Car Rally for Africa Mission

We will be working in conjunction with Freedom Ministries Church who work hard in the area all year round to meet the many needs of their community and the surrounding townships. As a church we are taking a team to a town called Harrismith in South Africa in April 2013.

In a country that has 16 million people with Aids, 5 million of which are children, Harrismith Centre runs a charity that works with orphans, children who have been abandoned or diagnosed with Aids. It takes a tremendous amount of money to feed and clothe these children, provide the medicines they require and ensure they have 24 hour care. We want to raise as much money as possible to help these projects, and others that the church runs, and to enable the team to get there.

As part of our fund raising initiative we are going to be holding a car rally on Saturday 3rd March across Kent! Teams need to sign up (sign up sheets will be available on Sundays) and register at a cost of £20 per team (you can spread the cost amongst your team members).

We will meet at Net Church, East Street, Sittingbourne at 2:00pm on the Saturday and the packs will be handed out containing the clues for you to find. All teams will then finally meet at Bredgar Scout Hall, Bexon Lane, Bredgar where the team will win who have the most answers correct and in the quickest time.

We will then have some food together and a bonfire!! If for any reason you can’t take part in the car rally but still want to come for the buffet and bonfire, simply give £5 on arrival at the scout hall per person (children under 10 eat free).

However, if you want to donate more on the day feel free, it is for a great cause. Food will be ready at 6:00pm and the bonfire lit at around 7:00pm.

See you there!

Mission Update #1

Well the team has arrived… finally!  Two of the team were delayed in Doha for 12 hours, they missed their connecting flight due to leaving heathrow later than they were meant to.  Roy and Mike, from Freedom Church Bury, stayed behind in Johannesburg and hired a car whilst they waited for the two to arrive.  The rest of the team got in the minibuses amazed that the weather that greeted them in Africa was… rain!!  Yep bucketing down.  But by the time we arrived 3 hours later in Harrismith the clouds had cleared and it had begun to get hot.  Most of the team dropped their bags in their rooms and jumped straight into the swimming pool (yes the hotel has a swimming pool, outdoor, not heated but in the heat a very welcome addition to the accommodation).  Pastor Mark and Ian from Freedom ministries church here in Harrismith have put up a huge 1800’s style tent with twin peaks on the top and made of proper heavy green canvas in Pastor Mark’s garden and we are having all of our meals in it.  The team were ravenous on arrival and we ate like we hadn’t seen proper food in a while (it was only 24 hours and a lot of plane food meals).

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.