Welcome 2012!

A new year of Zion Evangelical Bible Schools (ZEBS) has officially begun.  This past week, Bible school classes were held in Keiskammahoek, Peddie and Fort Beaufort.  It was great to see all of the students back for another year of studying God’s word together.  It was encouraging to hear from a second year student in the Peddie class how his understanding of God’s word is really starting to expand.  It was also very exciting to see the students at Keiskammahoek attending ZEBS for the very first time.  Below are some photos taken at the new school in Keiskammahoek.

A New ZEBS Begins at Keiskammahoek

Keiskammahoek Zion Evangelical Bible School

We are also happy to tell you that in the beginning of the month we had a great ZEMA missionary conference at Sunbury Christian Camp.  It is so encouraging to see all the fellow ZEMA missionaries and to be able to hear what God is doing among the amaZioni throughout southern Africa.

2012 Annual ZEMA Missionary Conference at Sunbury

Click here to see ministry events happening next month:  February Prayer Calendar 

Click here to see our  December 2011 Newsletter

ZEFA Conference 2011

Continue to Pray for Our Family

Last Saturday, ZEMA hosted the annual conference for Zion Evangelical Fellowship of Africa, also known as ZEFA.  The purpose of ZEFA is to provide fellowship and accountability for Christian amaZioni.  There are over 6,000 separate amaZioni churches in South Africa alone and ZEFA aims to unite those who are accepting the truth of God’s word.  To join ZEFA, the leader of the church must complete either one year of ZEBS or a thourough course on Bible doctrine called “This We Believe.”  Along with this, each leader is interviewed by the ZEFA executive committee where their understanding of salvation through faith in Christ alone can be examined.

View from Sondela, Conference Location

Missionary Richard Akers Leading the Business Meeting

The conference this year was held in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.  This is about three hours by car from where we are living.  It was a very positive time and God was definitely speaking through the preachers and teachers who shared God’s Word.  Something that greatly impacted me is the emerging quality of the African leaders who are helping teach at ZEMA’s Bible Schools and other ZEMA ministries.  We are seeing astonoshing fruit in the areas of Christian maturity in these people.  Robert Thunywashe is one example.  He started out working with fellow missionary, Richard Akers, several years ago and has also worked with a few others since then.  Mr. Thunywashe is not only teaching at ZEBS but is currently the President of ZEFA.  He is extremely sincere in his faith and concern for fellow believers and is soft spoken in his speech.  Not only are these fellow labourers very gifted teachers, they possess a genuine godliness that can only be traced back to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.  God is working powerfully among the amaZioni, one person at a time.

Robert Thunywashe Speaking at the Conference

After one of  the times of preaching, five people (one woman and four men) accepted Christ as their Savior.  It is an incredible privilege to witness and report to you about how ETERNAL DESTINIES are being changed as a result of the preaching of the gospel here!  People are repenting of their sins and turning to the Lord.  Though much is being done among the amaZioni in three countries (South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique), so much more is yet to be done.  I encourage you to pray for this work among the amaZioni earnestly and daily.  Pray for all the missionary families that God would give us wisdom in daily decisions as the enemy is always trying to divide and prevent people from hearing God’s word.  Pray that we will be full of perseverance and continually growing in our walk with the Lord.  Pray also for the amaZioni, that all 15,000,000 would find Christ.

 

5 People Accept Christ as Their Savior

amaZioni Youth Conference

ZEMA’s Bible Schools and “This We Believe” Bible classes are continuing to go forward here in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.  These are two primary methods of ministry among the amaZioni.  Along with these, we have also seen the effectiveness of holding conferences focused on topics like leadership, marriage and youth. 

amaZioni Youth Conference ’11

amaZioni Youth Having Fun

 

 

 

 

 

The most recent conference we held was the Annual Youth Conference here in the Eastern Cape which took place June 18.  Here, many amaZioni youth met together in a town called Berlin.  The Bible study focused on the first couple chapters in the book of Romans and the youth were challenged to “Live for Christ.”

One highlight of this annual conference is the youth choir competition.  One important rule for the competition was that all songs must be Christ centered.  All of the choirs did a great job.   The whole event was a wonderful time of encouragement.  Click on the video below to see one of the amaZioni youth choirs.

Thank you for your continued prayers for us and ZEMA’s ministry among the amaZioni.

Click here to see our June Newsletter: June 2011

Easter Weekend Among the amaZioni

 

It is common for an amaZioni church to have many branches in different parts of the country, and the Easter weekend is a time when the different braches often attempt to meet together.  This creates a wonderful opportunity for ZEMA missionaries to meet many amaZioni leaders at one place when we are invited to attend these Easter services.  For example, one of the church services we and a fellow ZEMA missionary, Luaan Goosen,  attended had amaZioni people from twenty-two different locations. 

As a team, we were able to visit four different services in three days.  Over the weekend, we were able to share about the “This We Believe” classes and the Zion Evangelical Bible Schools (ZEBS), show the Jesus film, and begin building relationships.  While traveling, we were also able to see some beautiful scenery in the Eastern Cape.  Thank you for your prayers.  Hearts and lives are truly being changed as a result of hearing God’s powerful word.  To Him be all the glory!

Easter Sunday Service

 

Jesus Film – Easter Sunday

Traveling Saturday

Traveling Saturday

Luaan & amaZioni Leaders

amaZioni Good Friday Service

Good Friday – amaZioni Church

Wrapping-Up Our Time in Johannesburg

Lauren attended the Annual ZEMA/TEAM Ladies Missionary Retreat February 25-27.  It was a wonderful time to fellowship and study Psalm 23 together.  Altogether, 16 ladies met in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, for the weekend break.

Below are some pictures from the Zion Evangelical Bible Schools here in the Johannesburg area.  We really enjoyed seeing all of the locations and meeting the students.  We are very thankful for the time we were able to spend here and for all the help from fellow missionaries in getting us settled.

We are now getting prepared to move to King William’s Town on Friday, April 1^st.  Pray for travelling mercies as this will be about a 12 hour trip by car.  We are very excited to learn more about and join the ministry there.  

Thank you again for all of your prayers, which are greatly helping us and ZEMA’s ministry of making disciples among the amaZioni people. 

Click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.

              

First Weekend of Zion Evangelical Bible Schools (ZEBS) 2011

Viko, Lauren & Jon During Xhosa Class

Molweni! (“Hello” in the Xhosa language) We are pleased to inform you that we have really enjoyed learning the Xhosa language so far.  On Tuesdays and Fridays we meet with a language helper named Viko.  We have also enrolled in a Xhosa correspondence course which we will begin soon.  Learning the Xhosa language will be one of our main responsibilities for the first two years. 

It is difficult to fully describe how encouraging it was to attend the Zion Evangelical Bible School classes this past weekend at Soweto-Dube and Rustenburg.  It is so exciting to be a part of this great opportunity.  The combination of passionate Bible instructors and students who hunger and thirst for God’s word is something that is simply powerful to observe.  The Bible school teaching in the Gauteng province is shared by the following four men: Tim Kuehl, Godfrey Maseko, Louis Wolfaardt and Graham Wood.  After the classes this past Sunday, Godfrey Maseko expressed how there is nothing more rewarding than completing a day’s work of serving the Lord.  Continue to keep all of the Zion Evangelical Bible Schools in your prayers.  Your prayers are very much appreciated and certainly effective.  To see pictures of the two schools and to hear a kind greeting from a ZEBS student, click on the video below.  It is touching to hear how thankful they are for the Bible teaching and for your prayers.

Opportunities to See God Working Among the AmaZioni

Last weekend we were able to witness first hand how God is using ZEMA to effectively minister among the amaZioni.  First, we were able to sit in on some of the Zion Evangelical Bible School (ZEBS) classes held at Sunbury Christian Camp.  To see the students sing before some of the classes demonstrated how glad they were to be there learning the Bible. 

Jon giving a greeting during the service

Along with attending this ZEBS, we had the chance to attend an amaZioni church last Sunday in a town west of Durban.  This church is pastored by an amaZioni who graduated from a ZEBS.  It was evident that this church is focussed on preaching the gospel.  At the end of the service, a pastor invited anyone who had accepted Christ in 2010 to attend a meeting to be held on the following Saturday.  We were very encouraged to hear this kind of focus and follow-up regarding conversions taking place within the amaZioni church.  We praise God for this spiritual fruit being produced among amaZioni Christians.

Arrival in South Africa

Thank you so much for all of your prayers.   After nearly 24 hours of travel, we arrived late Wednesday night.   Since then, we have had a few days to rest and spend time with Jon’s sister, Christine, and her husband, Kevin.  We thank the Lord for safe travels and a good transition.

At Sunbury Christian Camp

Today (Monday), is the first day of the annual ZEMA missionary conference, which is being held at Sunbury Camp.  This camp is operated by ZEMA and is located about 40 miles north of Durban.  It has been great to see all of the ZEMA missionaries in attendance and to hear about what the Lord is doing in each of their ministry locations. 

One missionary said that the amazing success he is seeing is not because of his own initiatives, but because of the spiritual hunger of the amaZioni there who are seeking his help with understanding the Bible.  ZEMA missionaries are blessed by the fact that many amaZioni are asking to be taught the Bible.   As we continue to get to know many of the ZEMA missionaries, we are so thankful to see how  humble, diligent and hard-working they are.  It is also great to see how well the missionaries are working together, which is certainly a factor of the mission’s growth and effectiveness in preaching the gospel and making disciples among the amaZioni.

On Sunday, Lauren and I will be traveling about seven hours north-west by car with the Kuehl family to Johannesburg.  They will be helping us get established in the country.  We also will be taking a rigorous Xhosa language course there for the next few months until we move to King William’s Town in March.  Thank you again for all of your prayers.  They are  greatly appreciated.

Our Departure Date

We are excited to let you know we have reached 100% of our support requirements!  Due to this, we have purchased our tickets for our departure to South Africa.  Our departure date is December 28th.  We thank the Lord for His provision and perfect timing.

We are so grateful for our financial and prayer supporters who help make this ministry effort possible.  It is a joy serving the Lord with you.

The plan is for us to fly into Durban for the Annual ZEMA Missionary Conference.  Then, we will travel up to Johannesburg for several weeks of language study.  When that is completed, we will go to King William’s Town.  This will be our new home for our first 4-year term. 

We encourage you to keep us in your prayers as we make this transition.

Support Update & New Location

We are so blessed to see our monthly support on the rise.  Currently, we are at 92% of our required monthly support!  With just $550 in monthly pledges remaining, we feel we are very close to departure.  Pray with us that we will have our support in and be able to leave for South Africa this December.

We have been assagined a new location in South Africa.  Our original placement for our first four-year term was Johannesburg.  Here we were going to be mentored by Tim and Luann Kuehl.  Since Tim and Luann will be returning to the the States for several months on furlough this coming April, we have been assigned to new mentors and thus a new place in South Africa.

Click to Enlarge

We are now looking forward to working closely with and being mentored by Luaan and Susanne Goosen in King William’s Town, South Africa.  Upon our arrival, we plan to attend a 6 week language course in Johannesburg and then make the transition to King William’s Town for the remainder of our term.  We will still be learning the Xhosa language. 

Click here to read our November 2010 newsletter.