The South Africa Oasis is NOW open!!

The South Africa Oasis is now open!!

It has taken a few months, but we have 

found a place to live that

has an apartment for guests!

We have secured the location,

we have furnished it,

we have fixed it up,

and we are now ready

for God to bring

the weary,

the exhausted,

the hurting,

the burned out

Harvest Workers

that God 

has determined 

need to be here.

If that describes you or someone who is working overseas,

contact us at:

southafricaoasis@lifeimpactministries.net

or submit a booking request at:

The South Africa Oasis Booking Request

“That we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” 

Romans 1:12

Following where God leads...

It has been a wild ride so far... this following where God has asked us to go.  

There are days we feel like this is fun and amazing!  

There are days when we are weary and sad and want to go home.  

But we don't have a home to go to.  

It reminds me of Jesus, when he said he had nowhere to lay his head.  

Luke 9:58

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, 

but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

The days like these remind me that my home is in heaven.  

My citizenship is neither in this country or my passport country.  

My life is not my own,

but given to my Lord with a grateful heart

filled with love for what 

He has done for me.

Pray with us that God would lead us 

to the property He has prepared for us.

We are eager to prepare the Oasis for 

weary pastors and missionaries and their families

to receive rest and encouragement 

for their souls.

We certainly can relate to the need...

How does an Oasis work?

We are in the final stages of support raising so that we can go 

on the field to do Missionary Care through a hosted Oasis.

 

Many people have asked us:  

What is an Oasis?  

How does this work?

What is missionary care?

Well, here's our answer to all three of those questions!  

Once we land in Cape Town, we will rent a furnished apartment for the three months we are waiting for our container of household items to arrive.  During that time, we will be looking for a property to rent for our Oasis.  We envision a separate 2 bedroom guest cottage for the missionaries use.  This type of property is relatively common in South Africa - it is called a "granny flat" since families often have their parents come to live with them.  The photo above is of one such cottage that we viewed while we were on our scouting trip in 2012.

Once our Oasis is up and running, we will host one missionary (and family) at a time.  Before coming to our Oasis, they will fill out a questionnaire that will let us know what their needs are and how long they want to stay.  We will host one family any amount of time from 2 days to 2 weeks.

During their stay, if they are struggling in any area of life, we can offer them life coaching, biblical counseling, stress assessments, and a listening ear.  Of course, things might go differently once we are there - but we envision formal interactions between us and the couple during the mornings, with afternoons free for rest and reflection, and additional interactions during several of the evenings.

Our desire is to minister to the entire family.  We will host times of fun and reflection for the kids of the family as well.  Kids often desire to voice their thoughts, feelings, and struggles as well - and we want to be sensitive to the needs of the children, giving them exclusive time to talk.  Julie is able to offer guidance and insight into homeschooling, as well as hosting a homeschool resource library for families to peruse.

The Oasis will feature a lending library, a movie collection, puzzles, and lots of board games for families to enjoy.  In short, we hope to offer weary families a safe place to spend a week resting, debriefing, seeking the Lord, and recapturing the passion that led them to their ministry!

If you would like to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of missionaries in Southern Africa - join our team!! 

We would love to have you join us, once we are fully funded we will leave for the field! 

Click here to join our team!

Where in the world are the van Heerden's going?

Wow! What a view!

We adopted Julia in 2012 and while we were there

we also did a survey trip for our Oasis.

We stayed in a most amazing apartment 

with fabulous views...

I relax just looking at them again!

But...

 

being on the side of a mountain has distinct disadvantages

when traveling with children.

Safety railings are minimal and a tumble 

off the steps is a three story drop

to concrete below...

NOT relaxing!

So, for our Oasis,

intended to give weary missionaries

relaxation and rest,

a mountain top experience

might not be the best.

So we looked at the surrounding area

we checked out properties in Strand

in Fish Hoek

in Hout Bay

in Simons' Town

and decided that a place on the ocean

in the valleys

on flat land

would be the best location for our Oasis!

So when we arrive

we will search out properties

in the greater Cape Town area

for our 

South African Oasis!

Want to partner along with us?

Support the South African Oasis

Soon and very soon...

The South Africa Oasis

Support Us!

We are in the final stages of funding our ministry...

We will be relocating to Cape Town, South Africa 

as God provides the full measure of our support

in the next two months!

Did you know that more than 6,000 missionaries

will quit and come home unnecessarily this year?

Missionaries and cross cultural ministry workers

face many stressors:

language barriers

cultural stress

conflict with coworkers

feeling inadequate

loneliness

needs of the children

are just a few...

We plan to provide missionary care

through biblical counseling 

and 

practical encouragement 

for families - offering a place

for families to come to 

rest, relax, and reconnect.

You can be a part of this! 

We need partners

folks just like you

who will

pray for us

and the families we will serve.

And offer monthly

financial support

just $5 or $10 monthly

will serve these families!

47% of missionaries leave their work

within the first 5 years!

Help us help them to stay on the field

ministering the Gospel to a needy world!

Financial Support

Growing

 What a little love!

Hannes is doing well.  

All of his birth defects have now been repaired!

He is growing...

from a toddler to a 

little boy!

We are so grateful to all who have 

followed our journey

and 

prayed and donated 

to bring this little one home!

It is hard to think about what his life would be like

if we hadn't adopted him

He was living in Lugansk

and that part of Ukraine

has been under heavy fighting

for a while now...

The orphanage has been evacuated

the facilitator has fled

The buildings have been bombed

There is no water

no electricity

very little food

I can't even imagine what it looks like

or what the people still living there

are dealing with.

My heart hurts for all the pain and despair...

and I hug Hannes just a little bit tighter

so very glad he is with us.

There are two little ones that we met

while we were in Ukraine for 

Hannes's adoption.

They were with Hannes and we saw them

every day

for the five weeks we were there.

A little girl and her big brother.

She was around a year and her brother around 2.

They wrapped themselves around our hearts.

They have a family waiting to adopt them.

The war has interrupted their plans

and they have been waiting

and waiting

and waiting

and they just got permission to travel to them

in the place they have been evacuated to 

This is a miracle!

Their mom will be flying to Ukraine this Saturday!

You can help!

These two children are dear to our hearts

please click on this link and help them get home!

They have been in the midst of a war!

They deserve to come home to peace!

http://reecesrainbow.org/72181/sponsorboyer-2

 

Hannes had his fourth 

and final surgery 

today 

to correct the last of his birth defects.

 

We are so grateful that 

we are able to give him 

the medical care that he needed.

Care that would have been difficult

in his home country

especially now,

since they are 

at war.

We never take for granted

the ease with which

life is lived here

in the U.S.

And we are so grateful

to God for His

provision to us

and

this little boy that we love so much!