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Learn about our Mission to South Africa
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Mission to South Africa
Mission Ministry in South Africa.
May 25 to June 4, 2007
La Casa's Mission Team:
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Pastor Jeff Ruby, Cassie Saba, Patsy Saba, Melody Gartrell-Sherman, Dr. Ray Heilman, Carie Heilman, Laurie Gerlach, Debbie Sanneman, Deb Schaffer, Jerry Houston, Herb Fluharty, Christine Fluharty, Ric Leutwyler and Sue Leutwyler.
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Our team leaders are Ron and Diane Meister, while Craig Culloton is our stateside Ambassador.
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Our First Meeting with Mike and Michelle, March 18th
by Ric Leutwyler
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A History of Helping Hands in Africa
Our congregation was touched to learn that the amazing story of Helping Hands for Africa actually begins with another story – one that is hard to comprehend as we live out our lives in relative opulence in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Lord’s calling to Mike and Michelle brought them to the New Life Church in 1990. There they heard the troubling story of children whose desperate search for food had led them take up residence near the site of the best source of food they could find - a local dump.
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For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in ...
Matthew 25:35
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Yes, they lived and found “nourishment” at the dump.
Mike and Michelle had already felt the calling to reach out beyond the walls of their church and beyond those who heard Mike’s message each week as the Senior Pastor. Soon after hearing this story and seeing the suffering for themselves, they pulled together resources to bring food to these desperate children. Their joy at being able to help these amazing children was offset by an unexpected development.
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind:
Luke 14:13
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As word spread of Mike and Michelle's kindness and the opportunity to find a hot meal each day, more children began to leave their villages and the population at the dump grew. Mike and Michelle knew that village life, while
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difficult, was vitally important to the full nourishment of these children. The saying, “it takes a village to raise a child” takes on special meaning in a region in which teenagers are often the primary caregiver for their brothers, sisters and aging grandparents.
Mike and Michelle surveyed the children and learned that most of them were coming from the nearby village of TOPPS. In hopes that they could prevent more children from moving from their villages to the dump, Mike and Michelle moved their ministry of meals to the village. As they spent time with these children they learned the full scope of their needs. This experience, and the Lord’s call to make a difference for those in need led Mike and Michelle to co-found Helping Hands in Africa.
It’s hard to comprehend the scope and seriousness of the situation in South Africa. And while numbers can never tell the story of people’s lives, these numbers help us understand how desperate their story must be:
- Nearly 80% of the pregnant mothers in the region served by Helping Hands test positive for HIV;
- After infection, they live only 3 to 5 years;
- South Africa already has more than 10 million orphans ... 3x the Phoenix metro population!
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