Sunday
We went to Freedom Ministries Church in Harrismith on Sunday morning.  They meet in a school hall in town.  There were about 40 members of the church and then 22 of us.  Simon and Jane both gave their testimonies and they really allowed God to use them.  Not only did they share what Jesus had done in their lives but they both really encouraged the people to allow God to do a healing work, and a transforming work in theirs.  Roy preached about wanting to know Christ and the power of the resurrection and people really responded.  During the time at the end when people were being prayed for one lady came with two little girls aged about 7 and 9, and one small toddler clinging to her skirt.  She told me her husband was ‘not a good man’ as tears ran down her cheeks, she needed Jesus to help her be a good mother and to protect her children.  I understood.  As her tears hit the floor I prayed over her, and her children.  I held them all close in my arms and they huddled together – and as I prayed I could feel God’s peace flowing into her situation.  She became calm and I prayed that God would bring tremendous wisdom and protection, and that her husband would find Jesus.  And if his heart was hardened that the Lord would provide a way out.  Please pray for this woman and her children.  Sunday afternoon we spent in the park with the church encouraging them and playing sports (well some of them were playing sports, others were sitting in the shade chatting).

Monday
We woke up to 8 of the team having a sickness bug!!  We are having devotions each morning, so 16 of us gathered and prayed hard for those that had spent the night revisiting their dinner!  We divided the remaining 16 into two teams – a smaller group that went into Hope House the orphanage, and a larger team that went to Mkoulegekene (this is a township that the church has planted a smaller congregation in).  Mkoulegekene is 13 miles away from the town and could be a world away in comparison.  There is no running water just one spring that gushes out of the ground for 12,000 people.  One spring that waters the cattle, one spring that provides water to wash clothes, one spring that everyone drinks from.  When we arrived we were greeted by Darnell the pastor who has transformed a cattle shed into a church.  The last time Net Church came here on mission we left some money behind and it was great to see some of it had been spent on benches and a PA system for the church plant!  Darnell took us over to Scutty’s garden, an african lady aged 77 who has a large plot of land that was in a bad condition.  The plot was about 20 metres by 10 metres and Scutty wanted to plant vegetables to feed 500 people in the township.  It was hard to believe looking at the plot of ground that it would feed 500 people – it certainly would feed 500 english people.  The team did a brilliant job, we turned over the soil, we cleared stones, we raked, we dug, we planted and we hoed.  Even Rohan was taking piles of weeds to the compost heap.  By the end of the day we had even managed to build a beautiful gravel path lined with stones up to Scutty’s house (wait to you see the photos).  A job well done.

The team came back from the orphanage rejoicing, they had falled in love with the babies and children (impossible not to).  Especially with one little baby called Valentine who had been found on valentine’s day in a plastic bag newly born.  In the evening we attended a service at the township church.  It was truly amazing, the singing was tremendous, the dancing outrageously brilliant (oh the pictures of the team taking part hehe), and then we took part – with songs, drama and testimonies (Stevie D from Bury and Rachel from Net Church).  Darren preached and by the time we all got in the bus we were overwhelmed with what God has done.

Tuesday
The whole team was better!  Which was a miracle – some of the church had the bug and they had been wiped out for 2-3 days.  Again we divided the team into two, one set going into Hope House (this time we sent two guys to also do maintenance – there were many diy jobs that needed doing and we bought tools, screws etc to just get a few practical things mended, put up etc).  In Mkoulegekene the team divided again into three, some went to prepare food for the feeding containers that feed the orphans who still live in the townships, some went to the vegetable gardens and dug over another huge area to plant spinach, and another team got up on the church roof and mended it (it was full of holes).  I cannot tell you the satisfaction everyone felt when we came back together in the evening.  So many stories to tell you when we get back.  We went to Sedibe hall in the evening, in another township, and after the team took the programme we had around 30 people come forward and respond.  Many cried.  The team cried.  You can see lives being transformed before your eyes, hope arising in a hopeless place, hope that only Jesus can give.  And everyone has the sense that God is using them in the smallest conversation to the big events.  And we are not even halfway through.  Watch this space!

Everyone has settled in well.  We met this morning after a good night’s sleep and with Roy, Mike and the other two guys finally arriving at 1:00am, and had culture training, the do’s and the do nots when out in the townships and in the orphanages.  Mark went through the programme with the team and although it will be hard work, it all sounds very exciting too. You could literally feel the faith and excitment rising in the room as Mark was talking about where the team would be going and what they would be doing.  Then we did testimony training, how to tell what Jesus has done in your life in a short, powerful manner that is natural to each person.  Some people were really nervous about this.  Roy gave everyone 30 minutes to go off and write down their own story then we all gathered in the hotel garden underneath some shade, it has been blue skies and about 26 celcius today, and took it in turns to stand about 20 feet away from the group and tell what Jesus had done for them.  We cried, we laughed, we cried more.  Each time the person would stand, often in fear and trembling, then say the most powerful things, the most beautiful things, the most profound things that Jesus had done in them and could do for others.  It was amazing to see some of the youngest ones stand and tearfully talk about Jesus, and some of the older ones as emotion cracked in their voices as they proclaimed how Jesus had changed them.  We went off for lunch in awe of how great our God is.

In the afternoon we did drama and dance – wait to you see the photos you won’t believe who is dancing in a crowd pulling number!!!  We are now having dinner together and eating a giant cake as it is one guys birthday.  Tomorrow we are taking the church service.  Jane and Simon are giving their testimonies, Darren D is taking the communion part of the service and Roy is speaking.  Pray that God really uses the team to build up the church here, they are hungry for God to move.  On Monday we divide up and go into the townships and the orphanage.  I will email again Monday night.  Watch this space.  God is going to do some powerful powerful things both in the team and through the team.

On April 1st 2010, a combined team from Netchurch (Sittingbourne), Freedom Church (Bury) and Emmanuel Church (Dartford) are flying to South Africa to meet the needs of the community and impact lives. They will be partnering with the charity Tshwaranang whilst there, see their website for information on the current projects they are involved in.

Some Harrismith Facts

1. Named after Sir Harry Smith, is a large town situated on the N3 highway in the Free State province of South Africa between Johannesburg (about 350 km from Johannesburg) and Durban.
2. The town is home to the largest truck stop in the Southern Hemisphere.
3. Harrismith is the centre of one of the five wool producing districts in Southern Africa.
4. The town is dominated by a long flat mountain, the Platberg, 2377 m. Each year on 10 October a race is run up the mountain and along the top for 5 km before returning to the town.

While the team are out there, the forecast is for an average of 24 Degrees, although there’s a chance of rain on April 10th (we won’t tell them though!).

Probably the most important piece of information you need to know about Harrismith is that there is a very real need for Jesus.  We are praying that each person who is part of the team will be stretched to use their full abilities to reach into peoples lives and bring about real change.

There have also been fundraising events going on for some time now to raise funds that can be used to meet practical needs in Harrismith too, we would like to give a big “thank you” to all who participated and contributed – there is now a substantial gift on the way to those who need it!

Hopefully, there will be live updates right here from the team in South Africa, if you are interested in getting notified when an update is posted, please subscribe to our enews by letting us know your email address (box above right!).