God Provides!!!

Oh my goodness this post is getting out to all of you so late. PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I feel like this post is too good to pass up. The Lord is so good and provides in so many creative ways! This story is so encouraging to me. It’s late, but a good one…

In an earlier post I shared about the Slabbert family, and how much of a blessing they’ve been to our team. We met the Slabbert family when our little team of three moved back to Durban at the beginning of March. Ali and I stayed in their son Michael’s flat that is just off their house. As much as we would have loved to stay with them for the remainder of the year, we knew we couldn’t crash in Michael’s flat forever. Our hesitation to leave this family and the lovely accommodations they provided was used greatly by the Lord! We couldn’t pull out of the Slabbert home, and as a result the perfect flat has fallen into our laps!

When we moved to Durban Ryan had accommodation immediately with Gary and Cheryl. The Price family had their granny flat open up recently and offered it to Ryan for the year. Housing for Ali and I was not so simple. We searched for weeks for housing that was in a safe area, close to campus, and affordable. It was quite challenging to find anything within our price range that was close to Ryan. We are sharing a car, so it was fairly important that we be close to him. Also, for safety reasons, we didn’t want to be too far off on our own. We finally made the decision to go with a flat that was close to campus, but wasn’t ideal. I was hesitant to sign the lease and move forward, but I wasn’t sure why. I guess it just didn’t feel right. The next day (the day before we would sign the lease), Gary calls us all excited because he discovered that a flat that was right across the street from their house was available! We called the owners and visited that day. We took one look at the small house and signed the papers! Our little home was exactly what we prayed for. It was the cheapest place we looked at, the closest to Ryan, and in one of the safest areas in Durban!

On top of providing the ideal housing situation for us, the Lord provided everything we needed to furnish the flat. The Slabbert family was so incredibly helpful in the process. Not only did the Slabbert family donate several pieces of furniture from their home, but also Mandy contacted dozens of people asking them if they would be willing to donate anything from dishtowels to beds! She spent days looking for people who would be willing to help meet our needs. Within 3 days we had everything we needed, and more! 3 DAYS!! We are incredibly thankful for Mandy and her family.

It is amazing to walk into our home everyday and know that we are where we are because people are generous. We are living in South Africa because people are joyfully giving!  Everything is our home is donated! Not only has the Lord used everyone to provide for our practical needs but for our emotional and spiritual needs as well (that includes all of you). I am humbled to wake up every morning and know that I am able to live because of what God has provided through the joyful giving of others. The Lord continues to humble me! From the second I started raising support over a year ago, to this very moment, the Lord has blown me away with his provision. He has literally used hundreds to send me and sustain me. Thank you for your generosity. Your faithfulness enables me to give myself to the students here in Durban, for the glory of God and His Kingdom!

It’s incredible to watch the Lord provide. I thank God daily, for the blessings his given me in all of you. 

A light in the Darkness...

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare it to you: God is the light; in him there is no darkness." 

Ukukhanya means "light in the darkness" in Zulu. It's also the name of the life care centre our team will be working with once a week for the next 7 months! Thank you for praying with the Durban team as we've tried to find our place in the community.We have waited for the Lord to open doors and bring us exactly where he wants us. It's been a long process, but the Lord has provided, yet again! 

Ukukhanya is an AIDS hospice that is currently in its development stage. The center was founded by a local pastor name Prince and an American woman named Penny Dugan (Picture of the team with Penny on the right). The two were brought together in the most amazing way! I plan to share their story in more detail in my next prayer letter, but do briefly want to share about the amazing organization God has brought us to! The two have worked for over a year together to develop the center. God's given them great vision, and their dreams for the Centre are incredible. They simply desire to serve and love the people of Ntuzuma as Christ would. They are slowly establishing themselves in the township by visiting families and caring for those who are sick and need assistance. They pray daily that they are a light in the community. We are deeply blessed to serve with the care center, and be a part of what God is doing in Ntuzuma. 

Please pray for our time and for the relationships we are going to build over the year. We hope to establish a strong partnership with Ukukhanya, so that future STINT teams and summer project teams can serve in Ntuzuma. 

The Lord is moving in mighty ways and providing for us daily. Thank you so much for your prayers! Isn't it amazing to watch the Lord provide?! I am excited to share more stories with you about our time at the life care centre in the future! 

God Bless

Sorry for the delay!

I hope all of you are keeping well, and experiencing the Lords presence daily! 

I wanted to send out an apology for not updating my blog over the past few weeks, and for the delay on 

my April Prayer Letter. I plan to send out proper updates over the next week. There are a lot of 

exciting things happening and I am excited to share all that God is doing! The summer project team 

has arrived in Durban and the Lord is moving in mighty ways. It's a privilege to watch the 

Lord work. I am so excited to finish these updates and share in all of this with you! 

Thank you so much for all of your prayers! I hope you are enjoying your spring!

We thank you Lord

Here is a short clip of the Kids at Beam Africa praying before they sit down and share a meal together. If you have some time please read through the interview that is in my last post. Erika, the owner and operator of Beam Africa, explains where the center is currently and where they desire to go. Also, in the last question, she shares some specific prayer requests. Even though the Durban team isn’t visiting Beam Africa weekly, the children and staff there are very important to us. I hope you enjoy this short clip.   

Interview with Erika from Beam Africa

My teammate James did an interview with the founder of Beam Africa. Erika has posted this same interview on the organizations website. Even though the Durban team is no longer serving consistently at Beam, our hearts and prayers are still with Erika and all the families at Beam Africa. I hope you feel closer to everyone at Beam after reading through this interview. 

Beam Africa: 

1. Why did you start BEAM Africa?
     There is never just one reason for starting a Ministry—it is always a series of events which lead in a direction. The Scripture which led us to the place where BEAM Africa Network started to take shape, was Isaiah 58:3-9.  If one looks at the specific community where our office is situated, I believe that our video on the Home page addresses that issue where Louis speaks about the "NEED!”  (Go to BEAM to see the video and other info for BEAM.)

2. What exciting things are happening at BEAM Africa currently?  
     We have had a talk on a national Christian Radio Station. Due to that a lady who has had various clothing factories has contacted us and has become involved by training some of our beneficiaries as well as taking them into the manufacturing of certain items.
     We have had a visit from the Member of the Mayor's Committee for Housing. He came to see us to thank us for our work in Nellmapius.  We took the opportunity to discuss our need for a larger property with him. We are excited to say that on his recommendation we went to look at different stands last week and will be reporting back to him with our findings this coming week.
     We have also seen the need for housing volunteers as we were contacted by a few people from oversees who would like to come for longer periods than a week at a time. We prayed about it and a few months ago a piece of residential property came to our attention. We believe that this piece of property will cater for the need to house volunteers. We finally made an offer 3 weeks ago. Although we have not received the go- ahead, we believe that this will soon happen as we have taken the first steps in the right direction.
     BEAM Africa Training Centre is currently registering to become accredited with SAQA. Personally, I feel so humbled by the way that it is happening. It also opens doors for many more ways in which people will be able to share their expertise with those in need.
     

3. How do you feel that running BEAM Africa has changed/touched our hearts?
     We have discussed this and feel that the following scripture is appropriate: Mark 8: 23b-25: "And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked and said, "I see men like trees walking." Then he put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.” We feel that in this Ministry we have been taken through a process to be able to really SEE the people who we are dealing with.
     

4.  What are your biggest challenges?
     One would be to capacitate our staff to move with the same heart that we have.  At present another would be space for our children to be able to have Holiday schools and play.  To develop training material in certain subjects of which Computer/Administrative is the most important.
    

 5. What are you long term goals?
     To set up more Centers like BEAM in this community and other communities.
   

6. How can we be praying for you?
     That we would have favor as we embark on applying for property in the township.
     That the Lord will provide financially for us in buying the property for housing Volunteers and others.
     That we will find the right staff-members. We need to appoint a Project Coordinator to assist with programs which should get off the ground.  This should be a skilled person, but also one with the right heart.  We also need a person to assist for 6 months  with computer training.  Training and developing our current facilitator as well as training material. 

Pray with us for Dan

Recently I asked everyone to pray for my teammate Dan, who has been sick for over 2 months now. I wanted to update all of you and ask you for your continued prayer. I am so sad to share that the decision to send Dan home has been made. Dan's battled this illness for quite sometime now. It was only a few weeks after we arrived in South Africa that Dan's health started to deteriorate. We originally thought it was a parasite, but after a few hospital visits, and several different medications there was no change in his health, leaving the problem unclear. As a result of the mystery digestive/intestinal problem, Dan has lost a lot of weight, causing him to be light headed and dizzy most of the day. As of today we still don't know what exactly is causing the problem. Its best to send Dan home to be with his family, and receive proper treatment.  In order to get healthy and truly recover from this illness, its best to send him back to the states. Please pray with our team for Dan. 

I am so sad to see him go home, but the past few months have been very difficult for him and being sent home presents some new challenges. Please pray for his heart and for his health. Also, please pray that our team would have wisdom in how to continue to care for Dan from South Africa. God has sent him home, but he is still very much a part of the South Africa team. If you would like to read more specific details of the last few months for Dan, you can visit his blog site. 

Dan Nifong

 

Last Monday Dan landed safely in Denver. He is seeking out proper medical care, and will hopefully find the problem sooner rather than later. When we get an update I promise to update all of you. Thank you for all of your prayers. I will update you on Dan situation as soon as possible. 

Ben's Story

Hi Everyone! 

I wanted to share a wicked awesome story with all of you. My team leader Kendra posted this story on her blog about a week back. It is incredible how we are seeing the Lord moves across South Africa. This story is from the U.J. campus. Kendra tells the story of a guy named Ben who she randomly met on campus. His story is touching.  Please click on the link below and read about what the Lord has done in his life. I heard about Ben and realized, it is such a great pleasure to watch the Lord work.

My Name is Ben