February 21st, 2009
Mother Theresa said, “we can’t love the world, God does that. We are called to love our neighbour!”
Well what if our neighbour was in an informal settlement outside Durban; or in a township cynically built under the apartheid regime in the early 70′s – now struggling under the weight of crime and hopelessness; or in a church of 100 people in kwa Mashu where members die regularly – stricken down by preventable disease. As Christians we are called to be people of hope – so lets let our light shine.
A number of you have heard me nagging you in the last 6 months about the potential of using the interest in the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010, to motivate a group of people to move together in self-less mission. This trip that would be about exposure, about unity, and about practical service and partnership could make a tangible difference to the lives of some of the most disadvantaged people in South Africa.
With less than 18 months to go until our South Africa 2010 initiative, we are getting the ball rolling! Please come to one of our information nights to hear more about this amazing opportunity to serve God and His people – your neighbors – in Durban, South Africa. Can I encourage you to consider at this time whether you would like to come, and whether you would like to bring your friends, youth/cell group, or your whole church!!
The South Africa 2010 Information Nights will be held on:
– 27th February, 10.30 -11.30am at City Church Belfast, upstairs
- 11th March, 7.30-8.30pm in back room of Common Grounds Cafe
Could you please RSVP to belfast.ywamni {at} googlemail.com or call our office at 028 90243600 if you would like to attend an information night. I look forward to seeing you there!
In 1995 the slogan used by the South African government to encourage a united effort by all of its population to transformation in every area of life was “Masakhane”, meaning “let’s build together”. 15 years later, lets make a statement by going together from Ireland to help build South Africa.
Peace,
Jonny Clark
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February 21st, 2009

YWAM Ireland’s Closkelt DTS is half way into their outreach in Durban, South Africa. Below is a letter about what they’ve been up to so far! Enjoy!
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While working with YWAM Durban, we were able to go with them into a township called Burlington. While there we cleaned houses for some of the Grandmothers who have never seen a white person clean before, many of them were amazed that we were even there. In the afternoons we were able to play with the children there, they were so sweet and playful, they taught us new kinds of games and even helped us learn more Zulu. We are all thankful that God has given us the chance to show these kids his love.
While staying at YWAM Durban also we had one week of lectures. One of the staff members of the Durban location, Geoff Kingsford, taught us about relationships. It was a myriad of different types of relationships and how they all come together. It was both a challenging and an encouraging week for all of the students.
We next arrived at Missions Ablaze on February 8th and by February 9th we quickly found out how the next week was going to be. Currently Missions Ablaze is a place that requires a lot of physical labor. Everything from taking care of their property (using machetes to trim overgrowth) to helping make the food they serve in and around Durban (They serve about 5000 per week). They are also in the middle of building an orphanage to hold 100 kids that they would like to see open by June 1. We were involved with all these things and are very excited to see what the last 3 weeks of outreach bring us.
More to come later on!
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