Hello Friends and Families!
God has continued to work in our lives during our second week in South Africa. On Monday we started out Vacation Bible School program with the younger children at GGA, ages 4-14. The first day was a bit daunting, but some adjustments to the program, we has four good days of Bible teaching, skits, games and crafts with the kids. On the last day of VBS, we presented Bibles and the story of the gospel to all the kids.

Also during this week, we went in two groups with the outreach program of GGA to meet with some of the poorest families in the surrounding valleys. In part of it's aid program, GGA visits families to assess need. During this time, we had a real glimspe of the affect of poverty on South Africa, seeing child-headed families, or grandmothers taking care of 12 of their grandchildren, because all the parents are dead. The stories that we heard and things we saw will certainly remain with us. Despite being the4 most developed country in Africa, poverty and the affect of AIDS is very present in South Africa.

In other news, we have almost all of our walls up at the preschool we have been working on. This next week we will be finishing up the walls, possibly putting windows, and on a few of the days visiting the schools which the children at the orphanage attend. We will also put on another teen night before we go.

Right now we are at a Game Reserve on a small break from a busy week at GGA. Thank you for all your prayers!

Hello friends back home!  We are writing to you after an exhausting week of building our preschool and getting to know the kids.  Right now we are currently in Port Shepstone, on the coast of South Africa, meeting missionaries who have spent their lives in these beautiful parts.  It has been exciting to see God amidst the interactions with the kids and our co-workers on the work site.  He continues to provide in amazing ways!  Being as the internet is no cheap commodity here, we will be signing off now!  Take care and we can't wait to see you all soon!

Hello Friends!  I just wanted to let you know that I just got off the phone with Donovan, and he wanted me to tell you know that the team is doing very well and working very hard.  In fact, they have been working so hard that it has been difficult to find the time to post an update on their own (the computer room is not always open when they return from their days of building and the internet is VERY slow).  However, the team will be doing some traveling this weekend and hopes to have more reliable internet access then, which means that we may be hearing from them again on site in a couple of days.  In addition, they were able to buy some calling cards today, which will make it easier for team members to call home from now on.

From what I understand, most of the time so far has been taken up with fairly long, hard days of physical labor building a preschool.  Donovan reports the team is working and bonding well together and having a good time getting to know each other.  In addition, last night the team spent time getting to know the kids at the orphanage and tonight they will be putting on a Teen Program for the oldest 20 kids, ages 15-19.  Tomorrow they are headed to a southern town called Port Shepstone (right on the Indian Ocean) to visit with a missionary family and attend an African church.

Please continue to keep the team in your prayers, for energy with a busy schedule and hard work days, for effective ministry with the kids at the orphanage and a good response to the stories, testimonies, and gospel message shared at the Teen Night tonight, and for continued team unity and safety (some people have asked about the recent violence in Johannesburg, but the team is completely removed from that and there is absolutely no concern that will affect the areas they are staying in, which are about 350 miles away from the trouble spots).  Thanks much for your continued prayers!

Rebecca for the Team

Friends and Family,
We have now reached Johannesburg, South Africa after two very long flights and plenty of time in airports!  During the next three weekes we will be keeping you updated on the goings on of our trip. Tomorrow we will be leaving at 7 am for God's Golden Acre, the orphanage that we will be ministering to. Thank you for all of your prayers for our journey.

Damaris

Only 5 more days until the CSF team of ten leaves for South Africa!  Everyone is very excited, but this is also a crazy time as people finish up finals, go through graduation ceremonies (some of the team members, not all!), and frantically try to pack up all the clothes and supplies that they are going to need for three weeks of ministry at God's Golden Acre Orphanage.  We would really appreciate prayers for the team in the next couple of days as they pack and get ready to go, specifically that God would prepare them physically, spiritually, and mentally for what lies ahead.

God has been very faithful in providing for the trip in so many ways, including financially, and we thank each and every one of you for allowing God to meet our needs through you.  Since we've already seen His provision in so many ways and we haven't even left the country yet, it's easy to trust that he will continue to provide and bless in what lies ahead!

The team plans to post periodic updates whenever they have access to the internet, so please check back often to see what they are up to and to find ways you can be lifting them up in prayer.  Thanks again and God bless!

Rebecca on behalf of the team