Good morning everybody!
I am writing this from the Hole in the Wall Hotel where we are spending the weekend with a prayer team from Global Challenge in Jeffreys bay. We spent yesterday visiting all our Transkei workers, having a brief look at what they are doing, and introducing the visitors to our work. It was a hectic day of traveling and meeting with everybody, but really significant with some wonderful developments flowing from this visit and by faith more to follow. We will have the feedback (for some it may even feel like a debriefing🤔☺) session later this afternoon.
Carina and I will stay on here for a further four days to bless two of the Leadership experience staff with a few days away from their long lockdown situation. We are also going to spend a day in 2021 plans, listening for the Lord’s priorities. I will visit some local friends with the purpose of possibly sending some post matric boys to them for a discipleship year.
Kwanele: Three of our older Aftercare children (now aged out of the Aftercare) was also at the Canzibe visit. These boys have family that has mostly abandoned them over the past sixteen years. Especially Kwanele, the oldest at 19, is vulnerable and in need of a stable home until he joins our training partners, Leadership Experience, in Jeffreys bay in March 2021.
After SA lockdown:
Our teachers and youth workers at each of the three communities we are serving around here expected a significant drop in attendance of the education center and group meetings but the opposite happened.
Our Aftercares, the pre-school and each Discovery Bible study group is actually blooming now. Due to COVID restrictions, the Aftercares and pre-school staff have instituted staggered attendance where children from different grades attend on alternating days.
Discovery Bible Studies (DBS):
Our young men have a really challenging task of reaching and discipling young Xhosa men and boys. Since lockdown, it seems that in Canzibe, Tami and Siphelele have managed to get together some young men. There is a twice-weekly Discovery Bible study taking place in their rondavel and the men are eager to attend, reminding them of the upcoming meetings. Please pray for these young men and boys’ hearts to be captivated by the living Word – Jesus himself.
In Mpimbo and Nomadolo as well as Port Alfred, these groups are now finding momentum. Sandile in Port Alfred was challenged by our AFC partner to use three possible passages with a clear salvation challenge in its obedience response, for DBS. At the first meeting after this and using such a passage as content, four of the young men Sandile’s been walking with for the past year committed their lives to Jesus.
Adopt a Village:
This partnership we have with Africa for Christ and One Life is now in it’s third year with a third group of students (pastors and spiritual workers) being trained to plant simple churches through Discovery Bible studies, Care for Orphans and Vulnerable children and do a simple community development project.
As part of this, we are now able to extend the 25:40 COVID food security program with a further three months of a twice-weekly soup and bread service to needy families at Nomadolo and Mpimbo. These families are also receiving a gift of seedlings to help sustain them. It is unfortunately very dry as rains have not yet started to fall in many areas of the Transkei and water is not easily accessible. The bread will be baked by local bakers who we are setting up with an oven and baking equipment for the development of small baking businesses. Yesterday we delivered four of these sets of equipment in Mpimbo, Nomadolo and Canzibe.
Zandile Mkwasi: Zandile, our first female Youth Leader or coach joined us at the end of July and has already started with two Discovery Bible study groups with girls in Nomadolo and the Aftercare there. She is fitting in very well with our staff there and enjoying her time with us.
Kairos course: Most of our staff together with Kwanele is going to do this course at a Missions Mobilizing conference this coming holiday week. Our heart’s desire is for each one to live with a clear vision of the Nations in need of Jesus and their purpose in this Great commission we have from Jesus.
Back In Jeffreys Bay, I was invited by the local Dutch Reformed Church Missions ministry to speak to the local Makokanya Primary School grade sevens at their annual Bible giving ceremony. Lokhanyo Fihla, an intern teacher at Global Leadership Academy in Jeffreys Bay, joined me and we challenged the kids to walk further in the Word and becoming wise people. They have responded so positively and we will now be meeting with them every Friday after school.
Prayer: Thank you to our God!
For the men of peace now entering DBS groups.
Zandile joining us and drawing young ladies.
Faithful intercessors willing to travel these tiring roads with us to and through the Transkei.
Faithful partners in this ministry sacrificially giving so that our work can continue.
We ask God for:
- Vulnerable children in deeply needy families to be comprehensively helped by our OVC coordinators and teachers
- new believers’ discipleship
- needy people in food programs to be satisfied and meet with Jesus through this
- faithful baking and building of businesses by bakers
- Most of our Grade R students must “graduate” in a month’s time – that the teaching will be really effective in this time
- Zandile to find her feet well and truly.
- Kwanele’s ability to cooperate and find a stable place for himself.