Posted in General Articles by Colin & Kathy Cotterrell on 10/15/2007
Colin and Kathy left for South Africa early on 20 September so that they could arrive at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg in time for the teams coming in only to find the Real Life team already through customs and ready to move! The group slept over at Alabanza and on 21 September left for Manzini, Swaziland, a drive of up to five hours depending on the stops! Due to the late arrival, the Real Life team stayed over at the Team House and the next morning were taken to the homestead where they will be living for the next three months. They will be working with Pastor Walter Malaza, who is in partnership with AIM to reach the children for Jesus, as well as feed and equip them for the future! Pastor Walter was the man who started the original care points and to date we have 12 care points with an additional two being investigated.
On 29 September the Awakening First Year Missionaries groups arrived and we again had a house filled with over 50 young people! After a week of ministry, training and outreaches into the local community the group left for South Africa where they will be until they split into their various groups, when they will then again move out into the various areas for ministry and training before they leave to return to the US for the holidays.
Stephony (left) and Casey (right) having a moment of relaxation with Kathy, during a hectic time of cleaning up and preparing for the next event at the Manzini Team House!
On 12 October we had another CHC Children's Camp at the Team House and what a time was had by all! The Discipleship Team assisted by the Real Lifegroup, did an excellent job at teaching, training and entertaining the children who enjoyed the large garden tremendously. They were dribbling and throwing soccer balls around, and played soccer at the Khanyisile Primary School sports grounds (+- 200 yrds from the house). The girls kept themselves busy during off time playing games under the trees and skipping rope. In the evenings they watched movies and all during the weekend there was lots and lots of food! Under any circumstance it isn't easy to fit more than 30 people comfortably into the Team House (ask the World Racers and the Awakening team), so you can just imagine having a group of 70 young children around! They were everywhere and everything in the garden and house were investigated, tried and tested, even the trees did not escape their scrutiny and inspection!
Colin, Kathy, Basil, Stephony, Gary, Emily and Casey attended the ground breaking event held on 11 October at Nsoko, where a community centre for the Nsoko children is being planned. In attendance was the local chief's son, the chief of police, Elizabeth (the lady who runs the existing Nsoko care point), and many other members of the Nsoko community as well as the local businessmen who are working in conjunction with G42 to the enrichment of their immediate communities!
Please remember Mat & Kriek Gerber for a safe journey back from the USA, for Gary's trip to speak at 'The Call', for Lisa who will be going to China for the World Race debrief, for Julie and Ellie who are on leave in the USA, for Becca who will soon be leaving for the USA as well and keep the rest of the AIM Africa staff in your prayers as they labour in the vineyard of Swaziland to reach the unreached, train the untrained and love the unloved!
Posted in General Articles by Colin & Kathy Cotterrell on 10/4/2007
Very few of you know this, but we have been joined by Basil and Stephony Leach, our new grandparents!
Basil and Stephony have been involved in mission work now for 17 years, of which a majority was spent in Botswana, going from settlement to settlement to show the Jesus Film, do follow up work, preach the Gospel, travelling many kilometers just to reach the next person for Jesus!
Unfortunately Basil's eyesight needed attention, so in 2002 they moved back to SA for medical care. Basil has just recently undergone another eye operation which went bad and had to be redone again! The same operation years ago caused him to lose sight in his other eye, but our God is able and capable to even give him his sight back, so please stand with us in constant intercession for this godly man!
Basil is going to be assisting Colin to keep the AIM vehicles in good running condition, and needs lots of prayers as there is a lot of work to be done on the fleet.
Stephony, Basil's wife, is an accomplished seamstress. With her ability to make something from a piece of material, worthy of wearing to any function, we trust that she too will become involved in assisting us with clothing the children at the care points and helping Julie with the Gogo Bag enterprise.
At the present moment Basil & Stephony are in South Africa for a checkup and we are so grateful to the Lord for His healing, protective power.
The Awakening group arrived last Saturday, have been moving around the care points ministering and receiving teaching every evening with Gary Black and Tom Sipling. We stand in awe of our great God, who brings young people all the way from the USA to Africa, to come and serve Him in the most trying circumstances. May they all go back filled with a desire to always be at His service no matter where!
Posted in General Articles by Colin & Kathy Cotterrell on 9/7/2007
The last World Race teams left for Thailand on 27 August so if you are interested in the ministry that took place in Thailand please log into http://www.theworldrace.org/and read all about it! It was a hectic trip to take them to and collect them from Mozambique, Botswana(with the help of Albert), and Swaziland, take them through to South Africa, rush through to go and see Colin's mother who had been diagnosed with colon cancer, rush back, get them onto the flight and back to Swaziland again, but ….
It was a great experience having so many vibrant young people around and we are trusting that the Lord Jesus will continue working in and through them wherever they are and that He will use them in the future to continue touching the lives of the lost, the poor, the needy, the oppressed, the abuse, the misused and the outcasts of our world! Racers - we miss you all!
We were also honoured to have Scott and Marcia Borgwith us for an extended period of time, get to know Josiah and Bert (Scott's dad), and sad to see them leave again! We pray for extra blessings on the Borg family and would like to thank them for the valued input they have had into our lives!
The experts say life goes on, so we are back to normal … really!
The AIM Swazi staff are in the process of preparing for a Real Lifeteam who will be coming in with the First Year Missionarieson 20 September as well as for the Awakening that will take place initially at Alabanza and then move on to Swaziland. Please stand with us as we prepare ourselves, the locations and the ministry activities for the teams.
We are also pleased to say that Matand Naomi Bestjoined the AIM Swazi staff in August, are settled in, well entrenched and deeply involved with all the Swazi activities. Matt is also assisting with the setup for the Real Life!
We also covet your prayers as we involve ourselves on a day to day basis with the people of Swaziland, their culture, traditions and need for a relationship with Father God, through the Lord Jesus. Constantly we think that we are okay and our thoughts do not go beyond that, but there is a world out there ready to be harvested all it needs are labourers, ARE YOU ONE?
To all who are involved with the work in Africa, please know that we love and appreciate your sacrifices of love, time, abilities, talents, physical involvement and your financial generosity!
Posted in General Articles by Colin & Kathy Cotterrell on 7/27/2007
After the World Race debrief that took place in Swaziland, the teams were given the option of planning the rest of their southern Africa activities themselves. This resulted in teams going in all directions, right across southern Africa, from Manzini, Swaziland, to Cape Town, Rustenburg, Johannesburg, Nelspruit in South Africa and for some, even back to Mozambique!
You should really do yourself a favour and go in on some of the blogs on the http://www.theworldrace.org/ website, and especially a blog posted by Jimmy McCarty. God gave this young man such clarity on who we are, where we fit into His plan and how He sees us, profounder insight have I not seen in a young person for a long time, and many who are in leadership positions could learn from the godly wisdom in this blog!
Most of the other teams, including: Grace, Children's Hope Chest, Vanguard, Ambassadors (one team was led by Brooke Christian a First Year Missionary who was at Alabanza from September 2006 to May 2007), Real Life (led by Marissa & Heather who also spend some time at Alabanza), and the individuals who came to join the teams in Swaziland have come and gone. Only a few of the Racers remained at the Team House, but they too left this morning for the debriefing which will take place at Alabanza from 27-30 July, and then its off to China!
Another team of nine young Christian sportsmen arrived at the Team House a few nights ago who are here for two weeks, Kriek took a doctor to the various care points who is also involved with Children's Hope Chest and then another vision team will be coming in from 28 July to 5 Aug and spending time at Bulembu. We will also have another Real Life team coming in September, and trust that they too will come to be used of God and to go back changed and ready to be Jesus to the world!
What a time we have had, especially Jumbo, Kriek, Colin, Dennis, Scott, Marcia, the Discipleship Team and the office! Which reminds me of an advert they used to have in South Africa to encourage people to throw their rubbish into refuse bins placed all over towns in strategic places. At the end of the advert there are three very ugly animated pieces of rubbish that pop up out of a bin with bewildered expressions on their faces saying,
What happened?
But, … now is the time for the AIM Swazi staff to assess the impact the groups have had on the Swazi communities where we are involved, the vision for Swaziland, setting goals and putting strategies in place for the move forward. And above all, to pray, fast and trust God to fulfill the big dream He has for Swaziland, through them.
For those who are interested in seeing what the Lord is doing through the many varied ministries, please make time to log into their websites and put your email address down for updates. I have been so blessed by the feedback the World Racers have blogged, about the work that the Lord Jesus has, is and probably will continue doing in their lives and it is wonderful to see that even though we often come with an attitude that "
I have it all", so often the Lord will bring us down to size and show us that "
He has given it all so that we can go and be Jesus to the nations." Profound!
Prayer requests:
1. Residence permit applications to be approved
2. Spiritual growth in us and those we minister to
3. Continued enthusiasm to make a difference
4. The 14 care points we are directly involved
5. For Kriek and the profiling she is doing of all the children
6. For Dennis and the discipleship team (Musa, Zodwa and Ncobile)
7. For wisdom, insight and discernment in running the AIM Africa office in Swaziland
8. That the Lord Jesus will provide a sponsor for each one of the children and other projects that we are planning for the future
We would like to thank all who came, gave, became broken for the hurting and have a desire that God will use them, no matter where!
Posted in General Articles by Colin & Kathy Cotterrell on 6/14/2007
At the Team House there are so many pairs of shoes lying around that we could easily have a shoe sale and make a fortune!!
It all started happening on Sunday, 27 May, when a Grace group arrived at Manzini to stay at the Team House until 4 June and then move into a homestead near one of the care points to make place for the Racers who should start arriving on 4 June. But to our surprise Squad A bussed in from Vilanculos on Thursday 31 May and suddenly, there we were, with 26 Gracers and 27 Racers and only limited accommodation facilities!
After some intense discussions the Racers set up camp in the garden - front and back!
53 young people all in the same place at the same time could become very interesting and when it rains as well, you can just imagine …….!
Soon we had personal effects and
shoes lying around all over the place!
By God's grace many of them knew each other so small clusters of young people were standing around catching up on news from home and sharing testimonies of the last five months.
Colin went through to South Africa on 1 June to fetch chairs and tables for the Racers who would be undergoing debriefing, counselling and when Squad C arrived, training.
So, now we had tables, chairs, personal effects and shoes lying around, wherever!!
Saturday morning, 2 June, Colin and Kathy left for Maputo to escort the rest of the Racers coming in from Dondo back to Manzini and from 10:30 they had a hair-raising time looking all over a very busy Maputo to find where the Squad was located only to find out at 12:45 that they were still on the way! The bus driver had become sleepy took 4˝ hours off to sleep and was running very late!
Then the long wait started, with many phone calls to Zacharias (the young translator who worked with them at Dondo), and the bus driver. At 15:15 that afternoon the bus rolled around the corner into the bus station where Colin, Kathy and Osvaldo (a young man who helped them with the language difficulty), were patiently awaiting their arrival. By this time Colin & Osvaldo had arranged for transport and the taxi drivers were getting itchy as they wanted to get rolling. The big offload from the bus into the three combis was done as quickly as possible with everyone standing around wanting to have a hand, and by 18:45, after some trouble with one of the taxis, all arrived at the Team House, but now we had 26 Gracers and 48 Racers, all together in the same place, at the same time using the same facilities ……!
Oh no, not more shoes ……!?!
Jumbo's mother was brought in to assist with catering for the teams and you can just imagine what was going on at their house with preparations, cooking, washing of dirty dishes and transporting prepared food over to the various venues were Seth & Karen Barnes ,Tom Davis, his family and the rest of the CHC Vision group were being accommodated, as well as to the Team House!
To crown it all, one vehicle after the other started giving trouble, which meant that Colin had to add that to his already busy schedule of organizing building material for the groups working on the kitchen site at Bhekilanga, transporting people to and from town and keeping his office work up to date!
Monday, 4 June, the Gracers moved out to the homestead, leaving the house open for the January Racers to move in. To our surprise many chose to stay camping out in the garden and the general consensus was that when the June group arrived, the girls would live in the house and the boys
would continue camping out.
By this time there were tables, chairs, clothes and yes, shoes just about everywhere!!
On Thursday, 7 June, Colin traveled to South Africa to meet up with the June Racers who were arriving in two groups and Saturday, 9 June, at 15:35 all arrived at the Team House in Manzini where they were met by a very excited group of January Racers, who had been preparing the house, garden and welcoming banners, since the previous day.
From Sunday evening all three squads started going over to the Global Village for training, teaching and ministry.
Altogether 76 young people are at present grouped together at the Team House, living literally side by side, having to learn from each other what it truly means to SERVE!
Yes, you guessed it ….. more shoes…..!!
Thank you to all who are praying during this time, specially the family members of the World Race teams! Please continue to keep them in prayer and whenever possible, encourage them to continue!
Posted in General Articles by Colin & Kathy Cotterrell on 5/31/2007
Time has flown so fast these last two months and I have only just realized that we never updated our blog for April and it is the last day of May already!
Many things have happened at the office in Swaziland these last two months, with Colin & Kathy Cotterrell joining the staff in Manzini and moving in at the Team House where they will be staying. To date they still have not been able to unpack all their things, as teams are constantly coming and going in SA, Mozambique and Swaziland! Travelling has definitely been one of the main activities AIM Africa staff members have been involved in and we are ever grateful to each one as they live out the call God has placed on their hearts!
Please continue to carry the ministry in prayer as staff travel, minister, serve and even relax, whenever time allows.
At present Jumbo & Kriek are hosting two combined groups, with a Children's Hope Chest group coming in any minute consisting of Tom Davis and his family, the Flanegins, the Irwins, and many others who are joining Tom in Swaziland for the next month.
Pray that they will experience God's presence at all the Care Points, will know where the Lord Jesus wants them to get involved and will go back changed by His mighty hand to the benefit of the people of Africa!
We also have Seth & Karen Barnes who have come to assist with training and debriefing of the World Races at present in Mozambique and the World Race team coming in on 07/06/2007, as well as Scott & Marcia Borg and their son, who are all joining us for the next month. And
will we need every single one of them, with over 85 team members in need of love, counselling and encouragement for the next phase of the race to spread the Gospel of our Lord Jesus across the world.
What a pleasure to be able to host all these godly people, with heavenly mandates to fulfill and lives to touch!
Gary and Lisa Black with their children, have been in Swaziland since April and what a blessing they are to us and, we believe, to all who they will come into contact with. Gary & Lisa as well as many of the other men and women who will be in Swaziland for the next month, will all be involved with training, equipping, loving and encouraging the young people who will be staying in Manzini at the Team House.
Steve & Teresa Kinsley will also be joining us for this time and we are looking forward to having a great time of ministry, fun and upliftment as the Body of Christ Jesus comes together in unity to be a blessing to each other, the racers and the peoples of Swaziland!
Dave Ashby and Albert vd Heever from Alabanza, South Africa have also joined us to assist in driving all the groups around Swaziland with the mandate to get them all praying as they go from point to point.
A special prayer request for Jumbo & Kriek Gerber who will have seven groups to facilitate as from May to July, as well as Colin & Kathy Cotterrell (AIM SA) who are directly involved with the World Race teams coming to Swaziland in June.
We would also like to extend a special thank you to the people at Alabanza for looking after each person involved with AIM in Africa, and making their facilities available as we move back and forth from Swaziland, South Africa and the USA. Dini, her staff, Steve & Teresa Kinsley and Claud & Mary Crosby are a great blessing and always ready to serve! THANK YOU!
We are in great anticipation for God's hand to touch Africa in a mighty, life-changing way, ever using broken vessels to bring hope to the hopeless, and constantly desire His guidance and direction in whatever He calls us to!
Posted in General Articles by Colin & Kathy Cotterrell on 4/19/2007
After the first month of spending time to establish the office in South Africa, getting involved with the FYM team at present at Alabanza, getting to know some of the people who are directly or indirectly attached to AIM USA and the places and involvement AIM has in southern Africa, the SA office staff accompanied a Vision group to Swaziland to visit Bulembu, Hawane and all the carepoints around Manzini where AIM are involved in feeding over 600 orphans every day.
Two of these carepoints are already well developed with ablution, classrooms and a structures at one that still needs to be finalized, as well as a clinic at one of the points, but there is still much to do and that was the reason for this trip. To get the Church in America involved with the Church in Swaziland! Get congregations to sponsor a carepoint and get closely involved in the development of that carepoint.
Praise God for all who are already involved, we appreciate your love for the Lord and the work in Africa!
Our first stop was at Bulembu, high up in the mountains, near Piggs Peak, where we stayed at the local Inn. Looking out over the hotel balconies the most breath taking scenic beauty awaits the viewer, and helpful, friendly hotel staff are always ready to serve the visitors! This is the place to be if you want to get away from it all, relax and be refreshed while at the same time beholding the wondrous beauty of God's creation!
During our stay there, we met with Robyn & Jerry Richter, who run ABC Ministry, Bulembu,
A Safe Haven for Children, and that it is and much, much more! We met with children who have mental and physical challenges, but who grip your heartstrings to the extent that you cannot but help pick them, hold them close and just love them!
We also visited a day care centre, where children are looked after by a group of very dedicated ladies. The children are taught, trained and fed at the care centre and we give God all the glory for people who give up the luxuries of city life to come and live amongst the people and just serve them!
From there we travelled to visit with Kevin & Helen Ward at Home of Hope, Hawane. They have an awesome setup, with homes for the homeless where caremothers take care of up to eight children per home, and they really have established
homes where children partake in family activities in a friendly family environment, eat healthy food, go to a nearby school, grow their own little vegetable gardens and get involved in day-to-day household activities!
At times Kevin got misty eyed and choked up while speaking about the plight of the children in Swaziland who he obviously feels deeply for. We could see the proud father in him when he spoke about the achievements of the orphans living on the property under his care and the way he encouraged them during the video interviews with Tom Davis.
Our journey then took us to Mbabane, where we met the rest of the Ward family at the Mountain View Inn, were the group was accommodated for the rest of the stay.
From there Jumbo & Kriek Gerber and Scott & Marcia Borg took us to all the carepoints, introduced us to Pastor Walter, who has pastoral oversight over all the carepoints and the Gogos (Seswati for grandmothers) at the carepoints. It was a wonderful time of getting to know the women who have given themselves to care for children without parents, with sick parents, with single parents or with parents who work elsewhere. Most of the time not even their own grandchilden!
We also met some of the children these grandmothers care for, watched them make the Gogo Bags that are becoming so famous throughout southern Africa and the USA, and spend some quality time at each of the eight carepoints. At the one carepoint we even treated the children with pizza and bananas!
During our stay in Swaziland we also fitted in a visit with Julie Anderson and the Gogos at the hall where the bags were brought in. A few of us jumped in and helped do quality control, while Julie recorded each Gogo's bags, before they get shipped off. Some even got sold right there on the spot!
Jumbo & Kriek had arranged for the Vision team to go for a game drive at the Hlane Game Sanctuary and we had some real close ups with a pride of lions and a herd of female elephants with a young calf!
Too soon the time in Swaziland was up, but we ended it with a time of great celebration as it was Kriek's birthday on 10 March. We pray that she will have a great year! The AIM SA staff all gathered with Scott & Marcia and had lots of fun, laughter and yes, food!
AIM are also directly involved with the ministry at Alabanza which means
praise in Portuguese and God truly deserves the praise for what is happening there! Let me tell you, there is not a dull moment for the staff and those directly involved with the running of this ministry, which includes Steve & Teresa Kinsley and Claud & Mary Crosby. The Lord is truly doing great things at Alabanza and we would like to extend our gratitude to Him for using Dini and her staff in looking after each one of us as we move back and forth from Swazi, South Africa and the USA.
We are extremely excited about what the Lord Jesus has planned for Africa and desire to be useful vessels for His glory, so stand with us as we move forward - literally step by step and moment by moment - as He guides and directs!
Posted in General Articles by Colin & Kathy Cotterrell on 3/16/2007
As many of you already know, many ministry teams have reached out to the people of Swaziland, Kenya, Madagascar and other African countries with a First Year Missionary
(FYM) team at present at Alabanza and Jeffrys Bay, South Africa, and a Real Life (RL) team at Swaziland where they are ministering amongst the locals and getting involved with existing ministries. Please pray for these teams as they spread the Gospel and serve the people of Africa!
As the urgency increases to reach the world for Jesus, the need for facilating and co-ordinating the teams who respond to the call that Jesus made in Matt 28:19 "
Go ye into all the world" has also increased to the extent that the directors of Adventures in Missions have appointed Colin & Kathy to assist in setting up and running the office for AIM in Southern Africa. Please pray for them!
With the help of Steve & Teresa Kinsley, of Mission Sebenzela, the Alabanza based FYM team is at present undergoing discipleship training at Alabanza, South Africa, and in turn they use what they have learned to reach out to the local communities with God's love, through ministry at hospices, children's homes, street ministry, counselling and going from house to house wherever there is a need!
To assist with the training of the teams at Alabanza, Claud & Mary Crosby share the cross-cultural knowledge they gained in Swaziland with the teams and transports them to and from Swaziland. The Crosby family will be taking the FYM team down to Jeffrys Bay where they will be joining UCSA at a Young Adult Family Camp, for a time of ministry and worship. Please keep this in your prayers!
AIM uses the facilities at Alabanza, where the teams coming through to Africa, stay over and on 28-29 January a Real Life team arrived with
Dave & Vicky Gross, who are part of the administrative team in the USA. They were only passing through for two short days in transit to Swaziland with Claud and Dawie, and it was with excitement that the FYMs and the Alabanza staff saw the group off! Dave & Vicky then returned to continue with their journey to Jeffrys Bay to encourage the staff there and to assess any administrative needs and then back the the US again.
We are also enjoying the company of
Ben & Janeen Messner, who are coming and going with the teams to and from Swaziland and Jeffrys Bay. Ben and Claud will be the main speakers at the UCSA Family Camp.
Scott Nelson accompanied the first Vision team and after a brief stay at Alabanza moved on to Swaziland with the rest of the team. The vision team then moved on to Jeffrys Bay and Scott flew back to the States. Scott, nice having you with us!
Scott & Marcia Borg, who have been to Swaziland previously, arrived to meet with Colin & Kathy and then on to Swaziland with the first Vision Team. They will be back to meet the next Vision team accompanied by Seth Barnes and Hal & Sylvia Ashby. They will then, together with Jumbo & Kriek and Colin & Kathy take this team through to Swaziland for eight days to visit all the care points and other areas where AIM is directly involved. From there it will be back to Alabanza and then they will fly out to the USA on 13 March. It was great meeting this very devoted couple!
Jumbo and Kriek are based in Swaziland and are directly involved in arranging trips for Vision teams so that they can see and have first-hand experience at all the AIM care-points as well as the other ministries AIM sponsor. We are all looking forward to a time of fellowship, service and the possibility of becoming more involved with what the Lord Jesus is doing in Africa. Please pray for more people to set their hearts on serving the Lord by getting involved!!
At the Swaziland care-points up to 600 children ranging from mere babies to 15 year-olds are fed, taught and shown the love of our Heavenly Father. Grandmothers (Gogos, pronounced
go
go with heavy emphasis on the g the same as you would same
gotcha), who are involved in the projects make handbags for resale inconjunction with Julie Anderson who is in charge of this project and the quality of work is very impressive! The bags help the grandmothers to be more effective in looking after children who have been left in their care by daughters, granddaugthers and other family members.
We are excited about what the Lord Jesus wants to do through AIM Southern Africa and trust that all the friends, family and associates of Adventures in Missions will feel just as excited about what God is doing in Africa!
Please continue to pray for the work in SA and for the will of God to be fully released in the lives of those who serve Him in Africa.
investigated.
group, did an excellent job at teaching, training and entertaining the children who enjoyed the large garden tremendously. They were dribbling and throwing soccer balls around, and played soccer at the Khanyisile Primary School sports grounds (+- 200 yrds from the house). The girls kept themselves busy during off time playing games under the trees and skipping rope. In the evenings they watched movies and all during the weekend there was lots and lots of food! Under any circumstance it isn't easy to fit more than 30 people comfortably into the Team House (ask the 
After some intense discussions the 
would continue camping out.
the January