From South Africa to Saskatchewan: Carlyle's Full Gospel Church welcomes new pastor

             Pastor David Meisner, his wife Krista and their five children have recently moved to Caryle from South Africa, after nine years of living and serving in and around the city of Durban.  Pastor Meisner is now the minister at Carlyle's Full Gospel Church and says: “We've already felt really welcomed by the church here.”

            Both of the Meisners grew up in Saskatchewan - David grew up in Eston, while Krista grew up in the Trossachs-Pangman area. Their journey from South Africa to Saskatchewan ultimately began in 2009, when they moved to South Africa as missionaries.

            “We did a church plant there in Durban,” says Pastor David. “And we did much of our work with www.missionthando.com, which is a registered charity.'

            “'Thando' is the Zulu word for 'love' and our work there was about taking the love of Jesus Christ to the world.”

            “We ran feeding programs and after school programs there, as well as in other areas.” says Pastor David. “The church in Carlyle is one of the churches that supported us in our work there.” 

            “About a year ago, it was time to renew our (South African) visas,” he explains. “We prayed about it and decided not to renew them.”

            “We always had a heart for the people there, but we went to South Africa with the intention of helping the people there be all they can be. We started preparing them for running the church there and supporting them from here.”

            “We'd always intended for the church there to be self-sustaining,” he says. “But it was still a big step of faith for us to let go.”

            “But we knew that God wouldn't have us come all the way back to Canada for nothing,” he says. “We had a heart to return here to continue to have a ministry of some kind.”

            “My wife Krista had told me to get my resume ready, and the very next day, we received an email from Pastor Dan McNaughton, who had been here at the church in Carlyle.”

            “A few years ago, we'd been to Carlyle and we both felt something special, but we'd never really talked about it until this opportunity came up.”

            “Sunday, May 27 was my first week preaching here,” says Pastor David. “We got a really warm reception at the church and we had faith that they'd accepted us, too.”

            “In South Africa, a big part of what we do was reaching out to widows and orphans, but really, we accept all people, just as we are accepted wherever we go to serve the Lord.”

            “So I'd really like to welcome everyone to the church here in Carlyle,” he says. “We've really felt welcomed by the church here. They're great people and we look forward to working with them in the future.”

            “I don't know what God has in store for us here, but we're looking forward to living here - and we have a heart to help people in need in every community,” adds Pastor David. 

            “We hope to be here long-term and we're really looking forward to life here in Carlyle.”