In the past month, we have had a lot of fun and we are in process of helping to launch two new ministries!
 
We continue to use our big farmhouse for hospitality and we hosted events or people over half of the days last month.  We love it!  We hosted 30+ people for dinner with a Star Wars costume party as we combined our middle aged couples connect group with the young adults connect group last week (May the 4th be with you!).  It was so fun!  We also  helped to put on the Hippie Movie night (we watched Jesus Revolution as an outreach event at the church) complete with around 100 people dressing up as hippies.  We celebrated Dan’s birthday several times, we went rock climbing in Clarens with a family visiting from Pretoria, and took a breathtaking field trip with dear friends from Joburg into the Golden Gate National Park as well.  We also hosted several worship nights and Dan had the joy of baptizing several students who are in the Life Orientation class he teaches at Caritas College.  (We’ve had 11 baptisms so far this year!!) We continue to serve in a bunch of different areas and serve where we can. Dan helped to mow a fire break next door at NHC and the owner of the school gave us a butchered lamb as a thank you gift.  You know you live in the country when your friends say “thank you” with lamb chops!!  
 
This past month we were praying about what the next ministry steps could be next door at New Horizon College and we had a meeting with the principal and a few other leaders.  They are thrilled we want to invest more into their school and invited us to begin a youth ministry with the students in the dormitory.  Now we have an instant youth group and we begin this Saturday!!  We don’t know how many will attend, but the last time we did an event at NHC there were 100 students that came.  We have been putting a team together and there are several other couples who are going to serve with us.  We are very expectant for God to move in the lives of these students!  We just have a few short weeks before they have a month’s vacation in June for winter break, but we are going to begin with a movie night showing Jesus Revolution and then grow from there.  Please pray for us to have wisdom and insight to steward this brilliant youth ministry opportunity well and for the students to have soft hearts to the Lord.
 
A few weeks ago, we were chatting in staff meeting about what some next steps could be for discipleship of our congregation.  What were the needs we saw, how can we help?  We discussed a lot of possibilities at a fantastic braai (BBQ) around a firepit.  Truly, that is the best place to invent a new ministry!  We are now a part of a team of four couples who want to invest into the relationships and marriages at our church and the community near us.  We are going to be teaching equipping courses called “Advance”, which will be teaching people tools for breakthrough in their relationships.  Dan is teaching the first workshop on the 23rd and it is on how to heal from pain in your past.  It is going to be brilliant!  Please pray for Africans to be transformed as they allow Holy Spirit to minister to and heal the wounded places in their hearts and souls.
 
You may be asking yourself, why are the Hartleys helping start new ministries when they don’t know if their visa will allow them to stay in South Africa past August?  Good question!  We feel these opportunities and wide open doors are from the Lord and we are determined to continue to help others heal and become whole as long as we can.  The majority of the ministry we do here we do in the context of team and nothing should fall flat should the Lord transition us back to the states.  That being said, we would really, really love to stay. We haven’t heard anything yet about our visas.  Please join us in continuing to pray for breakthrough for our visa process.
 
And…(drumroll please!) the Carmichael family from Canada  arrive this Friday.  We have been talking on zoom and texting for almost a year now and we are thrilled we finally get to meet them and help their family experience life and ministry in Africa for the next 3-6 months.  We have been furnishing their rental home and through the generosity of our friends, almost everything has been donated which has saved their family so much money.  God is so good!  We still need to purchase a van for their family.  Will you please join us in praying that just the right vehicle will come available and quickly!?  We have inquired on around 40 vehicles in the last several weeks and nothing has worked out yet.  
 
The electricity is still a challenge, these days it is out about 9+ hours per day.  We are resilient and are managing, but it is exceptionally challenging.  We are on the downhill slope to winter and built our first fire of the season in the stove yesterday.  We have been experiencing an usually wet week. By this time of the year, we are usually already into the dry season.  Some people have said it means it will be a milder winter and I’m hoping they are right!  

We are so thankful to live and minister here and all the amazing doors the Lord has opened for us.  We are also so grateful for your prayers and love and support!

With joy, 
Dan and Janell Hartley