The Chicago Marathon this year will be on Sunday, October 10th, 2010. Pastor Jonas Masotla, our friend and ministry partner, is excited to be coming over from South Africa and running in the race. Pastor Jonas invites you to run with him and be part of this Africa Revolution team. He is a funny guy and promises to make you laugh right across the finish line… if you can keep up with him! While we are putting a team together, this is an unofficial team that is not running to raise funds, so there’s no sponsorship or anything like that involved. It’s more like an informal group of friends who share a common love for Africa… and we need a group of people to lead Pastor Jonas through the city so he doesn’t get lost. To find out more, email us at info@africarevolution.org

Or to sign up on the Chicago marathon site Click Here

by Dave Clark

Sunshine Gospel Ministries is a para-church ministry located in the inner-city on Chicago’s Southside. Our mission is to seek the renewal of the city through ministries of discipleship, mercy, and justice. I oversee the youth outreach programs. During the month of December we (the staff and the young people) began a “fundraising campaign” to raise money for the “Life House” that AR and Power House Church are collaborating to build in the township of Mamelodi, South Africa. When we began the campaign we explained to the kids where South Africa is located using maps and a globe, as well as some of the challenges of life in the townships there. We further discussed how abortions there are on the rise, and that recently babies have even been discovered in dumpsters. Our kids really understood the urgency of the matter, and that the Life House would be built to care for babies who otherwise might not have a chance. We then encouraged them to bring their spare change each time they come to Sunshine to give towards this worthy cause. We bought a clear container to fill with change so that they could see the progress/increase we had made each week. Every week during the month of December our kids brought pocket change and dollar bills for what they often referred to as “the kids in Africa.”

Dave and some of the fellas from Sunshine

One of our 3^rd grade students, Michelle, told her mother that she wanted to take her $5 allowance and put it in the “Life House jar” to help the kids. She proudly brought her allowance and placed it in the jar the next week. At the end of the month we had raised $75, primarily in loose change! Our desire is to see our kids develop a global vision, and to view the world through Kingdom lenses. We are grateful for the opportunity to give what we can towards the work that God is doing through our brothers and sisters in South Africa.

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.

Back to Africa

In March, Lord willing, we leave for 2 and half months to South Africa and Swaziland where we will be working with our partners and staff on some of our already existing projects.

It has been said that, “Christianity in Africa is a mile wide and an inch deep.” While this comment is arguable, what is unarguable is what this comment speaks to; the desperate need for discipleship and equipping. One of the significant next steps we will be working on while we are there is to establish our Vision Year “Indigenous” internship program. The word indigenous literally means “generated from within”.  So this internship would be for young Africans desiring to do missions.  From the beginning we have always dreamed of playing a part in empowering Africans to do missions and not to just be the recipients of missions. Young Africans will have the opportunity to go through a year of equipping through hands on learning and spiritual formation in another part of Africa, as missionaries “sent ones”!  So many young Africans have a willingness and passion to seize this opportunity to be empowered to transform their communities… but the hurdle for them has been resources needed to make it a reality. In fact even now these finances are yet to come.  But we walk by faith and not by sight, right? I believe this is an exciting opportunity for those of you whom are not called to “go” yourself but to “send” others by supporting them. As givers you get to see the resources God has entrusted you with, (for advancing His Kingdom), make a huge difference in the lives of brothers and sisters in Africa. Consider supporting an indigenous intern or giving towards the development of this vision. We are so excited about this and can’t wait to share the stories!

Pray for us.

1. The cost of taking this trip is more than we have, so pray with us that the Lord provide all our needs to go.  He asks us to ask.  John 14:13-14.

2. Pray for our practicalities. Because we are nomads of sorts, much planning has to go into our lifestyle… this is already complex but we foresee it becoming increasingly more difficult with a baby. So pray with us as we figure out the logistics of coming, going, our stuff etc. Much waiting on the Lord and wisdom is needed as we seek first His Kingdom.

Judah is so alert and awake... sometimes at 3a.m. !

3. Praise God for the health of Annie & Judah as the final check up at the doctors has cleared them both!

As a super excited Dad, I want to continue just posting pics of our son on this blog but I realize that would only make the Grandma’s happy… so we will just post a “pic of the month” until his cuteness wares off………….never!!!
(more pics of this cute little snuggle bug here)

Thank you friends for your love and support.
follow close, follow hard
Allan, Annie and Judah

Note on Giving-
For 2009 Donors: Tax Deductible Receipts have been issued and will be arriving shortly.

Last Words
“God want us to be dependent upon Him and interdependent upon one another, not independent.”
- Loren Cunningham (founder of YWAM)

The word indigenous literally means “generated from within”.  We are excited to be empowering African young people to be equipped to transform their communities. This is a unique opportunity to support Africa’s future leaders who have a willingness and passion to do missions themselves and not just to be the recipients of missions. They have a willingness and passion to be and bring the change in their community. Interns will go through a year of equipping through hands on learning and spiritual formation.  I believe this is an exciting opportunity for those of you whom are not called to “go” yourself but to “send” others by supporting them. Consider supporting an indigenous intern or giving towards the development of this vision.

So we must ask the question, what kind of seed are we planting in our own lives?

On New Years day we drove into a small village outside of Bulembu called Malanda. It is a very poor village that sits in the beautiful hills of Swaziland. There we met an old gogo who they say is the oldest woman in Malanda. She cares for and raises her three young orphaned grandchildren whose parents have died and all three children are mentally disturbed.

As we approached her meager homestead we found her sitting under the shade of a small scrub tree. Her tiny, two room home was quite simple, built by only mud and sticks. Inside there is no floor, only hardened mud and the old tin roof has so many holes that when it rains (which it does quite frequently) there is hardly a place to stand in the home that’s dry.

But when she greeted us, there was no sorrow on her face. No self-pity. Only joy in our arrival. We had come to plant for her a small vegetable garden. We toiled in the overgrown weeds and found beneath it beautiful, rich soil. We planted good seeds, gave it water and now there grows something that will help feed her three orphaned grandchildren. But it was not just a sustainable garden we gave her, more important was the expression of love we gave by just showing up.

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

So where will we sow seed this year? Will we only sow seed to feed our own needs and desires, or will we sow seed to the things of God? I’m not talking about spending more time in the church pew. Are we willing to look outside ourselves and sow something good into someone else’s life? As we give into the lives of others we reap from that something beautiful and life giving into our own life. This ancient law we can trust…

“Whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” Galatians 6:7

So we are obviously doing well.  Life is forever changed for us with Judah our baby giraffe.  We take things a day at a time with a whole lot of grace from our Father.   We are anticipating an exciting 2010!  As I have been thinking of the year ahead and all that I hope comes out of it, I was deeply challenged by our friend Floyd McClung, whom is so “intentional” in all he does.  I thought these 10 questions of his were worth passing on for you to ponder for yourselves:

1. What’s one way, you could utilize time, to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. Who are three people you can disciple more intentionally?
6. What is the most helpful way you can build community with a few other followers of Jesus this year?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. Who is the person you most want to encourage this year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing can you plan to do this year that will matter most in ten years?  In eternity?

Prayer for…

1. My Papa (Grandpa) is very sick right now with a failing liver. All his grandkids, including myself, are very close to him.  He’s the Grandpa all my friends wished for. He built us the biggest fastest wooden go-cart you can imagine. He would take us to the store and buy us donuts and ice cream so long as we didn’t tell our parents…. especially before dinner. He was unbeatable in arm wrestling and was always willing to hit the dance floor to show us how a real gentleman dances.

2. Annie’s Grandma has had some health struggles of her own recently. She is so dear to us and so precious to our family. She was taken to the hospital but is in recovery. Thank God she is doing much better.

3. Pray with us that the Holy Spirit work powerfully in us this year. We desperately need His power for life and ministry. You’ll know what I mean when you read our “Last Words” below from A.W. Tozer.

We love you guys and are so grateful for your love and support.

Follow close, follow hard

Allan, Annie and Judah

Last Words

“We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone… [We] have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost.”

- A.W. Tozer

Wow!  Baby Judah is born!  What an incredible experience we are having.  As the old year came to an end and people sang Auld Lang Syne to usher in the new one, the three of us shared a special moment in our hospital room; thanking God for His kindness in giving us this beautiful baby boy.  The whole experience from birth to changing his first diaper and driving home at 20 miles an hour has been somewhat surreal.  We now know why people say having a baby is a miracle like no other.  Seeing a new life come into the world stirred up emotions we never knew we had.  It’s truly breathtaking… so we’ve decided we’re going to keep him. Like I said to Annie, “he’s better than a new iPhone”.  Yes, he may not have many apps at this point and his ring volume is un-adjustable but there is just no comparison.  We love lying in bed and stare at him as he squirms around and syncs to life in this new world.

(Click here for updated pics of Judah as he grows)

Pray for…

1. Annie’s recovery from birthing our 9 pounds 3 ounce baby. That was no small thing, let me tell you! I have mad respect for my wife after that experience.

2. Pray for us as we adjust to life with a baby.

3. Thank the Lord with us as we recognize His kindness in giving us a life to nurture and steward. We are so blessed!

Last Words

“People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one.”

“A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank balance smaller, home happier, clothes dirty, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.”

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.

So what came of 2009! I personally don’t enjoy the measure of success in ministry through bloated numbers and bullet point victories.  Life and ministry seem too complicated to so narrowly define success that way.  So forgive us for our style of report back.  While I share about the great things that came out of 09 I say in all honesty; nothing came easy.  We saw transformation but with much struggle.  It seemed like everything we put our hand to required constant prayer and diligent attention.

Internship Year 2008-2009

We completed our first official Internship year (now called Vision Year).   Our hopes were; that team members going to Africa would come home built up by their learning experience to be an asset to their local church and that the African church be impacted by what they brought to the table.  Both hopes were realized.

Our team (pictured here) of five lived in intentional community for the year in South Africa, serving and learning together.  Empowering teaching of community members was a large part of our opportunity for this team.  Out of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship class the interns taught, we saw a handful of businesses start up including an exciting co-op with support from generous grants from the South African business sector.  We had really hoped for this important class to continue when we left, but we were hard pressed to train teachers able to continue teaching this much needed class.  However, in the new computer lab we established this year, the Basic computer class and Web Design class have really flourished with indigenous teachers training others. The Powerhouse Skills Development Center has seen hundreds of  students graduate and the process of full accreditation is almost complete (not a small task might I add.) We also sought to make  the Powerhouse Skills Development Center self sustaining.  Another beautiful thing that came out of the year was the establishing of the Scholarship program for Skills Development classes for students facing extreme hardship.  These funds benefited many Zimbabwean refugees seeking to make a better life for themselves and their families in South Africa under great hardship.

All these efforts and ministry objectives were due thanks to the highly motivated and skilled team we had this year whom served the Lord wholeheartedly.

Orphan & Widow Care

Another high light of the year was seeing our trips to Swaziland and Mozambique result in the establishing of the Life House Baby Rescue Home in Mamelodi. It was as though God was envisioning us by putting us in places to see so many orphaned babies and then realizing this was our next step in Orphan Care. More on that here.

Short Term Trips

Another tweak to our ministry came when we had the opportunity to host a few short term teams.  We typically don’t do these as we have seen them be ineffective, costly and damaging, but our AR team did an excellent job in preparing those coming to have a different perspective on their trip.  They came primarily as learners being envisioned with the Kingdom.  They came alongside the good things the local church was already doing; joining them in loving the community.  The local church lead the way as they worked side by side with the teams as they spent days rehabilitating widow’s homes, painting, fixing and putting up security walls.  They also spent a lot of time learning about the community & culture, the history of South Africa and God’s justice and compassion.  We saw the incredible opportunity to grow those coming by connecting African issues (e.g. refugees) to issues back home (e.g. undocumented immigrants) to understanding what does the Bible say about this (e.g. the foreigner and the alien.) We feel we are able to facilitate these kinds of learning experiences, over typical short term trips, for those wishing to come to Africa and so have broadened our role towards this.

Leadership

We had the opportunity to bring leadership training to local churches through a workshop on Biblical Eldership, the CCDA conference here in the U.S. and the gathering of excellent teaching materials for spiritual formation and discipleship.  Highlighting to us the importance of always empowering, supporting and investing in indigenous leadership in all that we do.

We took on new staff; Jason, Cara and Nick Mitchell are leading the charge on the ground in South Africa and Swaziland.  We continue to seek out more new staff, knowing we cannot do this with so few people.  Ministry is a team sport and we cannot do it alone. “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matt 9:37-38

Where do we go from here

So much more has happened in 2009 that I could not do justice in reporting on in this blog post.  But I do want to say, I think what really stands out to me is ALL THE PEOPLE that we have crossed paths with!  In the Gospel we see Jesus in His ministry intentionally focus on people.  Not programs, strategies and stuff etc, which are all important but the focus is and must always be people, people, people!!  We met amazing, beautiful remarkable people.  And so we want to say a huge, huge “Thank You” to everyone whom participated in God’s work through AR this past year.  From those of you who joined us hands on, to those who financially make this ministry possible.  We are grateful for you and your invaluable participation with us!!

As 2010 approaches, know that we have sharpened our focus as we have seen God work mightily and we are more aware then ever of our need for the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and fuel this ministry.  So pray with us, continue to be involved with us as together we WORSHIP God and seek to join God in His work of reconciling people to Himself and redeeming and transforming their communities for His Glory!

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

Last Thoughts:

I’d like to share this short video as a small Christmas reminder about what’s important at this time of giving,  Hope you like it!

*we wish to remind you, at this time of year end giving, that Africa Revolution is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization recognized by the IRS. All gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.