Greetings from Beautiful South Africa
January 30, 2026
Beth and I arrived back here on January 9. It is good to be back in our African home. We enjoy our lives here on the mission field. The year is already shaping up to be one of the best ever.
Each year, my good friend Fr. Ray McHenry brings our first short-term mission team of the year from his former parish, St. Francis of Assisi. This marks the 11th consecutive year he has led a strong team to serve with us. This year was especially meaningful, as several additional groups and individuals asked to join his team, making it one of our largest and most impactful January visits.
A major highlight of Fr. Ray’s visit this year was the dedication of our newest chapel at Mater Dei Catholic Retreat Center, along with the completion of the Stations of the Cross, which was initiated by his team with Bishop Joensen last year. These Stations of the Cross extend one kilometer up the mountain on the campus. It is a beautiful spot for meditation, prayer, and reflection for all Christians, not just our Catholic friends. The church, built by Dustin and our construction team, is truly a work of art. Seating just 150 people, it may be small, but it is easily one of the most beautiful churches in all of South Africa. This is the 4th new church building that we at Blessman International have completed. The quality of each one has significantly improved over the years. Building new churches and seeing them thrive is one of my greatest joys, right up there with helping to feed 50,000 vulnerable children.
This team also participated in drilling two wells for clean water and planting two vegetable gardens in local preschools, improving both water access and nutrition for children.
For the past couple of years, I have discussed with Hy-Vee Food Stores their plan to send executives and a professional media team to tell the story of their help in providing safe, clean water and food to vulnerable children in South Africa. Last week, everything came together. They sent a full media team, Eric Hanson from KCCI TV, and representatives from Meals from the Heartland, our largest feeding partner. The team filmed the drilling of our 100th well and joined our monthly market day.
On our monthly market day, we distributed hundreds of boxes of Meals from the Heartland food, over 90,000 eggs, and truckloads of fresh vegetables to 350 feeding centers surrounding our Del Cramer Child Development Center. This will help feed 15,000 children for one month. Eric also highlighted the many Iowa businesses, churches, and individuals who continue to support and care for children here through their generosity.
In addition, we welcomed three representatives from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes from Drake, Simpson, and Grand View Universities. Through their mentorship and encouragement, they led skill-building workshops for our coaches and athletes, helped foster team unity, and provided spiritual support, all of which significantly impacted our sports programs. In the future, they hope to return annually with college athletes and coaches to further support the development of our Sports 4 Christ ministry.
This January team included 31 members, making it one of our largest in recent years. This was the first month that Pastor John and Karen Miller began serving an intermediate term with us. They are here for a two-month stay and have already been a tremendous help, especially in supporting Pastor Johanney and his wife, who have been carrying a very heavy workload.
Looking ahead to February, we are excited to expand our child sponsorship program. Iowa’s largest Christian radio station, Life 107.1 FM, will host a two-day promotion to help secure 100 new sponsors for children at our Del Cramer Campus. Achieving this goal will offer more children educational support, meals, and mentorship. Rather than traditional pen pal letters, our revised program connects sponsors and children through smartphones. Staff oversee these interactions, encouraging a more personal exchange.
I have been saddened by news reports from the United States, where ongoing protests, violence, and severe winter storms are affecting much of the country. Here in South Africa, we dealt heavy rains nearly every day, which has created challenges for well drilling. We had to change locations to avoid getting our drilling rig stuck in the mud. Despite our efforts, our large bus and a couple of other vehicles still got stuck and had to be towed out. I like to call moments like these “making memories.”
Good friends Chris and Rita Brault were part of Fr. Ray’s team. They visited the well they funded in honor of Chris’s mother, who passed away from cancer in November. We drilled her well and shared a video with her and her family while she was still living. This became a meaningful legacy for Chris to honor his mom. This week, Chris, a pilot, flew with our son Dustin over the well. Later, he and Rita visited the site to install the dedication signage at the preschool.
We also hosted John McLaughlin, Iowa’s longtime KCCI meteorologist. Several years ago, John trained Dustin in helicopter flying. He has been a faithful mentor ever since. It was a joy to spend some time flying together this past week.
Next week, Beth and I will join Fr. Ray on a trip to Victoria Falls. This will be his 11th year in Africa. He has never visited this incredible site. Last year, we took him to Kruger National Park. The year before, Dustin took him to Cape Town. We love having Fr. Ray serve with us every January. He is already planning to return next year.
As we look ahead to the months before us, we are deeply grateful for the many partners, friends, and churches who make this work possible. From Iowa to South Africa, your prayers, generosity, and encouragement continue to bring hope, nourishment, clean water, and the love of Christ to thousands of children and families. Beth and I are continually humbled by the faithfulness we witness, both from those who come to serve and from those who support from afar. Thank you for walking this journey with us. Together, we are truly making an eternal difference, one child and one community at a time.