June 2024

Holiday Clubs During Winter Break!

Thandy, who directs the Reach4Life program in the field, reports, "Winter is here! South Africa has been freezing the past few weeks and our schools are on a winter break. We only had two weeks of school in June, followed by a winter break. However, we continued to press on with trainings, rollouts, and R4L lessons in classes and various platforms. During the winter break some groups did R4L holiday clubs. (Above is a group in Soweto.) There has been a great number of local churches who are requesting trainings and really serving the schools in their local communities (see more at bottom). We are also seeing many Christian teachers asking to be trained as they are using R4L as a devotion in their classes. In Swaziland, the Lord has opened more prison doors for the R4L program. One prison has requested the Bible to be taught in 16 units every Thursday. This means that 32 Peer Educators (2 per unit) are going there each week.

South Africa Election Brings Change in Government

When South Africa held elections on May 29, the ANC (African National Congress) lost its 30-year political dominance for the first time since it came to power at the end of the apartheid system. The ANC needed the help of lawmakers from the white-led DA (Democratic Alliance) and other parties to re-elect Cyril Ramaphosa for a second term. This power-sharing coalition is unprecedented for South Africa. South Africans deserted the ANC amid frustration over poverty and some of the highest rates of inequality and unemployment in the world. Ramaphosa said Sunday (June 30) that those issues would be priorities for the coalition government. (Photo from CAJ News Africa.)

TWR Projects Manager Invites Youth Leaders to Training

Above is Pastor Petros Gwala, Transworld Radio Projects Manager and local pastor at Jesus Restoration Church. Trans World Radio (TWR) is a multinational evangelical Christian media distributor. The largest Christian media organization in the world, it uses mediumwave or high-powered AM and shortwave transmitters, local FM radio stations, cable, satellite, Internet, and mobile device technologies. Currently, their programs can be heard in 190 countries in more than 300 languages and dialects. TWR distributes programs for ministries such as Thru the Bible and Turning Point as well as their own programs. Now they have asked for R4L lessons to be played on their stations, and recordings have been done for that purpose. Pastor Petros invited local church youth leaders for a R4L Program training with great results!

Reach4Life Compulsory in this School!

Thandy shares, "We celebrate this amazing school, Melville High School (Verulam, Durban), for completing all 40 R4L Lessons in 6 months. Now they will be focusing on the Reality Bites, which are some of the hot topics that are found in the R4L Bible. In this school, R4L is part of the compulsory lessons each day. The Peer Educators have pressed hard to teach as much as they could. We distributed 642 R4L Bibles at this school." We are still in great need of more Bibles. To help, please go to our donate page and select "R4L Bibles" from the dropdown box. Thanks for your help!

Troubled Community Desperate for Intervention Program

Lerato (shown above), financial bookkeeper and senior facilitator, did a R4L training in Warrington, Northern Cape, South Africa. She reports, “This little community is in serious trouble with drugs and a very low rate of born-again Christians. During my training the youth kept on asking if it was possible really to love, serve and live for God while on earth. This question came as the result of them seeing all the horrible things taking place in their community. It is a very discouraged community. But by the end of the training there was hope in the room and the need for the R4L Program is urgent. We’ve connected with the local schools authorities and they are desperate for an intervention program. We plan to roll out in these schools soon. We will be monitoring the youth leaders that came and will help them grow themselves and expand to other local churches.”

"The Youth have very Hard Questions"

Zakithi Mazibuko (above and in green dress at right) came from a village seven hours away (Kwamhlabauyalingana, KZN) to attend the R4L training in Johannesburg. She loved the program and launched it in her local church. She says, “This youth Bible material is incredible, teaching the Bible in a fun way to young people has always been a challenge. They want relevant information, and they have very hard questions sometimes. The R4L Program is an answer to prayer to a lot of us who are leading young people in local churches. Our youth group has come alive, and I can see it growing bigger in the next few weeks. I praise the Lord for all the people who have made it possible for such a useful program to reach me and many more youth leaders in Africa."

"My Heart is Fulfilled; My Life has Purpose"

During June, one focus was to train new trainers. This is because trainings are often needed in multiple locations at the same time. Also, using only one small team of trainers puts a strain on them as it takes them away from their families. Some additional passionate, Christ-loving, intelligent and biblically sound young people have been identified and have been trained for this purpose. Gugu (above and in green dress on right) is one of the new trainers. She says, “My heart is fulfilled; my life has purpose. Reach4Life is a game changer in Africa. Every training I have been in the two years I have been part of the Program, I have been amazed by the hunger of God’s people, hungry for the word and opportunities to share Christ but not knowing how and when. I am a full time R4L Trainer now, travelling across Africa with our Phakama Team to raise soldiers for Christ in our own Continent.”

Clothing Drive is Underway!

As a reminder, our clothing drive is underway now and will run through October 31. We can take gently used:

• clothes
• shoes
• purses and belts
• linens (tablecloths, towels, drapes, etc.)
• blankets/sleeping bags
• anything fabric-y

Please do not include any stained, torn, or otherwise unusable items. Clothes can be dropped at 30020 2nd Ct. S., Federal Way, on the porch, where you will also find donation receipts in a plastic bag. The funds we raise will be used to support the R4L program. Please also let your family and friends know about the clothing drive, and let us know if you become aware of any opportunities to collect clothes, including estate clear-outs. We can pick up large amounts of clothes if needed. Contact us at 253-946-5953 (landline), 206-423-0306 (cell), or by email. Thanks for your support!

Rollouts in Multiple Countries in June

Swaziland - 1,321 Books distributed

Lesotho - 874 Books distributed

Mozambique - 186 Books distributed

Malawi - 121 Books distributed

Uganda - 89 Books distributed

South Africa - 3,127 Books distributed

Zimbabwe - 236 Books distributed

CHURCH YOUTH GROUPS GROWING!

Bread of Life Ministries, Mafikeng, North West Province, South Africa

Light of Christ Church, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Thaba-Tsela, Bobete (Assemblies of God), Lesotho

Lobamba Faith Mission, Swaziland

The current Rand exchange rate is good at 18.0 Rand per dollar!

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Thanks for your help!

Prevention Time thanks you for your interest in our organization. We are a 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible. Prevention Time has no paid staff, so our administrative costs are minimal. To help support the ministry in sub-Saharan Africa, please click on the donate button below.