New Homepage

Dear friends, ben.nimmo.de has moved. Type "ben.nimmmo.de" in your browser and you automatically be led to my new homepage.

Our Last Week

Good Bye
The last days all of us finished off their work at the various ministries and said good bye to the people they had been in touch with. Tuesday afternoon was a highlight for us as a team. Though it was a sad occasion to say farewell to the students at SCO it was also very touching. The teenagers had written letters, poems and even prepared a song for the whole team. We left in knowing that we had made an impact in their lives.

Our Foreigners
Last week we told you about our Zimbabwean bible study group. We had heard on Saturday that Nicolas had to move due to a raise in rent and that Portia moved into his old place. Fortunately a group of us found Portia while she was fixing and cleaning the shack and we could help her finish quickly so she could move in that same evening.

What we did not realise was that the whole situation for the foreigners in Masiphumelele was getting more and more tense. The news spoke about the burning of shacks and the killing of people in Johannesburg, but we did not expect anything similar in Masi. It was on Wednesday and on Thurdsday night that threats were made against the foreigners living in the township. The whole night people were shouting on the streets saying that if they would not leave by Friday they, too, would have to be scared for their lives.

On Friday we got a phone call with the request for help. The refugees living in Masi had to leave the township. Kindly we received an offer that our Zimbabwean friends could stay at the team house of “All Nations”. Our whole team (plus the others that had just arrived from Uganda) prayed for the situation, while Chris and Ben headed to Masi in order to help. They found that most of their friends had already found shelter outside of the danger zone.

It was only Portia, her son Michael, and Cathryn that needed our help desperately. With only their most important belongings we drove them to the “All Nations” team house where they are still staying with other believers. We also drove two other women to the police station where people were taken to other safe places.

God answers prayer
God has worked through us and in us. We were ministers of God’s love to the people in Masiphumelele. Many seeds were sewn. Some even gave their lives to Jesus and made him Lord of their lives so they will have eternal lives in heaven. With the Holy Spirit in them they can share his love with other people, too. But of course the threats against the foreigners made us leave with a heavy heart and the question if it was of real value what we did. It was on Monday that we received the answer to our prayers as the headline of the Cape Town newspaper read: “Masiphumelele leads way with apology to foreigners.” The leaders of this community are the first in the whole country to reconcile and ask for forgiveness for what is going on.

Let us not stop here, but let us carry on praying that many more will receive Christ in Masiphumelele and that we will see much more evidence of God’s love in our township.

PS: Take a look at a video that shows what we did

6th week

As a team we are doing very well. We can see how God has kept us safe especially in the area of team unity. All of us come from different backgrounds with different personalities and giftings, so it is easy to be led astray and start pointing fingers at each others faults. But the Holy Spirit has kept the unity among us so we can work for the same goal: to communicate Jesus to the people of Masiphumelele. Next week is our last week and we can't believe that we coming to an end of our outreach. We are eager to keep the fire burning and to finish the race well. It is God who is giving us strength and passion to keep sharing the good news with the people we meet.

School Ministry
Adolph is finishing his time at the school with tessting the students on what he has been teaching them about Maths and Science. Ben ended his last lessons in Art and Culture classes with a short gospel presentation in all his three classes. He says: "The most important thing for the students to understand is what Jesus has done for them on the cross." Next to Adolph and Ben doing some teaching in the high school, we also go to the school as a whole team on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In these afternoon classes we work together with Brother Letson from "Student Christian Organisation" (SCO). Last Tuesday we also shared the gospel with these students and asked them if any of them wanted to receive Christ into their lives. Afterwards some of them received Jesus as their Lord and others rededicated their lives to Him. Some of them come from very unsupportive backgrounds and need a lot of prayer, continious help and real friendship. We praise God for the amazing work Brother Letson is doing with these kids!

The Passion of the Christ
The prayer team organised to show "The Passion of the Christ" open air infront of the Baptist Church. It was amazing for all of us to see how God gradually provided all the necessary things and opened doors for us to actually carry out the screening of the movie. On Tuesday the team put up some posters and started to share with the people what would happen. We also got some help from the Baptist Church and the "Apostolic Faith Mission" (AFM). As soon as it was dark enough we started to show the movie and there were about 350 people watching until the end. Jeremiah invited people to respond to the message of Christ that comes across in the film. It was quite chaotic as many came to accept Christ and asked to be prayed for. We were not able to follow up on all of them, but we believe that a seed has been planted in many and we ancouraged them to be connected to a church for them to grow in their new life in Christ. Two of the new believers are friends of ours that we know from the high school.

Our Zimbabwean friends
On Sunday morning Lucinda, Carine, Chris and Ben went to the bible study group with the Zimbabweans. We had been meeting in the place of Nicolas and Jake, but a day earlier we had heard that they had to move instantly, because the landlord raised the rent drastically from one day to the other. Knowing this we did not know what to expect. It took us a long time to find Nicolas and Jake in their new home so we just prayed for them and their needs to find a better place to stay. Later in the day a group of us set out to walk around the township to pray. They stopped at the shack where Nicolas and Jake used to live and found Portia claening out their old place. Portia has been with our bible study group right form the start. Now we heard her story. The same landlord kicked her out of her place, too, and within the same day she and her newbron baby had to move. So we decided to help her. The shack is in a very bad condition. There were mice all over the place. We stapled cardboard boxes all around the walls to keep the cold wind out and we laid a plastic covering on the sand floor. In the midst of poverty and injustice we all could praise the Lord for leading us to that place, so we could help Portia in her time of desperation.

5th week

This last week has been one of miracles and we continue to see God moving in many different situations. Thank you all for your prayerful support.

Door-to-door
Lucy, Chris and Jeremiah are our prayer-warriors and evangelists. Everyday they come back to the rest of the team with new stories to tell of what God has done in the lives of individuals living in the township.

Last week they went through the streets and they met a young man from Zimbabwe. Our team prayed into the fact that, as a refugee, he had been struggling to get the documents needed to find a steady job. The following day our team met up with him again. With a big smile on his face, he told us about his new job that will enable him to provide for his family back in Zimbabwe.

The team was also able to minister to a man who is struggling with many broken relationships in his family. He was divorced, but recently went back to his wife. His parents, however, are still keeping their distance from him. From a human perspective the gap seemed too big to be bridged. However, after many prayers and conversations, our team witnessed the first reconciliation talks between him and his parents.

“God has really been good,” says Lucy, “and we believe that there is hope for Masiphumelele because God loves the people here.”

Bible Studies
On Sunday we met in Nicolas’ home for our weekly Bible study. As mentioned previously, we had asked for prayer concerning the continuation of this group after we leave Masiphumelele. God really answered our prayers and we are thankful that Jeremiah from “All Nations” has agreed to take over from us in leading this group.”

Besides Jeremiah, our Bible study received many other new members. It was a joy to see fourteen Zimbabwean men and woman join us in this small room to learn more about God and to draw closer to Him. It is our desire, as a Team, to keep in contact with them and to hear how they become influencers in the society of Masiphumelele.

Preaching
Being connected to many churches in Masiphumelele, we continue to get opportunities to practise our preaching skills. This last week Andries was asked by the pastor of the “Apostolic Faith Mission” to preach at a youth gathering on Wednesday evening. “The Lord literally prepared my preaching for me,” said Andries, “scripture after scripture, and when the preaching came, God put other things on my heart to share with the people.” The congregation were encouraged and moved by what Andries shared, and they have invited him to preach again.

Global Day Of Prayer
Sunday truly was a blessed day. After attending our various churches in Masiphumelele, we came together to help set up for the "Global Day Of Prayer". The event was held in the Masiphumelele High School and was organised by many congregations in and around the township. Our team’s task was to set up 300 chairs and to lead people to their seats. We helped foster the environment where people of different cultures, colours and congregations would mix well. During the meeting we prayed for transformation in every sphere of society. It was an amazing celebration of diversity in the body of Christ and we praise God for what he is doing to unify the Christians in this area of the world. Praise the Lord!

Please pray for:
This coming Thursday night (15 May) as our Team are organising a screening of the powerful movie "Passion of the Christ". Please pray that many of the Masiphumelele residents will attend, and that God will speak to each individual in a powerful way.

Thank you for all your prayers and support.

4th Week

Again we want to give all glory to God for the way He is using us to show His love to the people of Masiphumelele, and for the way He is continuously changing our hearts through the situations He takes us and the people we meet.

Soccer field clean up
Due to the recent public holidays, most of the organisations we work with were operating on only two of the days last week. For that reason we decided to clean up a soccer field at the far end of the township. Even though there is clearly a “No dumping” sign, the place was covered in litter. We spent many hours cleaning and were glad to see some children joining us (see photograph below). “After we had cleaned the field”, Carine said, “I realised that God had moved with us and it was as if the soccer field was just a picture of what God wants to do in the hearts of the people of Masiphumelele.” Later on we played soccer with some students from the high school.

Living Hope
Mampho and Andries continue to serve at Living Hope. Mampho is building good friendships there with the patients, many of whom are suffering from HIV and Aids. She helps two chaplains to pray for the sick and facilitate support groups. She experienced a personal breakthrough last week as she understood that God is using her to bring hope to the needy. “But now”, she says, “I know that I can offer them a hope through Jesus Christ, a life in eternity and a chance to change their lives – a living hope.”

Andries has been doing maintenance work in and around the building. The people that work there have expressed their gratitude for his hard physical labour – especially in the garden in Cape Town’s windy winter season. Serving in this way gives him the opportunity to worship God with manmade tools as well as a time to reflect on his own life and relationship with God.

Please pray for:
- As we continue helping Johnny to build a shack, we have come across some basic needs. We are currently looking for people to sponsor a tin roof, hard board, cement for the floor and plastic covering to insulate the walls of his future home. This is an urgent need as Cape Town’s very windy and rainy winter has already begun.

- With the Global Day of Prayer approaching, we are looking into holding a prayer gathering with churches from in and around the township. We will be inviting as many congregations as possible, so as to encourage stronger relationships between the churches of Masiphumelele.

- We have started two weekly Bible study groups. After we leave we do not want these groups to disappear, but rather to grow in faith as their members deepen their relationship with Jesus. Therefore, please pray that we find someone to take over the leadership of these two groups.

Thank you for all your prayers and support.

3rd Week

Special to God
Sinetemba is the name of a day care centre for disabled children. Carine describes the work there as a humbling experience. Each one of these children’s personality is so special and they bring much joy to the kingdom of God. “I am praying for these children”, says Carine, “for joy and for their families, for their muscles to relax and for them to balance their bodied.” These children are truly special to God and through them God shows his love to all humanity.

Restoring Families
There are many broken families in Masiphumelele. While walking through the streets of the township our door-to-door prayer-team felt led by the Holy Spirit to go into the house, which had a pram in front of it. They had a closer look and knocked on the door just to realise that there was a couple in the house. They asked if they could pray for anything. The couple responded immediately: “We are struggling in our marriage,” they said. So the team prayed for God to restore the young family. Afterwards they saw them again on the road enjoying an ice cream together. Our prayer is that God will carry on working in their marriage. May they come to the saving faith in Jesus.

Science for the glory of God
Adolph and I have now come up with a busy teaching schedule for the week. Adolph has started to teach Maths and Science. A group of five students is s very eager to learn more, so Adolph is also going to teach these students in the afternoon. He is getting along well with the students and his new task to teach. His hope is for God to open up opportunities to share the gospel with the students. I joined some art lessons of the 8th and 9th grade. Here I was able to get to know the teacher and the students. I will start teaching next week on perspectives.

Walking the streets
We shared before about a shack we were helping to put together for our friend, Johnny. When Chris and I went to visit him to see how far he is with the building, we saw that Johnny only has to add a roof on top and a floor. We are hoping to enjoy a cup of tea with Johnny in his finished home before the outreach is over. On one of the walks Andries and I realised the soccer field needed a clean up, but we noticed very soon that the task would be harder than first anticipated.

Andries is facing the danger.

2nd Week in Masi

As a team we are making progress in connecting each team member with various ministry opportunities. We have, therefore, been setting up meetings with pastors, teachers and other leaders of organisations we will be working with (e.g. Living Hope, African Hope, Day Care centres).

Carine loves children, so she will be helping two day care centres. Andries has been helping out in a shop that offers many job opportunities by producing African crafts. Lucy, Jeremiah and Chris have been spending time walking through the streets of Masiphumelele - meeting people, sharing the gospel and praying for them.

Adolph and Ben have been trying to set up a schedule in Masiphumelele High School to help the teachers there in the arts and science classes. Mampho is going to work at the clinic of Living Hope. On Thursday we went to have a look around the place and were very impressed by the high quality and cleanliness of the facility, and their vision to share the gospel and serve the sick.

One day four of our team members were walking through the streets when they felt an urge to pray for a physically disabled boy. Coco is nine years old and after praying for him the group decided to come back together with the whole team to pray for the family. So the entire team went and blessed the family by praying with them and sharing the message of Jesus. We are hoping we will have more opportunities to minister to this family.

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon we will go to the high school to do some dramas and give testimonies. We introduced ourselves last Thursday and enjoyed sharing our stories with them. We hope to get to know them and to see them grow in the knowledge of Jesus over the next few weeks.

On Saturday we split the team into two groups. One half went to a seminar to inform people about human trafficking in the world. They learnt that many people are being used as objects, sold into slavery and misused for prostitution. Especially the poor communities need to be made aware of the problem and be taught how to protect themselves from such terrible injustice. We are thinking how we can help in Masiphumelele to prevent human trafficking, especially in light of the Soccer World Cup coming up in 2010.

The other group went into the township to meet up with three friends they had met in the streets. They are refugees from Zimbabwe and we offered to come start a Bible study group in their home every Saturday. Last Saturday was our first meeting and we got to know them a bit closer and explained some Bible basics with them.

Please continue to pray that we will connect with many people and that we will be able to build meaningful friendships with them.

Thank you for your prayers.

Group picture fromleft to right, back: Adolph, Chris, Me, Andries; front: Mampho, Jerimiah, Carine, Lucy