May Hawkins' Headlines

 Sanibonani from Afrika!

We are excited to share with you some of the ministry opportunities we have already had this year! 

We had a great time of fellowship and encouragement at our Leader's Conference and an amazing challenge from the Word of God from Pastor Trent Eayrs. Thank you to all those that were able to come! We had representatives from 8 churches, and missed those that were unable to attend. Looking forward to a great year ahead working alongside them and pouring into the lives of youth at each of the churches!

Thank you for your continued prayers regarding Mary’s visa. At this point, she is here on a 90 day visitor’s visa and will have to request a 90 day extension at the beginning of June. In order for her to get a longer visa, she will have to return to the US to apply. We are praying for wisdom regarding each step we take in this process. To go to the US to apply would mean separation for an unknown period of time while she waits for the visa application to be processed. We know that God’s timing is perfect and He is in control.

Watch video update on KZN floods 14 April

In April, subtropical cyclone Issa passed through Durban resulting in massive flooding and over 430 deaths. We are fortunate that we did not have major damage to the Word of Life property. We lost the new retaining wall and have water in our newly renovated office block. Just as we started repairs, we had another major storm that resulted in more flooding and further damage to the property. Please pray for a quick resolution with the insurance company so that the repairs can be made before any further damage is done. 

We would like to present you with an opportunity to support Lamoudi Nawezi, a young lady with a desire to attend the Genesis Program with WOL South Africa. The aim of this program is to offer young adults an opportunity to study God's Word, be discipled, and get involved in various ministries in order to equip them to grow in their walk with the Lord and serve Him whole-heartedly wherever He takes them in life. The inclusive cost for studies, room and board, etc. is $1500. You can give to help cover her costs by indicating Genesis Project on the response slip and returning it to WOL, or by going to this website and noting Lamoudi’s name in the summary: https://give.wol.org/06128C. The Genesis Program is from July - December, but it is just the beginning!

Marissa has finished her academic year at the WOL Bible Institute in Florida, and is transitioning into counseling at camp for the next 6 weeks. Brandon & Brianna are waiting for Taiwan to open up for them to apply for visas, and in the meantime, they have been given the opportunity to also work in the camping ministry with Word of Life in Florida, so they will be on the same campus with Marissa. Mya turns 15 this month and is in Grade 9. 

September Hawkins' Headlines

 

Mr. & Mrs. Brandon Hawkins

On August 14 God added another daughter to our family! Brandon & Brianna’s wedding day was so special. We are thrilled to watch as they start this next phase of their life together. Please pray for them as they pursue returning to Taiwan to serve with Word of Life.

After the wedding, we wove our way to the Word of Life Bible Institute in Florida to settle in Marissa as a student. Goodbyes were difficult, but we are so proud and excited to see how God will develop and strengthen her over the next year!

It has been a blessing to visit many friends and family across the miles of our travels. We will be spending the majority of the remainder of our time in PA with a few weekend trips, and would love a chance to connect with you in person or virtually!

Please continue to pray for our visa applications for our return to South Arica. We have seen some movement, but are still waiting for the final approval. We hope to return to South Africa mid-October.

Thank you for your prayers for our time in the US these last few months! God has granted us around 7000 miles (11000 km) of safe travels, as well as grace through some exciting major life changes! The blue states on the map are the States we have been in since our arrival in June.

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. 

November Hawkins' Headlines

 

Sawubona and greetings from South Africa! We are now 237 days into lockdown due to Covid19, but have transitioned into Level 1, the lowest level of lockdown. We are still required to wear masks and social distance, but the church is allowed to meet at 50% capacity, and international travel has reopened. While we have started our high school youth group meetings at our local church, our Word of Life ministry is still primarily virtual. Despite lockdown, it has been a privilege to have an intern working with us for the last few months. Ailton Pedro is an Angolan living in South Africa and is a youth leader at Bethany Baptist Church. While he has been doing discipleship with Brad for a while, he has recently begun shadowing Brad one day a week to see what it means to be a Word of Life missionary. It is a blessing to have him working with us!

Before After Property Update: We were able to repair the kitchen floor, as well build a much needed retaining wall with the special project funds that came in. THANK YOU! There are several long term projects that need done, as well, but we will continue with the urgent needs, and work on projects as funds become available.  The next big project we would like to tackle is to renovate the guest cottage to be able to use not only for guests visiting WOL from other areas, but also for pastors and their wives to utilize as a retreat.  We will post more pictures here on our blog so you can follow the progress! If you would like to give to this project, you can do so here https://give.wol.org/SouthAfricaPropertyProject and send us a note  to let us know so that the funds are allocated to our projects in Durban. It is exciting to envision the potential of this property to impact those in our community with the gospel. Thank you for your prayers and giving!

Community Outreach

What a great outreach with our church family this afternoon! Thank you to all those who donated clothing, toys, chocolate, and time to show love to those in our community.