Ready for Six More Months
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Rebecca Clendenin
Jan 3, 2009, 7:15:43 AM1/3/09
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Family & Friends,
We write wishing you a very happy start to 2009 and wanting to share with you an update from the past six weeks:
Powerhouse Graduation
On December 6, we joined our students in celebrating graduation from the skills development courses offered this past fall at the Powerhouse. We are so proud of our students on this accomplishment! To date, nearly 800 students have now graduated from the intro to computers class, which teaches Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access as well as the basics of computer hardware and software, how to craft a CV, how to handle a job interview, etc. With the new web design and business courses the AR team developed and implemented over the past few months, the Powerhouse Church continues to be a beacon of hope in its community, not only spiritually but also practically. At graduation, each student is awarded a certificate verifying what he/she has accomplished through the respective course. This certificate not only helps people obtain jobs, but as past experience has shown, it often provides an opportunity for people to be promoted and given more responsibility as well.
For a summary of Will and Rebecca's small business development class and to view a video of our students excitedly putting what they have learned into practice, click here:
To view each of Nathan's students' websites and to see a video clip from the graduation ceremony, click here:
Call for Scholarships, Cameras and USB Flash Drives
Mid-January, we will be resuming teaching classes, and we ask that you consider partnering with us. Specifically, there are three ways you can participate:
- consider sponsoring a $40 scholarship of a student to attend one of the skills training courses at the Powerhouse;
- consider donating a used digital camera, or giving the gift of $150 for us to purchase a digital camera, for Nate's upcoming photography course; and/or
- consider donating a USB flash drive, or giving the gift of $25 for us to purchase an 8GB flash drive, very much needed at the Powerhouse Computer School.
These donations/gifts are invaluable to the people in Mamelodi who need your help. For more information as well as instructions for giving, visit www.africarevolution.org/projects.htm . Thank you in advance for your generosity!
Trip to Bulembu, Swaziland: An Amazing Experience
Following graduation, the AR team took some time off and traveled to Bulembu, Swaziland, for a week, then traveled corner to corner through Swaziland to the South African coast for a few days of relaxation. We had an amazing trip. Bulembu is an incredibly unique place with some amazing things God is doing there. To offer a bit of background, Bulembu was once a thriving mining town. A decade ago it had a population of 10,000, but when the mine shut down, the population dropped to less than 1,000. The town was also hit hard by HIV/AIDS. A few years back, the town was auctioned and was purchased by some Christian businessmen and now the town is being totally restored and revitalized. Today, it's an up-and-coming ministry center, all ministries focusing on meeting the needs of Swaziland's orphaned child population-- with the vision of raising them up to the be the next generation of godly leaders in Swaziland. We came away totally in awe of God's kingdom-building work in Bulembu and better aware that the ministry leaders there need our prayers as they are figuring it out as they go.
We encourage you to check out our recent blog post about Bulembu for a bit more background and our reflections:
We're particularly excited about the audio slideshow we produced on one ministry there, Abandoned Babies in Christ. Never before have Nate and I witnessed such a picture of God's heart for the unwanted, rejected lives Satan attempts to destroy ("...living stone(s) rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious... "--1 Peter 2:4). Many thanks to Robyn and Gerry Richter for allowing us to tell their story:
Holiday Season, African-Style
With summer in full force here, the month of December felt nothing like Christmas was approaching. The week of Christmas, we were blessed with a visit from my dear friend Allison Roensch, a medical resident residing in Dallas, TX. Nate, Will, Allison and I traveled the first part of Christmas Week to the Pilanesberg National Park, where we saw all sorts of wildlife, most notably an adolescent male lion stalking a herd of wildebeest and zebra and 20+ elephants at a watering hole. We celebrated Christmas Day at the Powerhouse and with Allan's family in town from Dubai and Zambia. The day after Christmas, we distributed Miles' cookies (thank you, Miles!) and fresh mangos to folks we regularly visit in the township-- a wonderful experience for Allison. For reflections on what outreach of this kind continues to mean to us, we invite you to read Nathan's thoughts:
Big News from The Nyathis!
Perhaps the biggest news update we are eager to share is that Vincent and Gloria are expecting a baby!!! The Lord has blessed them with the news of a baby on its way, expected to arrive mid-June. So far, Gloria's pregnancy has shown no evidence of anything of concern, which is huge praise given her this later-in-life pregnancy. Mandla and Busi are very excited, and of course the AR team is thrilled that we will be here for the birth of this child of promise!
Prayer Requests
As always, we are thankful for your prayers:
- Please pray for the Nyathis as they anticipate the arrival of the newest member of their family. Pray for Gloria's health and strength, for the baby's health and for this year of adjustment within their family.
- We resume classes in the coming days and ask for your prayers as this term, we will be teaching the teachers-- students from last term who will be shadowing us and eventually fully taking over our teaching duties, ensuring sustainability of the courses we've developed after we leave Mamelodi. Pray for us as this experience will be likely be challenging as we will be training and mentoring these student-teachers as well as teaching and developing curricula as usual.
- Over the next few months, we will be hosting a number of visitors, family and friends. It's a great privilege to share our life here with people who sacrifice to come. It's also important that we keep our focus, rhythm and work going strong.
- In particular, we are very excited about a team from Chapel Hill -- and hopefully from Will's church in Atlanta -- coming in May to participate on a short-term mission trip, or what we'd prefer to refer to as a "vision trip." We are so excited about this opportunity for friends from our churches to come and experience the township and hopefully be encouraged to apply what they learn about the heart of God for the poor to life back home.
- As a reminder, if you know anyone who is interested in the life-changing experience of serving for a year in South Africa, we ask that you please spread the word that Africa Revolution is calling for applications for the internship program starting this August. This is truly an awesome opportunity and a very unique kind of internship/ministry experience. For more info, check out www.mamelodistories.org/2008/11/10/be-a-revolutionary-ar-now-accepting-intern-applications/ or more specifically www.africarevolution.org/internships.htm . Pray that God will provide young men and women who are excited about His kingdom-building work.
We are always encouraged when you follow along on the blog and post comments or send us emails with your thoughts. Will keeps a blog -- www.thewillbrown.com -- and Allan and Annie share their updates -- http://africarevolution.blogspot.com -- so we encourage you to check out their sites as well from time to time for a more holistic take on all our experiences.
Most of all, we wish you a blessed year ahead and want to thank you always for your love and support.
Stay in touch with us!
Rebecca & Nathan
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