“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9
Dear friends and family,
We hope this finds you and your family well and growing in the grace of our Lord. We wanted to tell you about an “unusual” connection that took place in February.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all our lives. Not a single person has gone untouched by its devasting effects. Our lives have been severely disrupted and may never be the same again.
The pandemic has created many unexpected ministry opportunities for us here in South Africa. OC Africa was certified as an essential service. This allowed Jenny to continue driving into Finetown to deliver food. She delivers food to Mama Florina and the orphan children once a month from donations sent from the states. Mama Florina is able to feed many of the community children as well. We were also able to help the home-based caregivers with food vouchers. Jenny has been very impressed with the caregiver’s perseverance. After harvesting thousands of tomatoes and selling them in the community, they have now planted winter vegetables such as spinach, cabbage, carrots, and peas. This will at least help to sustain their own families.
Pastor Wessie, who is a pastor in Ennerdale, oversees the Finetown community work, and he provides compassion ministry. We told him we would like to help with needy families. He identified 20 foreign families from Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique, and we were able to deliver food parcels to them. We will continue to provide food parcels throughout the winter months (at least through August). Our hope is to build relationships with these families and bring hope to them. Some are Muslim families we pray will be open to the truth of Jesus Christ as we share with them.
Under our local church, we have joined the Local Ecumenical Action Network (LEAN) in our part of Johannesburg. LEAN is a locally initiated, community-level, organized group of interdenominational church leaders who respond to the particular issues facing their community during the COVID-19 pandemic. As most South Africans have lost their jobs during the nine-week national lockdown period, food provision is the greatest need. Through the nearly 20 churches/NGO’s in our area, over 360,000 meals have been distributed through food vouchers or parcels. These are distributed through local Christian leaders/pastors in about 21 poor communities.
Karl has been invited to coordinate the Church Planting Pillar of the LEAN. This working group assists in providing gospel material with each food parcel and enlisting the contact details of every family. The goal is that each community leader/ pastor can follow up with each family and form small disciple-making groups. Each leader/pastor is being intentionally trained and mentored with the vision to plant at least 30 new churches in the next 12 months in our area. Praise the Lord for how God is building His church through this crisis!
Please continue to pray God would open people’s hearts to the gospel and we would be obedient to respond to His leading during this time. If you would like to assist, please see the donation instructions below.
We are sincerely grateful for your prayers and those who already faithfully contribute toward God’s work here in Southern Africa!
For His Glory,
Jenny and Karl
• If you would like to give a gift, please visit this OC website link ...
OC Africa is an interdenominational ministry committed to developing, equipping, and mobilizing church leaders to multiply healthy, Bible-based churches in every community in Southern Africa and the world. OC is a faith-based mission who depends on the Lord to provide committed, financial supporters and partners. The contributions from these individuals help generate ministry opportunities around the world, impact missionaries and their global work, and provide a means for the International Mobilization Center to function. CLICK HERE to learn how YOU can be a part of mobilizing church leaders around the world by donating to OC.
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