Visit to Eastern Cape

Yesterday was truely an amazing day.

One of the projects Two Tunics has been supporting for a little over one year now is the Jesus Christ Cares Ministry (JCCM) in Holy Cross in the Eastern Cape. As Two Tunics we focus our work in the Ugu District of KwaZulu-Natal and JCCM is the one exception being a project outside of our usual catchment area. The reason for this exception is that the chairperson of this project is Cornelia Mgaga, the mother of Onnie our Two Tunics Programs Manager. JCCM is serving orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in a very poor and underserved area. We have been pleased to help with support of the feeding program offering Food4Africa porridge and 500Rands ($70) for groceries each month.


Robin and I visited the project which is run out of Onnie's mother's home in November 2008. At that time we saw the partially finished church on the back of their familie's property.We stood with some of the women from the church that have been meeting in a small flat on their property and prayed that God would supply the funds needed to finish the church. This church had been the vision of Onnie's father who tried for many years to obtain land for it and eventually gave the church a piece of the family's land for the church building. In 1998 the women began to dig the foundations of the church and when Onnie's father died in 2000, her mother committed to use a portion of his pension for the building of the church.

After our visit in November 2008, several people heard about the need to complete the church building and through them God has provided. So on 10 March 2010 a celebration and dedication of the new Taweni AFM Church building was held on the occassion of Robin and my return to visit JCCM again. The original purpose of our visit was to meet with the JCCM committee members to discuss the future of their partnership with Two Tunics. As we sat in the Mgaga home discussing the project we could here the singing voices coming from the church building just behind.

As we closed the meeting the Regional AFM Pastor and other pastors and guests arrived for the church dedication. It was a blessed time of song and dance and celebration.

A digital photobook by Smilebox

During the event I shared a message from God's Word from Luke 4:16-21 where Jesus announces that He is the messiah and is bringing the gospel of good news to the poor, the prisoners, the blind and the oppressed. Robin presented orphan sponsorship gifts of shool uniforms and bags to 5 orphans that had been identified as especially needed. The gogos (grandmothers) who care for them wept with gratitude as did Onnie's aunt at seeing the vision of her brother for the church become a reality.



Praise be to our faithful God and thanks for the privilege of being in His service!