Hi Friends and Family, thank you very much for your continued support for our family and ministry. Our hearts are full of praise to God, for His goodness towards us. We are grateful for His provision and protection. We are also grateful for you who stand with us and pray for our family and ministry.
We have recently moved from Camp Eden to live in Heidelberg. As I write, we have been here almost a week. We are slowly beginning to feel at home as we unpack the boxes and get to know our new surroundings. We are grateful to God for this place and we pray that He will give us opportunities to advance His Kingdom.
School
We decided to keep Ndumiso at home and to continue with remote learning. We felt this will work better for our family as we are adjusting to our new home and getting ready to host our Youth Workers in November. He is a little bit behind, as we lost some time during the move but he is doing well.
Ministry Opportunities
No doubt or denying that this has been a different year. Covid19 affected all plans and programs. With Youth Groups closed due to Covid19 restrictions, all our youth workers had to be creative in order to serve the youth of their church and communities. Here is some feedback from them.
Innocent - Villiersdorp, Western Cape
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| Innocent teaching in a school before Corona |
Because not all communities have equal access to the internet, it was hard for Innocent to do online youth group or devotions. Praise God for his mentor who let him stay at his house (outside the township) so that he can join us in classes. As restrictions were loosened, Innocent was able to gather a small group. He is taking them through the Alpha course. He is finding that the youth are hungry for the Word.
Sheldon - Salt River, Cape Town
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| Sheldon and the men he ministers with and to |
From when I applied to
do J-Life the aim was to move in and serve at Beth Uriel. Beth Uriel, “House of
Light”, aims to provide young men from impoverished communities the chance to
pursue meaningful, independent lives through a supportive living environment,
connections to educational opportunities, positive social alternatives and life
skill training.
Although I was nervous taking this big step, I have been comforted by seeing God’s hand on this home and seeing Him work in the lives of these boys. In doing life with these guys and hearing their stories, God has grown my heart and filled it with so much compassion towards them. I’ve grown to love these boys and I am hopeful for the bright future that each of these boys have ahead of them.
My hope is that all the boys that haven’t made the decision to follow Jesus will come to know the love that God has for them and that we will continue to grow closer as a family that serves God. My hope is that we will be the house of light.
Sam and Mekhail - Waterkloof, Pretoria
During Level 3 lockdown our team of youth workers were able to help out at Hatfield Christian School. Our sole purpose for working here is to help the teachers and lighten their load a bit. We do this by making them
decent coffee, helping with break duties and ensuring physical distancing as kids leave after school. I have helped out in
some classes because my passion is to teach children and I've had the privilege
to observe and help out in classes while being at the school.
Tim - Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg
Lock down brought its challenges, but we decided to use this opportunity to have youth devotions 3 times a week, and then have youth on Friday evening all over Zoom. I was able to do a series on the Armor of God as well as a series on Joy! It's been great to watch the youth be willing to do devotions and get involved more than they used to. We got involved and did an online treasure hunt with the church.
We will share stories from the other interns in our next update.
Intensive
Lockdown and travel restrictions meant we move our second intensive online. We had lectures, bible studies, devotions and prayer meetings online. We learnt to keep in touch and journey with each other from a distance. With inter provincial travel opened we plan to have an in person intensive 13 -28 November. We look forward to this time of fellowship, to build and encourage one another. We will make an effort to put boundaries in place and take precautionary measures to ensure everyone's safety.
At the end of a tough year like this, we want to create an environment for the youth workers to get away, relax, reflect and get spiritual input.
Prayer Points:
Pray for us as we settle in our new home, that we may be light and salt in this community
Pray for the upcoming training intensive
Pray for wisdom as we plan for 2021
Pray for 2021 Youth Workers intake
