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Special Report: God is moving!

6/23/2017

God is on the move in hearts and homes in Mamelodi! What a privilege to be a part of believers rising to move with Him.

Last Friday, on a public holiday celebrating South Africa's Youth Day, Hatfield Christian Church mobilized a team of volunteers to partner with Berakah to reach deeper into our community by visiting families in their homes. The ethnic-and-age-diverse team gathered at the church in the morning for prayer then caravanned into Mamelodi.

After arriving, we split into teams of two and three and walked with the teachers to their homes. Each teacher and their family received prayer and encouragement before heading to another Berakah family’s house, who was prayerfully chosen by the Berakah staff a week beforehand. It was exciting to put the ministry in the hands of Berakah's staff, so they can grow in confidence in hearing the Lord's voice and loving their community.

In preparation for the visits, I was particularly stirred by two passages. I was reminded of the story of Zacchaeus, a tax collector hated by his community, but chosen by Jesus. “Come down from that tree, Zacchaeus; I’m coming to your house today.” Also, while praying for the teams, I was reminded of Jesus sending out the disciples two-by-two and the miraculous reports with which they returned. We asked for signs and wonders to follow… and, they did. Sophie shared the following testimonies with us:

Two people committed their lives to follow Christ.
One person hadn’t been able to walk on his leg without constant pain for several months. The next day, he could walk perfectly.
A son from one of the families had been missing for months. They prayed for the boy and the next day he returned home.
Several families have reached out to Berakah's principal (Sophie) asking for us to bring God to their community again, at least once a month. They are hungry to be taught the Word of God. People recognized that God had been among them and they want more!

It's always exciting when God sovereignly moves! But our hearts are so full, because the leaders who we have been working with were able to see His response to their faith and their obedience. Sophie commented how amazing it was to experience a day that remembers something so negative in South Africa’s history to be redeemed by the people of God carrying the gospel of hope and reconciliation in such an intimate and authentic way.

Thank you so much for sending us to Pretoria and empowering this ministry with your support and your prayers. You all have a significant part in every miracle that we saw last week, and every miracle we'll continue to see.

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a new kind of outreach

6/17/2017

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Yesterday a team of young people, adults, and children from Hatfield Christian Church converged on Berakah for a unique ministry outing.

The outreach, led by a team from Hatfield and Chandra, empowered Berakah's staff by asking each staff member to prayerfully select one family from the school to receive a home visit from the members of the outreach team. The staff members facilitated communication and prayer by interpreting and helping conversation along when necessary.

Not wanting to visit empty-handed, each small team (2 or 3 guests) brought a small bag of food to the Berakah staff member's home, which they visited first, and another to the home of the family, which they visited together with the Berakah staff member

What an opportunity for Berakah's staff! At least two individuals were led to Christ for the first time yesterday--individuals who were visited because one of Berakah's staff prayed and heard from the Lord to choose that particular family.

Our heart is to empower leaders, and we trust that each of Berakah's faculty will grow in confidence as someone who hears from God and is able to minister to his or her community because of what the Lord did through them yesterday. Will you trust the Lord with us?

an observation from Russell

Russell took note when one of Berakah's teachers retrieved her Bible during a home visit. "She held onto her Bible like it was the only thing she had. Even though it had no cover and the pages were torn and folded. It just makes you think how some of us don't even acknowledge our Bibles."

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Special Report: God is moving!

a new kind of outreach

an observation from Russell

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