Hello Friends
and Family!
It has been
about a month for me now being back in S. Africa and what a month it has
been. So much has happened in a small
amount of time. If you remember I had
some clear goals on my heart for what I would like to accomplish in village of
Mahvusa for 2012. They are….1) Continue
to walk with Lifter, Cedric and the guys and grow in Christlikeness with them. 2) Find a house in Giyani. 3) Help Lifter start a “tentmaking “ business.
4) Start a youth soccer league. 5) Help the young men in the village find
work. By God’s grace and faithfulness
some major strides forward have been taken towards achieving all of these
goals. Let me explain….
Discipleship - Lifter,
Cedric and I are walking through the book of John. Our intent is to get to know who Jesus is
better. We are concentrating on the
things Jesus taught, the things He commanded and the miracles He
performed. Our time in the word is always
sweet and Cedric has nothing but questions.
Most of the time I can answer but what’s awesome is that many of the
times Lifter can too! After we finish
the book of John we plan on systematically studying The Holy Spirit, Angels and
Demons. These are big topics in the Shanganni
culture so it will be nice to let the word of God speak.
Housing
- This year I
will not be living in the village. I
will work there and spend the majority of my time in Mavhusa but will sleep and
eat/cook in Giyani. There is a nice
little flat/hut that I will be renting for a reasonable price. It is equipped with hot and cold running
water, a toilet, shower, air conditioning, security bars, internet, and
obviously electricity. I’m excited to
have a place of my own to be able to retreat to and hope by staying in a more sanitized
environment I will be able to stay healthy.
I’ve been blessed by the community of Giyani.
So many people have donated things to help me get on my feet. Pastor Johan and his wife Lizette put up
curtains and dropped off linens making the place feel a lot more like
home. A refrigerator and couch are
coming!
Tent making - The Lord has provided a business for Lifter
and it’s going great! Last year we tried
almost everything to get some kind of little business going and it never worked
out. A few weeks ago I was at a Braii
(BBQ) and Jonathon (Giyani Spar GM) threw out an idea about selling bread from
his bakery. So Jonathon donated the
first 150 loafs to get us started and a bunch of bread crates. For the last 3 weeks Lifter, Cedric, Petres,
Lazerous, Climent, Aubry, Joseph and I have been selling fresh Spar bread and
the people in the village love it. We’re
now pushing 400-500 loafs a day! I am exhausted because in order for this to
happen I have to wake up at 4:30 am and go pick up the bread at the bakery but
it’s working. So far 5 jobs have been
created. We’re selling in 3 villages now
blessing the people with fresh hot bread for a low price. This business has been great for developing
relationships as well.
Soccer -
The soccer
league is slowly developing. We’re
working on making the teams in Mavhusa first.
Lifter literally has 75 guys from ages 11-19 that would follow him
anywhere. He’s a Sheppard. I can see many of them giving their lives to
Christ in the future. God is so good!
Please pray
specifically for the word of God to sink deep into our hearts as we read
through the gospel of John. Also for our
business and the relationships that continue to be built through soccer and
bread sales. I’m tired and need prayer
for energy as well as discipline to rest.
Obvious prayer requests are for health and protection. Lifter is having surgery to repair his collar
bone so please pray for a full recovery.
We have experienced the favour of the Lord this past month. Thank you so much for all your prayer and
support. I miss you all!
Dave
