All-
 
With a heavy heart I have to say that our Venture is coming to a close. We just arrived back from dropping off the first member of the team (my roommate Jonathan) at the airport.
 
I have had a lot to learn on this trip and I believe I was able to contribute a little too. Last night we went around the table and everyone said what they thought each person was able to bring to the table by way of affirmation.
 
Thank you all for your prayers during the Venture.
 
Attached are some take aways from the trip:
1. That from seeing the struggles of businessmen and their fights to provide for their families, I can have a much greater appreciation of the struggles my father overcame for 30 years to put food on the table for me and my family, and even more at least a greater glimpse of God the Father’s sacrifice for us.
2. That when I return home I will have a renewed determination to see Christ glorified in all of my actions.
3. That I have a lot to learn about caring for others. One of the things I have thought about is how I have trained myself to survive by taking care of myself.
4. That I can walk into a church in a foreign land and embrace men as brothers because Christ bought us all with the same blood.

Here are five contributions that I believe we made:
1. We called out local business leaders and help to stoke their passion to work together for their community for Christ’s sake.
2. We encouraged struggling businessmen and businesswomen to continue to persevere in the midst of significant financial difficulty.
3. We preached the Gospel to people of multiple nationalities
4. We encouraged people take share the Gospel with others
5. We represented Americans and Christians as compassionate caring people, who are willing to make significant sacrifices to make an impact on the lives and hearts of people.
6. We identified ways in which “repurposed” businesses can continue to improve themselves and how businessmen can glorify God in their businesses.
7. We as a team encouraged each other, and I believe will have created lasting friendships with each other and others in the community we acted in.
 
Thanks I look forward to seeing you all soon and being back in my own country
 
Brandon

Ya gotta love kids.  Know matter where I’ve been, all kids love to be asked “how old are you?”  The kids in this township were no different. 

After a morning of business meetings we had a chance to visit a couple of the local townships.  This is something I’ve been looking forward to since I arrived.  And true to my Cape Town experience we where warmly welcomed.  Our guide was just walking us around the community when a group of kids started to follow us and before you know it the team was playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, a South African version of Duck, Duck, Goose, and enough High 5’s were passed around to add up to $1000 :-)

I don’t know if you can tell from the photo up top but many of the homes these children live in are just shacks, literally.  This means no insulation, running water and sometimes no electricity. When you drive down the freeways in Cape Town you’ll see hundreds of these shacks, like mini cities sitting off the side of the road.

The remaining oppression in South Africa just seems so awful, especially for the people in these townships. Yet in the mist of it all, the kids we met lived in a community, they know love and joy.  The smiles on their faces gave me hope. 

Please pray for the people that live in these townships, for my teammates as they begin traveling back home over the course of the next few days and for the rep leaders that will remain here and continue to service the people of South Africa.

Theresa

As of Wednesday Oct. 14, we had an awesome sight seeing adventure going through Simon’s Town to Cape Point. On the way, we saw baboons, blue skies, clear blue water, and mountains.  It was a great team building experience hiking together helping each other go through the “desert”/ white sand beach =-)  and navigating the rocks to hike to the majestic view of Cape Point.  Praise the Lord for good weather and traveling mercies.  I enjoyed learning the 14 books of the Bible from my teammate, during the car ride.  My goal is to learn all 66 books by Sunday.

-Jamie

Our team had the opportunity to visit two clients in the morning and one client in the afternoon. The clients were in the Cape Town area and we had our first truly sunny day which allowed us to see the amazing surroundings of the city.

Our morning clients provided a great testament to how businesses can bring glory to the Kingdom. Impacts included using a significant portion of “Profit” for investment into social programs and by focusing on “People” by taking responsibility for discipling employees. It was really great to see how the CEO viewed employee development (spiritual and leadership) as one of his most important roles.

Later we had the opportunity to bring the entire team of eight together for a client visit, which included lunch. Again this client was able to provide an encouraging testimony of how God is using his business. One common theme we’ve seen from most client visits is an incredible appreciation for the rep ministry, which has been a great encouragement to the entire team.

Jonathan

Jonathan

Jamie.

Today, half the Cape Town team traveled to visit client businesses and half of the team stayed at the lodge to prepare and pray for past rep clients.  I stayed behind to prepare the time when past rep clients come and we pray and bless their business.  While preparing, I had interesting conversations with the housekeeper at the lodge.  I have not done much or said much to her, but she was experiencing a renewal in her heart.  While she was washing the dishes, she was alarmed when she found out that I was just behind her.  I did not mean to startle her, but I told her I was praying for her and that God would pour his presence into her heart.  She was teary eyed and confirmed that she felt the presence of God in our midst and that she liked to be with “nice people” like us.  She shared her family story and how she had ended up as the housekeeper through a series of unconventional circumstances.  We were able to shred chicken together in preparation for chicken soup dinner.  This is one of many examples where the Cape Town team is able to bless and encourage others without seemingly doing much. 

During the prayer time with past rep clients, we gathered together with other intercessors to bless the business.  As we prayed for the business, we spoke words of encouragement to uplift the business situation and the business couple to continue to sow their time into their inspired projects even though they may not see immediate fruit.  The business owners were encouraged and affirmed through the process.  May the team continue to bring renewal, refreshment and revitalization to Cape Town businesses.

-Khanh