Christmas Pics

We've posted our Christmas pics - check 'em out! ;)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Hawkins family in South Africa! We are excited to be celebrating the birthday of Christ together with special friends. We will be spending our day around the pool, the wii and the braai (grill). After 8 years in South Africa, I must admit that a summer Christmas feels normal. :)
The presents were opened last night, and we will spend the rest of our day focusing on the birth of Christ and what that means to us.
We hope you and family have a blessed Christmas!
Mary, for the fam
Brad, Mary, Brandon, Marissa & Mya

2009 Camp Registration Information

Attachment: Camp Registration Info 2009.pdf

Prayer Update

So sorry for the recent lapse in communication! I have been feeling under the weather with the flu & sinus infection, and just being wife & mom was enough for me for the last couple of weeks! I am finally starting to feel like myself again....
Brad has been busy running to different churches administering the end of year verse quiz so that campers can earn their way to camp. It's exciting to see children memorizing His word! They also must maintain a consistent quiet time through the year, participate in Christian service, and attend their local church faithfully to earn this trip to camp. If you are interested in helping cover the expenses for these children to be at camp, please follow this link.
The kids and I have been busy finishing up the school year with a unit on Obedience, Horses & Cowboys. We even made a trip to see the Lipizzaner Stallions practice last week!
We are thrilled to share with you that the last apostille that we need for Mya's adoption arrived at Brad's brother's this week and it is on it's way to South Africa via Steve Bowen. Once we turn that in, and our fingerprints come back from the SA Police Clearance, we should be DONE! Mya has now been in our home over 2 years, and what joy she still brings to our lives daily!
We are looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday. We will have 27 people here from several cultures, including American (of course), Zulu, Irish & Afrikaans, among others. It should be a great time of fun, food & fellowship!
I am excited to be playing my flute in a small orchestra this coming Friday night to accompany a collaborative choir for a concert! The concert is all in Afrikaans - Somerkersfees, which means A Summer's Christmas. It's a good thing I can play in Afrikaans! ;)
Please pray for us as we prepare for summer camp! It's coming up quickly and there is much work to do. We are going on a Piratey Adventure!

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

Summer Camp Scholarship

Here is a note from our director and his wife, John & Christy Page:

Being involved with Christian camping for over 16 years has proved to
us that God works in the lives of teens and children when they are in a
camp atmosphere. Would you prayerfully consider sponsoring someone
to come to camp?
You choose what type of camper you would like to sponsor. It could be:

1) someone who has “earned” their way to camp by completing an
intensive discipleship program that includes a faithful Quiet Time,
scripture memory, Christian services, and reading Christian
literature, or

2) someone who has never been to camp because they are an unsaved
friend being brought, or

3) someone who will be involved in a new Bible Club that we want to
“jump start” their excitement for the new year. Their excitement
rubs off onto the other teens that they will be in the Bible Club with.

Please help us to encourage a youth by sending a check made payable
to Word of Life Fellowship to PO Box 600, Schroon Lake, NY 12870
with the attached response slip or by donating online by clicking here.
Your sponsorship will impact a life for eternity. Please indicate “South
Africa camp scholarship” in memo section of the check or in the
comments section on line.

Thank you to all who helped sponsor 35 campers for the 2008 camp
season. We thank the Lord for your generosity!
Serving YOUth in South Africa,
John and Christy Page

Attachment: summer camp fund raising letter 2009 electronic.pdf
Attachment: Camp scholarship form 2009 electronic.pdf

November Prayer Letter

Here is a copy of our most recent prayer letter.
You will need Adobe Reader to open the file. Click here to download free.

Brad, Mary, Brandon, Marissa & Mya
Word of Life South Africa

Attachment: Nov 2009.pdf

Directions for Leaders' Fun Day

Leaders' Fun Day will be at a farm on the corner of Springbok Rd. & Bambi Rd. in Rispark in Southern Johannesburg.

Please see the attachment for a map and directions from the WOL office. I'm sure it will help you figure out how to get there from where you are!

Attachment: Directions to the Farm 1.pdf

Computer Needed

Some of you may remember that we posted a notice about needing a new computer. We have some people stopping through Johannesburg in early November and if we receive enough funds prior to their arrival, they would be willing to bring it with them from the US, as computers are much more reasonable to purchase there than here.

We are trying to buy a computer that is better equipped for video and graphic design needs. If you feel God leading you to help with this purchase, please follow this link. It contains information on how to give online, through the mail, or over the phone. Please be sure to note that it is for Brad & Mary Hawkins' Computer Project. Thank you!

Mary, for the fam
Word of Life South Africa

Prayer Update

Things are beginning to slow down a bit, for a little while, at least! We thoroughly enjoyed our recent visitors from I-Tec, Paul & Christopher Kinley. They spent a 2 night layover with us on their way to a missions trip in Zambia.

I am almost finished with a Beth Moore study on the book of Daniel. I have really enjoyed spending time in the Word of God and with other godly women. We are hoping to start a study on Esther in January.

I am so excited about discipleship! I am now discipling 2 women, and am thrilled to share with you that I have a new mentor to disciple me! I am looking forward to growing and learning from my meetings with all 3 of these beautiful women!

Musical opportunities are continuing to present themselves.... I am still playing flute at church, and have been invited to join a local group of musicians to play for some Christmas concerts in Joburg. One of them will be to accompany a mass choir! I also have had someone offer to give me piano lessons. As she lives on the other side of Johannesburg, it will only be once a month, but the accountability should keep me practicing!

Brad is busy with work, meeting with Pastors and youth leaders throughout the week and visiting churches and youth groups each weekend. He will be preaching twice in the month of November, as well as teaching Youth Ministry at the International College of Bible & Missions, preparing for end of year camp, along with his other responsibilities to keep up with in the office.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support!

Check out our new pictures!

Check out the new pictures we've uploaded!
Trip to Kimberley
Ministry pics in Kimberley
The King & I
Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve

Thank you for praying for T-Junction!

Thanks so much for your prayers! We had a wonderful night! It was threatening rain when we arrived, even raining for a little while, but we prayed and God held the rain away.  Many of our activities were outside (soccer, climbing wall, mini-golf, and volleyball) and the youth would have missed out on a lot had it rained all night.
We had approximately 160 people there, and there was a teenager that gave her life to the Lord! What an amazing God we serve!
Thanks, again!
Mary, for the fam

T-Junction

T-Junction is the South African equivalent to the Word of Life Superbowl in the US. This annual event will take place this Friday night! We are going to be sharing the Gospel to all who attend. Begin praying now for those who attend as we will be bringing them to a “T-Junction” in life and challenging them to turn from sin and choose the Savior. There will be bowling, swimming, waterslides, mini-golf, climbing wall, arcade games and MUCH MUCH more! This event is for those between the ages of 13 to 20. Thanks for your prayers!

S.M.A.S.H.

Check out our facebook group for updates on our recent SMASH trip!

S.M.A.S.H.

SMASH (Students Ministering And Serving Him) starts tonight with a team of 10 young people from 4 different churches!
We are running a second SMASH trip this year from September 25-28, providing an opportunity for service orientated missions. We will be helping one of the churches that we already work with in Orange Farm, just outside of Joburg. We will do whatever we can to help them improve the church grounds as well as take the opportunity to do a youth rally to reach out to the community. Please pray for those we will be able to minister to in the local area, as well as the youth that will be joining us on this mission trip, that they will allow God to use the experience to impact their lives.
Please keep us in your prayers.

Computer Needed

We are in need of a computer that is better equipped for video and design needs. If you feel God leading you to help with this purchase, please follow this link. It contains information on how to give online, through the mail, or over the phone. Please be sure to note that it is for Brad & Mary Hawkins' Computer Project. Thank you!

Another Prayer Update

We had a wonderful trip to Kimberly! We traveled with friends, Ella, Hannah, Max & Bronwyn Embree and Jess Case. It was so nice to spend some time with precious friends! It took about 7 hours to get there, which was a little longer than expected, due to lots of construction.
We got in Thursday night, and Friday was a FULL day. The morning was spent at the Big Hole, a diamond mine & museum.
Friday afternoon we helped out at AWANA. It was a blessing to see Brandon & Marissa both share the gospel using the Evangecube and the rope trick. Three children made decisions for Christ!
Friday evening was spent at the church with the senior youth. It was exciting to see their excitement for the Lord. They made us feel very welcomed!
We were there Thursday and Friday nights, and were so grateful to be able to stay with the pastor and his wife, Pastor Warren and Mmamokete. They are former students at ICBM, where Brad has started teaching.
We arrived home last night, safe and sound!

This morning Brad had an opportunity to preach at our South African home church. He spoke about how God has been teaching him to have a passion to witness. He taught how to use different tools as a means to share the gospel, including the Romans road, evangecube, the rope trick and the colour bracelet.

We are leaving for 3 nights of holiday on Tuesday. We are going tenting with friends. We are really looking forward to a few nights away.

We come home Friday, and then Saturday we have a Micro F1 at Valley Community Church in Bez Valley. Please pray that God prepares the hearts of the children even now, so that they will be ready to hear the message of the gospel.

Prayer Update

Sept. 8, 2009

Thank you all for your prayers for my family throughout the last week. It has been hard, but God has been faithful! "My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word." Psalm 119:28 His Word has been SUCH a source of strength, along with the prayers of faithful friends. Thank you!

Marissa had some warts removed from her right foot last week and has stitches in two places. Please pray for quick healing. She has been SO brave and is healing nicely so far. She will have her stitches removed on Monday.

This coming Thursday through Saturday Brand, Marissa and I along with some other home school missionary friends are taking a field trip to Kimberley to see a diamond mine. The Big Hole is the largest hand-dug excavation in the world! Dad & Mya are staying home this time.

While there, we will be helping out a local church with their youth program. Brandon and Marissa will both get a chance to share the gospel using the rope trick and the evangecube. It is so exciting to see our children involved in ministry!

Sunday, Brad will be preaching at our South African home church, Grace Baptist Church, I will be playing the flute, and the kids may even use their rope trick and evangecube again.

And Tuesday, the family will be headed off on a camping trip for 3 nights. We are looking forward to a few days away with family & friends, and will jump right back into ministry upon our return with a Micro F1 on the 19th.

Prayer Request

Last night the youngest of my brothers passed away. Pat was 48 years old. It is suspected that he had a heart attack. I would appreciate your prayers for my family at this time.

Love,
Mary, for the fam

August Prayer Letter

Here is a copy of our most recent prayer letter.
You will need Adobe Reader to open the file. Click here to download free.

Brad, Mary, Brandon, Marissa & Mya
Word of Life South Africa

Attachment: August 2009.pdf

Prayer Update

Here is an update from last week as some of you may not have received it through our facebook group. Sorry we didn't post this before now....
From Brad, Aug 13: We made it over 7 years here in SA before we had a security problem. Last night a group of guys jumped the wall, poisoned the dogs, and went to work on the cars. The dogs seem to be doing good so far, our black lab seemed to eat the most and he was pretty bad by morning. Mickey our other dog came around the house and ran them off but not before he was poisoned as well. The guys cleaned out my car and took one of the tires off the car. Brandon's golf clubs were taken out of the boot. He seems ok with it. Well, needless to say, tonight will be interesting, no dogs but the security company says they will drive by more tonight. Then tomorrow we work on the security system outside. Pray that we handle all this well!

And here is an update from today
Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers these last few days. God has given us a peace that passes understanding as we know that HE alone is in control. He has granted peaceful sleep, for the most part (as many of us are starting with a cold). The dogs are home and in good health!
Mary

Psalm 121:1-3 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;

New Pics

Check out the new pics we've posted! :)
Lesedi Cultural Village
Brad's Zimbabwe Trip
National Cultural History Museum
Our New Trampoline

Prayer Update

Thanks to all who were praying for our weekend in Zimbabwe! I joined the group as a last minute seat came available, so I jumped at the chance to head north. Just to give a bit of background on Zim, it is the country just north of us. They are having some real political and economic troubles. They have actually stopped using their own currency and only take US dollars and South African rands. There are many churches there that struggle to feed their people and have very few resources for the outreach in the community.

I went with a Church here in SA who has partnered with a church in Zim. They plan to make deliveries 3 times a year at this point. We were able to take a lot of food and supplies to them as well as literature for the church to use. We ended up delivering 2 trailers full of supplies and run a soccer marathon for around 60 youth!

I was amazed just how rough it is for the people there, the Pastor told us he didn’t have electricity for over a year. I spoke with a guy at a petrol station and he hasn’t had water for over 4 years! Yet they still seem so happy and were so thankful for our visit. I look forward to another visit!

Brad's going to Zim!

Brad was presented with a last minute opportunity to join a local church on a missions trip to Zimbabwe tomorrow and he jumped at it! He will be leaving EARLY tomorrow morning and coming back some time on Monday. Please keep the team in prayer as they travel and minister! There will be 14 people on the trip, including fellow WOL teammates, John Page & Miriam Ritchie.
Please, also, pray for us as a family as we hold down the fort. Praying for a weekend of fun and productivity to distract the kids and already lookin' forward to the Mexican menu, as dad's not a fan. ;)

Prayer Update

We have been super busy with family and ministry! Let me share a few highlights....

Just last week Brad visited the Junior Youth (Grades 1-6) at our church (Grace Baptist Church, Ruimsig) and had the opportunity to lead 3 young boys to the Lord!!!!! What an exciting opportunity anytime, but especially at our South African home church. :)

Thursday evening we had the privilege of attending a dinner at Sandton Bible Church for missionaries and pastors, and we were encouraged and challenged by Brent Meyers. He challenged us to be training up others to take our place! We were also very encouraged by the fellowship with friends! It was a refreshing time and a blessing.

In homeschool we are studying South African history. It has been a challenge as my friend and I are writing our own curriculum based on an awesome book, All About South Africa. While it has been a great study, it can take a lot of time. Please pray that I use my time wisely as a mom, teacher and homemaker.

Monday night I am starting a Bible Study on Daniel with some dear friends and am looking forward to the time of fellowship, encouragement and sharpening.

On the home front, the children are growing fast! Mya has moved out of the crib and into the bottom bunk Marissa's bunk bed this week. It has been a smooth transition so far! Brandon & Marissa have been practicing, along with a drama group of around 50 other children, to present The King and I in October. Today they will be performing one of the scenes at a drama day. Excitement reigns in the house this morning as they look forward to their first performance with these friends. :)

Thank you for your prayers for our ministry!

Mary, for the fam
Brad, Mary, Brandon, Marissa & Mya

Prayer Update

We have been super busy with family and ministry! Let me share a few highlights....

Just last week Brad visited the Junior Youth (Grades 1-6) at our church (Grace Baptist Church, Ruimsig) and had the opportunity to lead 3 young boys to the Lord!!!!! What an exciting opportunity anytime, but especially at our South African home church. :)

Thursday evening we had the privilege of attending a dinner at Sandton Bible Church for missionaries and pastors, and we were encouraged and challenged by Brent Meyers. He challenged us to be training up others to take our place! We were also very encouraged by the fellowship with friends! It was a refreshing time and a blessing.

In homeschool we are studying South African history. It has been a challenge as my friend and I are writing our own curriculum based on an awesome book, All About South Africa. While it has been a great study, it can take a lot of time. Please pray that I use my time wisely as a mom, teacher and homemaker.

Monday night I am starting a Bible Study on Daniel with some dear friends and am looking forward to the time of fellowship, encouragement and sharpening.

On the home front, the children are growing fast! Mya has moved out of the crib and into the bottom bunk Marissa's bunk bed this week. It has been a smooth transition so far! Brandon & Marissa have been practicing, along with a drama group of around 50 other children, to present The King and I in October. Today they will be performing one of the scenes at a drama day. Excitement reigns in the house this morning as they look forward to their first performance with these friends. :)

Thank you for your prayers for our ministry!

Mary, for the fam
Brad, Mary, Brandon, Marissa & Mya

Prayer Update

The ministry has been going so great here these last few weeks, it will be difficult to keep this short but here goes.  As you may know John has been in the US for last couple of months so we decided to take this opportunity to remodel the offices.  We had a youth group come through to help us pack everything and then spent the week plastering and painting everything.  We finished late on Friday night and the same youth group came back and helped us move it all back in.  It was great to get to know some of these students and see their willingness to get involved.

I have been teaching a local church about WOL this week as well.  The church is Waterkloof Baptist in Pretoria.  I had the privilege to work with their previous Youth Pastor and I am looking forward to working with this new group of leaders.  We have been meeting and developing a plan to bring the material to their youth.  This is one of the greatest things I get to do here.  I love to see the leaders catch a vision for the youth and a desire to see them grow in their relationship with the Lord.  Keep praying as we continue to work with the leaders and the youth of South Africa.

In His Service,

Brad Hawkins

Word of Life South Africa

Photos

We uploaded lots of new photos - check 'em out! 

Launch

Miriam Ritchie is here with Word of Life Launch. Launch is an opportunity for individuals 17 & up, that want to serve on a short term mission trip at a WOL location from 2 weeks to 2 years. Maybe you, too, should come minister with us!
Miriam arrived in March 2009 and will be serving with us for 2 years. We have really appreciated her help and unique skills as an addition to our ministry!

Prayer Update

Friday Brad and Miriam met with the students at Berean Bible Institute to plan for SMASH (Students Ministering and Serving Him)! This is a short term missions trip for South African teens and is from July 4-11. We are FULL! We have received just enough applications to fill the vehicles available, and the youth are busy raising support!!!

We will be headed to the South Coast, which is about an 8 hour trip, and we will be taking 6 vehicles. While at the South Coast we will be helping out with Holiday Bible Club at 2 churches and doing evangelism in the afternoons/evenings.

Last Sunday, Brad met to practice quiz blitz for the 4th time with the youth at Maraisburg Family Fellowship. It is exciting to see their desire to learn about God's Word and His will for their lives! There are two other churches also preparing for quiz blitz. They will quiz against each other at the end of the year - our first quiz of the kind!

Brad is making the final edits on the syllabus for a class on Missions and Evangelism he will be teaching next term at the International College of Bible and Missions (ICBM) in Roodepoort. We are very excited about this new avenue of ministry!

Prayer Update

Thursday Brad flies to Capetown for Orientation with a church and an all-nighter with the youth. Please pray for him as he travels and ministers and for us as the family stays home without him. Pray for safety all around! He will return home on Monday.

Thanks!
Mary, for the fam
Brad, Mary, Brandon, Marissa & Mya

Another Update on Mya's Adoption

Through some research on the internet, it appeared that we could get an apostille from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Pretoria. This is about an hour drive from here, so I phoned them yesterday morning to confirm that they could do this for us, and they said to go to ANY home affairs office and have it done.
Well, I had some paperwork that I needed to turn it at the local home affairs office which is about 10 minutes away, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and off I went with Mya (Brad took the bigger kids) and headed to home affairs.
I stood in line for an hour and a half to turn in the papers for Mya's unabridged birth certificate and wait for them to be faxed to Pretoria (for the 3rd time) and then I asked about the apostille, and was told that they don't do that. Crazy!
The magistrates' office is just down the road from home affairs so I popped in and spoke to the clerk, and she said she would talk to the magistrate to see specifically what he wanted and where to go for it. She kept our original marriage certificate, passports and pay stub to show him. I think it is possible that with the original documents he may be able to do the apostille himself! We'll see....

Update on Mya's Adoption

It's been a while since we've sent an update on the progress in Mya's adoption.

The case went through to the Magistrate that could approve the adoption, but according to the Hague Convention (which has come into play after we started this process, changing some of the requirements) we need to have an apostille for the copies of our US documents - our marriage certificate, pay stub and passports. We are hoping to have this done early this week and then return it to the Magistrate's office. Then we wait again.

An apostille is the legalization of a document for international use under the terms of the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. Documents which have been notarized by a notary public, and certain other documents, and then certified with a conformant apostille are accepted for legal use in all the nations that have signed the Hague Convention.

Another change that has taken place as a result of the Hague Convention, is that we are supposed to be approved by the US for adoption BEFORE a child is chosen in order for the US to approve the adoption. HOWEVER, (God is so good!) there is a way around this!

Because we live in South Africa, we don't NEED to have the US approve the adoption right away. Once the adoption is finalized here, we will wait two years. We can then apply for citizenship to the US based on the fact that she is our adopted child in another country and we are US citizens.

This is through an N-600K, which says that it is for A US citizen parent seeking citizenship on behalf of a minor adopted or biological child providing for citizenship through an application process for biological and adopted children who regularly reside outside of the US and meet certain conditions while under age 18.

More Pics

I posted more pics - here are the links....

Easter
Brandon's 10th Birthday

Let me know if you have any problems accessing them!
Mary, for the fam

April Prayer Letter

Sorry for multiple emails for this month's prayer letter! I'm having a problem getting it linked correctly.  Trying again!!!

Here is a copy of our most recent prayer letter.
You will need Adobe Reader to open the file. Click here to download free.

Brad, Mary, Brandon, Marissa & Mya
Word of Life South Africa

Attachment: April 2009.pdf

Pictures from BattleZone Camp!

Rather than uploading pics twice, as we pay for uploading and downloading here in SA, I thought I would try a link to the pics I already uploaded on facebook.  If you have problems following this link or seeing our pics, please let me know!
BattleZone Pics

TKCS Update!

Today the TKCS group ministered in KwaMhlanga! Today is a holiday in South Africa - Family day. They had a sports day with an evangelistic focus. Being Brandon's birthday, we had a wonderful family day together! Tomorrow we will be off to Van Ryn Place of Safety. Keep us in your prayers!

TKCS Update!

Tomorrow Brad, the Pages and the TKCS team will be headed to Orange Farm to work with Pastor Sturli. They will be having a sports day with teens & young adults. Please pray as the gospel is shared that many lives will be changed!

Prayer Update

A team of 13 arrived from The Kings Christian School (TKCS) in New Jersey to do ministry for the next 10 days! Please pray for safety as they travel and for lives to be changed as they minister!
Today Brad, John and the team will be traveling to Van Ryn Place of Safety in Benoni to do a Good Friday Service and activities with the children there.
Follow this link to see the TKCS updates about their ministry here.

BattleZone Camp

We are busily packing and preparing for BattleZone Camp this weekend! Camp starts tomorrow at 1:00 at Hillbrow Independent Baptist Church.  We are expecting around 60 people, and are looking forward to a few days of focus on the persecuted church. Of course we'll have lots of fun, too - it's camp!
Please pray for lives to be changed, challenged to walk worthy of the calling of Christ on an every day basis. We will update you soon after returning home on Wednesday!

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

Prayer Update

Greetings to all from SA!

What a great week it has been, we have been busy as always, but God has been opening many new doors for us in ministry.  I spoke at International College of Bible and Missions (ICBM) just yesterday and have received an email from one of the students there that is interested in using the Word of Life ministry in his church.  The school also asked if I would be interested in teaching one of the courses next term.  We as staff have been praying for opportunities to work in some of the local Bible Colleges and here God has answered our request.  This will make two schools we are currently involved with.  Please pray as this will add a bit to my work load, but in the long term we are praying that it will have a huge impact here in SA.

Tomorrow we are meeting with the other college, Berean Bible Institute, as we plan our BattleZone Camp that is coming up.  These students we have been meeting with for some time and it is great to be able to continue building in their lives.

Sunday we will be attending Community Bible Church as they are doing a youth emphasis service.  I am excited about this because one of the youth will be preaching for the first time.  Thank you all for your prayers as we continue to press on here in SA!

In His Service,

Brad Hawkins

Word of Life South Africa

Prayer Update

Just thought we would update you on the ministry! :)

Brad is busy in the office preparing for BattleZone Camp at the end of this month.  We'll update you more on this as it draws nearer, but please pray as we plan for this camp! There is a new Bible College (Berean Bible Institute) at one of the local churches (Sandton Bible Church), and we are glad to be able to have these students assisting us in planning and running camp this year! Brad and John are meeting with the students on Friday mornings.

Tomorrow Miriam Ritchie is arriving from the US as a short term missionary! She is a graphics designer and will help with, among MANY other things, editing materials used for Bible Clubs. We are looking forward to meeting you, Miriam!

Brad has a few speaking opportunities coming up! Saturday morning he is speaking at a men's breakfast at Valley Community Church. Wednesday morning, he will be speaking at chapel service at the International College of Bible and Missions.  Keep him in your prayers as he prepares for these meetings.

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

All About God

God is big. God is great. God is very powerful. Satan is His enemy. Jesus is God’s son. He was born in Bethlehem. God is an awesome God. God is love. God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. God is the smartest. The Godhead is the Holy Trinity, Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit. God helps us in times of need. God sent His son to earth to save us all. God hates sin. God is perfect, pure, and never sins. - Brandon

God made the world. God’s son, Jesus, had a time to be on earth. Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is, too. God is powerful. God is worthy. God has not sinned. God doesn’t have an end and doesn’t have a beginning. God loves us. God forgives us. - Marissa

Prayer Update

We are thrilled about all God is doing in South Africa! The club ministry has taken off for the year, quiet times and materials are distributed, and youth clubs are well under way.  Brad has been busy, driving to Durban (around 6 hours), flying to Capetown, and driving all over Johannesburg.  We have increased our club ministry to 31 clubs, without even pursuing any new clubs on our own! God has brought people to us that are interested in the using the Word of Life ministry with their youth.

We have been printing some of our own materials this year due to an increase in costs at the printer, and Bible Baptist Church for the Deaf has been helping us by spiral binding it for us.  This has been a such a blessing!

Friday, Brad will be collecting Quiet Times from them, delivering them to another church and then traveling to yet another church to visit their youth group and meet with the Pastor.  Travel can be hectic in Joburg on a Friday night.

Please pray for us as we plan our BattleZone Camp which will run from March 30 - April 2. This is a camp to train the youth in evangelism, as well as provide ministry opportunities.

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