A Couple Of Things To Pray For

Just thought I would pass on a couple of things to pray for. About two months ago, I got an e-mail from a Master's College grad that had heard of the work here through a mutual friend (Thanks Courtney and Sam!). Her church youth group wanted to do a concert fundraiser to raise money for the ministry here. Was there anything specifically that they could raise money for. Well, while I was dying to say money for a new school, I know the larger priority right now is the money needed to finish the hospice we are building. It was so encouraging to see Christians that I don't know desire to be involved in the work here! WOW! Really, I can't tell you what an encouragement it was to me to get that e-mail. The concert is this weekend so please pray God lays it on people's hearts to give! Pray too for any who come to the concert who don't know Christ and that this might be used to soften their hearts to the gospel.

Please also be in prayer for my dad. He came back from the states with a bad case of bronchitis. (Those of you who are familiar with how long a bad cough stays with me can rest assured that it is a genetic thing :)and his will last even longer.) He teaches class this coming week for about 7 hours a day for 6 days straight. Please pray that he is sufficiently well enough to survive the week. I'd ask you to pray that if he isn't that he would ask someone else to step in but if you know anything about my dad- you know that will never happen :).

Sani Pass

When you live in Johannesburg, sometimes its good to get out and see that all of South Africa is not a major city. Last weekend I went with a couple from church to the Sani Pass which is a road up the Drakensberg mountains into Lesotho.




Above is the view from the top. The front part of the picture (the stones) is what the road looked like we drove up.

Here are Alan, Nicolene and Emma at the bottom of the mountains.

Another view from the top.

Just a quick note to let you know that my e-mail has been down for about two weeks now. I have had it here and there during these last two weeks but nothing consistent. And now I can't get it at all.... So, if you have e-mailed me and I haven't responded, chances are I didn't get it. Wait a couple days to send it again.... Right now its going to somewhere in cyberspace and not anywhere near my e-mail in-box.

Backwards is really forwards.......

When we found out about Meise and what she had been doing, it felt like our project had taken a hundred steps backwards. In fact at one point Lyn even said to me that maybe we should shut it down for awhile to regroup. The more we heard and the more we saw of what she had done the more discouraging it was. But you just keep reminding yourself of the truth. God hasn't made a mistake yet. This isn't and accident. Somehow and someway he is going to work through this. And He has.

What seemed like a hundred steps back has really become a hundred steps forward. For me, it has been good to have to be more hands on in Katlehong. There are a lot of things Meise has done for us that I have done in the last few weeks. Last Friday, I spent a large portion of the day taking one of the 80 year old grandmothers to the doctor and helping her do somethings at the bank. As a result, I had some great conversations with the woman who went with me to translate about spiritual things. I've also had the chance to meet with most of those we are helping up there and begin to build deeper relationships with them. Because Meise tried to keep them away from us for fear that she would be caught out, her not being part of our project has freed them to share with me in new ways.

We also have hired two new workers. Both who claim to be Christians and one I am fairly certain is. The Christian is actually a man who is a widower and has three small children that he is looking after and raising. Not a big deal to many of us but you have to understand in their culture the men typically have children and leave. He's really the first one I have met who is actively involved in his children's lives in the Katlehing area. Men there just don't do that. He also has been involved in going into schools and teaching about purity and abstenice (another unheard of idea here). I'm looking forward to capitalizing on some of his contacts at the school!

We also found out why we have met with such resistance from the clinics in Katlehong. We had had a great meeting with one and they had agreed to give us the names of children they think are HIV positive for us to follow up on. When Meise went to get the names, they refused and all of a sudden started talking about privacy issues. Doreen (the other person we have hired) went and spoke to the clinic this week and they told her that they were afraid to give Meise the information because they were afraid of how shoe would use it against people. They would be more then willing to give us that information now for us to follow up.

It has been an encouraging few days. I've prayed (and I know many of you have) for this project and that God would give us inroads into the community and make us effective there. It has been exciting this week to see how He used what seemed like a hundred steps backwards to accomplish this! Thank you so much for praying. Your prayers are such an important part of the ministry here!

On a different note, I am very excited that my parents return home from three months in the states this Sunday! Yahoo! I really am serious about hiding their passports next year so they can't go. :-)

I'm also looking forward to going away this weekend with some people from church. We are going to Lesotho which is a small country in the middle of South Africa. It should be a lot of fun!

Prayer Letter

I recently sent out an updated prayer letter to people. If you didn't receive it but would like to, please let me know and I would be glad to forward it on to you. Or if you received it and would like to be taken off of the list, let me know that. You can either leave me a comment with your e-mail or send me a quick note at beth@grace.org.za.

Thanks!

Today is the day

Thanks so much for all you who have been praying for the situation in Katlehong. Lyn and I met yesterday with the witnesses and man, it is twisted- really twisted. We found out that she stole the money to pay for her daughter to get Sangoma training (which is witch doctor training.) We actually think that might be why God choose to reveal it now- because what she was using the monies for was so warped and just evil.

The hearing is today where we present our witnesses and she is able to defend herself. Please pray for that and for the outcome. Continue to pray that God would be lifted high even in the midst of this. Once the hearing is over, there are a myriad of details I will need to work through in the township as far was where we go from here. Please pray for wisdom in that!