June Update

For the past few months, YMS has been busy, busy, busy!

There are currently three guys living in the youth house and it is slowly making progress as far as renovations go. The boys have been hard at work with working in the garden, painting, and other projects around the house.

As was mentioned previously, YMS has a new member of its family! Leah, Piet’s fiancé, came to join the YMS team last week on Friday, and here we are in full swing. The YMS team is growing and feels a bit more complete!

Here is a picture of our team: DeDe, Simon, Canny, Piet and Leah





The next four weeks will be devoted to a holiday program for the children of Refilwe as well as those in the surrounding communities. The first two weeks will be for children 6-12 (primary school), and the following two weeks will be for children 13 and up. The focus of the first two weeks will be love as it pertains to loving each other, serving, trusting, and being honest. The following weeks with the older kids will be a curriculum entitled Beat the Drum. This curriculum is based on a film with the same name, and it deals with sex, AIDS, true love, and abstinence. Both Piet and Leah have facilitated this program in the past and are excited to bring it to the Refilwe community.

The last thing YMS is trying to improve is the tutoring of children at Refilwe and those in the community that need extra help. It has been a bit slow going, but we are getting there. There are always lots of volunteers from Johannesburg who are excited and willing to help! What a blessing!

We thank God for the progress of YMS. We thank you for your prayers and all the support you have given.

Continue to pray with us in the following ways:
-For the upcoming holiday program
-For the growth and unity of our team
-That lives will be changed because of what we are able to do

April Update

Hello friends!

I apologize for the silence in between updates. The last few months have been hectic around Refilwe, as always.

During the April school holidays, YMS held a holiday program which was a great success. This program was YMS’s first ever April holiday club. In the two weeks combined, we hosted 45 students. It was wonderful times of helping young people grow in their talents and in their knowledge of Christ.

The first week, April 5-9, was focused on the older youth from ages 13 and up. We did praise and worship each morning, fun activities and games, music lessons, as well as teachings. The four topics that we focused on were respect, love, honesty, and trust. In the afternoons, the youth were divided into their skill groups: guitar, keyboard, drums, bass, dancing, and singing.

The second week, April 12-16, focused on pre-teens. We invited the children from ages 5-12. The unique part of week two, was that many of the older kids from the first week were now involved in the planning, preparation, and teaching for the kids of the second week. The discussion for this week was much the same as the previous week, but altered to fit the ages of the kids. We would challenge the kids to practice the practical skills at home and give us feedback the very next day of what they learned.

During the holiday program, we had one volunteer from Holland named Tess. She helped teach singing as well as colouring and arts with the smaller kids.

At the end of the two weeks, all of the youth that attended the program put on a production for the parents. They sang, danced, and showed off the musical skills they had learned during the week. The kids even served tea and coffee to their parents!

All in all, the holiday program was effective and we are excited to do it all again next year!

The YMS boys soccer team is still as strong as ever. We are working on getting them officially entered into the league in order to advance their soccer career. Once the hype of the World Cup is over, things will be back to normal and we can continue with our matches. For the past couple of months, we have started up Friday night teachings with the boys. We discuss life and how to be a godly man. We are also focusing on building education within the soccer team and trying to find tutors for each boy.

YMS has recently gained a new staff member. Piet’s newly engaged fiancé, Leah, has recently moved from Port Elizabeth to Refilwe to develop the non-existent girl’s ministry. She will be providing all of the admin for YMS as well as building up the girls who up until this time, have had no females leaders to confide in.

The final big project within YMS is the youth house. As has previously been mentioned, YMS has been given a house within the Refilwe premises as a place for YMS leaders and students. It is a place of refuge for youth with unstable homes and upbringing. The house was a blessing, but needs a lot of physical work. God has sent a few groups of youth workers who will be sponsoring and collecting materials for the renovations of the youth house. There are currently two YMS leaders, and two students living in the house. The goal is to have 12 guys living in this house that will be a part of YMS. We are praying that God will send these students.

A few prayer requests from YMS:
- The leadership and Staff will grow in Christ
- Seriousness of purpose

- YMS will follow God’s leading and direction
- Girl’s ministry

Praise God for all HE ALONE is doing in and through YMS!

Thanks for your support!

Best Regards & God Bless

The YMS team

Welcome to YMS!

Hello friends!

We want to take this opportunity to thank you for joining the Youth Mission Solutions (YMS) blog!

Many of you are already members of our facebook group, and this blog is an opportunity to hear first hand some of the activities we are doing in YMS.

The YMS strategy plan is the foundation by which Refilwe aims to create an environment that generates opportunities for youth to have a safe and healthy journey into adulthood, and to equip them with the necessary knowledge, skills, and social connections to both make informed decisions about their own life and break the cycle of poverty so common to African youth.

The YMS strategy has two distinct, yet complimentary, intentions: the first focuses on healthy adolescent development using research-based method title the 40 Developmental Assests strategy; the second focuses on spiritual development of wholeness through teaching about Jesus Christ and His offer of salvation for every person.

The YMS staff will be using this space to interact with all of you - the youth of our surrounding city, our supporters, and dear friends. We would love for you to share your ideas and give input into our newly developed program.

We look forward to sharing our hearts with you!

Thank you for your passion to help break the cycle of poverty in our youth.

Best Regards and God Bless
The YMS team