Love from South Africa

A lot has happened since our last update. We went from being a family of 3 to a family of 4, Thato traveled to Cape Town for a student missions trip, and we had the opportunity to be a part of our church's missions conference. Welcoming Baby Aria On August 6, we welcomed our precious Aria Nyakallo (meaning 'joy' in Sotho) into the world! We are so thankful to the Lord for a smooth delivery and a beautiful, healthy baby girl. She really has brought much joy to our family and her big sister loves her. Shortly after Aria's birth, my parents were able to come visit from the Bahamas to enjoy some time with their newest grandbaby. We had a great time with boh of our famies as they helped us settle a bit into the new normal but it was very special to bond and do things with family as we celebrated Aria’s arrival. Once my family left, we learned to adjust to our new normal as a family of 4. It definitely took some getting used to but we are grateful to the Lord for helping us t

We have had a great time of ministry over the last month with a Satellite Camp, a student missions trip, and our Genesis students graduation. It's definitely been a month of transitions for our students, our staff as we continue pioneering the Genesis Program, and our family as we get ready to welcome another baby soon. Putfontein Satellite Camp During the last week of June, we had the opportunity to partner with a local church in Putfontein to have a Satellite Camp. Our team split in half during the day as some ministered to the kids and the others ministered to the teens and in the evening, everyone came together as the teen program continued. I (Ashley) had the opportunity to help out on one of the discussion panels where teen campers were welcomed to freely ask tough questions and seek biblical answers. I am grateful for chances like this to point teens to biblical truths in a world that promotes everything but biblical answers to controversial topics and constantly pushes worl

This past month had its ups and downs but we are grateful that God is always in control even when our plans change. In the first week of May we had planned to welcome a missions team of students from the Word of Life Bible Institute in New York that was coming to serve with us for a week but had to cancel everything last minute due to severe flooding that took place in Durban in April. Because of the flooding, there was not enough jet fuel at one of our airports and the airline canceled the flight. Due to time and budget constraints. the team decided to head to the Dominican Republic instead. So through all of that, we had the opportunity to move in to our new home and had some extra time to settle in. The rest of the month was spent preparing for all the exciting events we have had recently and the ones coming up. In addition to that, we have been busy with our weekly ministries at WOLZA and at our church as well as getting paperwork sorted for Ashley's visa application as her cu

This past month has been super exciting for us as we were able to hold 4 different camps including one in Mozambique while our students and interns were in Durban. We are so grateful to have been able to see the Lord work through each of these camps and excited to share with you about them. Potchefstroom Satellite Camp We kicked off our month of camps with a Satellite Camp in Potchefstroom, serving alongside Lance, one of our associates, and the church he pastors. The last time we shared with you about the church it was basically a kids church and they were trying to reach out more to the adults in the community. It is a privilege to see what the Lord is doing in True Word Bible church to reach out to the community with the gospel and how he has grown the church. True Word Bible church is no longer just a kids ministry but is now reaching many adults too. They are now able to separate the church in two to have kid's Sunday School as well as a service for the adults. It is encouragi

After several weeks of adjustment and getting into the swing of things, we are now settled into a good rhythm both in our ministry at Word of Life and at our church. It has been a great month of investing, building relationships, and serving. We look forward to a busy month ahead with several camps, a missions trip, and preparation for a missions team coming over in April. Cape Town This year has been different for me (Thato) as I do training for the leaders that we work with in different parts of South Africa. I have seen the youth that I lead at my local church decrease and increase in the same year. I have seen the challenges and the praises of being consistent when leading the teen ministry, and many different youth pastors I have talked with have struggled with the same things. But one thing that I am thankful for is the reminder of prayer and serving. In February I had the opportunity to facilitate a Leader's Kickoff Conference in Cape Town. The Friday before the training, we

We hope you had a wonderful and restful Christmas and New Year's celebrating all God has done for us. 2021 was another interesting year for sure but we are so thankful to the Lord for all he's done and thankful to have been able to have you all be a part of this journey. Staff Conference We started off the year with our annual staff conference. It was really a blessing to spend time with our staff and interns for this year as we looked at the year ahead, brainstormed, and connected through some fun activities like bowling and a high ropes course. It was such a refreshing time together to kick off the new year. We are so thankful for the team God has allowed us to be a part of! The Genesis Program Our Discipleship Training Center program has had a bit of a makeover! Same values, same goals with a bit of a different format and new name. We chose the name "Genesis Program" because we really wanted to communicate that this is just the beginning of a life-long journey of g

We hope you had a wonderful and restful Christmas and New Year's celebrating all God has done for us. 2021 was another interesting year for sure but we are so thankful to the Lord for all he's done and thankful to have been able to have you all be a part of this journey. Thanksgiving & Graduation We ended off the month of November with our annual Thanksgiving Celebration/Discipleship Training Center Graduation. It was a lovely time looking back together as a staff along with our students and their families on all that God has done over the last year. We are so proud of each of our students for making it through the year and excited to see what God will continue to do in their lives. Class of 2021 with our DTC leaders. Summer Camp We are so thankful that we were able to have summer camp this year amidst the ongoing uncertainty. It felt like it has been a long time since we have had our end of year camp. Last year we did a satellite camp instead of the usual summer camp becau