Laboring in love....A look back at Aug/Sept/Oct

“ The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord to send out laborers into his harvest.” Luke 10:2

We were blessed to have several teams from the USA serving with us in Ntshongweni throughout the past few months. They were the hands, heart and feet of God as they labored in love to help the people in Ntshongweni. The August group came filled with lots of energy and enthusiasm ready to serve wherever they were needed. Their project was to help refurbish some classrooms at one of the local primary schools. The classrooms were in very bad shape and we felt that it was important for the teachers and students to have a clean and healthy environment to learn in. For a week we were covered in dust after trying our best to remove the many layers that built up over the years. We repainted the rooms, cleaned the windows and did a few minor repairs. The team members enjoyed taking breaks to play with the children and talk to the staff. The teachers and students

were so excited to see the rooms. They sang, danced and praised God for such a wonderful blessing.

(Working hard dusting and scraping)

(The students and staff thank the team for a job well done)

Pastor Thwala, Julia and I welcomed our new co-worker in Christ, deaconess intern Katelyn Hiett. She will serve with us for 6 months. Pastor Thwala will supervise her, showing her the role of a deaconess in an African context. Julia and I were able to join them for home visits with members of the congregation and the families from the orphan project. It is a wonderful way to strengthen the relationships that we have developed thus far during our time in Ntshongweni.

(The Ntshongweni crew: Shara, Katelyn, Pastor Thwala, Julia)

The team from October brought friends from my home church in Arizona. It is always nice to see familiar faces. The team was happy to see the creche in full swing. They had the opportunity to spend time with the children and teachers. They labored in love by helping to put the finishing touches on the house that was built for an orphan family in July. The team also helped to construct a much needed storage unit for the creche. Those that came for the first time got to use their hands mixing dagga (cement), moving blocks and pushing wheel barrows.

(The team from Arizona working on the new storage unit)

I am thankful to the Lord for sending out laborers into his harvest. He has blessed us with new GEO missionaries Ginger Taff-Lagergren and Zeal Beale. They will be transitioning into service in Ntshongweni as Julia and my service will come to and end in 2012. They arrived in South Africa in September and will be spending some time in Pretoria serving at the Lutheran seminary before starting full time in Ntshongweni.

Ginger and Zeal joined us for 2 weeks in October to get a glimpse of what was ahead for them. They assisted us with VBS and was able to meet some of the children that they will get to see on a regular basis. The ladies attended the Women'''s League Conference with us and they were so excited to be there with their sisters in Christ. Lastly, they worked side by side with the group from Arizona. It was good for them to be there with a short term team and to experience that dynamic. The ladies will start working more closely with us in December. We will have several months to introduce them to the community and to transition them into the mission and ministry in Ntshongweni.

(GEO Missionary Ginger)

(GEO Missionary Zeal with the kids at VBS)

The harvest is indeed plentiful. All praise and thanks to God for the many laborers he has sent to Ntshongweni. I pray for God's continued wisdom, guidance and strength as I serve in South Africa.