August 2015 Review
Trinity Church (Mitchells Plain)
Lutz and Zo heading into Trinity Church
As we mentioned in our June update, Michele and I have been tasked with helping East Mountain (EM) with deepening their partnership with Trinity Church in Mitchells Plain township. This role officially kicked off a couple of weeks ago and will last at least six months as Michele and I get to know firsthand what an East Mountain partnership development entails. Thus far, I, Leo, have gotten involved with their leadership planning sessions and have coordinated and kicked off a temporary, weekly community outreach event.
In September, Michele will begin to help Trinity Church’s primary school with administrative and marketing duties.
In working with Trinity Church we have also started to get more involved with two of the EM one-year interns, Lutando and Lorenzo. As part of their EM internship, Lutando and Lorenzo help lead and teach the weekly Trinity Kids Club. Through our involvement with Trinity, Michele and I have been able to begin additional mentoring with them.
Please pray that we will find our place with Trinity and that we will be able to say ‘no’ when appropriate. There are many needs at Trinity and we run the risk of getting too involved to the detriment of our work with East Mountain and our continued preparation as missionaries. Also, please pray for our community outreach events and that God will prepare opportunities and people’s hearts as we aim at engaging with the residents of Beacon Valley in Mitchells Plain.
Battle For Men’s Hearts Conference
In the second weekend of August, I travelled with three other members of East Mountain to attend a four day conference called Battle For Men’s Hearts. The conference built upon a seminar East Mountain hosted in May called Deep Community Experience. The goal of both of the conferences is to help members of the church understand grace at a level that helps us remove the “self-protective” masks that hide our true selves from others. The result of which within a community will enhance and deepen relationships with one another. East Mountain’s hope is that the skills we gained from these two conferences will have a large impact for the community we continue to build here.
Please pray that our community will continue to grow deeper, and we will continue to be a light to those around us, drawing more people into a deeper relationship with Christ.
Port Elizabeth Trip
The East Mtn. ladies in Port Elizabeth
Michele and six other East Mountain women travelled to Port Elizabeth (P.E.) on the Eastern Cape this past weekend to visit one of the Summit 2015 interns who lives in P.E. and support her as she continues to transition back to life there. This trip also provided Michele with a great opportunity to see a new part of South Africa and enjoy some much needed time away. East Mountain has been conducting workshops and spiritual formation training classes in P.E. over the past year. There is now an opportunity to expand the ministry into a more permanent role by establishing a Port Elizabeth East Mountain ‘House’ in early 2016. This would enable East Mountain to include short- and long-term internships in addition to a more complete schedule of workshops and classes. We will have an opportunity over the next few months to travel to P.E. to support ministry activities there.
Please pray for East Mountain as it expands into P.E. in the coming year and that we will continue to grow in our ability to train and equip church leaders in South Africa.
