Ongoing Reports
From
South Africa

January 2013

Greetings in Christ,

I am excited to update you on all the God is doing through your generous support. The Bryce homes in Durban South Africa are doing so well. We recently baptized 6 individuals from the homes. Pastors Art and Ruth Bartlett from Pangman, Sask. helped us out!! We have more to baptize as well. The families are doing well. The food and support we give them is making a difference. There are many challenges but the support along with the Bible teaching has been so helpful. We are seeing an increase in their faith. The families have experienced many challenges but we see more and more that they turn to God through their difficulties. One of the other homes had both the Granny and her grand-daughter get baptized. The granny was so brave stepping into the cold pool!!! We also have had great things happening in our home where we are now caring for two more orphans who are flourishing now that they are receiving love and support.

This past year we have been providing food and support for the Bryce homes through your support. This means that these children can go to bed with a full stomach and go to school. We take them fresh vegetables like onions potatoes and carrots as well as rice, and Mealie meal. The children’s uniforms and school fees were paid for through UTT and this has meant so much to these children. I have been monitoring the reports and the children are doing well overall. The families are very thankful!!

Apart from these homes sponsored by UTT we are also giving care and support to over 65 other orphans and Vulnerable children. We help them with school uniforms and shoes and food parcels. We
also provide them with things like toiletries. The church has been growing with both young and old. We recently began a ministry caring for the elderly who do not have enough help. God has truly blessed this ministry and we are seeing women give their lives to Jesus and more and more elderly are reaching out for support and God is touching their lives in a powerful way. We are seeing miraculous healings. One woman not only gave her life to Jesus but went from not being able to get out of bed to now being able to walk without support for a short while.

November 2012 - Roger's Trip in Nov. 2012

One year has passed since my first trip to Durban, South Africa when I first visited David and Christa Meisner, missionaries from Canada.  David was the same age as our son Bryce and he grew up in the same town, Eston, Saskatchewan. Since Understand The Times made a decision to shift our main focus to help poor and needy Christians around the world by coming alongside pastors and assisting them financially, we felt that David and Krista’s ministry would be a perfect fit and a very good investment.

It was while I was in Durban a year ago that I decided to revise the Bryce Lodge Myanmar program to become the Bryce Homes Program. It became apparent to me that we could accomplish more and make a bigger difference by establishing Christian homes overseen by local pastors that would help in distributing food, provide better living conditions, education and Christian education. The Meisner’s agreed to partner with Understand The Times to work towards this goal in a very poor area where they minister in Durban.

The new home is like a mansion compared to the shack they were living in.  Before, ten adults and children all slept and ate in one room. They will now have a toilet, shower and three rooms for sleeping and eating. Each person, adult and child will have a bed to sleep on. There are a few more things yet to be done such as adding a solar hot water heater and plastering the walls and painting the interior and the exterior. Understand The Times has committed the funds to complete this project.

Bryce Homes Two and Three in South Africa are specifically designated to provide education for students who would otherwise not be able to go to school. The Meisner’s provide the care for Bryce Home Two. The student is Desmond

Bryce Home Three is overseen by a widowed grandmother who attends David and Krista’s church. She looks after her granddaughter who is going into grade eight.  The grandmother does not have enough money to feed her grandchild nor send her to school.

While in Durban we made the commitment to establish two more Bryce Homes by assisting two more families. This will make a total of five Bryce Homes in South Africa. In every case the children attend David and Krista’s church and youth group.

My trip to Durban was very rewarding. I was able to see the tremendous difference that had taken place in one year.

Please pray for the Meisner’s and the work they are doing among the poor in Durban, South Africa. Each Friday evening they hold a youth service in their home attended by over 25 young people..

David transports them to the meeting and takes them home when the meeting is over. Their weekly church service is held in one of the member’s homes. The lady who provides this place for teaching and worship also provides a room where food can be stored and then distributed to

those who are need. The work that the Meisner’s are doing is truly the Lord’s hand extended.

While Understand The Times provides some personal support for the Meisner family, their ministry goes far beyond the Bryce Homes South Africa Program into a number of other areas. They are presently in the process of setting up their own non-profit organization in Canada. I strongly recommend that individuals, other organizations and churches support their work.

June 2012

Greetings!

I am attaching a picture of the Gumede family taken at a recent service. I cannot begin to tell you all that God is doing in their lives but it is amazing. As we have been getting to know them more and more and hearing all that God has brought them through I can only tell you that the support from UTT had been the answer to their many prayers. Dave's dad will give you some video footage as well as some more photos!!

The Masuku family is doing very well too and God is really increasing their faith. They have become very involved in the ministry and are very thankful for your support. This too is an answer to years of prayers, even those of their late Grandmother who was a Christian and prayed for them. That is one of the memories of their family that they often share.

How are you doing? How is Ron? We have been praying for all of you as a church.

Blessings,

Krista

February 16, 2012

Family #1: Gumede Family

The Gumede family live in a small one room shack at the back of a relative’s home. There are eleven people living in the shack. There is only one bed. Those who do not sleep on the bed will lay on straw mats on the floor. The family has very little for possessions and struggles to have food to eat and clothes to wear, with only a small income coming in. One of the daughters is sick with seizures and has some brain damage as a result. Another daughter was raped and became pregnant. Another of her children passed away leaving grandchildren in her care. Mother Gumede, is a woman of great faith and has become a regular attendee of church along with her family. The food that is provided through Understand the Times has made a huge impact on the family. By providing basics such as flour, sugar, mealie, rice, beans and oil the family is doing much better. They give God praise and say that He has looked upon them and blessed them. The family is happy to attend church on Sunday morning and the older daughters have also joined the Tuesday Bible study. Ma Gumede has testified that since coming to church they have seen God bring good change to their lives.