mignond89

[mignond89]

2022 in a nutshell

This year, we celebrated the 15th year of JAM’s existence. Our hearts are filled with such gratitude. This was also the year that marked the start of major transition for our organisation and family. As many of you know, we have been praying for a number of years that God would provide a place of our own and in His miraculous, unique ways, He lead us to Shikwaru, where we started building in October. The journey has not always been smooth, but from the start has had the fingerprints of God all over it. Many of you have been on this journey with us and know the intimate detail - it has truly been a rollercoaster ride, but we have seen God’s hand in many ways.

Building starts at our new JAM base

In many ways, this was also a major step of faith for us. We truly believe that we have heard from the Lord and after consulting with our board and many hours of prayer together with trusted counsellors, we decided to take the plunge. And God has been providing! We honestly stand in awe as we KNOW that our efforts alone could not have brought about the provision we have seen over the last few months. Lord-willing, we are planning our move around August 2023.

This has also been a big year for us as a family. We took a few weeks in the month of September to visit Shikwaru and to get a taste of what life would be like once we move. It was incredible and very overwhelming. We have so enjoyed our home-schooling journey with our girls, but after our visit, realised that it would be more beneficial for them to attend school once we move. This started us on the journey of visiting schools and extra-mural activities etc. During that time, we also had our first hunter. Our long-term goal is to have a for-profit business (Phambili Safaris) running alongside JAM, both as a way of sharing God’s beauty and our passion with others and as a form of income to support the ministry of JAM.

This was a great way to get to know some of the farms in the area and to start the work of obtaining hunting concessions. Our hearts are deeply grateful. It was amazing to start meeting some of those living on the farm, to visit churches in the area and to see little smiles from God in ways that He is already providing eg. the most amazing ballet school for our two little dancers.

And it was overwhelming. This is such a big move for us. Away from home, from family and dear friends and from everything we’ve known. In some ways, it is starting all over in a new place, which reveals so many things in one’s heart. But above all, we experienced God’s peace. This is the next step of our journey and we take it boldly, knowing that God is leading the way.

JAM year 2022

Our pride & joy at JAM, without a doubt, would be our incredible staff members. There truly is nothing better than watching a young leader continually and consistently answer “yes” to Jesus, to growth and then to see the outflow of that in the lives of others. Our year at JAM, was filled with camps, weekly outreaches, Leader Mundial and Pointman training seminars and different outreaches in Southern Africa.

We have been so grateful to still have Apostle Battery as our base. It has served as not only a ministry hub, but a spiritual hub for many over the years. It is beautiful! It has also been amazing being able to host more camps / groups this year post-Covid.

Dreams are coming true at Mavhusa, our base in Limpopo. It is incredible to witness. The Dream Centre is doing so well. Children have a safe place in the afternoons to play, learn, receive a nutritious meal and above all, learn about Jesus. We were so pleased to host a team from Woodside Bible Church this year. What a privilege it was to start, what we believe to be, a long-term partnership for the Kingdom! We are also deeply grateful for the role that individuals on the team played in our fundraising campaign. It’s amazing when God brings people together in this way.

We have been blessed by our partners aswell. Whether new ones like Woodside and Azusa Pacific University, or ‘older’ friends like the Bonzo’s (whose 10 year long partnership in Mavhusa we celebrated this year) and others. Our main Strategic Partners, Pointman Leadership Institute and Leader Mundial, continues to play such a vital role in our endeavours - we are so thankful! We also have the privilege of visiting and working alongside Sihamba Sonke and Foxfires (African Enterprise) annually. What a joy to take hands in the Kingdom.

Our girls

2022 was a special year together for us as a family. We have really enjoyed our home-schooling journey. Learning together, not only academically, but also emotionally and spiritually, has been very rewarding (and tough!). We look back over the 3 years of schooling at home and we are so grateful that God gave us this season together. We have had incredible conversations, a healthy dose of disagreements and everything in-between. But amongst some of the things we are most grateful for, I count, being able to travel together and serve together, I count the growth in Khanya & Zandri’s relationship as sisters, I count the fact that we genuinely enjoy spending time together as a family, I count the girls excitement about stories in the Bible, all the adventures outside and so much more! We are grateful for two healthy, strong, talented girls. Our greatest responsibility and our greatest joy.

Our very special family

We are so blessed to have a family who love and support us. We know that (especially for the family currently living in Cape Town with us) this move comes at a cost. We have had such special times together with them this year. Mignon's mom and granny visited Cape town twice and we had such special times together along with her sister, we had a special trip to Kruger with Git's family and spent Christmas with Mignon's dad, wife and awesome kids.

And lastly, we are grateful for YOU! How amazing to be a part of the body of Christ. To have friends who carry us in their hearts and prayers and have so generously supported us this year.

We love you! May you boldly step in 2023 with Faith! God is already there!

[mignond89]

A big hello from our side! I can’t believe that we already find ourselves in the second half of 2021! What a ride the last two years have been!

Firstly, as always, we would love to start this newsletter by thanking each of you for your wonderful support for us as a family, our ministry and the greater Kingdom vision of Jesus. 

We are doing really well! The year thus far has definitely come with its fair share of highs and lows, but we are so grateful. Firstly, especially thankful for God’s grace and being able to be used by Him in our weaknesses and struggles. We are grateful to know Jesus as our Rock and Anchor in a time where very little else is stable. We are so thankful for His Word…our ultimate source of truth and guidance and though written thousands of years ago, still serving as such a great source of wisdom, relevant to issues in our lives today. 

We are grateful for marriage and family. We celebrated Gerhard’s birthday this month and took some time to thank him for his role as husband, dad (to many more than only his biological children) and leader. It is wonderful to have such a humble example of a man surrendered to Christ in our midst (I have license to brag. I’m his wife :) )

We are beyond grateful for our children. We are enjoying home-schooling them so much and it has created a new desire to always be life-long learners in us as parents as well. Khanya is now 6 years old and loves performing…from drama to guitar and ballet. She loves the stage. She is a wonderful sister to little Zandri and overwhelms us with amazing questions about life and faith. What an honour to journey with our children in this regard!

Zandri wriggles her way into the hearts of all those she meets. She is full of life and personality and is also very specific about her daily wardrobe! We are enjoying her lots.We are grateful for our greater family in Cape Town and being able to spend time with cousins and grandparents and our siblings. It is a beautiful season together. We are grateful to be part of Christ’s family. The pressure on all, worldwide, has been immense over the last year and a half. What a joy to be part of a family, all over the world, who are not surprised by hard times (Jesus said it was to be expected) and who are seeking every opportunity to be Christ’s hands and feet during this time.

We hope you enjoy this newsletter!

Who we are and what we stand for

So what are we busy with during the year and while on outreach?

We have recently created an updated video explaining our vision and core strategy (along with some exciting news). Follow the link below: https://youtu.be/3TIuL1m8pj0a>

In short...we believe our God-given calling is to develop and support leaders who impact Africa for Christ. We do this through training, coaching and our JAM year program.

A recent picture of our JAM team on outreach

Leader Mundial Cape Town

Camp at Apostle Battery

April Outreach

Something that we as a family value and are so enjoying in this season, is taking our children along on outreach with us. The long drives and sleeping in different places is tough at times, but the blessings are many! It is wonderful learning about different cultures, seeing God at work in different ways and different places and building relationships with our family in Christ, friends and leaders all over the country. 

In March & April of this year, we headed out on our first big outreach of the year with our JAM team. We started out in the Northern Cape (Groblershoop). Our team presented a Pointman training seminar to leaders from various farms in the area. This training focuses on raising leaders of integrity (a topic very close to our hearts). While serving there, we had the privilege of staying with a wonderful family and dear friends with 4 children. Needless to say, our kids had a ball! Lastly, we joined in the Easter children's ministry program in the community close-by.

We then headed to family & friends for the Easter weekend. Our favourite holiday. And the best reminder of God's wonderful redemption and the new life found in Him alone!

Easter with our grandparents (great-grandparents to our children). What a blessing!

 Thereafter, we headed to our Mavhusa base in Limpopo for a week. Our children thoroughly enjoyed playing with the children at the base and joining in the games & lessons during afternoon children's ministry. We homeschooled, painted huts and did some house visitations. Our time there ended with a Pointman leadership seminar that weekend. Some of the leaders, drove as far as 4 hours to attend. Such a hunger...

We feel so privileged to be used by God to encourage, train and equip his leaders and followers. 

After outreach, our family headed to Kruger National Park for a week of holiday. We camped and swam and braai’ed and saw amazing animals. A great time of rest and fun!

An Exciting New Chapter

We have shared with many of you about the prospects of a new base for JAM. For the last 4 years, we have been praying and looking for a place of our own where we can move our headquarters and establish a leadership center to expand our impact. This dream is finally becoming a reality! We have found the perfect location and are about to launch a capital campaign to purchase the land and start the building process.

Shikwaru is a game ranch that is located in the Mokopane Region (Limpopo Province). It is owned by Reaching a Generation (www.reachingageneration.org) that uses the ranch to fund their ministry through their game breeding, conferencing and a wedding venue. Part of the ranch is a estate development that was established for like-minded individuals and ministries to own a lot and establish a home or ministry base.

After much prayer, a few visits and trusted advisers, we have peace that this is the next chapter that God has for us.

Shikwaru is the perfect option for us because of:

1. Location: We are in close proximity (2-3 hours) of Mavhusa Village, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Pretoria. Not to mention the rest of Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces on our doorstep. These are all strategic for us to expand our impact.

2. Community: There are other like-minded ministries that we will be able to partner with going forward.

3. Business: We will be able to conduct hunts on Shikwaru and surrounding farms in order to fund our work as it is increasingly difficult to raise funds.

4. Peace! Above all, God has given us so much peace that this is the way to go. In the next few months, you will hear us talk about it a lot! We appreciate your prayers and ongoing support on this new and exciting journey!

[mignond89]

A year to remember...

2020 will forever go down as a big year in all of our lives. A year that taught us, primarily, in my opinion, just how little control we have. Even though the reality of that scares us, as a believer I think God used it to bring freedom in many areas. It was hard at times. It was hard realising that some of our streams of income were to be cut, hard being home with two busy little people and constant cleaning and harder still realising how many things we hold onto or reach for when we are struggling that is not God.

However, I can honestly say, that 2020 – the year of Corona and lockdown, will also go down as some of the best memories we have ever had. God used this time as a purifying fire, stripping many things away for us to realise our need / dependence on Him alone. AND HE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH! We have seen God provide in so many ways. We had wonderful, special times together as a family and with our team on the beautiful camp site where we live (which we are more and more grateful for every day) and He has filled our cup.

-      Mignon

FUN

We tried to make the most of lockdown. We built a little chicken coop and now enjoy our own eggs everyday. We also started a vegetable garden that our girls help to take care of.

We were so blessed by our team’s investment/support with our girls this year. Here is a picture of Karlisle with them during a hike we did to Cape Point.

 LEADER MUNDIAL SUMMIT

I was fortunate enough to attend the annual Leader Mundial Summit in Georgia (USA) just before the lockdown was announced in March. One of the major themes of this summit was “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” based on the book by John Mark Comer. Needless to say, all the leaders that attended the summit had time to read this book during lockdown – and it was so refreshing and challenging. Many of us realised that we (including our families and ministries) have fallen victim to the culture of “Hurry and Hustle” all around us. I was forced to “slow down” and it was such a good time to reflect on what the most important things and people in my life are.

Being a visionary, this year has also been hard for me since I was not able to look ahead and plan. It taught me to live in the moment and make the most of what God placed in front of me that day.

-      Gerhard

OUR GIRLS & HOMESCHOOLING

During our sabbatical last year, God spoke to us about home-schooling our girls for a season. Even though the thought of this was very scary, we decided that we were going to start the journey in July of this year. Even though we started ahead of schedule ;) due to lockdown, we were so thankful that God had already prepared our hearts for this transition and we had a few things in place that made it easier.

We have so enjoyed this journey. It is rich, creative and so interesting and we are learning so much with our girls. It has definitely not always been easy, but we believe it is what God has called us to in this season. It has been an immense pleasure & privilege watching our girls develop and learn and grow in Christ. Our first disciples :) 

TIME2GETHER

Mignon continued with her moms & tots classes via Zoom during lockdown and we are thankful that since reopening, God has really blessed the business. It is a great joy for her to continue using her gifts in this way.

A YEAR OF GROWTH

Since we were not able to continue with ministry in the ways we are used to, we focused our attention on equipping our team (staff and students). We did a chronological study on the life of Jesus and worked through various leadership and discipleship materials. We were also able to do some content development and improve our activities/create some new ones on Apostle Battery.

 MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES

Ministry has looked very different this year. We are grateful that technology enabled us to keep connecting with some of our leaders in various parts of South Africa. We did this through posting 2 or 3 leadership messages (voice-notes) on a “Leading-through-Lockdown” WhatsApp group.

New opportunities also presented themselves; like the wonderful opportunity of being involved in food distribution and partnering with an organisation empowering street people. This partnership eventually lead to a camp aimed at equipping the leaders of this amazing organisation, known as MES.

We hosted Leader Mundial Cape Town a month before the second wave hit SA. It was a wonderful time of connecting with leaders from all over Cape Town and the training, as always, was such a blessing.

In September, we had the opportunity of taking a trip to the Transkei where our team presented a Pointman Leadership seminar to 30 young adult leaders that work for various NGO’s at Zithulele.

In the two photos below, Carina and Karlisle, two of our staff members, are training at Zithulele.

Unfortunately, we were not able to host our usual teams from America this year. However, we had a team from African Enterprise (based in Pietermaritzburg) in October. It was amazing taking hands in ministry, learning from one another and encouraging each other. During the week they visited, we were able to visit each of our partner organisations / local outreach spots. Youth and leaders in these various areas were blessed by the Foxfire team’s performances (dramas / song / dance) based on the gospel and dealing with issues faced by young people. 

We had a few more camps and events planned for later in the year, but needed to cancel those due to the rising COVID-19 infections in our country.

 PH Course

Git has always had a dream of doing his Professional Hunters (PH) course but just never had the time. Apart from the fact that he loves hunting (and sells some venison as a ‘tent-making’ business) he also sees it as an amazing way to connect with and disciple young men. When various schools and courses were allowed, we went up to the Eastern Cape as a family and he attended the 10 day PH-course.

 Thank you and Merry Christmas!

[mignond89]

Today we cried over a block tower. Firstly, because little sister destroyed it just as you were about to finish. Secondly, because you gathered the courage to rebuild it and watched it tumble as you struggled to complete the top. And the third time, I cried as you sobbed and told me that there really was no reaspn for you to build it again as you will never be able to do it. Everything in me wanted to pick up the pieces and go and build that tower for you. But I knew that this was your battle. And then...YOU.Did.It! And the teacher in me goes...that's not just a tower, that's symmetrical! And then I realised that in lockdown, as in homeschooling, as in life, it really is more about building character than anything else. About learning that sometimes, someone else will destroy your block tower. Sometimes you will be the cause of it tumbling down. Pick yourself up and keep building... https://www.instagram.com/p/CADq0RkpASuxPy_wpbILvhp7BhYpHzVIz7tt-Y0/?igshid=c7r0kd8aprbc

[mignond89]

2019 has been a whirlwind so far - wonderful, challenging and transformational. We have the privilege of parenting two beautiful girls, had the blessing of a sabbatical and are so excited about the continued opportunity to raise Godly servant leaders who can impact their communities for Christ. We write about a few of these things below:

Parenting is a wonderful, humbling journey. Never before have we experienced God’s heart as much as we have in parenting. We realise more and more how deeply He loves His children, how jealous He is for our hearts, how His discipline is for our long-term benefit and how amazing a living, life-giving relationship with Him can be.

Family

Khanya is now four years old. She loves her school and friends and we have discovered her hidden talent and passion for performance in preparation for her school’s concert this last term. She loved it! She is kind, intelligent and caring and equally fierce as little leader (testing each boundary) and we love all of her personality.

Zandri is an absolute JOY! She has been the cause of quite a number of sleepless nights, but way more times of laughter and celebration. It is beautiful watching her develop and grow and seeing the relationship form between her and Khanya.

Sabbatical

In May /June this year, we had the privilege of a time of sabbatical together as a family. We took to the road and traveled about 6000km over the course of 7 weeks. It was wonderfully life-giving. We spent the time in beautiful parts of our country, at times alone as family and at other times with family and like-minded friends (hartsmense as they say in Afrikaans). We reflected, prayed, rested and had so much fun together. Some of the main things the Lord highlighted during our time away, was the fact that He has called us to be different. From the time of the Israelites right up to the present, following Jesus whole-heartedly and standing on His truth, will and should look different from the society and pressures around His followers. This we often find quite challenging as a family. It is much easier to fit in, to mould to the patterns of this world. Yet we know that our children and young people around us are yearning for examples that encourage the harder road. The road less traveled. This is part of our calling. Choosing simplicity and living by God’s truth, His Word, rather than the popular opinion of the day…

Time2gether Moms & Tots 

Mignon is still really enjoying the opportunity of teaching and pouring into the lives of moms and little ones a couple of mornings per week. God is blessing the business and it has been a wonderful job for Mignon in this season of our lives. Zandri also thoroughly enjoys the interactions with her little friends.

JAM

We have a wonderful team serving with us this year at JAM. Karlisle and Carina on staff are both so committed and passionate about the vision. Johanna from Hout Bay, Christo and Philip from Douglas and Denver from Koue Bokkeveld form part of the JAM year team.  

We are in the busy season at JAM right now as there are so many camps and outreaches taking place. In the past 3 months our team members have been to several areas where we serve: Mavhusa (Limpopo), Transkei (Eastern Cape) Leeu Gamka, Beaufort West, Calitzdorp, Koue bokkeveld (all Western Cape) and even a trip to Zimbabwe! We have presented 3 camps on Apostle Battery during this time as well; all with partners from Khayelitsha, Calitzdorp and Koue Bokkeveld.

Seeing people commit their lives to Jesus, discovering their God-given purpose and realizing their call to lead where they are….what can I say, it never gets old!

The news in South Africa over the last while was quite discouraging and the state of our nation currently leaves many hopeless. Like never before, we believe in the vision of raising young Godly, servant leaders who can impact their communities for Christ. Leaders who will stand on God’s Word, for truth, who will be faithful to their spouses and love and discipline their children well one day(believing that the family is the building block of our society). Leaders who are not afraid of being  different…

Leader Mundial and Pointman

Our strategic partnership with Pointman Leadership Institute (www.pliglobal.org) and Leader Mundial (www.leadermundial.org) has continued to grow from strength to strength. As JAM we are the proud developers of the Pointman Youth Program and so many doors have opened and are continuing to open to train young leaders. We often gather leaders from different communities in Cape Town and South Africa in “Leader Mundial gatherings”…in short – a space where leaders can get together for a time of fellowship, training and coaching. We have had LMCPT gatherings once a term on Saturday mornings and are getting ready for our LM Africa Summit on Apostle Battery 16-20 October. Exciting times!

We end off this newsletter, by once again THANKING  each of you. Thank you for being a part of our journey, for your prayers and friendships and standing with us in faith that the cross of Jesus truly IS for the cross of Africa. That through Him change CAN and WILL come through faithful, obedient, Christ-fearing leaders.

[mignond89]

New Seasons

It was recently spring time in South Africa. Spring is a reminder of new life / new beginnings. It makes us appreciate life anew. And this year, for us as a family, it comes with so much significance! It is a season that we are celebrating the birth of our beautiful little girl and we are so excited and thankful. God gives again... in His perfect timing and ways. 

Zandri Kara was born on the 2nd of November...3.8kg of pure delight. She was named after her two grandmothers, Zandra (Zandri) and Karin (Kara). Her name means warrior / defender and friend / pure. We couldn’t be more thankful!

Leader Mundial

Most recently, we have had our annual Leader Mundial Conference. Youth leaders from all over South Africa and even Zimbabwe joined together to be equipped, refreshed and to enjoy wonderful fellowship together.

We were blessed by our visiting speakers, Rich & Elisa Brown.

Growing the Leader Mundial movement in South Africa has been one of Git’s highlights. Leader Mundial means “global leader” in Spanish. It is simply leaders getting together for a time of training, community and coaching. We have helped to organize these Leader Mundial regional events (in SA) since 2016 and this year we started Leader Mundial Cape Town. LMCPT leaders and coaches get together one Saturday morning every quarter. It has been very effective and we are excited to continue building this family.

Toddler Time and Time2gether

God has really blessed this season in the playschool and moms & tots program. It remains an incredible privilege to be able to sow into the lives of little people and their parents. Mignon will be on maternity leave and we are so thankful for incredible teachers that have stepped in to help with teaching during this time.

Khanya

Khanya, true to her name, is a little light. She is so excited about being a “big sister” and wears the name (and the shirt) with pride. She is a toddler, testing the boundaries here and there, but more importantly, she is getting to know the heart of Jesus for His people. One of her biggest worries at the moment, are the friends in her class that don’t know Jesus...it really bothers her. In times like these, I realise why Jesus urged us to receive the Kingdom of God like children. I was convicted to ask the question, “Does my heart still break over a lost world?” Needless to say, some days I think I learn more from her than she from me :) 

Pointman

Git has been able to help present  8 Pointman seminars in the last four months. It has been so exciting to see how our involvement with the Pointman Leadership Institute has developed over the  years. The youth program in particular (which was developed by Gerhard and Thinus van der Merwe) has proven to be very effective – we are taking it all over the world now! Praise God. Here are some updates on the recent missions:

We were able go to Malawi for a second time in July. Git was joined by Zoleka Majola (JAM board member and Pointman trainer) and partnered with Kindle Orphan Outreach.  They did a one day training for church and non-profit leaders, as well as a two day training for youth leaders from the Salima district. I was blown away by the people’s hunger to learn and grow as leaders – at the same time it was sad to hear how, like in South Africa, corruption has infiltrated all spheres of society and it has become the status quo.

After Malawi they were joined by Danie (one of our new JAM directors) and went to our JAM base in Mavhusa. Here they presented the Pointman youth seminar and had our biggest “sleepover” camp on the base to date – this was one to remember. During this time we also did planning for a new borehole…and a month later it was completed! Having water on Mavhusa is a dream come true…we have waited SO long for it!

We (Myself, Zoleka and Grant Baston – our pastor and JAM board member) also went to Transkei to present 2 seminars.  The first one was in partnership with some of our good friends, Ruan and Suretha Cilliers. They live in Zithulele with their 3 beautiful kids and are doing incredible work. We were able to train 14 of their key leaders and just have quality time with “Ru” and “Sue”. We went to Bambisana straight after this to train 36 young leaders from surrounding villages. It was great to spend time with dear friends and team members during our time here.

In Cape town we have also seen some more doors opening.

We were able to do our first Pointman training in Khayelitsha  (with church leaders ). We were also asked to work with 300 Gr.6 learners from 4 different school in Bishop Lavis, a community with some of the highest levels of gang activity in Cape Town! We addressed topics like conflict management, leadership and teamwork over 3 days.

We are so thankful for everything God has done this year!

Wishing you and your families a wonderful Christmas season.

[mignond89]

Blessings from above

Hi Friends!

Here is a little taste of the last few months – so much has happened in our lives and ministry. Thank you for playing a role in it through your ongoing prayers and support.

A little update on the Duvenhage family

Khanya brings so much joy to our hearts. Even though it is difficult as times, being part of her development is such an honour. She truly is growing in leaps and bounds…physically, emotionally and spiritually. We have been able to see the meaning of her name “in action” as she has joined our local outreaches on a more regular basis.

As the rest of the Duvenhages – we welcome Elsabé, our niece that was born on 11 April 2018. This is Khanya’s first cousin and she is already excited about playing “doll” J.

COMING SOON……We are also excited to announce that Khanya will have a new sibling at the end of October 2018. Excitement is building.

As a family the Lord has been teaching us that he is faithful in every season. At the end of last year (which was a difficult year in many ways) we were able to thank God for His goodness and grace in difficult times. So far this year we have experienced His provision in so many ways…

Payne visit

We started off our year with such a wonderful visit from dear friends of ours. The Payne family joined us for a few fun-filled days in Cape Town (while the boys took a short hunting trip during that time). After that, we headed to Kruger National Park. We were so spoiled and had such fun and adventure. So grateful for this part of our extended family, for their constant love, encouragement, support and the example that they set for us: as leaders in ministry, in marriage and as parents. What a great blessing!

 Toddler Time Playschool and Time2gether

As a family God has called us to raising leaders and building bridges. Mignon has received a second opportunity to fulfil this calling.

In January this year, Mignon was given the opportunity to buy a new business, called Time2gether, that focuses on mom and baby/toddler stimulation classes. She currently teaches twice a week and really loves it!

Toddler Time Playschool is also doing well and growing. A door opened for the school to move to beautiful new premises in the 3rd term, which is also an exciting step of growth for the school.

Please pray for all the logistics connected to the move. Also, please keep praying that we will make God-honouring decisions every step of the way and that every parent and child will be touched by God’s love and hope through us.

JAM Team

One way to describe our Cape Town team this year is “Unity in Diversity”. They are all from different backgrounds but have embraced each other whole-heartedly and we have experienced God’s power through it. It is such a joy to serve with such a young but talented and committed team. (Photo after completing the recent 5km Warrior Challenge...very proud moment!)

Developing and Supporting leaders

When it comes to working with leaders, we have had 2 new exciting projects that started in the last 3 months: Point Youth and Leader Mundial Cape Town.

Point Youth is a gathering of young leaders on a monthly basis. These young people are from the community of Hout Bay and are serving as mentors to teenagers. We get to spend one Saturday morning a month with them where we train, encourage and celebrate with them.

Leader Mundial Cape Town (LMCPT) branched out of our annual Leadership Summit. At last year’s summit we sensed the need to get all of the Cape Town based leaders together one Saturday morning a term. We have also included coaches to lead discussion groups and do the training.

Both of these ongoing events help us to fulfil our ministry mission of “developing and supporting leaders to impact Africa for Christ”.

Young families Easter break away

Over the Easter weekend, we had the privilege of setting up camp with a few young families from our local church, Valley, on Aswater farm in the Karoo. This truly was a long-awaited dream come true. Watching these young families have fun, meditate on the true meaning of Easter and spend time in prayer together, was truly special. It reminded me that our Father God truly is a family man. He values the role of every family member, young and old, male and female…each unique and each part of His greater picture.

I am grateful anew for the love of our Saviour that willingly laid His life down for us. I am grateful for the family that we are privileged to have in Him. I am grateful that He is the head of our greater household…that He is our Guide, our Rock, our Provider and Shield. I am thankful for the example I was able to witness of families who, though imperfect, strive to love and serve and lead like Him.

One very special moment was Saturday morning. We visited the local community of Klaarstroom and spent time with the special little kids of this area. It was beautiful watching the interaction between our moms, dads and children and those of the local community. Having fun, worshipping, listening to the story of the cross and loving on the kids made for a very special memory in each of our hearts.

Mobilizing the local church

Just like we did at the Klaarstroom community, we are working hard at mobilizing churches for mission. In Hout Bay we are “building bridges” into the community of Imizamo Yethu. We are partnering with Valley church in an exciting project up in Dontse’yakhe (Imizamo Yethu township). We have been working in this area for the last 3 years and have connected Valley church to this project. We are also aiming to help 2 other churches get involved as well.  Our hearts are not only to have visiting outreach teams reach out in the community of Hout Bay, but to get local believers to get involved in their own community.

As always, thank you so much for your ongoing love, support and prayers. They are so valuable to us!

 The Duvenhage clan

[mignond89]

Reflections

I cannot believe we stand at the end of another year. As I look back over 2016 there is so much gratitude in my heart. I am thankful for the way God has taken care of our family and ministry. I am thankful for the privilege He has given us to serve His children for another year. I am thankful for the people (you!) He has given us…and the list goes on and on.The last few months have flown by so fast. After we returned from a very meaningful time in Mavhusa in September, so much has happened. We had our 4th Leader Mundial South Africa Summit which is always a highlight. We had 35 leaders from all over the country come together for a time of teaching (mostly by Russ Cline), coaching and community. After that we went on our annual trip to Aswater farm (Prince Albert) where we ran camps. This was also special as it was our last outreach with Thinus and Lisa. The last few weeks of the year was filled with camps . Another highlight of this last part of the year was our first trip to Malawi. I (Gerhard) had the privilege of presenting a youth leadership summit for 50 leaders. After this event I came back feeling to inspired and energized. I realized again how important this mission of raising young leaders is.

On a personal note…the last 2 months have also been busy with academics. I managed to complete two more subjects. I could not have done this without the support of my family, colleagues and friends! I have finished 7 of the 12 subjects of my Masters program.

We also celebrated my brother (Anton’s wedding day!! So excited for this new power couple:)

I stand at the end 2016 with overwhelming emotion. Dropping off the JAM team members at their various homes yesterday and finally saying good-bye to Thinus and Lisa this morning, is enough to write a book about. I am deeply thankful for the life we are so privileged to lead. I am thankful that I can honestly say that “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov 18:24) and we have so many of those. I am thankful for the patient way that God has taught us to build our lives on eternal principles…on giving and not getting, on simplicity, on embracing differences rather than separation, on loving when everything in you wants to fight, on humility and submission rather than control…and I’m thankful for God’s grace for the times (more often than not) that we don’t get this right at all!

A few of my favourite moments over the last few months were the following:

·         Luka, the young boy on December camp realising that God has called him to be a leader and seeing him start stepping into that truth.

·         Masi, Karlisle, Suzile, Esbe, Kiley and Erika growing in leaps and bounds, leading sessions on camps and outreach with such conviction of who they are in Christ and the truth they live for.

·         Mama Nomthandazo standing in front of Lusikisiki church after years of faithful service…saying her final good-bye as I heard God whisper “Well done good and faithful servant!”

·         Leaders rejuvenated and poured into at Leader Mundial SA, ready to return to their places of ministry.

And many many more…

 The future is unknown for us next year. Although it seems as if we will be able to stay on Apostle for the 2017 year, there are still uncertainties, but we have no fear! 1 Thes 5:24 “The one who calls you is faithful, he will do it.” We are starting 2017 with a clean slate and great group of leaders and we have a Leader, Daddy and Friend that has never let us down.

 We are also excited about Toddler Time Playschool starting next year (a real dream come true for us). We are excited about every little child that will be attending and the families who will form a part of this process!

 We love you all! May this Christmas season be so special and may you KNOW that you are so loved by an awesome Father!

 Love Git, Mignon & Khanya

[mignond89]

Life lessons

Over the last three months, we have been traveling quite a bit and there is so much I wish to update you about, but it would be too much to read! Instead, I have decided to tell you about two moments that really meant a lot to me.

The first one was up in Limpopo on our visit to Mavhusa (also Khanya’s first missions trip). For a while, we have really been struggling through some significant issues up at the Mavhusa base. Upon our visit this time, we spent intentional time with all our leaders and partners up there. We were honest and quite humbled and gave them the opportunity to point out areas of weakness, things that we should focus on, change or if need be, leave altogether. We allowed room for honest feedback and were truly open to God’s guidance, whichever way that may be. One afternoon, sitting down with Pastor David, he looked at us and with his amazing smile and warm heart, said, “You are looking at these mistakes as failures. Any successful company would tell you that they failed many times before they succeeded. Choose to rather look at these struggles as lessons.” In that one statement, God gave us so much hope! Often the longer we are in missions in Africa, we feel, the less we know! However, through God’s grace, He has taught us rather to look at these setbacks as lessons or building blocks and encourages us to keep going!!

The next moment happened during a conversation with Karel and Heleen de Haas (two of our board members), on their farm. Knowing that many things will be changing, in our lives personally and the ministry of JAM, we were discussing the future and decisions that we needed to make. Tannie Heleen posed a question as food for thought, “If you were all alone, outside of the context of JAM as we know it today, and God called you anew, what would your response be?” As we were travelling through the Eastern Cape, we spent some time thinking, praying and processing through this question. What we realised, with new clarity, is that we are still very passionate about the vision God gave almost ten years ago: Training and discipling young Africans to be Godly servant leaders impacting their communities for Christ. We are still passionate about leadership development, training, mentoring and walking a journey with young Africans (even though it is really tough at times!). We still believe that camps play an important role in the growth and often, turning point in young people’s lives. We are still excited about partnering with churches and like-minded organisations in various communities to be an impact for Christ. And most significantly, we realised anew that we are now called as a family and that Khanya forms a part of this picture. We have already been amazed at the impact that her presence with us has had. On the brink of many new things and constant change (as is life), we are excited and ready for what God has in store!

An awesome day camp with young leaders in Mavhusa

United Reformed Youth Conference at Bambisana

Privileged to spend time with Wally and Lia, our two brave missionaries in Transkei!

Khanya meets mama Christina for the first time

Dear friends of ours, Ruan and Suretha, staying at Zitholele in Transkei. Such an inspiration of a family living out God’s calling on their life!

Beautiful sunsets and moments in Bambisana Transkei

So proud of these two! Phumla is studying through UNISA and still running the preschool and working as JAM staff member in Transkei. Prudence is working for One Life and oversees centres and orphaned and vulnerable children in the area.

[mignond89]

Father heart of God

Gerhard:

I think one word stood out over the last 2 months: FATHERING…both in ministry and family life:

Fathering my own child.  Watching Khanya develop has brought so much joy and thanksgiving to our hearts. Her talking “attempts”, laughter, smiles, kicking while bathing, rolling over for the first time, only to mention a few. We are still in awe of this little blessing in our lives…or should I rather say “BIG”, little blessing. I am truly learning a lot from having a baby and love the adventure of it all.

A pic of Khanya’s dedication 5 April. It was such a special day!

Being Fathered. One of my personal highlights every year is the Leader Mundial summit I have had the privilege to attend every year for the last 7 years. At this year’s summit, in Georgia (USA) I had the privilege of being in a room with 44 global leaders from11 different countries. Receiving training and coaching, enjoying fellowship and just having fun.  So even though it was hard being away from mommy and baby for the first time – it was a breath of fresh air in my life. One of the biggest things I am always challenged with when I return to South Africa is to be faithful with everything I have received.

Fathering others through Coaching/Mentorship.  Coaching/ discipling young guys has been a passion and focus of my ministry over the last few years. Since being back in Cape Town, I have had the privilege of pouring into 2 young men on a regular basis. Both are from the community of Imizamu Yethu in Hout Bay…Masi Matshaya and Bonile…. It is amazing to see these guys grow into the men God wants them to be. I have also had the opportunity to train some other mentors from Valley church with the material I have received from Leader Mundial. 

A Father to the fatherless.  JAM has been doing house visitations in Imizamu Yethu township. In the beginning of March we met a family (husband, wife and son) who were going through a hard time because the father/husband was sick. When we returned the following week, we found out that Amos had passed away. Nompi (his wife) was broken and we had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with her and their son, Ayibonga, over the following weeks. We just wanted to show God’s love and support. It was amazing to hear her testify in church this last Sunday about how God has really restored her! It was such an honour being used by God to show his Father heart. Nompi has already started sharing her story with others that are going through a hard time.

Working on Nompi’s shack

Mignon:

A couple of weeks ago, as news about xenophobia flared up in the once again, I was so discouraged. There was such an urgency in my heart that we, the church, Christ’s representatives, had to do more…faster…but what? I cried out to God in prayer, had discussions with mentors and family members and was really waiting on God for an epiphany…a grand plan…and then in His gentle way, I heard Him say, “You train and disciple young Godly servant leaders who can impact their communities for Christ” (the vision God gave many years ago for JAM). It was so simple and profound, hearing it from God again, as if for the first time. I am so excited, but more than ever, I know that we need to be a people of prayer. Discipleship is hard going, filled with ups and downs, disappointments and breakthroughs, but I am so convinced that we need to lay our lives down for this cause. We are God’s plan on earth, His only one!

I often find it hard to describe our lives to people we meet for the first time, but here’s a shot: we are investing in people. Our focus is building relationships, whether in mud huts in Transkei, moms in Hout Bay, church members, partner organisations, the poor, little children, YOUNG PEOPLE and all with the aim of loving, and through that showing them a God who truly cares, who heals, who saves. I am convinced, that if we loved, really loved people that God put on our path, things would change – we would have deeper friendships, more understanding for the hurts of others. Gang members would be shown a place of belonging far greater than the one they are in, lonely people would see hope and the lost would come to know Christ! My prayer for us all is that we would know our greatest purpose: TO LOVE! And live it out.

Please pray for us as we will be heading out on an awesome family vacation on Friday and thereafter visiting Mavhusa (Khanya will be going on her first outreach!).

Thank you for your continued prayer and support

[mignond89]

Loved like children

God has blessed us immensely with a beautiful baby girl and along with this gift, the privilege (and BIG responsibility) of raising this little soul. I think that there are parts of God’s heart that I truly understand for the first time. When He calls us His children, this is more profound than I ever realised. This means that He thinks of us constantly, that He ALWAYS has our best interests at heart, that He desires to protect us, provide for us and that He loves us more than words can describe.

Becoming a mom has honestly been the most amazing journey. It is very humbling and I am often faced with my own selfishness, but it is a joy beyond anything I have ever experienced. The hard moments are so easily forgotten in light of the life you get to share with this little one.

Khanya Mina Duvenhage

Khanya meaning “light” in Xhosa (and she really is!)

Mina, a German name for love or meaning “mine” in Shangaan. (Named after her great-grandmother, one of the biggest inspirations and influences in my life).

I will be on maternity leave until mid May and am thoroughly enjoying time with our little bundle of joy - Mignon

Gerhard - When I pause and think about the first two months of this year I can’t but praise God for His goodness. Personally, of course, the blessing of a new baby girl is something I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain;  but also on the ministry front… Let me start with Khanya - that moment when the doctor handed Khanya over to us, or when I first looked into her dark blue eyes… I could go on and on.  I expected this moment to be amazing, but it truly exceeded all my expectations! I am loving parenthood and so thankful that God has granted us this beautiful gift. God has truly blessed the transition into family/ministry life. I was very focused on trying to start off well, as I know (from other missionary friends with families) that finding a healthy balance will be something one will continually  have to work on. There have been very exciting  times on the ministry front. One of the biggest ones being our new JAM year students that arrived beginning of February. Most of February was dedicated to their training and, as always, we as a staff have also been sharpened by the teaching of amazing leaders, pastors, business men and just…normal people.

One of our new team members, Karlisle, sharing about the Cross 

We also worked with 6 groups that camped on Apostle Battery, my 2 favourite ones being the youth group from *Emmanuel Church in Mitchell’s Plain, and a group of young upcoming leaders from *Imizamuyethu (“I.Y”) *Emmaunuel Church: This youth group consisted of 45 teenagers and young adults from different areas in the Cape Flats; such as Bishop Lavis, Delft and Mitchell’s Plain. For those that know Cape Town – these are areas where gansterism and drug abuse are rampant. The theme of the camp, and the youth group’s year, is “chosen generation”. On the camp we focused on servant leadership, commitment and making a change.

Emmanuel church

*I.Y.  This is the township where JAM has been involved with for the longest period of time. Our team also go there on a weekly base. The JAM team, together with an outreach group from South Carolina, presented a camp with 40 teenagers that have been identified as upcoming leaders.  We had a very strong emphasis on servant leadership and being a “real” Christian 24/7, but my highlight of this camp was the “men’s session” we had. In this session some of the men on our team shared their testimonies and this led to a great discussion on the definition of a Godly man, and how to make the right decision even when you have never had a good father figure or role-model who could mentor you.

*Another exciting ministry event was the mission’s team from Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, South Carolina. This is the third year that they have visited and served with JAM. Apart from the camp they helped present – they also served at a Pre-School in I.Y. and did some other projects and outreaches. It is amazing to have partnerships like these!

Team in IY

We are excited about the rest of the year on this journey as parents and children having the privilege of partnering with God and constantly being so LOVED by Him.

Thank you for your constant love and support

[mignond89]

Dear friends

It’s hard to believe that 2014 is drawing to a close. It has been such an amazing year filled with its share of challenges, joys and SO many God moments. One of the most exciting ones has to be our little girl expected to arrive end of January 2015! We feel so blessed to be part of the miracle that God is doing, blessed and so very thankful that she is developing well, that God is protecting and guiding us through the pregnancy and so excited for what lies ahead. This is a picture of her 29 week scan. She weighed 1.4kg at that point.

We have been quite busy since arriving back in September. A couple of highlights include the following:

We had an awesome JAM fundraising breakfast at Stellenberg church. It is such a privilege to have such great support from the Stellenberg community! A big thank you to Zandra Duvenhage, our awesome mom/mother in law, that arranged the event!

  At the end of September Git did a nationwide trip and visited our various bases and partners. It is exciting to see God’s heart for partnerships developing in all areas and how much more effective we are when we work together. From One Life & the Reformed church in Transkei to HuntSA in Grahamstown, Dutch Reformed church and Die Lapa camp site in Somerset East and Shoreline, Valley and Stellenberg church in Cape Town. We are so excited about partnerships!!

A picture of the lovely ladies who will be starting the One Life process in Mavhusa next year! We are so excited!

In October I visited my mom in Abu Dhabi and had SO much fun!

  We had our annual staff/board retreat on Aswater farm. As always, we need to be on our knees for the future. We are excited about new staff and team members joining us next year that will be helping to take over some of the responsibilities of our full time staff. It will definitely be a transition year as we will have little Khanya arriving and Tessa moving off of base. God is continually teaching us the importance of family and learning how to balance important priorities in the midst of ministry life.

Two of the biggest highlights over the last while were definitely our camps on Aswater farm and our leadership summit.

In November, we had day camps with all the different grades of Klaarstroom Primary on Aswater farm, Prins Albert. The little kids were beautiful and it was so exciting to see the enthusiasm of their principal for their spiritual and emotional growth. We then camped with the leaders from De Rust high and the youth leaders from Klaarstroom. We are so in awe of the hunger of these young leaders for God and seeing their development over time. We believe God has big things in store for youth from this area.

On this very same farm, we had the privilege of celebrating two of our best friends' wedding! What a day!! Congratulations to them both :)

At the end of November, we had our first Leader Mundial Summit for leaders and partners of our ministry nationwide. It was an incredible time of fellowship and as one of the leaders said: “heart surgery”. We received amazing training from Phil & Elizabeth Payne on the heart of a leader. Often in ministry we become so focused on the many needs and gaining more skills etc etc, that we forget to take care of our own hearts and open it up to God to reveal sin, heal hurts and constantly allow growth. It is an honour to be a part of a family from across the world that love Jesus and live to make His Name great.

We ended off the year with three camps. 2 for the student leaders of Brackenfell and Bellville high and our big annual “December holiday camp” for different leaders from our Karoo and Cape Town bases, including a brand new community, Zoar. The latter was the cherry on the cake on the cake as we once again saw the importance of equipping leaders who can go back to change their communities.

We wish you all a merry Christmas and a blessed time with your family and loved ones. May you experience the gift of God’s presence, the love of Jesus and the fellowship of His Spirit as you enjoy this special time together.

Much love

Git & Mignon

[mignond89]

Goodbyes with purpose

September 2014

Farewells are never easy, but as a part of life, they are necessary and can be valuable as a source of reflection. Saying goodbye to a team that has become a family, a village that has become a home and a church that adopted us as children is one of the harder things we have had to do. We are so deeply grateful to God for this year. So grateful for the many lessons He taught us, the people we had the privilege of meeting and the miracles through God’s Spirit that we were able to witness.

  We hope to not only treasure this time in our hearts forever, but live out the profound truths that God revealed to us this year. We wish to live a life of simplicity, a life not driven by a constant wanting for more, but one of contentment and joy in the many blessings God has already given us. We wish to parent our children in this truth, that our lives are never measured by what we have, but by who we are. We pray that they will climb trees, enjoy the ocean, find joy in the little things and build deep relationships.

Secondly, we pray that we will never forget the value of true relationships. We wish to live lives that leave space and time for people, for meaningful conversations and transformational love. We pray to not be driven by our schedules, but by God’s will and the priorities He has placed on our hearts.

Lastly, among so many other things, God has taught us to be faithful in endurance. Some lessons can only be learned the hard way. God is faithful and never puts a challenge on our path to break us down, but always to build our character and to draw us closer to His heart. If we allow it, every challenge can be a blessing.

Words cannot express our gratitude for God’s faithfulness and your support during our time here. Your love, care and prayers carried us.

Please continue to pray for us as we transition back to Cape Town and pray that God will be faithful to the ministry God has called us to.

A couple of thank you's:

Thank you so much to the incredible team we had the privilege of serving alongside for a year. Thank you so much for making us laugh, teaching us so much about the heart of Jesus and for the impact you are making in the communities.

Thank you to the church council of Lusikisiki. Thank you for your continued love and support and for allowing us to live and serve from the Bambisana base.

Thanks to Young Champions rugby team for growing as, not only great rugby players, but men of character. We are so proud of you!!

Thank you to Tata Amos (we still don't understand each other completely, between his little English and our best attempts at Xhosa). As elder in the church of Bambisana, he always kept an eye on us ;)

Thank you also to the farewell/ birthday party for Git before we left. It was so special!! From the loving hearts of the Lusikisiki church :)

Thank you to our amazing family from Kokstad. We love you dearly. It was beautiful to discover God's Word with you and learn about being leaders of character!

Thank you to my colleague, friend and sister Phumla, who I had the privilege of working with. Pray that God will bless her as teacher!! I will miss her and the kids so much!!

Thank you to our beautiful mama "Magwenya" we called her, because she makes the most amazing vetkoeks and would often share these when we visited her home.

Thanks to these beautiful girls and our friend Musa, for becoming part of our family!

Thank you to the young girls of Bambisana that formed part of our girls bible study group on a Friday. We pray that you will stay close to God's heart and continue to grow in Him.

Thank you so much to Mr & Mrs Wooding. You were our home away from home and your love and support meant the world to us!!

And then...we would like to introduce...Wally & Lianca (for those of you that don't know them). They will be taking over from us in Transkei, starting January 2015. They came to visit us, along with our friend Ashley, and we took some time introducing them to all the key leaders in the area. Pray for their time in Bambisana next year, that God would bless them with wisdom, guidance and love for His people.

[mignond89]

LEAVING A LEGACY

It’s crazy to think that we basically have a month and a half left in the Transkei before we head back to Cape Town. I am currently reading a book called “Find us Faithful – Leadership that leaves a Legacy” and I find myself wondering about the legacy we will leave here in Transkei when we leave. There are many things I wish it would be, but the greatest one, the one I hope for most is that people will look back and say “They loved Jesus Christ and they loved us”. More and more I realise the importance of sincere love. A love that is lacking in our world today, a love that is so needed, a love that is the embodiment of Christ on earth and can truly only be drawn from Him as Source.

We had the privilege, over the last month, of working alongside 4 different teams that visited our team in Bambisana. The first was a group of youth, under leadership of Madi, that came to serve, love on and teach youth here. It was beautiful to see God use these youngsters to teach other young people. The second was a group of physio- and occupational therapists under leadership of Elbe and Timion ministries that lovingly served and visited children with cerebral palsy in the area, providing and servicing equipment that can improve their quality of life and muscle development. Their sincere love and care was amazing to see. The third team was a combination of youth and older people from Stellenberg and Valley church in Cape Town. They prepared children’s ministry programs, house visits, work projects and basically served wherever they could, including partnering with our fourth team. Many of them have visited before and it is so great to see God mould and shape their hearts and use them in powerful ways for His Kingdom. Our last team came to do HIV training in various communities, under leadership of Johan. Wow! God’s truth about this matter was powerful and we truly believed it broke through many chains and amazing conversations came about.

An afternoon of gardening...helping a family plant seeds for healthy food

How privileged we are to be a part of a family that truly shows us what it looks like when the body of Christ is in action. Such diverse needs are met through people with various gifts and skills and yet the gospel stays at the center of it all. We each have something so valuable to offer and each little part MATTERS!!

On a personal level, little Duvenhage is doing very well. The 12 week scan showed everything to be going well and it is SO amazing to see this little one developing so well. It feels like a permanent miracle to be a part of! Please keep praying for us.

Ten perfect little fingers created by an awesome God!!

On Monday, the MADD (Music, Art, Dance & Drama) team arrives in Transkei. A combined effort of JAM and a group from Westside Family Church, the team will be visiting various communities and schools in the area and spreading the gospel through music, art, dance and drama. They have already started the journey in Port Elizabeth and Alexandria. Please keep them in prayer for energy for the long days, a passion for the young people they will be ministering to and focus on Jesus through it all.

Lastly, I want to share a very important prayer request with you all…over the last year, it has been top of my prayer list continually. Pray that God would send more long term missionaries into the field and that they will obediently step up to the challenge. Living in Transkei over the last year, I have seen the great need for committed Jesus followers who can serve in communities for longer periods of time. Leadership and mentorship is so important and it makes such a big difference regarding continuity and sustainability in ministry in various communities.

Thank you for your love and support!

[mignond89]

God has blessed us so much!! We are humbled by His goodness in choosing us to be part of this journey and this little one's life.

At 8 and a half weeks, little Duvenhage was a full 19.3 mm long.

The due date is 30 January!

Please keep us in prayer. God is goooooood!

[mignond89]

The discipline of obedience

It has been a while since our last update. Our time in Cape Town was amazing. It was truly incredible to see the growth in our team and staff alike. Their faithfulness is honourable and I hold them each in high esteem.

May has been good and tough. Good because we are privileged enough to be part of the story that God is writing in the lives of many young people.

-On the way back to Transkei, we presented a leadership training camp (some Pointman material) for Sharon, Shaldine and other young leaders in Prins Albert on Aswater (de Haas) farm and are looking forward to the their journey of now leading such camps for high schoolers from their own community.

-Mr Wung (a partner from one of the local high schools in the Bambisana area), brought a group of his Christian Leaders to the base for a weekend of Bible drilling, as he called it, and outreach. That Saturday night after watching Passion of the Christ, many young people committed their lives to Christ.

-Young Champions played their first two rugby matches EVER! And although they did not win, they showed incredible character and played very well.

-As preschool teachers of the various care centres in Transkei, we had a meeting end of May. With the help of my mom and teacher Judy from Cape Town, we are hoping to have a teacher training weekend in July to further equip and encourage these amazing teachers.

May was also hard -Git was sick for over a month. After two rounds of different antibiotics and no real improvement ,we headed out to Kokstad for some tests. We are glad to say that it is not TB! Praise Jesus! But it was a hard journey. Also realising how privileged we are to have medical aid and other options when public hospitals fail for simple procedures.

-On a personal level, I have been missing my friends and certain things we regard as "normal". Heading out to a coffee shop, driving somewhere alone, having a friend over for a quick chat and a doctor on every corner!

Having said that, I realise that these "normalities" are in fact not normal for most people in our country. Sharing a bed with 3 siblings, hours without help in hospitals and constant cold in winter are more normal.

We are heading to Cape Town for a week at the end of June to say farewell to the Nunleys. Our hearts are heavy to see them go and will miss them so very much, but it will also be a celebration of four very special lives that had an enormous impact on our team and the community of Hout Bay in just over 3 years!!

Thank you all so much for the care and prayers. It carries us here.

[mignond89]

In every season…

Psalm 27:4  One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.

I have so much to write about, I almost don’t know where to start.

We had 4 different teams here over the last 6 weeks.

The first, was a small group from Montana that were only here for a couple of days. It was great to catch up with old friends, meet new ones and have them visit us in various areas of ministry.

The second, was a team from Kansas, Community Covenant church. They helped with renovations on the preschool. We now have a beautiful, bright orange building and a new jungle gym! The kids love it! As usual, it was also beautiful to see how God used this time, to do very significant things in the lives of the team members. We are sure that a couple of them will return in future.

The third team came from Montana through HuntSA Ministries. They helped with the presentation of the girls camp 14-16 March. The men served in the kitchen and were an amazing help behind the scenes and the ladies loved on the girls so well. It was a very significant time with our beautiful girls and we trust that God’s Spirit would continue to water the seeds that have begun sprouting in their lives.

Our last team, was a group from Stellenberg church, Cape Town that helped with renovations on the church building at Bambisana. It was so much fun having Git’s parents and a piece of home through the team here. It was a great week and meant a lot to the local community.

In other news, the rugby team, “Young Champions” are doing very well. Practices and bible studies afterwards have been really incredible and these young men are growing in their faith (and they would love for me to say that their muscles are growing too).

We had another prayer meeting with leaders from various churches in the community and it is amazing to see how this is already growing. We trust that God will use this group significantly in future as intercessors and catalysts for transformation through the local church body.

A new opportunity has opened up in Makukanye High School to have bible studies at their weekly LCO (Learners Christian Organisation) meeting. We are very excited about this!

Our school is doing great, I will introduce you to two new faces:

Owatha AKA President Owatha. I have a really hard time saying no to this little guy. His sweet spirit and fun, friendly personality makes him very popular with the rest. He is part of the family of 9, staying with their grandmother that I spoke about last month.

Entle is a beautiful girl and once she warms up to you, she talks a ton!! She also prefers the batman cape (that we received from amazing donations and advice from teacher Judy from Eversdal Pre-Primary), over the princess crown. Another reason why I love her so :)

Easter was very special. We celebrated this time with the local United Reformed church in Lusikisiki and friends from Shelly Beach AFM church. Git preached at the services on Friday and Sunday. It was amazing to truly celebrate the fact that we serve a God that is ALIVE!!! He listens to us, He is with us and He cares. It was equally beautiful to see the growth in this church as 24 new members were introduced on Sunday! Praise God who is working in the lives of His children!!

Personally, it has been an amazing month, but also challenging and tiring. At times, it is hard to fully process some of the things we experience on a day to day basis – an amazing baptism; the hard news of one of our children testing positive for HIV; heartfelt intercession with leaders for the community; the story of the rape of a young girl; a church being renovated: a symbol of new life and hope; the death of a close friend…

Patience Mwaba, who served on our team during 2012, a sister and friend, passed away over Easter weekend during childbirth. Our hearts are broken and her sweet spirit is a great loss here on earth. We know that Jesus died, so that she can be alive with Him now.

Please pray:

-       For our team here at Bambisana, that God would continually strengthen us and that the Holy Spirit would be our Counsellor. There is a real lack of psychologists and social workers in the area. Often, we feel the need to fill that role. Pray that God would give us wisdom and that we would point people to Him continually.

-       For the gospel of Jesus to keep transforming lives and that God would use us in whichever way He wants to, to draw people to Himself.

-       For the identification and training of local leaders.

Git and I will be away for a couple of weeks in May. He will be heading to the States for the annual “Leader Mundial”, global leadership summit, while I spend some time away with my awesome grandparents and then we will head to Cape Town to spend time with our staff and team there. On the way back, we will present a leadership camp for leaders from Prins Albert. Many exciting things to look forward to!

We love you all!

May the reminder of Easter, Jesus and the cross as the center of it all, stay with you through this time.

Git & Mignon