The End of Another Great Outreach

The Gauteng Challenge has ended and what an exciting time it has been! We've seen miracles as people throughout the Gauteng Province have come to a saving knowledge of the truth. Praise God for his grace and mercy! We hope that this is not the end of your outreach, but that you continue to be the breath of hope as you return to you homes and communities!

The Gauteng Challenge Photo Gallery is coming soon. If you were a participant in this year's challenge and have photos or a story that you would like to share, please email them to the GC office, challenge@rsa.om.org

Healing Hearts in Hurting Homes

Another three of our outreach teams are working with Eastside Community Church putting on a holiday club for children in inner city Pretoria. About 150 kids show up everyday for lessons, crafts, games and memory verses. In the first two days, ten children have already made the decision to ask Jesus into their hearts.

Eija, one of this year’s participants, was talking with a ten-year-old girl who had come to her for prayer. After talking for a while, the girl felt comfortable enough with Eija to share that her mother had been beating her at home. Together they prayed that her situation at home would get better, that her mother would realize how badly she was treating her daughter and change, and that the little girl would find strength and hope in Jesus. The next day, the little girl came back with a letter for Eija. In the letter, she thanked Eija for praying for her and said her situation at home had already gotten much better. Most of all, she was thankful for the happiness she found in knowing that Jesus cares for her.

Remember to pray for the teams working with children. They have a tremendous opportunity to plant seeds of truth into young lives. Some of the kids from the inner city are dealing with very grown-up problems at home; pray for openness and trust between the children and counselors. Kids need the hope of Jesus too!

Dancing in the Wards

Three of our outreach teams are working with The Oasis, a hospital/AIDS ministry in inner city Pretoria. Every day during visiting hours, they go through the hospital wards with guitars and drums and sing praise songs with the patients. The life and hope they bring to the sick and suffering is amazing! On their first visit, an elderly grandmother was so happy to see them that she got out of her bed (holding her catheter bag) and began to dance.

Pastor Ransom, a team member at Oasis, was called over to the bedside of a man who had suffered severe burns over most of his body. He was heavily bandaged and in such pain that he was unable to move freely. Pastor Ransom was able to share the hope of Jesus Christ with him and the man decided to accept Jesus as his Saviour. He was immediately filled with so much joy that he too got out of bed and began to dance! His pain had been relieved and all he wanted to do was praise the Lord!

Please continue to pray for the teams as they minister to those who are suffering and in need. Several patients have made commitments to Christ and we would love to see many more do the same in the final days of the outreach.

Orientation

Gauteng Challenge is off and running! We opened with four days of orientation, with various speakers teaching on ministry related topics such as evangelism, children’s ministry, preaching, discipleship, religions of the Gauteng region and AIDS awareness to name a few. 236 people from 22 different nations are participating in this year’s challenge and we have already seen God work in amazing ways.

On Wednesday, Surine (one of our participants) was rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pain. Her appendix was infected and inflamed and she was scheduled for surgery the next morning, provided the swelling went down enough to operate. All of the Gauteng Challenge participants joined together in prayer on her behalf. She spent the night in the hospital, but the next morning all of the pain, inflammation and infection was gone! The doctors had no explanation for what happened, but we know that God miraculously healed her. While she was in the hospital, Surine was able to minister to and pray for the other patients around her. Since she was healed, she has been able to rejoin her outreach team and is now out ministering in the community. We praise God for His healing mercy and the tremendous encouragement this was to the teams just before they went out to minister on Thursday.

All 19 outreach teams are now working with their churches and ministries throughout the Gauteng region. We will continue to bring you stories of what God is doing in and through their lives over the course of this outreach. Please keep them in your prayers over the next week. We want to see many lives impacted for the kingdom of God!

Application Deadline- 31, May

You have less than a week to send in your application for the Gauteng Challenge! Things are gearing up with applications pouring in from every corner of the globe. Secure your place today by making sure your application is sent in by 31, May 2009. To request an application form; click here http://www.om.org/item/G877/0080000000

We'll see you at the Challenge!

Gauteng Challenge

Welcome to Gauteng - the heartbeat of the country. It's the economic and cultural center of South Africa. Gauteng is an unique fusion of democratic and traditional values, where people work hard and play harder. So take time to peel away perceptions of business suits and briefcases and discover there is more depth to Gauteng than meets the eye.

Theme: Be the breath of hope
Date: 29-Jun-2009 - 11-Jul-2009
Application deadline: 31-May-2009
Cost: R 1000.00
Outside of Africa $400

Before going out in a team of 8 to 10 participants to partner with a local church, you will be equiped at a three-day orientation which will be held at a local university or high chool in the vicinity of Johannesburg, where all 400+ participants will be together. At the orientation you will receive some teaching in cross-cultural communication and the Biblical basis of missions. You will also receive tools that will be useful on the outreach, like how to share your testimony, how to share the gospel with someone, creative evangelism tools, children's ministry, AIDS ministry, etc. After the orientation you will be sent out in your team to work with a local church in Gauteng.