Red Hill leads to Prayerwalks

On November 6 we drove with Avril Thomas (the pastor's wife)to visit a number of the outreach Townships of Living Hope ministries here in South Africa. This was not our first visit to most of the communities but our first one to a place called Red Hill! This township, located high on a mountain with an incredible view of the Atlantic coast and a valley below, is divided into three sections where 3 distinct groups of people live in shacks in extreme poverty and disease. Extreme Response has purchased and installed a shipping container which serves as an office and community center for the LH staff who minister here. While there that day we met Stanton and Tabisa, two of the staff members. Tabisa is a Home Based Care coordinator – she is a beautiful lady who is HIV positive and has given her heart to the Lord and His service and has a credible ministry to those who discover they are HIV positive. As a Life Skills leader, Stanton Petersen goes into the public schools and presents teaching on HIV prevention, health care, lifestyle change, skills development etc, etc to hundreds of young people. He is free to share the gospel very clearly. He joins the other Life Skills worker Zoleka Nolokwe to expand the work among the residents.

In Red Hill, Living Hope runs Children’s Clubs four days a week, and through a Home Based Care program, visits chronically ill HIV patients. People are counseled for HIV and AIDS and referred to appropriate agencies. They also gather in support groups to learn good health care, ways to cope with illness and find hope in the strength and promise of God’s Word. All this is an outreach of the church where we are serving these days.

With us that day was also a man who works with the Gideons here in a local community. He was able to leave a bag full of New Testaments with the Red Hill staff. A work team from Canada recently helped set up the center here and purchased Bibles for more than a thousand children in the Living Hope program. How exciting to see the teamwork of many groups here!

From our meeting with Stanton we set up a meeting on Monday, Nov. 12, to meet with him and other Life Skill workers at the Muizenberg branch of Living Hope to do a seminar on Prayer Walking. I (Barb)had the joy of meeting with Stanton and 6 other young adults to lead them through this seminar and we then did a prayerwalk in the Muizenberg Homeless shelter and the surrounding community which is home of another ministry of the church, CCFM radio (HCJB Global helped put that station in). It was a very exciting time of sharing together, praying together and walking together followed by an informal question and answer time. Two of the young men on their PrayerWalk were approached by a man trying to sell them Cocaine – they told him they were praying for him and they shared their testimony and the gospel. They witnessed God literally moving in this man’s demeanor and his countenance change and expression of a searching heart – they hope to meet with him again.

We have set up several more Prayer Seminars with various groups of Living Hope staff in the weeks ahead. Life in these communities is very harsh and very complex. Praise God for the team at Living Hope who are bringing HOPE to them through the gospel and hands on care. What a joy to join this team in a small way to minister especially to the faithful staff.