Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” John 4:10
It’s been a crazy month end in Ikageng, South Africa as we went nearly a week without water but praise God, this morning water is flowing again! With daytime temperatures between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit the past several days the situation was critical, especially for the very young, elderly, and those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Praise God, we had access to transportation and petrol which allowed us to make several trips a day into town to fill as many buckets and bottles as we could find to keep the children and employees of the preschool and residents of the property we are staying on hydrated.
Water was also scarce in Jesus’ day, yet water was as much a necessity for life than as it it today. Just as the physical body needs water to continue living so does the spiritual man. Jesus is the water needed by the spirit man. With Him the soul will eventually die. We try to quench that thirst with many worldly things, but eventually we get thirsty again. The only thing that can truly quench the thirst is the Living Water, Jesus Christ.
PRAISES AND PRAYER REQUESTS
PRAISES:
We’ve been blessed and encouraged by the response of the children and adults who have been learning of God’s love for them and plans for them as we study the Creation story in Genesis at our Saturday Bible studies and Sunday church services. So many are hearing the details of the complete story for the first time and are amazed at God’s sovereignty, purposes and plans for everything and everyone He created.
Praise God, we have sponsors for 16 of the 25 students registered in the Naledi Christian Preschool!
Project Cargo: Summit to South Africa, a joint project between TentMaker Ministries and Cargo of Dreams to transform a cargo container into an integral part of a 2,000 sq. ft. teaching, training and resource center to transform lives in South Africa is ramping up in Summit County, Colorado! Check out the project website to see how you can get involved regardless of your geographic location.
We have started an after-school program to help some of the 20+ orphans that reside on the property with their homework twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays. We are praying for local volunteers to enable us to expand the program to additional days.
We experienced a real spirit of Thanksgiving in February as we printed and mailed from South Africa over 100 year-end tax receipts to our financial supporters in the United States. If you supported us financially in 2012 and have not received your tax receipt please contact us. No matter how large or small, every cent of financial support we receive, every prayer that is lifted up, and every person that volunteers their time is what makes this ministry possible. We thank God for each and every partner who supports us with their prayers, purses, and presence!
We have received quite a few inquiries regarding short-term mission teams and volunteers, with one volunteer confirmed to co-labor with us in the field for five weeks from June 22 through July 27. Thank You, Lord of the harvest, for hearing our prayers to send laborers into the harvest.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Prayers for the peace and comfort that surpasses all understanding for the family of three of the children we minister to during our Saturday Bible studies whose mother passed away this week after being in hospital on life support for some time.
Lord willing, Monday afternoon the ink will be drying on a long-term lease agreement for the 4.5 acre parcel we are staying on. That is when the Board of the organization that owns the property meets. We have been invited to that meeting and have asked us to draw up the lease agreement with any and all stipulations we require to protect our interests and have said they will sign it. They also have agreed to add a TentMaker representative to their Board for personal representation to protect our interests and also asked that we draw up the letter of appointment for that Board seat. Please be praying nothing changes regarding this between now and Monday.
We also are negotiating for the purchase of long-term lease of the adjacent undeveloped property. We’re lifting those negotiations up to Lord as well, praying for a favorable response this week as well.
For Christ to raise up sponsors for the remaining yet-to-be-sponsored students enrolled in the preschool… We charge the caregivers school fees of R100 (about $12 USD) per month for each child, which does not cover our cost of salaries, food, electricity and water. We’re praying for sponsors to commit to $25 per month to sponsor a child to make up the difference. If you would like to sponsor a child you can do so by clicking on the “Donate Now” button at the top right of this page and registering for a recurring $25 monthly donation designate to “Sponsor a Child/Family”.
For Christ to stir the hearts of additional short-term mission teams and short-, medium, and long-term volunteers to assist us in the field, especially for a couple of family to be raised up to serve for a period of one to three years.