New Year, New Ministry…
As you all know January has been our first month on our own, but it has not felt like it at all. God has been so gracious & blessed this new venture every step of the way.
Our 1st official day in the little hall was the 10th January & a young 18 year old, Keaghan, who has just finished school with the dream of eventually becoming a lawyer came to see us. From our point of view he has a long way to go but we also know that with God all things are possible. We managed to help him with the 1st baby steps, like a presentable CV, interview skills & he has now enrolled in a carpentry course so he can one day fund his studies. He has also asked for driving lessons…that should be interesting.
We have been very conscious about being busy for the sake of being busy, as we want to do what the Lord wills every step of the way. However, when you work amongst such poverty where people’s needs are so obvious it is difficult to not just get stuck in. Therefore we start everyday with prayer and are rather diligent about waiting on God’s guidance before just doing. We are joined most days by a group of 4 or 5 moms (as well as occasional dads) and have been sharing with them the love of Jesus and offering biblical principals to assist them in overcoming their problems.
As it stands we have started a homework club four afternoons a week where the kids have a dedicated safe place to complete their schoolwork under our supervision where we can help them. Many of our kids suffer from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome which makes it very hard to learn & retain information, so many of them have failed & are far behind. This causes many social problems as they don’t feel comfortable being in a class of 10 year olds when they are fifteen.
We have continued with the sports outreach, using sports as a vehicle to teach valuable life skills & bible teaching.
The area of ‘Klein Begin’ has a small crèche, which is in desperate need of assistance as many of the community children attend but only two or three of the parents pay the lady (Lettie) a very small fee to keep it going. We are currently assisting her to get funding & get the other parents on board, seeing the value that this brings. Lees also assists by running a biweekly O.T session where she not only identifies the children’s difficulties but also demonstrates appropriate teaching methods to the unqualified ‘teachers’ in getting children prepared for primary school.
Many of the people don’t even have ID documents & some don’t have birth certificates, which is a huge hindrance, as they can do nothing without these. Part of our work has been assisting those who have accepted the offer of help, (many have no hope at all for so long that they just don’t try anymore) in sorting out their personal documents & filling in the correct forms to get these people on the road to a brighter future….baby steps, but hugely important.
Testimonies
As you know we are running this work without any additional funding at the moment as we feel that being a presence in the community is what God wants & what we have to offer doesn’t cost anything, although there are a few things that do, but the Lord is placing people around us who want to help & give & its been very exciting watching how the Lord is working…
Five people including two school dropouts are waiting on the arrival of their ID docs so they can now pursue work.
2. A lady from FNB bank approached me in the parking lot & after a minute conversation she has requested a letter so they can help assist in any way.
3. Another gentleman who runs a new recycling ministry right next to the hall we are in, offered to buy us sports equipment off his own back & to help us draft funding letters to equip the Youth Centre.
4. After praying for one of the young moms to get her daughter back from the West Coast after her ex ‘kidnapped’ her, little Charnay has now arrived back home, & we are now looking at schools to enroll her.
5. The same mom whose boyfriend we have also been praying for has now asked her to marry him and we have been blessed to be able to speak into this, as they have four children to care for.
6. Charlie Bedford, a professional rugby player came up to run a sports club & brought us a bag of rugby equipment & is now helping get one of the young guys into a rugby academy for next year…watch this space…
7. Riaan, a former 7’s Springbok player also provided a bag full of rugby balls, & is assisting me in organizing a holiday camp in April to raise funds.
Looking forward to many more.
Lees is also running an aerobics session on Thursday evenings which is well attended. Fitness & well-being is one of the key areas that the community said was lacking in a recent survey they completed.
We have recently started our NewGen Church's DNA series as this is where we feel God has placed us & have been blessed with some amazing friends in the short time we have attended. The guys took me out surfing last week & I was in the water by 6:30….bbbrrrr….was exhausted by 8am & one of the guys saw a large fin about 50 meters out….Thankfully I was sitting on the beach by then enjoying the view.
The Life Group I lead on a Wednesday night is still going strong with all wanting to get involved in community work. Brenden, a local headmaster, has his Masters in Theology & Greek so we are soaking up his valuable teaching on The Word at the moment…very interesting.
Friday nights we co-run a Youth Group at one of the schools in town & the kids are loving it. Some amazing new people have come on board with a heart for kids & it’s going from strength to strength.
We just want to thank you all for your support & sticking with us. Please continue to pray for us and this work as that’s the best & most powerful thing we can offer these people.
All our love in Jesus
Daz, Lees & Seth xxx
