First Intensive

Home front

Its March already, where did the time GO!?!

As a family we are grateful to God for the countless opportunities He gives us to serve him by walking alongside young people. There is something about working with young people that revives your HOPE. When you see the talent, gifts, heart and potential these passionate young people have, you see a better tomorrow. We are also VERY grateful to you who support and pray for us. May the Lord bless you.

We are also grateful to the Lord for good health that allowed us to serve without any hiccups during this season. The boys are doing well.

A Community of Christ Followers... or A Bunch of Disciples

On the 11^th of January we welcomed 10 J-Life Trainees on our GC2 Internship (GC2 = Great Commandment and Great Commission) and 3 Semester Abroad Students from Bethel University. Over the next 6 weeks this group of young people lived together at Camp Eden, our training centre.

Youth Workers

Of the 10 Youth Workers we had on our first training intensive,  8 are committed to finishing the year with us. The other 2 will serve at their churches and be involved in other internships throughout the year. The J-Life 2020 community was blessed to be part of Jordan and Mika's journeys, we wish them all the best on the rest of their Gap Year journey.

Please pray that we will have discernment and wisdom as we journey with our 8 Youth Workers. We realise that all of them are unique and at different stages of their journey, we need to meet each of them where they are. Pray also that the churches where they will be serving will provide a conducive environment for them to serve and grow.

Semester Abroad Students

This year we hosted our fourth Semester Abroad group of students from Bethel University in Indiana, USA. Bethel University has sent us a group every 2 years since 2014. The students spend their first month in South Africa being part our youth workers training programme participating in group devotion, prayer and selected classes. We also set time aside for them to read, learn a local language, write and submit assignments.  These 3 will spend the rest of their time in South Africa doing ministry in various communities in Cape Town.

Scripture Union

Between Bronwyn Sherry and Peter Nuttall our trainees received 5 days of Scripture Union training for Children and Youth Ministry. For nearly 100 years Scripture Union has been at the forefront of bringing transformation in the lives of young people reaching them through Schools ministry, Holiday Bible clubs and Camps. J-Life partners with SU to bring this training to our trainees. The training given will enable our interns to run School Christian Groups and present life skills lessons in schools. They also have the tools to plan and run a Holiday Bible Club for kids in their community.

Schools Ministry

After receiving training from Scripture Union armed with Lesson Plans from Ergo NowGen (ergonowgen.com) we took them to 2 different high schools in Balfour where they got to teach Life Skill lessons to Grade 8. It was beautiful to see them put into practise what they learnt. After teaching a class they got feedback from J-Life staff who went into the classes as observers.

J-Life Summit

J-Life Leaders and ministry partners

J-Life leaders from across the continent came together in Cape Town, South Africa to launch Vision 2030. We are all excited to see what the Lord will do through this movement in the next 10 years.  During the Summit we had time to set goals for our specific regions that will contribute to realising Vision 2030. We all went back home with a fresh commitment to making disciples who will make disciples who will make disciples. Please pray that these man and women will communicate this vision with clarity to their national teams and equip them for implementation.

I, Bhuti, attended the Regional Directors meeting (before and after the summit) where we planned on how we are going to implement this vision and track the fruits through accountability measures. Pray that we have wisdom to help country leaders stay on course through our coaching and accountability.


Extra Pictures:

Ministry Update

Home front

The Kheswa household has been very busy this year. Two kids will do that!
Ndumiso had a good year at school. This was his Grade R year, next year he proceeds to Grade 1. With school and friends come other things like birthday parties, parent-teacher meetings and school fuctions. All new things for us.

Ntando had his first birthday in September. We can’t believe how fast time has gone by. He started walking soon after, which meant being able to explore even more. Toddlers are inadvertently always doing things that could kill them. So this keeps us (especially Jann) busy. It has been quite a challenge trying to balance work and home life.

We are grateful to God for providing for our family in countless ways. Our boys are a great joy to us and many others.

Youth Workers

We recently took our 2019 batch of youth workers on a year-end retreat and listened to stories of how God has worked in and through them in their respective churches and communities. One joy of this ministry that never gets old, is witnessing the growth that takes place in the lives of the trainees and how it shapes them for the future. Our biggest prayer is that they will catch a heart for disciplemaking and be equipped to live out their calling in every sphere of life.

All of this year’s trainees had as one of their highlights: Discipling the next generation. They had lots of highlights and lessons, but being able to invest in someone else was a common highlight. We met some of their disciples on STeM, our annual Short Term Mission, when our interns bring some of the youth they are working with.  

GC² Group

Early this year we started a journey with Kingdom Come Church in Evander to train and equip their ministry leaders to implement a disciple making strategy in all their ministries. The lead pastor has a heart for holistic disciplemaking and is making every effort to equip and empower those God has entrusted to him. We have only done the first of 4 modules with this group and we are excited to see what God will do as we walk alongside them.

Zimbabwe

For Munya and the team in Zimbabwe the political climate and its accompanying economic issues  have made it difficult to travel and train across the country. This external factor led to a shift in focus. Munya sees these challenging times as an opportunity for him and the other movement builders to focus locally and establish model ministries. This means helping a local church implement a disciplemaking strategy.
In spite of these challenges, God has also provided genuine opportunities for the expansion of the movement into new areas.

Please pray for the nation of Zimbabwe to get through these economic hard times.

Mozambique

I (Bhuti) got to travel to Mozambique for their first ever J-Life National Summit. I stayed with Chico (J-Life Mozambique director) and his family. We had great time connecting in his context, which helped me understand work on the ground a little bit more than just reading reports. During the 2 day Summit I got to meet a lot of his team. The aim of the Summit was to encourage J-Life trainers to mobilise disciple making movements in their different regions. We spent time going over the terminology, internal processes, our disciplemaking curriculum and tools so that everyone is on the same page.

Partner visits

We personally hosted a group of youth from Waterbrook Bible Fellowship at Camp Eden. We had a great time with them. They were very eager to learn about South Africa – our history and its continued impact on our lives today. They spent some time serving in Ratanda, Ext 23 with our good friends, the Khubekas.

I also assisted with the visits from Hopewell Reformed Church to Cape Town, River City Community Church and their medical mission in Nigeria with Emem and Grace Community Church to the J-Life Centre with Joe.

In the new year we are hoping to establish a few more steady partnerships between a partner church and a J-Life country. Please contact me if you are interested in getting involved.

Thank you for all the support and prayers throughout 2019, looking forward to co-laboring in 2020.  

Ministry Update

Home Front

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. Ndumiso is doing well in school and mostly enjoys it except the waking up part. Ntando is just over 10 months old, he is very busy and bum shuffles across the house.


GC2 Group

Jann leading a session in Secunda.

After a long time of planning and journeying with pastor Tloome of Kingdom Come Ministries in Secunda, we finally got started on training. Over the next two years we will be journeying with these leaders through the J-Life training modules and coaching them for implementation. This process will include discipling these leaders and helping them make the necessary paradigm shifts in order to create a disciplemaking movement. Please pray that this training will help them in becoming a disciplemaking church.


GC2 Internship 2019

J-Life Trainees outside Mandela house in Soweto

The Internship is going well. We have the smallest group we have ever had on our Gap Year Programme since 2001 when it started. But it has turned out to be one of the best groups we've had. Most of our trainees this year serve in churches that are supportive and are being discipled by people who share our heart of discipleship.

Kids Camp 2019

On their second training intensive they got trained on camping ministry, by trainers from Scripture Union. The facilitators taught them how to plan and run a camp and helped them put together a programme for a camp. The trainees did a great job running a camp for 40 kids from surrounding communities. It was great to see them love on the kids and go an extra mile to give the kids a good time. Please pray that making disciples will become part of their life-style not just a Gap Year thing. 

Scripture Union South Africa offers brilliant training for Kids Ministry, Holiday Bible Club and Schools ministry. Visit www.su.org.za for more information about this ministry.

Looking ahead

Please join us in prayer for the following:

• We are hosting a missions group from Wylie,Texas 27 July - 2 August
• Promoting J-Life at Amplify Conference. Pray for significant connections 30 - 31 July
• Training Treverton Gap Year students 12 - 13 August
• Bhuti traveling to Mozambique 27 August - 02 September
• J-Life Mozambique National Summit 31 August - 01 September
• Marketing and recruiting for GC2 Internship 2020

Thanksgiving

Our friends in the United States of America have a beautiful tradition of dedicating the 3rd Thursday in November as "Thanksgiving Day". And yes, just like every beautiful tradition, it gets over taken by other secondary activities i.e. Food, Football, Baseball, shopping etc.

As a family this year we are importing this practice. In November 2018 we certainly have a lot to be thankful for.

We are thankful for a healthy pregnancy.
We are thankful to the Lord for the birth and health of our son Ntando.
We are thankful for the healing and comfort from the Lord.
We are thankful that even in difficult moments the Lord is with us.
We are thankful for the fellowship of our community and family.

The last few months have been a mixture of emotions for us. Our joy of expecting our son was constantly interrupted by our grief. We had to revisit our loss, and we marvel at the healing that has taken place. We were able to have conversations about our fears and trust that the Lord will take us through. We are grateful that we serve a God who is always with us. We knew His presence and protection throughout this journey.

We are thankful to have a healthy baby. And believe me, everyday is like a milestone in our house. We have learnt to appreciate life, every minute is a blessing.

Ndumiso's first year of school has gone really well. The teachers are happy with his progress and he is doing well in class. He turned 5 on the 23rd of November and he performed in a school concert on the night of his birthday. He is enjoying having a younger brother and is very protective of him.

Some of the ministry update...

Youth Workers

In September/October we had our third and final intensive training with the Youth Workers. As part of this intensive they received training on how to organise and run a mission trip as a disciplemaking tool. They then went on a mission trip to Tsakane and served the local church and community.

Short Term Internship

From June to July we had 3 young people join us for our Short Term Internship (known as the 6 Weeks Programme). Participants get the J-Life disciple-makers training as well as hands on ministry as they run a camp for kids, holiday bible club and help as cabin counsellors at a sports camp for teenagers.

This is what Yadah one of the interns this year had to say about the programme:

My highlight from the 6-week internship was how God was freely able to use me in other people's lives. The entire internship taught me to love Christ and love people. He really highlighted the fact that life is not just about yourself and what you go through but that there are others that need to experience that same love that you are running after. Sometimes the only way people will experience the love of God is through you, therefore, it is not good to neglect the people that you encounter on a daily basis. It really challenged my priorities in life. Before I did the internship my mind was career based, but the internship highlighted a burden for vulnerable people which made me decide to not only pursue a career but also to be a person that makes a difference in the lives of people wherever I am.


Visiting Team

I, Jann, continue to enjoy serving J-Life Africa by helping our country leaders prepare and host teams. Our visiting teams are from partnering churches and/or organisations, and a crucial part of supporting and advancing the work of mobilising disciplemaking movements in Africa. We hosted two groups here at Camp Eden, one from Wylie, Texas and another from Urban Saints in the UK.
Cameroon and Zambia are due to have visiting teams early in the new year. Please pray that these will bear much fruit for everyone involved.

Regional Director

I, Bhuti, have continued to grow in my understanding of this role, also in supporting and holding my brothers accountable. This year Zimbabwe was added as another country I will be responsible for. Munya Takawira is the Country Leader for Zimbabwe. In this role I am coaching Chico, J-Life Mozambique and Munya of J-life Zimbabwe. Please pray for wisdom.  

Thank you for supporting our family and ministry. Please continue to lift us up in your prayers and let us know if you have any specific prayer request.

Ministry Updates, July

Home Front

June was busy month for the Kheswas. Bhuti took on his fifth Comrades Marathon this year and finished in a time of 10h17m. If you are not familiar with the Comrades, it's an ultra marathon between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. This year the course distance was 90km (56 miles). Bhuti had an injury in the last 6 weeks leading up to the race but was able to recover from that and participate. He and his brother enjoyed spending the time together as they travelled down and spent the weekend there.

Unfortunately, with the cold weather comes colds and flu. I (Jann) had a bout of bronchitis and was booked off for about 10 days. I have fully recovered now for which I am grateful. Ndumiso has had his share of sniffing but nothing serious. Towards the end of the school term we were invited to visit with his teachers to see the progress he's made. Most of them said "He's a busy boy" but very eager to learn and really enjoying the environment. We are very grateful for the privilege of having him attend the Silveroaks Montessori and the excellent foundation it is giving him.

Ministry Front

Our Gap Year Interns and Short Term Interns

At the beginning of June, our 7 youth workers returned to Camp Eden for their second training intensive. It was amazing to witness the growth that has occurred as they serve in their respective churches. They shared the highs and lows of serving as a youth ministry intern. Nothing grows a young person more than active involvement at the local church and intentional guidance of a Youth Pastor/Mentor or Overseer. The 3 weeks training intensive allowed us to journey further with each of them.

Some of the highlights were:

Teaching on counselling

Sifiso training the J-Life Trainees and some of his leaders

Sifiso Nkosi, one of the J-Life interns from 2009 who is currently a Therapist at a school and Youth Pastor, was really excited with this opportunity to equip this year’s group. It was good to have him share from his experiences, both in youth ministry and as a therapist in a school. He covered basic counselling skills the interns can use as they disciple young people. They definitely benefitted from their time with him.

Kids Camp 2018

Kids Camp 2018

Each year the group of interns plan and run a camp for underprivileged kids as part of their practical ministry training. This year, for the first time, we had to actively raise money for the camp and we saw God provide wonderfully.  The group did a great job of putting the weekend together after receiving training from Scripture Union on Camping Ministry. We had 82 excited kids here from 4 different communities in the Heidelberg/Balfour area and they all had an awesome time.

This year, for the first time we have a young Congolese lady from Joburg join us on our Short term intensive, Yadah. When Bhuti and Thabo were fetching kids for camp, they were told by Juanita of Shalom home that she had invited kids from another group since she had been given space for more kids than she could send. (This was an oversight on our part as we had forgotten to change that on the letter to her. We were surprised when she said there were 22 kids!) Juanita was having car trouble and wasn't able to collect the other group so Bhuti followed her to where the kids were waiting with their pastor. Their pastor is Gilbert from the DRC who works as a car guard at the church Bhuti and I attend. He pastors a group of Congolese living in Heidelberg. The kids do speak English but are native French speakers. Two teenage girls came along with them to help with translation but God had already provided that since Yadah is here! Isn't He just incredible!!!

Short Term Internship

Yadah, Bhuti, Ndumiso, Ramontho and Wesley.

This year we have 3 young adults in our Short Term Internship. This is a 6 Weeks programme for young people who want to grow as a disciple as well as be equipped to make disciples. They are from completely different backgrounds. Yadah is a South African of Congolese descent, Ramontho is South African and Wes is an American. This makes for a very diverse small community. We are all learning a lot from each other. They are halfway through their programme. This week they are serving at sports camp as counsellors. PLEASE pray that will grow as followers of Christ and be equipped to make disciples.

Latest Update

On the Home front

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 grateful also for you who stand with us, pray for our family and ministry. We were blessed with an opening for Ndumiso in the school we originally registered him at (he was on their waiting list). He is loving it and learning a lot. We are excited for the busy season of investing in the lives of young leaders. Please pray for us as we disciple and guide these youngsters to become all God intended them to be.

Training the Church to Make Disciples

On the 14^th of April, I got to do training with the Leadership of various ministries (e.g. Sunday school, Youth Ministry, woman’s ministry, outreach team, senior leadership of the church etc.) at Evander. This was to be an introductory training to launch the 4 Module training journey with the church. Over the next 18 months I will be training these leaders as well as coaching them to implement a disciple making strategy for their respective ministries. As part of this journey participants are required to pass this training to the second generation of leaders within their ministries.  Please pray for this journey. We will be doing the first module over two Saturdays, 23 June and 30 June.

Youth Workers

Our Youth Workers return tonight for their second intensive training of the year, which starts tomorrow 1^st June until the 22^nd June. This is a time for them to reflect on almost half the year and receive more training. It’s always good to see the growth that’s taken place and hear what they’ve been doing and challenged with. Please do pray that we wouldn’t be simply going through the paces but will have meaningful times of helping each other be more like Christ, reflecting his priorities for us as individuals and the ministries we and people we serve.

Short Term Internship

From the 10^th June we will welcome 4 more interns on our 6 Weeks programme, their first 12 days will overlap with the year-long interns. The focus of this internship is on becoming a disciple and making disciples. Together they will put together and run a camp for underprivileged kids from surrounding communities. Besides this, they will be part of Sports Camp for teenagers as camp counsellors and assist in running a Holiday Bible Club in a nearby community. Please pray that these interns will have a teachable spirit and that the program will have an impact in their heart.

Team changes

Since last year we have been undergoing a series of staff changes. Our latest additions to the team are Nicholas and Ashley Stock and their little Samuel. Nicholas has been working with us since January and Ashley joined at the end of April after having been on maternity leave. We are grateful for them and the value they add. Please do pray for them as they are discovering their place, learning how the community functions and fundraising to meet personal and ministry needs.

Additional Prayer Points

• Open doors to new churches
• Wisdom for discipling and coaching our youth workers
• Good health for our family

First Training Intensive

Ezasedladleni

A big thank you to our friends and family who support, encourage and keep us in their prayers. The year started well for us, with good health and lots of ministry opportunities. We had a good break over the Christmas holiday and were refreshed to start with a new bunch of trainees. Ndumiso started attending a play school and is taking a long time getting used to going to school but he loves it when he is there. This week he has been home nursing bronchitis, doctors orders. He is doing better. Please pray for complete healing and no recurrence.  

On the 10th of January we started training with our 2018 intake of Youth Workers and Bethel Semester Abroad students. This training intensive is 6 weeks long and lasted until 20 February. The participants spent 6 weeks learning to be disciples, live like disciples and make disciples. It is such an honour and privilege for us to disciple and equip them to make disciples. We aim to model and instil the character and priorities of Jesus for life and ministry. Having these two groups with us at the same time gave us such rich, inspiring and diverse community.

Youth Workers

In our year long ministry training and personal discipleship programme we have 7 interns for 2018. We partner with their local churches to disciple and train them. J-Life provides ministry training and coaching to these young adults for a disciple making life-style in 3 training intensives throughout the year. Between the training intensives they serve as interns at their local churches. Back in their church they will be discipled and disciple others as they grow in the spiritual walk with God.


Bethel Semester Abroad

This year we are hosting a third group for the Bethel Semester Abroad programme. These are college students from Bethel College in Indiana, USA. J-Life and Camp Eden acts as home base for them, from which they get to experience a variety of different ministry and cultural settings. They spent the first 5 weeks of their 3 months stay being trained alongside the Youth Worker. Because they are college students they spend some of the time studying and writing assignments.


Scripture Union

We took the 7 Youth Workers down to Underberg for a week of training with Scripture Union. Over the years we have had SU's trainers come up here and train our Youth Worker for Schools and Childrens Ministry. This year we joined them at their #CountMeIn volunteers training. Along with Scripture Union volunteers, our Youth Workers were trained in Children and Schools ministry. Scripture Union has a rich history of being active in schools as well as running excellent Holiday Bible Clubs. The training given will enable our interns to run School Christian Groups and present life skills lessons in schools. They also have the tools to plan and run a Holiday Bible Club for kids in their community.

Schools Ministry

The trainees got to put to practice their teaching skills in 2 High Schools where they got to teach Grade 8 and 9 classes. The lifeskills lessons they presented are part of what ErgoNowLead offers to churches as a means of impacting schools in their communities. For more info visit their website here

GC2 Group

We started a journey with Pastors and ministry leaders from Siyathemba to train and coach them for disciple making. This is particularly exciting to me as I get to train in my home town. Over the years it has been difficult to start a GC2 Group (Great Commission and Great Commandment) in my home town. We just completed our first of 4 Modules with these key leaders and we will embark on the journey of coaching for implementation over the next 3-4 months. Please pray that all those who have been trained will be able to implement disciple making strategy at their church. Please pray for a paradigm shift in methods and message.