Blog

Christmas season is here, and MCV is quickly gearing up for all types of festivities over the next two weeks to celebrate our Savior’s birth!

We have been preparing for our Back Door Christmas Outreach, where we will be handing out 400 bags of goodies to the children in the community. Please pray that our message about the birth of Jesus will pierce the hearts of every man, woman, and child—what good news we have to share! We’ve also prepared baskets for some of the women in the community who work so hard cooking for our feeding program each day—we are so thankful to them for what they do! In addition, we want to thank our visitors for helping us put all the bags and baskets together in short order—they had a great time of it!

Secondly, we are preparing to put on a Christmas party for all our commission pastors from the provinces of South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe, for their labors in furthering the Gospel message. They are all mighty servants of our Great God, and we look forward to honoring each of them for their Kingdom work!

Last but definitely not least, we are preparing to put together gifts for our own children here at MCV. We plan to give each child a brand new outfit (Thank you Jill and Mercy Happens Ministries), undergarments , a really great toy or gift, a few smaller toys/gifts, and a bag of sweets and Coke for their instant enjoyment on that day. What a joy it is to honor these children as they are all sons and daughters of the Almighty God in heaven!

The last two blogs were written by Myrinda, a precious gal from the US. She has been serving for years in New Orleans, my ole stomping grounds, and seems to be on the very same path of being launched to the nations. What an honor to be a part of the unfolding of destiny! She is starting off in the best place- worshiping in the dirt with the greatest of treasures. We are excited to see what God has in store for Myrinda next!!!

Last week, we celebrated all the November birthdays, putting on a proper South African braai. For any non-South Africans, a braai is pronounced “brie” with a long “i” sound—what makes a braai unique from any other bbq is that you cook your meat on a grate over an open flame of burning wood–the making of a nice smoked flavor! The braai gave us all a chance to get together—houseparents, children, and staff. The kids were so excited about all the colorful decorations going up, and the balloons were causing quite the stir! Some of the little kids lined up their chairs to pretend they were on a bus, and one of the older kids got in front, using a shoe for the steering wheel–what a sight to see! We also played musical chairs–many of the kids had never played it before. It took a few tries to get the rules down, but they were having a great time of it all the way through 🙂

We ate a delicious meal of grilled sausage, pap (cooked maize meal) with gravy, and bread. When everyone was finished, we handed out the gifts to the joyous birthday recipients (three children, 2 babies of staff, a houseparent, and Papa Jean). We recently learned the birth date of one of our little girls and decided to celebrate it even though it had passed several months ago. We wish all could have seen the way she lit up when her name was called to receive her birthday gift (it was a surprise indeed!). She was given a tiara to wear for the evening, and her smile showed that she felt like a little princess. How precious this moment must have been to our kind and loving Father in heaven.

This past Saturday, we had the opportunity to attend the graduation ceremonies of two of our children at MCV. They were graduating from two different preschools at the same time, so we all had to split up so that we could go to both!

At one of the graduations, the children performed in a program of dancing and fun. There was contemporary dancing and some traditional siSwati dancing as well. Dea, our newest full-time missionary, had the honor of being the guest speaker for the event. The kids were pretty tired from all the festivities by the time they went forward to put on their caps and gowns and receive their certificates!

After the program was complete, the entire crowd was served a traditional African meal that the women had been busily cooking up in big pots all during the ceremony.

We at MCV are so proud of our new little graduates. They continue to take steps forward, and we know that God has great plans for each of their lives. We eagerly wait in expectation for what He will do next!

As we close out 2010, we are so thankful and amazed by what the Lord has done in us and through us. Teisa and I are so thankful for all of our supporters who have faithfully prayed for us and for those who have financed the work of the Lord in South Africa. We would like to take this opportunity to share what we believe to be a Kingdom principle from 1 Samuel 30.

In verses 24 & 25 David says, “…The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went to the battle. All will share alike.” David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to the present. The context of this story talks about the spoils from battle with the Amalakites; how 400 of David’s men went to battle and 200 stayed behind. Some of the men who went with David felt those who stayed behind shouldn’t receive any of the spoils/rewards…

While meditating on this entire chapter, God showed us the amazing truth that those who partner with us by praying/giving share equally in the heavenly rewards for the work here in S.A! By the grace of God we are seeing souls set free and saved, children rescued and redeemed, saints being equipped and empowered, and precious lives forever transformed for the glory of God! Be encouraged and know that your support has eternal significance! Only in heaven will we see what glorious treasure has been lovingly stored up. Every hug. Every prayer. Every dollar. Each impacts eternity when given cheerfully for His glory. We are so privileged to do what we do, and we are grateful for your prayers, even more than any financial gift we could ever receive. May the Lord bless you, and may His peace and grace be multiplied unto you and your families this holiday season!