As We Prepare to Leave

We are off to Africa for the 2nd time to assist the Helping Hands in Africa Organization minister to the Children of South Africa in and around Mafikeng, South Africa. We have been planning this trip for the past 9 months and it is finally here! God has truly blessed us already by allowing us to make new friends at La Casa.

Four of us are returning for a 2nd visit, Debbie Sanneman, Laurie Gerlach, Melody Gartrell-Sherman, and Ron Meister. This year we have a younger mix of people with High Schoolers Leah Swanson, Lindsay Sanneman and Mackenzie Smith and College Student Grace Gardner traveling with us. Also joining us are Mandy Meister, Carol Mathews, Noel Olmut and Pastor and Diane Garman.

We will be hosting a Vacation Bible School for the younger children. The themes of the VBS will be God's family, prayer, and God's promises. Additionally, this year we will be reaching out to the young adults with a program on self-esteem. We are also very excited to be able to participate in the dedication of the multi-purpose building in Molelwane village that La Casa helped to build. This building is used for worship services and for the feeding program for the children.

In addition, we will once again be able to provide school supplies for the children thanks to the generosity of the congregation. We will be buying school uniforms, shoes, backpacks and supplies for more than 40-Children! For most of the Children, if not all, it will be the first new things they have ever received in their lives. We wish you could all be there to share their hugs and see their faces when they get their new uniforms. It is a very emotional experience for all of us; both rewarding and humbling rolled up into one!

It is our goal to post our experiences each day in this BLOG. However, one never knows if we'll be able to get a good connection each day in the Internet Cafes in Mafikeng.
We ask for the Congregation's continued support through prayer. We ask you to pray for the safety of our Team; that we follow God's lead in all of our activities, and that we share the love of Jesus with everyone we encounter. The Team will be traveling August 1st – 11th.

Ron Meister, Team Leader