My wife Joyce and I are involved with MBI as field staff in and for South Africa. We work with YWAM campuses in South Africa as well as HuntSA, a hunting and safari operation that encourages Christian sportsmen and women to come and have an adventure in God’s playground and then serve the marginalized children of South Africa.
There are an estimated 3.7 million orphans in South Africa. Close to half of them have lost their parents to AIDS-related diseases, and there are many more children living with sick and bedridden caregivers. About 150,000 children are believed to be living in child-headed households. They need the hope only Jesus can bring.
This year we helped bring
42 people over to hunt, recreate and serve in many ways in our villages, orphanages and soup clubs. But even with the numbers of people coming there is really only one thing that counts—the power of one! We all possess the power to make a difference in one life. We have that opportunity every day, whether here or in Africa.
I want to tell you about Peter. He’s about 16 years old. Last year, Sharon L. came over with Joyce and me to teach preschool for two weeks at Jehovah Jireh Haven orphanage. She bumped into Peter, who lives there. Sharon found out he was illiterate and that he wanted to learn to read, so she taught him. That was one year ago. He’s now reading at the seventh-grade level and has been sponsored to attend the Christian academy we work with. He wants to be a lawyer.
Peter is so happy, and he is a life changed and empowered for the future. Like so many of our orphans, Peter has no birth certificate. Things are going very slowly in this process. Would you pray for Peter, especially that he can get his birth certificate?
Remember you have the power of ONE!
Praise the Lord for Peter learning to read. God bless him and give him opportunity to become a lawyer.
My husband and I have been involved for many years with YWAM as Mission Builders in a variety of different countries. I fully support YWAM. However I cannot support anything that involves the hunting and killing of wildlife for sport. This “adventure” is not how we should be looking after the animals that God has entrusted us with and I abhor that people do this NOT for food but for the love of killing, trophies and photos. Thank you for what you do for MBI but Shame on you for your involvement with HuntSA
Thanks for weighing in Laura. We too are very sensitive to the idea of big game hunting solely for trophies and would not support HuntSa if it weren’t for the fact that this ministry exists specifically to provide meat and finances for hundreds of orphans in the Transkei region of South Africa. Without these hunts, these children would have no meat protein in their diets nor would the recipient ministries have the finances to continue to run the Bible, feeding and training programs that currently exist. Nothing gets wasted in these hunts. The following is excerpted for your benefit from our website, followed by the link to the page as a whole so that you may follow up on the South African ministries who receive MBI’s volunteer help:
“HuntSA (Hunt South Africa) has been involved with Mission Builders International since 2006 and the Village South Africa ministries were formed through relationships with HuntSA. HuntSA is a ministry that connects Christian sportsmen with trophy hunting in South Africa. The meat and finances from these trophy hunts are the primary means of support for Jehovah Jireh Haven and the programs that feed orphans daily in the Transkei region of South Africa. It also champions a Bible school and training opportunities for African Christian leaders. Hunters also get the opportunity to serve God by visiting hospitals and schools and encouraging full-time missionaries in the region.” https://www.missionbuilders.org/location/?LID
Of course the rich white trophy hunters seen on HuntSA website along with a menu of prices for slaughtering the local wildlife could always just take photos, and donate the $4,500 they pay for the “trophy” of a giraffe to the various programs in the region.
Laura, we appreciate your concern. Unfortunately, until all people–believers or not, white or other, rich or no–have the charity in their hearts to give as generously as they can toward caring for the orphans of the world, we remain committed to those who are able to provide viable, creative, alternative solutions.
We would not for the world deprive these orphans of the food and schooling (or the chance for a better future) made possible, in part, by the purposed vision of HuntSA.
We reiterate that these hunts:
*Waste nothing; all the meat and finances go toward feeding and educating hundreds of orphans in the Transkei region of South Africa.
*Allow for hunters to experience first-hand the needs of the orphans, kindling a vision for other involvements and giving.
*Provide an incidental way to contribute to legal game management (as is also practiced in North America).
*Provide employment for South African men who might otherwise poach or aid poachers to meet their own needs without regard to a measured and legal approach to their own local game resources.
On a final note, in view of our current social and political cultures, we respectfully choose to decline blanket criticisms of “rich whites” and agree to disagree–for the sake of the children.
Thanks again for your comments, Laura. We do appreciate hearing from you and take your observations seriously.