The Church Has Left the Building!
By Randy | June 15, 2009
Missions in Africa, Inc.
June 15, 2009
http://www.missionsinafrica.com
Featured Pictures: The Church Has Left the Building!
Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings in the name of Jesus!
Back in February we shared with you that we were building a church here in Swaziland called the Bride of Christ Church. The church building itself has been completed, we had our first service on Mother’s Day and now……”the church has left the building!” You may be asking what??????
We are praising the Lord for the ability to build the church structure, and we realize that it is just that….a building. The Lord has spoken to us that now that we have completed the work in the natural, it is now time for Him to build His church in the spiritual. Amen to that!
Praying before going out
So this past Saturday, “the church left the building” to reach out to the community. Bride of Christ Church in Mpolongeni was joined by two youth groups from Children’s Cup CarePoints that our daughter Kay and son-in-law Mark are involved with. We had almost 40-50 youth that were between the ages 13-25, from three different communities that came together as the body of Christ to share the love of Jesus in very simple ways. First, they told people that Jesus loved them, they handed out candles and matches, (a necessity for so many that do not have electricity) and gave candy to the children and invited them to church on Sunday! It was as simple as that.
Ready to serve… with goodies in handAt church yesterday we had many new faces and 10 people accepted Jesus because someone reached out and said, “Jesus loves you!” Praise the Lord.
The Lord says in Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those that bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation.”
Please pray that more people will respond to the gospel message and that lives will continue to be changed into the likeness of Jesus. Thank you for your prayers and your support!
May the Lord Bless you,
Randy and Karen Brennan
Serving the Lord in Swaziland
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Update on Shelly Brennan
By Randy | May 8, 2009
Missions in Africa, Inc.
May 8, 2009
http://www.missionsinafrica.com
Dear Friends and Family,
Feature pictured: “Update on Shelly Brennan”
Greetings in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior!
Some of you may have noticed that our recent updates have only been signed, “Randy and Karen Brennan”. The reason for that is our “Shelly” has been participating in “YWAM” or “Youth With A Mission” since January 2009. The first week in January, we made the long 18 hour drive (one way) down to Cape Town, South Africa for Shelly to begin her classes January 2. The 6 month class is called “Discipleship Training School” and the focus is “To Know God…..and Make Him Known.” She spent the first 3 months in class focusing on knowing God more intimately. The last three months are spent going out and “Making Him Known”. For Shelly and her 8 other team members, the Lord has taken them to Kolkata, India, one of the hardest places in the world. Would you please join us in prayer for Shelly and her team?
Pray…
- That the Lord would pour love in their hearts for the people in India.
- That they would love the Lord and each other outrageously!
- That they would speak the Word boldly to those they are ministering to.
- That as they minister the truth of God’s Word, that heaven would invade earth.
- That they accurately represent Jesus in everything they do and say, and everywhere they go.
- That they would be Jesus’ hands and feet as they minister at the Mother Teresa’s home for the destitute and dying.
- That they would be an encouragement to the staff at the Mother Teresa’s home.
- That many would receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the good news of God’s grace.
- That they would have Godly wisdom and discernment in this new and very large city.
- That the Lord would guard them and keep them safe in all their comings and goings.
One last thing I’d like to share…….I love the way God seems to take this huge world we live in, and make it so very small, intimate and personal for each one of us.
This past week, the Lord brought a wonderful woman from Colorado to give me a message, that brought me great peace and comfort regarding Shelly in India. This wonderful woman’s name is Yolanda, and she is visiting Swaziland from a ministry that Children’s Cup partners with called Mission of Mercy. She came here to do training with our staff. As we began talking and getting to know one another, she was sharing about recent places she has travelled to. She mentioned a few countries, and then I heard her say INDIA. I said wow, India. Then I asked her where in India, she said, KOLKATA. I said do you know where the YWCA is in Kolkata and she said “YES!” Shelly had shared before she left that they would be staying in a YWCA. Yolanda then proceeded to tell me all about the area that Shelly would be staying in for the next 6 weeks. By the end of our conversation, I knew that the Lord had sent Yolanda not only for training but to give me a message that brought me peace and comfort! What a sovereign God we serve!
May the Lord Bless you,
Randy and Karen Brennan
Serving the Lord in Swaziland
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Update on Noxolo – one changed little girl!
By Randy | April 29, 2009
Missions in Africa, Inc.
April 29, 2009
http://www.missionsinafrica.com
Dear Friends and Family,
Featured Pictures: Update on Noxolo – one changed little girl!
Greetings in the name of Jesus!
Last December we shared a story with you about Noxolo, the little girl from our Children’s Cup CarePoint in Mangwaneni, Manzini, who had a deformed foot. Well we have great news about Noxolo………. she has just returned from having surgery in Johannesburg, South Africa and is doing fantastic. (See attached photos) Praise the Lord!
The specialized medical treatment that Noxolo required is virtually non-existent in the country of Swaziland. As a result, treatment needed to be sought in South Africa. After a great deal of paper work, Noxolo’s surgery was covered through the Phalala Fund. The Phalala Fund, which was established by His Majesty King Mswati III, is for people who cannot afford to finance their medical needs outside the country. The government of Swaziland has made money available through the Phalala Fund for situations just like this!
Noxolo must travel weekly from Manzini to Mbabane (about 40 kilometers) to have her bandages changed by a qualified doctor. She is due to return to Johannesburg, South Africa in 4-6 weeks to have her prosthesis fit.
Thank you for your concern and prayers for Noxolo. Her recovery has been amazing….she is standing so much taller now. Her teacher Treasure says she is getting around great using her “sticks”, we call them crutches. Her future is so much brighter now! Once again, the mighty God we serve has been faithful and acted according to His Word.
Psalm 82:3-4 says, “He defends the cause of the weak and the fatherless; he maintains the rights of the poor and oppressed. He rescues the weak and the needy…”
Thank you Lord!
May the Lord Bless you,
Randy and Karen
Serving the Lord in Swaziland
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Cool testimony of how God uses all things for His glory!
By Randy | April 7, 2009
Missions in Africa, Inc.
April 7, 2009
http://www.missionsinafrica.com
Dear Friends and Family,
Feature: Cool testimony of how God uses all things for His glory!
Greetings in the name of Jesus!
Many of you may remember last July, our home was broken into while we were sleeping. Praise God no harm to us in any way…only things were stolen.
Shortly after that, we decided to hire Zwelie to be our “gardener/security guard” to watch the house during the day. If anyone was casing our house, they knew our routine…. we were gone everyday, all day. At times, we dreaded coming home in case the house was cleaned out while we were gone. Zwelie is the brother of our dear friend, Pastor Mbongeni. Zwelie was living in Manzini about 30-40 minutes away so he had to relocate to Mbabane, so he moved in with his brother, Pastor Mbongeni and his wife Charity.
August 2008, Zwelie starting working for us…..he needed a lot of training and direction at first. (photo “Zwelie-security guard”). We asked him to maintain the garden and be sure not to let anyone in the yard. He did a nice job, but ran out of things to do because the yard was small. So, we gave him a Bible and an excellent book written by a friend of ours, Jim Corbett. The name of the book is “Living Christ’s Passionate Life”. Everyday Zwelie would do yard work in the morning, and in afternoons he would spend time reading his Bible, the devotional and asking God what He wanted Zwelie to do with his life. It was a time of transformation in this young man’s life. Soon, Zwelie had purpose in his life and knew that the Lord had plans to prosper him according to Jeremiah 33:3.
Zwelie started going to church with his brother and wife. Soon, the Lord started using Zwelie to translate for each service. Everything Pastor Mbongeni said, Zwelie translated into SiSwati. Now he was reading the Bible and was speaking the Word regularly! (photo-Zwelie Translating)
November 1st we moved into a new (secure) home but didn’t want to lose Zwelie so we continued to find odd jobs for him to do. After the first of the year, we started planning for the construction of the “Bride of Christ Church”. Zwelie helped getting prices and gathering necessary information.
February 1st we began construction on the church and Zwelie has been key in the success of this project. (photo-Zwelie Building the Church) He has found his own place to live and is doing great. He continues to translate for Mbongeni and Randy at church every Sunday. He is also starting a youth group at church! Amen!
It is amazing to see how God works all things for His glory! Something like a robbery has helped to bring a young man into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and has changed him completely! Praise God!
Love,
Randy and Karen Brennan
Serving the Lord in Swaziland, Africa
Topics: Missions in Africa | No Comments »
Construction African Style
By Randy | February 22, 2009
Missions in Africa, Inc.
February 22, 2009
http://www.missionsinafrica.com
Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings in the name of Jesus!
Feature Picture: “Construction African Style”
This year has gotten off to a great start as the Lord continues to do amazing things day after day. With the start of a new school year, the Children’s Cup CarePoint in Mangwaneni, Manzini, has 2 classrooms full of students in the morning eager to learn! The afternoons, the playground is full of kids playing soccer! The garden is ready to harvest and needs to be planted again. Kids club and youth group are in full swing as the children are taught the Word of God, and we continue to feed more and more children each day. We are praising the Lord as he continues to provide according to his word!
Along with ministry at the CarePoint, we are so thankful to be able to fellowship at The Bride of Christ Church in a small community called Mpolongeni, about 20 kilometers outside of Mbabane. We have rekindled our relationship with Pastor Mbongeni from 2005, and have gotten to know his wife Charity over the past year. We have observed the way they live their lives and the godly character that is evident in everything they do. We continue to pour into them and we see the fellowship growing in spiritual maturity as well as in numbers. Praise the Lord!
Back in October of 2008, the church was able to acquire land and we are moving full steam ahead on the church building for the Bride of Christ Church. Construction on the building started February 1st and we hope to occupy by April 5st. It is a very simple 30 foot wide by 60 foot long concrete block building. The people in the church have been working very hard together, to push the construction along at a very rapid pace. They want to have their first church service in the new building on April 5th. The Lord has graciously supplied for these needs through the Church back in the United States.
We love you and we thank God for you! Thanks for your prayers and for giving….thanks for helping to build the Kingdom of God here in Swaziland…it is making an eternal difference.
Love,
Randy and Karen Brennan
Serving the Lord in Swaziland, Africa
Topics: Missions in Africa | No Comments »
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