As many of you know our friend and staff member Clever was hi-jacked and kidnapped less than two weeks ago. Read the full back story in the previous blog post “Much Prayer Needed” click here.

Servant hearted Clever. Always helping out, whether it be with cars or kids

To update you as of Jan 21:
Clever was able to identify 1 of the thugs a couple of days after the incident. He coincidently saw him in Mamelodi Township walking right near where the event took place. The Police detectives went into this guy’s home and found a few of Clever’s stolen possessions. They were unable to apprehend him but are aware of his full identity and are pursuing him. Clever returned home to Zimbabwe to sort out his papers (permits/licenses’ etc.) God really showed him great favor as he got it all sorted out. No small task in Zimbabwe! He has since returned to Swaziland to prepare for the team arriving next month.

The vehicle is not recovered and very likely will not be. Hi-jackings like this are unfortunatly fairly common in South Africa. Signs like this are seen along the road side. The event happened a week before we were about to sell it to acquire the additional funds needed for our new vehicle. Clever had lined up the sale and was sorting out the transfer of ownership. But we take comfort in the fact that God is sovereign over all things including this dilemma we find ourselves in. It is just another opportunity to stretch our faith and trust in Him for provision.  He is able.

(L) The AR bus that was hi-jacked. (R) Clever driving the bus

I wanted to share some of Clever’s words, from an email today, with you, so you know how to pray for him and this situation;

“As far as I am concerned, I am doing great. I am now getting back in the gear of prayer since I arrived in Swaziland.  It’s peaceful here and no one is after me. When I was still in South Africa, I was still traumatized thinking about the event every day. I lacked trust, toward every South African male. I kept thinking that they are all thugs. I am sorry for this, God will forgive me. My mind is just thinking about the bus as you know that it was my favorite. I was treating it like my son. The way it was taken from my hands! It ripped my heart; it was something which I was treasuring so much. I had just committed everything in God’s hand he knows why this happened and he is the one who has a better and a good reason for this. My question to God was what have I done so much to deserve this? We are serving you with this bus but you take it away? What does this mean? I felt the Lord saying this message to me, ‘you are a victim of my purpose.”
Again I asked God what this means. “We served Mamelodi and the whole community spreading your Word, investing into this community and the very same community today is stealing from us.”

I felt that God wants us to love this community more. The same thing happened to Jesus. He came to serve and save his own people and the very same people rejected him, accused him and even killed him.

What a mighty God we serve. He wants to use us in this town regardless of being abused or robbed. Thus are my feelings for now. And I am praying for those thugs that they may see God in their lives.”

We are still so grateful that Clever and Noah are alive and well and we ask that folks continue to pray for and encourage them.
As far as the bus goes, we are approximately $8,000 away from our goal to purchase the new one. We ask that you pray with us, give sacrificially and generously. No gift is too small… or too big.  Together let’s see how God moves through us.

There are people in this world who serve the Lord with hardly any recognition for their good works.  Who work hard 24 hours a day and rarely get told that they are doing a wonderful job.  Who do what they do because they know it pleases the Lord and that is all that matters to them.  At the Hawane farm, the house parents are these people.  Each of the volunteers adopted a house family for the year and spends time with them.  We spend our Monday evenings with them, eating dinner, playing games and just hanging out. We have spent almost a year getting to know them and every day we see more and more how they are true servants of the Lord Jesus, building his Kingdom by caring for the orphans of Swaziland. 

            The AR team was given a generous amount of money to use for the people on the farm and were told that we could bless them in whatever way we saw fit.  We thought about it for quite a few months, throwing ideas back and forth to each other.  We thought about having a talent show and braai (bbq) with the youth, or having everyone over for a nice meal, we even considered bringing the youth to a national Swaziland vs the Congo soccer game. But all of those plans weren’t meant to be.

            So many visitors that come to Hawane plan youth events for the kids, games days for the kids, and soccer tournaments for the kids but rarely does anyone come here and do anything for the caregivers of those kids. In the end we decided to indirectly bless the kids by blessing the parents.   

 It was a blessing that all of our plans to use the money on the kids fell through because it was the Lord’s plan for us to use that money to treat the house parents; to encourage them, and to thank them for all they have done for us throughout the year and all that they do each and every day for the kids.

            So last week Monday we took all of the house parents to a nice restaurant in Swaziland where they were able to order a nice meal and a dessert.  Taking someone out to eat may seem like a fairly small thing to do for them but this was not a small thing in the eyes of the house parents.  Most of them had never been to a real restaurant before, and didn’t know how to go about ordering off of the menu.  The only place that they ever go, if they go out, is KFC, (KFC is a big deal out here) but even that is a rare occasion.  A lot of them were overwhelmed but it was such an amazing experience for them and they were so grateful.  It is also a rare occasion for them to ever leave the farm or to get a break from their kids and all of the other work that keeps them busy all day, every day.  They LOVED their meals and we all ate until we were FULL.  Seeing their excited and smiling faces was such a blessing to us as volunteers.

            After the meal they all thanked us 100 times over and went on and on about how much they enjoyed it. 

            It was such a small thing that didn’t take a whole lot of planning but to the house parents it was an unforgettable experience.  It was a day that said to them “you are doing a wonderful job and we appreciate you.” 

It was a blessing for them, but also for us to give back to them in a small way for all of the things that they are doing here.  Praise the Lord for these people; I know that God will bless them and that he has a special reward in heaven for each one of them.  

It is amazing how far a small gift goes here. If you are considering giving a charitable donation this Christmas, consider giving to AR, that we might continue making a personal impact in Southern Africa.

Throughout the past year our team has enjoyed the opportunity of working with The Luke Commission on many occasions. The Luke Commission (TLC) is a medical missions organization that specializes in bringing mobile medicine to rural communities across Swaziland. Harry and Echo VanderWal, the founders and directors of TLC, run the mission along with a fleet of national staff and their four sons.

Working with The Luke Commission has been a favorite for the whole team. There’s just something about leaving the farm at 6:30 am, with cooler stocked full of PB and J, not knowing whether you’ll be back at 8:00 pm or 3:00 am the next morning – TLC won’t leave until every patient at the clinic has been seen. It’s always a long day, that’s for sure! But the atmosphere at TLC is always worth the work. Everyone does their part and works hard – with smiles on their faces! Truly, being a part of The Luke Commission feels more like being a part of a family than anything.

There were always a variety of jobs available for us to do at any given clinic. The first station we were trained on was Triage – blood pressure, blood sugar, and HIV testing. This is where Amy and I most enjoyed being – but it’s not for the faint of heart! Most of the day would be spent poking fingers – old gogos and little kids weren’t usually happy about it either. Our team also worked at the eyeglasses station. There they spent the day using eye charts and finding the corresponding glasses to improve the vision of gogos and younger adults alike. Another station was clothing distribution – where we took in the school children and sent them home with a new item of clothing. One clinic we were also able to hand out Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child boxes to a huge group of students. That was a special day.

Overall I can say that working with The Luke Commission was a huge blessing to our team. The clinics were always something we looked forward to. And looking back on the long days, and nights, we spent working with TLC I know that we will always cherish the memories of the thankful gogos, mothers, and smiling children that we met at every clinic. I know the whole team is so thankful for these opportunities that we had.

The AR photo exhibit, up at The Corridor Gallery at Riverview, was put together by photographer and Vision Year Alum 08-09, Nathan Clendnin.  His pics capture the joys, hardships and passion of the township and its people. See pics from the exhibit here or visit Riverview Church in Holt Michigan to see them in person.
(To read the Riv article where Africa Revolution and the Greigs were featured click here.)

Last Words
“Sometimes God can use a single image to capture our heart and call our attention to His work in the world. We later realize it was an invitation to join Him.”

People are often unreasonable, irrational and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will  never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

-Mother Theresa

I want to share a thought with you. But before I do, check out the pics of our team in Swaziland. These are some fun pics of them mainly goofing around but they are pouring their lives out on behalf of the poor and broken in that nation. I am so proud of them. Check out their most recent blog posts.

I just came from a mens book study early this morning and am feeling challenged. The author shared that 25,000 children die EVERYDAY from hunger and preventable diseases. I saw how moved a couple of the men were, who read this for the first time. What is strange is that I already knew that fact. I am challenged by the fact that, that statistic fails to move me like the first time I heard it. I began to remember how sad and sick I felt by that number. I was devastated and rightfully angry the first time I heard it!
Why do our hearts grow familiar with that which should always upset us? It’s not that I’m callous. I would not be doing what I am doing if I were. But it does show me that our hearts are fickle. I wonder if there was a time that you were upset about the state of something. I wonder if you felt passion and zeal burning in your heart for some kind of injustice. What happened? Did life happen? I know that on that great day, I don’t want to tell the Lord I was too busy, too self consumed. I don’t want to say ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ (Matt 25)

I’m not trying to give you or myself a guilt trip but I do think that we all need the conviction that we all should be doing something! It doesn’t have to be in Africa or with this particular issue but I think somehow in some way we should all be doing something that reflects what has been done for us! Do something!

Consider joining us, going with us or supporting us as we love our global neighbors, our brothers and sisters in Africa as we love ourselves.

Click through sideshow to see all the pictures

So our Vision Year volunteer team is finally in Swaziland and getting settled for the year. The team is great! Great dynamics, great personalities, humble, teachable and eager to serve! These are the rare ingredients that result in an amazing experience for everyone involved. Along with their team shepherds they represent 4 countries! Jason and Cara will be the shepherding couple over them as they serve the Hawane Ministry, of the Potters Wheel Church in Mbabane, Swaziland. I know there were a lot of names thrown in there for one sentence but basically their team leaders are awesome and their ministry site is solid. We are thrilled to be serving at Hawane.

What most impressed me, as I led the team in 2 weeks of orientation, was their expectation for God to show up in their lives this year. I LOVE that! While they will do some great stuff, tutoring orphan kids, community outreach, development work etc, I love that they get, that this year will be a year of constantly digging into the scriptures, passionately seeking out the Fathers heart and experiencing a revolution of their own hearts and hands in the process. This is what this year is all about for them! And they get to do it in community and in a different country. While I could go on sharing about how quickly we have all grown to love each other, I will save you from that, I do however want to challenge you to check out the pics above and the sweet videos on our You Tube Channel, like this one below, to catch a glimpse of what I am talking about. Also check out their own blogs posted here and follow them through the year as their personal revolution unfolds and transforms each of them!

p.s. Some of you are wondering about the support for the vehicle and African Team members.  We are so grateful for those of you who stepped up and gave but we are still looking  for support for both those very pressing and vital needs.

AR's Vision Year 2011 Team with Gogo Masindi

This is Allan posting from South Africa. I’m recovering from jet lag and woke up way too early so I thought I should post about what’s on my heart. Yesterday I was with our volunteer Vision Year Team 2011. It’s the first time we have all been together and I just have to share with you guys how excited I am about this team. The team is made up of 2 Zimbabweans, 2 Canadians and 1 Zambian. They will be serving and learning in Swaziland for a year and then returning to whatever God has next for them.

Yesterday we visited an old widow friend; Gogo Masindi. I saw the compassion and love for her in each of them and I knew this group is ready!  Throughout the year this team will be equipped and discipled to grasp what our Biblical response to the poor should be and how we are to reflect God’s love, compassion and mercy to the world and especially to the widow and the orphan. God continues to confirm that our ministry must invest in folks like these whom are willing, obediently and sacrificially giving their lives away for others. These guys are the real deal; who are going to impact the world as they ultimately expand the Kingdom! Please pray for them, support them and stay tuned to see what God does in and through them this year!

“He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” – Jesus