Author name: Kaya

February Newsletter Adopt a Village 2025 February and March saw the beginning of this years Module 1  Adopt a Village training program.Trainees will attend 4 Module trainings over the year and get homework projects to fulfill inbetween each training.There are three pillars in the training : become a disciple maker and training others to make disciples in the whole community; caring for orphans and vulnerable children; starting a community development project.There are a total of about 70 trainees in 3 different cities.PHOTO:  This year we chose to focus on YOUNG ADULTS in the Gqeberha city group – you had to be 18-30 years old to attend. We were very encouraged to see the participation and commitment of the young people.  USA CHURCH TEAM VISIT In March we had 21 people from Cypress Bible Church in the USA visit Motherwell in Nelson Mandela Bay. The week began amazing well with the Motherwell community welcoming them on the Saturday and then on Sunday they participated in several local churches in that community. BUT crisis struck on the MONDAY morning: the team and about 20 local people were in the church in Motherwell getting trained for the week’s door to door ministry – when 3 men, wearing masks and holding guns in their hands, entered the church. They told us to all be seated and keep quiet. They then took everyones phones, wallets , bags and watches. They took one of the USA team’s car keys and drove away in their rental car.High trauma followed, with the team taking two days off and going through trauma debrief sessions. The police, due to tracking on the stolen phones, were able to recover almost every fone and then found the building where all the bags were being kept, and recovered those too. PHOTO above shows team members getting their bags back – some which had passports and valuables in them – all still in the bags. With much praise to the Lord the team was able to complete the week with three days of ministry back in Motherwell, with a police escort that had been offered. PHOTO: Ministry to a school on the final day. We praise God that all lives were spared, so many items retrieved and the visit finished well !!!

February Newsletter The year is rapidly moving along with many good things to report! The Lord is faithful – He is building His Kingdom and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. We praise the Lord for that. In this edition we provide some feedback on our recent Staff Coordinator Retreat, as well as Pastor Sakhekile’s Garden Project in Jeffrey’s Bay. Staff Planning Retreat At the beginning of each year, a focused few days of planning and team building is held with our Africa For Christ Staff. This year we were blessed to spend time together in the beautiful coastal town of Jeffreys Bay. Besides planning for the year, we had a very meaningful time dealing with topics such as team building, what it means to be an effective team, a personality assessment to help each other understand our different roles, as well as how to effectively manage a project. Kingdom community transformation in J Bay! It has been inspiring to see Pastor Sakhekile and his Church’s genuine desire to see Kingdom Transformation in an extremely poor township in Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape. With assistance from our Adopt a Village global partners, a rubbish dump is currently being transformed into a Community garden. This project has impacted many – in a practical way Jesus is being proclaimed – providing hope and inspiration of what can be done, even in a seemingly hopeless context. Praise God for: our AFC Staff – for their faithfulness and commitment the community garden in Jeffreys Bay Our Church Planters and their faithful service Please pray for: wisdom for our Staff in their many ministry responsibilities Pastor Sakhekile and his family – for protection and fruitful ministry the vegetable garden in Jeffreys Bay would be a success

December Newsletter Dear Partners and Friends of AFC Happy Christmas and God’s richest blessing to each of you for the new year !! We are full of praise for a year of fruitful ministry both in South Africa and into Africa. We also give thanks for God’s provision, both financial and in valued partnerships, through each of you as you have prayed , supported and/or partnered in many different ways. We end the year celebrating and sharing with you some recent ministry moments. Adopt a Village Graduation 2024 In November we celebrated 46 new graduates across three hubs of training in the Eastern Cape, who had completed the year of Adopt training. Our AFC leadership are very involved in leading and presenting this training to the broader Church. Above is the photo of the graduation in Gqeberha. Each community leader was challenged with impacting their communities through three pillars: Starting Discovery Bible Studies ( DBS)  which facilitate discipleship in Jesus; identifying and caring for Orphans and Vulnerable children (OVC);  starting a community development project. Results for the year showed 329 DBS groups formed, about 230 baptisms, 250 OVC’s cared for, and more than 40 community development projects started in 40 different communities . Baptisms in December (Photo left)There was much excitement in Nelson Mandela Bay, at the oceanside, when our AFC leader and church planter Loyiso Matu lead his new disciples to the water front to be baptised. There were 16 people in total, and much rejoicing. (Photo right ) Our church planter Sydney Yake,  in the high mountain village of Rhodes,  was able to recently baptise a significant group of men and women that he has been discipling. There has been very little fruit in the past in that village community.   Praise God for: – many newly trained transformation agents in Adopt 2024 – a major breakthrough in the Rhodes village community – permission granted for land for Sakhekiles garden project –  His wonderful provision for AFC throughout 2024!! Please pray for: – Our Adopt trainees to continue with Community transformation – for many to come to faith in Jesus through the Discovery Bible Study groups Jesus is the reason for the season