June Hawkins' Headlines

We landed in the US for furlough on June 5. Our time leading up to our departure was super busy and we have been seeing God do some amazing things!

Our ministry during COVID had taken on a new look for a little while, as it was mostly virtual, but as restrictions eased up, there were more and more opportunities, including some meetings to train churches to work with their youth.

In May, I had the opportunity to join some of our staff from Johannesburg and travel to Empangeni, which is about 2 hours north of Word of Life Durban. It was a quick overnight trip, but they were able to squeeze in several training sessions while they were there. 

Brad with WOL Associate Thobile Leeu, 

Pastor Sipho & his wife, and WOL missionaries, 

Diana & S’bu Nyawo

Also in May, I had the privilege to run a training right in Durban! We have had a long-standing relationship with Pastor Didi, as he is a car guard at our grocery store. We were excited to be able to train and encourage the leadership at his church to work with their children and youth!

And one more of the recent events that we wanted to share with you is that we were able to have our annual SMASH (Students Ministering And Serving Him) missions camp. We were unable to do overnight due to COVID restrictions, so we ran a day camp. We had Bible sessions each morning, and then in the afternoon, we split up for work projects, both at our local church and the WOL property. Due to a generous donation from a church, we were able to renovate the inside of the cottage on the property. Check out this blog post for photos!

Here is a tentative (flexible) schedule of our for the beginning of our time here in the US. We would love to see YOU, so please contact us if we are going to be in your area or passing through as we drive from one area to the next!

6/5-7/9 Montoursville, PA

7/10-8/1    Grand Blanc, MI 

8/2-7          Montoursville, PA

8/7           Lynchburg, VA

8/8-14        Houschton, GA

8/15-18      Denver, NC

8/18-22      Word of Life, FL

8/22        Sebring, FL

8/22-27      Jacksonville, FL

8/27-29      Word of Life, FL

Durban S.M.A.S.H. 2021

As COVID lockdown levels were down, we decided it was time to have our annual S.M.A.S.H. (Students Ministering And Serving Him) missions trip in April. Yes, it would look different this time, but that's a sign of the times. We were excited to reconnect with our youth and challenge them, both in the Word of God and in their service for Him. While we were unable to travel or to stay overnight, we could have "day camp" and would serve right where we are, redecorating the youth room at church and renovating and serving at the Word of Life Durban property.

Every morning we had meetings and were challenged in the Word of God with messages from Dwight Hostetler. small group time for personal application, and of course some songs & games. Then, after lunch, we spent the afternoons serving. 

We painted, cleaned, and reorganized the youth room at Grace Baptist Church and did a few small projects around the property.

We had a generous donation from a supporting church and some help from some friends that run a business doing renovating, and we were able to remodel the interior of the cottage on the WOL Durban property! We are super grateful to Miccol Renovating Services for setting aside other work and travelling from Joburg to help with this project! Thanks, Michael & Eric. Below are some before and after pics.

Before

And After

They repaired and renovated the shower in the main house, built a new set of steps down to the cottage, and they also did some odd jobs around the Word of Life property.