RedeemedPioneer
I’m Lulu van Aswegen—a wife, mother, grandmother, and writer from Bloemfontein. Life, faith, and family inspire the reflections and short stories I share here. I write in English as RedeemedPioneer and in Afrikaans as VrygekoopteBaanbreker.
Explore, enjoy, and feel free to share your thoughts—I’m delighted to have you here!
RedeemedPioneer
JANEY, AN ABANDONED LITTLE MUTE GIRL
A flash fiction story inspired by Street Store, a ministry initiative whereby multiple local churches in various cities partner with each other to serve precious people within their most vulnerable communities.
PENNY, A DISTRAUGHT MATRIARCH
A flash fiction story inspired by Street Store, a ministry initiative whereby multiple local churches in various cities partner with each other to serve precious people within their most vulnerable communities.
DONALD, A MAN ON THE RUN
A flash fiction story inspired by Street Store, a ministry initiative whereby multiple local churches in various cities partner with each other to serve precious people within their most vulnerable communities.
A DANGEROUS DECLARATION
“Let there be love shared among us, let there be love in our eyes. May now Your love sweep this nation, cause us, oh Lord, to arise. Give us a fresh understanding of brotherly love that is real. Let there be love shared among us, let there be love.”
BIG FIVE LIFE LESSONS
My beloved granddaughter, EmilyBoo, is five years old today.
THIRTY NINE MONTHS
Today marks 39 months (3 years and 3 months) since Carli, my beloved daughter-in-love, passed away.
THE INTERVIEW
A short story, work of fiction.
HER WOULD HAVE BEEN 30TH BIRTHDAY ON THE 30TH
This year, all the babies born in 1995 turn 30 years old. Most of them will consider this birthday to be a magnificent milestone of maturity, almost like a rite of passage into the prime stage of their lives.
PURE & SIMPLE FAITH
Thirty years ago a toddler at the top of a staircase spotted his daddy standing at the bottom of the stairs. He grinned from ear to ear, because down there was his daddy – the strongest, smartest, bestest best daddy in the whole wide world.
TOSS THE TOTE & DITCH THE DUMPING
One of my dear friends recently made a visual representation of his own life in a grid of 7×10 blocks, which depicts a rough rounding of the estimated life expectancy of 70 years in South Africa.
PARK YOUR BUTT, GRAB AN OAR AND ROW!
A thirty-second wedding anniversary celebration
NOVEMBER 26
This is one of my favourite pictures of 7-year-old Jessica performing the song I LOVE YOU, LORD on the dining room table to an audience of friends and family.
I AM MOANA… IN POCAHONTAS
This reflection is a letter addressed to my granddaughter, Emily Hay, who recently took part in POCAHONTAS2024 presented by Elna van der Walt School of Ballet.
REJECTION : THE GAME IS ON
WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT….
FINALLY VAN ASWEGEN : BECOMING MR & MRS VAN ASWEGEN
The seven-year-old slammed the car door so violently that he attracted the attention of even the unsuspecting pedestrian passers by in the road outside the gate. They gawked in alarmed, stunned silence.














