Well, we’ve always wanted to be able to hand out books to pastors, church leaders, kids, etc. and now we’ll be able to do just that. Thanks to a gracious donation from Christian Resources International, we received a container full of over 36,000 pounds of Christian books last week. Yes, I said 36 thousand pounds or 18 tons—whichever way puts it more in perspective for you! We’re so excited to begin to figure out strategic ways to get these books into the hands of the South African people.

See photos of us unloading the container.

Originally, the books were to go to another ministry, but they had difficulty facilitating getting the container through customs and then housing all the books, so CRI found us. With the books finally in South Africa we’re going to do our part to get this other ministry a portion of the materials so they can also get them in the hands of South African pastors.

I urge you to check out the Christian Resources International and read about all the other ministries they are helping send books to. Thanks, Fred, for this huge donation!

In the months that lie before the beginning of a LaunchPad term there are always lots of ideas floating around the LaunchPad office and this month was no exception. During our pursuit of excellence and as we strive to better fulfill the Great Commission, we are always looking for new and creative ways to serve God better. We’re very excited as this month comes to a close and some of those new ideas are about to bear fruit. This term we’ve restructured LaunchPad so that every curriculum includes a time for small group discussion. A novel idea, you might think, but boy is there a lot of logistics that go with a new idea!

After much prayer and seeking (of both the Lord and people) we’ve found a pool of local Basotho students whom are know to be leaders in their schools. This week Kelly, our LaunchPad Director, gets to train them to become Small Group Leaders. As LaunchPad kicks off in a few weeks, they will become known as part of our class leadership and we know God will use them and stretch them mightily!

We’re definitely looking forward to all that God has in store for this second term of the year! So many changes are taking place and I know that God is up to something good!

Our coaches united together, learning more than just how to teach students, but how to reach out and touch their own community. They laid hands on, prayed for, and had faith for the sick.

“The Leadership Summit team went to Manapo Hospital. Our purpose was to visit the patients, to give them words of encouragement, to tell them that God loves them, and to pray with and for them. We started by paying a visit to the children’s ward. Then as guys we went to the men’s ward. We met more than eight patients who were suffering with different diseases like chest pains, TB, etc. We encouraged them that they are healed by the power of God. I want to thank God for giving us the chance to visit patients and pray with them.” -Joseph

“I got to the children ward to pray with them; then I met a young boy who was very ill. He didn’t speak with me because of his illness. I prayed with him and it touched my heart when I saw that boy in the situation. But I spoke the Word of God into his life and I know that God healed him because He is the healer of every sickness. After that I went to the female ward and I met an old lady who has had heart problems since 2006. She told me that she went to lots of doctors but none can help her. I told her that Doctor Jesus is here right now to meet her needs because everything is possible with God. She must never give up in that situation because God is there for her and she must allow Jesus to touch her life because she will never be the same again. I thank God for giving me this time to visit at the hospital.” -Mosia

You know the kind of person that walks into a room and instantly holds your gaze? The kind of person that, when he speaks, you listen? We recently had the priceless opportunity to mince words with Terry Prisk, pastor of The River in Michigan and renowned motivational speaker. I would say that we heard him speak, but it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t a stand-up, distanced podium speech; it was something much more revelatory.

He came through Thrive on the tail-end of a trip through a few African countries, and spoke in our Leadership Lab as well as preached at our church service. He was here because he wanted to fully grasp Thrive Africa and the things we stand for before sending a team our way, but he ended up doing much more for us than we could for him. The things he had to say about leadership, church, and life in general struck such true chords, and resonated all throughout his time here.

He spent his last day here with the young leaders of South Africa; with the leaders that will change this nation. He spoke at Leadership Day about clarity, and impacted many with his words. We were blessed to have him here with us, and continue to be blessed by the words of wisdom he left behind.

The Outreach Staff are finally here! It took three of them a little longer than the rest, but they got here nonetheless. One of the Outreach Staffers was stuck in Paris for a couple hours because of a passport misplacement, but she finally got here in one piece! Two more were stuck in New Jersey because of plane delays, but they finally arrived late Wednesday night. The 13 that got in on time drove in late at night, so we didn’t get to see them until lunch the next day, but it was exciting to finally match faces with names we’d been hearing for the past couple of weeks! All of them together are a hilarious bunch to be around and we’ve already formed long-lasting friendships. By the end of these two months I’m sure there will be plenty of funny stories and insides jokes to go around!

Matt Peirce, a current intern and resident go-to guy for any international news, wrote about the current turmoil in South Africa.

Recent headlines about South Africa have not been very encouraging. Stories about violence, xenophobia, and army involvement have probably left many Americans feeling at the very least a bit concerned about South Africa as a nation. I just want to assure everyone that we here at Thrive Africa are quite safe. Living on a remote game reserve three hours from major cities does have its advantages. The violence is fairly contained to poor township areas around Johannesburg and is rooted in complicated issues of poverty and immigration. It’s not as if the general consensus in South Africa is a hatred of foreigners. As a matter of fact, I was just in Qwa Qwa the other day and it was as safe and calm as it always is. I plan to return next week without any fear or apprehension. South Africa needs prayer (as does every country) but it is by no means falling into anarchy.

In fact we at Thrive are more than safe here in South Africa; we are blessed.

We are blessed to teach LaunchPad classes that disciple youth in seven locations. We are blessed to take part in an amazing Leadership Summit program that helps students at six different schools in Qwa Qwa. We are blessed to facilitate mission teams from America that do ministry house-to-house and village-to-village passionately and effectively.

Most of all we are blessed by a God who has given us the opportunity to have an eternal impact in a place where no one else is ministering. My prayer is that no one who is committed to coming to Thrive this summer will be persuaded to stay at home because of the headlines on CNN. God is going to do great and amazing things this summer. Come be a part!

Outreach Staff are almost here! They’re leaving the states in just under a month, and will soon join us in hosting upcoming missions teams. The Outreach Staffers are a huge help to the ministry and make a lasting impact every year. June and July is our busiest season, and without them we’d be miserably understaffed to facilitate everyone that’s going to visit us this summer.

This year’s Outreach Staffers are quite a diverse group! They collectively represent 10 states, and range in age from 16 to 25. They’ll be immersed in several different facets of the ministry and even though they do a lot of behind-the-scenes work, Thrive staff and the Twenty4Seven interns will appreciate them immensely. We’ll see all the hard work they do and I can guarantee that they’ll change many lives with their servanthood alone.

Esther Tshabalala was on staff with us since 2005, and left at the beginning of the year to further her studies. She is a woman of God who has made a huge difference in her community. She served tirelessly all these years, and we are grateful to have had her on our team for as long as we did.We recently received a letter from Esther. Part of what she wrote was:

“I am now studying for a degree in Psychology. God has opened the doors for me, and I thank you for your prayers. You always said you want to see the people of Qwa Qwa thrive. Your dream and vision is now coming true—I will be a social worker or psychologist because of your input in my life!”

We love you, Esther. You are missed…

Niel and Alece will be sharing at a casual get-together in Michigan tomorrow night. If you’re anywhere in the area and can make it to the event, they’d love the opportunity to see you!

More Information…

Niel and I leave this Thursday to fly to America for a ministry/fundraising trip. It will be a whirlwind trip: 7 states in 5-and-a-half weeks! We will be making stops in New York, Michigan, Florida, Virginia/Maryland, Colorado, California, and Washington. Let us know if you are in any of those areas and want to hook up with us! We have a pretty full schedule, but we’d love to see you if we can.

Oh—and if you live in Michigan, don’t forget to check this out.