Moriel Missions Southern Africa – August 2002
Dear Friends,
It was nice to see everyone when Aaron, Alistair and I visited in May I must give a big thank you for everyone that put us up especially my Mum and Dad and sister Joanne as well as Lyn’s sister Carol, you were all very gracious and the hospitality everyone showed us was a blessing. It is always great to catch up with family news. Also thanks to those who hosted us on our travels in the South of England, Yorkshire and in Wales.
Well we came back to earth with a bump but first family news.
Paulina
While we were in the UK Paulina went to Johannesburg and got the all clear with her shunt, on returning home we had a phone call from a Doctors rooms who were willing to see about Paulina’s club feet. Since then we have had two visits and on Wednesday June 19th Dr Jannis performed the operation free of charge at Parklands hospital, the hospital agreed to waver fees and so did the anaesthetist for which we thank the Lord. So this is the start of a very long road for Paulina, the op has straiten her feet and now we need to get callipers and built up shoes to help her stand with the aid of sticks to help her walk. The op was long and complicated according to the doctor but the x-rays have shown that the pins are in place and both feet are straight, Praise God for the skill and dedication of theses people On the 18th we had an appointment with a school for disabled children that said they would be willing to find her a place (with a government grant for education) this school has successfully guided children with spina-bifia to full independence. Which with Paulina’s disabilities would be great for her. When Paulina came to us she was like a 12 month old physically and emotionally now with help from the school once a week and living in a family she has taken leaps and bounds she has reached the two years of age stage in her development which has been a really encouragement for us. She celebrated her 3rd birthday on the 10th and she loves to sing the birthday song and gets quite excited. Paulina has been joining in with school activities, we had a fruit week she tried every fruit we could find but she has decided she likes apples and grapes the best. She has been a source of laughter and tears to the house and God has been so gracious to us through her that it has been very humbling to see God work through her, this little girl is indeed very special.
Joe
Joe is his usually self, ear infections and mischievous he is regular found climbing a tree and getting stuck and has an answer for anything he gets caught doing wrong, sometimes you have to go into the other room and laugh. His schooling has took on another dimension as he has found he can write his name and many other letters, he loves to read books and listen to stories. He also loves to look at books on aeroplanes. He also loves to colour and paint. Joe loves to eat; his favourite food is fruit (grapes apples, pears, oranges, bananas) and crisps.
S’phewi
S’phewi is the bossy one he is the eldest of all three and acts like a big brother he likes to tell us all what we have to do and when it should be done. His most common saying is “do your Maths and English”. S’phewi is not too good at fine motor skills but his gross motor skills have improved greatly, this has had a knock on effect he is not so timid when exploring and now takes great delight at bringing insects inside to show Lyn who sometimes jumps out of her skin. S’phewi has days of not being well but bounces back the next day. S’phewi loves to watch cartoon videos and in some, acts out what the main character is doing, S’phewi is an audio learner which means he picks up songs and speech very quickly, and he likes to perform songs and poem’s for us all.
Anthony
Well Anthony is now a fully fledged writer, he has sold three articles to an internet magazine in America, he is still working on scripts and hopes to enter a competition later in the year. He is enjoying the world cup at the moment. Paulina has melted his heart (but he wont admit it) and helps with her speech therapy.
Christopher
Christopher has decided to pursue a career in chemistry so we are trying to build him a lab (anyone with any tips welcome to share) He still enjoys his Star trek and reading sci-fi. He has got rid of his room-mate (the mouse); Dave caught it in the kitchen trap. Christopher is very good with the boys and Joe has taken to him, he likes to look at all of Christopher’s books on Star wars and star trek.
Aaron
Aaron is now trying to settle back after his trip. He is working hard on human biology and sports. S’phewi is Aaron’s bud they like to watch football together. Aaron has just taught him some goal celebrations to dance during the world cup. Aaron can’t wait for the summer to come so he can go swimming again. Aaron is helping with Paulina physiotherapy. Aaron and Anthony decided Aaron’s hair would look good dyed blue so while we were at house group they decide to use food colouring to dye his hair only when they saw the green bottle they through that would look better only the green bottle was peppermint essences so he smelt of peppermint for days and no dyed hair we had a good laugh
Aletheia
When we landed at Jo’berg airport we had to hit the road running as the fellowship had its official opening on Sunday the second. A good sized core group had already been meeting for two months or so to coordinate evangelism and also place Notice boards on lamp posts as well as deliver 5000 leaflets.
The opening service went well and the church was dedicated to the Lord by Moriel administrator for South Africa Fred Blomkaamp. Jacob Prasch could not be there in person due to his itinerary but sent us a letter to be read out to the congregation wishing the new Moriel church every blessing as they reach the area for Yeshua.
Please pray for the new oversight as they lead this new work, that the Lord will give us real wisdom and discernment.
Morning services have been well attended and David has been focusing his teaching primarily on the attributes of God. Evening services or ‘Disciples Forum’ also has been going well. Dave has been taking us through an eleven week teaching on the epistle of Jude. After the teaching people are given the opportunity to ask questions on the subject matter and this has been a great opportunity for all concerned to grow and share, it certainly puts Dave on the spot, which he enjoys!
New people are coming each week, we have been blessed especially with local Black Africans who find the teaching and open ministry a real blessing. Most have come out of Rhema type situations, which as you know, Rhema is a Christian cult focusing on word of faith heresies and teachings by such heretics as Ray McCauley, Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland. It has been great to see people set free from such oppressive doctrines of demons.
Ebyown Childrens Village
The response to Ebyown has been fantastic from everyone we have shared the vision with. Just to remind those who maybe don’t know about the project, Ebyown is a Hebrew word describing a poor and oppressed person, someone who is in need of an advocate. This typifies the plight of African aids orphans who find themselves sick and institutionalised. Aids in Southern Africa alone will conservatively leave 5,000,000 orphans most with HIV. Obviously any nation will have difficulty looking after such numbers.
We have decided to use a two point strategy in the community. First of all the encouragement of long term foster care, enabling these young ones to experience the love of a Christian family. We realise though that for many reasons only a few will have this privilege and so secondly EBYOWN is our answer to the local problem. We desire to have a children’s village, which will accommodate up to 60 HIV children. The children will live six to a house on a 5 acre small holding in Endicott about 11 kms outside the city of Springs. Here each home of children will have a Mum and Dad to love and look after them. The Village will house a school, cr ƒ ¨che, clinic and including parents a staff of around 20 people. A place of worship will also be available as it will be impractical for 100 children and parents to travel to Aletheia in Springs every week.
We have chosen a rural location for several reasons. It is away from the pollution of the city and healthier for the children, it means land is cheaper to obtain and it is our hope that the land can be used to offset some of the costs by farming.
The needs will be great as we will have to provide the living units, beds, crockery and literally everything you can think about to have such a community.
We also desire to make Ebyown a Moriel Mission station where students and lay people can come and help us take the gospel to surrounding cities.
Well this is our desire which we believe the Lord is leading us into and some doors are already opening, for example Dave has an appointment with the chief of Child Welfare and his head of department the second week in July. It also seems that Ebyown’s vision ties up nicely with welfares new policies for HIV children. So please pray that things go well for the children’s sake and that we can see this village off the ground in the next two years.
We may in the near future be able to accommodate short term missionaries who want to experience the mission field here in Africa. Top of the list would be nurses, doctors and anyone with a medical back ground. This does not mean anyone with a love for African children cannot come, all you may be able to do is help a mum and dad look after the kids, believe me this would be a blessing having three little ones of our own. We have been encouraged by the number of people e-mailing us from the UK, New Zealand and other places wishing to get involved personally. Please be patient with us, a project like this takes time and a great deal of finances to get off the ground so keep checking the newsletters and when we are ready we will place a call for an initial 10 volunteers or so. But in the mean time, keep praying and supporting us.
Siloah Mission
Caleb and Sophie now have their visa and are planning there move for the next few weeks. This is great news and we are really looking forward to seeing them come and get settled into the ministry.
A farm house has been given to them and it looks as though this could be Moriels own mission station in Kwazulu. Caleb and Sophie will work in the hospital during the day but will us the farm as a base to reach the community. The farm is large enough to accommodate mission teams and it is our hope that GAP students or anyone wishing to experience mission in Kwazulu can come along and help with this work.
When Caleb and Sophie arrive they will undergo a few weeks of orientation to prepare them with language and customs and as soon as they take up position in Kwazulu we will plan the best way to accommodate visitors. So again be patient as we begin these initial stages, if we get it right now we will be better off in the long term.
Moriel College has now been registered with SAQA and with the help of DR Calvin Smith from Midlands Bible College and Divinity School in the UK, we have now taken the first steps towards accreditation. Mike Glensor is also on board our team. Mike has worked with SAQA and is aware of the system of application so with these God given people we hope to steer our way through the complexities of accreditation.
The college has given itself till January 2003 to be operational over the internet although a prospectus is available on line or by sending an email for an attachment.
We have been encouraged by the initial enquiries and hope to provide a fully competent service when we launch officially.
Thank You
Once again, please accept our thanks and appreciation for your prayer and financial support over the last few months. The Lord continues to meet our needs as a family.
The ministry is not at the stage when it can support Dave and the family with a salary and the South African government will not give their three foster children their entitled grant because they are not permanent residents, so this is a Mission of faith and any support from believers would be a blessing.
If you want to support on a regular basis please contact our new administrator Phil Baldwin at the address below or Moriel administrator Allison Dodd.
We would like to thank Chas Tidswell who has worked with Dave for the last eleven years and has done a great Job administrating the ministry. Although Chas wants to stand down and pursue new interests he is still a keen supporter of the ministry in South Africa and will help whenever he can.
Thank you once again for your support and please keep on praying till we write again.
Love in Yeshua’s name,
Dave, Lyn, Anthony, Chris, Aaron, Johannes, Sephewi and Paulina
