Spring in South Africa

Greetings from beautiful South Africa! The weather is warming as we head into spring, and we look forward to the rainy season. Dustin has been busy with construction—his teams are building the new church at Mater Dei, and we are also working on a garage for our new home. I’ve enjoyed watching progress at Legend Golf and Safari as they prepare to reopen the Signature 18‑hole course. The Tribute course has already been open for several months, and the famous Extreme 19th hole is ready once again, waiting for the helicopter to arrive.  

Our feeding program in the communities around the Del Cramer Children’s Campus continues to thrive, supported by eggs and vegetables harvested on our farm and red meat from Hunt Against Hunger. Right now, we are supplying 350 local feeding sites. Each month, representatives from these sites come to Del Cramer to collect eggs, vegetables, and food packets. The poultry program is growing strong—we expect to be delivering 100,000 eggs each month by the new year. 

In contrast, our larger feeding program across South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe has faced challenges. We have not been able to import our usual containers of food from Meals from the Heartland and Convoy of Hope. Thankfully, through generous support, we raised $350,000 to purchase local food here in Africa, allowing the program to continue. Still, we had to reduce feeding schedules at some sites to twice a week in order to stretch supplies. 

We believe the customs and health department issues have finally been resolved. Convoy of Hope is shipping us a “test container,” which is now at sea. It is expected to arrive in about a month, and we are praying it will clear smoothly. If so, this will open the way for many more containers after the first of the year. It has been a long process—months of constant communication with the port authorities, Convoy of Hope, and Meals from the Heartland—but we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Since our return to Africa, we’ve had the joy of hosting two mission teams. The first, from Trinity Bible Church in Cedar Falls, was led by Pastor John and Karen Miller. The second team, from Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, Iowa, has just finished their time with us. As one of the largest churches in America, they have been a tremendous blessing. Many years ago, this same church helped us fund our Lodge of Dreams, where we now host mission teams. 

This month we also celebrated a special milestone: Ken and Bonni Newton have now served with us in South Africa for 10 consecutive years. They usually stay for three months each year, and this time they played a key role in helping us transition our child sponsorship program to the Bridgely app. This new system makes communication between children and sponsors more efficient and personal. Bonni was especially helpful in counseling our girls at our Girls Fellowship and Celebrate Recovery programs. 

One of my greatest joys this past month has been seeing the new Mater Dei church take shape. Our team from Lutheran Church of Hope helped put finishing touches on the beautiful Stations of the Cross along the 1 km path up the mountain. We reflected together on Christ’s Walk to Calvary and shared a picnic lunch in the stunning natural setting. Next week, the roof will be installed right on schedule for the church’s dedication during Fr. Ray’s 11th mission trip in January. 

Dustin continues to enjoy his well‑drilling projects. Last week he drilled our 92nd well, though unfortunately it turned out to be a dry hole at 100 meters deep. Still, we remain on track to drill our 100th and 101st wells in January, with anticipation of Hy‑Vee’s media team being here to document their amazing support for our water and feeding projects. 

Life on the mission field does bring its hardships, especially being far from family. This week Beth’s uncle, Don Cramer, passed away. He was a wonderful supporter of our ministry, and we would love to be present at his funeral. We will also miss celebrating Kelsey’s 40th birthday on October 2nd. I cherish memories of celebrating her birthday alongside her grandmother, Margaret Cramer, whose birthday was October 3rd. We would often gather at our lake home in Stockton, Missouri to celebrate together. 

Please continue to pray with us that God will provide the food and resources we need to keep feeding children across Africa.