It is now summer here in the Southern Hemisphere and it is hot both in temperature and activity. The time since our last blog update has been significant. Ministry-wise it has certainly been busy as Paul spoke in three Sunday gatherings as well as two JAM staff Devotions.
The last weekend of September Paul spoke in Mokopane at Pastor Sam Paghati’s church, Church of the Firstborn. Paul shared about overcoming through revelation. He and his father-in-law, Rodney Lloyd tag-teamed and flowed seamlessly together. It was the final service this church would have in their tent facilities before completing their new building. Paul reminded the church that the last time he had been there- exactly one year ago- Minda had spoken a message about “enlarging your tent.” It was an honor to encourage this growing church on this significant day in their history.
The ministry throughout the month of October at our home church, NCCB, was handled by a team put together to speak on the Kingdom of God. It was a significant time, and the level of faith and understanding seemed to build in the church throughout the month. Paul spoke on the morning of the 11th and on the evening of the 18th. After the message on the 18th Paul and a couple of the elders led the people to a response and some ministry. A hunger and passion began to grip the church. One of the elders called an ad hoc prayer meeting for the next morning at 5:30am to continue crying out to God and many attended. (These messages are accessible in the “Resources” section of www.nccb.co.za).
We officially became members of NCCB in October. Justin Donlon, one of the elders with whom we have become particularly close jokingly commented to the church on our “remarkable integration strategy” in preaching to the church three times before becoming members. In October we ate dinner with the NCCB elders at the house of Justin and his wife Kerry. Minda treated everyone to Mexican cooking from “back home.” We later also had another group of NCCB friends over to our house for some Mexican food after a guided tour of JAM and Jesus Alive Ministries.
Paul has a new job as the Writer for Jesus Alive Ministries! This involves writing the Outreach reports, website material (www.jesusalivemin.com), annual reports and various other printed publications. Paul is thrilled to now be working more closely with Peter Pretorius and also the great men who are taking the Gospel into rural Africa. We believe this is a strategic opportunity to glean from this side of Peter’s work, after working in 2009 for the feeding/humanitarian side- Joint Aid Management.
Our Peter has his last month of the school year this month (the school year corresponds to the calendar year in South Africa). We were delighted to visit his school for an end-of-the-year concert in which Peter’s class and the Kindergarten sang songs with motions. They quoted Jeremiah 29:11-13, which Peter can now recite entirely. It is so cute to listen to him recite this verse, which he learned to say with a South African accent since he learned it at school. “…Plans to give you a hope and a few-cha.” As parents we can hardly express our gratitude for God’s provision for Peter and John David respectively with Peter’s school and John David’s nanny. God promised Minda before we moved that He was going to provide for our children. He has done so “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.”
This past Saturday, 14th we enjoyed one of the wonderful benefits of living in Africa as we spent the day at Pilanesberg Game Reserve in the Northwest Province of South Africa. Pilanesberg, along with several other Game Reserves is just a two hour drive from our home and we absolutely love our close proximity to such amazing views and African wildlife in their natural habitat. Incredible. We arrived at the gates before 7:00am and drove around all day through the valleys and up into the mountains while spotting wild animals. We saw an elephant in the distance and drove right next to monkeys, warthog, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, rhino, and several large buck...the lions were hiding this time. The boys loved it!
Plans are coming together for a Christmas visit to family and friends in the States. We will share at World Harvest Church, our beloved home church in Dublin, Georgia on Sunday, December 13th. But, before then we will celebrate our first Thanksgiving meal while in another country… and in the summer!
(Feel free to post a comment. We love to hear from you!)
The last weekend of September Paul spoke in Mokopane at Pastor Sam Paghati’s church, Church of the Firstborn. Paul shared about overcoming through revelation. He and his father-in-law, Rodney Lloyd tag-teamed and flowed seamlessly together. It was the final service this church would have in their tent facilities before completing their new building. Paul reminded the church that the last time he had been there- exactly one year ago- Minda had spoken a message about “enlarging your tent.” It was an honor to encourage this growing church on this significant day in their history.
The ministry throughout the month of October at our home church, NCCB, was handled by a team put together to speak on the Kingdom of God. It was a significant time, and the level of faith and understanding seemed to build in the church throughout the month. Paul spoke on the morning of the 11th and on the evening of the 18th. After the message on the 18th Paul and a couple of the elders led the people to a response and some ministry. A hunger and passion began to grip the church. One of the elders called an ad hoc prayer meeting for the next morning at 5:30am to continue crying out to God and many attended. (These messages are accessible in the “Resources” section of www.nccb.co.za).
We officially became members of NCCB in October. Justin Donlon, one of the elders with whom we have become particularly close jokingly commented to the church on our “remarkable integration strategy” in preaching to the church three times before becoming members. In October we ate dinner with the NCCB elders at the house of Justin and his wife Kerry. Minda treated everyone to Mexican cooking from “back home.” We later also had another group of NCCB friends over to our house for some Mexican food after a guided tour of JAM and Jesus Alive Ministries.
Paul has a new job as the Writer for Jesus Alive Ministries! This involves writing the Outreach reports, website material (www.jesusalivemin.com), annual reports and various other printed publications. Paul is thrilled to now be working more closely with Peter Pretorius and also the great men who are taking the Gospel into rural Africa. We believe this is a strategic opportunity to glean from this side of Peter’s work, after working in 2009 for the feeding/humanitarian side- Joint Aid Management.
Our Peter has his last month of the school year this month (the school year corresponds to the calendar year in South Africa). We were delighted to visit his school for an end-of-the-year concert in which Peter’s class and the Kindergarten sang songs with motions. They quoted Jeremiah 29:11-13, which Peter can now recite entirely. It is so cute to listen to him recite this verse, which he learned to say with a South African accent since he learned it at school. “…Plans to give you a hope and a few-cha.” As parents we can hardly express our gratitude for God’s provision for Peter and John David respectively with Peter’s school and John David’s nanny. God promised Minda before we moved that He was going to provide for our children. He has done so “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.”
This past Saturday, 14th we enjoyed one of the wonderful benefits of living in Africa as we spent the day at Pilanesberg Game Reserve in the Northwest Province of South Africa. Pilanesberg, along with several other Game Reserves is just a two hour drive from our home and we absolutely love our close proximity to such amazing views and African wildlife in their natural habitat. Incredible. We arrived at the gates before 7:00am and drove around all day through the valleys and up into the mountains while spotting wild animals. We saw an elephant in the distance and drove right next to monkeys, warthog, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, rhino, and several large buck...the lions were hiding this time. The boys loved it!
Plans are coming together for a Christmas visit to family and friends in the States. We will share at World Harvest Church, our beloved home church in Dublin, Georgia on Sunday, December 13th. But, before then we will celebrate our first Thanksgiving meal while in another country… and in the summer!
(Feel free to post a comment. We love to hear from you!)
1 comment:
I was just thinking about you all the other day and then you update your blog.Glad things are going good.Look forward to seeing you all next month.
Blessings,
Michelle Mason
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