Jennifer and I hugging at the 20 year reunion party.

This past weekend a friend of mine from high school, Jennifer Schoolfield, was killed in a tragic car accident. Her truck that she was driving veered off a gravel road and when it came back onto the road it rolled over, throwing her from the vehicle. She was instantly killed. I had not seen Jennifer in twenty years but recently began speaking to her on Facebook and then saw her for the first time at a 20 year reunion party a couple of weeks ago. She greeted me with a long and warm embrace, like we were the closest of friends, even though we really weren’t. To be honest, I hardly knew her, but I could see she was deeply hurting as she told me about a recent difficult divorce.

But now her pain is over.

She knew Jesus and now she is with Him in Heaven.

As I reflect on this, I once again realize how fleeting our lives are. We waste so much time on selfish things that have no lasting value. How many people are around me that are deeply hurting and I can’t see it because I’m so focused on myself and worried about all my own problems. Lord forgive me for not seeing the brokenness in the people right in front of me. I want to love like you love, without selfish intent. Open my eyes, that I may see those around me who are in need of a tender word or a warm embrace. Strengthen my feeble arms and my weak knees that I might lift my hand to help someone else in need. Give me courage to reach out beyond where I am comfortable. Give me a deeper passion and fire within my heart for the broken and lost soul.

My prayer is that through Jennifer’s physical death, the spiritually lost and dead will find eternal life in Christ Jesus, that they may join her in Heaven one day. There are many who are seeking an answer to their loss and pain, may they find it in Him alone.

Jason and Cara Mitchell in Southern Africa.

Bottom line-we are at war. No matter how hard we try we can’t escape this fact. And if we view our lives outside the context of bloody battle, nothing is going to ever make sense. It will cause us to ask questions like these in great wonder, “Why do bad things happen to good people? Why are there starving children in the world? Why is life just so dang hard?” Because we are in a world at war.

Yes, Jesus is coming and all will be restored. But not yet, not yet. That’s just not where we are in the story right now. It’s not the time to be seeking our own comfort and safety. That’s for another time.

Now we fight.

And we all have a role to play in this Great Story. It’s a story of an epic battle taking place between good and evil and even though we know how the story ends, we still have a part to play in the meantime. And if we fail to play our part, lives will be lost.

Some will play their part valiantly, giving all they have. Some will be taken out by a relentless enemy. And then some will run. Most of us, including me, will do all three. But we can’t ever give up, there’s just too much on the line. What we are defending is worth fighting for.

Our lives and all that we love and all that we are seeking and building that is good is under attack. It is simply a rule of warfare. All that is good will always be attacked. Simply look at any empty field, most of what you see growing there are weeds. A field of corn will never grow there unless someone plants it. Weeds are automatic. Anything that is good and fruitful must be planted and tended but if it is ever left alone, even for a season, the weeds will take it over. Just like our lives, everything that is good must be protected, defended and fought for.

As Cara and I head back to Africa, we head to the front lines of the battle. There is great suffering where we are going but we go to plant good things and to fight for what is already good there. We go to bring the beautiful love of Jesus to the broken and the wounded and we go to bring the fierce strength of Jesus to protect and defend the defenseless.

Join us.

Stand beside us in the field or stand behind us with your support. All our lives were meant to be a part of something big and beautiful and life changing. Don’t miss that for you. Together, we can change lives, restore hope and rescue the perishing.

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us. What we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” -Albert Pine

So where have we been?

We’ve been in southern Africa…

Bringing food to the hungry widow...

Preaching the Gospel to the Lost Sheep in the township...

Loving the orphaned children...

Building a baby rescue home...

Building friendships...

Building trust...

Laughing a little...

And loving a lot.

And where are we going?

Well, we are going deeper. Deeper into the work of the Kingdom and deeper into the heart of God. And we have discovered that the less there is of us, the more there is of Christ working in us. So to go deeper, we are learning how to die, so that we may live. Dying to our own comforts, our own freedoms, dying to our material things, dying to positional power, and dying to the applaud and reverence of man.

We have returned to America for a brief sabbatical with just a little bit of apprehension. So much has changed in us over the last year, precious and delicate changes that could easily be lost. We have been broken and humbled and have come to deeply love the African people. And we have once lived and know the seductive power and the subtlety of materialism, comfort, and apathy. So we pray, Lord, keep us in our humility, no matter where we go.

We will soon be returning to southern Africa to continue where we left off. The needs and the opportunities to serve the King abound. We pray that you might be a part of this great work in some way.

“Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

Jesus calls us to a place of our deepest joy.

Since we’ve moved to Africa there have been plenty of difficulties and challenges along the way. But the enemy opposes this kind of thing. So we expected that. We knew things would get tough. So there were no surprises there.

The surprise has been in the joy.

Reaching down to embrace an orphaned child in your arms as they gleefully reach for you is something that makes your heart skip a beat I think. Knowing there may not be another hug for them for a while, it does something to you.

To sit beside a lonely abandoned child and wipe away their tears reaches deep into your soul and touches something there. You can’t leave that moment unchanged.

There is no sacrifice to be here. I wouldn’t be anywhere else. My heart is overflowing, like it never has, I never knew it could be like this.

“The place where God calls you, is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet”
-Frederich Buechner

The hills were covered in a thick, misty fog. Although it was the middle of the day we could hardly see ten feet in front of us. The rain had begun to fall and the cold air felt sharp against my skin. I was wearing only a short sleeved shirt and the exposure to the weather was taking its toll. And we were lost. We knew we were somewhere in the foreboding hills of South Africa but which way back home, was anyones guess at that point.

Earlier that morning Nathi and I had ridden a few miles out of town on borrowed four wheelers to search for an abandoned army barracks that sat on the South African border. Nathi knew the area well. He had grown up in Malanda, a homestead village not far from where we were going. But today was different, we had gone too far and we were at a dead end.

We had been driving along the top of the hillside and had reached the slopes edge. We were blinded to what was below but we could see it was too steep to continue riding. The rain began to fall harder and I could feel the chill seep deeper into my skin. We turned around to search for another direction and in the thick fog we got separated. I turned down what looked like a familiar hillside but soon discovered I had driven down a hill too steep to climb out of. I slowly turned the four wheeler around to try to get out, but the bulky machine refused to make the climb.

I was in danger and I knew it. I held tightly to the brakes and prayed, “Lord, keep me safe, protect my life.”  I made another attempt to climb out when suddenly the quad began to roll and it threw me off down the hill. I quickly tried to stop the rolling of the big machine but I knew right away that it was too late.

Together we tumbled down the rocky hillside out of control. Faster and faster I began falling with the quad right above me,  threatening to crush me at any time. Then in an instant, that moment came when I knew I was probably going to die. I was violently thrown by another impact by the quad and was turned, facing downhill. I could see that I was heading face first into a large pile of rugged boulders. It seemed liked there were a lot of thoughts running through my mind in that instant but what I remember thinking was, “I can’t believe I’m not wearing a helmet, I’m going to die because of it.” (Yes dad, I promise to wear my helmet from now on.) But then, I found myself lying below the field of rocks and boulders in a soft, grassy area helplessly watching the four wheeler continue tumbling several hundred more feet down the hill.

I had fallen over 100 feet down the steep hillside. As I looked up all I could see were rocks and boulders protruding out of the ground. How did I make it through that alive? I began searching all over my body for broken bones or deep cuts and although I was aching in a few places (mostly my pride) all I could find were a few minor scratches.

I found myself in a state of deep repentance and thankfulness. I knew the Lord had saved my life. I called out to him in thanks. “Lord, you are the helmet of my salvation.” I was weeping and praying as I traversed down into the deep canyon to search for the broken four wheeler. I had misplaced hope that I would still be able to drive it out of there. I climbed down into where the grassy hillside turned into thick forest and discovered the quad resting upside down in a low water creek bed, crushed and distorted. The giant ferns all around me were thick and overgrown. Standing there, surrounded by the steep walls of the creek bed, I knew there was no way I was getting that thing out of there today. But I was still lost and needed to get out of there.

In the dense fog I climbed back up the mountain searching for something that might tell me where I was but I had no point of reference to begin with. I walked for what seemed like hours and in just a brief moment, the fog opened up and I could see one of the buildings from the army barracks in the distance. As I made my way over I found Nathi, walking the hills looking for me. I had made it out of there alive.

When I told the story to my family the following day, my mother and my aunt both said they felt a need to pray for my safety the day before. During her prayer my aunt Rita was given Psalm 91, (I will only quote a portion of it here)

“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.”

“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.”

Satan tried to take my life that day. But I was rescued by the angels of the Lord. There is no way I could have fallen over 100 feet down that steep hillside through all the rocks and boulders and not be severely injured or killed. Unless, of course, the Lord intervened on my behalf. And He did.

Thank you Lord for saving my life. I pray my life would be worthy of your rescue.

Christmas will never be the same for us again.  We are in Bulembu, Swaziland to facilitate a Christmas holiday summer camp for orphaned children (it’s summer time in Africa).  We have named the camp “Bulembu Village Sacred Heart Camp” and it has truly been amazing so far.  There are over 150 children participating and we have divided them into different teams each with their own name; Brave Heart, Lion Heart, Fearless Heart, Courageous Heart, Mighty Heart, and Strong Heart.  To seek after the restoration of these little guys hearts, we build that process on the foundation that they are precious and sacred to the King.

“I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.”  Ezekiel 36:26

Many of these orphaned children have been forgotten by society and abandoned by their families.  Their hearts have suffered great loss and brokenness.  Many have lost their parents to AIDS and other diseases.  Many have been neglected and many have been abused.  But Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and to set the captives free.  He uses you and I to do that beautiful work.  And it is a great honor and privilege to do so.

“Beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:15

The first day of the camp we washed the feet of every child.  It was a sacred time to say the least.  And as we have spent each day with them since we find ourselves falling in love with them.  Some of the younger children come running to us when Cara and I arrive.  Many of them just want us to hold them in our laps or put our arms around them.  There is a great joy in their presence.

On Christmas morning Cara, Nick, Clever and myself delivered small gifts to each child.  I can’t tell you what this meant to me.  They had no other gifts given to them and all we had to bring was a bag with some balloons, some candy, and a cheap small toy for each child.  But it was enough.  It brought many priceless smiles.

Even the smallest acts of kindness can make a huge ripple on the waters.

Another aspect of our mission here in Bulembu is mentoring. As we have been able, we have been taking small groups of the kids hiking and swimming to get a chance to know them better and develop deeper relationships with them.  We took some of the older girls cliff diving into some incredibly beautiful pools created by the waterfalls here.  It was a great time of bonding and just plain fun!

Thank you guys for allowing us to be here, giving us the opportunity to make a difference in these children’s lives.  I pray that our lives will honor Jesus in everything we say and do.  And that our lives will honor your support as well.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Hey guys! Since we’ve landed on the ground in Africa, Cara, Nick and I have been busy with various missions projects. Feeding the poor, praying with widows, telling people about Jesus and leading them to salvation, ministering to orphaned children, starting the after school program for disadvantage youths and building the Life House, the home for abandoned babies. Through all this we are discovering our deepest joy. We are finding that our whole lives up to this point have been to prepare us for this new season of life and there is no other place we would rather be.

And it is absolutely a miracle that we made it here. I can promise you it is not by our own doing. When we made the commitment to come to Africa our financial situation looked impossible to overcome. We had a humongous mortgage, an office building that we owned that we had been trying to sell for 4 years but had no buyers, we had a huge amount of personal, unsecured debt, and we had zero in the bank. No savings. No mutual funds. Nada.

So we did the opposite of what made sense. We borrowed money to buy airfare to move to Africa. And when we did that, that one little step of faith, God took care of the rest.(Read more about this testimony in the blog “Just the Beginning”). Before we left for Africa the house was sold, the office building was sold, and nearly all our debt was paid off. We flew to Africa with just enough money to get things started and purchase a used vehicle.

And all along the way He has provided for all that we have needed. But we are finding it difficult to communicate to you guys our needs for this mission (mostly because we hate to ask you). See we are not supported by any denominational organization or church group (we were part of a home church) and there is no salary for what we are doing. So we rely exclusively from you who are reading this, our friends and family. But we have only reached a little more than a third of what is required for our minimum living expenses.

Our hope is not in man but in the Lord. He is our provider. He is always faithful. And we trust Him fully for all that we need. But you have an opportunity to be His vessel of blessing. When we give to the work of the poor, we store up an eternal blessing, it is our treasures in heaven. This isn’t about church building funds or paying for huge church operating budgets, it’s about getting our hands dirty, down on the streets, caring for the needs of the poor.

“They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”                         2 Corinth. 9:9

Your good deeds of giving into this work will be remembered forever. It is the Word of the Lord, not mine.

Our greatest need is for committed ongoing monthly supporters. Our total living expenses is only about $1,500 per month. We have been receiving just under $600 per month so far (Just a little shy!) This support allows us to continue the work we’re doing here.

A special need we have is for our truck. The Land Rover you see pictures of is a truck I purchased when we arrived in South Africa. It was the cheapest truck I could find and it is quite old. The old truck is in pretty good shape. The engine runs strong but I have to rebuild the transmission and the differentials. It is quite an unexpected expense. It will cost me about $1,500 for the parts and I will be doing much of the work myself. Please consider helping with this item as this vehicle is essential for transporting food, children and building materials. Right now it is sitting dead in the drive.

Please don’t assume that someone else reading this will be the one to help. If the Lord is speaking to you about this, please respond. It’s really easy and even a small amount is a tremendous blessing. We have a few people that send us $25 per month. It is a great honor that they do that and it reminds us each month that they believe in what we are doing here. If you click on the Support link on the website it will give you an address in Chicago to mail your support or you can even send by paypal. It is all tax deductible and 100% of what you send is mailed directly to Cara and I in Africa.

Thank you for standing behind us and for supporting the work of the Kingdom.

In our new South African home

Well we finally made it to South Africa and we have hit the ground running. The founders of Africa Revolution, Allen and Annie and the AR Team really went out of the way to make sure we had a comfortable place to stay and we have really enjoyed getting settled into our new home. The church in the township that we will be working through for several projects have received us with great joy and we have been fortunate to spend quite a bit of time with the pastor of the church, Vincent and his wife Gloria. Their church is really exploding. They have outreach teams going out nearly every day into the township to bring in the lost and the doors of the church are overflowing as we witnessed on Sunday. Speaking of which, Cara spoke briefly in front of the church and she was really amazing, I wondered who that woman was! She is definitely in her element here, I can’t keep her still, she is absolutely on fire.

It has also been quite obvious that the work of the AR team this past year has really made an impact on the church. Nathan, Rebecca, Will, Allan and Annie have planted seeds that are still growing and it has really opened the doors for Cara and I to step in and continue the work. But I can see that we have big shoes to fill. There is quite an endearment to the previous team and I can tell that they are sorely missed. I want to say to the AR Team that you guys have done a terrific thing here in Mamelodi and your work is going to continue on. Thank you for what you’ve done here.

So, those of you who know me know that we won’t be spending much time settling in. I have had a coordination meeting with the pastor today to determine our first steps in establishing two primary projects:

Future site of Baby Rescue

First is the baby rescue facility (we are praying for a better name to call it). We have established a simple plan to get started. We have scheduled a meeting with the social services office on Wednesday but I don’t imagine we will learn much more than what Allan has already established when he was here. Basically, what they say is that they will send us the babies when the facility is ready. It’s really a pretty simple process, they just need help, bottom line.

Our location has been established, it is the picture here. The pastor owns this house but he has moved out so we can convert the home into the baby rescue facility. To do that we will need to remodel the home to some degree, it is already in pretty good condition but will still need a little work. If you would like to sponsor a bedroom or any part of the work please contact me or Allen for the details.

To make this thing happen this is what we need:

Rent  $650 per month

Utilities $150 per month

Painting(we just need materials) $300

Flooring(once again just materials) $200

Fencing for additional security $500

Appliances(oven, refrigerator and microwave) $800

Cribs (we are looking for local crib donations for this item as well) $1,200

Diapers, formula, medicine, baby powder, etc. (this will obviously be an ongoing need, we have not yet established the budget for this but this will be our largest ongoing need. If you would like to contribute toward this just let us know.)

All of the work being done on this project is donated time by AR and the people of the church, there is no paid staff. But this ministry is greatly needed. Many babies are being aborted that could be rescued. Many babies are being literally dumped off in the trash heap because there is no one to take them in. This facility will not only rescue babies but give counseling to women who are thinking of having abortions as well as offering education in prevention.

Second, is the education resource facility. This is a continuing project that the AR team had previously established. It was originally planted as a computer lab and it will continue in this capacity. Our expansion on this is to also use the facility to provide continuing education for school age children who are desperately lacking in a decent education. It will provide advanced training for children after school and on Saturdays. The facility is already in place but we do need to do some computer upgrades. We will be looking for some good computers locally to advance this project. There are several teachers already in place and we have the software to get started, so this project will begin within the next two weeks.

Praying with a widowed gogo who cares for her grandchildren

There are several other irons in the fire including the acquisition of a large piece of land to build a full scale orphan care facility, the weekly feeding program and different evangelistic outreaches. Thank you guys for your support of what we’re doing here. Your help is greatly needed and all of your donations go to help with this work. Africa Revolution, along with the local church, is making a tremendous impact on the problems that plague Africa, with your help we are impacting the world.

Lastly, we have an immediate need for a vehicle. We are currently renting a car but it is very expensive. We are looking to purchase a truck so that I can haul materials around and people as well. If you would like to help us with this particular item please let me know, thanks.

Bringing bread to a widowed woman

Just wanted to share with you guys a few things that we’ll be doing while we’re in Africa. We’ll be living in Pretoria, South Africa and from there we will be working all over the continent. Starting in Mamelodi, a desperately poor township suffering the consequences of apartheid. There are an estimated 1.8 million people living there. We will also be in Bulembu, Swaziland. A small country that has been devastated by the effects of HIV and AIDS.

So what are we going to be doing there?

Well, we go as servants of the Kingdom and as servants to the people.  We  go as students. We go to build relationships with the poor and desperate, to understand better their plight. We go to rescue orphaned children and take them from the streets and the gutters to bring them into a place of peace, love, and acceptance.  We go as the hands and feet of Jesus, to bring a message of love and redemption.

House of widowed woman raising two orphans in Mamelodi

Cara talking with a young boy in Bulembu

It all started deep in the heart of Rwanda. A beautiful country that had been  devastated by genocide. Nearly a million people were brutally slaughtered.  Most of them were chopped into pieces, one by one, by machete wielding  killers. And there I was, sitting with a woman who had lived  through the  genocide. She told me about the bodies that were everywhere,  just scattered  across the ground. She described the terrible odor of the  bodies rotting and  blood flowing like a river. Even though she held back the tears as she shared  with me how her own family  had been gruesomely murdered, I could see the deep hurt within her. And there was nothing I could say, nothing I could do to change the past, all I could do was let her know I cared.

Soon after, I found myself standing on a rough dirt and gravel road that had been deeply rutted by the rain. It was there I met the children who would change my life forever. Everything I thought was important to me was beginning to change. As I looked these kids in the eyes I knew I could not leave, never to return. These orphans of the streets were some of the worst victims of the genocide. They had no home, no family, no food, no shelter, sleeping on beds of cardboard and eating from the trash they were merely surviving. They were lonely and scared and they were just like my own children. They loved and desperately desired my attention. Holding my hand, running their fingers through my beard and fighting for who would sit on my lap next and I loved every second I spent with them. When I returned to my hotel room I deeply wept, knowing nothing would ever be the same again. And it hasn’t been.

But now what? What do we do about it? With all the suffering in the  world,  can we really  make a difference? The answer is, of course we can.  That’s  why we’re going,  because of course we can make a difference. We  bring the  love of Jesus. We  bring a message of hope and redemption, it is  the  message that saves. We  have what the world is aching for. There is so  much  darkness out there but  when we reach out to the dark and desperate  places, it  is there that we shine our brightest as we rescue those who are  perishing. It is in that place and in that moment that we truly begin to realize-we can change the world.

And so we’ll go.