Coffey Family April 2023 Prayer Letter

This month comes with sadness and joy.  Lisolethu, a 17-year-old boy who lived at our Youth Home for over 2 years, quickly passed away from Spinal Meningitis.  His funeral was held this past Saturday.  We praise the Lord that Liso made a profession of faith and I believe we’ll see him again soon.  Even after leaving the Youth Home this past December, he continued being faithful to church and inviting his friends to church. Liso will be missed very much.      

There are many just like Liso who die young but don’t have a Bible-preaching church in their community.  We must keep going, and we must continue raising up more people to reach the billions who still haven’t heard a clear presentation of the Gospel.  I pray Liso’s death will be a catalyst for many to be more serious about reaching the lost. 

This has been a hard time for our team at Camp Rhino, our churches, and also my family.  We were all very close to Liso, and being so far away from the ministry during this time has also been more difficult.  Thankfully we return to South Africa tomorrow. 

Prayer Request & Praise

  • Pray for our family as we return to South Africa tomorrow, April 27th. We look forward to being home, but leaving our son Luke on this side will be hard.  We arrived in South Africa in 2013 with all five of our children and now we’re returning with just one, our 12-year-old daughter Addison.     
  • Pray for Nate and Emily Wilkerson with the birth of their beautiful new daughter Alaska.  I was privileged to be in Burkina Faso when she was born a few weeks ago.  Also, pray for the Wilkersons as they finish language school and head to the country of Benin soon.  
  • With the death of Liso, I’m burdened with the work of our Youth Home now more than ever.  Pray as we continue ministering to the teens we have and pray that we will have wisdom in accepting new ones. 

Quick Updates

  • Congratulations to my son Luke who just proposed to his girlfriend Adriana Bush.  Luke and Adri have been dating for quite some time and we are thrilled about Adria being a part of our family.  Their plan is to get married this coming September.  
  • My trip to Mozambique and Burkina Faso was fantastic.  I’m excited about the potential our new missionary team has in Mozambique and I was blown away by the work our missionaries are doing in Burkina Faso.  God is using them to make an amazing impact in their cities.  
  • Last week I was honored to be a part of Vision Baptist Mission’s annual orientation.  We have a good number of new missionaries heading to the field soon.  Getting to spend time with these new missionaries is one of my favorite weeks of the year.   Please pray for them. 

Coffey Family March 2023 Prayer Letter

Prayer Request & Praise

  • Pray for the Rhino Youth Home.  There is a potential South African couple who is interested in serving as dorm parents for the boys’ side of the home.  We need God’s guidance and wisdom.  This could be a major step in the right direction for the home. 
  • Our son Luke has found a good job and is getting settled here in America.  Pray for him as he takes these next steps and pray for us as we leave him here.
  • Missionaries Noah & Tristan Wilkerson’s little girl Alainey has been progressing well.  She just had her first lip surgery to help repair the cleft lip and pallet.  This first of many surgeries seems to have gone very well. 
  • Pray for Jason and Charity Rishel, missionaries to Burkina Faso.  They will be starting their furlough at the end of April. Pray especially for Charity with the pregnancy of her next child. They would be a great couple to have in if you are wanting to add who you partner with. 

Quick Updates

  • It was an honor to be a part of my son Chase’s ordination this past month.  He and his wife Ashley leave for South Africa on May 31st as full time missionaries. Pray for them as they set up and get ready to start language school.  
  • I just left from Mozambique yesterday for a survey trip with the Barton family who are current interns in South Africa.  Noah Wilkerson, and Gabe Chedid, a student with the Our Generation Training Center, is also with me on this trip.
  • We are now in Ethiopia on our way to Burkina Faso and will be visiting our VBM missionaries there.  I’m looking forward to being with these families and seeing their ministries. 

Being back in the States has been a fruitful time of raising more funds for the ministry in South Africa and we still have a few more weeks to go.  I’m also encouraged by those who have shown interest in visiting South Africa for short term mission trips or internships.    Outside of seeing our kiddos, our main goals involved these two areas.  

Once I return from Mozambique and Burkina Faso, Amy and I will be getting ready for Vision Baptist Mission’s annual orientation.  We have several new families on or starting deputation that we look forward to seeing. Our mission orientation has quickly become one of my highlights for the year.  It’s exciting to see the Lord raise up a new group of missionaries to share Jesus with the world. 

Currently, VBM has missionaries in or going to South Africa, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Benin.  We are praying the Lord will raise up many more missionaries for these countries and the remaining 49 countries in Africa.