Waiting.....

Although the political situation is pretty crazy we are in no danger and in fact the response from the local churches have been amazing. People have come out from all over with food, clothing, child care, and medical assistance to help the refugees from Zimbabwe. Nancy and I are trying to see if we can help but the volunteers from all over the city is huge so we are just waiting to see. We are also waiting to meet with the builder and the school officials to talk over what is needed most which is starting to look like a type of building that can serve many different purposes. Please continue to pray for our ability to communicate our vision and that we will have favor with school and government officials. It's an exciting time here and we are having a wonderful time watching our God do His thing which is always amazing!!! Let us know what you think and if the Lord is speaking to you about anything concerning our trip here. We are listening! Love ya! ps. here are some of the kids we saw in Badplaas where the new house was built!

I'm writing this on our from Johannesburg to Cape Town.....

Isn't God's timing a funny thing? I don't know if the American news media has picked this up but we have run found ourselves caught up in a serious emergency. We arrived in South Africa just as the country is experiencing a human tragedy which they call xenophobia, which is defined as the intense irrational fear or dislike of people from other countries. There has been a huge influx of refugees from Zimbabwe into South Africa for the past several years and just a few days before we arrived there was an eruption of violence in both Johannesburg and Cape Town and oddly enough in the township of Du Noon where we are going to help the school. The poor in the townships or blaming the foreigners for all there problems and have decided to take matters into their own hands. Local Zimbabwe residents who have been here for several years are being beaten or killed and at the very least forced out of their homes, shoved into a bus and sent back to Zimbabwe where there is nothing waiting for them. It's incomprehendable. 30,000 people are now fleeing for their lives back to Zimbabwe where they have nothing. Over 50 people have died and thousands have been injured or displaced. Rolf's family church, His People, have 500 refugees now in their church. Lizzie, Rolf's wife called us right before our flight to Cape Town and said they had a 1 month old baby and couldn't find the mother or father. They need people to cook food so Nancy and I are going to see if we can help. We will also see if there is anything else in terms of blankets, clothes, shoes and other essentials for these helpless people. Please pray for them. We have no way of understanding this kind of suffering.
God seems to have a different agenda for us right now so we will keep in touch as we walk this situation out. I will have some pics and videos uploaded in a day or two.
ps. We are hoping to meet the builder and some local government officials about the school this week and will start working out a proposal for the building project.

We arrived Thursday night feeling pretty tired but very excited about what we were going to see God do over the next 4 weeks. Rolf picked us up and the next morning we left to go see the Emoyeni missions team finish a house they were building in a township in the city of Badplaas which is about 3 hours from Johannesburg. It was an amazing trip and it's an amazing ministry. The little girl's name is Gugu and lost her parents to aids and now is living with Elizabeth, a single mom with one younger child. Elizabeth was overwhelmed by the new 2 bedroom cinderblock home complete with running water which is not the norm for this community. The awesome thing is how much this community, which has been ravaged by AIDS, has turned around just by the investment of time and a few small houses by the Emoyeni missions team. They also bring medical/dental teams which really minister to the locals. They have seen the love of Jesus and many people are turning their lives over to Him.

Dreaming of South Africa

Nancy and I are starting this blog about our trip this Spring/Summer to Capetown South Africa. We want to give you an idea about what we are doing, how we got to this point, and where we are going. We would also love to hear from you! We are leaving on the 21st of May and will be there until the 19th of June. Wow...it's really getting exciting!!!
Once we get to the Cape, we will start updating this blog with the journey we are having complete with pics and videos.

Holding, Holding....

Just waiting right now for some info from Rolf in South Africa. It looks like because of where the existing school is built, they're going to have to bring in a dozer to break up the ground to start the foundation. That means the cost will go up but the great news is this will be an annex, not just a separate building. We will have to raise a little more money but the builder, Anton, will spread the work and payments out over the next six months and then we will finish it up with our team trip (if the Lord wills) in December!!! Please continue to pray for guidance and provision. We are stepping out into unknown territory but are totally confident in the Lord and what He is doing!

A Little History

If you haven't heard, we are going to Capetown South Africa to work with our dear friend Rolf Weichardt who has recently been named Director of South Africa Youth For Christ. He oversees many projects in Capetown which minister to the really desperate that come out of the townships. The poverty is really indescribable and yet, it's amazing to find out how much joy these people have in spite of there circumstances. Rolf brings in many volunteers from around the globe to help with orphans and aids mothers and there babies. He also organizes feeding programs, and one of those led us to a school in the Vissershok area.

Over 400 children are bused in from the township or really what's called an "informal settlement" of Du Noon to this school. What we saw there made something rise up in our hearts to find a way to help some of these kids out of the merry-go-round of poverty they were trapped in. We were told the feeding program is probable the only real meal they get during the day. We could tell many were malnourished and very small for their age. It was strange but I remembered the movie Pay It Forward and thought if we can change the lives of a few of these children, they will have the ability to make a difference in whatever they choose to do with their lives.

Short term is to build a large all-purpose building that will be able to handle 2 classrooms and other needs. We have found a builder (thank you Jesus) and will be starting to work this week in getting the plans and process going. Were are believing that after we leave the foundation and walls will be up and that asap the kids will be able to use it even if it's not fully completed. By the end of the year we will take a small team of workers to put the final touches on the building and to just love up those kids! Long term is for funding scholarships for the kids and salaries for the teachers. Also in development are sports and music programs. (I will also be looking onto bringing in some musician friends for some music and worship seminars further down the road.) Lots of plans and dreams right? Why not....our God is an awesome God!

Our intention is to report back here as much as we are able to for updates with pics and video as much as were are technically able. As for now we are watching God bring in the money and the resource to meet this need!

If you would like to help financially make your check out to:
The Bridge/ a Joseph Company

send it to:

Mike and Nancy Demus, 207 Gayland Court, Nashville TN. 37210