March 2026 Brisket, books & blessings

 

Subject: Brisket, Books, and Blessings: An Update from the Free State

It is hard to believe we haven’t written since before Christmas! The holiday season here is always a beautiful blur of activity. Since the children are out of school for their summer vacation from December through mid-January, our focus shifts entirely to making that time special for them.

Of course, there is an incredible amount of "behind-the-scenes" logistics involved in running a village of 30+ children. Between buying and wrapping gifts for over 40 children, house mothers, and young adults, and organizing uniforms for the new school year, our hands were full!

A South African Christmas

On Christmas Eve, our immediate family enjoyed our tradition of finger foods and gifts. Christmas Day began with 9:00 AM church—a staple tradition here in Sub-Saharan Africa. Later that afternoon, the entire village gathered for a beautifully organized gift-opening. Everyone sat in a circle with gifts hidden under their chairs, and we watched one by one as 50 of us shared in the joy. We finished the day "free" of village obligations, celebrating with a family dinner of smoked brisket and all the sides.

The Challenge of Education

The transition back to school in mid-January is always a monumental task. Susan spent every spare minute tailoring school uniforms for the 25 children who attend seven different local schools. She is finally caught up on the mending, and she continues to be a pillar of support for the staff in any way she can.

In South Africa, school placement is not guaranteed; it is a rigorous application process. Our missionary staff works tirelessly to secure spots for every child. In the Free State, the shortage of space is critical—thousands of children are often left without a placement.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrBcjtcYYqw Here is an article that explains the situation. We are so grateful that, through the hard work of our team, our children are in the classroom.

Service in the Community

Beyond the village, I’ve had the privilege of helping a friend from church who is starting a rehab center on his farm. I spent several days installing a solar power system for a remote building that will house the men in the program. The founder, Michael, is a "rehabilitated druggie" himself who has been clean for over 10 years. He has a massive heart for these men, and it’s an honor to support his vision.

Staff Spotlight: Grace

We would love to introduce you to Grace. She has faithfully served the Lord since high school and currently serves as a part-time house mother here at Restoring Hope, filling in during emergencies or days off.

On March 1st, Grace will transition to full-time staff with Word of Life, South Africa, an excellent NPO that trains young people through local churches. As she moves into this role, she will need to raise her own support. If you feel led to partner with her, please let us know and we can point you in the right direction.

Mentoring Our Young Adults

One of our favorite "extra jobs" is inviting our young adults over for coffee, milkshakes, and popcorn. It’s a time for them to confide in us and for us to encourage them in their walk with God.

Recently, we’ve discussed the tradition of Lobola (bride price). While it is a deeply rooted custom, it has become a significant hurdle for Christian couples. Often, the financial demands are set so high by extended families that young men simply cannot afford to marry. You can read more about that complexity A Distorted View of Lobola Undermines Marriage and FamilyTGC Africahttps://africa.thegospelcoalition.org › Articles. Please pray for our young couples as they navigate these cultural pressures while trying to honor God.

Answered Prayers

A quick highlight from the start of the 2026 school year: three of our boys were voted into a special leadership group at their school (similar to a student council). These young men have a wonderful testimony and are dedicated followers of Jesus. They were even recently invited to observe a professional drug bust at the school—a sobering experience, but a testament to the trust the faculty has in their character.

Finally, we recently hosted our wonderful house mothers for tea. These women care for the village children as if they were their own, and their dedication is the heartbeat of this ministry.

God is doing amazing work in the lives of these children and young adults. It is a privilege to witness His hand at work every day.

Blessings,

Life in the fast lane! 2014

This is a post from 2014.  Recently published.  Much has changed in the last 12 years

Here is our latest update for our ministry at Restoring Hope Village in Welkom, South Africa.  Life has been busy and our time is drawing to a close.  Thank you to each of you who has lifted us up in prayer and supported us during our time here!  God is at work and there are some really neat things happening.

First, some photos of the newest children.  Our purpose in this trip was to help do whatever it took to open the 3rd house at the village.  Praise God it happened quickly and God provided one baby and 6 children to live in the house with Momma Mompho!  Here they are.

WIth the ongoing operation of the houses here our duties have turned from doing last minute tasks, training housemothers and getting all the supplies needed for a new house to the necessary and sometimes mundane.  Susie has been working on organizing the storage areas that hold clothing, shoes, bedding and other essential items that have been donated to RHI as well as training a volunteer who will replace her when we leave.  A new staff couple is coming Wednesday and their container is expected in September.  Room had to be made to accommodate additional clothing that will soon be here.  

Keeping up with the financial records has also been Susie's responsibility.  Since that work is easily done anytime, she is often called away to help with more urgent matters--taking sick children to the Dr. or hospital, babysitting so others can tend to important business and so on.  Susie is training a new local staff member who will be doing the financial business as part of her duties.

Bob has list of maintenance and construction issues that never seems to grow short!  Working overtime doesn't even help!  One of the bigger jobs was building steel roof trusses and installing them on the new storage/shop building.  A local steel workers strike caused a rush to get materials before there was a serious shortage.

Another responsibility of this trip was to provide transportation--whenever, wherever for whomever needed it.  When we arrived there were only 2 people with drivers licenses--our son and daughter-in-law!  Most of the driving was errands and routine drop-offs and pick-up from Morningstar (preschool) and the school.  For whatever reason the school has 2 or 3 different ending times so it was often 3 trips in the afternoon to fetch children.  Two months ago we took many trips to the doctor and hospital with the new children.  Now that they have settled in and are being fed a very nutritious diet their health has dramatically improved.  Friday we took 3 of the children to the local eye doctor for evaluation and one is in need of glasses.  Nothing is easy so this was a 2 trip ordeal involving both of us due to school schedules!  None of the South African staff currently here has a drivers license.

We love what we are doing and love caring for the staff and children of the village.  Now that the children are much healthier our emotions can rest as well.  We can't explain the emotional hurt when we care for children that have been seriously neglected by their caregivers--to the point that their life is on the line.   Sometimes we have to just not spend too much time looking at these kids and dwelling on their circumstances.  Instead we must direct our thoughts to how God has provided a loving momma and staff for them.  It is so exciting to have an opportunity to answer their questions and tell them about God and His provision and about Jesus Christ and His Salvation!  

God has graciously provided 4 full time US staff members, 9 South African staff and 3 interns who will be here when we leave on Tuesday.  I don't think they will miss us too much.  On the other hand, we will miss the activity and the 33 or so people here every day!

Thanks again for your support and prayers!!!

Bob & Susie

Baby House Opens!

News!  The baby house opened today.  Mama Mampo is the lead housemother.  God is keeping everyone here on our toes as He is providing more children to be cared for at Restoring Hope Village.  This time is is babies!  There are 2 here and 3 more soon to come.

Please visit the RHI website HERE for a new video and more info.  In the video Bussi gives a tour of the village.

Sibusiso (See boo See so), almost 4 months old,  arrived almost 2 weeks ago.  As with most neglected babies, he was under weight and needed close attention for a while.  He was placed in the girl's house for now and Mama Salina has loved him dearly and nurtured him into a happy little boy.  It is concerning for me (bob) when a baby comes into care here and is very contented.  That usually means he has been neglected to the point he cannot make his needs known by crying, is not happy and does not move much.  Fortunately, it does not take much genuine love and good nutrition for them to come around rather quickly.  Concerning to this grandpa but I am amazed by the care given by the godly women here.  Grandma Susie has been busier than ever as she helps Lois and the house mothers care for the babies here.  

"Kitty," my nick name for her, came to live with us 5 days ago.  At 10 months old and only 11 pounds, Lois put her under very close observation and care.  I had the opportunity to hold her for several hours over the past few days.  Initially it was very difficult to look into her eyes and think about the neglect she had endured.  1 1/2 weeks ago she was discharged from the hospital and lost weight while living at home.  Since no information is shared with Brian or Lois regarding the past of these children, we have no idea what caused her current status.  Again, love and nutrition (formula) slowly met Kitty's needs and within 3 days she was acting like a 10 month old.  Nothing is sweeter than a baby's cry when she did not even have that ability when she came to us.  She is finally eating enough to begin putting on weight--another real joy to everyone when she downed her first 100 ml bottle (about 3 1/3 ounces).  The first few days she was "force fed" (yeah, really) with a small syringe.  Sunday she moved up to a larger syringe and finally today Susie got her to take her first bottle.  God is so good.  God chose to spare the lives of many of the children here by sending them to receive the care they need.  So many others are not so fortunate.  God has provided so many wonderful South Africa staff members who love the Lord and love serving Him here.  We are blessed to have a small part in this.

If you wonder about our responsibilities here, the best answer we can give is that we do whatever it takes to help this organization run.  We both live out or Faith in Jesus Christ in front of the children and staff here every day.  Making Jesus known is our goal and motivation for being here.  Teaching moments occur often and sometimes when least expected.  Our desire is to see these children know Jesus and learn to obey Him!  We have learned that routine life is the best teaching tool on the planet.  

Susie has been focused on getting the new baby house up and running.  During our time here she will be overseeing the operation of that house and working with the house mothers in providing care for the babies.  Getting clothing, supplies, furniture and bedding from storage to the house has taken her free time recently.  The house officially opened today!

Bob takes care of maintenance and construction matters.  Moving furniture, completing the "punch list" on the baby house and so on.  Both of us take turns driving children and house mothers to and from school and the clinic and wherever they need to go.  Seems like one of us is always headed out somewhere.

We made it!! Only took 35 hours door to door, 4 a.m. (Central time) on Tuesday to 10 p.m. on Wednesday (local time) a week ago!

Lois told us that in honor of our sleeping in late, they had arranged for a surprise for us, but not until afternoon. After lunch, which we skipped because we ate breakfast at 10, the first baby came to live at Restoring Hope Village. The hospital started out with 5, and one has gone for adoption somewhere (it appears). That leaves 3 at the hospital, potentially to be assigned here. God knows, so keep praying.

Baby "Unknown" came to live here, and since he was the only one, he was assigned to Mama Selina for his care. He is about 3 months old, but very tiny, so nutrition and regular 3 hour feedings are mandatory. Quite a change for a mama to have to get up twice during the night for a feeding. Today I went to train both housemothers in the special care for a neglected newborn who has continued with nothing more than feeding and "nappy" changes since his birth. Sterilizing bottles, only 75 ml. of formula because he can't hold more than that without vomiting. They have to learn to do things by a procedure instead of their idea of what is ok in their eyes. During the sterilizing training, Mama Thembisa turned off the sterilizer (in the microwave) after only 1/2 the time had elapsed. I had to make her turn it back on twice because she thought it was enough.

Anyhow, that was my first step in fulfilling our purpose in coming here. Next we will get the house that is ready to open spic and span from all the dust that has blown in. Monday we will (hopefully) know if we get the other 3 babies or will open it to older children. If it is babies, the bunk beds must be disassembled and removed, the bedding back to storage, and cribs come out of storage and assembled for babies. Beds for housemothers brought in, and paint the rocking chair that another organization has for us. 

Next we will write up procedures for how things are to be done, and a chart for recording all the necessary facts about the babies' care.

Forgot to mention, but because the baby boy came without a name, they had a naming party at the Village Bible Study last night. We have to assign him a surname also, but his first name is Sbusi (a Zulu name, as I understand). Turns out that is short for something, but don't know the rest and can't recall what it means. I think it is survivor, and determined, maybe. He was found abandoned in a field by someone who contacted the police, and has spent his life since then in a crib at the hospital, ignored most of the time. Makes for a very content little boy.

We are settled in and working on the many projects here for us. Thanks to all for praying for us.  More to come!

Love you all,
Bob & Susie

December Birthdays

For those of you with December birthdays you sometimes know what it is like to be "cheated" when your birthday is so close to Christmas.  Not at Restoring Hope Village!  One Saturday every month is dedicated to celebrating that months birthdays.  Here are the birthday girls for December.

Happy Birthday DK, Jessica, Lois and Motsodishi!

A birthday party means someone has to make a cake...4 cakes for this day!  Here is Komohalo helping Grandma Susie with the cake decorating.  "Komo" is a great helper for any task!

Welcome to Restoring Hope Village

Susan and I arrived at Restoring Hope Village to a very warm welcome and big smiles from the children and staff here.  What a pleasure to be serving God in this place.  Yes, there are many pleasures from seeing children grow in the Lord as well as every other way to just being close to so many people!  There have been some awesome changes in the lives of children since we left here in April.   The staff here has worked very hard to bring these changes about.  Susie and I both had to ask Atlehang  who she was because she had changed sooooo much and looks healthy and happy.

After reading many articles on getting over jet-lag, I have ditched their ideas and developed my own method.  Very simply, if you are tired, sleep, no matter the time of day.  If you can't sleep at night, get up and do something.  That is why this post is being written at 12:30 at night!  Seems to work well for me but not sure about tomorrow morning with church and our duties transporting people!  Might have to get up on time!  Susie on the other hand has had no problem--I am jealous.

Oh, one of the pleasures of life here can be seen comparing the thermometers of Ames, IA to Welkom, SA.  Sure will miss snow skiing this year!

Amazon Smile supports Restoring Hope International

Now you can support Restoring Hope Village by shopping at Amazon!  .5% of your purchases will be donated to RHI for use in the Operations of RHV each time you make an Amazon purchase using the Amazon Smile website.

Check out this link to get started:  http://smile.amazon.com/ch/26-3925275

You can contribute to RHI by making your normal Amazon purchases.
Thank you!
The entire RHI family.