AFnet Prayer Bulletin July 7 2008 / Johan AFNET
Dear Friends and Prayer Partners,
While recently visiting some of our work with a team of visitors from California, we asked our home-based care-worker to show our guests where some of our orphan children actually live. She took us to the shack where 5 children live that we had just identified for admission into our program. This little family of orphans is currently in the care of an old a Granny. Both their parents recently died of AIDS related diseases.
Nothing could have prepared us for what we found at their dilapidated shack. The mud walls of the small 9’ X 10’ shack hardly exist anymore. Where there used to be a door and window, now only pieces of sack and plastic hang to try and keep the cold and rain out. Half of the roof consists of old rusted tin sheeting, and the other half of plastic shreds held into place by old pieces of brick. The only items inside the shack were a couple of blankets lying on the dirt floor. This was all that these children had between them to keep out the cold of winter. I was reminded that our dog sleeps in a kennel far more secure, warmer and comfortable.
But worse! Looking around the back of the shack we found a tin can on a small fire. In the can were a few small pieces of old dry corn meal porridge, obviously from a previous meal, now being warmed up again. The total size of this meal would have been the equivalent of about 2 slices of bread. When informed that that was the whole meal for the 5 children with their Granny for the day, I estimated that there was probably less than an ounce of corn staple each. That was it.
Our visitors who had each packed a sack lunch for the day were so touched that they offered to give their lunch to the children. I estimated that between the 11 of us we had packed more food for lunch than what that entire family would have between them over the next 2 – 3 weeks. The Granny just cried! And so did some of us.
While we realize that the need is equally great all around us, I felt prompted while praying for them that we / AFnet should take an extra step in faith, and, although we do not have the funds at the moment, we decided to build a small house for that little family of precious orphans. We started construction this week. By God’s grace we trust that in a couple of weeks that at least this little orphan family will be able to sleep warmer at night, and further be spared the agony of having to crouch together in one corner when it rains. We hope to also find them a mattress each, more blankets, clothes and at least a half decent food parcel every month in future.
But this is only one among the couple of million such cases in our country. We cannot help all of them. But, at least to this one precious family, and to the community around them, we could show them evidence of Christ’s compassion through extending tangible love in Jesus’ name.
Praise Reports:
1. We are grateful that our two grand children who recently had to be hospitalized with serious respiratory and viral complications are both home and on the mend.
2. Johan’s eye has healed well after a potentially serious accident where a blade of straw poked into his eye. Fortunately the eye surgeon was able to patch his eye up. And after a couple weeks of cortisone and antibiotic treatment Johan’s eye, apart from having to get new glasses, is as good as new again. We thank the Lord that He averted what could have been a potentially serious accident with Johan potentially even loosing his eye.
3. We’ve received news that the Women’s Empowerment Conference, currently underway in Mansa, Zambia; and being conducted by a group of visitors (ladies) from one of our supporting churches in Santa Cruz, California, has been the talk of the town over the last week. The team’s ministry has been well received, and already they have been asked to come back and conduct women’s conferences in two other major cities next year. AFnet has never conducted an all women’s conference before. But already it is clear that there is tremendous interest across southern Africa, and that AFnet is breaking new ground with this venture.
Specific Prayer Requests and Ministry Updates:
1. Pray for AFnet team members John & Tove Thomsen, together with Henry and Esther Mumba as they currently are hosting the team of ladies from CA. Conditions up in that part of central Africa can be very hard and harsh, especially for first time visitors to Africa. So we pray that our team will continue to be a blessing to our visitors, but also that our visitors will be spared disease, accident and other potential attacks by the Enemy as they minister to the women of Zambia.
2. Pray for the team as they drive back a couple days drive to Livingstone and then as they fly back to South Africa from there. Pray also for John and Tove Thomsen as they have to drive back a further 2 days drive from there back to South Africa also. Road conditions can be horrendous and a breakdown in the middle of nowhere can be a nightmare for folks unfamiliar with the environment and conditions.
3. Pray for the approximately 300 women who are attending this conference, that they will be able to return back to their towns, villages and communities, better equipped and more empowered to make a real difference to the condition of the Church and society in general. We have felt for a long time that we ought also to empower and equip women in the Church, since 70 – 90% of the Church in Africa consists of women and children.
4. Pray that the Lord will provide the approximately $2500 that it will cost us to construct a small house for the 5 orphan children.
5 Please pray for our teams on the field, for those donors who support the efforts of AFnet, for our orphan children, for our church leaders in training, for our church planting efforts and for every project of this ministry.
E-mail any prayer requests to us at: johan@afnet.org or you can simply post your prayer requests on our web site at: www.afnet.org We remain committed to faithfully praying also for you, our friends and supporters regularly.
Sincerely in Jesus,
Johan and Christa Combrinck
AFnet
July 8, 2008
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