Recently with Go Missions!
We can’t believe 2024 is more than halfway over! We have been blessed to have two teams in South Africa already this year and it has been amazing to see the growth that has happened with this organization over these past few months. Take a moment with us to recap:
In March, our first one-month team made their way to South Africa with as a fantastic group of seven!
Our teams all begin their time in South Africa with an introduction to the program and worldview training.
It’s a great time to get to know each other and the “why” behind their service!
They continued the relationships we have built with partners such as the local preschool.
Spending the mornings playing with the kids in the yard, interacting with the teachers, and serving lunch!
Afternoons were filled with hanging out with the neighborhood kids in the backyard kicking the soccer ball, playing chess, and coloring!
The team was invited by the chief and welcomed to the local community celebration of Ummemo.
Ummemo is the annual ceremony where each chief calls for the importance and conservation of cultures, traditions and customs. In order to have unity and improvement in the communities these components are crucial.
They also returned to the Mbongozi Boarding School to serve with the staff by assisting in the laundry room and kitchen!
Easter was celebrated this year in the village! They spent it with the kids in the community and had an easter egg hunt!
During the March team's trip, one of the local teens came to our community partners with a tough situation at home. They were able to work out a way for him, his mom, and his siblings to have freedom from that living situation.
One of our community partners blessed him and his family with a property they can live on.
The team spent time with Pyo and some local community members helping this family start the process of making the new property livable.
They cleared out the space, painted the walls, and tiled the floors.
They headed back to the States in early April and then we began planning for the next team that would be serving in June.
At the end of May, our next team of five made their way to South Africa.
After worldview training and time to adjust, they began serving again at the preschool.
They returned to the nearby boarding school for deaf children and assisted again with the staff there. Our school partners were so excited to have a team to serve with again after only just a few months! We are striving to have teams constantly in South Africa to consistently be working with these partners.
Halfway through their time in South Africa, the schools closed for their scheduled school break. The team then spent their time finishing up what the March team began with Senzo.
They put a fresh paint of white on the house before paining a mural on the side facing the road. This mural is inspired by the things Senzo enjoys and his passion for worshiping the Lord with music.
They were able to find a welder to get doors on the houses and bars on the window.
They installed a water tank and got the house into moving in condition!
During their last week they spent time with the Kruger National Park rangers that we partner with to spend time in fellowship with them.
Our team camped with them at one of their campsites in the Kruger National Park and got a peak into what they do each day and the knowledge they’ve gained working in their field. They got to hear the rangers’ stories and the team got to share theirs. The rangers’ passion for what they do and how they recognize it as protecting God’s creation is inspiring to see.
The morning after camping the rangers took our team on a drive to see what they could find. There were helicopters in the area looking for rhinos to dart and then dehorn. Dehorning is a way to combat the poaching issues that are wiping out the rhino population. The rangers seek to put a stop to poachers every day. Once the rhinos are darted the team is able to dehorn the animal and take some samples to see if the animals are healthy. Once they complete the process they wake the rhinos back up and watch from a distance to see the animals get up and move on their way. While dehorning is not ideal it is the best way currently to combat this struggle.
While on the drive they were able to find the helicopter! With the rangers they were able to observe that team perform the dehorning.
It was a big moment for our team to see how important it would be for the kids in the community to see this type of thing and understand the struggle in their own backyard.
We are grateful for this friendship and to see how it grows in the future.
They were able to spend one of their last nights at the local youth group in town that some of the community partners’ kids go to. It was a time to share testimonies and be in fellowship.
They had an amazing time furthering those friendships and had a blast making smores by the fire!
Then it was time for the June team to travel back to the States. They each made it home earlier this month. Now we get to look forward to the opportunity to send out the next team.
If you or someone you know is interested in missions and would like more information on serving with Go Missions please don’t hesitate to reach out to serve@gomissions.global !!
Our upcoming mission dates are:
2024
October 1-November 8
2025
January 14-February 16
April 1-May 6
May 27-July 1
July 22-August 21
We would love to have you serve with us!!
