Trip to the Eastern Cape: Day 1

by | Jun 23, 2017 | Health, South Africa

We left Cape Town too late…the traffic was simply absurd. But, as we have a rental, we also have music, so Brahms and Mahler helped calm the nerves and got us safely to our destination.

We enjoyed a peaceful evening dining with the Queen. 

This weekend, Louise and I will gather our thoughts, go through all our presentation material, contact more contacts, write out an application for a new project to sponsor Growing the Church trainees through SAMS-USA, and rest. More later…

Are You a Sender?

Are You a Sender?

by | Jun 22, 2017 | SAMS-USA

SAMS is made up of short-term and long-term missionaries. A huge part of SAMS are those who send them! What is a sender and are you one?

Familiar words given to us by the physician Luke:

“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.” (Acts 2:44,45)

These words give a sentimental idealism to our idea of the early church. Yet, in this era of local to global, these words are more prophetic than nostalgic. Today, Senders, those who respond to God’s call to mission through prayers and donations, sell property and give sacrificially just like those early believers.

Throughout history of the church, those who journeyed out cross-culturally always had need of spiritual, moral, and physical support. Today’s cross-cultural workers are the same. Are you one of those who gives so that others might go? Maybe you never realized that you are a member of the Acts 2:44,45 club!

This week at Assembly 2017, join SAMS in prayer about how you are called to mission. Perhaps your calling is to send! Make sure to meet us at the Exhibit Hall in the Beamer Center.

 

Serious Intercession

by | Jun 22, 2017 | Health, South Africa

Louise and I are asking for serious intercession.
We leave for a two week trip to the Eastern Cape on Monday. In many ways, we are retracing the footsteps of my great-grandfather who left Cape Town for the Eastern Cape in 1873…only, he and his family went by ox wagon and horse, not by car.
In many ways, this whole area still needs the Gospel as much as it did in the 1800’s. Crime, violence, corruption, superstition, witchcraft, and any number of evils are still practiced widely. Poverty and disease, HIV in particular, plague the people. Many of our Christian brethren in these areas suffer hunger and need.
The southern most part of this area (George and Knysna more particularly) has been devastated by a recent raging bush fire and we wish to be an encouragement to these folks, not a burden. Pray for wisdom as we introduce them to the work of Growing the Church. Many people lost everything. Pray for Lyndon as he coordinates the GtC work in a Diocese which is about as big as South Carolina. 

From there we move on to Port Elizabeth – a large coastal city that is key to reaching thousands with the liberating Gospel of Jesus. The key person there is a young man who knows and loves the Lord. Pray for Ulrught as he seeks to open the way for GtC to come into their Diocese to train faculty and Diocesan teams in disciple-making.
From there we move on to Port Alfred and Southwell, both in the Diocese of Grahamstown. Pray for Pen who will be hosting us, together with Cynthia, Basille, and Carol, who all serve in different ways in the area.There is a huge Art Festival taking place in Grahamstown at this time, so we may not be able to do our introductory talk there this time round…but, we will be able to visit the historic mission station where my great-grandfather worked and where my grandfather was born. We are making some good contacts in the area for future reference. Hopefully, on our return journey we will be able to meet folks in East London, another large coastal city.
Then on to Mthatha for a weekend of celebration…apparently, the entire Diocese is gathering for a “family” day on Sunday…so we will get to meet a lot of people all at once! They have promised to provide us with good music and dancing…looking forward to it! Pray for Bullie, our contact and coordinator there.
On our return journey we will meet with folk in another coastal town named Plettenberg Bay. Pray for Pam. There are a number of churches in the area and people are ready to start outreaches, but many folks here are poverty stricken. Training costs about R300 (about $25) per person (that barely covers our costs to print the booklets), so we may need to start a project scholarship fund of sorts.
The return journey is more flexible as some folk may ask for us to return…as I said, we are hoping to meet with folks in East London…but I am sure we will fill our agenda soon!
Please pray for:
1. Protection. The roads here are dangerous on so many levels…wild and domestic animals freely roam around and often cross the roads unexpectedly right in front of fast moving vehicles…uniformed persons have been known to stop cars saying they were speeding, with the hope of receiving a bribe…crazy drivers take huge risks and endanger the lives of everyone around them. Pray for our vehicle as well…no flat tyres or other mechanical problems.
2. Persons of Peace. We need to find spiritual, influential people who will catch the vision of disciple-making and run with it in their Diocese. Please pray for divine appointments all along the way.
3. Financing. GtC operates on a tight budget and has to charge folk for the training. We do not want to miss key leaders simply because they don’t have the wherewithall to pay for the training. Please pray for generous folk to step forward and offer scholarships.
4. Health. That the Lord will grant us good health and that we will not get sick.
Thanks y’all!
Blessings.
Mission at Home: Mentoring Millennials

Mission at Home: Mentoring Millennials

by | Jun 21, 2017 | SAMS Missionaries

SAMS will be seeing you at the Anglican Church of North America’s Assembly 2017: Mission on your Doorstep. Who is our neighbor and how are we to serve them? How is God calling us to mission right where we are? Learn about staff member, Nita, and her calling to local mission. 

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Hebrews 13:7 (NASB)

Staff member Nita Dempsey is the SAMS Office Manager. What you may not know about her, though, is that she has a call and a passion for youth. What started as a casual conversation to offer some extra help to the youth ministry turned into almost a daily commitment for Nita as a mentor for high school students. Now five years later, she leads formal Bible studies, takes students on retreats for relationship building, and travels to West Virginia every year on a mission trip with them.

“We go to the same town and help the community with restoration,” says Nita. Restoring homes isn’t the only thing this youth group is doing; they are building lasting relationships in the name of Christ. “As a youth group, we built relationships on our first mission with three sisters in the community that have grown through all these years. Although they knew Christ when we met them, these women shared their difficult background and struggles. The one sister is working towards being a paralegal and another sister is involved in ministry work. Our youth over the years see God at work in the community and in our team as they reach out and participate with God and each other. Last year after our mission, we had seven youth give their lives to Christ. It was beautiful and humbling to see how God had touched these lives.”

Inter-generational ministry can be good for not only youth but also those who engage with them. Christianity Today explains that people over 40 years old experienced meaningful service, worship, and connections when their church focused on inter-generational ministry. How do we engage with youth in our church? Nita says, “Youth respond to how invested you are in them. There is a lot happening at that age, and they are confronted by many things that challenge their faith. They want to feel like they belong to a community, someone to listen to them, and someone to challenge them to step up and take the lead in their spiritual growth and in their community. You might even be surprised how much you learn about yourself and your faith along the way.”

 

Strangers in the Night

by | Jun 20, 2017 | Health, South Africa

Last week we woke up in the dark…our power was off. At first we thought our electricity had run out, as have been running a dehumidifier 24/7 since our flat was mildly flooded during the Mother of all Storms…but we still had enough left on the meter. (Yes, electricity works differently here than in the States.) I waited until the bewitching hour was over and WhatsApped (is that an acceptable verb now?) our Growing the Church group to see if their power was off as well…but then it came back on again…so, we thought no further on the subject.

But last night, we found out what had really happened. As you can see from the photographs, our block of flats has an electrified fence all around it with electric gates that work with remotes.

Louise at the main gate…the infamous power box is behind her.
The security camera that revealed all…

But, that did not stop two possible gang members from getting over it. It’s not hard to see why…there is a tree right next to a street lamp…even I, admittedly with some difficulty, could get over there. Apparently, one of our visitors scaled the walls of the building itself and attempted to enter our neighbour’s flat via their porch…but our neighbours woke up and foiled whatever plans he may have had…they sleep with the porch door open as they, like us, are on the second floor.

From the video footage they could see that the other visitor walked around the base of the building and then towards the gate where he found the main electrical switchbox and…yes, you got it…turned off the mains. Why this box was not locked remains a mystery, but there you have it. He then got over the electrified fence without any discomfort to him or his friend.

Gang activity in our area has apparently escalated of late and we have been warned to become increasingly vigilant. This is so sad as leads to profiling. For us, the only way forward is to treat everyone with dignity and respect regardless of whether they are digging in the trash or dropping their children at the school across the road off in a Mercedes Benz…but to be wise and not put ourselves in harm’s way. So, no more late night strolls unless we are in a group…sigh…this world needs Jesus…

Our flat is in the centre on the second floor…the neighbour’s porch is to the left in the picture…it is relatively easy to scale that wall because of the wood slats.