Childhood

I was born as the middle child of three in the small town of Fochville, South Africa. Having an older brother and a younger sister.

We moved frequently, resulting in my attendance at six different primary schools and one high school. At the age of eleven we moved to Cape Town, where I would spend most of my life.

At the age of fifteen, my parents divorced, which came as a big shock to me. I lived with my mother until I was nineteen, at which point I joined the navy and became an electronic warfare operator.

Married

During my years in the Navy, I met my wife. We were married for thirty-three years and had three wonderful boys. After seventeen years in the Navy, I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a software developer and transitioned to a career in information technology. We lived in the UK for four years, during which time our youngest son was born. Upon returning to South Africa, I started working for a software development company. Sixteen years later, I am still with the same company, now as a senior software developer, living my dream.

Five years after returning from the UK, tragedy struck our family when my middle son died in a car accident. This is something no parent can prepare for and should never have to endure. Without God in our lives, we would never have survived such an ordeal. Five years later, my mother passed away after a long struggle with cancer. Another five years after that, my wife succumbed to her own battle with cancer. These ten years were undoubtedly the most difficult of my life. In such times we as Christians are able to fall on our Lord for comfort and support.

“Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
‭‭Job‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Future

Today, nearly two years later, I am abundantly blessed beyond all expectations with the most wonderful woman a man could ever pray for. We are engaged to be married and, by the grace of God, strive to live a godly life that glorifies Him. I believe that the closer I draw to Him, the more He will bless our union. The future looks incredibly promising.

“And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
‭‭Job‬ ‭42‬:‭10‬ ‭KJV‬‬