Pulane Children's Centre July News

Reach 4 Life

In the middle of June, four of our young men from PCC and our manager, Ntate Moruti, visited our family while they attended a workshop. During the day, they learned to use a discipleship resource called the Reach 4 Life Bible. During the evenings, we got to treat the boys to some of the perks of city life: ordering pizza, eating at a restaurant, and driving the go-kart around the yard.

The Reach 4 Life Bible and small group program was designed as a tool for facilitating peer-to-peer discipleship, with special focus on areas that affect our teens in Africa today: relationships, sex, and technology. 

This tool was designed by a Zulu woman in South Africa and addresses these topics through an African worldview. Our spiritual resources on the African continent are primarily imported from North America and Europe, and there is often a disconnect between the resource and an ordinary person in Africa, particularly those who live in a more traditional and rural environment. So, to have a resource developed in Africa is especially exciting for us.

Over the course of 2 days, the boys took part in a dynamic training seminar that not only introduced the Reach 4 Life Bible, but also gave practical training for small group leadership and dealing with challenging real-life scenarios that they may encounter with peers.

You can find out more about the Reach 4 Life mission here

In addition to the training, our family had great fun hosting the visiting boys. They were able to visit the MAF hangar, sit in an airplane, and meet Basotho people doing interesting jobs to further the Kingdom of God: Aircraft mechanic, IT Specialist, Finance. As a spectator, it was exciting to see their horizons broaden in terms of what possibilities exist for their own futures.

Our prayer is that the experience encouraged them to really press into what remains of their education: their goal isn’t just to finish school, but to see education as a way to equip themselves for the future.

The boys are already working on sharing the new information with others at PCC. We were able to bring them 20 more Reach 4 Life Bibles when we visited last weekend. The boys came up to our house to collect them and I was doubting myself. I was wondering if this was just something that I thought was a good idea and maybe they were only going along with it all to please me. But when I saw their eyes, I could read genuine excitement.

I closed the door to our hut that night and heard the boys’ delighted laughter over their bag of Bibles. They see themselves as being further equipped to enter into a mission they are passionate about.

Please keep Amos, Joseph, Peter, and Peter in your prayers as they take steps of faith to bring about transformation in their own lives and the lives of those around them.

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A Close Call for Castalia

We want to celebrate that 7-year-old Castalia is back home at PCC and recovering very nicely. Three weeks ago, Castalia developed abdominal pain and was vomiting frequently. Our PCC staff on-duty did an excellent job of first seeking help from our local clinic in the village.

When that didn’t seem to be helping and their concerns for Castalia deepened, they took it upon themselves to rush her to the nearest hospital (a 2-hour drive) and initiated the chain of events that saved Castalia’s life.

She eventually came to the country’s main hospital here in Maseru, where exploratory surgery determined that her appendix had ruptured. The doctors were able to treat her and get her on the road to recovery. After more than 2 weeks in hospitals, Castalia was able to return to PCC where she is getting stronger each day. 

To all of our friends who were able to follow the updates on social media, we thank you for your prayers. We believe that in the midst of all that pain, God had a caring and watchful eye on our little friend.

PCC Winter School

Our children are on winter holidays from school now.

That means A LOT of teenagers with free time.

The PCC staff decided to keep them busy during the days with Winter School. A local woman is helping them work through and review the materials covered in their text books. We pray that this will be a fruitful use of our older children’s time and direct their energy in a positive direction.

On behalf of the entire Pulane Children’s Centre family, we thank you for your prayers and support.