After one year of Covid-19 in South Africa…
From 22 – 24 March, Leon and I attended the Campus Crusade for Christ – Southern & Eastern Africa (CCC – SEA) Celebration Staff Conference. It was three mornings on Zoom listening to the great leaders from different countries share about God’s goodness. We experienced a sense of gratefulness and joy learning about the wonderful things God had done in the last year during the Hope 2020 initiative. Hope 2020 was a CCC – SEA initiative to “Win, Build and Send” Christ-centered multiplying disciples who launched spiritual movements throughout the SEA region. It was a beautiful time in the Lord, but I realized that I miss in-person ministry.
God in his sovereignty organized a special treat for me. Leon Mack has a special friend in Ohio (yes, a girlfriend). She sent a birthday gift to our son via her cousin, Dr. Takiyah White-Ndwanya, who returned to South Africa and lives in Cape Town. Last Monday, I received this gift from her. Takiyah invited me to come to a special outreach at a school that her organization has adopted. God made a way for me to attend.
Alongside Dr. Takiyah White-Ndwanya and her team, we delivered school clothes and shoes to the beautiful children of Mkhanyiseli Primary School in the Nyanga Township. Through Takiyah’s foundation, Donald Whtie/Mandla A. Ndwanya Memorial Fund, she desires to provide exceptional and targeted educational support and exchange opportunities for students in the United States and South Africa to serve learners in schools and promote cross-cultural learning and understanding.
Numah, the foundation’s coordinator, had special words of encouragement to the learners. She challenged them to work hard despite the current conditions as they attend school on alternate days because of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. Numah proclaimed, “Friends from all over the world are praying for them and believing God to keep them safe and help them learn this year.”
Oh, what joy filled my heart! I learned that the foundation provided food parcels to students and their families during the pandemic. They were actively looking for ways to continue to explore fulfilling the needs at Mkhanyiseli and John Pama primary schools.
Please join me in praying for these leaders that God will provide funding to hire Numah as a full-time coordinator and find office space in Nyanga area, so they may continue to meet the needs of the community.
Sincerely,
Melanie Best
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