Launch

Hello Friends and Family

Here is an update from our first trip to South Africa as 5 Lights Ministry.

Danielle and I were blessed beyond belief even before the actual trip began. The amount of people that encouraged us, prayed for us and supported us was incredibly overwhelming. It’s very difficult to try to put into words all of the things that were done, the people we met and the places we saw without making this several pages long. Our first week was discussed in the last report back in December, so I will attempt to explain the second week the best that I can. We met several pastors and traveled to several communities over the course of the week. Below are the four communities that really spoke to us and that felt like a really good fit for what 5 Lights has been called to do and to be.

The morning of December 4th we picked up Pastor Sthembiso and his wife Thuli and traveled up north to the Limpopo Province of South Africa. This province is the far North East province and borders Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. After the 5 ½ hour drive, Pastor Sthembiso had an appointment set with Pastor George with the ERC church in Nwamitwa. It is in a very remote area which meant traveling approx. 11km of dirt roads to reach the community. Pastor George has lead this church for just over 10 years with little to no help outside of family and a few volunteers at his church to serve the needs of the community. There are no outside organizations close to this community to help serve. Two of the major service opportunities that we observed in this community are fatherless homes and child-led households. Much of our conversation with Pastor George was about creating a place at the church that is safe, encouraging and hopeful for the community.

Scott & Danielle, Pastor George & Wife, Pastor Sthembiso & Thuli

Next we met with a Pastor that I felt an immediate connection to. He was incredibly accommodating while showing us the communities he is involved with around Phalaborwa. Pastor Jackie is a bold yet humble firecracker of a man. He leads a main church along with several branch churches in the Limpopo area. We were able to visit 2 communities with him. The first was Mashishimale. This community has lots of kids, with approximately 80% of them living in child-led households. The church here was small and incomplete, having no windows or doors and only half of the roof and a dirt floor. However, it is built on a large plot of land. This location is the one I was most drawn to as our place to serve. We were not able to meet the pastor here as he works a full time job also.

The next community is one that really had my heart torn in pieces. Humulani felt like a place of pause and of little hope. Pastor Bilae Humulani is the pastor for this community and has been since 1958. At 82 years old, he is still full of energy and is a cornerstone of the community. Humulani increased greatly in population size during the Mozambique civil war. This group of people is in a unique set of circumstances in that neither the South African government nor the Mozambican government will recognize them as legal citizens. They have no paperwork for medical, government or education. They are in an incredibly difficult situation. No citizenship, no education, no government or medical help.

These communities have a leader with great dreams and hope in Pastor Jackie. The main thing that really surprised me is that no outside organization is working with this church group or these communities. Pastor Jackie made a statement that really resonated with me. He said “Anything you may decide to do here would lead to improvement and if you were to come here it would be quickly embraced by the communities. And what better way to be able to share the word of Christ? They will come to you.”

Our last community to visit was a branch church of Pastor Morse Ndala from the God Reigns International Church. He took us to Matuba, a small village about 40 min from the Phalaborwa area. It is a small village on the side of a mountain in what felt like rain forest type surroundings. Once again we weren’t able to meet with the pastor in this community (Pastor Nico) due to him working a full time job. We did meet his wife Porshe at their humble church building. It has no electricity or water, a dirt floor, mud walls, no windows, and a roof that has much of it missing. Porshe speaks English really well and was so glad to have someone visit and show interest in the church. Alcohol, drugs and gambling are real problems here among the youth and women. They along with just a few church volunteers keep the doors to this church open most afternoons and weekends to help people have a place to be connected and safe.

We traveled to a few other places, but these 4 are the ones that we feel God is telling us to engage in some way. None of the places discussed here had any outside organizations serving them and they had little or no government assistance. All of the pastors expressed the need for feeding programs, after school programs, life skills training, and agricultural programs. I think that more than anything, they all need to know they are not forgotten. They are loved. I see huge opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I also see so many opportunities to preach and share the gospel.

Now is the time that 5 Lights will really increase our forward momentum. We will be traveling back to South Africa this March from the 8th to the 23rd. This trip will have other members of the 5 Lights team going along to revisit these 4 target areas. We will learn more about them and work to establish relationships with the pastors and volunteers. We will be reaching out to all of you soon to partner with us in this next phase of the launch of 5 Lights.

Thank you all for believing in us, loving us, praying for us and partnering financially with us.

Without God and without you we will not be successful. Please pray about partnering with us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, and get ready to watch us grow and GO. Help us expand the kingdom of God.

Below is a link that will show you how to be a partner with us financially.

Love you all,

Scott

Be A Partner

Be The Light