A Hike to Remember

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Then we watched The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. It was a long movie, but they enjoyed every minute with their popcorn and juice. By the end, so many of the young men were inspired. They were able to connect with the main character—a boy coming from poverty, with limited resources and a difficult relationship with his father. Even though the odds were stacked against him, he was still able to make a positive impact on his community, something many boys from Shiyaz hope to do one day.

As we cleaned up and headed out, our generator friend, Jeoff, was inspired himself! He felt led to take these young men on a hike. This spontaneous idea immediately fired up the boys, and within a week, we organized a "guy hike" with boys from two communities: Shiyaz and Mathandobisis. God's hand was clearly in it. During the hike, the boys sang, told jokes, and even went swimming. Most importantly, each one had the opportunity to hear the gospel at the top of the mountain.

One of the leaders shared his testimony of how God transforms lives—how He took him out of a life of drugs, alcohol, and suffering and brought him into redemption, restoration, and hope. The boys were deeply inspired to hear what God is doing in the lives of people from their own communities. They also had time for prayer and reflection before heading back down and enjoying some hot chocolate together.

Many seeds were planted on this hike, and many bonds were formed. God has a plan for each and every one of these young men.

Will you join us in praying for:

• That the enemy would not take, steal, or destroy any of the seeds that have been planted

• That God would bring transformation to each of their hearts

• For more opportunities to sow into the hearts of these boys

• For wisdom as we continue to walk alongside these young men and disciple them

God works in mysterious and miraculous ways! This hike was not something we had planned, but God did. Last week, we had our first Movie Night in Shiyaz! This was no easy task. We used the church as our movie theater and put up a screen using packing paper and tape. Thankfully, we had a projector—but Shiyaz does not have electricity. So, we began searching for a generator.

When we asked one of our friends if he knew of anyone who had a generator we could borrow, he offered his own! This was truly a miracle. We were running out of time and options, and he graciously loaded it onto his car and brought it straight to Shiyaz. We had over 100 kids join us! We started the night by playing a video of photos and videos we had taken of the kids. They loved it and were shocked to see themselves on the big screen. One kiddo even said, "Look! We're famous!" Their gasps and laughter made the night.

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