52 Days Remain...

[Rebecca Clendenin]

Family & Friends,

Wonderful things are happening here on the ground in South Africa and back home.  A few updates and prayer requests:

Grace Community Vision Trip Support Raising Goal EXCEEDED!

At the time I sent out an email recently inviting people to consider supporting the Vision Trip teams from Chapel Hill and Atlanta, the Chapel Hill team was more than $3,700 away from being able to send every member on the team here.  We prayed earnestly during the months of March and April for the Lord's provision to not only be sufficient but abundant, allowing every single person the opportunity to participate; and not surprisingly, God has proved faithful.  In just two short weeks' time, contributions flooded in and support for the team from our church now exceeds what was needed!  We cannot tell you what an encouragement this has been to the team and to us.  For many on the team, the notion of raising support and trusting God for people's hearts to be moved to give has proved to be a big exercise of faith (we can well remember this ourselves); but we are so encouraged to learn that the fact that all the money has been provided for has served as confirmation for everyone that God has a purpose for their coming and learning in South Africa.  We know that this is because of God's response to our prayers and faith.  Thank you so much to those who have encouraged our team by your financial and prayer support.  The extra money raised will support projects the teams will be involved in at the Powerhouse.

Upcoming Vision Trip: A Promising Two Weeks of Learning and Serving

The Africa Revolution team and the Powerhouse Church are expectantly awaiting the arrival of the two teams from Chapel Hill and Atlanta on May 25.  We continue to be so thankful that everyone's reasons for coming are the very reasons we shared more than a year ago when Nate and I first expressed our hopes that a team from our church would visit us during our year in Mamelodi.  We are confident that, for everyone involved, this trip will be a wonderful opportunity for us to learn the heart of God as we serve alongside the Powerhouse making home visits, working on building projects, playing with children at a party we'll throw for kids in the community, shadowing social workers, participating in an afterschool program offered at the church and hosting a day celebrating and benefitting Zimbabwean refugees in the township.  We can't wait to welcome on teammates onto African soil in a few weeks!

Zimbabwe Day: Clothing, Shoes & Supplies Collection Drive

While the Vision Trip team is here, the AR team is planning to host a day benefiting Zimbabwean refugees living in Mamelodi.  The idea is that the distribution of clothes, etc. would be coupled with an opportunity for the team to get to know the Zimbabweans, hear their stories, ask questions, etc.  A couple of folks on the team would work that week to set up a thrift shop at the Powerhouse that on this day would be made available to the people of Zim on a first-come, first-served basis, where clothing would be sold at very affordable prices.  If you're in the Chapel Hill or Atlanta areas and wish to donate to this drive, feel free to consult the attached list of needed items and contact Bekah McInnis (Chapel Hill) at poets...@yahoo.com or Jen Lalley (Atlanta) at jennife...@gmail.com and/or Will Stoll (Atlanta) at wst...@yahoo.com .  We will pray that the collection between Grace Community and Atlanta Westside will be so abundant that it will mean that people will have to bring extra suitcases to carry all the stuff collected.

Another Graduated Class of Powerhouse Students

April 4 celebrated another class of graduates from the Powerhouse Skills Development Center.  For me and Will, we were particularly proud of our business students as this term they not only earned a certificate from the Powerhouse but also a certificate from the South African Institute for Entrepreneurship in recognition of their completion of all four modules of the "BEST Game: Bottom Line Basics Course" offered by our friends at Operation Mobilization.  As for the computer center, this graduation marked a milestone: now, more than 850 students have successfully graduated the intro to computer class-- amazing!  For photos of the graduation exercises and braai (South African word for cook-out) celebration following, visit:

http://tinyurl.com/c8fgzz

Nate's Photo Class Underway

Nate's photo students are loving this class!  Thank you again to all of you who donated used cameras or cash to support this class.  Check out the students' coverage of Election Day:

http://www.mamelodistories.org/2009/04/22/powerhouse-photo-class-covers-election-day/

Eldership Workshop and Continued Personal Finance Workshop Series

During April, the AR team was blessed to have Annie's parents, Stephen and Marilyn Herwaldt, visit from Michigan.  Stephen, at elder at his church, gave an excellent two-part workshop on Biblical Leadership in the Church to the elders and leaders at the Powerhouse.  If you're interested, you can hear to the two lectures he gave at:

http://www.mamelodistories.org/2009/04/06/april-visitors/

This past week, Will and I hosted another session, open to the church and community, on what the Bible says about how we should handle money.  Following the materials developed by Crown Financial Ministries (www.crown.org ), we discussed the topic of giving/tithing (a challenging topic here for many reasons) and, thankfully, it went really well.  We look forward to addressing in weeks to come the topics of saving and investing in God's kingdom and perhaps repeating the giving/tithing workshop on a Sunday morning to the whole congregation.  We appreciate your prayers as we attempt to teach God's word and navigate these topics in a cultural context that thrives on gaining knowledge in basic principles and guidance. 

Adventures in Lesotho

Last weekend, Nate and I traveled to the tiny landlocked country within South Africa called Lesotho (pronounced Le-soo-too). The trip was nothing less than a real African adventure!  Have fun checking out our photos, virtual images and videos of this beautiful country at:

http://www.mamelodistories.org/category/outside-mamelodi/

Prayer Requests:

• The AR team, along with potential AR staff for the coming year, are leaving tomorrow with Vincent & Gloria to return to Bulembu, Swaziland, for the week.  Pray for safety and a wonderful time back in Bulembu. Nate and I are particularly excited about seeing the children at the ABC House again and are praying about our relationship with that ministry:
• http://www.mamelodistories.org/2008/12/31/abc-ministry-out-of-the-miry-clay/
• On Saturday, May 16, Gloria and I are working to host a Women's Business Expo event celebrating women doing business in the township.  We are giving women running small businesses the opportunity to promote their product or service that day, and the day's entertainment will be a fashion show featuring all of Gloria's bridal gowns and bridesmaids dresses, many of which were donated by some of you.  Pray for a successful day but mostly for Gloria, who, at just shy of 8 months pregnant, tires easily. 
• Pray for Nate who is in the thick of what promises to be a telling series of posts on Zimbabwean refugees in Mamelodi.  Pray for guidance as to whether we should travel near the Zimbabwean border, or even into Zim, to tell this story to its full.
• Pray for the teams from Chapel Hill and Atlanta as God prepares their hearts for what they will experience here and for the safety of the team while here.  Please pray that all of us will be encouraged as we think critically about how God would want us all to apply all that we will experience and learn to life back home.
• We have just 52 days until we depart South Africa... We are excited about the things we'll be doing between now and when we leave, but it's tempting to focus on getting them done instead of focusing on the relationships we've been building this year.  Thanks also for your prayers re: this and for the process that will soon start of debriefing and figuring out next steps as we transition back home.

As always, thank you for taking time to follow along on this journey of a year!  We love and miss everyone and can't wait to share stories and photos in person soon.

With love and in thanks for your prayers and encouragement,

Rebecca & Nate

Rebecca Clendenin

reb...@clendenin.name

www.mamelodistories.org