The Big Splash

The Team 2007.

Since we started this activity in 2004 we prayed to have more team members closer to the ages of the students that we are ministering to. We had one teenager with us on 2004 and saw how the students interacted with him. This year God answered our prayer by giving us eight teenagers between the age of 14 and 18. We have a total of eighteen team participants from the USA. They hail from California, Arizona, Indiana, and Florida.

So Long Old Friend . . . . .

In the midst of our preparations for this trip we receive the heartbreaking news that our brother Francois our key point man on the ground in Richards Bay has been called home to be with the Lord.
So with just a few months left before we get a plane with a team of eighteen we are scrambling to figure out how we will get all of our arrangements made for accommodation, transport, schedule appointments to teach at twelve schools, arrange for a venue for our training day, and lunches for teams. On top of all these challenges we get word that the teachers nurses and a slue of other government workers are on strike for higher wages. We don't know if we are going to even be able to get into the schools so we do lots of praying.

Angels Sent by God. . . . .

At Francois' memorial service a young man introduces himself to John, the director of Campus Crusade for the Province of Kwa Zulu Natal. He says that he has been working with Francois and is considering becoming more active in ministry and is contemplating perhaps even doing it full time. So enter our guardian angels Aldrin and Annelise come to rescue us. Obviously the answers to our many prayers.

Expanding our Footprint

The Team 2006 . . . . .

In 2006 we have six team members from the USA representing three churches. From the picture you can see that we have expanded or local Richards Bay team from two people in 2004 up to eleven in 2006. We split into three teaching teams expand the number of schools to six. We did three the first week and repeated the program at three new schools in the second week.
What was significant about this trip besides just the increase in the number of students we reached was our new association with two significant churches that started working with us. They are the Methodist church in the suburb of Meerensee and the Living Stones Covenant Church founded by pastor Clement Masondo. He is left front on the picture. What a great example of a man of God. Nothing is to much trouble for him. I refer to him as "Mr Get The Job Done"
There was also another group of twenty one people from the east coast Boston are that represented about four churches that started to teach the Smart Choices program in the Port City of Durban South Africa. They also teamed up with local churches and Campus Crusade

Humble beginnings

The First Team . . . . .

In late July 2004 we took or first mission trip to Richards Bay South Africa. There were seven participants from the USA representing four Southern California churches. Our goal was to team up with Campus Crusade for Christ missionary partners and present the CCC Better Choices HIV/AIDS prevention seminar to 100 students from two high schools in the rural area of Mzingazi just fifteen miles north of Richards Bay.

From Our Students . . . . .
The response from the students to the HIV/AIDS education program and also to the presentation of the Jesus film was quite remarkable and we were definitely inspired to consider the possibility of coming back. We were touched by the genuine expression of gratitude and love came from the student, teachers and principals of the two schools we visited. This letter was composed by two of those students from that first 2004 class at Mkhaydeni High School. You can click on the letter blow it up so you are able to read it.

If you would like to see a short video of that class doing a little song and dance number for us this link.

Two Years Later . . . . .

One of the things we do as part of HIV/AIDS education program is to give the students the opportunity to make a pledge to remain abstinent from sex until marriage. in 2006 we were back at this school again and had the opportunity to meet with thirteen of those original fifty students and all of them claimed to still be sticking to their pledge of abstinence. These are the thirteen students from the 2004 class