Ministry & Family Update

Dear Friends,

Greetings to you all in the wonderful name of Jesus. We hope you are all prospering greatly in the Lord and are experiencing His wonderful faithfulness in your life. September was a busy month with lots of ministry. Cliff was traveling for seventeen days of the month. He and a young disciple named Carel Albertyn traveled to Uganda, Rwanda & Burundi for two weeks of ministry. It was the first time they had visited these countries. However, there are men in all these areas that Cliff has co-labored with in other ministry settings elsewhere in Africa over the years. So while these were new places, Cliff was able to link up with men in the work there who he has known for some time. During their week in Uganda, Cliff & Carel held a three day seminar where they taught church leaders. They also encouraged the local church in Mbarara which is a rural town in southern Uganda just 100 kilometers from the Rwanda border. The local pastor there, Stanley Byaruhanga and his wife Dalia, hosted Cliff & Carel. They have been ministering in this town for over seven years and have seen the Lord do some powerful things through their ministry there. The Lord initially called Stanley and Dalia to a specific area of their town where violence, drug abuse and alcoholism were rampant. They also told stories of how Satan had many strongholds of witchcraft in this area. Through the power of God and their faithful ministry to the people, this area has been transformed and many of the negative influences of crime, drug abuse and alcoholism have decreased dramatically. Dalia shared with Cliff & Carel an exciting story of how God gave her a vision of establishing a place to minister to and educate orphans in a nearby community. She did not know exactly where this place should be, but God showed her the place in a vision. She visited one nearby area thinking this must be the place and it was not. After praying more she heard the Lord direct her to another area. She was reticent to go to this place because she knew that people near this location still practiced cannibalism! After praying more, the Lord told her that He was going to show her a man in that area that knew the Lord and would help her establish the work there. She obeyed the Lord and went and one of the first persons she met was this man who was a follower of Christ and said he would help her. When she arrived in that area she also saw the place that God had shown her in the vision years before. Since that time they have miraculously bought the land and raised the building you see in the picture below. They still have much work to do and are believing God for $500 to pay for the iron sheets used for roofing material. They also need much more to finish the building so that they can start using it to minister to orphans. They also want to use the building during school holidays to train and equip church leaders. Stanley & Dalia are a special couple laying down their lives for the extension of the Kingdom of God in their world!

Cliff & Carel then spent a week in Burundi with a close friend and co-worker Jeremie Ndayishimiye. Jeremie and his wife Jeanne have lived in Burundi all their lives and have experienced firsthand the devastating effects of ten years of civil war that has torn their country apart. The war has been over for two years now and their country is trying to get back on track. The most exciting thing through all that has happened in Burundi is that the people of this country are now confessing that the only hope for their country is Jesus! Cliff & Carel were able to speak to several government officials and share openly with them about how Jesus is the answer to their problems. It was so exciting for them to see how the people of Burundi received the encouragement from the Lord.

In our ministry on the home front, the street boys had a retreat to prepare for their mission trip to Iris Ministries in Mozambique. We pray that the Lord does a powerful work of impartation to them as He works through them to be a blessing to the orphans.

After Cliff returned from two weeks of traveling, we spent a few days camping as a family to reconnect and have some time to rest. During our time camping we were able to watch the whales which has become one our favorite things to do here in South Africa. The great southern right whales mate and give birth once a year in the waters off the south coast which is only an hour from where we live. This is one of the only places in the world where these whales come to mate and give birth. They are amazing to watch as they are only a couple hundred meters off the shore in the shallow waters. We could see as many as 15 whales and their babies at one time.

Camille celebrated her 10th birthday on September 5th. She had a small tea party with a few of her close school friends. She is becoming such a pleasant young lady! Cliff also celebrated a birthday on the 29th. We will just leave the math to your imagination! The children have a two week break from school at the end of September and the beginning of October before starting their fourth and final term of the 2005 school year. We are excited about what God has in store for us as a family in 2006. Please pray for us as we seek to honor Him in all that we do.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. May the Lord richly bless you today with a fresh awareness of His love and faithfulness.

Cliff, Stephanie, Camille, Natalie and Wesley