Kicking off the new year!

We started the year off with a a 3 day staff conference. We are so thankful for the encouraging time we had together to kick off the new year & for the new staff members he has added to our team. We look forward to resuming our ministries for the year as we reach youth with the gospel of Christ. Please be praying for us that we continue to look towards God for strength in every ministry that we are involved in.
With a new year comes new responsibilities. This year, I (Ashley) will be working as the Intern Coordinator. I'm very excited for this opportunity to work alongside the interns & be a part of their journeys as I remember how much the Lord impacted my life in my time as an intern. I will continue to be involved in the various camps & missions trips alongside Thato who directs that aspect of the ministry.

Welcome!

Last week, we excitedly welcomed our students & interns for the year. We are so thankful for each of them & their desire to learn & grow. I (Thato) would like to introduce you to Ruben. He just got released from Bosasa, the juvenile prison I minister at each week. He has been there for six years. I had the privilege of ministering to him & see him grow in his relationship with God. This year we have an awesome opportunity to continue to minister to him and not only that but integrate him back into society. On Thursdays he will be going to Sandton Bible Church to attend Celebrate Recovery. Please be praying for him as this year is going to be stretching for him. He will be studying at BBISA this year and be part of the Discipleship Training Center program. As he studies the word of God for the year he has to pay R1500 a month to cover his food and accommodation. I would like to ask if you would prayerfully consider becoming a part of his journey with the Lord as he studies this year through both prayer & financial support.

Looking Ahead

We are so thankful for the Lord's constant provision in our lives. He does not cease to amaze us. In our 9 months of marriage, the Lord has blessed us tremendously through generosity of our church family. Up to this point, the Lord has graciously provided for us to live rent & utilities free. However, due to the challenge of support raising support in South Africa, Thato was not at full support when we got married. Therefore, in order to continue serving effectively, we must raise the remainder of our support. In order for us as a married couple to be at full support, we need an additional R17,744 ($1300) each month. This amount goes towards both our living expenses such as rent & utilities as well as various ministry expenses. We trust the Lord to provide & ask that you pray with us that we would be able to get to 100% by the end of the year. We would like to invite you to be a part of our ministry, if you are not already, by prayerfully considering investing financially. We would love to share the blessing of being a part of all God is doing through this ministry with you as he changes one life at a time.

Please pray:

- that we would be faithful in ministry & rely on the Lord.

- that the Lord would provide the remainder of our support

- that we would grow in our marriage & personal walks with the Lord

- Thato's ministry at Bosasa

- Ashley's new role as Intern Coordinator

- Leader's Kickoff Conerence this Saturday; pray that pastors & leaders would be refreshed, equipped & encouraged

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Camps Near & Far

Image
It’s been a while since our last update and so much has happened since we arrived back from furlough. Thato took a trip to Zimbabwe to help with some camps alongside the WOL Zim team, we assisted with our church’s Holiday Bible Club (VBS) as well as a winter camp alongside one of the churches we partner with in the East Rand.    Our team also continued with our annual camps happening at Potchefstroom (True Word Bible Church) and Mozambique (Trichardt School). The biggest thing that has happened over these past few months though it that we welcomed our third baby girl, Aliyah Mphonyana (translated ‘little gift’ in Sotho) 3 weeks early. We are thankful for the smooth delivery of our sweet Aliyah on Thato’s birthday (June 4) The pastors cooking for the campers Zimbabwe I had a privilege to go to Zimbabwe after coming back from furlough to help teach at camp. The trip was great ias we were able to meet with Pastors and have fellowship with them as well as teach the word of God to ...
Read more

There & Back Again

Image
It's been a month now since we returned to South Africa and have been settling back into a normal rhythm. We are so thankful for the time we had on furlough to reconnect with friends, family and supporters. It really was such an encouraging time and though it was quite busy with lots of traveling, it was also refreshing. We started out our time with some downtime with our family over the Christmas holidays. It was a wonderful and special time especially since it was the last time we were able to spend with Ashley's Pop Pop before he went home to be with the Lord in March.  We officially began our furlough the first week of January as we caught up with friends and supporters and shared in churches in Abaco, Spanish Wells and Nassau (3 different islands). We were so overwhelmed by the love, generosity and care we felt as we visited with different people and churches. It was also encouraging to see God at work in each person's life and their own spheres. Our time in the US was...
Read more

Weeping & Rejoicing

Image
The Lord gives & the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. This last month has held some really high highs and some really low lows. There has been weeping and rejoicing. But through it all, we continue to say through tears and smiles, "blessed be the name of the Lord". Just a few weeks ago, Thato and I joyfully received the news that in less than 7 months, we would become parents to our first baby. We were ecstatic and so thankful for this gift the Lord had given us. However, the excitement was short lived. Just 5 days after discovering I was pregnant, we were told by the doctor that we had a miscarriage. Though we had only known about the pregnancy for less than a week, we were devastated to hear that we had lost our baby. We struggled to understand exactly why the Lord had allowed this but we continued to trust that He is good and faithful and that he would use it for our good and His glory. Our hearts still hurt but we are thankful for the Lord's lo...
Read more