human trafficking

One thing I enjoy about being a part of the YWAM community is meeting together weekly for "intercession." Our entire staff and student body meet together on Monday mornings at 8am to pray about different things going on around the world and in our own community. Sometimes we spend the time praying for teams that are going out on outreach, sometimes for a specific country or a specific issue. It is a way of being informed about different things God is doing in the world, and a way to be a part of it through prayer.

This morning, a group called "Justice Acts" led our intercession time and we prayed about the issue of human trafficking. With the World Cup (soccer) coming to South Africa in 2010, it is estimated that as many as 100,000 women and children will be trafficked into SA to function as prostitutes for this worldwide event. Justice Acts is using this opportunity to raise awareness and fight human trafficking. YWAM alone will have 3,500 volunteers come to the country for the World Cup and a huge focus will be on this issue... They will be spreading the word on human trafficking, meeting with groups, handing out fliers, doing counseling for women and children, running a safe house and help line, etc... They've even been given advertising time on the big screens at the stadiums and on the streets where the games will be broadcasted to run informational advertisements to raise awareness about human trafficking.

Besides preparation for the World Cup, Justice Acts also does training and seminars in areas where people are at risk for being trafficked to make them aware of how they are vulnerable and what tactics traffickers use to lure people into slavery. Human trafficking earns as much money in South Africa as the illegal drug trade. People are preyed on by traffickers who promise them jobs or sports contracts or passports and then sell them into slavery which could include the sex trade, selling drugs or even just labor. Even in this area of South Africa, a group recently went into a high school saying they were looking for teen models. They "recruited" 7 girls who went with them and haven't been heard from since. This is a very real and heart-breaking issue.

So this morning we prayed for God to bring this issue to light not only with those at risk, but also with those in government who have power to pass laws and really address the issue (apparently human trafficking is not illegal in SA.) We prayed for the resources to continue and expand the ministry of Justice Acts, that they might have an even greater influence on society. We prayed for more creative ideas and open doors and key relationships. Already, they are teaming up with other groups and organizations that have a similar vision and are getting requests to come speak and pass out information, etc... So God is using this group and I believe he will continue to use them! We will continue to pray for them as they meet this enormous challenge and take on this difficult issue.

Check out their website: http://www.justiceacts.org/

Neighborgoods Market

Over our fall break a South African friend took us to a Farmer's Market that takes place in Cape Town every Saturday. We enjoyed it immensely, including all the free tasters. It was like Costco on a Saturday, only better! We really are enjoying getting to know this area. There are so many unique and fascinating facets to life in Cape Town. We love learning about it!
Here's a few pics of the "Neighborgoods Market."
(warning: these pictures may make you want to be a missionary in South Africa)

April Newsletter

For those of you who don't get our newsletter, I thought I'd include the text here. (If you'd like to be on our email list, let me know!)
Susan

Greetings from South Africa!
We are heading into the 3rd and final quarter of the School of Biblical Studies. It's been an amazing experience so far and we are excited to see what God has for us in these final 3 months. The students and staff enjoyed fall break this past week and are feeling rested and ready to jump into the 3rd quarter. We just completed our study of Chronicles and have begun to study the prophets. There is much to learn and understand in this interesting portion of scripture!

It's an exciting time as our students are starting to make plans for what they will be doing after SBS. We are planning on taking a 3 week training course which will prepare us to teach the Bible in various settings in Africa. After the 3 week course, several teams will head out for a 2 month outreach in which they will lead seminars and teach the Bible in different locations in Africa (Botswana, Tanzania and Swaziland are a few of the options). We will not be going on outreach because we are scheduled to be staff of the next School of Biblical Studies here in Muizenberg. So we will spend the month of August enjoying some time off and preparing for the next SBS, which starts in September. We are looking forward to being on staff together and continuing to study and teach God's Word, while walking with students through the adventure of studying through the entire Bible in 9 months.

April is a big month in South Africa. Presidential elections will take place on April 22. South Africa is a multi-party parliamentary democracy, and there are at least 15 parties with candidates running for president. The front runner is from the African National Congress (ANC) and there is much controversy surrounding him. It's an important time to pray for the nation of South Africa, as much will be determined by who is elected. This will only be the 3rd election held since the end of apartheid in 1994, so this is a critical time for South Africa.

Thank you for your prayer for this nation. Thank you as well for praying and supporting us. We love what we are doing here and are certain that Biblical Truth is exactly what this nation needs. May God richly bless you.
Love, Hans and Susan Oines

hello hello!
Hans and I are enjoying our fall break. We had a very relaxing 3 day camping trip, and now we are home again. We have much we want to accomplish, people we want to spend time with, and more rest needed in order to be ready to start classes again on Monday.

A few prayer points:

• Safety for our students as they are enjoying the break... most are still in the area but a few traveled home for the week.
• Finances for our final quarter... as a school we're only about 1,000USD short of everyone having their tuition covered.
• Students are starting to make plans for after SBS. We're hoping several of them opt to do Titus Project, a 3 month outreach program that involves teaching the inductive Bible study method in different parts of Africa. We're also hoping some of them will choose to come back on staff. But we trust God with each of them and know that whatever they choose to do, these 9 months of Bible training will be a solid foundation for the rest of their lives.
• We're happy that Nick from Zimbabwe is planning on joining the Biblical Studies department after SBS. Pray that the necessary funds would be raised so he and his family will have the support they need to live here.
• I (Susan) have been missing home recently. We are so happy to be here, but can't help missing our friends and family. Several of our dearest loved ones are going through difficult times, which makes the distance feel that much greater. It's a huge lesson in trusting God with the people we love! We can't be there with them, but we know God is. We appreciate your prayers for focus (on what God has for us here), contentment, and the peace that only God can give.

Thank you for your prayers. Remember, we always love hearing from you and knowing how we can be praying for you as well!

susanoines@hotmail.com

hans_oines@hotmail.com