Michael's Children's Village

We’ve arrived in White River!!  On Monday we arrived at Michael’s Children’s Village which is associated with Iris Ministries International (http://www.irismin.org/white-river).  There are 18 children living here from infant to age 14.  The ministry is family based, meaning there are two homes with a mama and papa living in each home.  Our ministry has taken on a different look as in Durban our ministry involved a lot of evangelism.  Several times we would head to the taxi ranks to set up speakers and start singing and performing skits.  Being a bunch of white people, it didn’t take long to draw a crowd.  Especially when we would attempt some Zulu dancing!  Noah's quite the dancer...  After sharing the Gospel we invited people to come forward for prayer for healing.  As a team, we were all stretched and blown away to see God working miracles as He healed people and they gave their lives to the Lord.

Now being at Michael’s Children’s Village we’re spending a lot of time with the children and have been able to participate in several work projects.  As I’m writing this, the guys are outside working on an addition to the playground.  Last week we spent a few days at the Village of Hope cleaning and painting rooms in the Bible School, Pre School, office, and ladies’ sewing room.  Since we live on base with the children, we have all the opportunities in the world to play and build relationships with the kids. 

Our ministry isn’t the only thing that is different since being in White River.  We’ve moved from an urban environment to more of the bush feel.  The vehicles and car honking has been replaced with birds, crickets, and children’s laughter.   The pavement, malls, and apartments buildings have been replaced with beautiful trees, plants, and open space. 

The students are starting to realize their time as a team is getting shorter and shorter.  It is such a bittersweet experience.  They have all grown tremendously since they came together in August.  It will be hard for them to say goodbye, yet they are all excited for what God has next.  They are excited to be able to go home and let their friends and family see the transformation that has happened in their lives and for all God has in store for their internship phase of the school.

Just last week we pulled out note cards they had written during their lecture phase about what they wanted God to do during outreach.  It was encouraging and even humorous to see how He has met these expectations and even gone beyond what was expected.  As leaders, one of the highlights of this entire experience is to see how each student has stepped out of his or her comfort zone.   For some this means speaking in front of a church congregation, for others it’s sharing a testimony and praying with someone in the rehab center or playing with children.

To read more about our outreach check out our student blog at http://ywamdpinza.blogspot.com/