American English vs. S. African English

South Africa has 11 official languages! Fortunately for us, one of
those languages is English. While we didn't have to learn a new
language to start the ministry, there are a lot of differences! I
thought it might be fun for you to see just a few of them.

Bakkie (pronounced bah-cky) - pickup truck
Boot - trunk of car
Bonnet - hood of car
Hooter - horn
Robot - stoplight
Trolley - grocery cart
Serviette - Napkin
Brinjal - Eggplant
Marrow - Zucchini
Mince - Ground Beef
Peg - Clothes Pin

Cot - baby crib
Dummy - pacifier
Nappy - diaper
Doo Doo - nap

Pronunciation and spelling are also often very different! Here are a couple of examples:
When saying "path" the a would be pronounced like the a in wigwam; but when saying "wigwam", the a would be pronounced like we say the a in path!

Due to other languages, street and suburb names can get quite interesting! We lived in Weltevreden Park (veltefreeden). Yet now we live in Wilro Park, and it's pronounced like it's written. Another suburb is Helderkruin (helderkrane). W's can be"v", V's can be "f", ui says long a....

Here are a couple of the spelling differences: colour, practise.

Dates are written as day/month/year. For example, today is 26/09/2006, or 26 Sept 2006.

Time is frequently referred to as military time. It is currently 22h42.

Needless to say, we've had some good laughs, but we're learning!

We are working at learning Afrikaans slowly but surely, and hope to speed up on it soon.

Prayer Update

Dear Friends,

             Wow, so much has been happening here these
last few weeks, I am not sure where to start.  Last week Friday, when we all got
home from holiday, one of the youth leaders call to let me know how things went
that night at Club.  For you to really understand this story I need to give you
some background.  This church has been struggling with the youth ministry and
they have allowed many of the Biblical Principles to be neglected over the last
year.  About 2 months ago I was able to sit own with them and to teach them why
we do the thing we do in Word of Life.  They made the decision that they needed
to get things right and really focus on the spiritual needs of the young
people.  So, last Friday night they were in their DIA (Discipleship in Action)
groups and they were challenging the teens about committing to Christ.  There
was a student who had been attending youth for about 8 months and they all
believed he was a Christian. However, in the DIA groups it came out that he was
confused and uncertain where he would spend eternity.  That night he accepted
Christ as his personal Savior!  All of the leaders at this church are totally
committed to doing the Biblical Principles themselves and with the youth.  It
goes to show that we should never make those assumptions and we must
always ask the questions!!!  It is times like this that make all the sacrifices
worth it!

Prayer Requests:

1. T-Junction – this
   Saturday
   
2. Car trouble – $1500
   for 2 vehicles needed
   
3. Nov trip to US
   
   
4. Furloughing families
   
   
5. Local Church Leaders and Students
   

Praise Items:

1. Discipleship of
   young people
   
2. Family Holiday
   
3. God's provision for
   the Ministry

In His Service,
Brad Hawkins
Word of Life South
Africa

Prayer Update from Mary

We are excited to see how
things are progressing as God continues to work in His people here!



This week I would like to ask you to pray specifically for those that
we are teaching and discipling. These are their names: Earl &
Genevieve, Deon, Chaplain, Trish and Tracy

• Pray that they are faithful in their Quiet Times and Bible Study.
  
  
• Pray that they are faithful in their prayer life, seeing specific answers to prayer, which helps strengthen faith.
• 
  
  Pray that we have the wisdom needed to give advice and teach God's Word.

Another matter for prayer is our support needs. Brad was hoping to make a trip home in November/December and has even scheduled several church meetings for this time. However, in order for this to happen, we need more staff on the field. Currently the Pages and the Schusters are in the US raising support and we are on the field with the Lombards. It would be impossible to leave Garth here alone to run the ministry, so the trip would depend on the return of one of the other couples.

Please pray that if possible we can increase our support without this trip. While we know that God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory, we know that He chooses His people to provide for those needs. Please pray that we connect with those that He wants to be a part of our ministry! We are currently needing an additional $857.31 in monthly support.

Thank you for your prayers!

Prayer Update from Brad

Dear Friends,

What an exciting few weeks it has been here in South Africa. We asked you to
be praying for the Sports Marathon and I am happy to tell you that there are 20
new believers as a result of that event. We are now planning the next
event which is T-Junction. T-Junction is an event designed to share the
gospel while allowing the youth to enjoy a Rugby
game. This has been one of our larger events and it is always been one of
my favorite to be involved with. I am also beginning to work on several
new things in prep for the end of the year. Those being Camp (Dec 11^th
thru 15^th) and the other is the material for next year. All of
this must be done before my trip in Nov. The trip in Nov is up in the air
at the moment, the Pages need to be back here before I can go to the US.
I have scheduled many meetings and I do pray that it will be possible for this
to work out. Thank you for your continued prayers and I look forward to
sharing with you all that will be happening here in the near future.

Prayer Request:

1. T-Junction
2. Radio
   Ministry
3. Nov
   trip to US
4. Furloughing
   families – Pages and Schusters
5. Local Church Leaders and Youth

Praise Items:

1. Sports
   Marathon
2. Sold
   out of Adult QT
3. Gods
   provision for the Ministry
   

In His Service,

Brad Hawkins
Word of Life South Africa

Prayer Update from Mary

Life is busy in the Hawkins' house this week!!!! Here are a few prayer requests, praises and upcoming events:

Saturday, 8/19, is our Sports Marathon. This Sports Marathon is for Touch Rugby and Netball. This is used as a medium to share the Gospel Message. Please pray that we have a great turnout and that many accept Christ as Lord of their lives.

Our ladies' Bible Study is starting again a week from Friday. We will be studying Ephesians.

Please pray that as our schedules get busier and busier that we listen closely to God's leading and don't take on too much. Right now, outside of Brad working at Word of Life each day and Mary homeschooling the kids and all of our other responsibilities, one or both of us is busy 5 nights a week.

We have guests coming in tomorrow night from overseas. They are also with Word of Life and are on their way to Mozambique. If they are able to make some solid contacts we are looking at taking our annual S.M.A.S.H. camp there. This is our short term missions program for teens (Students Ministering And Serving Him).

Thank you for your part in our ministry! We couldn't do this without your support and prayers.

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

Prayer Update from Brad

Dear Friends

I am sitting in my office thinking of all I
would like to tell you and I am not sure how to fit it all in. As many of you
know, Brandon and I went to an Olympian Club last week and I had the privilege
to share the gospel to the children. I always enjoy doing this and it always
reminds me of why we are here. 5 young people made decisions that night and it
was amazing to see it through Brandon’s eyes. He has such a heart for people
and we talked about sharing with other people the whole way home. I guess for
me it was great to see the young people make decisions but it was also great to
see the leaders in action. The Leaders at this church are fairly new to the
ministry; many were youth themselves last year. It is exciting to see the
fruits of the labor coming about. People we have been praying for and investing
time into now are doing the work themselves. I count it a privilege in so many
ways. Thank you for your part in all that God is doing here.

Prayer Requests:

1. Sports Marathon – Aug 19^th
   
2. Radio
   Ministry
   
3. Local Churches and Leaders
   
4. Furloughing
   Staff
   
5. My trip in Nov – One
   more meeting available

Praise Items:

1. Challenging Leaders
   Conferences
   
2. Focus of Local
   Leaders
   
3. All of
   you!!!

In His Service,
Brad Hawkins

From Mary

We are keeping busy and trying to keep warm!!!!!!!!!  It snowed in Joburg
this week for the first time in 8 years, and we had a record breaking coldest
day in Johannesburg
(and very windy)!  Now, I know that many of you will not find 8 C (46 F) very
cold, but in a brick house with no insulation, single pane windows and space
heaters, you would be surprised!  I don’t think our house got above
60 F.  I can’t imagine what it must be like for those living in
shacks in squatter towns.

We have been meeting with the couple that we mentioned, Earl
and Gena, on Tuesday nights.  We are really excited as we get to know them
better.  Please keep us in your prayers as we disciple them.  Pray
that we are faithful in our friendship and that we have wisdom in discipleship.

Pray also for Brad as he has the opportunity to share the
gospel at an Olympian (Children’s) Club tonight.  He is excited at
the opportunity to share as well as to spend some time getting to know the
leaders and youth a bit better.  Brandon
will be going with him. 

The kids and I went ice skating this morning and had a
blast!   There is a local mall that
has an ice skating rink and the homeschoolers meet there the first Friday of
every month.  This is probably our 5^th time, but the first time
since we left for furlough in February.  It was amazing to see Brandon’s
confidence grow with each lap around the ice rink.  Usually we stay for
about an hour, but today it was 2 ½ hours!  By the time we left he
was going around and around without holding on to the side.