Home !!!

Happy (late)thanksgiving to everyone! It is good to be home with friends and family and I have enjoyed catching up with everyone. It has been interesting getting used to life in America but I am excited to see what God has in store in the months ahead. Leaving Africa broke my heart knowing that there is still so much work to be done there, but I have constantly been reassured of the work God is continuing to do there. In the last months we had the wonderful opportunity to work with some young men and women who have a passion to see God transform their communities. We met Jacob, Innocent , Samuel and Lawrence and they worked with us in the schools and we had encouraged them to continue being involved in the schools and working with the youth in their churches. Our team also had a youth conference in which we spoke to the youth of several churches that God has called each of them to be missionaries in their community. It was wonderful to give some practical examples and share how God has changed our lives and perspectives. As my time has come to an end in South Africa I know that God is bringing up incredible people to carry on in bringing God’s extravagant love to hurting people across Africa. Prayer is such a critical part in bringing change to southern Africa and I ask that you join me in continuing to pray.
Some Specific things to pray for:
* Children, youth and families
* Local Church Pastors
* Reaching a Generation staff
* Continuing work in Zimbabwe
* Community transformation projects in
Mapela ,Mawhelerang ,Tshamahanzi
* Healing for the broken lives affected by HIV , poverty and political past.
* That God’s name be known and Praised

Thank You all for everything over the past months, your role was crucial. I cannot be thankful enough to have a wonderful group of people supporting me and praying over the needs that were ahead of us. May God Bless you all!!!

Dear Friends
Today marks the final month of my time here in this wonderful country. It seems that just yesterday I was writing about my first month’s experiences. Time has truly flown by, and I feel that it increasingly goes by faster. These past few weeks have been filled with many wonderful moments that have captured my heart and shown me more of our great God. Thank you for letting me share some of them with you.
Leadership Academy
A few weeks ago we had our third Leadership Academy. I love the vision of the Academy and it was wonderful to be a part of equipping over thirty young students with leadership skills as well as discussing worldviews and biblical values. This camp we had nine returning second year learners as well as twenty two first year students. The first year camp was trained specifically in running a community transformation project and the second year students learned how to run a week long, Kid’s Game event in their community. The students planned several projects to help in Moshati,a local community. These projects varied from helping clean gardens, helping the elderly with housework to cleaning up a school yard. The community came along side everyone involved, and eagerly help with all different tasks. It warmed my heart to see this take place. We aren’t in this to teach kids how to pick up trash but to show them that they can be part of bringing change to their country. One other moving moment was with this young boy named Laster. He is an incredibly enthusiastic student who had quite a passionate heart for those around him. After we were done with the project he was leading, he said that we must pray for the family that we helped. His prayer was filled with genuine pleas to God that he would look after this family and provide for them after we left. It was great to see his thoughts about God change and form into a Godly leader as the week progressed. One final moment I want to share about is two boys named Karabo and Trevor .Since the department of Education funds this program we are somewhat limited to what we can share about becoming a Christian but we take every opportunity as a God given chance to speak truth into these young lives. John 8:32 says, You will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Such extraordinary reality!!! During a discussion in their small group session, they began to ask about what had been said throughout the week about being a Christian and after a long conversation with their leader they said that without a doubt they wanted to be followers of Christ and in that moment two more children were born into God’s Kingdom. Praise Him!!!
After School Programs
This past week we started our after school programs in Mapela, Mawhelerang and Moshati. Through our relationships with these schools ,they have agreed to let us come in after classes release and spend some time with the students .We have developed our program to be taught from the book of hope that all the children have received to reinforce the God’s powerful message contained in every page. After the first week we have seen the areas we needed to improve upon and are excited to see what this week holds. One thing that we know and trust is that power is in the seed and not the sewer. Our prayer is that we are simply tools that God uses to reveal His love, His amazing love to the kids in every classroom we enter. I ask that you would pray with us for every student and teacher we have the opportunity to talk with and that the love of Jesus would just permeate through everything we do.

What an incredible God we serve and for Him I want to risk it all. My constant prayer is that He will ruin me, through all I learn about Him and my experiences, for anything but serving Him with all my life. May God be with you all this week and may we always be aware of the different ways he makes Himself know to us this week.
-All my love Annette Morlando

Wow month seven is here and with it has come the beginning of our spring semester …or is it fall ???. Sometimes I forget that I am in Africa and it truly feels like home. With my time here coming closer to an end I wonder what God has next. One thing that I have been learning is that God is far less concerned with what I do for Him. He wants me and my relationship with him to grow. I feel that in turn when we walk closely with God that we cannot help but want to love everyone around us. With that said I am excited for whatever the next step God has for me is and I eagerly await His continued guidance.
The past few weeks we have spent time on the farm in Mokopane preparing for our new ministry. We have four schools in our local communities that have the opportunity to work closer with over the next few months. We are simply trying to show Jesus to some of the children who have received the Book of Hope and build on the relationships God has given us. Please pray for guidance and openness as we begin this.
As we have started this we encountered some opposition. For a few weeks there was a public servant strike across South Africa which in turn closed the schools. Since there was no school many children were left at home with nothing to do. After some prayer we decided to start a new program for mothers, grandparents and older youth who were out of work. The idea of the new program , 17 stories, is that we teach children stories so that they can understand the truth of God in their lives and so that they can retell the stories to their family and friends. After the trainings we had this week I am very excited to see what God is going to do in Mawhelerang and Tzshamahanzi.
We have another opportunity ahead of this week to work in a community about three hours outside of Mokopane. This area has been scared by hatred and corruption. Please pray for God’s healing love to move in incredible ways that it will bring transformation that is undeniably Him. Im so thankful the chance to be apart of what God is doing here.My prayer is that I am more and more aware of what God is doing around me and that I will be ready for what He asks of me.
I am always excited to tell people of how God has provided for me to stay here. He has cared for all my spiritual , emotional and financial needs in bigger ways than I could have imagined .I know that he has used all of you as a part of that. I am forever thankful for your kindness and I pray that God will bless you all.
Lots of Love from Africa
-Annette

Dear friends
I cannot say thank you enough for your continued prayers. This week we are working in Mapel, a rural community about 45 min outside of Mokopane. There around 34 villages within Mapela and many have maintained a traditional lifestyle. This community is being adopted by a church in Massachusetts who will partner with the local church over the next 3 or 4 years to help bring change and influence others to continue the change in Mapela. We have done some survey work the area and it is event that there is a spiritual oppression there. As I compiling the survey information in a report for the church from Massachusetts I was burdened with how much the people of Mapela need Jesus. Some of the things that the research has shown is that there is an 80% unemployment rate and that there is a increasing problem with alcoholism and teen pregnancy. There is also an attack against families in Mapela as well. Many parents leave the area to work in bigger cities and come back once a month or send money home. Many who we surveyed said that there is little or often times no parental involvement. Many still believe in the power of witch doctors and in ancestral worship. There is also a problem with the education system. The schools in Mapela have scored the lowest in their district and there is an incredibly high dropout rate. The school circuit manager asked that Reaching a Generation come and help bring change in the schools and community. With this said I know that there is power in prayer and I ask that you pray for breakthroughs in the hearts of people in Mapela and against the hold that Satan is trying to have there. We will be doing soccer camps this week and I know that our God is powerful and that his heart is broken for the people of Mapela.I have seen God move and I believethat his love will not relent. Thank you for your part in bringing change in Africa.

Hello Friends
The third week of soccer camps is finished. The excitement in South Africa is indescribable as the world cup continues. We have changed our soccer camps slightly for the area we are working in and the results have been great. We have seen a change in the children’s attitudes and behavior towards us and the message we have for them due to the adaptations made. We have had some incredible, God designed conversations with children that have shown us more that Satan does not want us here. There were three young boys who told us about some if the issues they daily deal with .One of the harsh realities is the drug and alcohol use at a young age (some as young as grade 4). They told us that this is encouraged their living situations and by many of the men in the area. One of the things that we have discovered is that there are often times eight or more people living in a one room house. Due to this many children are exposed to things at an earlier age. We can be assured that our God is supreme and knows every need .I ask that you join me in praying for the children of Phagameng and that He will put people in our path who we can speak truth into their lives .
One of our prayers is that by what we do here in Phagameng reaches out to everyone we are in contact with. This week I had a man come by the stadium and asked what was happening inside. I told him about the camps and what we were teaching the children. He then said… “Tell me about your Jesus”. It’s so incredible to see God move!!! We have also gotten a chance to talk with the workers at the stadium and they have been very interested in what we have to say about Jesus and how is everything to us and the reason why we’re here. We pray that we will be alert to the opportunities God puts before us.
This past Sunday we were able to hear the Founder of One Hope speak at a church in Pretoria(an hour outside of Johannesburg).It was so encouraging to hear about the amazing things that God has done through his willing heart and passion for the lost and hurting in the world. One of the things he said was it is not the speaker but the message that changes lives( and how true it is)!
As I am writing this I am listening to the song yearn by Shane and Shane. The words are …Lord I want to yearn for you I want to burn with passion over you and only you. This is inspired from Acts 17:25-28. I love the last two verses in which is says that we will seek after God and reach out for Him for in we live and move. Since I’ve been here I’ve been asked numerous times about what my plans are after this year is up. The first few times I responded by saying that I was done making any plans for now but God has continued to work on my heart and I my only desire is to spend my life loving Jesus and wherever that takes me I’m ready for. I look forward to all that God has ahead. Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement and financial support on this journey .
Please let me know if there is any way that I can pray for you. I love and Miss you all.

A constant change of perspectives

We returned on Saturday from Zimbabwe after a week of research for upcoming ministry. The goal is to reach a million children in Zimbabwe starting at the end of the year. Our research was to find out the spiritual condition within the country. An issue we have faced in South Africa is that Christianity is mixed with ancestral worship and that Jesus is often not portrayed as our savior who desires a intimate and loving relationship with each of us. These findings in SA have helped us in our ministry to speak truth into children's lives about who He really is.We were also looking to see what the needs and struggles were among the children and families in the country. Sometime we can assume that we know what the issues people are facing are but when we dig deeper it reveals that we are not always correct.Once we know all these contributing factors we will begin on a ministry plan to affect lives through the love that only Jesus can offer. The political system in Zimbabwe has brought a lot of hurt to the country and seeing people struggling to survive under the devastating conditions is hard to understand the"why's" sometimes. I heard someone say that although things are hard and we don't always understand Gods reasoning we can trust that it is giving God a platform to do incredible things in this country. The church we partnered with there was started by volunteers of a feeding program in Bulawayo who saw the need to spiritually feed people alongside tending to the physical needs.They set an incredible example of a God centered , outward driven church! God is so wonderful and He deserves all to worship Him!!! God has continually been providing for every aspect of my extended stay. Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging messages.I'm so fortunate to have such wonderful support team !!!

One final thought from 2 Peter 1:5-6

"So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others"

The more I read this passage it so important that we as Christians take advantage of every moment that we are given. So often we can forget that God has people and opportunities in our path and we need to be ready to be His tools in whatever he calls us to.I know that I have often waited for big opportunities to serve God and meanwhile missing all the other things that God asked of me. The beginning verse says not to loose a minute and how true that is. There is a hurting world all around us that desperately needs Jesus. We are all instructed to have a sense of urgency in helping and loving those around us. As I was reading Hudson Taylor's Biography awhile ago and I read that he was able to share Jesus with a man who was very thankful for Gods love but then asked how long had he known about this Jesus ... Hudson Taylor responded by saying for most of his life. The man had started to become upset and when Taylor inquired as to why ,the man said to him, where were a few years ago??.. his father had passed away still searching for hope and purpose in life and had never heard about Jesus. This conversation changed Hudon Taylor's views of being sure that we are where God wants us and are earnestly seeking His direction and guidance .This outlook alowed him to do amazing things in his ministry and his life. May we all be alert to whatever , or whomever God puts in our path.

A big THANK YOU for your prayers, I am very blessed. The past few weeks have been very but its been incredible to see God move. We took a vacation over Easter to Victoria Falls. It was indescribably beautiful and inspiring to see the tremendous power and greatness of our God. After our vacation we traveled to the Free State Providence near Lesotho. We partnered with a team in Bethlehem and visited around twenty four schools and were able to talk with over 16,000 students One of the students we talked with was considering committing suicide due to his situation and he said that the Book of Hope brought change in his life. He said that in it talks about when things are bad to get away from everything and be with God. This time had brought him hope in dealing with his problems. We also were able to visit a deaf and blind school. The time we spent there was one of the best times of my life. All the children there were so excited to hear that they were loved and important to us and Jesus. Our last day we went to a prison and were able to encourage men in the prison and talk with them about the hope and peace that Jesus offers. Andy was able to share with the two types of peace that God offers us . The first kind of peace is when we stop fighting against God and the life he has planned for us, and the second is when we surrender to God and allow him to restore our hearts and change our lives. This week we have twenty four new students at our Leadership Academy. It wonderful to see how excited theses fifteen year olds are to make an impact in their communities and we hope to grow these desires to allow them to see leadership as God intends and equip them to make a difference in SA and the world. The next week we will be traveling to Zimbabwe. Please keep our team from North Carolina in prayers as well as that God would work in Big ways to bring hope to a nation that is broken and oppressed. Thank you all so much for being big part of helping bring Gods love to Africa.

Speaking into lives

This week wrapped up the International Leadership Academy. It was an unforgettable week filled with amazing times to talk and encourage South Africa’s young leaders. Last week we met some incredible people from the great state of Alabama .God graciously allowed us to be apart of eternally impacting the lives of over 12,000 people through a teachers training as well as school ministry. It was great to see the team’s passion for God displayed in every presentation and personal interaction. Throughout these past weeks God has been developing our hearts to see our world with the eternal perspective. Since our training in Florida we have been studying the reason missions exists and simply put; because worship doesn’t. Missions is not about anything other than helping people know and grow to love Jesus with the same intensity he showed for us.

During this past week at the leadership academy in one of our devotion time with the girls we talked about how much God desires to love and romance us through the “small” daily things that we easily take for granted. I remember my feelings and thoughts that came rushing in my head the first time I understood and embraced that idea that God desires such a personal and intimate relationship with me. It was wonderful to be able to share the truth of God’s love with those precious young girls. It was also a reminder that God is in everything, and that ever day we need His help to live each day intentionally and also not to miss the ways that He talks and encourages us. Throughout the academy the team was able share about courage, serving, purpose, restoration and self control.

Throughout the day we had small discussion groups. During these times we were privileged to have that time to talk to these young teens, hear their struggles and just be real with them as well as love and encourage them. Andy was able to really speak into the lives of three of the boys who were dealing some cultural pressures and questioned what was right according to the Bible. He referred them to Luke 14 and how we need to count the cost of being followers of Christ (So true for every one of us). There were great relationships built over the past week. God was there… and in every one of them. He used many times during the camp to touch our hearts through the different situations and discussions. After one of our sessions one of the girls told me that her mother had died a year ago and that there were some things in her life that she regretted and had not been able to forgive herself for not doing things for her mom. As tears were running down her face she asked if Jesus could forgive our sins if we haven’t forgiven ourselves. I quickly hugged her and told her that He already had. As we talked I encouraged her that God is a God of healing that wants to bring comfort and restore our broken hearts. After speaking with her it hit me that what I said is so incredible and so true but that I’m so unworthy of any part of that love, but He still chooses to say, yes you’re my child and I love and want to help you. As we celebrate Easter let us never forget this undeserved love that was demonstrated on Calvary and that nothing other than the power of Jesus’ resurrection could have brought the redemption and intimacy back between us and God. May we never forget to live out our lives accordingly. May God receive all the Glory!! We would all like to say Happy Easter to everyone back home !!!I love and miss you.

Hello… or Dumela from South Africa!!!
I wanted to thank you all for your prayers and encouraging emails over the past few months. They have meant so much to me. God has truly grown and broken my heart for Africa and I have felt His calling to stay here until the end of the year. There are many incredible opportunities to share His love with the upcoming world cup. Some other exciting ministry plans are soccer camps, Leadership Academy, teacher trainings, school ministry, survey work across SA and possibly some work in Zimbabwe and Swaziland. It’s hard to describe the plans that are ahead because of how much plans change so quickly here … but it’s great. I’ve never felt so happy and sure that missions is where God wants me.

Some facts about Africa:
42 percent of the population of Africa is under the age of 19.This is a young continent and this generation has the potential to change the world for God. There are also so many heartbreaking realities that exist here .One of them is the high HIV infection rate above 65%. Another distressing statistic is that a young girl in SA has a better chance of getting raped than learning to read. There is also healing that needs to take place here because of the horrific racial history that came from the apartheid. If you would like to partner with me to help in bringing change and hope to this nation, any prayer or financial support would be amazing!!! The total cost for continuing to minister here is 7,000 dollars. During these hard financial times any amount can bring help bring the transforming love of Jesus. Thank you for being apart of Gods plan to bring all people to His side. I love and miss you all. Thank you all for being my prayer and support team!!

Please send support
P.O. Box 3305
Edgewood NM,
87015

-Annette Morlando

Dumela
These past weeks have been amazing. We were able to pass out over 13,000 BOH!!!! Its incredible to sit back at the end of the day and figure out how many books were passed out and think “ wow like 2000 kids today heard that Jesus loves them and got their own copy of the gospel” AMAZING :) . Our SA partners RAG( reaching a generation) had a teachers training this past weekend that we were a part of. Our Ministry goal is influence the influencers. 85 schools were represented and if you average out to 40 kids per classroom its incredible to think of the influence a training like this can have. The Schools here are desperate for Life Orientation training for their educators and the CDC sponsors the training because it covers HIV prevention and counseling but they also leave it very open to talk about biblical values and morals. GOD THING ..I think yes. One Hope also has a book that deals with telling kids that they have a purpose as well as HIV prevention and most importantly shows them the love and hope that Jesus offers. This past week we had a ten day team from Alabama here. They were such a great group that has such a passion to see lives and communities changed. Its wonderful to be a part of working and training these teams … that’s what started things for me and had such a huge impact on my life as well as seeing eyes opened to the harsh realties of this world and see them be a part of offering hope to the broken , As well as seeing their perceptions and thoughts change towards missions while they are here. Also this week we are running a leadership academy in which the school system picks out a learner from their high schools that show leadership skills and they come to this camp to learn how to be effective leaders and we teach ,encourage and pray with them that they will seek Gods heart and become godly leaders. Please pray for these young hearts who can truly change this nation and world for God. Thank you all for you continued prayers … and if there is anything that I can pray for you for please let me know.

Hello everyone.
Thanks for all the prayers and messages. It has been a wonderful week. God is so incredible!!! We
finished up school ministry this week . We were able to pass out over ten thousand books!!!! After the
10day team left we did some HIV and AIDs training to help us when we talk to kids about prevention
and how to help people who are struggling. The reality of this disease is so real here and I definitely felt overwhelmed by all the struggles people and children, but I know that the only hope is in Jesus and that His heart breaks even more for His people . Please join me in praying for change and hope to be so incredible in their lives that the only possible answer is the love of God. Over the weekend we went tubing and a little cliff jumping, nothing too extreme, but it was great !!! Today we went and did research surveys in Zebediela ( about an hour outside of Mokopane)These surveys help us to see the needs in the community and help develop a ministry to help the needs. While we were in the area I was able to talk with some of the high schoolers who we had given the book of Hope to earlier in the week. We usually don’t personally get the chance to revisit the schools that we ministered in but it was great to hear about how the book helped the students and talk to them about their faith more. This upcoming week we working with a church team from Alabama who is adopting the community of Mohawlarang . The idea is that they agree to see that as a church they support the community transformation project in Mohawlarang . There are lots of meeting with pastors and local officials to see what work can begin. Thank you all for continuing to pray.

Hello everyone!!!

I hope that you all are doing well. I love and miss you guys so very much. Thanks for the continued prayer and encouragement. This week we went to Polokwane to do some training for our upcoming soccer camps. One thing most of us found out that we know nothing about football compared to our new African friend’s lol. The idea about the program we were trained in is to train coaches to be better soccer coaches as well as life coaches. We also did a kids game training where we learned to incorporate experimental learning games to help teach moral and Godly values. It was an intense training but we are all so fortunate to have this as a tool for the summer and in the future. This week we are doing book distribution with a ten day team from Missouri. The team of twenty ladies have all been wonderful to help train and partner with. Today we were able to hand out over three thousand books!!!!! This upcoming week we will be doing a leadership academy. The academy is set up to train young leaders with Godly principles and values as well as equipping them to influence this next generation. The goal of the ministries here are to influence the influencers. Please pray for this incredible people who we will be working with this week and that they would take this training to bring change in their lives, community and country. God is so incredible and one thing that we read during our first week in FL is that missions exist because worship doesn’t. The first time I read it I was thinking wow …. It’s so true that we can so easily be sidetracked from why were here but the truth is God deserves and desires all the nations to worship him and I can’t be thankful enough to be here and be a part of Gods plan for Africa. Please let me know if there is anything I can pray for you. Thank you all!!!

Thank you for continuing to pray ...

Pastors Jeff, Jon and Temba and others in the area
The children and teachers who have and will receive the Book of Hope this week
The leadership academy
Leah, our SA coordinator
Ministry opportunities around the World Cup/ Soccer camps
Sensitivity to know Gods plans and direction for the team and ministry opportunities

First weeks

Hello everyone
Thank you all so much for all your prayers. The internet availability is here is kinda spotty so please forgive my briefness. While we were in Florida God really opened some incredible opportunities to work in the Ft Lauderdale area. We were able to do some research in the area to help develop a ministry that could help with the problems within the different communities. That, in part is what will be doing in while in SA. We arrived in Johannesburg (Africa is sooooooo beautiful) and from there came to our new home on a game farm outside of Mokopane (about 3 hrs from Johannesburg). The morning after our arrival we were told that we would be spending time camping in the bush. We were instructed to only bring 10 items. It was definitely a challenge to get away from our very comfortable lives, but it was an incredible opportunity. It really gave us all a time to slow down and really check our focus and seek God for His will for the upcoming month It was wonderful to just sit and be with God in such a beautiful place. God has really been showing me that resting in Him is so very important and I know that it is one thing that I definitely haven’t in the past set aside the time to do this .I truly enjoyed sitting around the campfire , gazing at the clear and , almost endless sky. After our few weeks at bush camp we moved into the incredible Hope House were we have enjoyed hot showers and more training and prep for the next few months. Earlier this week we had an amazing chance to go to a youth group in a neighboring city. As we walked I was amazed to see over 800 students packed into a tiny old barn , singing praises to Jesus . It was one of the most beautiful and humbling moments of my life to see so many kids genuinely in love with and worshiping God.God has given us so many opportunities here in SA and I look forward to sharing the specifics with you soon . Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers and please let me know if there is anyway that I can be praying for you .

Here are some more specific prayer requests .
Jacques ,our Southern Africa coordinator
Leah , our One Hope SA coordinator
3. The students and teachers we will be working
with in the upcoming weeks
Soccer camp outreach training
local church pastors and partners

These are some specific counrty needs and oppertunites in SA .....


In 2005, OneHope developed a strategy for reaching the young people of South Africa in a personal way. This dynamic program focuses on choices and consequences, self-esteem, moral values, life skills and HIV/AIDS awareness. Pray for the national team's goal of reaching every child and young person in South Africa with a vibrant message of hope by 2015!
Pray for OneHope Granny Brigades led by Miriam Machovec who distribute the Book of Hope in South Africa and give loving care to thousands of AIDS orphans.
In South Africa, 20% of the population is HIV positive. The Book of Hope has proven to be an effective weapon in fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Pray that the Book of Hope will continue to help educate students and prevent the further spread of this deadly disease. Pray for workers from local churches to catch the vision of this program.
In August of 2006, an international campus in South Africa opened as part of OneHope's Nomad Teams Internship Program. Interns work across several Southern Africa countries helping to start OneHope programs, strengthen existing programs, train churches and facilitate OneHope needs in the region. This is accomplished by ministering to children and youth in schools, orphanages, prisons and hospitals using the Book of Hope. The internship consists of African students as well as USA students working together in a cross cultural living and ministry experience. Pray that God will steadily progress this pioneering work!