Hello Friends,
I hope that you all had a great start to the new year. I had a great time at home over the holidays with family and friends although it was busy with work and a quick turnaround to Cape Town. The reason I had to be back so quickly was for our big Africa Jam youth outreach camp. We had a great week with the kids and saw God doing many great things. Also with the beautiful location and our leaders stepping up to more responsibilities, the week felt like a bit of a vacation for me after a very busy and somewhat stressful "holiday" at home.
Africa Jam has become very effective and efficient at running these camps over the years as this was the 10th in our history and the 4th that I've personally been a part of. At the end of camp, the kids spoke of how they had really experienced an atmosphere of love and how it was like a week of "heaven on earth." As leaders we were very excited to hear that. We also saw 8 kids come to know Jesus Christ for the first time and many more who had their fire for Him rekindled. Many great friendships were formed and bonds were built also.
Just after camp I welcomed down a man named Livhu who I had met at a previous trip to the Small Enterprise Foundation in the Limpopo province. He was one of their top financial overseers and they are the best microfinance organization in South Africa. He stayed with me for 4 days and we worked hard together to put in some improved structures and methods for our Africa Jam microfinance project (The Income Generation Project). It was a great week and really helped put in place some things that can carry on for years to come.
Finally, I have been excited about moving into a new house in a community called Observatory. I am staying with 8 other people from my church in this house. It is a great house and full of amazingly loving people every time we come home. We have named it the "Guest House" because we believe God gave it to us so that we can use it to welcome others in, bless them, and have many guests stay with us. Please continue to pray for everyone in our house and for continued direction in moving forward with our Africa Jam projects. Thanks! - Ryan
Africa Jam has become very effective and efficient at running these camps over the years as this was the 10th in our history and the 4th that I've personally been a part of. At the end of camp, the kids spoke of how they had really experienced an atmosphere of love and how it was like a week of "heaven on earth." As leaders we were very excited to hear that. We also saw 8 kids come to know Jesus Christ for the first time and many more who had their fire for Him rekindled. Many great friendships were formed and bonds were built also.
Just after camp I welcomed down a man named Livhu who I had met at a previous trip to the Small Enterprise Foundation in the Limpopo province. He was one of their top financial overseers and they are the best microfinance organization in South Africa. He stayed with me for 4 days and we worked hard together to put in some improved structures and methods for our Africa Jam microfinance project (The Income Generation Project). It was a great week and really helped put in place some things that can carry on for years to come.
Finally, I have been excited about moving into a new house in a community called Observatory. I am staying with 8 other people from my church in this house. It is a great house and full of amazingly loving people every time we come home. We have named it the "Guest House" because we believe God gave it to us so that we can use it to welcome others in, bless them, and have many guests stay with us. Please continue to pray for everyone in our house and for continued direction in moving forward with our Africa Jam projects. Thanks! - Ryan
