NEWS FROM SOUTH AFRICA - TIM & LESLIE BLACK

No matter which hemisphere you live in, October tends to have quite a few stunning days, days that cause one to pause and glorify our Creator. Sometimes it's easy to feel helpless and hopeless when we look at the pain and brokenness in the world, but the Creator is always waiting for us to look up to Him, to seek His wisdom in dealing with the issues, and to trust Him for reconciliation and restoration.

As a nation, South Africans have been dealing with a few issues recently, ranging from kidnappings and murders to political oppression (failure to allow the Dalai Lama to visit) and losses on the sports field (South Africa's loss in the quarter finals of the Rugby World Cup). But God is still good, and He's still on His throne, so we must all persevere and watch to see what amazing things He will do.
 

MINISTRY FRONT—Phambili ngeThemba

After taking a break from running job readiness training courses for a few weeks, the Zanokhanyo team graduated another group of job seekers last week. Every group has its own personality and “vibe,” and this group was no different. Six of the 11 in the group committed their lives to Christ, and several of the others were already strong Christians. At graduation one of the men thanked the staff for “the life-changing phenomenon of this course where everything revolves around the Word of God.” He went on to say, “You are reconciling people with each other and with the Lord Jesus Christ.” Another graduate shared that before coming to Zanokhanyo she had been bored, frustrated, hopeless and felt useless. She said that she found the training to be well-designed and that the daily devotions helped her reconnect with God. One lady said that before coming on the course she had had no hope at all and had gotten to the point where she couldn’t even think for herself any more. We praise God for how He is using Zanokhanyo to transform lives. In addition, over the past month a number of former graduates have found employment, some after several months of searching.

This coming week the Zanokhanyo team is planning to take a three day retreat together. Please pray for them as they spend time together praying and seeking the Lord’s guidance for 2012.

The Umthombo after-school program started off the new term with a bit of a celebration for last term’s efforts. The volunteers are now back at work helping Grade 3 and 4 students at Mokone Primary with math and literacy. We are finding that the children are lagging far behind where they should be, particularly in math, and we are trying to find the best interventions to help get them up to speed. Leslie and Pastor Ziba are also continuing their work with the Grade 8 classes as they teach life skills. For more Zanokhanyo/Umthombo news see www.zanokhany.co.za

Things at Barcelona Children’s Home are continuing on much the same as always. There has still been no resolution to the issues with the Social Services Department, which means that Pastor Julius and Irene are still not receiving any financial support from the government. The children are doing well, though. Some time ago we asked you to pray for one of the children, Aphiwe, who was living with a couple in Pinelands so that he could go to a better high school. He decided that he missed his big family too much to finish out the year in Pinelands, so he has moved back to Barcelona and is going to a different school now. Thanks for praying for him. The Lord answered, it was just in ways we weren’t expecting.

MINISTRY FRONT— OTHER NEWS

With a new youth pastor now in place Tim has more time to focus on his Phambili work. He’s still involved in helping to organize the end of year youth camp, and Leslie is still teaching Sunday school and leading a girls’ Bible study, but in general we feel a bit less “scattered.” Please pray for our church, Pinelands Methodist, as a number of the leaders will be finishing their terms of service in December and new leaders must be chosen. 

In family news, the boys recently had their mid-semester break, but they’re now back at school and working hard. Please continue to pray for James as he tries to plan for his future. The past couple of weekends we’ve been able to get out and enjoy some of the amazing scenery around Cape Town, including shark-spotting and whale-watching. We feel truly blessed to live in such a beautiful place.

We thank each of you for your participation with us in making Christ known. Your partnership with us is invaluable, and we pray that you will be blessed.

 

Attachments:

reachafricaseptoct2011.pdf

[Original '11 October Newsletter]

645 Kb