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

What is all this really about? Why would we leave the comforts and  privileges of America to help people all the way across the world? After all,  we’ve worked  hard to get where we are. Our home, our business, our  friends, our family, our son’s school and his friends, all our stuff. We’re  leaving it all behind. But why would we do such a thing?

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.

This is the first post of what should be many more as Cara and I embark on the adventure of our lives. We are so thrilled to have joined the Africa Revolution Team. It has been divinely orchestrated and we thank God for all He has done, all He is doing, and all He will do to fullfill His calling on our lives. There have been so many miracles that have confirmed this path that we know it is undeniably our destined journey.

We’re in the final stages of preparing to leave for South Africa and the hand of God continues to usher us into His great work. One of our primary items to get in order before we leave is our home in Oklahoma. We began a couple months ago to try to sell it, but as we prepared the steps to put it up for sale God stopped us and told us to wait and just trust Him. We didn’t know what He wanted us to do but surely we were supposed to be doing something, I mean, there was so little time.  So we decided we would try to rent it out. As we made preparations to try and rent it God stopped us again and told us to wait and just trust Him. We still didn’t know what we were supposed to be doing, we couldn’t just wait, could we? But we did, and when we did we made room for  God to show up, and show up He did.

I was given the name of a local ministry that just so happened to be looking for a place similar to ours. So we called them to see if God might be up to something there. When I talked to them they told me of a home they were already looking at that was twice as big as ours and had just as much land, for the same price. So we figured that might just be a dead end road. But they came and looked at our home anyway and right away they felt that it was the right place for their ministry. And it just so happened that the other place they were looking at fell through. The cool thing is, all the things we’ve always wanted to do with this place is exactly what they’re planning on doing with it-father and son retreats, church retreats, tent meetings, prison ministry, pastor and wife retreats, and they’re going to set up a recording studio and duplication room in our living room! God is so awesome!

So here we are a month from leaving and we’ve never listed our home, never tried to rent it, we just made one phone call and that was all it took. The name of the ministry buying our home is Common Ground Ministries. They have been working in the local prisons for 21 years. They travel the world, sing, evangelize, and share the love of Jesus everywhere they go. They have raised funds to build an orphan home in Honduras and have asked us to help them with their project there.

God is faithful and He honors the efforts of the just. As we turn our lives away from our own personal concerns and focus on the hurting, the suffering, and the lost, we go to the very heartbeat of Christ and there He is in our midst. If we are willing to reconsider the very station of our life, we find that our true life’s purpose, as faithful servants of the Kingdom, is to intercede for those who have not yet entered in. And there is great joy to be found in rescue.

I encourage you to engage in the issues that plague our world. Action is the next step for the Church. Together, we can change the world.

Jason Mitchell

“What we do for the world…remains through eternity.”