Resuming a New Normal

The last 2 months have been filled with much joy and learning as we have adapted to our new life as parents with our sweet little Leilani. The Lord has already taught us so much and we are so grateful for this sweet gift. She is growing so fast, smiling a ton, and brings much joy (and less sleep) to our lives. As we have been adjusting to a new routine, we have also had more opportunity for some of our "normal" ministry as the country has gradually been opening up more. It has been such a blessing to be able to reconnect with people and resume various ministries. Praise the Lord that we are no longer just making calls but can meet with Pastors in person which is a blessing.




Virtual Leader's Mid-Year Conference

We were still able to hold our annual Leader's Mid-Year Conference via Zoom and had the blessing of having speakers from 3 different countries since there were no physical restraints. There were 30 youth and children's leaders in attendance and many commented on how encouraged they were by the conference 

Reconnecting

As the country has been easing up on the lockdown and opened inter-provincial borders, we had the opportunity to go to Mpumalanga (about 4 hours away) to visit friends serving in youth ministry at their local church, make new connections with pastors in the area, and consider future ministry opportunities there. Thato also had the opportunity to share with the kids and teens at one of the churches we work with. It was such a blessing to be able to travel again and connect with some of the people we serve. Some exciting news from the trip is that Pastor Mike, one of the pastors we connected with for the first time, wants to partner with Word of Life South Africa. The bigger news is that we have a new associate in Mpumalanga his name is Xolani and he was a student at DTC, please be praying for him he is praying to be a missionary with Word of Life South Africa. 


Since Leilani's arrival, I (Ashley) have slowed down a bit but continue to serve and meet with the interns, meet with several girls for discipleship, and help with the ladies ministry as we have continued to send out bi-weekly videos and prepare for our conferences in October. I am continuing to find a balance but am thankful to still be able to be involved in ministry while being a mom to our precious little girl.

We were not able to proceed with our camps in July as planned, however, we will be taking the DTC students on a missions trip to Potchefstroom where they will have the opportunity for some evangelism and kids ministry. The students are so excited for this opportunity as many of the ministries they would've been involved in throughout the year were cancelled due to covid. We are thankful as well to be able to resume our children's and guys soccer ministries on our property as of a few weeks ago. It has brought so much more life to our property and to the students who are loving the opportunity to serve again. Though the rest of the year will look nothing like we originally planned, we hope and pray for further ministry opportunities as we continue to get creative in how we can serve during this time.

Please Pray...

- that we would be an encouragement to people during this time and that the Lord would use it to turn hearts to him

- for our DTC students as they are about to start their final term

-continued discipleship relationships

- for wisdom & creativity as we move forward in our various ministries

- for Thato as he leads the missions trip to Potch next week and for fruitful ministry

- for wisdom as we continue to learn how to be godly parents

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