Dave and Donna .ca

With a new phone line installed in our “flat” we are connected more easily to the internet and able to down load outside the peak use times.  This is a most welcome advancement for us.

Since our last published prayer letter we have purchased a good used car, and driven it several times to Pretoria and also to Durban on the coast.  Pretoria is the governmental seat of the country, while Durban is a large sea port on the northern East coast.

We continue to see the favor of the Lord as we pursue our work here and elsewhere in the world.  Recently, and by a request from our Canadian High Commission in Pretoria we were granted visas to visit Pakistan.  Our application for visas became a rather complicated issue that has now been settled in our favor.  Our plans are to travel to Pakistan on November 9th and back to our home in South Africa on December 4th.

We have visited with a significant number of South Africans in ministry over this last month, and see a great number of ways that Canadians can join with South Africans to advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Our growing perspective on ministry here

In the first weeks of settling into South Africa we were invited to attend a conference for Evangelists and Church Planters.  Over 100 attended from all over South Africa.  The guest speakers came from Zimbabwe, USA, and South Africa.  Key people we interacted with included Terry Rae who leads Africa for Christ, Cecil Peasley who leads crusades world wide, several Southern Baptist Missionaries serving in South Africa as well as other South Africans.  We witnessed a growing sense of urgency to work in a culture that has at a minimum 25% of the population infected with HIV/AIDS.  If one segments the population by age the statistics are even more grim.

Following this conference we continued to network in the Johannesburg area with people aligned with the Baptist Union of South Africa.  This Union of Churches has over 450 established Churches and another 200+ preaching points and non-established Churches.  A key statistic among the non-established Churches is that many of these are Churches in rural and ‘informal housing projects’ (read squatter camps).  They have in a congregation of 60, only 4 people who are working.  Among so many poor people how can pastors find financial support?  The answer is that the vast majority are supported by their working wives.  We see a commitment among them to advance the gospel that is unequalled by white cultures in general.

Along with networking in the Baptist Union we met other leaders and workers who are doing incredible things with limited resources.

One such person in Durban has established a Saturday school among primarily Zulu speaking students.  The Saturday school seeks to help students master Math, Science and English.  The tutorials help students graduate and find employment.  The school is committed to reaching out with the gospel in a caring context so it teaches a Bible story and feeds the children. We witnessed the school working in a facility that could house 50, but there are 200 attending.  Some of these children travel by a van/bus for several hours.  The saddest cases are children leading families of their younger siblings because both parents have died of AIDS and no one can care for them, they are all orphans and trying to learn so that they can find a better life.  We were told that over 60 children decided to trust Christ this year and 3 of the teachers helping have trusted Christ too.  It is an amazing opportunity and a program that could be replicated elsewhere.

Another ministry we observed is in the Cape Town area and has many facets.  Just recently through overseas donations they have built a hospice (the only one in the area) for dying people, but they do so much more including nutrition, children’s education (children as young as 13 are having babies, and they and their babies are infected with AIDS).  Counseling is offered and so are job creation programs along with nutrition and home care workers.

Back in Jo’burg we spoke with a young man who is with a foundation called Starfish.  It backs projects led by other South Africans to help in communities around the country.  Most of the projects are led by Christians although this is not a requirement, it was observed that Christians are compassionate and dedicated to the work when others seem to let it go.

Further afield we see the opportunity for Canadians to team with South Africans in significant ministries.  One opportunity is among the Yao (read YOW) who are in Northern Mozambique.  These people are Moslems, and are in need of the Lord.  There is currently a team made up of Australians and a South African/American couple.  The call has come for a Canadian couple to join them.

This is just the tip of the iceberg that we see here!

Please join us in prayer as we continue to learn and over time formulate a strategic partnership to bring Canadians into the  Southern African context to advance the Kingdom of God in this generation.

Prayer Requests:

Give thanks with us for:

1. Our new used car that gives us freedom and mobility!
2. A telephone line installed in our ‘flat’
3. Excellent contacts with mission leaders and agency heads.
4. Good interaction with the Baptist Union of South  Africa and appreciation for all the help they have and continue to give us.
5. Visas for Pakistan November 9th to December 4th.

Join us in praying for:

1. Wisdom to do what, when.
2. Development of contacts into a strategic partnership to bring Canadians into the Southern Africa context.
3. Preparation for Pakistan conference etc.
4. Effective development of MemberCare for all of our mission staff.
5. A Church home base in Jo’burg where we can particpate and be encouraged.

You can leave a response.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.