Dear partners, friends, supporters, and all,
We want to send a BIG thank you! Together we have been able to make a big difference in the lives of many. We would like to start by giving you a brief overview of what we have accomplished together since the beginning of the lock-down (level 5) till the end of level 4, now the 1st of June.
NEWS:
The news shared here are not including the Food Drive that was done on Philip’s birthday the 14th of May that many of you contributed towards. We went out a special Thank You report on that just a few days after the event and trust that you have received that. If not please let us know and we will be sure to send it to you.
FOOD PARCELS:
We distributed about 400 food parcels to needy families. These parcels contained enough food to sustain a small family for about a week.
Seen here is a brief glimpse of some of our many purchased. Needless to say we would have never been able to do this without the very generous contributions of you, our precious partners, supported and friends. And for those of you that have chosen to be anonymous we know that the Lord knows who you are and we pray for all of you that the Lord will mightily bless and prosper you. Acts 20:35 says, “Remember the words of our Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
SOUP KITCHENS/SOUP HOUSES:
We regularly supported various soup kitchens that in turn reached out to adults and children alike. The SOUP HOUSES were specifically geared to minister to children. One of the soup kitchens we assisted is a new kitchen that opened in Lwandle. It was aiming to minister to approximately 150 people, but at time found up to 400 people at their doors.
FOOD VOUCHERS:
50 food vouchers (40 of R 250 and 10 of R 200) were distributed as well!
TRACTS:
In order to reach into each household with a word of hope and encouragement we printed up some short messages. We wrote 3 different ones: One on Psalm 91 with comments, one on Psalm 23 also with comments, and one called ‘Who Are You”, touching on: Spirit, soul and body (1 Thessalonians. 5:23) as well as our identity in Christ. Each of the tracts also had a salvation message included.
WHAT’S UP MESSAGES AND MEETINGS:
Since the church was closed down and we were no longer able to meet in person we started meeting via What’s Up. We have presently have 4 different groups that we meet with weekly this way. We also started sending out different Word based teachings this way and now have over 100 people that we minister to daily in this way. As a result we now have people that want to start Bible study groups with us, want to be baptized, want to have their children dedicated as soon as the lock-down is over. Many of these people have also been forwarding the teachings to other people and so we are seeing that there is a big hunger for people to get to know the Lord better. Many have had religion and a lot of do’s and don't s in connection to their relationship with the Lord but few have realized His true nature, His deep unconditional love, His grace and mercy as well as their identity in Christ, the authority and responsibility He has placed on us, etc. etc. This whole lock-down has opened many hearts and we are eager to continue to minister to these precious ones and the ones to come.
A FEW OF THE MANY REACTIONS TO THE WORD SENT OUT:
· The Word is healing me. Now I know that everything will be OK.
· Thank you, and amen! It helps me to believe that God is good!
· Wow what a revelation God is not the author of problems or confusion!! I love this! Be blessed for sharing.
· Amen !! Profound! Thank you for this powerful teaching.
· Please try to send me something every day Thank you very much! It’s better now that you gave me something to read. Thanks a lot. God bless you!
· This is awesome. We must not allow our imagination to be controlled by negative thoughts.
· Thank you for the encouragement. So true words. I was really afraid to go to the hospital.
· Amen, thank you for the wise words that gives us strength and trust in the Lord through it all.
· Thank you very much, It is uplifting in these difficult times!
· Every morning me and my wife are waiting for your Bible teaching. Thank you very much!
· Thanks for this amazing insight. As a family we study together most evenings. The study of God sovereignty fits right in with our study at the moment. Thanks for this thought provoking piece!
· This is freedom for sure. Many people are not aware of this truth. I am forwarding to a few contacts so that people may know their identity in Christ. Thank you very much for this eye opening truth!
· Wow, I shared these powerful words with 7 people. They are very thankful for it!
We received many more responses and many questions as well. Praise the Lord!
LEADERS:
We are also very happy to say that it is evident that the Lord through our work in Sir Lowry’s Pass has raised up sold out dedicated leaders in the village. We are assured that nothing will stop them now and that they will be able to carry on with or without us. They are determined, sold out and already giving their all to minister to and help equip others with faith and a deeper understanding of and love for the Lord. We are rejoicing that our labors there have most definitely not been in vain.
FACE MASKS:
Besides assisting Sir Lowry’s Pass village with approx. 200 facemask (a large amount of which were sponsored by the LIONS CLUB in Gordon's Bay, for which we thank them, we were also able to assist a nearby township with several masks upon their request.
GRACELIFE:
We want to also thank and acknowledge our Gracelife family who also stepped in and assisted with food parcels, etc. (Seen in the photo below is our Gracelife team busy sorting and packaging food parcels for the Sir Lowry’s Pass families.
LWANDLE SOUP KITCHEN:
We were also approached asked to assist a new soup kitchen opening in Lwandle. They geared for approximately 150 and found nearly 400 people queuing at their doors once they opened. As seen below we reached out to assist and will continue to do so to the best of our ability and as the Lord provides.
MILK:
We continued to assist with 100 liters of milk a month. Most of it was used for morning porridge for by the Soup Houses cooking breakfast for the children and some was distributed among the especially needy families with several children as not all the children were able to get to the Soup Houses, The Soup Houses were mainly a street by street endeavor although that was not strictly adhered to.
ADDITIONAL BLESSINGS:
We are reaching out to people outside Sir Lowry’s Pass, friends and neighbors as well. And ministering spiritually as well. Matthew 4:4“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God!”
As seen here the Lord was not limited by the lock-down and continued to pour out many blessing. A dear friend of ours donated an electric oven which was received with much gratefulness. We were also able to provide several families with nappies for their little ones, a blanket (for a single mother who told us her and her small son cuddle up at night and sleep with their clothes on due to the cold (Please see our request for more blankets at the end of this letter), and the bed here was donated to a family that had been sleeping on a borrowed bed that suddenly and unexpectedly had to be returned. Besides assisting this family with a bed we were also able to assist them with many other essential needs.
WINTER BLANKETS NEEDED:
In closing we would like to make a special appeal for winter blankets. If any of you have extra blankets that you would like to donate please contact us. We will be able to collect if need be. Thank you in advance for your kind consideration!
To our final word of closing we want to add a BIG THANK YOU to all of our precious partners, friends and supporters. All that has been/ and is yet to be accomplished, is due to an amazing network of people with unselfish love and outgoing concern. You are all wonderful and we are thankful to be working together in the ministry.
To contact us: force4good.fvs@gmail.com
or force4good.ministries@gmail.com