One day left!

How is it possible that 82 days have passed since we arrived here in Fish Hoek, a suburb of Cape Town in South Africa?

We will fly out of here late Monday night to head back to Colorado Springs, and then on to Quito, Ecuador a few days later.

We came so Ron could preach for his friend and fellow HCJB Global board member John Thomas, at the King of Kings Baptist Church, while John did some necessary travel. Barb would work with Avril Thomas and HCJB Global missionary, Susie Pile, at our partner ministry, Living Hope, a ministry involved in the AIDS crisis here. It has been a great three months! (The photo is of our coast line from the top of a mountain we climbed)

We have been house sitting for people traveling during these summer days here. We have lived in four different settings, with four different views in different areas on the Cape of Good Hope peninsula. We have learned that this place is beautiful whatever direction you are facing. We have lived right on the Atlantic Ocean as well as on the Indian Ocean, both sides of this isthmus. We have also been very graciously loaned a car and have learned to drive on the 'other' side.

So, what else have we learned?

1. We have loved preaching and being with the same people week after week. We know their names. We have been in their homes. We have seen some very good decisions. It has been 25 years since we were in the same pulpit week after week.

2. Our hearts are even more committed to Africa. "Hopeless" is the word that best describes many people. We have come to believe that the only hope is in Jesus Christ and in His church. And, the only hope for the church are trained leaders. We are so glad that has become one of HCJB Global's goals.

3. The conversation with John Thomas about people being treated and living longer with AIDS, and the danger they can be to others, and to their children, was eye opening. That is a new problem that must be addressed.

4. We have tried to share with you, via our blogs during this time, what people are doing here to help provide 'hope'. Some are feeding, some are teaching, some are training those who are in need so they can provide for themselves and their families. Most of these people have a partnership relationship with HCJB Global is some way. Some are involved with other ministries, yet here in Africa we work together, because if we don't we all fail!

5. There is still much Barb and I can do and by God's grace we will continue until God 'retires' us to Heaven.

6. We have been blessed by the number of conversations we have had with people who want to do more for Jesus. It is very encouraging to us and makes us more and more committed to keep challenging people to 'get off the curb and into the parade'.

7. Now, we go to Latin America where we will be involved in training Global Leaders. Then to Singapore and another set of leaders from throughout that region. We just want to make a difference and training leaders is one way to do that.

Pray for the ministries working here Today, pray for Africa. Thank you for praying for us!

Ron and Barb

Our last week--from Barb

This is our last week here, so I have spent time at the Living Hope Homeless Center, on several mornings, where I have had the joy of counseling several people including a young man, Greg, who is not really homeless, but who lives in a shack in a nearby township. It is a very abusive situation with an alcoholic father who beats him, his mother and younger brothers when he is drunk.

Greg is a parapalegic as a result of a shooting accident several years ago and he is brought to the LH Homeless center when possible to give him some relief from his home environment and let him help around the center. He is 23 years old and wants to get some education to be able to work with computers.

The staff at Living Hope are working with Social Services to find ways to help Greg, in the meantime he continues to peel potatoes, make crafts or whatever he can do to help. Greg is trapped in a “hopeless” situation apart for the intervention of God and people who are praying for him.

As Greg and I prayed together we asked the Lord to help him focus on the love of Jesus and the fact that God spared his life in the accident for a purpose. We also asked the Lord to bring help to him so that he can move forward in his life in spite of the very difficult circumstances. His life is surrounded by poverty, crime, drugs and abuse. This ministry is so well named..."Living Hope"!

This week I have also revisited a township called Red Hill. This is a very poor squatters camp with very rustic shacks, dirt streets and a high percentage of HIV/AIDS. The photo is of the Staff from Living Hope who work there and a group of men who are part of the support groups which have been formed to help encourage people and teach them about a number of topics such as care for chronic diseases (TB, diabetes, asthma) .

The support group also encourages growth in faith and helping one another. Today I was asked to talk about “how to pray for your community”. We did a very simple, foundational talk on praying for one another and for their community. I decided to involve them in a practical way by doing a prayer walk. Some of them had never prayed with anyone else, one man said he couldn’t pray out loud, another said it was too cold to go outside (it’s summer here-warm and sunny). So, we enthusiastically divided into pairs with a staff member walking with the support group folks and before they could think of any other excuses we moved out to walk and pray!

When we got back to the shipping “container”, which is their Living Hope Center, they were singing and smiling. They all said it was a wonderful experience and they would like to do it again. We felt the presence of the Holy Spirit as we sang together. They sang songs in their language, Xhosa, and followed in English so I could understand. Beautiful! The Life Skill staff leader said he will follow through and make sure they pray for one another and do prayer walks for their community every week! Praise God for this special anointed time!!

Thanks for your prayers,

Barb

Please meet Patrick and Claudia

I just returned from visiting an inner city church of some new friends of mine.

Meet Patrick and Claudia Crowster!

Their church sits on a square block and is surrounded by a steel fence. On top of the fence is razor sharp barbed wire. The church windows are covered to protect the glass and all but one door is boarded up. It looks like a war zone. It is. Right across the street lives a drug lord and traffic is constant. Jobless men are standing everywhere.

The church, built in 1879, was abandoned when the whites fled South Africa in 1993 at the end of apartheid. Refugees immediately moved in and over 1000 people started living and cooking inside the church on open fires using the pews, the floor boards and whatever else they could find. They were destroying the church. Patrick saw this and asked if he could have the building which is right in the middle of Woodstock, a very poor black Muslim section of Cape Town.

They gave him the building and he repaired what he could (looking for a work project?) and started a church which has about 100 worshipers each week. But, because of where it sits, it also has a ministry to 60 or so homeless people every Thursday evening with a hot meal, a hot shower and a Gospel message.

But, that's not all this couple is doing.

Claudia is a professional woman, so, during the day she is teaching the local women, many with no education, how to sew, cook, read, do first aid, get a job, save a marriage, raise their kids, care for babies, protect themselves from AIDS and so on. They have classes everyday from 9am to 3:30 pm year around and the women of the community come.

On one of our earlier blogs I spoke of how trapped a woman was when she had no skills. How she could be subjected to great abuse by the men around her. That is very true in this community. By training these women they are offering them a better life.

I sat with Patrick and listened to his vision for the church and the influence of the church in the community. Amazing. He is really making a difference in this community. When every one else left...he arrived and stayed!

I sat with Claudia and heard story after story of rescued women...praise God for this faithful, live by faith, woman. She could be doing a lot of other things, but there she is, giving back to the community capable women, one at a time!

Pray for Patrick and Claudia,

Ron

Africa is praying for you!

The past few blogs I have sent you have been asking you to pray for Africa's AIDS victims, ministries, families, children, churches, and governments.

Let me tell you how the people of Africa are praying for you. This is good news out of Africa!

Back in May 2001 a Christian business man, Graham Powers, rented a stadium here in Cape Town and called for a day of prayer. 48,000 Africans came and prayed in repentance for sin, including racism, hatred, violence, crime, oppression and greed.

In 2002 he rented 8 stadiums and filled them with Africans praying together all on the same day. Graham called it a "Transformation Movement"

In 2003 he rented a stadium in every major city of South Africa and together they prayed for their nation and now the world. It became know as the "Global Day of Prayer". That event created 3500 prayer chains throughout South Africa and they invited the world to join them.

In 2004 they rented major stadiums throughout all of Africa and thousands of Africans prayed, for Africa, for America, for the world.

In 2005 they had prayer stadiums in 156 nations of the world, all praying the prayer of repentance at the same time.

In 2006 it grew to 199 nations and they estimated 25 million prayed together on the same day for the world.

Last May 7, the movement grew so that they filled stadiums in 220 nations with 300 million people. All praying for the world! For you!

Maybe we could all join them in May 2008. They will be praying for our world. They will be praying for our church. They will be praying for us.

Thank God for the prayer warriors in Africa who have led the way!

Ron and Barb

African Children

We had an interesting conversation with John Thomas last night. John is the pastor of the church where I have been preaching and has just returned from Zimbabwe where he was working hard, trying to help his mother-in-law keep her farm. (We need to talk about Zimbabwe another time) John is also the Chairman of CCFM, our FM radio partner here, and the Chairman of Living Hope, the ministry started to respond to the AIDS crises years ago. It now serves as the government's response in this area. He led the church as they started both of these ministries.

John was saying that now that they have the anti-retro-viral medicine, (something President Bush did for South Africa) if the person who has AIDS takes it as prescribed, they can actually live their normal life span. So, Living Hope has had to rebuild their whole ministry.

Instead of preparing a person to die, they are teaching people how to take the ARV correctly. They are also teaching people how to live in society with their AIDS, which they still have, without passing it on. Living Hope no longer just ministers to people who are dying, they are involved with people who will live a full life. So, support groups that used to have a natural attrition, are continuing, and they are having to add more and more. That means more leaders, more training, and longer connection with seriously ill, contagious people. Education is the key here and they are now having to teach prevention and protection from other chronic diseases as they live with their AIDS.

Two problems have come forth to which they are trying to respond:

1. The fear of death from AIDS is gone. So, people return to their old habits and the disease could spread. A person with AIDS is still contagious. Instead of dying, they are living and the number among us is growing. That is good news if they are responsible and manage their AIDS as they should. But, it is bad news if they don't care.

2. When a person starts using the ARV, they can get very sick. Often they quit working. By the time they feel better the job is gone and they enter the huge market of the unemployed. But, they are not going to die, they are going to live, and, they need to eat. So, they send their kids out to find food anyway they can. "Don't come back until you have something to eat!" is often the command. This is putting thousands, if not millions of 'kid's at risk'. They don't qualify as orphans, so better care is not a possibility. But often their parents just can't parent.

John thinks this is going to be the next big problem in Africa. So do I! You see children everywhere. Many are not being cared for, they are not being educated, they are not being protected. They are vulnerable children at risk...like Luciano, pictured above, 3 years old, found very ill on the street and brought to the Thomas home.

So, how is the Church going to respond to this?

Ron and Barb

Pray for Africa these days

Where ever you look these days, what ever country in Africa you think to pray for, you will see turmoil. For the past few days, your news has been about Kenya. The week before that it was where we are, South Africa. Congo, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Somalia, Sierra Leon, Liberia, Cote' D'Ivoire, Eriteria have all had there names in the headlines. And, don't ever forget the sad stories out of Burundi and Rwanda.

As we listen to people discuss these events, we have come to learn that, most of the time, behind all this is the tribal issue where an African tends to be more loyal to his or her tribal background, than their National citizenship.

Remember that Africa was carved up by European Colonialist who created national borders that seldom reflected the region where a whole “people group” or tribe existed. This forced tribes to exist together under the control of a dominating European government. In certain countries and areas that created huge stress and tribal friction. When the colonizers were present and “running the show”, the tribes were subservient to them and more “under control.” When these African countries became independent of the Europeans, real strife began over which tribe would rule, and who’s tribe would benefit from these new governments, who now would control the land and the resources (and Africa is loaded with both).

Some of these conflicts continue today.

So, when you pray, remember that most of these governments have only been national for less than 60 years. Right in the middle of all this, there are many missionaries serving and trying to bring peace in these areas. On our last blog I listed those serving with HCJB Global.

Pray for your missionaries in Africa! Pray for Africa!

Ron and Barb