03 November 2015

What We (Get to!) Do

In short, we work with leaders: those who care for orphans and vulnerable children, daycare principals and teachers, worship leaders, and pastors and their wives. We've worked so far with these leaders in Cameroon, Mozambique, Swaziland, and South Africa. The main platforms for our doing this are:
  • Berakah Education Foundation
    Berakah is a community development ministry focused on early childhood education in the Lusaka settlement in Mamelodi, a poverty-stricken township north of Pretoria. Chandra is the managing director of its main project, a crèche (daycare) and its governing non-profit organisation. She is on the ground every week discipling the principal, teachers, and staff and training them in early childhood development and in business principles, working to get both the centre and their own lives as followers of Christ sustainable. However, Chandra and Annette, another member of Berakah's board, take the training (designed by Annette) to various other suffering areas. In 2015, the two have trained nearly 500 teachers and principals, impacting potentially ten thousand children as a conservative estimate (most crèches have a far bigger ratio than twenty children per teacher).
     
  • James 1:27 Trust
    Mike works at the James 1:27 Trust, where they are developing software, care models, and business practices for the thirty thousand nonprofits in South Africa who try to care for its 3.7 million orphans. In this role, Mike has been able to provide technical support and expertise for organisations as well as bringing them tools like Office 365 for nonprofits that help make their work more efficient. But the work has also created opportunities for Mike and Chandra to minister to the leaders who work directly with the children and the staff in the offices. If we empower those who care for many children, we impact many children!
     
  • Church Development Plan (GHK)
    "GHK" (Great leaders, Healthy churches, Kingdom advance) was launched within South Africa's TCN (the Christian Network) and the international PFI (Partners for Influence) as a systematic strategy for creating strong churches that advance the kingdom of God. This project is called the Church Development Plan within the Africa Forum, a network of churches throughout sub-Saharan Africa who relate to Hatfield Christian Church ("GHK" doesn't work so well in French, Portuguese, and Swahili). We have the opportunity to travel with the Africa Forum's leaders, Johan and Electa Potgeiter, to the various nations within the Africa Forum to help train pastors and church leaders regarding personal discipleship, community discipleship, and building a healthy church. Having already ministered with the Potgeiters in Cameroon and Swaziland, we are so excited for more opportunities opening up in 2016 and 2017.
     
  • SA Cares for Life
    Chandra assists SA Cares for Life with trauma training for the staff and volunteers at its safe house, helping volunteers, foster parents, and others become aware of the lifelong impact of early childhood trauma and training them to be competent and healing caregivers to these children who come from difficult and painful circumstances.
  • Hatfield Christian Church/The Christian Network
    Mike volunteers on weekends with Hatfield Christian Church's worship ministry, playing keys, directing bands, and occasionally leading worship. In 2015, Mike was invited to participate in a training event for worship leaders in the eastern part of South Africa. Currently, Mike is helping Hatfield's worship leadership develop training curriculum for TCN and for the worship academies it hosts. 
How you can help?
Like every other missionary, we get to do what we do because of a faithful sending team back home. Our sending team supports us monthly with finances and with prayer. We'd love for you to be a part of our sending family. Please look here or email us to find out how!