Pray&Go

Category: Monthly Newsletter

  • The Year-End Review Newsletter

    The Year-End Review Newsletter

    December 2025

    Welcome Letter

    Dearest Friends & Partners in Christ’s Service,

    Welcome to my December 2025 newsletter update! I have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to give you an update on all the Lord has been doing in and through our ministry work across the nations, and I am so glad you are here reading this now. May God bless you and fill you with joy through the testimony of Jesus during this season as we celebrate our Lord’s divine birth. May God be with you as you read.

    In this year-end review newsletter, I am sharing photos and testimonies highlighting moments from 2025, with short sections describing what I was seeing and a part of doing in the nations we traveled to this year as a ministry team. I am also sharing what I am currently doing and preparing for as we move into the new year, including plans to return to South Africa in January.

    2025 has been a year filled with joy, triumph, glory, wonder, and awe. Looking back, I am truly astounded by all the Lord has done and by the many unexpected blessings throughout this season. It has been a joy to be part of the Fire & Fragrance South Africa family and the broader Potchefstroom community. I am deeply thankful for the experiences I have had—and will continue to have—through partnership with faithful prayer warriors, financial supporters, and ministers of the Gospel both here in the United States and abroad. I truly have the best job ever, and I cannot fully express how thankful I am for all that the Lord has done.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to both you and yours!

    — Matthew Forrest Akre


    Stories from the Nations — 2025

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    Sustainable Farming & Bible Distribution

    Bushbuckridge, South Africa | February 2025

    We were invited by our brothers at Wycliffe Bible Translators to train local church members in sustainable agriculture, and our team was thrilled to serve the South African community through both practical training and the sharing of God’s Word. We traveled to Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga Province, bringing Bibles in local languages and partnering with friends who facilitate Farming God’s Way training.

    This trip was especially meaningful for me as I learned more about the simplicity and effectiveness of sustainable agriculture practices. I was filled with faith and vision, realizing how these methods could one day be applied in other parts of Africa to help families and communities steward their land and provide food in practical, sustainable ways.

    During the training, we were able to distribute free Bibles to participants and share simple discipleship moments alongside the farming instruction. It was also during this trip that our leadership team received the initial idea to build a Bible Distribution App for the FFSA community—an idea that continues to serve the wider ministry today.

    God’s Story Training & Translation

    Egypt | March 2025

    “From Cape to Cairo, all of Africa will sing, Worthy is the Lamb!”

    – FFSA Prayer Room

    In March, our Project 54 team traveled to Egypt to participate in preparation and training for the God’s Story Oral DTS (GSDTS). This trip gave us the opportunity to learn more about oral discipleship methods, strengthen partnership with the Project 54 team, and support their ministry through Bible translation training.

    During this time, I was also able to meet with long-term translation partners connected to sensitive regions of Africa. These conversations opened the door for extended time together, where I was able to provide foundational translation training while still on the ground.

    As a result, several new translations of the God Stories were initiated—a collection of 35 Bible stories being used to multiply discipleship across Africa. I left deeply encouraged by how these translations are expanding access to God’s Word in communities with little or no Scripture available.

    This trip also marked the beginning of a significant ministry transition for me, as I shifted into Project 54, a ministry focused on multiplying disciple-making movements throughout Africa. I now serve as part of the full-time staff at Fire & Fragrance South Africa, and I am grateful for how God has been faithfully leading each step.

    Bible Translation Accelerator

    Nepal | May 2025

    From Cairo to Kathmandu, our year was filled with unexpected invitations to the nations. While in Nepal, we learned about new oral Bible translation tools and saw firsthand how accessible it is to translate Scripture using simple mobile recording methods.

    As we trained alongside teams from other nations, it became clear that we are part of a much larger family of Kingdom workers committed to bringing God’s Word to people in their heart languages. During this time, we also reconnected with close friends serving cross-culturally and spent time with leaders involved in translation efforts among persecuted communities.

    This season felt deeply divinely appointed. God marked us in a fresh way for the global movement of Bible translation, and what began as vision-casting conversations quickly became reality. We are now working with tools that support both Scripture translation and God’s Story translation for disciple-making movements.

    Flood Week & Youth Evangelism Outreach

    Emalahleni, South Africa | July 2025

    In July, our teams at Fire & Fragrance South Africa participated in our annual youth evangelism outreach known as Flood Week. Our team had the privilege of serving in Emalahleni (Witbank), where over the course of approximately 11 days we preached the Gospel to more than 26,000 primary and secondary school students.

    We partnered closely with local church leadership, and throughout the week we witnessed thousands of young people respond to the Gospel, along with healing and freedom encounters as the Lord moved powerfully among the youth.

    During this outreach, students were also mobilized to reach their own schools and neighborhoods through The Send South Africa, a global missions mobilization movement launching nationally in 2026.

    Youth Evangelism Training

    Nkhata Bay, Malawi | August 2025

    During my first trip to Malawi in early 2024, I met a young local leader who has since grown into a strong servant of God helping lead an evangelistic ministry in Nkhata Bay known as Christ’s Messengers Malawi. Over the past two years, the ministry has started more than 100 small groups across eight villages, reaching many who lack access to local churches.

    In August 2025, I returned to Malawi with a ministry partner to provide disciple-making training and co-facilitate a youth evangelism conference. During our time together, we witnessed salvations, healing encounters, and were able to support the ministry with Bibles and hymn books.

    I am currently hosting a weekly coaching call with the core leadership team, walking through the book of Acts to discover how disciple-making movements multiplied in the early Church.

    Ministry Fruit & Stats

    Youth Evangelism Outreach — Emalahleni

    • People Gathered: 26,032
    • Salvations: 6,276
    • Recommitments: 143
    • Healings: 11
    • Deliverances: 12
    • Schools Reached: 31

    FFSA Prayer Room (2025)

    • 235 Days of Prayer
    • 705 Prayer Topics
    • 46,000 Hours of Prayer

    Bible Distribution — FFSA Teams

    • Total Bibles Distributed: 4,710

    God’s Story Translation Progress

    Translations started in the following languages:

    • Arabic (Fusha)
    • Sudanese Arabic
    • Afrikaans
    • Chichewa
    • Maasai
    • Moro
    • Lokoya
    • French

    Gratitude & Looking Ahead to 2026

    Thank you for standing with me through prayer, generosity, and encouragement. As I prepare to return to South Africa, I am filled with faith for what God will continue to do through Fire & Fragrance South Africa and Project 54—especially in disciple-making, Bible distribution, and oral Scripture translation across Africa.

    Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2026!

    Become A Partner

    To support Matthew’s ministry efforts financially, please click the link above. And thank you for your generosity!

    Subscribe to Receive My Next Update!

  • VISION AFRICA 2033– June 25′ Newsletter

    VISION AFRICA 2033– June 25′ Newsletter

    A Bible Movement in Every Language

    Earlier this year, I shared a vision with you—a deep conviction that God is calling us to End Bible Poverty Now in our generation, across the nations of Africa. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and partnership as we’ve taken our first steps into this calling.

    Today, I’m writing to clarify and build upon that vision. In this first half of 2025, God has sharpened the vision, and clarified the calling upon our team and what our role will be in that. What was once a bold dream is now becoming a clear, Spirit-led strategy, and is now starting to bear fruit!

    Vision Africa 2033

    We’re now running with a bold, continent-wide strategy called Vision Africa 2033—and here’s what we’re contending for:

    • Grassroots prayer movements through PrayOMT—locally-led groups adopting languages, interceding weekly, and joining global monthly Zoom prayer calls.

    • 6 OMT Hubs planted across Africa—training and launching translation teams. Nigeria has already started building a movement of translation with an OMT Hub, and South Africa is not far behind—we’re about to launch our first OMT translation and establish the OMT Hub in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

    • 12,000 new OMT Bible translations by 2033, focused on Africa’s oral-first, Bibleless languages. We believe every language in Africa will worship God in their mother tongue—on earth as it is in heaven.

    This expanded vision for Africa not only redefines the task for our mission, but brings the full scope of the Great Commission into clear view. Let me share a little bit on how we got here.

    From South Africa to Egypt

    In April, I joined our Project 54 team in Egypt to help multiply leaders of the God’s Story Oral DTS for North Africa and the Middle East. I expected a simple two-week training—a chance to learn and support—but God had more creative intentions.

    What began as a short visit turned into a three-week assignment from heaven. I stayed an extra week to help new leaders begin translating the 35 God Stories into their mother tongues—orally. God moved powerfully in our time together. These leaders in Egypt dedicated themselves to translating the Word for their students, their communities, and their nation.

    Doors opened for us to serve languages in closed nations, where professing Christians can be killed for their faith, and in war-torn places where many have had to flee. God is choosing to use everyday believers to translate His Word—as if their search for refuge has led them beside the still waters of Psalm 23, where they can engage with God and His Word in safety.

    Since our trip, we’ve received testimonies of the God Stories being translated into more than four languages from these unreached places. One translation multiplying into four new translations in a matter of months! These are seeds of movement, and they are growing.

    As these school leaders now walk their students through the God’s Story DTS, please pray for their protection and for a mighty move of God in the nation of Egypt. May the Lord release movements of discipleship and translation across the nations.

    Revelation from the Road

    What happened in Egypt was more than a breakthrough—it was a prophetic signpost. As oral translations began in mother tongues, we saw clearly: translation is not just a support tool—it’s how the Kingdom advances.

    Soon after returning, we gathered for training with Rej Mack—and it was there that God gave me a deeper revelation of ekklesia. Jesus isn’t building a static church service—He is establishing His Kingdom everywhere.

    And He’s given us the Book of Luke–Acts as our blueprint. In it, we see how Gospel-saturated movements of ordinary people who obey Jesus, multiply disciples, and bring transformation to entire regions are born and sustained by the Word.

    Nepal & the Word-Shaped Commission

    In Nepal, our understanding of the Great Commission was transformed.

    To disciple every nation and every people group, we realized that it must be measured at the most granular level. The late YWAM founder, Loren Cunningham said that the greatest vision he could imagine was to see every language on earth reached with the Gospel in their mother tongue…

    To finish the task Jesus gave us, we must get the Word of God into every language on earth—not just in writing, but orally, in the living speech of every tribe and tongue.

    That’s why we’ve agreed to join the global initiative of Every Language—a vision to end Bible poverty through oral Bible translation in every mother tongue. This is not just about literacy. It’s about access, identity, and transformation—and about finishing what Jesus started nearly 2000 years ago.

    …As Loren Cunningham said:
    “The Bible is the foundation for transformation. Until everyone has it in their own language, the Great Commission cannot be completed.”

    Join the Vision: Pray. Partner. Go.

    Thank you for journeying with me through this update. I know this is BIG—but I believe this isn’t just a good idea… this is a God idea, and the mandate of the Church.

    I want to personally invite you to join this movement through prayer, partnership, and presence.

    PRAY
    Visit www.PrayOMT.com to commit to weekly intercession for a mother tongue language.

    PARTNER
    We’re looking for individuals, churches, and teams to walk with us—to adopt languages, support hubs, and stand with us long-term.

    JOIN US LIVE
    I’ll be hosting a short Google Meet info session for anyone interested in hearing more. If you want to learn how you can pray, partner, or mobilize others, this is a great space to connect.

    Date: Saturday, July 12, 2025
    Time: 9:00 AM PST | 6:00 PM Johannesburg time
    Link to join: https://calendar.app.google/RpVd8XMmgvo15CCp7

    Let’s finish the race Jesus gave us—together.

    With love,
    Matthew Forrest Akre
    Potchefstroom, South Africa
    Vision Africa 2033 | Fire & Fragrance | Every Language

  • January 25′ – Mission Vision Newsletter

    January 25′ – Mission Vision Newsletter

    Dear Friends and Partners in the Gospel,

    Wow, what a journey it’s been! As we step into 2025, my heart is bursting with gratitude for each of you. Your unwavering support has been a beacon of light, guiding and uplifting me through every twist and turn of this incredible mission. Reflecting on the past year, I’m reminded of Philippians 1:3-5:

    I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

    Reflecting on 2024: A Year of Harvest

    In reflection, 2024 was nothing short of miraculous. Early in the year, I had the privilege of journeying to Malawi with my dear friends, Josi and Danielle. Together, we embarked on an Oral Mother Tongue (OMT) Bible Translation workshop, training 70 passionate mother tongue translators across seven languages. It was awe-inspiring to witness communities embracing Scripture in their heart languages, fostering unity among diverse church denominations.

    Back in Potchefstroom, South Africa, our Discipleship Bible School (DBS) was in full swing. I had the joy of mentoring five incredible young men, guiding them through the grand narrative of God’s redemptive plan from Genesis to Revelation. Their hunger for the Word and the transformation I witnessed in them was truly inspiring.

    And who could forget our “Exalted” worship and outreach initiative? FLOOD WEEK was a tidal wave of God’s grace, reaching nearly 9,000 individuals, resulting in over 1,800 salvations, and countless healings. The Lord’s hand was evident as we witnessed a wave of souls entering the Kingdom.

    End Bible Poverty Now Mission Vision for 2025

    Looking ahead, 2025 is brimming with promise. This year, we’re laser-focused on key targets that will propel us toward our long-term vision of Ending Bible Poverty.

    1. Launch 5 New Bible Translations

    We’re gearing up to kickstart 5 new Oral Mother Tongue (OMT) Bible Translation projects this year, inching us closer to our ambitious goal of 120 translations by 2030. These translations will be recorded and shared in oral, digital, and audio formats, ensuring that even non-literate communities can experience the life-changing power of Scripture.

    2. Distribute 5,400 Bibles

    Our mission is to place 5,400 Bibles into the hands of believers across Africa in 2025. This includes:

    • Printed Bibles for those who love the feel of the pages.

    • Audio Bibles & SD Cards for our non-literate and remote brothers and sisters.

    • Digital Bible formats to reach those with mobile access.

    This effort is a stepping stone toward our broader vision of distributing 1,000,000 Bibles by 2035.

    3. Establish Fire & Fragrance South Africa as an EBPN Hub and Training Center

    We’re laying the groundwork to transform our base in Potchefstroom into a vibrant End Bible Poverty Now (EBPN) Hub. This center will be a haven for training and equipping missionaries and local leaders, focusing on:

    • Training missionaries in Bible translation, distribution, and engagement, equipping them with the tools to bring Scripture to Bible-less communities.

    • Hosting workshops for church leaders and mission workers, empowering them to effectively engage communities with the Bible.

    • Providing resources and mentorship for those working in Oral Mother Tongue (OMT) Bible Translation and Scripture engagement.

    4. Implement the 6 Pillars of EBPN at the Training Center

    At our new EBPN Training Center, we’ll be embracing the 6 Pillars of End Bible Poverty Now (EBPN):

    📖 Prayer – Mobilizing prayer movements focused on Bible-less people groups.

    📖 Translation – Training and equipping local translators for OMT Bible projects.

    📖 Distribution – Developing strategic partnerships to ensure the Bible reaches those in need.

    📖 Engagement – Training leaders to teach and disciple new believers using the Bible.

    📖 Publication – Producing audio, digital, and printed Bibles to reach all communities.

    📖 Motivation – Raising up a new generation of Bible champions and advocates.

    Vision for 2025 & Beyond

    At Fire & Fragrance South Africa, we’re passionately committed to the vision of End Bible Poverty Now (EBPN): “Every nation transformed through engagement with God and His Word.”

    Here’s how 2025 fits into the bigger picture:

    ✅ 5 new Bible translations → Moving toward 120 by 2030

    ✅ 5,400 Bibles distributed → Contributing to the 1,000,000 goal by 2035

    ✅ Establishing an EBPN Hub & Training Center to equip missionaries

    ✅ Implementing the 6 Pillars of EBPN to sustain long-term impact

    By faithfully pursuing our 2025 targets, we’re building momentum toward these greater long-term milestones!

    How You Can Partner

    As we embark on this next season, your partnership is vital in seeing every tribe and tongue receive the Word of God. Here’s how you can be involved:

    📖 Pray – Join us in prayer for open doors, divine provision, and the right people to be trained in Bible translation and distribution.

    🎁 Give – Partner financially to support Bible translation, publication, and distribution efforts. Your giving directly helps to fund translation equipment, SD cards, and printed Bibles.

    🌍 Engage – Join our next connect call on February 15th at 10 AM (PST) to chat with me and hear more about what God is doing through our partnership! I just want to share about our mission and share how you can engage with EBPN’s vision of ending Bible poverty.

    Closing Thoughts

    Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7:

    I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”

    As we plant and water in 2025, we trust God for the increase. Together, we are witnessing the fulfillment of Habakkuk 2:14:

    For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

    Thank you for standing with me. Let’s continue to bring His Word to every nation, every tribe, and every tongue.

    With gratitude and expectation,

    Matthew Forrest Akre

    Stay updated on our journey: Subscribe to my newsletter for monthly testimonies and updates.

  • The 2024 Year-End Review

    The 2024 Year-End Review

    The Year-End Review

    Oh, what a year! This year-end review letter is going to showcase some of the highlights of what God did in my first year in the nations, through photos. To recap, this first year in the mission field with Fire & Fragrance, South Africa, has been one filled with the transforming power, sweetness, and delight of life with our beautiful God. I want to use this opportunity to praise the Lord for what He has done!

    Praise the Lord! Praise God in His holy place. Praise Him in the skies, where He shows His power.

    Praise Him for the amazing things He has done. Praise Him because He is so great!

    Praise Him with the sound of trumpets. Praise Him with harps and lyres.

    Praise Him with tambourines and dancing. Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes.

    Praise Him with loud cymbals. Praise Him with clashing cymbals.

    Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

    – Psalm 150

    Oral Bible Translation Outreach to Malawi!

    In the first part of the year, I had the unique privilege of taking an oral Bible translation (OBT) school on outreach to Malawi with my two friends/co-leaders, Josi and Danielle. We were blessed to make friends with Elijah, Micah, Gilbert, who all helped us to translate the OBT training materials, and many more amazing friends along the way. The outreach was full of unexpected twists and turns, but God’s way is always better than our way. We ultimately got to begin training a group of about 70 translators and church leaders in OBT and help them to start translating the Bible orally into 7 different mother tongue languages in Malawi. It was a spectacular outreach, and the fruit of it continues to this day.

    If you want to read more on this, please see these related posts:

    OBT Outreach to Malawi!

    April 24′ Newsletter – OBT Outreach to Malawi – The OBT Workshop

    The FFSA Prayer Room

    After spending three months in Malawi, we had to say goodbye to our new friends, and come back “home,” to South Africa! But, it didn’t really feel like home when we first came back… I was a bit unsure what do do now that I had no school to be a part of, so I just invited the Holy Spirit into my process, and He led me to join the FFSA Prayer & Worship Circle, as a secondary ministry to my work with End Bible Poverty Now (EBPN). As I continued working on building the Bible ministry up with Josi, Cassie, Maggie, and Ailea, I also started playing violin and worship leading in the prayer room and for our ministry nights. It was such a unique shift, but a very welcome one.

    Fire & Fragrance Global Gathering in Albania

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    In the beginning of May, our whole Fire & Fragrance (FF) global community gathered together in Albania for a time of prayer, impartation, and catching vision for the future of our movement. Our hearts unified around the mission of seeing the nations filled with the knowledge of Jesus through our apostolic, pioneering efforts to go to the unreached, and witness the Gospel to those who have never heard it before. Since the gathering, our movement has taken on greater fervor in prayer, even sending intercessors to pray for 12 consecutive hours in 8 different locations across Asia. God is always on the move, and we want to seek Him wherever He goes.

    June 24′ Newsletter

    Leif & Grace Grandorff Wedding in Kona

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    In June, I had the honor of being the best man in my very good friend Leif’s wedding. It was such a joy to spend some quality time with Leif and his wife Grace before the big day, and getting to see their families come together for this once-in-a-lifetime event was so special for me. This experience was truly a gift from the Lord, and I will never forget the unique moments we shared together. Praise the Lord for marriage and families!

    June 24′ Newsletter

    Fire & Fragrance Tour in Witbank, South Africa

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    In July, I was so blessed when I got an invitation to go on outreach in South Africa to a town called Witbank, a mining town with over 20 different primary and secondary schools. During the outreach we preached the Gospel and taught students about the importance of evangelism and intercessory prayer in fulfilling the Great Commission. Our team of 15 saw over 11,000 students at over 21 different schools over a period of 10 days, seeing over 3,000 young men and women come to Christ, and receive healing, deliverance, and freedom in the Holy Spirit! It was amazing!!!

    July 24′ Newsletter

    The OBT “Upskilling” Workshop at YWAM Los Angeles

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    The month of August brought new innovations and visions into focus as my teammate Maggie and I went to Los Angeles for the OBT “Upskilling” workshop. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we are so blessed to be able to work with so many incredibly kind and intelligent people in the Bible translation movement, who all have the heart of God to see the Bible in every mother tongue on earth. It is the greatest joy to be able to serve in this movement and ministry, and continue to grow in our skills over time.

    August 24′ Newsletter – Part I

    August 24′ Newsletter – Part II!

    YWAM Together in Manila, Philippines

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    YWAM Together was an unforgettable event where over 4000 YWAMers from 110 different nations gathered together to remember what God has done over the 60+ years of our mission. We also remembered Loren Cunningham, our late founder, who actually set foot in every country on earth for the Gospel. God is amazing, and to hear of the history and purpose of our mission, and meditate on the values that have continued to bear fruit over decades has really given me a new perspective on missions and my role to play in it. I will never forget YWAM Together 2024 and the amazing things God has done through our mission, Jesus is the Lord!

    November 24′ Newsletter

    EXALTED Conference in Potchefstroom, South Africa

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    In October, our Fire & Fragrance community in Potchefstroom held a 2-day worship conference called EXALTED, where over 2000 people attended from all over South Africa with the singular aim to “Give Him No Rest,” a line from Isaiah 62:7, meaning that we must not rest in prayer and obedience to God, trusting that He will not rest until His Kingdom comes – even to South Africa!

    On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.

    The EXALTED conference was originally inspired by our FFSA Prayer Room, where we meet daily to worship and intercede for the nations, trusting that God hears our prayers and will answer them to see His Kingdom established in the earth. That week, we also held a local evangelism-focused outreach where we gathered over 8,922 people, and saw 1,815 salvations, 389 recommitments, and 117 healings. God moves in powerful ways today – doing miracles, signs, and wonders all around the world – and He alone deserves the glory!

    November 24′ Newsletter

    Discipleship Bible School

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    In our final quarter of 2024, I had the privilege of discipling a group of men in our Discipleship Bible School, a 3-month school which teaches DTS graduates how to study the Bible and equips them to tell the story of God. The best part for me was hearing about all the revelations that the students were having, and how deeply impacted they were by the teachings and time spent meditating on the Word of God. I also received fresh hunger for the Bible, and a desire to seek God more in His Word. I am so blessed and very grateful that I got to be a part of it.

    November 24′ Newsletter

    EBPN Final Stats for 2024

    To finish the year off, here are some stats from the EBPN ministry in 2024:

    Bibles Distributed: 1,266

    DBS Students Educated: 47

    Translations Served: 7 languages in Malawi

    Let’s give thanks to the Lord for what He has done! I also just want to share some of the many amazing testimonies from our teams who did Bible distribution:

    Today there were 21 healings, 9 salvations! A man’s broken foot was healed and he walked up and down the stairs ditching his crutch and He got saved!

    Everyone was beyond blessed and cherished their first Bible! People cried and shouted with joy to receive God’s Word!

    Blind eyes were opened, and cancer left! People were baptized in the Holy Spirit!

    Overall, 2024 was an incredible first year in the mission field. I was deeply impacted by the works that God performed in my personal life, and in the ministry that I get to be a part of. I would say that, despite the challenges that came with my “yes,” it was worthwhile for me because of the Lord’s hand upon every step of our journey.

    Prayer Points for 2025

    • Pray for financial support for my personal ministry and our EBPN team, so that we can continue to grow our efforts in South Africa and the nations with prayer, Bible translation, publication, distribution, education, and multiplication!
    • Pray for dreams and visions for myself, our EBPN team, and leaders, so that we will both see what God is calling us to do, and also be able to put it into practice and make those dreams a reality.
    • Pray for wisdom and revelation of the Lord in this new year, that we would know God more, and be able to walk faithfully with Him in simple obedience, and find creative ways to serve Him in getting the Gospel to the unreached.

    Wishing you a very merry Christmas, and a happy new year! I hope to connect with you very soon over the holiday break, and continue to grow as a community who loves Jesus and desires to see His Kingdom come to earth!

    I’d love to hear your thoughts—please feel free to reply or share your favorite moments with me!

    Blessings!

  • November 24′ Newsletter

    November 24′ Newsletter

    Preparing for the New!

    Since YWAM Together 2024, I’ve been getting settled into the new season back in Potch, but it’s definitely not a time to slow down. This new season has been quite a whirlwind as God is bringing fresh vision for the new year – which is just around the corner. My team and I have been working hard in making disciples, preparing the soil through our prayers, and building networks for revival across Africa! Hallelujah!!!

    Discipleship Bible School

    My DBS Small Group

    This quarter our campus in Potch is running a Discipleship Bible School (DBS). This is a three-month Bible school in which students spend time learning about God’s story from Genesis to Revelation, and discovering the common thread throughout the Scriptures of God’s redemptive plan for humanity. This is an opportunity as well for students who have finished their Discipleship Training School (DTS) to get equipped to enter into ministry in one of the six different lanes that our campus is running in full-time. Once they have finished a Bible school or an internship, they can start serving in Media, End Bible Poverty Now (EBPN), Training, Evangelism, Mercy, or Prayer & Worship. So, this is a very important step for many of our future, long-term staff to get involved with what God is doing here in Potch, South Africa, and in the nations!

    Currently, I am helping to staff the school part-time, as I fulfill my other commitments in EBPN and in Prayer & Worship. I have the privilege of discipling a group of five young men who are hungry for the Word of God, and I am so blessed by these students! We meet several times a week for small groups, Bible reading, inductive Bible study, and individual discipleship. It has been the joy of this season getting to work with these students and love them as they are growing in their relationship with God and the Bible. I’ve been having so much fun!

    Pray with me… For the students of the DBS to fall more and more deeply in love with the Lord throughout this time of discipleship and Bible study, that they would be surrendered to the will of God over their lives, and that the Lord will bring healing and deliverance to their hearts through His Word!

    Prayer & Worship

    In addition to making disciples of the Word, I was also part of a huge event that our base put on called EXALTED, which was incredible! Exalted is one of the ways that our base is working to bring Prayer & Worship to the local community in Potch, South Africa, and the nations. It is a two-day conference focused on exalting Jesus and calling on everyday believers to “Give Him No Rest,” (Isaiah 62:6-7), meaning that we want to see everyday believers activated in prayer and intercession, and obedient to the call of God to go to the nations until the Great Commission is fulfilled! (Matthew 28:18-20)


    “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.”

    Isaiah 62:6-7 (ESV)

    Here’s your paragraph rephrased in the past tense:

    It was thrilling to have presented Jesus to our community through worship leading with our very own, FFSA Music! It was no easy feat to pull off an event like this. We had many rehearsals, worked hard to put it all together, and a team of people coordinated and spoke at the event. Reaching this point, where we were able to present Jesus to our community and invite local believers into a life of Spirit-filled intercession, and obey the call to missions was our joy and delight. In the week leading up to Exalted, we went to local high schools and government buildings to share Jesus and pray for people. We also did evangelism in the community, visiting the townships and areas in our city where there is a lot of poverty. We prayed to see a wave of souls come into the Kingdom as we flooded the city of Potchefstroom, Promosa, and Ikageng! Thank you so much to those who have been praying with us for this event! Here are the final stats from “FLOOD WEEK!”

    FINAL STATS:

    PEOPLE GATHERED: 8,922

    SALVATIONS: 1,815

    RECOMMITMENTS: 389

    HEALINGS: 117

    Pray with me… For all those who were saved, healed, and made recommitments, and those who got set free to be fully in for Jesus and excited to serve Him in all seven spheres of society! (business, education, family, religion, government, celebration, and media) Pray for all new believers to grow up until they reach full maturity in the Lord!

    End Bible Poverty Now!

    Finally, I just want to share about how our team has been doing so far this year with ending Bible poverty, our labor of love. This year has been a year full of pioneering vision for seeing Africa transformed by the Word of God. As a team this year, we were able to get Bibles into the nations of Malawi, South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Sudan. We attended events in South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, the Philippines, the United States, and Albania, which all had a focus on ending Bible poverty. We were also able to help with training Bible translators of seven different languages in Malawi, who have started working on oral translations of the Bible in their own mother tongue! Praise Jesus!!!

    All of our hard work as a team has led to an urgent need for more prayer and partnerships to support the ministry that we are doing, and this is really good news! We are praying for God to open the doors for new ministry with our friends all over Africa. We are praying for opportunities to multiply the efforts of end Bible poverty now across the nations; programs which will aim to train and raise up new movements of the Word of God in Africa through oral Bible translation ministries, EBPN trainings and workshops, and locally-led, Biblical discipleship movements. Please join us in prayer and consider how you can join us in ending Bible poverty through your prayer and partnership with our movement!

    We are believing that, very soon, God is going to expand our work to reach more nations, people groups, and languages; and we are going to see a beautiful harvest of souls glorifying Jesus all across the nations of Africa and beyond! Wouldn’t you want to be a part of that?

    Pray with me… For End Bible Poverty Now (EBPN) ministries to be activated, launched, and multiplied across all 54 nations in Africa! For 54 movements of the Word of God to be catalyzed in all 54 nations of Africa! For funding for Bible distribution, translation, education and engagement programs in Africa and beyond! For our EBPN and Project54 teams in Africa to be blessed and highly favored, in good health and safe from harm, fully funded, and filled with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation at all times so that we can do our ministry with God!

    In Closing

    I am excited to share that I will be coming to Washington for the holidays! I can’t wait to see you at church and in fellowship during this special time of year, and to visit my family as well and spend some really nice time at home. Bless the Lord! I am also planning to send out Christmas cards this week to share more about how you can be praying for and supporting our ministry in South Africa. Please take a moment to fill out this contact form with your name, number, and mailing address so that I can send you a card as well:

    ← Back

    Thank you for your response. ✨

    Thank you so much for your prayers and support! I hope that I will see you very soon for the upcoming holidays! God bless you.

  • August 24′ Newsletter – Part II!

    August 24′ Newsletter – Part II!

    AI and the New Wave of Oral Bible Translation

    Here’s a stat you never heard before. As of this month, there are approximately 800 oral Bible translation projects that have started just this year. This number is equal to the number of new written translations, demonstrating the rise in oral Bible translation work globally. As YWAM, we are doing about 10% of the global oral translation work. We have 80 registered projects, which is a huge growth for us in very little time. These stats represent a new wave in Bible translation. This wave has been heavily influenced by the development of AI technology over the past few years. This may surprise you. But, there is a historical reason for that!

    Throughout history, you can observe a common thread when it comes to technology and Bible translation. Consider, the Gutenberg printing press, invented in the 1400s, which revolutionized the publication of the Bible across Europe. Before 1455, there were very few complete translations of the Bible. Translations in Europe were mainly just Latin, Old English, German, and a few others. And, there were only a few thousand Bibles in existence, that were all copied by hand! After 1455, and by the end of the 15th century, the Bible was published in over 180 different editions, with new translations exploding throughout the 16th century in many european languages for the first time! This one technological advancement in printing allowed for many languages to have access to the Bible for the first time, accelerating the process of Bible translation significantly!1

    For more context, please see: Technology & The Bible.2

    Today, we have seen a rapid acceleration in Bible translation and will continue to see this increase aided by the development of AI technology. During our OBT “UpSkilling” Workshop, we were able to hear from AI scientists, programmers, and users who have been working on developing new technologies to assist with Bible translation. One of the things that YWAM is working on is an AI virtual assistant called the OBT Helper,3 which you can try out with the link provided. The OBT Helper is an AI tool that aims to assist oral mother-tongue translators by providing an interactive language model that can help explain Biblical concepts and give deeper insights into the original languages (Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic), all while maintaining a conversational style that is appealing to oral learners. This technology is going to reshape the way that we approach Bible translation ministry, and greatly accelerate the process for all Bible translation organizations. I am personally so thrilled to see how quickly these new applications of AI are being developed, and how they can help speed up the process for every language to be translated!

    For more information about the use of AI in Oral Bible Translation, please read this article:

    Artificial Intelligence in Oral Bible Translation, by Marcia SuzukiDownload

    Prayer Points

    These new developments require a lot of financial and spiritual support, and we would love your prayers in this area of Bible translation and technology. Please add the following points to your time of prayer:

    • Pray for those who are developing new technologies for Bible translation for financial provision and for protection from spiritual warfare.
    • Pray for Bible translation teams to get access to new technologies, and for Bible translation to accelerate and multiply rapidly around the world.
    • Pray for Bible translation practitioners and trainers to be raised up all over the world, and for all those who are involved with this ministry to have the Spirit of the fear of the Lord.

    OBT “UpSkilling” Workshop in Closing

    In closing, the OBT “UpSkilling” Workshop was an amazing experience for all of us who were involved, and I have so much more to share about all of the things that we learned. Much more than what I could share in a newsletter. If you want to learn more about what is happening within the OBT movement, please do follow up with me here:

    Send a message

    If you want to learn more about OBT and how you can get involved, please visit the YWAM Shema website. Until next time, blessings!

    1. ChatGPT ↩︎
    2. ChatGPT ↩︎
    3. ShemaYWAM.com ↩︎
  • August 24′ Newsletter – Part I

    August 24′ Newsletter – Part I

    August 24’ Preview

    The OBT Upskilling Workshop!

    This week, I have been staying in Los Angeles, CA with my team, learning from our partners and leaders of the OBT movement about all aspects of the ministry that we are a part of, and building vision for the future of our ministry as we endeavor to see the Word of God translated into every mother tongue on earth! We have been getting “up-skilled” in so many areas: from the process of internalizing the Scriptures to the project management systems that have been designed for Bible translation teams, we have been very busy with our workshop. Working together with our global partners and international teams has been a joy, and I have learned so much from them!

    I have also made lots of new friends. We have people from many different countries, including Brazil, Australia, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Canada, Chile, Fiji, Samoa, New Zealand, India, Togo, Mozambique, Madagascar, Germany, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, South Korea, Malaysia, Colombia, and Angola! It has been so much fun getting to know some people and building more understanding of OBT through the diversity of perspectives being shared. Jesus is so good, and He is meeting with us and bringing us together for the united mission that we have in front of us, it requires teamwork, and a lot of faith!

    Today we have been learning a lot about what it means to be true Christians, and how to live out the values that we have as missionaries in YWAM through teamwork, and partnering with other Bible translation organizations to finish the task in unity with the Body of Christ. We have had guest speakers from two different Bible translation orgs, one from SIL and another from Seed Company, and they have been sharing with us about new technologies that have been developed for the sake of the ministry that we do. I am so excited to share what I have been learning with the other members of our team back in South Africa, and see how we can really work together with other organizations to see the task of Bible translation completed across the continent of Africa!

    Testimonies from, “California Will Be Saved!”

    Over this past weekend, my team and I went to Hollywood to pray over the streets and prepare the ground for the time of evangelism and worship on Sunday. We were able to pray over so many different buildings and parts of Hollywood Boulevard, and even for the next Summer Olympics that are going to be held in LA. Although it wasn’t easy at times because of the many distractions, and spiritual forces of darkness that are so prevalent in that place, we knew that God was with us, and we felt His presence and love strengthening us as we prayed…

    On Sunday, the event called, “California Will Be Saved!” was happening, so we joined in for the street evangelism and for the worship in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard, it was amazing! God was so with us, and we saw so many people come to the front of the stage to make a public declaration of faith in one of the most spiritually dark places in our country, to take a stand against the darkness in that place! We also saw many people receive miraculous healing by the power of the Holy Spirit as we all prayed for one another, and declared the powerful name of Jesus over the land. It was so clear that God was moving in that place, and it was actually so funny to me just how quickly the spiritual atmosphere shifted as so many people came together to pray and worship the Lord in that place!

    …The truth is, when God manifests His presence in a place of darkness, His light always wins, and the darkness is put to shame every time! I believe that there is a legacy that God wants to leave in this city, and that in the next four years preparing for the Summer Olympics in LA, our prayers are going to make a huge difference. This is a call to prayer and evangelism for all of us, we must take a stand against the darkness that is spreading throughout our cities, and bring the true light to those places that are so desperately in need of the Gospel! Please pray for LA, and let’s believe together that “California Will Be Saved!”

    Hollywood

    Prayer

    I will be sharing much more on this gathering once it is over, but for now I want to invite you to pray with me for this event!

    • Pray for those who are suffering from sickness at the conference to fully recover, and quickly!
    • Pray for God to send the Holy Spirit to dwell here in LA, and to meet with us during this powerful time together!
    • Pray for Bibleless languages everywhere to be translated, and for open doors and divine strategies to be released from heaven!
    • Pray for protection and covering over our ministers, and over our families, that God would keep us safe from spiritual attacks, and also attacks on our health and wellbeing.
    • Pray for God to break through in Los Angeles, and that He would prepare the ground for the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics in LA, where we believe that so many people will be saved!

    Thank you and God bless you all for your commitment to the Holy Word of God! We need your prayer covering, and all the encouragements that you feel to share to keep our spirits strong when we face challenges of various kinds. Thank you!

    Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

    If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.  But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.”

    – James 1:2-6 (NLT)

  • July 24′ Newsletter

    July 24′ Newsletter

    *Please go to the web-version of this post and remove any content blockers if necessary so that you can see all the media clearly!*

    My car crew on the way to Every!

    Every: Permission Granted

    Local Youth Outreach:

    Young people choosing Jesus in South Africa!

    Last week, I went with a team of 15 young adults to a city called Witbank for an outreach where we toured over 21 local schools, both primary and highschools, sharing the message of Jesus and an invitation to live out a life of faith through prayer and evangelism. We saw over 11,000 young people and preached the unstoppable Gospel to them over a period of 10 days, seeing many healing, deliverance, and love encounters with the Holy Ghost. Out of the 23 gatherings we facilitated, over 3000 young people chose to follow Jesus, making Him Lord of their life and choosing to obey the greatest commandments: one, to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; and two, to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:34-40). These two commandments are fulfilled by living a life of prayer (having a love relationship with God through direct communion with the Holy Ghost), and evangelism (loving others by sharing the love of Jesus with them through the power of the Gospel).

    These ten days were quite eventful, but all in all, we saw the love of God on display in the way He met each and every young person with His healing touch, bringing restoration and deliverance to so many souls that were just being saved, and many of them for the first time. God is a way-maker, transfering the soul out of the pit of darkness and despair, into a hope-filled life of freedom and endless joy in His presence, despite the circumstances…

    ‘Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ‘

    John 17:3

    This is the message of Every: that everyone in South Africa would be living an activated Christian life of prayer and evangelism. Will you please pray for this message to spread to every corner of South Africa in Jesus name?

    Spontaneous worship moment after children chose to follow Jesus for the first time!

    Have You Heard About Bourbons?

    Opportunities for Giving:

    This is IMPORTANT so please read to the end! We as Fire & Fragrance South Africa were given the opportunity to purchase a nightclub in one of the darkest parts of the city so that we can transform it into a missions training center and sending base here in Potchefstroom, South Africa! We want to give one final push for your support for this amazing opportunity, and we have ONLY 36 HOURS LEFT until our deadline!!!

    Please pray and ask God how much you can give towards what He wants to do here in Potchefstroom, South Africa, and the nations! All the information is here in this PDF file below, and the link to donate I will post right here: https://ffsouthafrica.com/building – this link will take you to a page where you can make a tax-deductible donation to our base for the bulding fund, please act NOW to see this God-sized dream come to fruition in Jesus name!

    BULT_PROJECT_FIRE__FRAGRANCE_SOUTH_AFRICADownload

    Prayer Points for July-August

    Prayer Points:

    • Pray for the bult project (Bourbons) to be FULLY FUNDED NOW in Jesus name!
    • Pray for South Africans to be trained and sent out to the nations for the work of the Kingdom, sharing the Good News!
    • Pray for salvations, healings, and deliverances to keep happening each day in our ministries here in South Africa, and in the Fire & Fragrance community around the world! – REVIVAL FIRE!

    I just really want to encourage you to see what God is doing here in South Africa and ask for the same thing to happen in your nations, wherever God has called you to right now, and that you would see miracles, signs, and wonders in your own life too! Whenever I give, I want to make sure its a worthwhile investment, that the fruit of my giving will actually be multiplied. Our base is growing rapidly in size and also bearing much fruit, just like I shared in the beginning of this newsletter. I will encourage you to ask God how much can you give to this amazing opportunity to impact the nations with the Gospel, and let the Lord bless you in your generosity by not giving out of compulsion, but out of a cheerful and generous heart! May God bless you and multiply all the fruit of your life 30, 60, and 100-fold in Jesus name!

    Finally, here is a fun video my friend shared from our time on outreach last week:

    Let me know what you thought of this newsletter in the comments! I love receiving all of your encouragements and prayers!

  • June 24′ Newsletter

    June 24′ Newsletter

    Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me over these past several months, I have felt you prayers and seen the blessings of the Father being poured out over my life and the lives of others, and it is so beautiful! This newsletter is going to be about my recent trips to Albania and Kona, including some of the things that God has been doing along the way. I will also be sharing about my work here in Potchefstroom, South Africa, and how you can be praying for me in this season of travel and Bible ministry!

    Traveling through Switzerland!

    Some violin improvisation in old town Zurich

    To start off, I had some fun with friends on our way to Albania when we stopped in Switzerland for a layover, which took us to this nice park along the river where we saw actual swans floating along! I had to pull out my fiddle and start playing The Swan by Saint-Saens when I saw this because rarely do you get to play for an audience of real swans *only half joking here*…

    The Swan 🙂

    After our little violin moment… we walked down the hill to check out the river and see if we could find some of the ancient cathedrals on the map. Then, we came upon the swans again!

    We had to grab a cup of coffee and start making our way back to the airport from here, so that concluded our little trip to Zurich. It was totally worth it! Haha 🙂

    The Fire&Fragrance Gathering in Albania

    After our long trip, we arrived safely in Albania and took a cab to the resort that our Fire & Fragrance community was staying at. It was really impressive, but we were grateful that God provided a safe place for our teams to come together and seek His face for this time. We spent several days together, where we worshipped the Lord, and heard from many pioneering leaders from across the globe who have been following God in missions for many years. They shared about lots of different topics, but all centered around a central theme of pioneering in new frontiers while building a culture of sustainability and longevity through healthy relationships with our communities, both reaching in and reaching out. It was amazing to hear from so many incredible missionaries who have seen miracles in their life in missions. We were truly stirred in our faith as we listened to their testimonies and worshiped the Lord together!

    One of the most incredible testimonies that I heard during our time in Albania was from our friends in Kenya, who are working to reach the lost in the Horn of Africa! We heard from them that one of the locals, a young man, who just got off the streets through their evangelism ministry with the street kids was radically saved, and then has been getting discipleship with the men on the base. This young man recently had a dream in which he saw himself packing a coffin as if it were a backpack, filling it with Bibles, and then taking it into an unreached and highly persecuted nation, where he saw the persecution up close, and began handing out Bibles from his coffin backpack to the unreached peoples that were in front of him! This man then woke up and he said he knew that God is calling him to one of the hardest and darkest countries in the world to share the Word of God with the people there, and he was willing to give up his life for this purpose and calling. Not many people are willing to give up their lives for the Gospel, but this young man will see nations come to Christ because of his obedience to the call of God despite the cost.

    Me In Albania!

    I was so encouraged during our time in Albania as a Fire&Fragrance community, and I can’t explain how much of an impartation it was for us to receive that gift of faith over our movement. I am coming back to South Africa with so much fire in my heart, and excited to start building vision towards the future in seeing the Word of God sent forth into the nations of Africa until every nation has access to the Bible in their mother tongue!!! HALLELUJAH!!!

    First Time Best Man

    After the Albania gathering, we traveled back to South Africa to continue building the vision for our movement and building the ministry of End Bible Poverty Now (EBPN) from our home base in Potchefstroom. I was busy building and working on getting Bible distribution projects set up, but at the same time I was preparing to travel to Kona, HI to be the best man in my best friend Leif’s wedding! I had to get my suit and tie and all the bags packed, and I flew for more than 24 hours to get there, but it was all worth it to be able to have that once in a lifetime experience of being a best man and celebrating my friends on their special day! God really blessed me to be able to go and be part of this significant event, and I am so very grateful for that. Here are some photos that I took from the wedding!

    Leif, Grace, and myself.
    Leif’s Family Getting Photos!

    During this time, and even in preparing to go to the wedding, God was teaching me about His value for relationships and friendships, and I can see now even more than before just how much God really cares about our friends. I hope to encourage you in this, that God doesn’t give us friends just because we enjoy them, but because He delights in our friendships and He gets glory in relationships, so praise God!

    Finally, I was able to attend one prayer set at the YWAM Kona campus, and it turned out that the only prayer set I could attend was all about praying for Fire & Fragrance South Africa and praying for youth movements across Africa! This was such a divine appointment, and I was so grateful to be in the room. After that time of prayer, I got to meet up with the EBPN team in Kona and bring some SD cards back to South Africa for the teams to take audio Bibles with them to Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi! Every part of this trip was filled with God’s glory, and even He used it to get more Bibles into Africa, so I thank God for this opportunity!

    Join Me In Prayer

    This season has been one of travel, ministry, and global connections. I have been feeling the prayers that you are all praying over me daily, and I am so very grateful for that!! I just want to share with you how you can specifically be praying for me in this season, and how you can partner with what God is doing here in South Africa to bring transformation to the nations of Africa through discipleship in the Word of God!

    Here are some prayer points for you to consider as you pray:

    • Pray for laborers to be sent to South Africa for the purpose to making disciples that multiply and that obey the Word of God. Also, pray for laborers to be sent from South Africa to the nations of Africa and beyond, who will carry the Word of God to the nations and make disciples that multiply in those nations as well.
    • Pray for our DTS that is starting today, that God will move in the students, staff, and school leaders’ lives personally and corporately. Pray for protection over them and their families and churches. Pray for them to grow so much in their faith during this season, and catch the Word of the Lord.
    • Pray for our EBPN ministry to continue growing and developing in the will of God, and that we will have wisdom from heaven in the way that we are building this ministry. Pray for Bibles to be donated to us for Bible distribution, and pray for laborers to be sent to partner with us in building EBPN across Africa!! Pray for spiritual and physical covering and grace over our EBPN team, and all EBPN workers in the nations, that God will protect us from all forms of spiritual or physical warfare. We know that God is on our side and He will fight our battles!
    • Pray for my upcoming trip to Los Angeles, USA, as I am going to build connections with other YWAMers around the world who are also working to End Bible Poverty through Oral Bible Translation ministries! Pray for financial provision and safety in my travels, as well as some amazing divine appointments along the way! (Can’t wait to share the testimonies!)
    • Finally, pray for our community to raise all of the funds for a new opportunity that we have been given to buy a building that will be used as a training center for missionaries to be equipped and sent out to the nations! We have 28 days left to raise roughly 14,287,000 South African Rands! (I will share more on this in my next update, coming very soon!)
    Kieren, Linri, Taylor, and Myself

    Finally here is just a photo of me with some of my amazing friends here in South Africa! As you can see, it is a bit cold here! Thank you for reading to the end! God bless you!!!

  • April 24′ Newsletter – OBT Outreach to Malawi – The OBT Workshop

    April 24′ Newsletter – OBT Outreach to Malawi – The OBT Workshop

    MALAWI OBT OUTREACH – 2024

    Our recent Oral Bible Translation (OBT) outreach to Malawi was a pioneering trip filled with unexpected twists and turns, but one thing that we really saw God moving in was our preparation for the workshop we held in early March. My team and I had no idea what to expect in coming to this workshop, but we felt that our preparation was paramount to what God wanted to do in that short window of time with our friends and mother tongue translators. Our goal was to see 70 mother tongue translators (MTTs), or 7 languages and 10 MTTs from each language, trained in OBT and prepared to begin working on the translation of some short Biblical text. In order to approach this training, we would need to facilitate the translation of our YWAM OBT curriculum.

    God made a way for us to translate the OBT resources by sending three YWAMers from the base in Malawi to help us! During the first two months of our outreach, our team of facilitators and mother tongue translators worked for many hours translating the Embodied Principles of Bible Translation, the Holistic Oral Bible Translation chart, and the Translation Village Story, a story-lesson inspired by true events that our teachers, Marcia and Suzuki, leaders of the OBT movement within YWAM, had experienced as young people in the Amazon jungle of Brazil. We hoped that with all of our hard work, we might see the churches of Malawi equipped to do the work of Bible translation, and our friends who helped us might get inspired by Marcia and Suzuki’s story and want to continue doing something within OBT as well. We prayed that this work would catalyze the multiplication of our movement within the nation of Malawi in a way that could only be an act of the Holy Spirit, seeing the entire nation of Malawi discipled by the Word of God!

    CLICK IMAGE TO SEE THE TRANSLATED WORK!

    Thanks to our incredible friends at the YWAM base in Malawi, who together translated the OBT curriculum into the bridge language of Chichewa, we were able to begin our workshop with the 70 MTTs in the city of Mzuzu! Our time with the MTTs inspired our whole team and the community around us, who could see that God was inviting many people to take part in the work of Bible translation. We were able to collaborate together with many different churches from all over Malawi to start 7 Oral Bible Translation projects with the story of the Widow’s Offering out of the Gospel of Luke (Luke 21:1-4). And not only that, but we were able to see how by using the YWAM OBT curriculum, many people were being discipled and discovering that they can translate the Word of God themselves! All in all, our outreach to the nation of Malawi was successful in bringing together the body of Christ for the sake of Bible translation, but what has made it even greater is that in all of the hours of hard work translating OBT resources, God gave us the opportunity to build true friendships with the YWAMers in Malawi and with the inspiring Malawian people who chose to come and learn about OBT with us. With the wisdom of God and the willingness to follow it, anything is possible when we work together for His glory!

    OBT Outreach – Testimony Night

    A Few More Testimonies:

    Muslims Hearing the Gospel

    One of the people groups that attended the translation workshop is a primarily Muslim community, and they were able to hear the Gospel preached in a language that they understand, and worship Jesus together with many other Malawians. We could see that God was moving in their hearts over our time together, and we really feel that God is going to mark this community through the work of Bible translation in the future!

    Free Dental Clinic for the Community

    A team of OBT leaders/mentors/content creators came to help us with leading the workshop and give wisdom to our team, and one of the ladies on the team is a dentist. They brought a whole dental clinic, and a local doctor joined her to help with performing free dental procedures for the whole community around the church. Many people including the chief of that village came to receive dental care and see what we were doing, and many people were touched by the love of Jesus in receiving dental care and seeing their own people learning about Bible translation! God moved in this dental clinic!

    Bibles… Healings… The Love of Jesus…

    Every Malawian who attended the workshop, including the ladies who cooked the food, received their own Bibles in Chichewa! Also, we saw at least two women get healed from stomach issues while we were sharing the Word of God and praying together! Not only that, but we were so blessed to hear from the Bishop of the church that he has received a deeper hunger for prayer and worship now because of the time we spent together during our outreach. God bless him!!! PRAISE JESUS!!! Here are some photos from the workshop below:

    More Recent News

    This week I celebrated my 25th birthday (April 16th), and I just wanted to ask for your prayers over this year, and if you receive any encouragement, to please send it to me. I am so grateful to God for saving me and bringing me into this new life that I now have, praise God! I am also very grateful for all of your love, prayers, and support, and I just want to say thank you for supporting me and blessing me to be able to do this work. Some prayer points for this year are below.

    Prayer Points for the Year:

    • Pray for financial support for all of the travel expenses for this year. I have many potential travel plans to do ministry/training, and to visit friends and family for weddings and holidays, but I need God’s provision to make these opportunities possible.
    • Pray for wisdom and prophetic insight and vision over the next year and into 2025, because without vision men perish. I am asking God for increase in wisdom and favor from both God and man (Luke 2:52).
    • Please pray for protection and wisdom, strength and good health for me and all those associated with me, asking God for specific prayers, that it may be well with me, my family, friends, and associates. Pray as if they were your family, because hopefully they will be!
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    Until next time… Blessings and so much love to you and your family! 🙂

    Malawi OBT Workshop – 2024

    How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!

    – Psalm 133:1