LIncoln's SA Trip - Feb. 2009 - Lincoln and the Red Rocks Chruch Pastors

Kevin, Pastor Chad, Pastor Shawn and Lincoln got to go off-roading in a Land Rover Defender.

Lincoln's SA Trip - Feb. 2009 - Feeding Orphans in Phokeng with the YWAM Team

A home in Phokeng.

Playing with the kids after their meal.

Lincoln's SA Trip - Feb. 2009 - Dr. Neil and an AIDS clinic

Pastor Chad and Dr. Neil

Pastor Shawn and Pastor Chad talking to an AIDS patient.

Kevin filming for the Red Rocks Church "Africa" sermon series.


Dr. Neil is a South African doctor who volunteers his time to care for the children at the Lighthouse Children's Shelter and for patients at several different AIDS clinics around Rustenburg, SA. Dr. Neil is an amazing man and we look forward to being able to work with him again when we return next year.

Lincoln's SA Trip - Feb. 2009 - Lighthouse Children's Shelter Pictures

A happy face!

The Red Rocks pastors playing with the kids.

As a newborn, this little boy was found in a trash pile. His umbilical cord was still attached. He was rescued and brought to the shelter.

Pastor Shawn playing with the kids.

Lincoln with Grace. This is a little girl who came to the shelter in December of 2006 when we were there previously, she was about 4 months old at the time. We didn't know anything about here, including her name. Madison got to choose the name "Grace" for her. Grace really became a part of our family. For more of the story and more pictures of Grace, click here.

Lincoln's SA Trip - Feb. 2009 - Freedom Park Pictures

Pastor Chad (left), Kevin (in the hat on the left) and Pastor Shawn (blue shirt) in a store in Freedom Park

Kevin filming for the Red Rocks Church "Africa" sermon series.

One of the thousands of tin shacks in Freedom Park.

Lincoln's Red Rocks Message

Lincoln recently spoke at our church, Red Rocks Church. Here is a link to his message. This link will take you to the sermons page, click on the word "Africa" on the menu on the right. The title of Lincoln's message is Lighthouse, click on the TV to view the message or click on the record to listen to it.

There are 2 other sermons in the "Africa" series on this page as well. These are from the 2 pastors that Lincoln took with him on his most recent trip to South Africa.

South Africa Statistics

- Local doctors estimate that there are 2 million orphans due to AIDS in South Africa.

- UNICEF reports that 5.5 million people are living with AIDS/HIV in South Africa, the highest number of any country in the world.

- In Sub-Saharan Africa six people are infected with HIV every minute. Another six die every minute because of the devastating disease.

- Sub-Saharan Africa has just over 10 percent of the world's population, yet they have more than two-thirds of the people currently living with AIDS.

-1 out of 4 High School students in South Africa is infected with HIV.

-Women and girls are six times more likely to be infected with the AIDS virus than men.

About Us

We were married in 1996. Lincoln has a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Colorado Christian University and he is a master electrician. Jenny graduated from Rockford Master’s Commission in 1994, and she now homeschools their children. We currently have 3 kids, Madison is 9, Kyler is 6, and Kendi is 2. Our fourth child is due in August.  (Since the writing of this post, Isabel was born on August 6th.)
 

In early 2006 we moved our family to Rustenburg, South Africa to work at the Lighthouse Children’s Shelter. The Shelter cares for at risk children who have either lost their parents to the AIDS pandemic, or have been taken away from their parents due to abuse or neglect. From 2006 to 2007 we helped run the shelter, doing everything from taking children to doctors appointments, to administrating adoptions, to construction and maintenance.

We were also involved in mercy ministries in the squatter camp of Freedom Park on the outskirts of Rustenburg. In Freedom Park we visited patients in the final stages of AIDS, bringing them food and water and praying with them.

When we return in January 2010, we will continue to work at the shelter and will be focusing on the following areas of ministry. We will continue with mercy ministries and discipleship at Freedom Park. We will work hand in hand with the local YWAM missionaries that are involved in outreach to child run homes in the town of Phokeng. This ministry will involve providing food, housing, and life skills to children who have lost their parents to AIDS, and are currently raising themselves and their younger siblings. We will also host teams and individuals from the U.S. that want to work with us in any of the areas of our ministry.

Stay Posted

Stay posted to this blog for updates as we prepare to leave for South Africa. For now, our tentative plans are to leave the states in January 2010.