by Susan Weibel
The Lord has been showering blessings upon TentMaker Ministries over the past several weeks. We have had many ‘firsts’ since arriving back in South Africa and it has been so exciting to be a part of them! We were so overwhelmed with God’s grace and provision the week that the preschool opened that when a good friend sent me an email and asked how I was doing I replied and told her “I feel like I’m in Heaven”.
When we were asked to take over and manage the preschool (less than 2 weeks before the new school year was to open and we were still living out of suitcases), my initial reaction was I would never be able to get a preschool up and running by then. EVERYTHING was in storage, I didn’t have or know of any teachers, I didn’t know anything about the community… the bottom line was that I just didn’t believe that I would be able to get everything done that needed to be done! Well guess what? It was true! I decided not to get stressed about it, just pretty much threw my hands up in the air and said “God if you really want us to take over this school and open it this year, I can’t do it without you, so you better light a fire underneath me!” And He did!
One week after the South African schools began the 2013 school year, Naledi Christian Preschool opened their doors for the first time! We have been blessed with Godly-women… one that cooks and cleans, two that are being trained as teachers, and praise the Lord that after many prayers from all of you, a 3rd teacher will report to work on Monday! These ladies are beyond any expectation I could ever ask for – absolutely a delight to work with! We have also been blessed with 21 children enrolled at the school and hope to hit 30 before the end of the month!
In other News…
We are still in need of sponsors ($25 per month) for at least 10 children at the preschool… if you’d like to sponsor a child just click on the “Donate Now” button at the top right of the page and sign up for a $25 monthly recurring donation designated to “Sponsor a child/family”.
We are continuing to negotiate for a long-term lease of the 1.8ha (4.5 acre) property which the preschool is located on and we are also currently residing. We are also involved in discussions with the owner of the adjacent .8ha (2 acre) plot concerning a potential long-term lease there. Please keep those negotiations and discussions in your prayers.
We’re excited to have two volunteers fundraising to be able to co-labor with us in the field in April and June/July. If you’d like to support their efforts you will find their names listed under “Sponsor One of Our Missionaries” on our donation page.
Please continue to pray for us, our safety, provision for the preschool, and that God will continue to work through all of us! Also please pray for quick and favorable processing by the South African government of our visa extension requests.