AFRICA
Newsletter Archives
"Pure and undefiled religion before God is to visit strangers, orphans,
and
widows, in their struggles." James 1:27
- 2010 Recap
- October, 2010
- September, 2010
- July, 2010
- June, 2010
- April/May, 2010
- March, 2010
- January/February, 2010
- November, 2009
- August, 2009
- July, 2009
- June, 2009
- May, 2009
- April, 2009
- February, 2009
- December, 2008
- October, 2008
- Aug/Sept., 2008
- July, 2008
- June, 2008
- March, 2008
- January, 2008
-
October, 2007
2010 RECAP
The evidence of His faithfulness: Highlights-by no means have I listed everything…so much to praise Him for!
- Over 70 BIBLES Given Out Praise GOD!
- Open Air Evangelism, Hospital Visits, More than 50 Salvations & 23 Baptisms!
- New Life Church 85-120 attending on Sundays
- Moved into rented old tavern for $50 per month, which is now our new Church building, & we received a new roof AND electricity thanks to some generous locals!
- Babies Home now has indoor bathroom, with a toilet, tub, and sink!
- Huge Food Donation from a South African company, helps us provide dry food goods to the Children’s Home, Babies Shelter, orphans, and poorest families in our community feeding over 450 people monthly
- After School Program Awarded a train container for 2011 that will serve as our library and learning Centre!
- Taught 150 kids Christian Life Skills & Bible Class for 12 week course on Character Development at local school
- Hosted 47 kids on a 3 Day camp, over 180 kids enjoyed outings, Day Camp, and Sunday school classes
- Adults in the area took part in several Bible classes offered throughout the year, and more than 30 completed an 18 hour video training course and began establishing evangelism teams for hospital, prison, door to door, and open air ministries. The outreaches have brought new people to Christ and expanded God’s Kingdom.
- The Kids and I have begun a project with Animal Welfare to feed, flea dip, and care for starving dogs in our area
- All kids in our Babies Shelter tested HIV NEGATIVE-Miracles abound in our midst!
Testify to the Glory of The Lord: Be a living witness
Thulani, Winston, Siseko the lame shall walk! Thulani WAS paralyzed and laying in a hospital bed, we prayed for him and God healed him instantly! Winston walked with arm crutches for more than 10 years and at the end of his first Church service with us, God healed him completely and he now walks about 7km per day to work! Siseko had a terrible bone infection and surgery 2 years ago they put a steel rod on the exterior of his leg immobilizing his knee. His neighbor attends our little church and asked me to go pray for him at his shack. He began feeling stronger and walked to church several Sundays with his dog, and family. Last week, the infection had cleared and he had surgery to remove the steel bar attaching his upper and lower leg bone. Praise God, he walked out of the hospital normal and healed! Hallelujah!
I was sick last year, with high fever after returning from Uganda, felt it could be Malaria, but when we tested my blood it came back negative-God healed me!
Two young ladies were healed from being bed ridden to active and attending Church! -HIV, TB must GO in Jesus Name!
Many sick among you, but God is ABLE to DO Exceedingly, Abundantly ABOVE! He is our Healer and Deliverer!
Babies Home, caring for orphans and vulnerable children
Back to school time! Our four oldest children (ages 3-8) at the babies’ shelter, are all attending school now, and loving it! We are excited to now have a monthly sponsor of the $16 school fees for each of them! Preschool and elementary school have proven very exciting for the kids and we are trying to get them all school back packs, lunch boxes, clothes and shoes. Please help us with even a small donation of $25 or more so we can get them well equipped for school! Many of our Qolweni kids, who are among the poorest of the poor, are also in need of school uniforms and supplies. Three kids received new school shoes last week.
Orphan Care & Support
Masizame Children’s Home now has 28 resident children and the new bus driver is a lay preacher, PRAISE THE LORD! He and I spoke after church last week about doing youth services at the children’s home twice per month and building up a Children’s choir there in Kwanokuthula township. We will also plan VBS during the school holidays and watch as God uses these kids to evangelize their community with praise and worship!
After School Program and Feeding the Poor
God has provided for all of our needs, hallelujah! More than 70 kids are registered now with our After School Program and we feed them at the end of the day. Abundant blessings to the donors who gave so generously last month, and may God richly bless you. Thank you for making this mission POSSIBLE!
On Friday, more than 75 kids at the after school program received little bags or cases with pens, crayons, rulers, glue, and pencils. We have about 20 kids still in need of shoes, socks, or uniforms, but hope to get them soon. Funny to watch how nothing goes to waste here, and at the end of the day every creature rejoices at the Lord’s provision! As the kids eat their sandwiches and drop little crumbs of bread, chickens quickly scurry around eating every bit, both inside and outside the Church. 28 families received food parcels this month.
God is so good! Chief gives land to build a NEW Church in the Eastern Cape!
Our African Pastor, Marau has served faithfully for more than two and a half years here in Qolweni. He now feels God has opened a door for him to return to his homeland and start another Church for the Xhosa rural people. We believe God will provide sponsors for this Church plant. The anticipated building costs for a 75 seat completed block building Church will be approximately $10,000 USD. If you, your Church, or organization would like to contribute toward the NEW CHURCH plant here in South Africa note “AFRICA: NEW CHURCH” on your donation or check please.
October, 2010
I had a bit of a rough patch the past couple of weeks.
Sick with flu, then my cell phone and wallet got stolen…
I just praise God I still have my passport so I can fly home to the USA for
Christmas! - Michelle
Over 50 Bibles Generously Donated by Plett Community Church Praise God!
Open Air Evangelism - 5 crusades and over 35 salvations!!!
Place of Hope Africa - Babies Home, caring for orphans and vulnerable children:
Our four oldest children (ages 3-8) are all going to school! We are excited to now have a monthly sponsor of the $16 school fees for each of them! Preschool and first grade have proven very exciting for the kids and we are trying to get them all school back packs, lunch boxes, clothes and shoes. Please help us with even a small donation of $25 or more so we can get them well equipped for school! Praise God, a Church in America has offered to sponsor gifts for Christmas for these nine precious little ones! I would like to give each volunteer and Momma Celia something special for their dedication and hard work as well.
Orphan Care & Support-47 kids ENJOY CAMPING ADVENTURE
Masizame Children’s Home and Qolweni New Life Kids enjoyed an amazing 3 day camp at Ingwe Forest Adventures! Thanks to all of you in the USA who made this camp possible! It was provided FREE to the 47 kids chosen to attend, and they really embraced every moment of FUN! The most precious thing was having their own bed, hot shower, 3 meals a day –more than enough to eat, and FUN activities all day! Ice cream, smores, and candy all got rave reviews too! Many of these kids live in shacks without beds, running water, electricity, or enough food to eat.
Thank you for your prayers for Mandinaki, who has been in the hospital for the past two weeks with TB and Meningitis. Praise the Lord she was released this week and is now at home!
Another year coming to a close…my how time flies! The first two orphans to arrive in 2005 are now in high school and doing well with their exams. Gadifele is hoping to get a sponsor for a Vocational Technical School next year where she can receive job skills and enter the work program.
School closes in S. Africa for the month of December, and many of the kids need bus fare and money for food over the school holidays, as they will go to the rural areas to visit their families. We also have final payment due to the boarding schools for the orphans’ annual fees totaling $1,150. I mention these needs with urgency because I am hoping to make all payments within the next 3 weeks, and prepare bus tickets, food parcels etc. for all the children who need them. I myself, plan to be in the USA for the December holidays.
After School Program and Feeding the Poor
Funny to watch how nothing goes to waste here, and at the end of the day every creature rejoices at the Lord’s provision! As the kids eat their sandwiches and drop little crumbs of bread, chickens quickly scurry around eating every bit, both inside and outside the Church. We save every orange peel, apple core, onion peels, etc. because nothing must go to waste… too many starving creatures all around. Pigs, piglets, cows, goats, dogs, and chickens all eating at the Church! 35 families received food parcels this month.
4 Pre-schools totaling more than 450 kids, 2 Children’s Homes, and our After school program kids were ALL BLESSED with yogurt, ice cream and butter donations from a local family owned grocer who had an electrical fire in the freezer section, and donated many dairy products to us! God has provided for all of our needs, hallelujah! More than 70 kids are registered now with our After School Program and we feed them at the end of the day. Abundant blessings to the donors who gave so generously last month, and may God richly bless you. Thank you for making this mission POSSIBLE!
God is so good! Chief gives land to build a NEW Church in the Eastern Cape!
Our African Pastor, Marau has served faithfully for more than two and a half years here in Qolweni. He now feels God has opened a door for him to return to his homeland and start another Church for the Xhosa rural people. We believe God will provide sponsors for this Church plant. The anticipated building costs for a 75 seat completed block building Church will be approximately $10,000 USD. If you, your Church, or organization would like to contribute toward the NEW CHURCH plant here in South Africa note “4 NEW CHURCH” on your donation or check please.
Please give as God leads you. We have Paypal or you can simply write a check. 100% of the funds are used for God's kingdom work. Any amount is greatly appreciated.
Abundant Blessings,
September, 2010
So sorry for letting 8 weeks pass us by without writing an update. I have been really busy here with so many projects now up and running-Church, After School Program, Children’s Home, Feeding Program, Disciple Training, Prayer Meetings, Music Academy…the list is now very long but PRAISE be to GOD who makes all this possible and ABOUNDS in our midst!
Praise the Lord-10 People Baptized in August & The Lame SHALL WALK!
Winston Jacobz, a nineteen year old boy was first to arrive at New Life Church in Qolweni on August 1, 2010. He was walking with the aid of crutches for the past ten years, and his muscles in the leg were severely atrophied as a result of knee injury and non-use. He had traveled quite a distance to attend the service, and sat down on the bench near the front. His aunt had compelled him to go to Church so he could receive prayer, telling him, “It doesn’t matter that you don’t know these people, they will pray for you and God can heal you!”
At the end of the service we gathered around Winston and prayed. First he stood up without his “Arm sticks” as he calls them, then Siphewe moved his sticks to the front of the church and Winston began to walk, and then RUN around the Church! He was healed miraculously, instantly, healed!
Winston returned the following week to testify that he no longer needs his crutches, and has walked around all month strong without them! He also received Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior and was welcomed into the family of God!
Place of Hope Africa –caring for orphans and vulnerable children
With currently nine small children to care for, it is no easy task at the babies’ shelter. Celia has been doing such an amazing job living there alone with volunteers helping during the day. Praise the Lord we now have Nandy, an additional live in helper who arrived last week! Diaper changing, bathing, and feeding children is the order of the day. Of course with 5 two year olds, there is never a dull moment. Chasing after a very active bunch of toddlers, and just loving on them all, is quite a workout. The orphaned and abandoned children living in foster care at Place of Hope are thriving under the loving care of Celia and helpers. We are pleased with recent lab results… all of our children tested for HIV/AIDS are ALL NEGATIVE! This is truly a miracle as most of their mothers tested HIV positive, and some mothers have already died as a result of this illness devastating Sub-Saharan Africa.
Orphan Care & Support
Growing up to be a PASTOR! Our first orphan boy, Thabogo, who arrived in 2005 just turned 18! Five years ago he did not speak English, was begging daily just to feed his younger brother and sister after their parents died, and had dropped out of school. Today, he is doing great in high school passing all his subjects in English and really desires to become a pastor! We sponsor his tuition, dorm fees, clothes, food and bus fare. His school invited him to preach the Word at General Assembly, and student prayer meetings this year. It’s great to see the fruit of our labors ripening on the vine!
We had 4 outings the past two months taking kids to enjoy feeding the elephants, play at the school playground, boating to see the seals, and the wolf sanctuary.
After School Program and Feeding the Poor
Jehovah Jireh our provider! More than 25 families received food parcels this month. After school program kids have been busy practicing for this month’s talent show. We have some shining stars in various categories: singing, traditional dance, choir, and drama. I am feeding an average of 70 kids per day, and been blessed to add fresh fruit to their meal almost every day! Money was also provided to feed the High School kids at Boarding Schools in the north-thanks to our generous donors!
We have a school holiday next week, and will take 43 kids on a 3 day CAMP! The 10-15 year olds are very excited, and the village is a BUZZ discussing the upcoming kids camp. Our BIBLE focus will be on Joseph going from the pit to the palace…”Dare to Dream!” All of the kids live in extreme poverty, causing them to function in survival mode only, and as a result they lack vision for their future. Many of the camp kids are orphans, but are growing to know the love of their heavenly Father who has a HOPE AND FUTURE for each of them!
God has provided for all of our needs, hallelujah! Abundant blessings to the donors who gave so generously last month, and may God richly bless you. Thank you for making this mission POSSIBLE!
July, 2010
July 27, 2010 Qolweni, South Africa
I had a busy month spending the first week in Uganda with a team from the USA, at Lulwanda Children’s Home. It was such a blessing spending time with fellow Americans from Houston! Now I am back in S. Africa witnessing God’s hand in expanding our projects here!
Blankets and Food for the Poor
Just as night time temperatures have dropped to near zero here in S. Africa this month, many endure the cold nights in small cardboard shacks, with wooden planks and plastic roofs. Praise God we received a donation from locals of over 35 blankets! More are on the way! We were able to distribute them to our congregation members suffering this winter living in shacks with no heat. More than 25 families received food parcels this month. 28 Qolweni preschool children are now being fed through our food distribution program.
Orphan Care & Support
School fees, food, and bus fare has been provided for two orphans attending high school, so far this year, but payment is due for August-Nov. 25 children benefited this month, receiving various items like, new school uniform, socks, shoes, winter clothes, and coats. Birthday kids all received cake, and special items. 45 children among the poorest families living here received food parcels containing rice, beans, maize meal, instant cereal, and oats. God has provided for all of our needs, hallelujah!
Training Up Disciples
Our second DHT class completed training last week! We now have 21 members on our Life Team, ministering across seven settlement areas here. Evangelism, outreach, and healing ministry rapidly growing! In the past 2 months we have prayed for more than 150 individuals, seen several divine healings, and praise God for many salvations. 10 people already signed up for Baptism in two weeks.
Place of Hope Africa –caring for orphans and vulnerable children
Now has 11 little children living in the tiny 2 bedroom home
belonging to Celia. Our 0-6
year old babies are all doing quite well, in spite of challenges they have
faced in their young lives. These orphans and vulnerable children living in
foster care at Place of Hope are thriving under the loving care of Celia and
helpers. Now with the growing need for orphan care locally we see a need to
expand our facilities, and possibly move to a larger home.
Please join us in prayer as we seek God’s answer to provide
more space for our children. We currently need sponsors to help pay $250
total per month to ladies who are assisting Celia care for the babies during
the day, and our running costs for food, diapers, cleaning supplies,
electricity, etc. are approximately $380 per month. New Church Building- receiving a NEW roof courtesy of local
S. Africans Over the past few months, our Church has experienced a badly
leaking roof, with large pools of water on the Church floor. God has
provided a solution. S. African locals have come together to help us replace
the old rusted aluminum roofing. Please pray the Lord provide a way to get
electricity so we can have lights and plug point for night services, and
perhaps a long drop or enviro toilet. The Lord so graciously provides all
our needs. Unfortunately it appears our funds are exhausted right now.
Please help us, your prayers and support are needed to make this mission
possible here in South Africa. No amount is too small. Being a Missionary
in Africa for the past 7 years has been such a JOY UNSPEAKABLE! I am truly
BLESSED to SEE GOD in faces, places, and circumstances, every step of the
way! We have eyes, but do we SEE? We have ears, but do we hear? The Lord
shows Himself FAITHFUL to meet our needs, answer our prayers, and lead the
way. All we must do is LOOK and LISTEN carefully to OBEY HIS WILL, and
FOLLOW HIM. Look at the sky, mountains, water, the sunshine, and beautiful
people all around you. Take notice of the majesty of His creation. Rejoice
and BE GLAD He made you, perfectly unique! June was a busy
month in S. Africa. World Cup soccer brought many visitors to our major
cities, and caused schools to be closed for the past 6 weeks. Praise the
Lord we were able to take over 60 New Life Kids to see the animals, and
picnic at the local game reserve. Also, we took the babies shelter kids to
feed the elephants and play on the playground at Knysna Elephant Sanctuary.
The children have enjoyed this school break and many educational activities,
thanks to your support and volunteers who helped me with transport and food. June-August is
Winter here in South Africa. We had our first freezing temperatures and
SNOW on the mountains earlier this month. The Babies shelter has several
gaps between the roof and walls, so we bought a new electric heater and have
asked construction guys to help with repairs. Due to the cold and rain,
this month’s focus has been on warm clothes and shoes for the kids who don’t
have any. Through generous donations, I was able to buy 14 pairs of shoes,
warm jackets, pants, sweaters, socks, and baby clothes for more than 20
orphans and vulnerable children. All or our shelter kids now have warm
shoes, jackets, and sleep wear for the cold nights. Much thanks to the
ladies in USA for the beautiful knitted caps and scarves, keeping our
children warm on their way to school each day! Presley and Gadifele (my
first two orphans in care from 2005) High school fees, transport, and
boarding have been paid for July, but we need your help for the remaining 5
months of the 2010 school year. HIGHLIGHTS: This month, I was blessed to attend a three
day training called Divine Healing Techniques. Curry Blake, a fellow Texan,
was here in S. Africa to instruct us. Bible teachings so profound we all
were compelled into action and began praying for the sick and oppressed
immediately. It’s simple read about Jesus and do what He did! Many
healings have been witnessed this month, Praise the Lord! A pregnant lady in
our Church had severe abdominal pain and difficulty in the past few months.
There was concern about the baby, so we PRAYED! God answered, and last
Saturday a normal healthy baby girl was born, both mother and baby are
well! The baby’s knee of one leg appeared abnormal, but we also pray God
has healed and corrected every ligament and fully formed her! A few days after completing the healing
course I went to the hospital to pray for the sick. The first baby I prayed
for belongs to Deborah, a member of our Church here in Qolweni. At only 5
months old she was hospitalized for measles 4 days earlier. Shortly after
praying for the baby, the doctor did rounds and approved her to be
discharged. Even the measles spots on her face had cleared and she appeared
to radiate the glory of God! Later that morning we were praying for men in
the hospital and one young man grabbed my attention because he called out to
be prayed for yet lay motionless on the bed. I proceeded to lay hands on
his arm and felt it begin to twitch. He explained to me they did not know
what had happened to him but he was paralyzed on one side. We proclaimed
healing and watched as the Lord performed a miracle in our midst. He began
to move his arm and then his foot and leg too! Thulani, this strong young
man, rejoiced praising Jesus who heals! Two more young men this week, were
delivered from epilepsy and evil spirits. The brothers both received Jesus
as their Savior and rejoiced in the FREEDOM found in Christ! 46 kids from Qolweni went on an overnight
camp, and enjoyed a day trip to Monkey Land. Thanks to Starling
Backpacker’s for providing beds, lovely chicken dinner, and hot showers. We
appreciate Marcelo’s FREE transport, and The Plettenberg for providing
breakfast, and towels! A great time was had by all, as the kids embraced
simple pleasures we all take for granted in the USA. Most of them have
never had an opportunity to sleep in a bed or take a shower. Living in
shacks, many of these kids sleep on mats, or foam pads on the floor, and
wash with a cloth and bucket of water. Now we can walk through the house into the
bathroom! Walls came down, doors and windows installed, concrete floor
poured, and no more walking around the back of the house to use the toilet
or bathtub, God has made a way hallelujah! Originally the addition of the
bathroom was built at the back of the house semi detached, with no passage
from inside the house. Winter is here now in S. Africa, and running outside
to the bath house with babies for bath or diaper changing is bad for their
health. May to July can be very cold months here, and we are now prepared
with new doorway into bathroom, and small hot water geyser. Additional
playroom is almost complete as well! Safety first! New gate and fencing
protects active toddlers from danger, and keeps them near the house. We are
thankful for all the hard work and donations that made these renovations
possible. The roof is made of corrugated iron sheets, needing gaps filled
and repairs to block out winter rain and winds. A door and glass for the
windows must be installed, and another section of fencing is needed. Please
help us to quickly complete the much needed repairs before winter freezes
come
Our new Church home is great! Please pray the
Lord provide a way to get electric light and plug point for night services,
and perhaps a long drop or enviro toilet.
Please help us, your
prayers and support are needed to make this mission possible here in South
Africa. Abundant Blessings to
the donors who gave so generously last month. Trusting God in
seasons of change: Trust in the
Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Living by
faith in Africa, gets easier with time. ..The Lord always PROVIDES!
Hallelujah I am still able to drive the car that has been on loan to me for
the past 2 years! God is so good, I also was told I can remain in the
rental house for a few months longer! Our sins are forgiven
and we have eternal LIFE through Jesus! Live the SPIRIT Filled,
ETERNAL LIFE, daily! With God all things are possible…Local tavern becomes a Church! For the past 10 months
New Life Church has been renting a room in a warehouse for our Sunday
services, and other activities. Though this was a great blessing, we have
had a few challenges there, making regular Church activities difficult. In
Jeremiah 33:3 the Lord says, “Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show
you great and mighty things you don’t know!” We serve a MIGHTY God who
knows what we have need of, and the Lord has given us a new Church home! Pastor Marua found
this old wooden, closed down, tavern and the owner has agreed to rent it to
us for $50 per month!There is no electricity or bathroom, but it is BIG and
it’s ours 24/7! Sunday after Church service we moved our plastic chairs,
pulpit, wooden cross, and other items across to the new wooden Church!
Yesterday we cleaned out the cob webs and dirt, and aired the place out!
Today we started Bible study and Children’s Easter play practice! Many
people walk by asking what are you going to do here with this place and I
proudly announce, “Come find out- JOIN us this SUNDAY for Church at 9am! No More
Limits…Tomorrow we will gather again, this place will be MAXIMIZED to
glorify God! Please pray the Lord provide a way to get electric light and
plug point for night services, and perhaps a long drop or enviro toilet. PLACE OF HOPE –
the baby shelter, GROWS AGAIN:
Two new babies joined us last Friday, severely malnourished, 4 year old boy,
and his 2 year old sister. Orphaned, they have been in foster care, but
unfortunately the lady was unable to provide for their basic needs. Both
are eating and socializing much better now, and seem to be enjoying all the
attention and food! Please pray for additional volunteers to help with the
enormous task of caring for these babies. Pray for health and miraculous
healing, as some of the babies are fetal alcohol syndrome, malnourished,
HIV, or TB positive.
Also pray for Celia, the head mother, to be
strengthened supernaturally in her ongoing love and support of these
children. She does an awesome job, often working alone with no help, and
little sleep.
A South African
based food company may be willing to provide oats and other nutritious food
items, for our local feeding
programs, baby shelter, and children’s home! They will have meetings in
April to finalize their ability to assist us with food, soap, and other
items. Pray God grant us what we have need of and use this company mightily
to provide for orphans and vulnerable children in this community.
Highlights this
month: God’s little ones are
precious in His sight! Birthday outing for 6
children to have chicken and watch a movie! New clothes for 10 kids, 8 kids
got NEW shoes, and school shirts and socks for 3 of the boys! Baby
Charlotte got an appointment to see specialist at the Red Cross hospital in
May! Over $400 worth of food parcels were distributed to the poorest
children and elderly. Pastor Marau’s rent and the Church rent is paid for
April, and the baby shelter food stock was good for the entire month! Eight
children now attend music academy taking piano and guitar lessons once per
week! Praise God for the teachers’ willingness and the sponsor who made
this possible!
Abundant Blessings to the five donors who gave so generously last month.
Trusting God in
seasons of change: Trust in the
Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Living by
faith in Africa, gets easier with time. I think we LEARN to TRUST in GOD
usually only when we face REAL challenges or needs. For the past two years
a lovely family has loaned me a car to drive, which allows me to provide
transport for all the kids doctor visits, music academy, buying food for the
shelter, etc. It has been such a wonderful blessing to many, and the only
vehicle for the ministry here. At the end of April the owner may have to
sell this car, so please pray God provide another vehicle for this
ministry. Also the family I currently stay with, are moving back to their
hometown about 10 hours away, at the end of April. So, I am trusting God to
provide another place for me to stay.
May the Lord richly bless you this Easter holiday as you
reflect on Jesus death and know your sins are forgiven!
He died upon the cross but on the 3rd day, we
proclaim, “He is RISEN!”
That same POWER that raised Jesus from the grave… dwells
in us by His Holy Spirit.
Our sins are forgiven and we have eternal LIFE through
Jesus!
Jesus DIED for you…will you LIVE for HIM? Abundant Love & Blessings, Michelle Ephesians 3:17-20 is our prayer for this year. To be
“Rooted in Love” is our desire! 2010 is off to an exciting start, with our little
Church here celebrating our two year anniversary! Truly the FRUIT can be
seen as many new Christians are being raised up as leaders, lives are being
transformed, and God is moving among us! After my visit to the USA for Christmas, I did a 10 day
site visit at an orphanage in Uganda. I was really blessed on that entire
trip to see God give us great favor and many divine appointments so needed
in fulfilling His purpose there! Every year the culture shock for me is a
bit more intense, not in Africa but while in the USA. Living in third
world, but visiting my first world home, makes me feel a bit alien in my own
nation. I enjoyed seeing family and friends, really loved my quiet time
with the Lord, and then there was the beautiful snow! I returned to Qolweni seeing a full house of about 150
people at Sunday Church with standing room only! A new school year has just
begun in S. Africa and many orphans have already been sponsored with school
fees, bus fare, and books. Praise the Lord everyone is back in classes!
Including me! I was asked to teach grade 7 Life Skills classes. I have
about 145 students all eager to learn more about life skills according to
the Bible. I did a teaching on Obedience, telling them about Daniel and his
friends serving the Lord faithfully, facing challenges, and choosing to
remain strong in the Lord. I have enjoyed this new opportunity, and really
Praise God we can still teach the Bible in S. African public schools.
Our finances were quickly exhausted this month, as
January & February tend to be the greatest expenses for the whole year. I
returned from holiday in America to find the babies’ shelter in need of food
and supplies, medicines had to be stocked, school fees, bus fare and many
other expenses had to be paid for the older orphans. Celia has been blessed
at the Babies shelter we have a new volunteer helping twice per week with
cleaning and laundry! She is also excited about the lovely bathtub
installed around the back of the house…bonus, with running water! New boy
arrived on Friday, named Bradwell, but he wants to be called “GREATY”,
prophetic I think… small little malnourished 4 year old with rotting teeth
and big SMILE knows he is destined for greatness! The police brought him
because the mother has been taken to a hospital for TB about 3 hours away.
Come to find out she is not even the birth mother of this boy, but she has
tried her best to raise him since he was only a few months old when his
mother died. A few needs remain outstanding: Monthly food,
medicines, diapers, and toiletries, about $650. Two orphaned high school
children need their annual school and boarding fees paid $2,000, and 4 kids
need a sponsor for music academy $15 per month each. Our ballet kids are
not attending classes yet, because we are still waiting for a new sponsor of
$50 per month to pay the teacher. Baby shelter needs $150 per month to hire
another worker to support Celia who works 24/7, often alone with no help
caring for 6-8 babies. For some of our little ones, shoes, and uniform items
still need to be purchased. 10 year old, Kwekwe showed me the bottom of his
shoe the other day and the hole has worn fully through. Growing up in the
USA, I don’t think I ever saw anyone walk so much that the shoe soles got
worn through to the bare foot! We used to outgrow our shoes while they
still looked NEW. African kids walk an average of 14km per day on rocky
dirt roads. Needless to say, I will get him new shoes in town soon! Great news of GOD’s outpouring of blessing! A South
African food company has offered to help approximately 312 children in our
area, providing one meal per day, by giving us cereal and other products
monthly! Please join us in prayer that this program will begin soon, and
God reveal the exact locations and children to benefit from this blessing of
food! I visited more than 60 hospital patients on Tuesday
praying, giving out food, and gave some of them lovely hygiene packs made by
our Church friends in the USA. There are still many suffering from HIV/AIDS
and TB here, we must PRAY for this nation to be healed. Over 3,000 patients
have tested positive in our area alone. It is projected that 1,500 people
DIE per day here in South Africa from AIDS. Praise the Lord, medicine has
been made available locally and the clinic is doing a great job with both
testing and giving out meds! Pastor Marua, our African minister at New Life
Ministries Qolweni, has struggled the past few months living in a small one
room wooden shack with his wife and seven children. They need a proper
house and are trusting God to either rent or buy a sound structure with a
concrete floor that can withstand the rain, and high winds. Praise the Lord
who answers our prayers! The Marua family moved into a one room brick house
yesterday! Thank you in advance, for your donations to help pay the $60 per
month rent. Thanks to all of you for your continued prayers and
support. May God continue to use you mightily to help His will be done on
Earth as it is in Heaven. Matthew 5:16 Let your LIGHT so shine before man,
that they may SEE your good works and GLORIFY your Father in Heaven!
Presley will need $2,000 annually to live in the
dorm and includes: food, books, everything Gadifele (who is staying with his grannie) will
need $575 annually for his school. Please pray for provisions for these two young men
specifically. I have been serving in Qolweni for the past
18 months. This has been a year of great challenges and a testing of our
FAITH. Yet may the Lord be praised! We have seen His miracle working power
over, and over, again! As you may know we saw decline in overall support and
moved from our original warehouse Church location in June this year. BUT GOD
delivered us out of every trial and surely supplied our needs. We have been
meeting in a small room, part of the disabled training center, for the past 6
months and hope to move into a larger warehouse by February. An irony, in a
smaller space and yet more than doubled our Church and feeding program
attendance! The Lord has opened a door with a sweet Christian couple who have a
fishing equipment factory to allow us to use one side of their building. With
minimal construction, adding doors, two toilets, and finishing the divider walls
we can move into our new Church home in 2010!
Orphan care is my primary concern after 6
years living here in South Africa and seeing the devastating number of HIV/AIDS
deaths. World Health Organization (WHO) Report says over 1,500 people die
daily of AIDS in South Africa, which dramatically increases the number of
parentless children needing care. We have seen God move upon the hearts of many
women in our community to care for these orphans. Celia cares for 8 babies in
her small home having no indoor bathroom. Beauty has 10 children in her tiny
two room house provided by the local government. These women receive no pay
and simply live by FAITH caring for God’s children. It is my desire to support
them as much as possible by providing food, medicines, transport (to doctor,
hospital, court, shops) volunteers, basic infrastructure like refrigerator, and
finances. I have watched both of them over the past 18
months and see their heart to serve God by caring for orphans. They LOVE with
all their hearts and serve Him and the children FAITHFULLY even in tough times
of poverty and death. You cannot imagine what it really is to dwell in the
valley of the shadow of death, but we do. I see the 14 million orphaned
children left behind as the Joshua generation we need to raise up in the ways of
the Lord, and they will not depart from Him!
The Masizame Children’s Home is faithfully
caring for orphans at full capacity with 27 kids. These children are growing up
in a loving environment and attending New Life Church growing in the LORD! With
your help, I would like to increase our volunteers and ministry support to these
children.
God has multiplied our reach to hundreds of
people weekly in Qolweni and Kwanokathula townships.
PRAISE THE LORD, Over 180 salvations, 25 baptisms, 140+
kids fed daily, 8 babies at new shelter, more than 150 children received
clothes, blankets, shoes, and food parcels throughout the year, and over 500
family food parcels were distributed to the poor, and orphans. New Life kids
enjoyed nature outings, swimming, music lessons, dance classes, leadership camp,
Christmas party, and many blessings of the Lord throughout this year! Divine Health and Protection for all Strength and support for foster mothers, volunteers,
Pastors, and mission team Vehicle for the mission- either to buy the car on loan
to us, or receive another form of transport Finances for African Pastors: Marau & Boford, Church
rent, electricity, and water Partners to support orphan care Missionary support for my continued stay expenses of
$380 per month I am so grateful God used you! You have been faithful to
support us with your prayers and finances.
May the blessings of the Lord overtake
you, and His face shine upon you. Last Christmas I stayed in Qolweni, South Africa and
dearly missed my family in the USA. This year I am so blessed to be back in
Dallas now for Christmas visiting family! Please pray for my preparations and
return to South Africa in January, as I get flights, health insurance and all
the arrangements made. Funds are still needed for these expenses, and any
donations will be greatly appreciated. Please remember to PRAY for the many suffering in
Africa, and PRAISE the Lord for all the blessings He so graciously pours out on
us in the USA-truly we are in the land of more than enough! Michelle Smith Newsletter from Michelle Smith
(August, 2009):
New Life Ministries Kids Program and Church going strong
and GROWING! Church attendance is almost 100 people every Sunday and we are now
feeding130+ kids daily! The glory of God is shining upon us here in Qolweni. I don’t usually write about the great number of deaths
occurring around me. EVERY DAY over 1500 PEOPLE DIE in South Africa of AIDS!!!
Over 60% of the WORLD’S HIV POPULATION IS HERE! Most orphaned children I have
worked with or cared for have lost SEVERAL relatives to AIDS not just a mother
or father, but often grandmothers, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, and
cousins! Every few days, someone from our little Church comes to me reporting a
death, or someone in the hospital. Most families do not even have money to buy
medicine or food for the sick family members. In the past few years it has been something I avoid
discussing or writing about because I know far away in America it just doesn’t
seem real or matter, after all you don’t know these people. What breaks my
heart the most is the enormous number of dying, innocent children. Many babies
are born HIV positive and then dying young because of weak immune systems and
lack of basic nutrition, and poor or non-existent medical care. Can you imagine
staring DEATH in the face CONSTANTLY? In the villages, townships, squatter
camps, schools, Churches, clinics, and everywhere I go here, I SEE IT. Average
Life Expectancy according to World Health Organization is now 39 years of age!
The multitudes are suffering and the greatest PANDEMIC in history is killing off
thousands a week in South Africa! Many of them not even making it into
adulthood, dying as mere children, in the shadows of disease, upon the DARK
Continent of Africa! We can easily become hopeless- BUT GOD IS ABLE! We must
not despair but DO SOMETHING- ANYTHING to help those who are hurting, starving,
needing medical care, food, clothes, schooling…so EVERYDAY that is what I aspire
to do. Serve The Lord by helping those He puts before me. You see when people
SEE Jesus they embrace Him and serve Him with their whole hearts. Together we
can make a difference! Matt 5:16
Let your LIGHT SO SHINE before man that they may I feel especially excited about
the way God is creating a village support system to raise these orphaned
children. Alongside the orphanages, smaller foster homes are growing rapidly.
Here in Qolweni, Beauty cares for 10 children in her 2 room shack. Just down the
road, Celia is caring for 8 babies all under the age of 3. These ladies have
stepped out BY FAITH and are always willing to take in orphans, trusting God to
provide food and milk. Neither of these ladies have indoor toilets, or
bathtubs, they have very basic homes. Celia and Beauty both care for so
many children in their tiny shack dwellings, never a complaint, and FULL of
LOVE. Unfortunately this is what it has come to; we cannot give every child a
proper home, with electricity, bathrooms, and their own bed. Our ideal life for
them is grand but not attainable. Here in this place of poverty, a loving momma in a shack
with 9 other kids is PERFECT. Strange how my own standards have DROPPED…Back in
2004 I was headstrong about orphans having proper homes, and each having loving
house parents, getting the best education, and going to University someday. But over the past 6 years, hundreds of children starred
me in the face. Every village, school, and township has so MANY orphans,
hungry, and alone. I came to settle on just feeding them, or getting them into
a shack with others, and giving a few items of clothing, shoes, or blankets.
Everywhere I go, I have met loving mothers and grandmothers willing to care for
orphans even though they barely have food to eat. In Sub-Saharan Africa I found
most of the orphanages full to capacity. Many children are living on their own
without any adult relatives to care for them. Some getting food from trash
heaps, or begging, and many just go without. It seems to me, one of the fastest ways to quickly care
for many orphans, is to put food, and basic necessities in the hands of these
“foster mothers” to empower them to each care for as many children as possible.
No expense building big institutions/orphanages, no overhead or salaries, just
feeding the children! I want to also continue giving them clothing, soap,
medicines, blankets, and help with education and school uniforms, etc. Please HELP meet the needs of these orphan care homes. I
would like to support Mamma Celia with $150 per month
-anything you give can help us meet this goal! There are other shacks
available and foster mothers willing to care for orphans, we just need to give
them food, and basics, please help me in this effort. Mamma Beauty is receiving
food from the local Methodist Church, and Celia has no sponsors yet, but I know
what a mighty God we serve. He is ABLE
to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we can ask, Every child receives one meal a day at New Life
Ministries, and currently we feed 130+ per day! They range in age from 2 to 15
years old! Praise God for local donations of bread, soup, peanut butter, and
cereal to feed our kids! Many thanks to our USA donors who have helped with funds
for me to buy fruit, baloney, and much needed peanut butter for protein! I can
see a remarkable difference this winter with the kids getting nutritious food
daily, they are healthier and very HAPPY!
Praise the Lord! This month as our number of children
has grown, and the food donations have also increased!
Yesterday, more than 135, were fed at our after school program. Thank you to
our local Plett Community Church for donating 20 loaves of bread per day!
We also received kind donations of peanut butter, jam, and palony. For all
the individuals who gave toward our food fund so that I could purchase camp
food, fruit, and sandwich items-THANKS to ALL!
The children have really enjoyed getting sandwiches and
soup each day. Winter is here, with freezing temps at night, high
winds, and rain. We are so blessed to be able to serve soup or E-Pap
cereal to give the kids an extra boost to their immune systems this winter.
Thank you to Robin at E-PAP for giving us vitamin enriched cereal to use,
when we run out of soup! They LOVE it! Many of these kids are
desperate to get food. It is hard for children at the end of the line
to understand why they can’t have soup, when we run out. Sometimes as
food is running out it causes broken hearts and a bit of pushing to the
front. We want everyone who comes to us to receive whether they are
first or last, they will be fed. The Highlights: The play, “Final Choice” prompted more than 250 to give their
heart to Jesus! Pastor Marau announces engagement to Sizekele from Swaziland,
they will wed on August 8th! 23 orphans received much needed items: food, warm clothes,
blankets, diapers, jackets, & soap. Two high school orphans received financial support to attend
camps during school break. Rose, an African missionary from Zambia, has come to stay with
me to help with both the Church and after school program activities. Debra had second cancer operation, tumor is removed, and she
is healed in Jesus name!
·
Sonwabo, one of our orphans, had an abscess molar tooth, and
his face was swollen out like an elephant boy! I received a discount
from a local dentist who treated him with antibiotics and removed his
tooth-he is back to normal again!
·
Nonhlanha, with me since 2005, attended a 10 day mission camp
with “Jesus-Life” ministries. She is graduating high school this year,
and has decided to commit as a one year missionary! Let’s
sponsor her in this full time ministry to other orphans, and
youth!
·
Laborers have been few, but many new volunteers are now
helping with after school program art, play area, choir, dance teams,
etc.-Praise the Lord!
New Life Ministries first
overnight camp for 25 kids…great fun & food!
·
New Life hosted its first
Camp for 25 Qolweni kids at Ingwe Forrest Adventures-we learned to overcome
obstacles! None of the kids had ever spent the night away from their shacks,
so this was life changing. I really enjoyed seeing the constant SMILES!
We thank Ingwe Camp site for giving us this amazing
experience for FREE! Thanks to those who gave for our food and
blankets…without your help this camp would not have been possible. We
appreciate EVERY volunteer who gave their time and talents to make this camp
an enjoyable success…I could not have done it without you guys!
Abundant Blessings to all! May the Love of Jesus engulf you, Michelle BRRRR! As I write this my hands are freezing as temps have
dropped to about 34 degrees tonight! It is winter here now, and very cold, with
snow up in the mountains over Qolweni! Yes, snow in South Africa! In the midst of poverty and desperation for food, I see
God's hand in our midst. We have increased to more than 120 kids per day coming
to the after school program, and everyone expecting a sandwich or soup. For
most it is the only meal for the day. Last Wednesday the first day in a long
time they ran out of soup and bread before the end of the line...more kids
needed food and food was "finished" as they say here. I did not hesitate,
I just asked the remaining boys to kindly sweep the Church and straighten the
chairs while I drove to town and got more bread. They were delighted when I
returned and they each got two "Sonkas"- sandwiches! I am teaching them not to
despair or be jealous if others receive a blessing/food and they don't... they
must just wait upon the Lord knowing their turn will surely come! We have moved into our new little warehouse and been told
we can share the building FREE of charge! Our God supplies all our needs! It
is nice to have the kitchen and indoor toilets both a big hit with the kids and
volunteers! The disabled ARTS school is in this building every morning until
about 3pm and asked me, if their younger adults and teens could join our program
in the afternoons. Of course I said "YES"! So we have now combined with them
and seen even the love of Jesus and compassion of the ABLED kids helping and
comforting the disabled as they join in activities like art, sports, and Bible
lessons. Many of the children have shown great leadership this past
year, with older 10-14 year olds helping me with the younger kids. Some days I
only have children to assist me with making food, and serving all the kids. We
have almost 50 under 7 year olds! Running a little school with over one hundred
kids is a challenge and without this little ARMY of leaders I wouldn't be able
to do it all. So next week we are blessed to be going on a CAMP! A local
farm invited us to come stay one night at the Ingwe CAMP and do a two day nature
challenge. So exciting for these kids who live in cardboard shacks! They have never slept away from home, never been in a
shower, or had their very own bed to sleep in! Blankets have been donated,
and the camp site has dorm rooms with bunk beds and HOT showers! I only need to
buy the food, soap, and few more blankets and we are off to camp! Already
blankets, 20 loaves of bread, and some food items have been donated by locals!
Volunteers are giving of their time and talents to help me with the activities
for the 25 kids ages 11-15! Our goal is to send every child home with their
very own blanket. You must remember they don't have electricity, and it
gets down to freezing at night here now in winter. Even in houses with
electricity like mine, there is no heating system, we simply make a fire and
warm the house the old fashioned way with wood and newspaper! Blankets are much
needed necessity in keeping warm and having restful sleep. Please help with even a
$25 donation I can buy two big warm blankets! We HAVE JUST one more week until
camp, so anything you can do to help will be appreciated! Give online its safe,
quick and easy with paypal-see our WEBLINK below my signature. Thank you for your continued prayers and support! Please
especially pray for safety and divine health for all in Qolweni. As accidental
winter fires destroy shacks, and health problems tend to increase with the
cold. We have two small boys in our program who awoke at 2am to see their wall
on fire and Praise God the entire family escaped the flames unharmed. The boys
ages 3 and 8 years, managed to scream to wake everyone. High winds in winter
cause coals from outside fires to blow into shacks built close together on the
hillside. Such a shame, they lost everything as the tiny cardboard shack burned
to the ground in just moments! Four shacks were actually destroyed by fire that
night. PRAISE THE LORD! In the past two weeks my friends have
brought clothes, blankets, shoes, and food for this precious family of 4 kids
and two adults, who are so thankful to God for their lives! Please check out our weblinks highlighted below! Much Love,
SO Much to be thankful for… let us pray without ceasing.
As the global
recession affects people around the world, here we just see an increased depth
of poverty and unemployment. People are truly surviving BY FAITH, and trusting
God to meet their daily needs.
Praise the Lord for
many donations of old clothes, shoes, bread, fruit, peanut butter, etc. Almost
every adult and child in New Life church received at least one special item of
clothing or shoes this month! The children are enjoying getting one sandwich
each per day, and occasional fruit. Thank you to all the kind local ladies who
help me make this feeding program possible. Locals now help us with 2 days of
feeding per week. We are now feeding 70 kids per day. Costs are still very
low, only about $25 per day! We need your help this month! I actually overdrew
our account mistakenly because the exchange rate dropped from 10 rands to one
dollar to now about 8:1. I had no way of knowing our balance because the ATM
machine in town had no paper in it to print out the balance!
Survivor Qolweni! My children now understand the dangers of
eating bones out of the dump behind the meat butcher…it causes worms and other
diseases. Recently, two boys come running to me with new kids in tow shouting
in Xhosa about sickness. The tiny suspects, not even 8 years old, caught in the
act, with their heads stuck down in the trash can, busy eating rotten bits of
fat off sheep bones! New Life kids approached me saying, “Mama, this one gonna
be vomiting!” Asking me to explain the dangers of worms, and give them real
food… a simple sandwich and an apple. Sunday, 10 year old, Sonwabo jumps in
the car excited to go to a neighboring village visiting another Church. He
smiles broadly telling me and the 4 ladies in the car about his recent battle
with a snake. He proudly proclaims, “Myself I am strong, the snake has no
chance because I take off its head!” He felt this prohibits the snake from
escaping because now it has no eyes to see! Hilarious and clever this child!
When the mothers asked him where the snake is now, he proudly rubs his tummy
saying it tastes nice. Yesterday he cooked for himself! He also shares a
secret to having shiny skin today…this 10 year old boy rubbed the snakes oily
skin all over his arms and legs to give himself a shine! I guess that is a good
moisturizer when you can‘t afford soap or lotion! Check out our website to see
a picture of Sonwabo in his bright, yellow sweat shirt.
www.newlifesa.org
Two nights ago I
had a bat flying around insode my house for about 4 hours. It was freezing cold
raining and very windy, but I kept the doors open trying to get the bat to fly
out. He starred at me form the drapes for over an hour then began flying in
circles around and around up into the loft then down stairs again. Finally he
disappeared around midnight, and very relieved I went up into the loft for bed.
Well, tired as I laid my head down my eyes closed and quickly I was falling
asleep. Suddenly my dog barked and right over my head flew this very
disoriented bat! I shrieked like a school girl and covered my head with the
blanket! Peaking out over my covers I saw him perched above the window clinging
onto the drapes like this was his new cave. Needless to say I prayed a lot…in
fact that was all I could do. Sonwabo the next day exclaimed shame mam, you
should have called me I would have got him good for you!
One of our 12 year
old boys had a tumor removed from the side of his face and is completely
recovering now…no cancer PRAISE the LORD!
Scripture Union is
providing a Disciple Training Camp for high school girls this weekend and 4
orphans from Mamelodi were blessed to receive our sponsorship…thank you for your
donations and making this possible!
Both Celia and
Beauty, have proudly received registration numbers as official places of safety
for orphans and vulnerable children. These ladies each provide loving homes for
orphans now in their little shacks. Beauty is caring for 10 children and the
local Methodist church helps buy food monthly. Celia now has 7 babies under the
age of 3! Earlier this week I was so touched seeing how calm and peaceful her
little house is, full with 7 beautiful little babies all needing special care!
She only has an outdoor toilet, but her willingness to serve God and foster
children overlooks all obstacles. My hope is to help these ladies find a proper
house where they can have running water and indoor toilet, and other modern
conveniences while raising these 17 precious souls. Celia still needs a
sponsor to help with food and diapers.
New Life Ministries
Church and After School Program are still running strong. I can hardly believe
I have been here one year already! As you may know our rent on the
warehouse/Church building has been a huge financial burden of $550 per month.
At the end of this month we will be moving out. Please pray for the favor of
God to be upon us as we find our new location and relocate.
In tough times it
is good to be THANKFUL and recognize, count, meditate upon the MANY blessings we
do have. The Lord loves to hear us say THANKS…If you focus on what you have,
like food, water, safety, indoor plumbing, electricity, heat and air
conditioning, then you won’t have time left over to worry about what you don’t
have. Those things I just listed are not available for most of our New Life
congregation, and honestly they may never have toilets and electricity. Daily
they praise God for food, water, and another day to celebrate LIFE with Jesus!
God bless you all
for your prayers and support. Please give this month, every little donation
makes this mission possible. If you can sacrifice $25 you will feed the 70
children for one day of our daily feeding program! Ephesians 3:20 is our verse
this month…meditate on His word, it cannot return void.
Abundant Blessings,
Michelle
Newsletter from Michelle Smith
(April, 2009): Praise the
Lord for those of you who offer up your prayers and
support, making this mission work possible. Thanks to your faithfulness,
through you the Lord provided our every need! We were able to pay the rent on
our Church building and buy food! We now have approximately $350 in our account
and need your help for food and expenses. Weekly food
parcels were given to the families in our Church who
don’t have jobs, or food. We have increased the number of parcels given out to
65 this month! Thanks to the generous donation of food items from the Knysna
Ladies Prayer Group, and our USA friends monetary contributions for food
purchases! All the
children in our after school program were fed daily
and more sandwiches were provided too! Thank you to the Methodist Church ladies
who almost every Wednesday have been giving us sandwiches from the AIDS clinic,
feeding nearly half of our kids! 15 Orphans
in Mamelodi were given food and transport money for
the school Easter holidays. Cancer
Patient who attends New Life Church was given money
for bus transportation to hospital in town 2 hours away, where she received
operation and medical treatment last week. Pastor Marua
continues services and prayer counseling at the Knysna Prison, and has seen more
than 95 salvations so far this year! A few of the men have been released from
prison and are now free to attend services in Church at New Life Qolweni! FULL HOUSE!
Revival services were held by Pastor Williams from Cape Town, daily, for two
weeks in Qolweni! At the closing service Sunday morning we had over 145 adults
and 55 children in our midst, worshiping the Lord with all their hearts! Many
children had to move outside to make space for the adults crowding in at the
door, and we did not have any empty chairs. Many people received Christ and
great testimonies came forth. Two ladies testified regarding being diagnosed
with HIV/AIDS. One lady, who is helping me with the kids, said she was
diagnosed HIV positive. But last week, she retested at the clinic, after
praying at New Life Church, and her results came back HIV negative! She gave
God all the glory for healing her! 14 Students
from the USA visit AIDS patients and help with rural
area Medical home visits. We were touched to have our American friends attend
Sunday service with us and learn Xhosa gospel hymns. The girls were part of a
team of University students learning about poverty around the world on their 6
month journey. BIG thanks
to Greenwood School for donation of much needed clothes and shoes for our kids! NEW LIFE
KIDS ON SAFARI: The After School Program kids had an
exciting outing this week to the Plettenberg Game reserve, just a 20 minute
drive from Qolweni up into the mountains. Some of the children have never been
farther than they can walk, so going in vehicles to see hundreds of animals on a
massive farm way up in the mountains was quite an adventure! Big thanks to
Johann who allowed all of our children and volunteers to experience nature,
God’s beautiful creation, and such a huge variety of animals up close. He and
his staff took great care of us and offered a safari experience on big game
drive vehicles. Zebra,
springbok, giraffe, crocodiles, hippos, rhino, lions, and wildebeest, were just
a few of the animals we saw! We enjoyed the lovely play ground and picnic area,
and learned many interesting facts about the animals. Truly our kids will never
forget this day, as many expressed it was the best day of their life! I met a
lady yesterday who asked me about our outing and said God will bless you for all
you do for the children! I was shocked not even knowing how she could have
known about the outing and she said, “Mam all Qolweni is talking about this
blessing!” Great appreciation to our music teacher and friend, Jane who
volunteered to pack her truck full, and helped me transport the 41 kids!
Prayer
Requests: Please continue to pray for Gadifele one of
the first orphans to come live with me in 2005. She was in a mini bus taxi
accident where 3 people died. Fortunately she is recovering, but facing
challenges walking. Seldom do I
offer much commentary on the state of this nation, but today I feel somehow
prayers will be more effective if you are AWARE of the nature of the struggles
here. Election
Peace- April 22nd South Africans go to the
polls for the 4th Presidential Election since the end of Apartheid in
1994. The ANC is the ruling party, and its president, Jacob Zuma has been
declared the next South African president for about 2 years now. No other
opposing candidates were named until two weeks ago, and none of them stand a
chance. Some opposing party members have been beaten threatened, and even
stabbed, or shot. Violence is especially bad where rival parties are standing
for justice. Many are just simply boycotting the polls. Fortunately this week
I saw military and police riot vehicles and teams brought into our communities
for security. Zuma was facing
charges for corruption and money laundering in the nations arms deal with
France. Those charges were dropped this week by the National Prosecuting
Authority, which spent over 5 million US dollars to date on this case! They did
not drop charges because he is found innocent or guilty, but simply because of
tapes and other evidence which shows numerous public officials and perhaps also
the former President were involved! They feel it is not in the best interest of
world politics to prosecute the next President of South Africa! ANC party
leaders went to the streets dancing shouting and celebrating Zuma’s freedom!
Justice in this nation is a JOKE! Opposition parties are speaking out against
this freedom without a trial. Corruption is the rule of law, and the few elite
in power like it that way, while 48 million South Africans struggle for daily
bread, and more than 1,000 per day die of hunger and AIDS! Please pray for
Justice to be made known in this land and Godly people be put in office. Water, Fuel,
and Food shortages- Pray for rain desperately needed in our area as the
Knysna public water supply has only 29 days reserve of water. Trucking industry
union is having a violent boycott/hold out asking all truckers to stay off the
roads demanding higher wages. Working truckers have been beaten and stoned
while their trucks burned in the past few days if they try to complete their
routes. Meanwhile they were offered an 11% wage increase to commence service
but still refused and continue to block fuel depots and shot at drivers
yesterday. Now our petrol/gas stations are closing around the country having no
fuel, and the union plans to carry on until the elections if necessary. Pray
the violence end and those who wish to work be FREE to continue working.
Poverty/Hunger has indeed grown much worse in the past
few months here. Food prices are increasing for basics like bread, rice, and
maize pap. So many have lost jobs… This week local employers laid off more
workers. I think out of our little village, less than 15% are working! We must
fully rely on GOD who is our Jehovah Jireh to provide all our needs! Please
pray for those who suffer most and realize how blessed you are with bread on the
table! When you sit down to eat, please, just say a prayer for those who will
not eat today. May you truly
know and EXPERIENCE the RISEN LORD this Easter holiday season! Jesus died for
you!
I
hope all is well for you so far this new YEAR! Here in South Africa we SEE
God's GLORY being made known in this Dark Continent. Many challenges of hunger,
sickness, death, and great needs here…BUT PRAISE BE UNTO GOD, WHO has provided
so we have been able to buy the food so far for our Churches most needy! We now
celebrate our 1 year anniversary of New Life Ministries Church here in Qolweni! Also
we are feeding the kids everyday in our after school program praise the Lord!
This month we have faced additional needs among our Church members, and been
able to provide the following support: Our
previous year sponsor is unable to continue his payment of the Church building
rent, so please pray the LORD provide us finances for the $550 needed by
Monday. Our funds are very low right now, and we need your assistance. Your
help will be greatly appreciated, and even $25 will be a huge help…You can give
online by credit card just CLICK here to DONATE to
“AFRICA DREAMS”
IN THE NEWS AT NEW LIFE
MINISTRIES
Much has been happening over the first two months of this New Year, and we are
BLESSED in the midst of the storms! Truly it is in tough times we SEE the hand
of God like never before.
Headlines Pastor
Marau continues to preach in the hospital and prison with great breakthroughs,
80 SALVATIONS so far this year!
PRAYER REQUESTS
PEACE in the land during this election time…many fights have already begun.
Elections are expected on April 22, 2009
Provision to carry on the work of the LORD here in Qolweni
Rent money or another building nearby to conduct Church and our after school
program
Christian Unity in the land
Divine protection
GREAT news in a down economy:
Praise the LORD! The rand dollar exchange rate is highest
ever in 6 years! Since I have been in South Africa it never went beyond 7
Rand to the dollar and today it is over 10!!! Basically if I draw 1,000
Rand it now only cost me $100 dollars but it was $160 only a few weeks ago!
This is really good for living and sowing seed in South Africa. Food prices
are going up about 40% here for basics like milk, bread, and cereal so the
exchange rate is a BLESSSING from GOD! Almost everyday I am feeding the kids at least a snack like fruit, hot
dog, or bread. Current feeding cost in US dollars terms for the children is
about 25 cents per child per day with our improved exchange rate! Please
help us with any donation amount even $25 dollars goes a long way here!
A BIG thank you to the 3 donors for August
and September and we hope more people are able to come along side us and
help! NEW LIFE KIDS: Last count I had 23 under 7 year olds. Our after school
program is over 60 kids now and ranging in age from 3-14 year olds, so I am
dividing them into groups for indoor and outdoor activities. We are
starting to recycle paper to make greeting cards and art projects. Dance
teams, choir, art, and poetry are organized with team leaders and we will
add sports as soon as we get a few balls, and other sports equipment. I am
praying for volunteers to help me with this growing number of children and
for now have older kids as leaders/teachers. God is so good we had a sponsor ask to send 4 kids for ballet lessons at St.
Paul's Church in town, and the teacher took a 5th student for free! Now
every Monday I drive with 5 children from the township into town for ballet
lessons! It is amazing because township kids have never even seen what this
ballet dancing is all about so I showed them videos of class rehearsals and
an actual NY style SHOW so they can see what they are preparing for in the
future! Their first recital is in December. Amazing how much hope rises up in them! Everyone was so excited just to go
for the try outs we had 19 audition Friday, and the teachers chose 5 kids
for ongoing lessons! So many actually have great raw talent according to
this instructor, but they can only take 5 now.
HIGHLIGHTS FOR PAST FEW WEEKS:
Adult Bible Classes on Tuesday and Thursdays- everyone now has a bible
Praise God! Sunday and Wednesday night Church attendance continues to grow with 7 first
time adult visitors this week, and many new children! New Life KIDS: Daily program at the Church to uplift children and offer one
meal a day We have grown to now over 60 kids with 2 choirs, 4 dance teams, art, games,
and Bible class. The kids were blessed to perform for many International
visitors touring here, and received juice boxes and hot dogs! Gave 8 people supplies for roof repairs after storms damaged shacks early
last month Distributed more than 20 much needed blankets, 9 pairs of shoes, and weekly
food parcels for those without food or jobs. Showed Movies- Beat the Drum and Story of Jesus both made a great impact in
helping the people to really understand through visual learning! Home, hospital,
clinic, and prison visits continue, with many coming to accept Jesus
Christ. Praise the Lord-Pastor Marau has been given a permit to preach
every other Sunday at the jail.
July 14th we began our disciple training with 20
prayer counselors all of which completed the course successfully!We held a
mass crusade in July, and the prayer counselors worked with me side by side
to assist during alter call, and prayers. Church and open air meetings were
held for 8 consecutive days, both day and night. Results: We had visitors from African Enterprise, and Australia with a
different evangelist preaching each service. They donated $30 US to help
with food cost. Thank you to the three individuals from USA who supported us
financially last month! I am thankful to see God bringing the blessed
nation of the USA along side the poor, making ministry here in South Africa
possible! New Life Children’s Ministry had 4 performances of their
African dance and choir during the crusades. They did an exceptional job,
being the first time many of them had ever performed in front of large
crowds!
Testimonies:
One man was having seizures for many years and received
prayer during the crusade; he was delivered and Praise the Lord he is
healed-no seizures since! Two people of our Church were released from the
hospital. Some people who had been in bed sick received prayer and are
healed! One old man was so sick and unable to work, he was in the hospital
and his children came asking for prayer for him, I taught them about
standing in the gap, intercessory prayer…they prayed for him for 3 days.
Today he is healed, out of hospital, and working! Hallelujah!
Baby and adult in our Church tested HIV negative! Praise the
Lord! With 1 out of 4 people infected with HIV/AIDS here, we are strongly
encouraging everyone to get tested and know their status. Medicine is now
available and they can reduce the spread of infection and increase their
life by knowing and taking the medicine and needed precautions.
Hallelujah! The clinic is now doing free testing, making medicine
available, and we are offering a support group at the Church for those
infected. Education programs for adults and school children will be ongoing
through the month of September! This community is really stepping up to the
challenge and finally addressing the problems. I believe we are also seeing
a change in the old stigma and younger people desire to be informed and
learn about HIV and how it is spreading.
During the crusade, several people attending prayed for jobs
and each of them were blessed to report back by the end of the week they
were given employment! We have a
75% plus unemployment rate here, and only a few farms still
operating, so the jobs are declining. 8 people specifically that I know
have received jobs-praise the Lord!
Financial Update: Jehovah Jireh our provider! $575 dollars was used this month
to provide food, medicine, and transport for orphans and those very poor
like our two folks in the hospital. Our hospital here does not provide
food, blankets, or beverages to patients. Therefore this ministry to those
in the hospital is very much appreciated. I continue to support 12 Mamelodi
orphans with basic needs: food, toiletries, and bus fare to school.
Each of our New Life kids received a white t-shirt to wear
for their performances, and we were so blessed to buy 30 shirts for only
$2.50 each! Our kids also received nutritious fruit and snacks during their
practices and on performance days. Our Church gave out food packets with
basics like maize meal, sugar, potatoes, samp (like cheap rice), and beans.
We also give candles, soap, and matches. Food prices have increased on all
basic items, and the poor suffer most. These individuals live in a crowded
informal settlement alongside the industrial area, where they lack land for
farming. They do not have electricity or running water, and cook over open
fire or on paraffin burners. We have been gathering details on the most
desperate families and give supplies to assist those who are a priority.
I sorely underestimated the number of people living in
Qolweni it may be as many as 50,000. As I have walked most of the area we
are gathering data but it is 4-10 per shack and well over 5,000 shacks.
Local govt. reported this week that 3,780 people have applied for homes
here. Our government statistics are so old from the Apartheid census in
1992!! You have to actually just SEE for YOURSELF to determine stats here.
Since the Xenophobia attacks which started increasing in January of 2008,
many foreigners have died by brutal beating or being burned to death.
Africans from Malawi, Zimbabwe, and other neighboring countries have moved
around and some ended up here because they were attacked in their own
country, or in other areas of South Africa. Also, they have a hope of
finding a job at the local farms or industrial area so they arrive here
looking for jobs and to survive. The past few weeks we have seen such miracle breakthroughs as
the Lord provided financial support for new chairs just as our Church was
full and needing additional plastic chairs! The very day our Church was
overcrowded we received a donation via the website! Also, we were blessed
to receive a new sound system for doing the open airs preaching and to use
at Church. It is great with an old keyboard, speakers, and microphone; it
really helps to reach the noisy crowds! A BIG thanks to the South African
family that made this possible! Thank you to the three individuals who
supported us financially last month! I am thankful to see God bringing the
blessed nation of the USA along side the poor, making ministry here
possible! I am still
a missionary in South Africa and last month started full time with New
Life Christian Ministry in the Western Cape Province. Yes, I am still in Africa but now in the very southern tip of the continent in an area they call
the Western Cape but it sits actually in the very center of the southern point
of AFRICA, about 600km east of Cape Town. Now I am just beginning with a new project- an outreach to the poorest of the poor. New Life
Christian Ministries has a Church and community center here where I
am responsible as director to oversee all programs and services. Basically they
are just completing renovations on our new building for the community center and
the Church is an old warehouse they started having services in January. Two
different poor areas squatter camps full of shacks where I am the only white
person on the team, and working with locals to uplift the people. With only 3
staff, we have a feeding program, after school Monday-Friday New Life Youth,
general literacy and job placement, and counseling services. I also do hospital
visits, and home visits to pray for the sick and take them basic food items.
This month we did shack restoration projects to improve dwellings upgrading the
roof for one of our ladies who has been sick, and two of our members actually
built a new shack for one of the older men whose shack was falling apart due to
the recent heavy rains. It is winter here with high winds and a lot of rain;
living in the shacks our Church members endure hardships with leaking roofs made
of card board and scrap wood. My goal is to establish a more humane dwelling
for those in need.
Amazing already
what the Lord is doing in this place! Next week we begin our HIV/AIDS support
group! Monday, nightly disciple training classes begin, and graduates will work
with us during the July Crusades which begin on July 20th! There are 8 areas
having simultaneous gospel crusades from July 20th -27th!
I am believing God for the greatest harvest of lost souls we have ever seen in
this area!
JUNE NEWS:
I was feeding
the children after school lunch during choir and dance practices this month at
the Church. These kids don't have running water or electricity so they love to
come to Church just for the toilet and the music from the boom box! I made them
hamburgers, peanut butter sandwiches, and other American favorites. They really
enjoyed having tuna salad on bread and apples! Many children only eat pap which
is like grits, or bread because they are too poor to buy fruit, vegetables, and
other healthy items. New Life kids are so talented with only card board boxes
filled with cloth and paper they made nice drums and two play the beats, while
all of them sing and do traditional dances together! I watched one little girl
age 9, coming to Church for two weeks arriving everyday without shoes or socks.
Now temperatures dipping into low 30’s I felt I must buy her shoes! I can only
imagine how cold she is, I am freezing with my socks and tennis shoes on. Many
of the boys are asking for rain boots and I told them I will try to get sponsors
to help. We only need about $45 to buy 8 pairs! No child should be walking
bare foot in the cold!
Phakimasani
Primary School has 1,400++ children! June was youth month in South Africa so we
decided to have Gospel Celebration to uplift the YOUTH as they finish this
term! It was my first big project here and I am very excited to see how it is
really the Hand of God putting these things in place. Several performances made
this special event a success! We had New Life dance team doing both traditional
African dance and Gospel Hip Hop! 4 choirs and 2 school dance teams. Plus, a
lovely drama about HIV and teen pregnancy where children not only performed but
wrote the script and directed the play!
PRAISE THE LORD
for the 150 Bibles that were donated from Port Elizabeth African Enterprise to
give out to the Student Christian leaders of grades 5-7! It is so exciting to
see how hope rises up in people when they have a purpose each day! Just having
a purpose to learn songs and dances and drama, getting prepared for the Gospel
show has made these children and teachers SHINE with purpose!
Please pray for
us here in South Africa!
This blessing
will enable giving hearts to help us with the new project here in South Africa.
I still support financial needs for some of the orphans in Mamelodi where I
started in 2004. We have a Church here in Qolweni settlement and a community hall in
New Horizon Township. Feeding the people both spiritually and physically already
I have seen amazing testimonies of God's glory! We are beginning discipleship
classes on Monday, in preparation for Crusade to begin the 20th of July!
Any amount even $15 goes a long way here
in Africa- Please help us keep these programs going! We need your help-THANK
YOU for your prayers and support!
What a "God thing"! If you think God only worked
miracles two thousand years ago...read on! In January I came home for my
visa renewal and was seated on the plane next to George and Judy Wagener. This
couple, being obedient unto the Lord, started New Life Christian
Partnership (a Church and a Community Center) working diligently and believing God to bring in missionaries to
continue the work while they are in Austria. As God would have it, always by divine appointment, when I met them in January the Lord supernaturally connected us to discuss the needs of the poor in South Africa. Long story short now,
five months later I will begin a new post in the Western Cape on the very southern tip of Africa! My new location is about 15 hours south of where I have been living and working over the past
three years. I look forward to the continuation of the amazing work that is
beginning there and am very excited! My emotions are overwhelmed and I am so
very blessed George and Judy have invited me to become a part of their work in
God's plan being carried out there. YESTERDAY the doctor checked him, said he was healed, and
released him from the hospital!
January- the new school year in South Africa begins, and
three orphaned children living in the township are wearing new uniforms and
proudly attending school! The girls still need $55 to buy a sweater, pants, and
warm ups for the winter season which starts around April. The Lord really
blessed us with open doors in three different schools, and all this at a time
when our schools here are overcrowded and many are not accepting new students. Jehovah Jireh our PROVIDER!!! Praise the Lord for the
vehicle loaned to me in January by the Van Der Berg family. February was a bit
tough not having a car for several weeks, but at the end of the month Stephan a
dear brother in Christ from Pretoria decided not to sell his 1986 VW Jetta but
loaned it to me instead! The first day I had the vehicle I was able to use it
for God’s glory. I received a phone call to pick up several trash bags full of
donations. Some friends in Johannesburg, who have been collecting clothes,
toys, and shoes for the orphans since we met last December during Jesus camp
became a HUGE blessing to the Mamelodi kids. Also, we received 18 bags of
additional clothes and much needed items for the new children’s home collected
for us by Mr.Havenga. What a mighty God we serve! I was able to distribute
these donations among two children’s homes and two foster care homes in Mamelodi.
Making individual packages, provided clothing to 25 children. The new children’s home in Mamelodi opened in February and
already the windows of heaven have been opened and God is pouring out His
blessings. You see, typically the orphaned children arrive with nothing but the
clothes they are wearing. No tooth brush, towel, clothes, shoes, underwear,
etc. It is heart breaking to see a child go with out the most basic necessities
for daily hygiene. I bought cooking utensils, food, toiletries, plastic bowls,
spoons, toaster, and other household items to get them up and running. We still
need several basics for establishing the house and kitchen. As new children
arrive they will need more beds, mattresses, blankets, towels, cups, bowls, and
large cooking pots. Please pray with us to see God’s miracle come to pass! Some food donations have been provided, but we still need
to pray for more, so that their daily food needs are met. There is no table and
chairs for sitting down to eat meals, we believe God to provide a sponsor that
we can purchase one soon. Currently there are 6 orphaned children with one
foster mother and another mother and several children will be arriving in
April-hallelujah! As soon as the upstairs and bathrooms are finished they can
accommodate 20-25 children! Please consider helping toward meeting the needs of
this new orphan care home. I would like to support them with $470 per
month-anything you give can help us meet this goal! They presently have no
sponsors, but I know what a mighty God we serve. He is ABLE to do exceedingly,
abundantly, above all we can think, or ask for, according to His power that
worketh in us! Eph 3:20 I feel especially excited about the way God is creating a
village support system to raise these children. At the location of the new
orphan home, there is a large fenced area owned by the Church. Where I have
watched miracles occur over the past several years as each building was
established. Today, next to the Church is the first of four children’s homes
for AIDS orphans. Just across the dusty field are the elementary school,
hospice, day care, and social development offices. The Pastor plans to build
three more children’s homes God willing and a High School. I praise God for
those willing to rise up and DO the WORD of God caring for strangers, orphans,
and widows! Here we are feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, providing homes
for orphans, educating children, and caring for the dying. The Church is
raising up disciples and calling them to take action. Pray for Pastor Titus and
his entire staff and congregation as they dare to do the impossible! Tomorrow, Palm Sunday, we are having an outing to a
beautiful farm just outside the township. The children are excited to see the
animals and waterfall! In Loving memory of Chloe, who left us to join Jesus in
Heaven last Thursday. She was a beautiful 5 year old baby girl whose mother
died just after she was born. Though orphaned she lived with her granny and 8
other children in Mamelodi. She had the biggest eyes and was the most beautiful
little dancer always praising the Lord! My heart goes out to the family, and
remaining sibling, brother Neo, age 9. I must say this is the first I have written of deaths
occurring around me. EVERY DAY over 1000 PEOPLE DIE HERE OF AIDS!!! Over 60% of
the WORLD’S HIV POPULATION IS HERE in South Africa! Every orphaned child I have
worked with or cared for has lost SEVERAL relatives to AIDS not just a mother or
father, but aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, and cousins! In the past few years it has been something I avoid
discussing or writing about because I know far away in America it just doesn’t
seem real or matter, after all you don’t know these people. What breaks my
heart the most is the enormous number of dying, innocent children. Many babies
are born HIV positive and then dying young because of weak immune systems and
lack of basic nutrition, and poor or non-existent medical care. Can you imagine
staring DEATH in the face CONSTANTLY? In the townships, squatter camps,
schools, Churches, clinics, and everywhere I go here, I SEE IT. The multitudes
are suffering and the greatest PANDEMIC in history is killing off thousands a
week here! Many of them not even making it into adulthood, dying as mere
children, in the shadows of disease, upon the DARK Continent of Africa! We can easily become hopeless- BUT GOD! We must not
despair but DO SOMETHING- ANYTHING to help those who are hurting, starving,
needing medical care, food, clothes, schooling…so EVERYDAY that is what I aspire
to do. Serve The Lord by helping those He puts before me. You see when people
SEE Jesus they embrace Him and serve Him with their whole hearts. Together we
can make a difference! We have had a few challenges this year at Makhulong, with
the change of ownership and new land deal, we must now relocate. The Makhulong
Children's Village and Edu-Centre where I started the orphanage over two years
ago, is now becoming an upper-class residential estate and they plan to build
almost 5,000 homes. The leadership of the school and farm has unfortunately
changed focus and now the school is being leased out, the land developed into an
Equestrian Estate, and the orphanage closed. The children have been removed by
the social workers and placed in the Baptist Children's Home and other foster
placements. But God has a new place for US! One of the local African Pastors whose Church, WWIC,
missions team visited with me in Oct. 2005, has now built a new orphanage! They
are completing the construction this week. Hallelujah! He has agreed to
take some of my kids! Next door to their Church in
Mamelodi, they have built a hospice for dying AIDS patients, Christian
school, and two-story children's home! A Church in
California provided them the building funds, and now they have asked me
to help them open it! I drove Pastor Paula and Deleon thru this area of shacks
and poor sqatter camp dwellings on their visit in June 2005. Most of my kids
come from this area. Praise the Lord for what He has done in going before us
and preparing the WAY! The Pastor and his wife will oversee the project long
term. I have agreed to help them open the children's home and hire and train
foster mothers. I also am committed to help raise funds for school fees to pay
for the orphans education, and find sponsors to help with monthly food and
medical costs. In January, I will begin running a major outreach to feed
orphans still living on their own in this area, and obtaining food for those
living on the Church grounds. Several farmers are willing to donate fresh
vegetables and other people have become interested in donating food that
is almost expired but still usable. Please pray the Lord continue to guide us
and open doors as we launch this new Children's home for 25 kids, and outreach
to over 110 children in child headed households. Pastor Titus Sithole signed up
as an outreach of WWIC and attended services in Tampa
. He has met Col. Moore, Wendy Carpenter-Boles, and Dr. LeGrande along with the
entire team in 2005. His Church is in Mamelodi , South
Africa . Pastor got approval to start the first Boys and girls Club
in South Africa ! We will host school aged
children in this after school program to help with homework, provide meals,
sports, music, and Bible teaching! He already has almost 400 children attending
the Church school, and will invite other children, especially orphans who go to
other schools nearby, to join this program.
Eyes That See Clearly:
October was a
busy month, but some wonderful things were accomplished with God’s grace and the
help of some dedicated professionals. On October 11th, Dr. Alan Upchurch, an
Ophthalmologist from McKinney Texas, brought a small team to the Makulong
Children’s village. They performed eye exams for both the children and their
foster mothers and all who needed corrective lenses received them. “I’m so
happy that I can once again read my bible!” proclaimed Matilda, one of the house
mothers. As the team was packing their things, Dr. Upchurch felt a tug on his
trousers. He looked down to see a small girl holding a well worn pair of
glasses. Another doctor had given her those glasses some time ago, and after
being replaced with the correct prescription, she wanted the doctor to take them
to someone who needed them. Even those who have almost nothing know what it is
to show generosity and compassion. The good doctor just smiled but the tear
welling in the corner of his eye showed that he was as touched by the gesture as
we were. Far Off Broadway:
On October 23rd & 24th,
the children of the Edendale Primary School performed their production of “Story
Island”, an original play written by the school’s teachers. Weeks of rehearsal
were energetically embraced by the children and the two performances were a
smash success, judging by the laughter and applause of the audience. The
children danced and sang with confidence and enthusiasm far beyond their young
years, and even technical difficulties with the electrical system could not
shake them out of character. Many thanks are deserved for Brian Smith; and Chicken King, a local
sandwich shop, for providing food for the kids. With two 16 hour performance
days, they surely appreciated the extra energy. Thanks and Prayer Requests:
We would like to give
thanks to the Malan family, for providing us with a vehicle for the month of
October. Their generosity has been invaluable in our ability to fetch supplies
and get them to the children who need them. Another big thank you goes out to
First Baptist Church of McKinney Texas. They provided lunch boxes and school
supplies for the children at the orphanage. Dr. Alan Upchurch, besides the eye
care, also provided medicines for the continued optical health of children and
staff. Finally, Samaritan’s Purse, one of the world’s largest Christian
Charities, has pledged to provide Christmas Presents for the orphans here at
Makulong Children’s Village. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * ** * * * * * * * * * Michelle Smith has been handling the day-to-day operation of this organization for
the past five years.
Please consider any way you can help by
donations. Anything you can do to make a difference in
the life of a child will be a blessing! Thank you for your urgent attention and
support.
Please feel free to
contact me anytime. - Michelle SmithJune, 2010
April/May, 2010
Miracles, Signs, and Wonders!
Freedom Day Camp for New Life Kids
Place of Hope –Babies Shelter Renovations
Almost Complete
And the People sang “REJOICE!” We Love our
New Church Building
Trusting God…Less than $200 REMAINS in our Bank Account March, 2010
01/2010: TWO
YEARS OF MINISTRY IN QOLWENI
Will you Sponsor these boys???
Two
of my first orphan boys from Makhulong in 2005 are teenagers and will no
longer be able to stay at that orphanage. I'm seeking scholarships for
Presley and Gadifele. They both lost their mothers to AIDS several
years ago and lived at the orphanage for the past five years. Now they are
in high school but need school fees, dorm rent, and bus fare paid to stay in
school. The school principal has discounted Presley's fees by 50%
because he is such a good student. For him to remain in Edendale
School, we MUST get him sponsored (or scholarship).
11/2009 And the people rejoice saying
“Look what the Lord has done for
us!”
HIGHLIGHTS in Ministry 2009
Prayer Requests
Many thanks to all of you who have made this mission POSSIBLE!
God, who sees
what is done in private, rewards openly those who give alms. Matt 6:4
SEE your good works and GLORIFY your FATHER in Heaven!
or think, according to His power that worketh in us! Eph 3:20Newsletter from Michelle Smith
(July, 2009):
Manna from Heaven!
At Ingwe Camp we asked both
kids and volunteers what was your favorite part of this experience, loudly
they shouted, “The FOOD”!
BLANKETS!
Over 35 blankets were given out this month! Every child at camp received a
new warm blanket to take home, Hallelujah! 
The
bunk beds with NEW blankets, swimming pool, obstacle course, food, &hot
showers were a BIG hit!
Newsletter from Michelle Smith
(June, 2009):
Newsletter from Michelle Smith
(May, 2009):
Newsletter from Michelle Smith
(February, 2009):
Newsletter from Michelle Smith
(December, 2008):
New Life Kids Program
Newsletter from Michelle Smith
(October, 2008):
Newsletter from Michelle Smith
(August/September 2008):
Newsletter from Michelle Smith (July,
2008):
Recently, the kids were singing in English that HILLSONG "I am free" to dance...
I am free to LIVE for you Jesus! I am free! They are just learning but really
feel these words and are free in the Lord!
In the past we did not have any website or means for donations from USA to help
support projects in Africa. But Praise the Lord, now just as there is a
need for support, God has opened a door!
Newsletter from Michelle Smith (June 2008):
Newsletter from Michelle Smith (March 2008):
Newsletter from Michelle Smith (Jan, 2008):
Newsletter from Michelle Smith (Oct/Nov, 2007):
E-Mail:
Africa
Dreams