Missions
October 2008 Newsletter
Greetings in the name of our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Thank you so much for standing with us in prayer during our inner city outreach. God worked far beyond any of our expectations and His hand of protection was over us the entire time. We felt a little bit out of our element at first, but after awhile we made some strong connections with people and it was wonderful. Four boys decided to leave the streets and come live at the Christian shelter we were partnering with. We shared the gospel with many people on the street and in the parks. Michael led a man to accept Jesus as his Savior! His name was Abram and he came up to Michael one night at the soup kitchen ministry and asked for advice. He doubted if God cared about him. Michael shared with him about Abram in the Bible and faith. Then Michael shared with him about having a relationship with Jesus. Abram said right then and there that he wanted to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior because he could see what a difference there was in Michael’s life and faith. We got him a bible in his heart language (North Sotho) and introduced him to a man who was coordinating a Bible study group there. Please pray that Abram will continue to be discipled and grow in the Lord!
One afternoon we visited the neighborhood of Marabastaat to do some street witnessing. It’s known as being one of the worst areas of Pretoria for violent crime. We weren’t allowed to bring our bags with us or wear any jewelry or watches. We ended up talking to a group of refugees from Zimbabwe for an hour. They are in a very sad situation because they cannot go home but they cannot work legally within South Africa. Most of them sit outside of the Home Affairs office from sunup to sundown, but the line is so long that they never get near the gate. They invited us into their squatter camp and we just talked and prayed with them and invited them to come to the soup kitchen where we were staying. We had a very nice time. However, as we read the paper the next day, we found out that there had been an armed robbery in a nearby neighborhood in which twelve robbers had gotten into a shootout with a couple of security guards. The robbers fled and their leader was captured with most of the cash and a duffel bag full of automatic weapons in Marabastaat the very same afternoon we had been there. Not one of our three ministry teams had seen any kind of violence or run into any trouble while we were there. Thank you for praying for our safety!
This weekend we are leaving for Cape Town and after a twenty hour bus ride, we will begin our final outreach of training. We will again be partnering with local churches and this time we are focusing on reaching out to the Muslim community. Michael has been given the responsibility of leading our team of seven. We’ve never worked directly with Muslims before and our schedule isn’t finalized yet so we’re not sure exactly what to expect. We are planning on learning a lot and seeing the Holy Spirit move! Please pray that Michael will have wisdom and be especially sensitive to God’s voice. Pray that we will be culturally sensitive and that God will give us divine appointments and guide our conversations.
We cannot thank you enough for your faithful prayers. Most of our teammates have struggled with chronic bronchitis, parasites and spider bites; but we have been in good health since the day we arrived. Also our room is the only one that hasn’t yet been visited by a mouse! We know it’s because you keep us before the Lord. Thank you so much!
Blessings,
Michael and Heather van Buskirk
August, 2008 Newsletter
Our newsletter is coming a little bit early this month because we’ll be leaving on Monday for a two week outreach in Swaziland, a small country bordering South Africa to the east. The population of Swaziland is currently 947,000. Of the 947,000, there are 95,000 children who have been orphaned by AIDS. It is projected that, by 2015, the population of the country will have dropped to 800,000 and the number of AIDS orphans will have increased to 250,000. If something is not done to stop the spread of AIDS in Swaziland and it keeps growing at the pace it is today, the entire Swazi population is projected to be wiped out completely by 2040.
We will be joining Dr. Arnau van Wyngaard, who pastors a small church in Dwaleni, Swaziland. Approximately two and a half years ago, in response to the AIDS crisis in Swaziland, his church started a Home-Based Caring ministry to reach out to those infected and affected by AIDS. Starting with 36 local Swazi volunteers, the ministry has grown and now has 350 volunteers caring for nearly 1000 AIDS patients in their own communities. Our training team will split up into three groups to join the home care workers in three different villages. Our group will be working in the village of Matsanjeni. We are in the process of gathering basic medical supplies to take with us, as the ministry is functioning without even basic necessities such as bandages and thermometers.
In addition to focusing on AIDS ministry, this outreach is also our rural outreach. Think Survivor-Swaziland! We’ll be dropped off in the village with a box of food, a few tents, and some pots and pans. It’s up to us to find wood to build a fire, to get water, build a “shower” and so on. We’ve just completed a week of AIDS training and we’re very excited about the potential of this outreach, but we’re also aware that it’s going to be very difficult. Please keep us in your prayers.
We need prayer for:
The health, safety and unity of the team.
To see suffering people through Jesus’ eyes and to be His hands and feet in every situation.
That the gospel would go forth in power despite the language barrier.
Thanks so much, your prayers make a huge difference in our lives! On a personal note, we’ve been attempting to contact the Angolan consulates in the U.S. over the past month with no success. We’ll try again when we come back from Swaziland, but if that doesn’t work, we may have to start the visa process over again at the embassy here in Pretoria. We would really like to avoid that if at all possible. It’s another thing you could mention to the Lord for us!
We’ll update the blog with pictures and stories from Swaziland as soon as we get back. We can’t wait to see what God is going to do! Thanks for being a part of the Lord’s ministry here in Africa!
Michael and Heather
May 12, 2008
Good News
Great news to report today.
Our South African visas were approved and arrived this morning!
Praise God and thanks for keeping us in your prayers!
Michael and Heather van Buskirk
April, 2008 Newsletter
Bom dia! (Good day)
We hope this month finds you doing well. We are very excited as we are making final preparations to leave for Africa in less than a month. Praise God!
Our plans have changed a little as our funding didn’t come through in time to apply for the Angolan work visa. As it stands today we have 71% of our monthly support. Between that and what we have raised in one-time gifts we have enough to cover a visit to the team in Angola and our six months of training in South Africa. This means we will be returning to the States at the end of the year to apply for our work visas and raise the remainder of our support. Our South African visas are at the consulate being processed as you read this, and as soon as we get the okay from them, we will purchase our airfare and head out!
We are so excited that we get to go! Many people ask us if we’re afraid to make such a big change or to live in a third world country for so long. Truthfully, we have put so much of ourselves into this long process to go overseas, that we’re more daunted by the prospect of having to start our lives over again in the States. God has been so faithful to us, directing, guiding and providing for us. Only He could have brought us to this point. We have a lot to learn over the next few years, and we hope that you will keep us in your prayers regularly. Keep checking your email as we’ll be sending pictures and video of our experiences.
We are so grateful to God for His goodness to us. He brought our support up 50% in one month! We are thankful that He has prepared these good works beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10). This month, please pray for favor with the South African and Angolan governments and quick processing of our visas. For wisdom for us as we try to put our U.S. affairs in order. That even now our hearts would be joined with the team we’ll be working with. That God would stir up the hearts of people in South Africa and Angola to desire a relationship with Him. Also, for safe travel and protection during our time away.
We’ve attached a copy of the Operation Mobilization Esperança (OM Angola) prayer letter so you can get a firsthand look at what God is doing over there. The team members mentioned are Wessel and Joan van der Merwe and their son Tiago (from South Africa), Frans Freeman (from Namibia) and Viorica the new team member from Moldova. Be blessed and encouraged!
Michael and Heather van Buskirk
November, 2007 Newsletter
Happy Thanksgiving! This month finds us in Chico, California, visiting with family and friends. It’s been so great to spend time with everyone, most of whom we have not seen for nearly a year and a half. We will be here until the first of December, at which time we plan to return to New Mexico and begin working at Lifeway Glorieta Conference Center north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. As you know from our last newsletter, our departure to Africa was postponed for six months and this provides us with a place to stay and work while we complete our paperwork. We are very greatful as the visa applications look as though they are going to take a bit longer to complete than we had anticipated. Once again, God's plans have proved to be better than our own!
Our plan, as it exists now, is to visit Angola for about six weeks this spring, use this time to carefully observe the ministry going on there and to see how we can practically become a part of it. From there we will travel to Pretoria, South Africa for six months of training and practical outreach. Upon completion of this training, we will return to Angola for two years to join Operation Mobilization Esperança(Hope)- the official title of OM Angola. Of course, God reserves the right to change these plans at any time, please stay tuned!
In the meantime, we have been very busy sharing our story with our home churches, beginning visa paperwork and organizing our finances. We need two visas from Angola and one from South Africa, and as you can imagine, there is a lot of work involved. The OMteam in Luanda, Angola has been extremely helpful in assisting us with the necessary documents and we feel very blessed that they have become so involved with us in this process. Our OM USA advisor, Matt Harper, has been invaluable in helping us to understand the visa process and guiding us in our interactions with various consulates and embassies. So far we have gotten all of our required immunizations for Angola, but we may need a few additional vaccinations for added protection.
God has been reminding us lately of the many people who have invested in our lives over the years, spiritually and otherwise, and we are so thankful for each of you!! While we may not see each of you often, you will always hold a special place in our hearts and we number you among our many blessings! Please let us know how we can pray for you this season.
This month we want to praise God for His provision and plans for us. He is faithful even when we cannot see what He is doing. We ask that you pray for focus for us during this time, that we would not be distracted from following after God’s heart while we are so very busy. Pray that we would make time for prayer a priority above everything else. Pray that God would give us strength and boldness to share our story. Your prayers mean so much to us; they encourage us to press on. Thank you for investing your time in us!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Michael and Heather van Buskirk
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