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CCF Missions - South Africa

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2018 in Pictures

12/31/2018

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As we begin 2019, we're full of gratitude for a year of amazing opportunities.
Chandra began "Parent talks" weekly Bible studies , seeing women in the township turn to the Word for comfort, guidance, and hope in the midst of challenging situations.
Another fifty children graduated from crèche, wide-eyed and full of hope, more prepared for their school careers than they would have been without Berakah.
We were able to lead a young man to Christ hours before his planned suicide. We helped facilitate a Life Training School. Mike was invited to preach several times at Hatfield's evening service, and co-wrote a song with a friend that has been sung by thousands of worshipers in Pretoria.
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These opportunities, and countless more, are because of our sending team: our friends and family who believe in us enough to send us here with monthly support and prayer. There are not enough ways to say thank you to this amazing group of people. We so love what we get to do, and they make it all possible.
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The Value of One

8/20/2018

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​The sun rose over Pretoria West on August 5, and BK arose wearily. He grabbed his backpack and started walking. East, towards the rising sun. Why he was walking, and why east, he didn't know. He was just delaying things.
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The Sunday morning traffic was light as he left the Church Street bridge behind. He'd been sleeping there for a while, because the ditch nearby had running water where one can wash his clothes. Work is hard for anybody to find in South Africa, much less for someone with his record.
​Two and a half hours later, he was still walking. East, the sun climbing higher and chasing the overnight chill of late winter. He saw the multi-peaked roof of Menlyn Park Shopping Centre. He had walked twelve kilometers. Walking past Menlyn, he remembered his aunt who'd passed away last year. Back when he stayed with her, she attended a church near Menlyn. Near where he was now. Why not? He'd walk a little further east, to his aunt's old church. He would swallow those pills later that night.
​Sitting in Hatfield Christian Church, BK was moved by the pastor's message. The warm rays of hope reaching for his heart, he chose to wait at the altar. Hopefully in the busy altar, someone would be able to speak with him. To pray with him. Could he dare to hope again?
He saw Chandra entertaining one of the pastor's children. All the other leaders were busy in the altar. When the children left, he called out to her.
When I joined Chandra and BK following after-service prayer, the Holy Spirit was drawing him powerfully through Chandra's presentation of the gospel. He was leaning forward in his seat, saying he wanted to pray. "Tell him his value before you pray," the Holy Spirit said to me. Not knowing what BK's intentions had been when he had awakened that morning, I told him:

Do you understand how
valuable
YOU are to Him?

God left glorious, perfect heaven to come to this sin-wrecked planet and live among violent, hateful people, and to die to pay for our sins. Why? To win something back for Himself: you. You. You are worth the very life of God Himself, according to His own actions.
Do you understand how valuable you are to him?
We prayed with BK. He eagerly surrendered his life to Christ. His posture and disposition shifted noticeably. We invited him for lunch at the church's coffee shop and shared more about Christ's life in us. We offered to connect him with a local rehabilitation ministry that provides housing and meals while offering work and skills training. He asked to speak to them immediately. He interviewed over the phone and arranged to meet with them at Hatfield the next morning.
Walking out to our car, BK said to us, "I feel so light!" When I think of his smile, I think of that sunrise he was walking toward that morning. Towards hope.
The next morning, Chandra was waiting at Hatfield Christian Church when BK arrived, having gathered some possessions from nearby the Church Street bridge and walked all the way back: embracing his opportunity with both hands and a lighter soul.
Will you join us in praying for BK? The journey of discipleship requires the same thing as that initial surrender of salvation: complete cooperation with God as He works in us. Pray that he is not sidetracked, distracted, or discouraged. Pray that he stays the course and enters into everything God has for his future.
We celebrate BK's new life in Christ and his discovery of his value to God.
​Do you understand how valuable you are to him?

Update: as of October 2018, we've lost touch with BK. While our hearts are sad to not be connected with him, we trust the Lord to continue what He began in BK's heart, and we continue to pray for him.
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Arriving

3/10/2018

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Just over a week ago I landed in Johannesburg after fifteen weeks in Texas. Thank you to everyone we got to spend time with during our fund raising season. It was wonderful to reconnect.
It's great to be back at work doing what we love to do! Chandra has begun a ladies' Bible study for the community surrounding Berakah, and we're looking at starting a men's study with Mike in the near future. Pray for great fruit to come from these times of intimate discipleship!
Thanks to everyone who makes our work possible, and especially to those of you who are new to our sending team! You are a powerful team of givers making a powerful difference in South Africa. We love what we get to do, and you are here with us, every step.

New equipment, health, and safer play

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Berakah's new washing machine! The ladies of Christian City Fellowship made this washing machine possible. With their newly acquired ability to wash blankets with hot water, Berakah's staff is one step closer to securing a health certificate.
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Berakah's roughly twenty-year-old playground. A local carpentry and furniture business is looking at ways to completely replace it at little or no cost to Berakah! Pray for favor, and for this business to be blessed!

Watch this space :-)

We've just had our first meeting with The Bigger Picture, the newly founded ministry birthed out of our recent trips to other nations. We are planning to revisit the church networks in the DRC, Angola, and Mozambique with deeper training for pastors and leaders. Starting small and dreaming big!
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Just like Dad

9/20/2017

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I've been called Mark my whole life.
It started as a kid in school in my hometown, with elderly teachers at school who remembered my dad. I think "Mark" may have been the abbreviation for "Mark's boy."
Then I noticed it happened several times at Blinn Junior College in Brenham. Dad didn't go to school there, but Brenham's not so far from Bellville. Two years later I moved to Waxahachie, Texas to attend another school. Dad's never even been there! And, within a couple of months, someone called me "Mark".
As a young adult over two hundred miles from my dad and his elderly grade school and high school teachers, it was pretty weird to be called after him.
Then I moved to Africa. And people here​ call me "Mark"!
It's happened several times in the last six years, most recently at Starbucks (hence the photo). I laughed and thought, at least my Dad is worth being named after.
Then it occurred to me: I'd like to be so unavoidably connected to my Father in heaven, that His name and His reputation follow me around everywhere I go. Do I remind people of Him?
"If my people, who are called by my name," He says. He says it several times in the Old Testament.
Called by His name. May our lives be worthy of it. May His character shine through, and His name be glorified.
He's worth being named after.
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20 Years of Blessing

9/2/2017

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Some time in the late 1990s, our friend Sophie Mashego left her work in the shebeen (a bar) so that she could serve her needy community. The work she began in her home developed over about twenty years into what Berakah is today. On 19 August, Berakah celebrated those twenty years as well as some recent exciting milestones, not the least of which is the acquisition of the title deed for Berakah's property.
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Berakah's staff and board were joined at Cre-ate Cafe in Pretoria by donors from South Africa and from Texas, as well as service providers and other community individuals who have helped Berakah become what it is today. Chandra hosted the celebration, honoring each individual and group for their contribution.

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Attendees were greeted at the entrance by a display featuring photos from different seasons in Berakah's history. We are grateful to Avril Elkington, Annette Swart, Meleney Kriel, and Bryan Hill for providing wonderful photos from years before we came to Pretoria, to Alex Vasquez and Kendall Meyers for the amazing professional photos, and to Olivia Swart for designing the beautiful display.

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Special thanks to Duane White, who along with his church The Bridge in Denton, Texas, is a huge friend to Berakah, for serving as the keynote speaker for the evening. Duane brought an inspiring word on being thankful in all seasons. We are thankful for your friendship, Duane!

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We were blessed to have the Octone Trio, whose members are all instructors at Hatfield Arts Centre Music Academy, provide smooth jazz during the meal and afterwards as guests were leaving. The music was outstanding! A great atmosphere for a great night of celebrating God's faithfulness.​

We are so grateful to serve Berakah and be a part of her journey, and so grateful for the friends that have entered our lives through it. We're believing God for greater things in the years to come!
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Worth a thousand words

7/27/2017

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Sometimes a picture says it best!

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So many wonderful things have been happening. The season is rich with opportunity. So much is happening, we thought some photos would be better than a few thousand words! We hope you enjoy the photos. Here is sunset on the Zambesi River, taken on our 20th anniversary.

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Your prayers made a difference! This young man is home after two days in hospital from the effects of smoke inhalation suffered during his house fire. The outpouring of love for this family has been beautiful. Clothing, blankets, linens, curtains, even cash to help with cleaning up and rebuilding their home.

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Fine motor skills development at Berakah--getting children school ready.
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The executive leadership of Hatfield Christian Church came to visit Berakah.
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Candace Tumlinson, one of three guests from our home church, Christian City Fellowship. We had wonderful ministry and fellowship with our Texas friends!
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ECD training at a preschool in the Eersterust township just west of Mamelodi.
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Prison wardens from nearby Baviaanspoort Prison came on Mandela Day to visit Berakah and play with the children.
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Mike with Worship Academy. A diverse group: one Afrikaner, one English, one Sepedi, and one Dutch!
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The Divorce Care for Kids team.
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The team from our home church visited a children's home where a family are both adoptive and foster parents (as well as natural parents). The children dressed up to make the Texans feel at home!
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Mike recently preached on being alive in Christ at Hatfield's evening service.
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This beautiful peach tree is in full bloom at Berakah. Pastor Nancy, we're believing for "big honkin' fruit" in the natural and in the Spirit!
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Protective behaviors class at Berakah. The class was so successful that other day cares in the area have asked for Protective Behaviors to be presented there. A wonderful opportunity!

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Hatfield Christian School's 8th grade students came to Berakah for an outreach. They walked through the community, prayed over Mamelodi from the top of the mountain, played with the children in the school, and planted fig trees with offshoots from a fig tree at their own school.

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Winter is difficult in a community where most of the dwellings are informally constructed of tin tied together. One of our great opportunities is distributing blankets to Berakah's families every winter. Thanks to Hatfield Christian Church for the blanket donation!

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Trauma training for foster parents. It was such a privilege to present this with friends from our home church family, Christian City Fellowship. You guys are the best! Pictured are Maggie Turner, teaching, and Haley Coronis, giving a testimony.

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A team from Hatfield Christian Church hosted a holiday club (similar to Vacation Bible School) for the children in Berakah and the surrounding community.

We are so blessed!

Driving through this beautiful city never gets old. I'm ever struck by the crazy privilege we have to live and serve the Lord in Pretoria. Thank you for sending us here, for keeping us here, and for praying for our family and our ministry here. We are more grateful now, five-and-a-half years in, than ever. Thank you for being part of our lives and part of our ministry in Pretoria.

(Picture: we got away for a day hike during the recent school holiday. It was beautiful!)
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Special Report: God is moving!

6/23/2017

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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.
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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!
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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
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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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The Rewritten Story

2/9/2017

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​They called her the shebeen queen.  She made a welcome environment for the people in her community to feed their addictions, drown their sorrows, and pass out stone cold drunk if needed.  The people loved her, respected her.  A woman of influence.  The money she made selling was nothing to sneeze at either.
​But God created Sophie for something different.  He saw her and choose her before she was even aware.  And He was orchestrating an encounter that would change her life forever.
The year was 1995. A fair-skinned, solitary woman was driving through the South African township of Mamelodi, a rare occurrence even in the nascent post-apartheid years.
​On the street, amidst the thousands of other people, was a dark-skinned woman carrying her 3-day old baby on her back.  Sophie was laden with the packages in her arms and the burdens of her heart.
​That’s when Avril saw her.  It was the same African woman she had seen in a dream.  She stopped her car. She gently offered to carry her bags.  Suspiciously, Sophie released her burdens.  Avril walked her to her house, and a beautiful, culturally divergent friendship began.  This friendship was the bridge for the message of the transforming power of Jesus Christ to come to Sophie.  She surrendered her life and future to God and was baptized.
It began to dawn on Sophie that God had a greater purpose for her life.  She counted the cost and decided that following Jesus was worth more to her than the thousands of Rand she made selling alcohol and she gave away her license to sell.  She wanted to create a place where the struggling in her community could find help, hope and freedom.
Within a year, Berakah, a place of blessing, was born.  Hundreds of vulnerable children have been influenced by the once-called shebeen queen.  What will these children be called?  They may be known by something entirely different because Sophie has stopped for them.
What would Sophie’s story be if Avril hadn't stopped the car?
​​We are still so grateful that the Lord lets us live in this beautiful nation, and gives us opportunities to stop and love the one here.  May you be blessed, and may you recognize those divine moments when it's your turn to stop for the one.
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a special thank you

5/5/2014

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​The three-page letter pictured here (with names blotted out in the interest of privacy) came from one of the families cared for by the James 1:27 Trust.  The family consists of five siblings who live in Stinkwater, a struggling rural community about an hour's drive north of Pretoria.

The children, the oldest of which was eighteen when they were introduced to the Trust through a local school, have lived on their own since their parents passed away from AIDS-related complications.  Since then the Trust and a local partner have cared for the young family according to a customized care plan that was developed to address their specific challenges and put them in position to succeed in their future.  The care plan addressed nutrition, psycho-social health, educational counselling, skills training, and discipleship.

The James 1:27 Trust is developing software resources to help organizations like our partner in Stinkwater to bring holistic care (care for spirit, soul, and body) to thousands of vulnerable children in South Africa.  By partnering with us, you are a big part of the difference being made for children like those who've written this thank you note to us.
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Mike & Chandra Noviskie,
​missionaries to South Africa

CCF Missions is a ministry of Christian City Fellowship.
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