Thank you again for your prayers and support towards the outreach over KKNK in Oudtshoorn! It all came together by His Grace, and from the moment we headed out, miracles continued to abound! The printing of thousands of Gospel tracts was donated, and we received a big box of Bibles for distribution! On top of that; the camping plot was sponsored, our fuel was covered, (some of it on the very WAY to fest) and even meals and coffees etc were provided for, thank you Lord!

The weather was warm and sunny – another answer to prayer – and we had a wonderful blessed and anointed time ministering all over town, meeting many people, having discussions on finding Hope in today’s world, praying for requests, presenting Salvation, and giving out a whole lot of Gospel tracts, Bibles, Activated magazines, and other faith-building material!

We also met with and followed up on many people that we’ve known for long; some as many as 12 years! These are people we previously prayed with to accept Salvation, or prayed for, or connected with and have been in touch with and encouraging since. What a joy to see the long term working of Jesus in their lives!

It was especially wonderful to be there over the Easter period, sharing the Reason for it all; Jesus’ Ultimate Gift on the Cross for us.

While the outreach team was in Oudtshoorn, our team here at the mission was busy with Easter projects! We packed and distributed over 300 treat packs with rusks, chocolates, and a Gospel message!

These packs went to an elderly care home in Kraaifontein, a Christian community initative in Scotsdene, and our Sunday School in Morningstar settlement off the N7.

At the Scotsdene event, Mike was suddenly asked to give a word to the assembled people, which he did with a wonderful Easter message! At the elderly home, the residents and patients were so very grateful for the love and interaction. And at Sunday school, the treat packs were the perfect companion to our handmade “Jesus is Risen” necklaces given after the lesson.

Wonderful celebrations of the most important day in history!

The three children here at the mission centre (4, 6, and 7 yrs) drew these Easter artworks and dictated the corresponding descriptions. Enjoy and a very blessed time remembering Jesus and His Great Victory over Sin and Death!

We were extended an invite to give a Gospel message to the children and parents from a rural school in Paarl at their bazaar; which of course we gladly accepted!

It was a more rainy day than anticipated, but still the mood was cheery and excited. We brought some healthy snacks – bananas and apples – to the bazaar, and to open, spoke briefly with the parents and children on the importance of mentorship, education, good examples, and faithful study. Then we gave a Salvation message, and invited any who were willing to accept Jesus as their Forever King and Best Friend. 61 did!

The lady who connected us with the school also sponsored 220 Karakterbou (character-building) books – one for every child at the school! And we were able to leave Gospel tracts in Afrikaans for the parents!

We have been praying for supply for these two communities in great need, and oh how the Lord suddenly answered! We were given hundreds of cabbages, which we cleaned and prepared, taking off the outside leaves and loading then into the van. And from every side, the Lord began putting the puzzle together through sudden donations of food and toiletry items (85% of everything needed), donations of funds, and amazing deals on the few things we needed to complete the parcels like maize and carrots!

Under 24 hours after receiving the cabbages, we were out in a drizzle at the first community distributing maize, bacon, cabbages, carrots, onions, apples, soup packs, cereal, tea, coffee, hot cross buns, COOKIES, tissue paper, sanitizer, and Gospel Activated magazines! It came together absolutely miraculously!

And that’s not all…

Before heading out, we prayed and asked Jesus to let the food last longer for each family than it usually would. And the answer came, though different than we expected! We allocated what each man, woman, and child would receive, and had the maize and carrots and hot cross buns and etc etc amounts ready. Soon after beginning, we saw there was somehow MORE than there should be. So we gave MORE carrots per person, and a cabbage to every single member of a family, not just the adults. Still there was more. We began giving TWO bags of maize to the people, or extra hot cross buns, and left extra cabbage on top of their own parcels.

And at the end of all that, with THREE full food parcel bags for every man, woman, and child in BOTH communities, there were still over 60 cabbages left over, which we took to a soup kitchen! It reminds us of the loaves and fishes miracle, and proves once again that God is still on the throne, and prayer changes things!

Our own Helping Hand champ Timothy (and many others of us and the children) participated in the 6km Tyger Run, marking World Down Syndrome Day and having a great time in the process! (Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…”)

We heard from Mama Rosie (who runs an orphanage and home with over 140 children in Khayelitsha and whom we have been partnering with for over 12 years) that they were in desperate need of foodstuffs. We told her we would certainly see what we could do, but we ourselves are very stretched in resources. Then a couple days later, we heard of 20 families in great need, with one parent of each working at a company which has severely downsized, and even the remaining employees have had to go on short time.

We could clearly see the need, and were in prayer for supply. Then, left field and unexpected, the Lord laid on someone’s heart to give us the proceeds for something they were selling… which was, amazingly and wonderfully, just enough to go out that same afternoon and buy bulk supplies! Then we worked late into the night to pack 3 full bags for each family, with toiletries and all kinds of foodstuffs!

The next morning, we were able to deliver the parcels, which were received with so much joy and thankfulness! And we had enough to fill up Mama Rosie’s bakkie with supplies too! The Lord is always on time – HIS Time, and with just enough supply to do what He puts before us.

Recently, Angela was invited to join in a “show and tell” event at the home for women in crisis where we hold weekly Bible studies. Each of the people that volunteer there regularly was asked to share a bit about their type of work (i.e. cooking, sewing, computer skills, etc ) Angela decided that the best thing to show and tell about who we are, what she does there, and our mission, was everything pointing to Jesus! Since we couldn’t show off cupcakes or dresses, we made the table a witness, complete with Gospel tracts, books, Activated magazines, fruit, sanitizer, and chocolates – with appropriate Scriptures! People loved the display and many took material home to enjoy or pass on to others!

Another unusual activity was when Angela and Amy visited a local clinic on multiple occasions in dress-up, specifically to cheer up the patients! And each time was a great success!