A HEART FOR AFRICA

“A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul...”  Proverbs 13:19

God has given me (Jenni)

a heart for Africa for as long as I can remember. As a student my first exposure to African culture was in the country of Haiti (right). I was only 14 and loved it. This summer Matt has been assigned to lead the Royal Servants mission team to Uganda. Our whole family will be joining him and I can't wait! 

My first memory of wanting to go to Africa was when I was five years old when I saw a documentary about sponsoring children in need. I’ve been blessed with the chance to serve in Africa four times, including Zimbabwe for the summer of 1989, and living in Mozambique for a year in 1998. I was also able to work with African refugees in Minneapolis full time in 1999-2001.

Having served the last several summers as a family in Scotland, Uganda will be a huge change for us! We will have the opportunity to serve and do outreaches with our partners; “Youth for Christ” and “Pathways to Hope.” Ministry will include discipleship and evangelism in schools, slum areas, orphanages, through sports and with street children, teen mothers and women coming out of prostitution. Some of the impact we will make are in areas of educational, vocational and agricultural training.

While the whole world is in need of Jesus, I have dreamt about the opportunity to bring a team of students (and our own Halseth children) to Africa.  This summer will be the fulfilment to that dream. The strong physical needs on this continent are surely close to the heart of Jesus. We pray that our students (and our children) will be able to experience that heart of Jesus in a powerful way this summer. Thank you for your partnership. Your gifts and prayers make a difference in countless lives!