Durban SMASH 2017

Brad at the Opening Session

Thank you for your prayers for our recent SMASH Camp (Students Ministering and Serving Him). We had a total of 29 youth and leaders involved, and we had an amazing week, both in ministry, and sitting under the teaching of our country director, John Page.

Quillan, William & John Page

It is so exciting to see the faith of the teens and young adults grow as they raise their support, come away from the world to focus on the Word of God speaking into their lives, and step out of their comfort zones to serve others.
We had the opportunity to volunteer at a local home for mentally challenged residents, Horizon Farm. We also spent some time doing work projects on the property for the church that hosted us, Grace Baptist Church, Queensburgh. They worked hard, ministering to the residents, and serving there and at the church. A lot of physical work and it was HOT!

A small part of our team prepared songs, lessons and crafts and interacted directly with the residents at Horizon Farms. What a blessing to see our youth learning from them as the residents served each other happily, despite whatever physical or mental limitations they might have. We learned so much from them!

The students also had the opportunity to learn how to share the Gospel clearly, and how to effectively share their personal testimony. These sessions were taught by John Page and some of the young adult leaders in our group.

Brandon teaching about Evangelism

On Saturday, we joined up with the children from Grace Baptist Church, Queensburgh, and headed over to Flame Lily, a local retirement village. We were able to had out chocolate covered marshmallow Easter eggs and invitations to the Good Friday service. We sang to the residents, and were able to interact with the residents, giving hugs and smiles, and hopefully brightening a few people's days.

BattleZone Camp

We had an amazing time at BattleZone Camp! We had 24 youth, and the help of their youth leaders and interns, Caleb Bonney and Macy Ford. Lots of fun, praising God and learning the Word. Here are some photos so you can see what it was all about!

Great meetings - Brad got the opportunity to teach on taming the tongue!

We had help with worship with a team from Reservoir Hills Bible Baptist Church.

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April Prayer Letter

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BZ Camp EBC 2016

We had a great whirlwind of ministry with the team from Johannesburg! We had 10 young adults come from Joburg, along with 1 that joined the team from the Durban area. Some of these were giving of their spring break, some taking leave from work, in order to spend some time with us in ministering in our local community.

We spent 2 days running a camp alongside Ekukhanyeni Baptist Church in New Germany. The gospel message was shared with over 17 teens and 125 children! The focus for the camp was relationships, first and foremost being their relationship with God.

The teens delved deeper into other relationships - parents/authority, friendships and dating. They had a lot of hard questions about how to honour God in their every day lives. Please pray for them, as well as  Pastor Henry and Janet,  Pastor Phakamani and Philani as they continue to minister to these young people on a daily basis, pouring into their lives and living an example of what it means to walk with God.

The team also helped with some work projects while they were here. We were able to purchase a storage shed to store our supplies for Word of Life, and the majority of the team helped finish it off - sealing the outside, painting the roof and putting up plywood on the inside.

While they worked on the storage shed, a few of us slipped over to Little Feet Baby Home and were able to help them clean and organize the donations that they've received recently. They are a fairly new baby home and have 4 sweet little babies that they care for.

The time that the team spent with us was fruitful and encouraging. Thank you for giving of your time and energy to serve the Lord! We appreciate each one of you!

February Prayer Letter

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We are excited about our Leader's Kick Off this coming Saturday! We could potentially have leaders from 5 local churches. Please pray for us as we seek to prepare and excite them to pour into the lives of their youth in the upcoming year!

December Prayer Letter

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It's that time again when we apply for our visas to stay in South Africa. Please pray with us, as the visa application process has changed a lot over the years (more documents needed each time we apply) and they have become more restrictive in approving visas.
We have an appointment on Monday to submit our application. Thanks for your prayers!

*Update*
23 Nov - Application submitted. Now we wait for home affairs. Could take up to 8 weeks. Thanks for praying!!!

Durban Bible College

Brad finished up his last term of 2015 at Durban Bible College teaching Youth Ministry. Here are a few of photos from the last term!

Brad & His Students

Nhlaka, our intern, teaching Brad's Class

Staff & Students at the end of year Senior Class Social

September 2015 Prayer Letter

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Final SMASH 2013 Update

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for our SMASH trip to Cape Town! We were part of a group of 49 teens, young adults and staff and were able to work with 3 different pastors doing a variety of ministry including door to door evangelism, playing games with kids, soccer tournament, drama, and tract drops.

From Brad:

I had an opportunity to speak at a soccer tournament, with around 47 decisions for Christ! It was awesome to be used by God!  

It was a blessing to see some of those that we have been pouring our lives into over the years taking over leadership roles on the ministry team. What an encouragement that they were capable and willing to step up to the plate when needed! I preach and teach and harp on discipleship, and I love to see it in action - we have shown them how to do it, done it with them, and now we could sit back and watch them at work! 

Sbu (one of WOLSA's National Missionaries) & Brad

This is the first time my son, Brandon was old enough to be an official SMASH participant, and it was great to see him being used in the ministry and the growth that was a direct result of this trip. I can't wait to see what God is going to continue to do in his life.

From Brandon:

I would say the highlight of my ministry on SMASH was playing with the kids. The kids spoke mostly Afrikaans, so it was a real challenge to communicate, but I enjoyed working with them because us being there obviously meant a lot to them. 

I had the opportunity to share the gospel in that same area when we did door to door evangelism. We came across a teenage boy, and he was very open to hearing about the gospel. You could see that God was working in his heart and he made a decision for Christ. It was really encouraging for God to use me, and I was challenged to continue ministering in life, not just on SMASH.

We attended a youth rally with teenagers from several different churches. As our group was 49, we nearly outnumbered them! It was fun and encouraging to spend time with other believers the same age from a different part of the country.

All in all, I had a great time and this trip will have a lasting impact on me!