How Can I Fear with Jesus?

Our Women of Worth team has been publishing bi-weekly videos to encourage the women we minister to during lockdown. Here is my video that was published this morning:

 

WOLZA Durban Property Update We shared with you in the past about purchasing a Word of Life Property in Durban, and through the generous gifts of people like you, that dream came to fruition. It has been a blessing to have this property, and it is used to minister to those in our community. We love having the youth come and go from the property daily, allowing them to live life alongside us and us to disciple them. While we have been unable to have youth come and go during lockdown, we have 3 extra young adults currently staying here with us full time.  2020 has looked much different than any of us have expected. We were planning to spend a portion of the year in the US on furlough, but lockdown and travel restrictions changed our plans. Since we will be in South Africa for all of 2020, we would like to begin working on some of the projects that need to be done around the Word of Life property here in Durban. The property is about an acre in size. There are many projects that we have planned, but we will start with the most urgent ones. Just this week we decided to tackle some repairs to our kitchen floor, as it could wait no longer. We opened up the floor because of water damage from an old leak but didn't realize the extent of the damage until it was opened up. Some of the joists under the sink were completely rotted through. These repairs are temporary, as there are plans to renovate the kitchen eventually, but we were worried about something or someone falling through the floor! As I type, the tiles are being relaid. We also need to work on some retaining walls. The property is basically split into three levels on a hillside. The urgency is that the bank below the pool is slowly starting to slide away. We would like to have this project well under way before the rainy season comes. There are other projects, as well, and we will work on them in order of priority as funds become available. If you would like to help with the property renovations, you can give by following this link: https://give.wol.org/SouthAfricaPropertyProject, and send us a note to let us know you gave so that the funds are allocated to our projects in Durban.

August Hawkins' Headlines

 

Sawubona and greetings from South Africa!  We are now 144 days into lockdown due to Covid19, and South Africa is transitioning into level 2 of lockdown tomorrow. Level 5 of lockdown being the most restrictive, and going down from there. There are still many cases, but the economy is suffering, so we are advised to proceed carefully.  We were scheduled to be on furlough in the US right now, but due to travel restrictions and unknowns with Covid19, we have opted to postpone until June/July 2021. Marissa has also decided to wait until 2021 to attend the Word of Life Bible Institute so we can all travel together and help settle her in. Ministry continues despite the restrictions! Since our last prayer letter, we have continued to produce video lessons each week so that our churches can share them with their youth. We also held a virtual Mid-Year Leader’s Conference. I had the privilege to be one of the featured speakers at the conference, which was focused on connection - to God, to your leadership team, and connecting your youth to the church. Lockdown and the Coronavirus have created a challenge for some of the churches that we work with. The South African school year runs Jan–Dec, and churches ordered, received, and distributed their 2020 Quiet Times and curriculum for their youth at the beginning of the year, paying for them as the funds come in. With the unstable economy, many of the parents are not working, and the churches don’t have the funds to cover payment, either. Would you pray about the possibility of adopting a youth, or possibly even a youth group, by paying for their Quiet Times? The cost to cover one Quiet Time would be approximately $9. You can give by going to this link: https://give.wol.org/06114C. Thank you for your support and prayers for our ministry! Serving Him, Brad & Mary Hawkins