A wonderful warm people!

 Well, it has been a few days of very busy ministry here in South Africa!  God has done amazing things in our lives, and in the lives of those we came to minister to.  We have been blessed to experience several church services with our brothers and sisters, some of them a bit charismatic but all were a great time of worship and fellowship.

  Our ministry with HIV and AIDS education has been filled with amazing stories of God’s hand at work in both circumstances and hearts.  ALL of the government offices of South Africa are on strike right now!!!  That means no students in school, unless they are in private schools or universities.  Despite the strikes, God had plans for us to meet with upwards of 600 kids last week in several schools and other venues, and most of those kids made commitments to Christ for the first time.  Praise the Lord for that harvest! 

All of our team members have done a great job of humbly communicating this very tough subject to a country that is in desperate need of the information.  I am blown away at how little the people here know about the virus that kills most of them.  Even the adults know little to nothing about how HIV is transmitted and the truths about the damage that it does.  So this “Better Choices” curriculum is very effective in two ways:  It teaches the people about the virus, and then we bring it all together with the only hope that any of us have, JESUS CHRIST!!!

  We have also been able to have some fun together.  We went to a local game preserve and saw many of the amazing South African animals that are here.  It’s springtime here so many of the animals had their young.  Baby giraffes are really cute!  We saw a lion, many rhinos, monkeys, warthogs, Kudo, etc. etc..  We were also invited to a brii (bbq African style) so tasty, and a fun way for us to hang with some of the locals and eat some different types of meat.

 We are now in Greytown, South Africa.  If any of you have seen the movie “Faith Like Potatoes”, that is where we are.  Angus Buckham’s farm and ministry are right around the corner.  We are hoping to swing by there on Tuesday afternoon to see him and hear about his ministry.  We are staying at the house of a gentleman that was one of Angus’ elders.

  

The government strikes are still going on.  So please continue to pray that God will provide safety and many people for us to share with.   That’s all for now.  We covet your prayers and know that God is in total control!

God Bless,

South African Missions Team

Teaching in the schools!

Greetings from South Africa...

Well, we started our "Better Choices" curriculum this week. We are teaching HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention along with the real need, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Any time an opportunity to bring God's Truth to the public schools and the community opens up like this... we want to grab it!  Bringing hope to the nations.

All the preparation, organizing, teambuilding, and prayer... it was all leading up to this week. As a side note, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we could already see God unfolding his perfect plan for all of the work that was ahead of us. God quickly knit all of our hearts together for one purpose:  to share the Gospel for God's glory!

Here is another display of God at work this week, are you ready for this?  We've talked alot as a team so far about being flexible on missions trips, and in all our preparation we encountered opposition right away... it seemed wherever God was building a house, the enemy was building right next door. The enemy knew the Gospel was going out to the nations! It just so happens that this week, in our province in South Africa, most of the schools were suffering from a teacher's strike, which in turn shut the schools down. No school, no students...No students, no venue to teach the students... right?

WRONG! It was amazing to see God at work, in His perfect will and timing, open up so many doors for the nations to hear His Gospel! By the end of the first day, in all the excitement and changes of plans, we had collectively shared "Better Choices" and the Gospel with over 400 students and locals! Over 400 South Africans were reached on the FIRST DAY! Praise God!  God will accomplish what He wants, when He wants. God is good, all the time...All the time, God is good!

We finished our curriculum with hundreds of locals in the Richard's Bay area today and saw God do some great work:  educating the people and students about HIV/Aids, presenting the Gospel through the Jesus Film, testimonies, and God's Word. Many students were led to the saving truth of Jesus, committing their lives to Him! Praise the Lord!

Thank You for all your prayers, please pray that many would continue to come and hear the Truth of Jesus as we travel to Greytown on Saturday.

In Him - Colby Long

A Glimpse of Heaven in Worship

Today, Sunday, has been a great day of praising the Lord with our South African brothers and sisters.  Worship here is so powerfully led by the Spirit!!  Not sure I've ever heard so many harmonies all at once.

We stopped by one of the orphanages that Beacon of Hope ministries has been involved with for many years.  The video clip linked below is from that orphanage.  Their worship moved most of us to tears!  I'm sure you will understand why once you've seen this video...it's a must watch!

Orphans in S Africa Praising the Lord from Mark Breyer on Vimeo.

Tomorrow will be filled with training for our first day of Aids Education, training with our S African partners.  Pray that our time with them will be filled with divine appointments. 

Orphanage Pictures

We had a great time this morning playing soccer with our newest friends!  The kids at this orphanage are mostly all Christians already, but we will be bringing them some great times along with the word as we hold a vacation Bible school over the next few days.  Here's Sam and Phoebe with some of the kids who are clearly delighted to see them!

We've arrived!

We have all arrived safely after 36 hours of total travel time!  You may notice a few extra folks in the picture below, taken as we arrived in Durban.  There is another team from a church in California that is joining us here.  The Lord is already knitting our hearts together with them, which is a blessing since  we will be ministering together in the coming days.  

The work is already at hand.  Today, we will be going to an orphanage to minister through a vacation Bible school for the kids.  After that, we'll show the Jesus film which always has a powerful impact.  Please, join with us in prayer, because without the Holy Spirit going before us and preparing hearts, our efforts will simply be man's work.  We want to see the Lord moving in a powerful way as He draws many to Himself!   To Him be the glory always.

Prayer Points!

We invite you to join with us in prayer as we minister in South Africa.  We'll be heading into the schools to share the Word of God with a people who desperately need hope and love.  Please pray for our protection, for smooth transactions, for health for our team and most of all for the name of Jesus to be known in South Africa as the one true God, King and mighty Savior!

We are partnering with BOHI, Beacon of Hope International.