Until We Meet Again

By Dr. Eric Sandmann

LET GOD RESTORE YOU!

If you have suffered the loss of a loved one, especially a child, a brother, or a sister, then this is the book for you.

Until We Meet Again is the story of how God restored a family who lost a son, a brother and a husband, when he was murdered on his wedding night.

Dr. Eric Sandmann describes how God led him and his family, totally devastated by their loss, towards complete restoration. Today, he and his family are living testimony to the absolute power and goodness of God.

Things will look so different when you know that God not only can, but will see you and your loved ones through to victory! This happens when you just rest and allow Him to be the Daddy to you that He so desires to be.

Take this book to heart, read it, apply it to your situation, and receive God’s healing and deliverance!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973668756

Dr. Eric Sandmann

Dr. Eric Sandmann was born to Dutch parents in Sumatra, the Republic of Indonesia, in 1948. The whole family was forced to leave and start a new life in current Zimbabwe when he was 10 years old. He immigrated to South Africa in 1971 where he later obtained a Ph.D. in agriculture. He completed a long career in research and retired in 2012. For about the last 30 years, he has been ministering the Word of God to African communities part-time under the auspices of several churches in Pretoria, South Africa. Heather and Eric are both active members of the Bryanston Bible Church, Johannesburg, South Africa. For a while, Eric was Chairman of the Board of Hope 4 Healing Ministries in Johannesburg. Eric is happily married to Heather and they live in Pretoria, South Africa. Heather has been a speech and drama teacher for about 40 years and is passionate about children’s ministry, with which she has been involved for many years. They have two wonderful sons, Justin and Stephen, both married and living in Johannesburg.

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Copyright © 2019 Dr. Eric Sandmann.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scriptures Taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6874-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6873-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6875-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019909047

WestBow Press rev. date: 8/13/2019

This book is dedicated to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus, who performed an outstanding miracle with us as a family, and who commissioned me to write it To all those families who have lost a loved one, may these words allow you to receive God’s comfort and healing in abundance.

REVIEWS

M inistering into the lives of hurting people can become very discouraging and exhausting. However, my spirit and strength were energised and renewed as I encountered the Sandmann clan. What a joy and privilege to share with them in their moments of soul-destroying pain, right from when we arrived at the hospital at around 03:00 until today—witnessing their deeply embedded joy for God’s truth which has truly set them free and allows them to continue loving Mark through their most powerful and precious memories of his life. May their testimony become a source of much victory in the lives of many seeking to overcome their own personal grief through God’s truth—which Jesus promised would set us free. Praise God.

– Trevor Noyle, pastor at Hope 4 Healing Ministries, Johannesburg, South Africa

Not a day goes by in my life that I don’t think of the Sandmann family and ponder the depths of the tragedy that they have had to face together. I have been struck by their faith in a good God, their love for one another, and their commitment to blessing others who are suffering. Mark was an incredible man from an incredible family. He married an incredible bride and he worshipped an incredible God. It is this God who is the true hero of this story. I trust that you will be blessed, challenged, and encouraged as you read this book, as we have been blessed, challenged, and encouraged to walk this journey with the family.

– Ross Lester, lead pastor of Bryanston Bible Church,

Johannesburg, South Africa

"‘Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted’ (Matthew 5:4 KJV). Eric and Heather humbly received the promise of comfort in their mourning. They acted on the counsel given to them by the Holy Spirit and Trevor. In the face of experiencing the worst that could happen to a parent, Eric and Heather chose to believe they would see Mark in heaven—this is their comfort. In spite of the many questions they had, they continued their journey with God. Was it easy? No! It takes humbly receiving the grace of God to choose the way of Life, which allowed them to rise above the blame game, self-pity, and the victim mentality.

There is a different dynamic in the lives of Eric and Heather since Mark’s tragic departure. They are more rooted and more mature in their approach to life; they have grown in their walk of faith and have a deeply spiritual and infectious joy. Do they walk without sorrow? No! Sorrow still has its moments, but they walk with Jesus who promises comfort to those who mourn. Was it necessary to experience the adversity they experienced in order to become what they are today? No! Many experience such adversity and do not rise to the challenge to grow through it. Adversity does not change people; it is the positive or negative response to God in adversity that brings about the ensuing change.

Eric and Heather responded positively to God’s grace. They chose to believe that God is their Comforter and, as their Father, is still in control. Their whole being testifies of the love, joy, faith, and power of God which they have experienced in their relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit. Eric wrote this book as a testimony to God’s goodness. May it be a blessing and inspire many to have a journey of relationship with a loving God, whether or not they have experienced tragedy, trauma, and adversity."

– Hilda Shaw, Christian Ministry, Pretoria, South Africa

I’ve tried to do it but I can’t. It’s impossible for me to imagine how I would feel or respond if one of my children was torn from me like Mark was from the Sandmann family. I can only imagine this colossal hole filled with grief, rage, hatred, blame, and a burning desire for revenge. Not so with the Sandmanns. Instead there was and still is, through their unshakeable faith, a steady process of healing. Mark is gone from this earth. The Sandmanns will never miss him any less. But this amazing family is content in the knowledge that Mark sits at the table of the Lord in a far better place, and that when the day comes, they will be with him again.

– Carl Jeppe, family friend, Pretoria, South Africa

Although the tragedy of Mark’s death was not directly ours, to witness the raw pain and debilitating despair that the death of a child brings to a family is overwhelming. But to witness Eric and Heather’s total submission and their unfaltering faith in God, and then to witness them seeking the face of God despite their pain and anguish, and the Lord lifting them up and delivering them out of that darkness, can only be described as miraculous.

– Lynn Jeppe, family friend, Pretoria, South Africa

CONTENTS

Reviews

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1.     Nina, My Love

2.     The Unthinkable

3.     Spending Time with God

4.     The God of All Comfort

5.     Watch Your Thoughts and Your Words

6.     Grieving

7.     Ministering God’s Healing to Us the Broken-hearted

8.     Blaming and Not Forgiving

9.     The People in Our Lives

10.   Our Brothers from the Netherlands

11.   Until We Meet Again

Epilogue

Notes

How to Receive Jesus as Your Lord and Saviour

Guidelines for Spending Time with God

We Would Love to Hear from You

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

E lders and members of the Bryanston Bible Church, Johannesburg, South Africa, and especially Pastor Trevor Noyle and Sandy Sims (pastoral team)—you both opened up your arms, comforted our family in our grief, and allowed the power of God to flow through you and restore us. To you we are eternally grateful.

Our immediate families and friends who have been such a support to us—our victory is due to your prayers, love, and encouragement.

Nina, our daughter-in-law—you will always be our daughter—thank you for your love—love you always.

All those who have made the publication of this book possible—to you we are so grateful. You did it because you love Jesus.

My precious family, my wife Heather, and my sons Justin and Stephen—thank you for being part of such an awesome team—without each other, we would not have made it.

INTRODUCTION

A s we go through life, we become aware of people dying. Young children, parents, old people—we all succumb to the same fate. Since losing our son, we have become sensitive to others who have experienced a similar loss. We have taken special note of how these families or individuals are coping. We read articles about family members who are struggling with their loss, even years after the occurrence of a traumatic event. They seem to obtain no relief as they wait for closure that somehow seems to elude them. Others are eaten up from within and their outlook on life becomes twisted. Then there are those who go into complete denial, declaring that they are just fine and do not need any help. Regardless, one thing is for sure—there is a dire need for the full restoration of such traumatised people.

How are we going to get out of this terrible situation? One of life’s greatest revelations is that we cannot make it without God and His love and grace for us. We have to take ourselves out of our own keeping and entrust ourselves to God’s keeping. Then we will be set free. This is where the challenge lies—we tend to default towards trying to save ourselves through our own efforts. Only when we are exhausted by our futile