Prayer Letter

Here is a copy of our most recent prayer letter.
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Brad, Mary, Brandon, Marissa & Mya
Word of Life South Africa

Attachment: april2008.pdf

Prayer Update

Greetings to all!

            It has been a great few weeks here!  We had a group in from Word of Life; they are students in the second year program at the Bible Institute.  We were able to do some amazing things with them and to show them every side of South Africa.  We first took them to a Community Center in Thembaletu, which is close to Swaziland.  I have seen many poor areas in my time here but this would be one of the worst.  We all went on “K-Walks” to visit those who can’t get out of their homes.  That was a real eye opener for all of us.  I had a chance to visit an orphanage in this area and it was simply horrible.  I almost brought a few home children with me. 

            We then brought them back to Jo’burg for some work in the area.  We took them to a “Place of Safety”, which is a temporary housing for children.  Ryne House keeps children from 0 to 18 years there.  We really had to pull everyone away from this place because the kids were in such desperate need of attention.  Here again there were a few little ones we all wanted to bring home.

            Their schedule had them flying out of here at 6:00 PM so we decided to run a Soccer Marathon that morning.  We went into an area we have been in before.  We have been trying to build relationships with the people there.  It was a great morning of soccer and sharing.  A local church donated clothes to give away and we provided lunch for all the players.  It was a wonderful way to finish a great week of ministry. 

            Be praying for those students who came on this trip.  We really gave them a lot to think about and challenged them on many different levels.  They wanted to see what missions in SA is like and they really were able to see it first hand.  Now they are back in classes and I know from experience that is a tough transition to make.

Prayer Request:

1.      Students heading back to US

2.      Furlough Schedule

3.      Paper work for Mya – We want to bring her to see you all.

4.      For our family as we try to get back to normal (not sure what normal is)

5.      Trip to Pietermaritzburg to visit a church (Brad)

 
Praise Items:

1.      Still loving the new computer

2.      Safety while traveling around SA

3.      Meetings already setup for furlough – still some openings, though going quick!

 

 

In His Service,

Brad Hawkins

Word of Life South Africa

Prayer Update

Thank you so much for your prayers for the Missions Reality team that is here from the Word of Life Bible Institute!  They have arrived safely and are having a great week of ministry.

It has been go, go, go from the minute they landed in Joburg! They have ministered in a settlement, practically by helping make bricks, painting, and visits to peoples homes.  Brad's heart was broken by an orphanage with 11 children living in a shack smaller than one of our kid's bedrooms.

Today was a day of ministry in one of the local prisons.  Mike Neilson, a national missionary, visits this prison on a regular basis, doing Bible Studies and discipleship with the prisoners.  He visits one wing at a time, and with 38 extra people today they were able to visit 4 wings at once! 

Tomorrow is a day of ministry at Norman House School and Reyn Place of Safety.  These are homes for troubled or orphaned children of all ages.  Please pray that God prepares the hearts of those that they will be ministering to. We will be sharing through drama, music, and gospel presentation in a group and one-on-one.

On Friday morning, we will be ministering at a local Primary school, and after a little sight seeing, splitting into three groups to visit three different Word of Life Clubs.

Saturday we will be running a Soccer Marathon in Diepsloot, a local settlement.  This is a ministry that uses soccer as a draw for people in the area, with an opportunity to share the gospel.  The soccer marathon should finish up around 1:00, and by 3:00 the team will be departing for the airport!

We are excited about the ministry that has happened this week, and about the ministry opportunities still available! Please pray for strength, endurance, and opportunities to lead souls to Christ!

Also, please pray that God clearly shows the students on the Mission Reality exactly what He has in store for them.  It is exciting to see that they want to follow Him wherever He will lead, whatever that may mean.

Thanks again, for your prayers!
Mary, for the fam
Brad, Mary, Brandon, Marissa & Mya Hawkins
Word of Life South Africa

Prayer Update

Greetings to all!

             Great News!!!  I am writing this update on the new computer.  We were able to have it sent to Christy Page in the US and she brought it over last Saturday.  I am now in the process of changing everything over from the old computer to the new one.  It is great to have it and we just wanted to thank you all for helping with this project. Mary and I were amazed how everything worked out.  Thanks, again!!!

            Last week we had a group in from the US which Mary told you about and this Saturday we have another group coming in from the US.  There are about 35 students coming from the Word of Life School of Youth Ministries, Missions and Evangelism.  We are going to be taking them to an informal area for a few days then back to Jo’berg for local ministry.  It is going to be a busy 10 days but we look forward to ministering with the group and to them as well. 

            Just wanted to let you know we are beginning to schedule our furlough for later this year.  I have included a tentative schedule below.  If you know of a Pastor who might be interested in having us come share please let me know and I will contact them.  We are looking for “new churches” to share what God is doing here.  See you all soon!!! Aug thru Nov.

Arrive in US (JFK) – Aug 14^th

MI – Aug 16^th – Sept 7^th

PA - Sept 8^th – Sept 28^th  

Alabama -Sept 30^th – Oct 8^th

Florida -Oct 9^th – 25^th

PA Oct 25^th – Nov 7^th

Back to South Africa Nov 7^th

Prayer Requests:

1.      Group from WOL coming for visit

2.      Furlough Schedule

3.      Paper work for Mya – We want to bring her to see you all.

 

Praise Items:

1.      New Computer

2.      Great week with group from TKCS

3.      Meetings already setup for furlough – still some openings though going quick!

In His Service,

Brad Hawkins

Update after Battlezone Camp

Here is an update from Mike Neilson, the speaker at our BattleZone Camp!

Best news this week: At the Word of Life, Battle Zone Camp I taught Sowers, Level 1.  In the counselling section there is a place where we challenge the student to write down who they will share this counselling booklet with.   One of the young people, from Donavan May’s Church in Chloorkop, lead his mom to the Lord when he got home from camp.  Wow is that not great!

Prayer Update

It's hard to believe that it's been 2 weeks since our last update!  Time flies when you're busy!

We had a group of 14 students and 3 teachers visit from The Kings Christian School in NJ for a short term mission trip.  They arrived on March 20 and departed March 30, and every day in between held a new adventure.

It was amazing to see God's faithfulness as we/they were able to minister in so many different areas and cultures!  We visited places from settlements to a deaf church to affluent areas - we all worship the same God!  South Africa is definitely a world in one country.  If you'd like to learn about their adventures, follow this link to the TKCS blog.

While they were here, we held our annual Battlezone Camp. In addition to the team from the US, we had 28 South African teenagers join us!  The goal of this camp is to prepare the youth to be ready to share the gospel.  This year we had a special speaker, Mike Neilson, and part of his family join us at camp.  We were excited to see Mike's passion for ministry and for the lost come across clearly as he taught the Sowers training course in soul winning and Open Air Evangelism.  Thank you, Mike, for helping us all become better equipped to sow the seed of the gospel!  I was also very encouraged by the time I spent with Mike's wife Mandy.  It was great to glean wisdom and have fellowship with a fellow homeschool mom in the ministry!

We are excited about the continued progress toward Mya's adoption.  Please continue to pray that all the paperwork is approved and finalized before we need to leave for the States in August. She is growing and changing, with new developments every day.  She is barely crawling, but will be running tomorrow if she has her way!  She is so ready to keep up with big brother and sister.  She is a ray of sunshine to our whole family.

Brandon and Marissa are doing well!  They are growing and changing, too quickly for my taste! Brandon loves learning about fractions, as is ecstatic when he knows all his spelling words and doesn't have to study them. It is hard to believe that he will be 9 years old in 11 more days. (The countdown is on! ) Marissa has finished her first Math book and her first handwriting book this week, and is on cloud 9.  She loves to write and color and would "do school" all day. If she only learns to read more fluently, she would be over the moon!  She just can't wait. I think maybe we'll start working on some Dick & Jane books tomorrow.

Please keep the Page family in your prayer.  Christy and the kids have been in the US visiting her family, as her father was diagnosed with lymphoma.  John remained her in SA to continue in the ministry.  Christy's dad is just finishing up his second round of chemo, as far as I understand, and Christy and the kids will be returning to SA on Saturday.  Please keep the whole family in your prayers.

We are looking forward to our time in the US from mid-August to mid-November and we'd love to see you!  Please pray that our schedule fills quickly to share about the ministry of South Africa so that we can return to SA with our needed funds and continue the ministry!  Also, please let us know if your church would be interested in having us come and share the ministry of Word of Life South Africa with them.

Love,
Mary, for the fam
Brad, Mary, Brandon, Marissa & Mya
Word of Life South Africa