[notice]Gateway News random writer KURT VAN VOLLENHOVEN sets the scene for two mission trips launching from PE in the June/July holidays. He says it’s the Jesus way to GO! He will be reporting on the teams’ love-in-action adventures on his return. [/notice]
Sweat pours down the face of a white man wearing a wide-brimmed hat in the middle of the day somewhere in Africa, near to the equator. The humidity is nearly 85% and there’s no sign of any cloud cover on the way. He shovels piles of dirt with a spade into a rusty wheelbarrow and wheels it away. After wiping off his grimy hands on his threadbare t-shirt, he adds his prize to the mix and begins to stir it all up. After a few hours of sweat, blood and sunblock smearing, he and his team stand back and gaze with pride at the pit latrine they’ve just finished building for pre-school children in the rural north of Ghana.
Many miles north of this, a young boy falls and grazes his knee while playing soccer in the dusty streets of his home town. Gentle hands lift his head out from between his knees and wipe his dirty, tear-smudged cheek. A calm, reassuring South African voice tells him everything is going be alright. He is given a glass of water to drink while a strange warmth builds inside him. He takes his new found friend to his house and invites her to share in a meal with his closely knit Jewish family in their humble Jerusalem home.
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These June/July holidays twp missionary teams are being sent out from Port Elizabeth to GO (as Jesus gave us authority to in Matthew 28:18-20) and make disciples of other nations. One team is being sent out to Israel and another to Ghana.
Serving people
One team member from the Israel team explained, “A door has been opened for us to go and walk the streets of Israel and serve the people that live there. We are going to serve them through completing practical hands-on building projects, ministering to the children and just doing whatever the Lord leads us to do.” When asked what their main objective is, he said, “It is to spend time with people on the streets and, if Jesus allows us to, in their homes as well. Our mission is to be open and willing to share Jesus through our lifestyle and hearts to touch others.”
Another team is being sent out to the African country of Ghana to GO train up disciples to raise up young disciples. Confused? I was too. ACM (which stands for Action Child Mobilisation) is an organisation which plugs into Harvest Christian Church and aims to establish Christ-centred pre-primary schools all around the continent of Africa. The curriculum focuses on topics such as establishing a child’s self-worth, encouraging creativity and even basic computer literacy. The mission team will be providing follow-up training for teachers to teach the curriculum to their young students. They will also lay a concrete foundation in one of the schools which was established on the last mission trip, run an outreach programme with the kids in the afternoons, paint the walls of the classroom with fun murals and even build a super duper pit latrine for the school. A mission clinic will run concurrently with the training, providing an outreach service to surrounding villages.
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Our missionaries are being sent out into the real life day-to-day situations that are typical of those experienced by millions of people. For two weeks they will have a taste of how bitter and tough life is for so many. In order to improve these peoples’ situations the Ghana team are in need of drugs for the clinic, food parcels for children during ‘holiday club afternoons in the villages (in other words marshmallows), inflatable balls to bless the kids with, building materials for the building projects which will be bought in Ghana, funding for their plane tickets and lots of prayer. The Israel team are in need of funding for their plane tickets, basic medical supplies and lots of prayer. Let’s be part of this vision and get our missionaries to their mission field with abundance and blessing so they can GO be a blessing to others. If you would like to contribute towards any of the above please don’t hesitate to contact Kurt at kurtanraizer@yahoo.com (with email subject line: “‘Israel and Ghana missions) or 083 489 3907.
GO now and be encouraged to make a difference in your mission field – the world around you. If Jesus Christ is living in you then you are called to GO and make disciples, He is the hope of the world and He’s in you so GO and shine that light.
View (if you dare) a hilariously funny video I made as part of my mission trip fundraising drive:
