Keepin Up With TheKadlecs

Oct. 2016

Hello Dear Family and Friends,

Summer is just around the bend and I know for most of you, winter is fast approaching. It has been a long winter for us and we are ready for the warm months ahead. It just won’t be the same celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas during summer time though. I know that I will be dreaming of a White Christmas…Dave? Not so much. He doesn’t like the snow.

Cheryl Edwards has landed. This is a dear friend that Dave and I met during our time at OMUSA. Her husband Julius did volunteer work in our department but unfortunately he passed on to the Lord a year ago and they were both going to come and work with us in Cape Town. Cheryl wanted to keep that dream alive and at the age of 66 she came to assist and be a frontrunner of her church back in Atlanta to mobilize others towards world missions. “She’s theBerries!”That is a saying her mother would say when something was REALLY good. We have put her to work painting the empowerment center, teaching English, assisting in the sewing classes and working with the outreach to prostitutes. (Never a dull moment)


Amadou is reading and writing for the first time in his life

This is a story about Amadou. He came to our center to learn to read and write. He is 44 and has never been to school a day in his life. His parents raised the children in the Ivory Coast and needed them to be home to work. His native language is French and he can understand and speak English. He is so talented that he is in the process of making shoes and leather outfits for a National Geographic documentary being done here in Cape Town. He feels great shame when they ask him to read a contract or ask him to sign anything. I asked Amadou, “So how do you sign your name if you don’t know how?” He took out a pen and drew what looked like a large dollar sign. I told him, “No! You are a precious human being, made in the image of God and you have a name! You will no longer write your name like that.” He began to practice writing his name and one day he came to class and said, “Oh teacher, you are not going to believe what happened to me this week. I went to the bank to withdraw money with my bank card and it got stuck in the machine. The bank lady came and helped me get it out of the machine but looked at me and said, ‘I can’t give you this card until you write down your name and prove that this is yours.” She handed him a pen and paper and he said for the first time in his life he wrote down his name, AmadouKone . Joy and pride just welled up in his chest. I got tears in my eyes when he shared that with me. He is a Muslim man and said this week that he wants to know more about Jesus. Please pray for his salvation and continued success in learning to read and write in English.

Dave has been busy preaching at many different churches in the area. He fell and has his arm in a sling due to a hairline fracture in his elbow. He is currently doing PT and it is healing nicely. Many churches invite our team to come and share with their people about how they can get involved with missions right in their own back yard. We sometimes have to share 2 Sundays per month in local churches.

Tuesdayevening’s Dave leads a Bible Study group down at the Chanua center and there are people coming from several different African countries, (Burundi, Congo, Ivory Coast, Malawi, South Africa, and Kenya). It is a great time of reading through the book of John and sharing.

Wednesdays Dave is discipling the Muslim background believerswith another guy on our team. These guys are so hungry to learn, even in the midst of the danger it could bring to them. Their culture forbids them to do this but they love the Lord and want to grow in their faith no matter the cost.Pray for their safety!

Thursday’s and Friday’s Dave does training with his ministry team, (6 of them) and 2 young men on the team are going through leadership development with Dave on Friday’s as well.

The other day was Halloween and we actually saw a few Trick er Treater’s out and about. I have no idea how they get any candy because here in S. Africa you live behind walls and locked gates and doors. Many homes have barbed wire, alarms, dogs and electric fences to ward off the thieves. Not sure if the kids got much candy but they tried. 

We hope to have a Thanksgiving dinner with the team and some of the people that come to the Chanua center. We have to ask where to get a turkey. When we lived in Poland the shop across the street ordered one for us and the lady was so excited to get it for us she said, “I know what holiday this is in America, this is when you all shoot off fireworks and eat turkey!” It was so cute but I did have to tell her that she was thinking of the 4th of July. Yagotta love the different cultures. So much fun!

Have a Very Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Know that we are missing you and wishing you a blessed time together.

Love, Dave & Eileen