AfriCom has a NEW website!

I'm excited to announce the launch of our new website for YWAM AfriCom. With this website, we are hoping to build a closer connection of YWAMers across Africa by showcasing some great stories here. If you have any stories you would like to share, please contact info@ywamafricom.org  In the meantime, please take a look, have a read of the new blog, listen to audio stories and watch some of the talking head videos explaining YWAM in Africa.

Learning from the past

Picture: jeffrey james pacres

It has been said that to do well in the future you need to have a good understanding of the past. Our history shapes us in both good and bad ways and, without a deep revelation of where we come from, the bad parts of history have a way of repeating themselves. In the same way, our present decisions and actions have consequences for the shaping of the way things will be done in the future.
Technology has been both a blessing a curse for this. We are blogging/ discussing/ recording issues with each other more than we have ever before. But there is little-to-no structure in how we record what we are doing right now. Letters received used to be filed, recorded and responded to. But now, with email, most of us 'clear' our inbox when it gets too full, thereby deleting a section of our past, without (much) consideration for usefulness for others in the future. We are so abounding in information nowadays, most of us have little thought for what is good, or bad, and therefore no reference on what to keep or chuck.
One of the organisations I (Pete) once worked for was founded in 1701. They had an archive of minutes of decisions that were made for the past three hundred years. This awesome amount of information was neatly collected and categorised by an archivist who diligently kept us abreast of where we have come from.
Without the diligence of, let's say Paul or Luke, we would not have such a record of Jesus' life and teachings and ways that the early church learned to 'be' church.

As I take on leading the communications team for Africa (YWAM AfriCom), I am learning to understand that it is important that I take time to learn about what shaped this continent in terms of history, missions, politics and so on. As we talked and prayed as a team this morning about where we are heading, there was a realisation of how thin our personal/individual knowledge of this vast continent is. We have therefore made a pledge to one another to investigate more, listen more and read more, so that we have a good foundation on which to build our communications ministry. We are also writing a diary of the major things that we are praying about and big projects that we are planning, with notes on successes, failures (and the reasons for the failures), so that others can look upon what we have done well and what we have done badly!
For us as a family, we have started to journal in a similar way, so that, when our children grow up, they can look back and see the journey that brought us to Africa and develop a better understanding of who we are and where we, as a family, come from.

Trusting for breakthrough

Some say that missionaries spend a lot of time praying about money, while others don't pray enough. When we face the situation of 'being without' how do we respond?

Money is a strange, yet essential tool to enable us to live. Without cash we cannot pay our bills and, as such, become reliant on the state/handouts to stop us from starving and keep a roof over our heads.

So, when we ourselves face difficulties to finance ourselves and our ministry, what should we do? Where should we turn? A biblical principle behind this is that we need to keep reminding ourselves that we are not beggars, or a charity case – though our work is charitable, we are not in 'need of charity'. Rather we are working to serve others, and as such, we need to rely on friends to partner with us. In fact, it is a very healthy model to have that reliance on investors/partners, as it makes us accountable to the actions we choose to do.

Each quarter, we produce a budget which displays income vs. spending for those three months. It compares what we said we would do, to what we actually did. It's known as an accountability report, as we hold ourselves accountable to our investors who choose to partner with us in what we do: in prayer, in support and in physically helping us.

If money were to be no object, it would be very easy to lose track of your calling. There is nobody to go back to with a report to say: this is what I did with your hard earned cash; these are the results of your partnership with us; this is what can be and has been achieved.

Each of us goes through seasons of plenty and seasons of little. When we pray, it is easy to slip into the asking for finances for the bills we have to pay. But we are learning  not to ask for money for what we need, but guidance in what we are called to do. We have seen time and time again, that if we are obedient to God's calling on our lives, we see miracles happen. And when we see miracles happen, to whom can we give the glory?

So, when we have financial needs, though it is hard not to focus on the great need that we have to pay bills owed, we need to allow God to do the impossible.

OK... got to go, got some water to walk on!

Tough decisions

In Muizenberg there are plenty of people who have fallen below the poverty line and live on the streets. Each of them has complex stories of how they got there; very few of these people are easy to support. Throwing cash at the problem without strategic and prayerful thinking is a waste of time. The abundance of drugs and alcohol, added to abusive backgrounds has led so many being in a cycle of poverty that it's hard to find a way for them to escape. The Justice ACTs  S-Cape Home - a rescue centre for victims of human trafficking - this past couple of weeks has seen ladies who have a background of trafficking ending up back on the street, as they posed a danger to the staff working at the home. Grace extended to them was often spat back in the face of those who were there to help them. You'd think that supporting others to build a life for themselves after facing manipulation and trauma would be a rewarding job, but it's often thankless and seemlingly endless, as the abuse that has been inflicted on those we help often is more powerful an influence than the soft kind hand of a friend who just wants to help. The staff of the safe house often have to deal with lies, false accusations, manipulation, violence, depression and a whole host of other problems that come as a result of dealing with broken lives.

Debt and Missions – A Toxic Mix

This past week has been eventful in terms of finances coming and going through our account.

About a month after Joshua's birth, we received an unexpected bill from the various professionals who attended us in hospital - in particular the paediatrician and the anaesthetist. We had already paid the agreed money to the obstetrician (thanks mum!), and the hospital bill had been covered by our insurance. But, it appeared that our insurance company hadn't paid up for some of the others. We resubmitted the claims to the insurance company, only to find out that they'd gone into administration. They agreed to pay a proportion of what was owed, but this left us about £500 (about $800) in deficit. This money, as you can probably understand, we don't have to spare! And when the insurance won't pay, we have to swallow the debt. We felt there was nothing to do but to put it on a credit card to avoid legal action being taken against us.

It was then that I read a blog feed on debt and missions. In Bill Hutchison's blog, he wrote: "One thing that I have seen again and again remove people from the mission field, or prevent them from entering the mission field, is personal debt. Personal debt can take many forms, including, but certainly not limited to Credit Card Debt, Student Loan Debt, Vehicle Loan Debt or Lease. I have seen numerous messages on twitter from people along the lines of wanting to join missions, but can’t because of debt. I have also seen people leave the missions field because of debt they had at home from before they joined or even because of debt they have incurred while on the missions field. Debt is very debilitating to someone wanting to follow the Will of God of their life. There is not one positive mention of debt in the Bible. Debt is always presented in a negative light. It is not a “salvation” issue, but there is not one time mentioned in the bible that debt is used to bless His people."

On checking my emails that same week, I see two that jump out of the page at me. One is from a friend of ours back home. This is a family which engaged with us and our desire for missions and agreed to support us on an ad hoc basis. The other was from my father-in-law. In total, they had sent us donations covering the shortfall.

What a blessing!

This brought to mind whether I should've put the money on a credit card or just waited. I challenged myself on "where was my faith!?", but also rejoiced in the fact that friends and family were obedient to God's call to support those in mission.

This gives me an opportunity to publicly offer our sincere thanks to all our friends who regularly support us and obediently, and often sacrificially give to our work in Africa. Your partnership is valuable and life-giving.

Whether or not I lacked the faith to believe that God would provide for us in our time of need, I know one thing is for sure: I am glad to not be in great personal debt whilst serving on the mission field. Becky and I may not have much materially/financially, but we have the freedom to go whenever God calls us, without the burden of debt holding us back.

Debt did hold us back before we left. Both Becky and I had a feeling about travel and getting into missions several years before we did, but I had personal debt that I felt that I had to 'clear' first. Through the grace of God, I managed it in 2009 and that's when we were able to start properly planning to go. 

Passing on the baton

Thursday last week saw the official Muizenberg goodbye for the Heathcote family and the welcoming and praying for Pete (me) to take the helm. Today I officially 'took office' at YWAM AfriCom. It was the hand-over where the current leader officially stepped down and I took responsibility. The morning started with an official welcoming of the new eldership team and an informal prayer time.

Other than that, it was a pretty normal day for most, I think. The 'exiting' leader had to deal with a family emergency and even borrowed my 'new' car to rush off to sort it out. 

Probably one of the most significant things that happened was the receipt of three application forms for new staff positions, plus a Facebook message from someone following up their enquiry about working with us. This was so significant, as we have not had any permanent applications for some time and for them all to arrive on the day I take office felt like a sign that I was not going to be left alone! 

Leading Africa

I've just returned from the Africa Leadership Team meetings. It's a group of missionaries - from many different nations and continents - who for many years have been hearing God's voice and obediently following what they hear. They live to serve God and they do it through YWAM. I was in awe of how God has used these people, who, with such humble hearts, told me stories that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. One would tell of being beaten and thrown in prison for his faith, while others would talk of great miracles, including seeing people raised from the dead. Yet none of them had an appearance of a 'great' person. They didn't have fine clothes, or drive fancy cars. The don't hold any kind of fame for their work. Few books or films have been written about these saints. If you didn't ask, you would never know that that, let's say, the grey haired lady serving salad at the counter in the dining room heard the call of God and obeyed His call to take the gospel into some of the most remotest parts of Africa to people who had never before heard the Good News.

As I look at this generation of missionaries who have been obedient to God's call on their lives and their obedience has remained through hardships and difficult times. And, how they have continued to serve with humble hearts, I wonder how my life will pan out and my ability to be faithful too. One thing I have learnt this past week is giving proper respect for my elders. One of the best forms of respect we can give these legends of mission is to listen to their stories and challenge ourselves to also hear His voice and obey and see where God leads us.

As a communicator, it is a privilege to be a witness to this gathering. As the Africa Communications Team (AfriCom), we work to serve YWAM ministries across Africa - from the leader to the new recruit. We listen to what everyone is saying and help build connections between all of the work across this continent.

Leading Africa

I've just returned from the Africa Leadership Team meetings. It's a group of missionaries - from many different nations and continents - who for many years have been hearing God's voice and obediently following what they hear. They live to serve God and they do it through YWAM. I was in awe of how God has used these people, who, with such humble hearts, told me stories that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. One would tell of being beaten and thrown in prison for his faith, while others would talk of great miracles, including seeing people raised from the dead. Yet none of them had an appearance of a 'great' person. They didn't have fine clothes, or drive fancy cars. The don't hold any kind of fame for their work. Few books or films have been written about these saints. If you didn't ask, you would never know that that, let's say, the grey haired lady serving salad at the counter in the dining room heard the call of God and obeyed His call to take the gospel into some of the most remotest parts of Africa to people who had never before heard the Good News.

As I look at this generation of missionaries who have been obedient to God's call on their lives and their obedience has remained through hardships and difficult times. And, how they have continued to serve with humble hearts, I wonder how my life will pan out and my ability to be faithful too. One thing I have learnt this past week is giving proper respect for my elders. One of the best forms of respect we can give these legends of mission is to listen to their stories and challenge ourselves to also hear His voice and obey and see where God leads us.

Partners in mission

I have heard many say to me in the past:
Why are there so many charities in Africa?
Can't you all work together...? Surely you'd get a lot more done...?!

Well, I'm not sure about that! Let me explain...

The idea of working in partnership with one another is a fantastic thing. Being in communication and building up the value of communications among people working in Africa has been on my heart, ever since I joined AfriCom. I believe that there are many ways to build good relations across cultural, spiritual and physical barriers. 

But does that mean we should all join together and be one? 

Just take a look at the way in which YWAM works. It's a decentralised organisation, made up of people who have a passion to serve God. But each ministry, school, location and team is different. There are a myriad of different things going on around the world, and that's just in one organisation. Imagine multiplying that by all the agencies in the world. 

It usually starts like this: an individual develops skills and passions to, let's say, rescue children trapped in violent/dangerous circumstances. They publicise what they do and gather like-minded people. I see the communications aspect of this is to value what they do and support them by communicating their message in an appropriate way so that partnerships can be made - maybe even point them towards others who are already doing what they do and get them to work together. Also, get the message out so that the wider world is aware of the need. However, if all the work came under the same organisation, rather than releasing and empowering people to do great work and build partnerships and friendships, it would become bogged down under a mountain of bureaucracy and red-tape. Just take a look at most government initiatives! Rather than being able to respond to immediate needs, a hierarchy of command makes decisions in some office on the other side of the world for issues that are - more than likely - beyond their understanding. 

That is why I value the communications team being in Africa and connecting and empowering local people here to be the communicators. Working effectively in any part of the world is about seeking to engage and understand the culture around you and work in a way that empowers, embraces and encourages good things out of it. 

I have just returned from Johannesburg where we were discussing with the communications directors of other big agencies (IMB, Wycliffe, AIM) the idea of sharing ideas and resources, so that we could effectively communicate both what we, as individual agencies are doing, but also see the bigger picture of our respective work in Africa. Hopefully as these meetings develop, more agencies will be involved and we can work in partnership with one another, when it comes to communicating both within Africa and to friends outside the continent.

Communicators in Mozambique

Some of our team have just been to Maputo in Mozambique to hold an Effective Communication Workshop with the aim to build up missional communicators in this part of Africa. Check out the video...

AfriCom in Maputo from YWAM AfriCom on Vimeo.

Street life

A few weeks ago, Becky organised prostitution outreach training for anyone at our church who was interested, through  Straatwerk (an organisation that enables local churches to reach out to the working women in their neighbourhoods). Two weeks later, Becky took those who had been recruited onto the busiest street in our area on a Friday night. With three women at the front who approached the working ladies, and three at the back, praying for them, they met, chatted and prayed with a number of women. Our local pastor was the designated body guard. The prayer beforehand was vital preparation and was obviously answered because they had instant success the first night. Usually it takes many weeks, if not months, of meeting and building up friendships with the ladies before they will trust and take a step towards a new life. However, that first night they met a lady – we'll call her 'Pat' – who said she wanted to get off the streets, and off the drugs. We met her a few days later, at her shack in the township and took her to a local charity, run by a church, which provides counselling and support from a social worker for those who want to give up drugs. After a brief word from the counsellor, we helped her enrol on the programme. We then paid for her to travel to her mother's house for the weekend to spend time with her children, and to get her off the streets, even if just for a few days.

The following week, we met another lady on the street in the same situation, we'll call her 'Cherrie'. She and her husband were both addicted to a number of drugs and she worked the street to fund their habit. We met her a few days later at her home in the township and she too is enrolling on a rehabilitation programme through the same church charity. However, the same day, Pat failed to turn up for her first rehab appointment, which we found very discouraging. We later visited her home and she said that she had been at the police station bailing out a relative. It is hard to know whether these stories are true or not, but we'd like to believe that she had a good reason for not being there. I feel she does genuinely want to give up drugs.

Although it may appear to have gone off to a great start, and we have had some great successes already, we are aware that this work will inevitably see many challenges and fall backs. We are just starting out and we're very motivated by our current successes. Please pray that we stay focused, even as we face challenges.

Stepping into Sudan

This week we are reviewing the trip made by two members of the team to Uganda and Sudan to help a team of pioneers scout out some new areas to work. By producing this video, AfriCom is helping champion this work and communicate it to a wider audience. More information can be found on the AfriCom blog


Outreach to Issore, South Sudanfrom YWAM AfriCom on Vimeo.

Part of a team

Heathcote Safari: Part of a team: "This week we are working with a team of people from five nations. We are working in two languages. Our ways of thinking and working have been strongly influenced by Europe, South America and Africa. Our ages span three decades. And it's been great..."

Holding the fort

This week most of the AfriCom team have gone to Mozambique to hold a workshop for YWAM volunteers on effective communication. Building a communications network in Africa involves travelling to the region and face-to-face meetings and training. This means that I'm left holding the fort, so to speak, with a skeleton staff-base in the Cape Town office. It's been great, nonetheless, to take this first step of co-ordinating activities from here; putting a toe-in-the-water of directing the operations here, knowing that in 10 days the current team director returns to pick things back up again!

Meantime, Becky is enjoying time with Joshua though she has started back working part time with the co-ordination of the volunteers for Justice ACTs. It's a process that we're going through as a family to establish roles and responsibilities; trying to get everything done (washing, cleaning, cooking), whilst working full time in a more responsible role (for Pete), keeping up with work activities/updates/meetings (for Becky) and getting enough sleep. This balancing act is what many parents go through, I'm sure. Josh is a great little boy who, despite getting a bit of collic on occasion, isn't a particularly grumpy baby. He sleeps a lot and when he's awake he's generally quite happy. He loves all of his aunties and uncles at YWAM and in the community here.

Phil enjoying time with Joshua

We have just enjoyed a lovely visit from Phil, Becky's younger brother, who came for two weeks. The timing of his visit was really good, as he was able to help with cooking, cleaning, washing-up, feeding and nappy changing. An extra pair of hands really helped, especially during the six days Becky was ill. He also had the chance to do some tourist activities, like climbing Table Mountain and surfing. We took him and Joshua to see the penguins for Joshua's one month birthday celebration, which is also the location where Becky went into labour!

If you're following our blog, please comment/contact us with any thoughts/feelings/ updates. As we wrestle with the new things we are facing (being family, new roles at work), we love to know how you are doing. We value your communication about your life, wherever you are at the moment and to get feedback on the stuff we're doing.

Angola video: project completed

Travelling across Angolan terrain, which is still showing the aftermath of various wars and conflict, was the job for the AfriCom team who spent two weeks touring the country to meet the YWAM volunteers doing longterm work in Angola. It was a privilege to travel with them and experience fellowship in such a beautiful country.

After a lot of hard work by the AfriCom team in Cape Town, a video has been created to help showcase some of the great work done by these Christian volunteers with YWAM in Angola.

Short promotional videos will hopefully whet the appetite of anyone interested in getting more involved, while the longer documentary will deepen people's understanding of working in this African country.

The team will get together to watch the documentary where we'll also have a meal to celebrate the completion of this large undertaking.

With a very low budget and scant resources – yet with sheer determination – this film was put together. Many hours went into editing, translating and producing this unique project.

Visiting these ministries in Angola and listening to and sharing their stories will have a much wider effect than just making them feel valued. Already stories shared in our magazines and articles online has developed interest from other agencies who wish to get involved in our work there. Partnerships are starting to be formed which will enable much more work to be done in some of these very remote areas. AfriCom's vision is to replicate this kind of work - supporting Christians working selflessly in difficult areas through sharing their stories - with others across the continent.

In my next entry, I will upload the shortened version of the Angola video to this blog. It would be great to hear your comments/thoughts about this film to help us shape future projects.

Also, if you would like a copy of the full film, please let me know and I'll get one sent to you.

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