Yes, there is a sweet spirit of unity and love in the Southlands Bible Baptist Church, especially in light of the fact that it is a multicultural congregation.  Most visitors express a common observation of our church; they immediately feel loved and accepted.  Eddie Mhlangu (a Zulu gentleman) visited the church just this past Sunday.  Pastor Dennis called him on Monday and he said, “I felt welcomed and loved and I was not expecting that.”  We pray that everyone that comes to our church will be embraced by the passionate love of Christ. 

As you pray, please ask the Lord to give us wisdom and direction as we transitioning out of Southlands and begin a ministry of training and mentoring national church planters.  The church family is praying and fasting throughout the month of February specifically for clear direction regarding the future of Southlands Bible Baptist.  A final decision will be made by the church on Sunday March 2^nd.The congregation is considering a “relaunching” of the church -- new location, new logo, new sign, new brochure…yet the same message of the gospel of Jesus Christ). Dennis Nkosi and Cedric John would be officially called as pastors of the church.

The Southlands Bible Baptist church was founded by an ABWE missionary in 1987. The church went through a number of cycles of growth and decline. By 2004 the church was on the verge of being closed down. The Hesman, Houk, Nkosi, and John families were willing to cast a new vision and provide the leadership for the new direction that the church would take. God has blessed the work over the last four years. We have experienced unity in the church, numerical and financial growth, and much growth spiritually. Over the last three years, the Lord has allowed us to mentor two families for leadership within the church – the Nkosi and John families. The time has come for us to transition out and allow the church to call its own two national pastors. As we have deliberated with them regarding their future, we all came to the same conclusion. We concluded that the best way to facilitate this transition would be through a relaunching of the church.  We are praying that in a couple of years, either Dennis or Cedric will leave the church to start another church.  (God has given them both a passion for church planting!)  Please pray with us as we seek God’s direction.  We will transition out by the end of the year but possibly sooner.  We will keep you updated!

Pray as we begin looking for our niche of ministry.  God has given us a desire and clarity in vision.  As we shared during our visit with you in 2006, we want to train and mentor South African church planters.  If we can train, facilitate, mentor four to five godly men, God could multiply our efforts.  Instead of starting one church during a term, we could facilitate four or more new churches plants.  We would work as scaffolding; providing the training, resources, and accountability needed. Presently, we are investigating possible alternatives to serve in this capacity.  Paul has taken one survey trip, shared his vision in a variety of ways with our Durban ABWE team, and plans another survey trip in March. Please pray with us as we seek God’s will in this step in ministry.   

This “transition” in ministry will also mean a “transition” for family.  Please pray for the children as the possibility of moving is real.  Southlands Bible Baptist is their “church family” and leaving, especially for Kathryn and Joshua, will not be easy.  We are excited about what God is going to do, yet we covet your prayers as we seek God’s wisdom in every decision.

We also asked you to pray for Kathryn (pictured on the right in the middle of her two friends) as we began home schooling in January.  She has attended the government schools here in South Africa since we arrived in 2002.  We discerned early in her grade 9 year that the high school here would not prepare her well for college in the States.  Kathryn has adjusted beautifully to home schooling.  It was neither an easy decision, nor an easy change for her. She has risen to the occasion and is doing well.  Please continue to pray for her as she matures in Christ.

Michael (pictured above) is presently our resident “Mr. Naughty”, we are praying that he will relinquish his title soon!  J  He will turn two in April so we are hoping that he is getting his “terrible twos” out of the way early. 

Joshua (pictured below with Dennis’ son Nkululeko) is learning and growing quickly.  I am integrating many pre-reading and math skills into his day.  He is also maturing in his understanding of God.  The other day he found a toy that he had lost.  He responded with “Praise the Lord!”  I wanted to make sure I heard him correctly so I asked Josh, “What did you say?”  He replied, “I said, Praise the Lord,. That’s what you say when you find your toy.”  Oh, the lessons we can learn from our children!

We have hit a major energy crisis here in South Africa.  It may last for the next ten years.  It went to the point that Eskom, the electricity company here, made an official statement that no new businesses should start in South Africa because electricity could not be provided for them.  We are not sure of the full implications this will have on the economy.   We are presently going through “load shedding” which basically means they turn off the electricity for two to three hours a day.  Some weeks this is everyday, some it is just a few days a week.  There is supposed to be a schedule but we have yet to see them follow it.  It makes us appreciate our electricity all the more!  J 

Paul is teaching two sections of Greek this term at the Baptist Bible College of KwaZulu-Natal.  His students are really struggling with the Greek language.  Pray for Paul as he teaches and the students as they learn.  Many of the students do not have a strong background in English grammar or the discipline to memorize daily; both are key prerequisites to a course of this nature. 

We are eagerly anticipating Steve and Beth Oberg’s visit at the end of February.  They are long time friends of Dennis and Violet Nkosi.  They will be ministering in a variety of capacities from teaching to preaching.  Please pray for them as they come to serve and seek God’s direction for their lives.

Penny was at the grocery store a few weeks ago with both boys.  The boys were not having their best day. In the “chaos” of trying to pay and transport her groceries and children to the car, she “lost” her wallet.  We are not sure if she dropped it, left it at the register or if it was taken from her pocket,..what we do know is that when she arrived home, it was gone.  Penny immediately retraced her steps, called the store but with no avail; her wallet had disappeared.  Her credit card was in her wallet (She rarely carries cash).  When she dialed up our credit card company to report the card missing, she found out that someone had already used the card to purchase over $300 in shoes at a nearby shop.  Paul immediately called the store.  Paul explained to the store manager what had transpired. The manager replied, “The people that used the card just walked out.”  As the story unfolded, we discovered that the gentleman who used Penny’s credit card was the cashier at the grocery store in which she lost her wallet.  The way we know this, is that he went to the shoe store during his lunch hour, with his grocery store uniform on, and his name tag clearly stating his name.  So we called “Pic N Pay” and told the manager about “Nathan.”  To make a long story short, the shoe store got back their shoes, we now have our card back, and poor Nathan is out of shoes, a credit card, and a job.  God was certainly gracious to us.  Even the credit card company was shocked that we were able to retrieve our card.  Please pray for Nathan, he is a young Indian chap and we did not press charges.  Pray that this will shake him up to think on spiritual things, as well as on the value of honesty. 

We are trying to do all of our prayer letters via email.  We have attached a Word document without pictures that would be easy to print.  Please share this email with the rest of the church family.    We need the prayers of God’s people!  Thank you for your help!

Prayer Requests:  (Please pray for…)

• Wisdom concerning decisions for Southlands Bible Baptist as well as our future ministry
• Our Wednesday Bible Studies that they would continue to grow
• We are looking for a new venue for the church, presently we are meeting in a hall
• Patrick and Gina Dutoit; Robin & Melissa Pienaar – marital issues
• Men to take leadership roles:  deacons; youth leaders
• National pastors:  Dennis Nkosi and Cedric John (pictured to the right with his wife Yvonne)
• Penny as she cares for the boys, Joshua and Michael, and home schools Kathryn
• Godly men, called by the Lord, to train for church planting

Praises:  (We praise the Lord for…)

• Kathryn transitioning well into home schooling
• Numerous children and adults who have accepted Christ recently
• The precious spirit of love and unity in the church
• Two godly national families that are being mentored in ministry
• The retrieval of our credit card
• Ellie Shaw visiting during the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays

Thank you for giving and your prayers for this ministry!  God has blessed and we give Him all of the glory.  We love you, pray for you, and praise the Lord for you!

Love in Christ,
Paul, Penny, Kathryn, Joshua, and Michael Hesman