 50:22 Uh-huh. And then the Adventist part of that 50:26 is that they are there and they don't learn 50:32 the English language you see. 50:35 And so I said: "Look, this is my problem. 50:38 I don't understand Hispanic and the Hispanics don't 50:40 understand me. And they laughed about it 50:43 and they said: "No, you are very right. " And there was a guy 50:46 in the church there at the university - 50:50 right next to the university there is a church there, 50:53 a Hispanic church. And I said to them: "Listen, 50:57 there is a person there that we know is very good " 51:02 He said: "Very well-spoken. English speaking 51:05 but he's Hispanic too. 51:07 And what about us having him... " 51:10 because he was all retired sort of. 51:13 "What about him? Can't we teach him what to do? " 51:16 He says: "You've got him already! " 51:19 Right there at the executive committee they said: 51:23 "You've got him already! 51:24 He's part and possible of you people. " 51:27 And we trained him and he did our Hispanic churches. 51:32 There are thirty four of them. Thirty four! Umm! 51:34 Thirty four Hispanic churches. You know, I'm just thinking: 51:37 so once you got everything up to date they said bye bye to you? 51:41 How many years did you work there? 51:43 We worked for 15 years there. 51:46 Fifteen years! Together? Yeah, together. 51:48 Together. And then I told them: 51:52 "It's time for me to retire too. " 51:56 And of course... They were very happy for that? 51:58 Oh no. I walked off one morning... 52:02 I went to the treasurer's office and I wanted to speak 52:06 to him about something. And I knocked at his door. 52:09 He looked up and he said: "You can come in 52:12 if you... on one condition: you decide to stay longer. " 52:18 We were sixty-nine already, you know, and we thought" - 52:21 sixty-nine, yes, yes - "it's time to retire. " 52:23 Time to retire, you know. 52:25 Well, I can tell you: your story, their story, has been 52:28 a real amazement that God has led them in this way. 52:31 And I'm sure that you would be thinking the same thing. 52:35 You can see how God has led up until the age of 69. 52:39 We're just going to take a break for a moment. 52:41 We're going to have our details on the screen. 52:44 3ABN is a faith-based ministry and it relies upon 52:47 people like you to keep this ministry going. 52:49 If you want to support us OR if you want to 52:53 get in touch with Cornelius or Ulna about things that 52:57 they have said you can do so at this address: 53:04 If you would like to contact 3ABN Australia 53:07 you may do so in the following ways: 53:55 Thank you for all you do 53:56 to help us light the world with the glory of God's truth. 54:02 I hope you wrote those details down because we love to hear 54:05 from you... so contact us so that we can hear 54:08 how you are going and how much you enjoy the programs. 54:10 I know a lot of people enjoyed listening or 54:13 watching this program because they tell us they love listening 54:16 to peoples' stories. And we are talking with 54:19 Cornelius and Ulna Keet 54:21 from South Africa, USA, and now we're up to the point 54:25 that you were just retiring. We've only got a little bit of 54:28 time left unfortunately because I know there's a lot 54:31 more story. What did you do when you retired? 54:33 Did you... obviously you didn't stay in the US. 54:36 No, I talked to my son that's here. 54:40 He's here. He's an Australian citizen. 54:42 I said to him: "We're going to retire now. " 54:45 He says: "On one condition: you are not going to stay 54:48 in South Africa... you are coming over here. " 54:51 And he applied for us 54:53 and we are here in Australia at this point. 54:57 So it's really amazing, isn't it? 54:59 You've lived in Africa, America, and now you're in Australia. 55:05 I became an American citizen on top of that. OK! Umm! 55:09 OK. So after being there for 15 years I think you're 55:13 probably entitled. You know as we've listened to your story 55:16 I'm sure there's some young people out there deciding: 55:18 "Do we follow God or not? " 55:20 You know, Cornelius, what would you say 55:22 to the folk out there or even older ones 55:24 about shifting to another... What would you say to them? 55:27 I would say to them: "Make God your first person 55:32 in your life... your first God in your life. 55:36 He is the One that will lead you all the way. " 55:42 He will lead you in amazing ways! Yes! 55:44 As your testimony has told us. 55:47 It is just... I have never ever... 55:50 I will never ever look back again. 55:52 And Ulna, what about you? What would you say to the 55:54 people out there? I would tell them to... 55:55 really to hang onto God. 56:00 Look what He's done for us. Look what my husband 56:03 went through, and look how He led us. 56:05 He is just fantastic really. 56:08 I don't know how we can ever ever leave Him. 56:13 Really, He was just amazing to us. 56:16 I know that the story of how you got to Australia 56:19 was just as amazing as what happened when you 56:21 went to the US, but unfortu- nately we haven't got the time 56:24 to talk about it. But God has continued to lead. 56:27 That's right... that's right. And the other thing 56:29 I want to say, too, is that you know God... 56:31 It's not just about living here, is it Cornelius and Ulna? 56:34 No. God is offering us something more precious. 56:37 Oh yes. What is that, Ulna? What is God offering us 56:40 if we remain faithful to Him? 56:41 Yes! When He comes, He'll take us with Him. 56:45 That's what it is... that's what I'm looking forward... 56:48 He is blessing you every day with good health 56:51 and other things in this life 56:54 and protect you from all your... 56:57 He's really very good to us really. 56:59 And I... Every time I pray "Help me to be ready; 57:04 take my hand and lead me. " 57:05 Because I want to be ready when He comes on the clouds 57:09 of heaven and I want my family also to be ready. 57:12 That's right! That's right! 57:13 James 1:17 says: "Every good gift, 57:16 every perfect gift, is from above. " 57:19 That's right. "Cometh down from the Father of life 57:22 with whom is no variableness 57:24 neither shadow of turning. " God does not change. 57:27 He blesses. No, He does not change. That's right. 57:29 We just need to stand in that blessing. That's right. 57:31 That's right. There's no other God like this one. 57:34 Amen! That's a good thought to finish on: 57:36 there's no other God. And you know, until we meet you 57:39 next time remember: God is willing to lead 57:42 but we have to be willing to ask Him. 57:44 So God bless you till next time. Amen! |
Revised 2021-04-27