Raley Family Blog: Fannin Terrace Outreach to Tshikota

Village: Tshikota, South Africa (right outside of Louis Trichardt)

Dates: June 13th - June 26th

Team: Fannin Terrace Baptist Church

Church: Shalom Baptist Church

Pastor: Philemon (student of Christ Seminary)

Our second outreach took us to Tshikota, a township outside of Louis Trichardt. I do want to share that Tshikota was not part of our our original plan for this outreach season. With the Pafuri border still closed, we were planning to take the Fannin Terrace team to Dinga. We were told in late April or early May that we would not be able to take this team to Dinga at that time. We were in a staff meeting discussing the different options and one of them was Tshikota and work alongside Pastor Philemon, who is one of the Seminary students. He was in session during that time so we asked if he could come by the meeting so we could explain our situation and desire to maybe bring this team there. After explaining things to him he said, "Your problem is my solution!" Then he explained what was going on in his church along with the vision the Lord has given him for his ministry there. We were beyond excited what the Lord was doing and couldn't wait to be apart of it.

There is a family in our church here in Polokwane that lives in Louis Trichardt and the husband is a builder. For many years, they have been an encouragement and help to Pastor Philemon. They were also a big help to Philemon in providing a front end loader to dig holes for toilets and clear some of the land for our camp.

We were apart of the set-up team and we arrived on Thursday, June 13th. Once we had lunch we all began to work at leveling the ground and preparing it for the tents. One thing that none of us were prepared for was the COLD nights. This was by far the coldest outreach we have had. There were a few mornings we woke up to frost on the tents!

Brit helping offload the 7 ton truck

Mark working on the toilets

yes - it was new hole!

it takes a lot of men to move the donkey (hot water heater)

Pastor Philemon's vehicle

Sean working on the pump

Darren about to put the pump in.

Doug working on the generator.

sinking the pump and testing it

Brit and Gena setting up tents

time for the storage tent

camp was ready and waiting for the team

The team, along with Brad and William, arrived on Saturday afternoon. This was their first time to join Samaria Mission on outreach. We were excited to meet them and get to know them. We were also excited to spend time with Jan, Brad's sister in law, and her son, Connor. (I had not seen Connor since Kid Camp when he was in 6th grade.)

This team was great to serve with. They had a heart for the people and for the ministry opportunities the Lord had for them during the outreach. The team was involved in Men's, Women and Children's ministry, house to house evangelism and evening services. They also assisted the church with the a pump for the borehole and a water tank plus working with the church to build a building. One thing we noticed that the attendance during the men's and women's ministry were very low, but here in South Africa many people have jobs and were not able to attend. The children's ministry in Tshikota was attended by MANY! I believe one day were over 150 kids. With that many kids it was a challenge but the team through a lot of prayer and perseverance pressed on.

Several of the team members shared that they had never shared the Gospel as much as they had during their 10 days on outreach. It was a challenge and an encouragement to them as they returned home. Out of all the villages we were in this outreach season, Tshikota was more challenging. There are many things that have influenced the people in this village - many different religions and beliefs, works based theologies, and many are very influenced by things of this world. There were many people with hardened hearts towards the Gospel. This was a team who realized the importance of prayer, the importance to GO and tell the Good News and to trust the Lord to do the rest. They realized that it is not about the numbers it is about the lives changed! We ask that you would pray for those who did accept the Lord. Pray that they will stand strong in a difficult community and grow in their walk with the Lord.

Most of all we rejoice in the fact that the Lord is at work in Tshikota. He has called Philemon to pastor and lead this church and given him a desire to reach his community with the Gospel. We ask that you would join us in praying for Pastor Philemon and his family as they take a stand for the TRUTH in a difficult community. We are asking the Lord to show us ways that we can continue to be involved in what the Lord is doing in Tshikota.

This is from one of the team members ...

There are so many things I could write about our mission to Tshikota....the experiences and people there will forever be a part of who I am today. The one thing however that I keep coming back to is that my salvation is such a precious gift! After sharing the gospel with people that didn't even understand what we were saying (there were days we had no translators), I realized how very insignificant I am and how great and powerful our God is. HE is the one who brings people to salvation. It has nothing to do with how eloquently I pray or how "good" I am at presenting the gospel. We are told to go and share the good news. That's what we have done. I praise Him that His shoulders are big enough to carry the responsibility of bringing His people to salvation. It's not about me....it's ALL about Him!" - Jan: Fannin Terrace BC

Things other people shared ...

"I have learned to trust in God and no on myself or any person."

"My spiritual life is forever changed in a positive way."