Missionaries Stephen and Ashlee Underwood have been a great help and blessing to Camp Rhino. Upon making the decision to change fields from being missionaries to South Africa to now being missionaries to Argentina, they donated many of their household items to Camp Rhino.
They easily saved us over $2000 with a side by side refrigerator, a really nice washing machine, and many other useful items.
Currently, they are on furlough but need to raise money to replace many of the things they donated. Would you pray and maybe consider sending a donation to help with that need. I believe they are hoping to be back on the field full-time in March of 2019.
The Underwoods are missionaries will our same board, Vision Baptist Missions. You can also contact them via email at sunderwood52@gmail.com.
Pray as we go forward with our third church plant in January 2020. One of our young couples will be heading up that work. Please pray for Khona and Iminathi. Khona has been a faithful worker and is currently enrolled in our Bible college, and his wife Iminathi is enrolled in our Bible Institute.
Our Teen Camp at Camp Rhino is from Dec. 10th-13th. We still need help sponsoring campers to offset expenses at $50 per camper for the week. We are preparing for 100 teen campers for this first camp of the summer season.
This past month our South Africa team was able to visit the countries of Kenya and Rwanda. God is doing great work in Kenya, but more still needs to be done. The need for reaching Rwanda really touched our hearts. We need more missionaries there. It is wide open and definitely a good place for someone to consider being a missionary. Pray for laborers.
“Hotel Rwanda” in Kigali, RwandaKhona and Iminathi’s wedding one year ago.
Quick Updates & Reminders:
Over $15,000 came in to finish our girl dorms at Camp Rhino. We also had enough to update our electrical system and to start renovating an old structure for our auditorium space. We need about $6,000 for the roof on the building. We’ll be cutting it close but hope even it will be ready for camp.
We have secured property for the land we hope to use for our future medical clinic in Port Elizabeth, which we are also using for our 2nd church plant.
Katie Dilfer is here from Gospel Light Baptist Church Helena, AL to look at the possibility of maybe helping us start a Christian School. Pray for guidance in this area.
Regina Gordon has been serving as an intern for the last 6 months. She only has a few days left. Please pray for her as she returns to the States. She’s been a tremendous help to all the ministries during her time here.
New auditorium space for Camp Rhino – $6,000 needed for roofSlab inside new auditorium is being laid
I hope all had a great Thanksgiving. We have
so much to be thankful for. I’m especially
thankful to you all for making it possible for us
to serve here in South Africa. We are so
blessed.
There is a special prayer request I would like to share. Pieta Struwig has served as head of maintenance and grounds here at Camp Rhino since January. We couldn’t have accomplished most of what has been built here at the camp without his help. He received news last week that he has cancer. This was surprising news for all of us. Pieta is only 40 years old and was saved last year at Grace Baptist Church where my cousin Kevin pastors.
Pieta pictured far right
As he starts Chemo this week, we are asking God for complete healing. Please pray. I’m not sure what we would do here at Camp Rhino without him. He’s been such an incredible help and blessing.
Also please don’t forget about teen camp, which is a week away. Pray for lives to be changed.
This past week, our teen discipleship meeting went in a different direction. As we were starting our study, 3 men came into the home of the church members where we have been meeting and robbed us at gunpoint. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but they did get away with my MacBook and iPhone along with my son, Luke’s iPhone and about $300. Pray we can replace some of these things ASAP. My family keeps making fun of me for saying “Hey Siri” anticipating a response from my phone that I no longer have. I really do use my phone and computer in almost every part of our ministry though:)
Some of our teens
It’s hard to believe we only have 2 months left in 2019. It amazes me that so much has taken place, yet I can be overwhelmed at times at how much more we have to do. I can say through it all, we are having a fantastic time seeing God work. What a privilege it is to be in the Lord’s work. Thank you all for making that possible.
My Son Luke
Prayer Requests & Praise
What we are calling our Christmas Camp is from Dec. 10th-13th. We need help sponsoring campers to offset expenses at $50 per camper. We are preparing for 100 teen campers for the first camp of the summer season. Click here to donate via PayPal.
Pray for many to come to Christ during year-two of Camp Rhino.
8 of our teens were with my son Luke and me when I was robbed this week along with 2 other faithful adults from our church. Pray the Lord uses this in our lives to help us be more serious concerning eternity.
We received great news this week regarding property for a possible medical clinic. It looks like our district is going to give us a terrific piece of property to use for the clinic at a great price. Please continue to pray as we go forward with the idea of starting our own full-time medical clinic here in South Africa.
Only a few weeks until our 2019 Teen Camp
Quick Updates & Reminders:
We are short about $3,000 of the $20,000 needed to complete the new dorm-style cabins at Camp Rhino. The roof is going on this week, but we still lack the doors and electrical systems. Please be praying as we also need to prepare the space we will be using for the main auditorium.
We just passed the one year anniversary of when we first purchased the property for Camp Rhino. So far this year we’ve seen over 60 professions of faith through our camp events. We’re praying and hoping for even greater results during this next year.
Contact me in you’re interested in a missions trip to South Africa. We would love to have you. You can join a group or bring your own. We are booked for groups for the Summer months of 2020 but have room for individuals and off months. We are also scheduling for 2021 and 2022. Come experience Camp Rhino for yourself.
It looks like we will be in the States next year for my oldest son’s wedding, probably from April to June. I will also be using that time to raise extra support to help with our current and future ministries. If you would like to have us in during that time please just let me know.
In our last prayer letter, I mentioned needing sponsors for our next big teen camp in December. Some requested more info, so here you go:
We are planning for 100 campers for what we’ve referred to as our Christmas Camp which will go from December 10th-13th. While you hopefully will be enjoying a cool and possibly white Christmas, we will be somewhere in the 70’s and 80’s seeing it’s the start of our summer season here in South Africa:)
Our goal is to raise $50 per camper. This would help with activities, transportation, food, and lodging.
We are continually working to make Camp Rhino a better place for evangelistic outreach and training so any donation would be appreciated.
If you would be interested in sponsoring a camper you can send funds to our mission board by clicking visionmissions.org/give/ or via Paypal by clicking Paypal.me/camprhino.
Thank you for helping us impact these teenagers with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Can’t have camp without a camp firePreachingBig BallThank you for partnering with us to reach people with the Gospel.
My heart is full, and ideas are flowing after the incredible medical clinic we had with Bradley Edmondson and his wonderful team with Medical Missions Outreach. I can’t explain in enough words how much of a blessing they were during their stay.
We saw over 2,000 patients come through the clinic and hear the Gospel and had over 250 people make professions of faith. Pray as we consider our next steps. I would love to have our own full-time clinic here with the help of MMO.
Missionary Jeremy Hall assisting the dental team
I can’t thank them enough. If you don’t support this ministry, I want to encourage you to find out more about them and maybe even have them come present in your church. You won’t regret it. I believe we will feel the impact of their ministry for a long time to come here in South Africa. I love what they do and what they stand for.
Vision Team
Quick Updates & Reminders:
We are only short $6000 to finish the new dorm-style cabins at Camp Rhino. We just lack the roof, doors, lights, and some of the labor costs. Please be praying as we also hope to start the main auditorium construction before our main camp season starts in December.
I’m so proud of the team of South Africans we get to work with. The people in our churches did an amazing job volunteering. I was blown away by those who stepped up and shared the Gospel to hundreds of people during the 4-day clinic. I literally saw them grow by leaps and bounds right before my eyes.
Christmas Camp is Dec. 10-13. Sponsors are needed.
Prayer Requests & Praise
Contacts. Pray as we follow up on the over 2000 contacts we made this past week with the medical clinic we did with MMO.
Pray for the over 250 people who made professions of faith this week in our clinic.
Pray for our Bible college and Bible institute students as they grow in the Word of God. We need more people to give their lives to start churches and reach the lost.
My wife Amy’s hearing is doing well. We couldn’t be more pleased with the results. She’s not at the 3-month mark, which is the final test, but everything seems to be going very well.
Pray for our surrounding countries. We need more missionaries in order to reach Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Swaziland.
Pray as we consider obtaining property to one day start building our own full-time medical clinic here in South Africa.
My wife Amy’s surgery appears to have gone very well. We won’t know for sure until 3 months have passed, but her hearing seems to be returning. I actually feel like she has bionic hearing now. We were so used to having to talk louder before the surgery, we get accused of screaming now:)
Here is the picture of the bone that was removed and replaced with a prosthetic. It’s actually the smallest bone in the human body.
Thank you for praying and giving for the Camp Rhino construction project. Another $2800 was committed this past week. We now have $11,800 of the $20,000 we need in order to finish the 5 dorms/cabins we’re currently building.
We just finished up our summer missions trip season with our last church leaving this past Friday, which happened to be our home church, Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, GA. What a wonderful summer we had with the 4 teams that visited.
We would love to have you visit us here in South Africa. Would you pray about leading or being part of a missions team in the coming years. My first missions trip changed my life in an amazing way, and I want you to have the same opportunity. Email me if you’re interested in an information packet.
My wife Amy is having surgery on August 6th to fix her ear where she has lost around 75% hearing. The surgeon feels confident, but there are risks involved that could cause a lot of problems, not to mention complete hearing loss in that ear. Please pray things go well and she’s able to regain her hearing.
Quick Updates & Reminders:
We now have $8000 of the $20,000 needed for staff housing at Camp Rhino. Please be praying for that need as we also hope to start the main auditorium construction as well. Be on the lookout for our next Camp Rhino one year plan I will be sending out in the coming days.
Worth Baptist Church from Fort Worth, TX and Vision Baptist Church sent incredible teams to work here in Port Elizabeth. What an encouragement and blessing they were to all of us. Both teams are greatly missed already.
New Life Baptist Church is going well and growing. Pray for Wells Estates Baptist Church as there haven’t been many visitors from the community.
John Pearson teaching at Camp Rhino
As we finished up another wonderful camp day at Camp Rhino with over 100 young people in attendance, I was reminded of the tremendous opportunity we have here in South Africa to reach souls.
Vision Baptist Church was a great help with this all day activity. With more events like this, we will be able to aid our churches in reaching the lost and training believers.
Worth Baptist Team Singing at Soweto Baptist Church
Our hope is that by December we will be at full capacity at the camp, being able to house 120 campers along with all the staff and counselor. We can’t do it without your help. Please pray.
Our next semester of Bible College starts this week at Camp Rhino. Pray for our current students as they grow in the word, and pray that more students give their lives to be trained for full time ministry. Again, thank you so much for your prayers and support.
We praise the Lord for the 10 teenagers who made professions of faith this past week at Camp Rhino. Pastor Gary Bohman and Pastor Chase Rooks from Gospel Light Baptist Church in Helena, AL did a tremendous job preaching for us.
Our mission team from Gospel Light aided in our VBS at Wells Estates Baptist Church as well. Over 30 children made professions of faith during their time here. Many prayed and fasted for these meetings and I believe God truly blessed in a special way. We have not seen results like these in quite some time.
I want to thank all of you who prayed for me regarding my recovery with spinal meningitis. I believe God answered your prayers. My energy has returned and for the past two weeks I have felt terrific. I can’t thank you enough for praying.
Please continue to pray for my wife Amy as she will probably be having ear surgery on August 6th.
Quick Updates & Reminders:
Almost $4000 of the $20,000 needed came in this past month to help with our construction needs at Camp Rhino. We are in great need for staff housing here at Camp Rhino, and we praise the Lord for the help that has come in.
We are so grateful for the mission teams that have visited this year. Newton Baptist Church and Gospel Light Baptist Church were a great blessing. We are looking froward to having Worth Baptist Church and our home church, Vision Baptist Church in the next weeks to finish out the summer season. Pray God works in their lives in a great way during their time here.
June and July have been the months of salvations. On top of the souls saved at Camp Rhino and VBS, we’ve had a few saved in our services at New Life Baptist Church.
A couple of weeks ago a man trusted Christ as Savior, and the following week his teenage son got saved as well. We also had two teenage girls follow the Lord in believers baptism.
We hope to see this trend continue as we work to share the Gospel and disciple those who have made a decision to accept Christ.
I would ask you to pray concerning a problem we have. For the last several months a deaf teenage boy has been attending our church. My son Luke lead him to the Lord using a dry erase white board. We are really in need of a deaf ministry. Please pray we can work something out soon.
Again, thank you all for your prayers and financial support. We couldn’t do what we love if it wasn’t for your help.
Please be in prayer for my wife Amy. She has lost about 50% of her hearing over the last couple of months. This week we found out the cause and the solution of her hearing loss. Amy needs to have surgery on both ears. If the surgery is successful she would regain 90% of her hearing. We’re trying to decide the best place for her to have surgery right now. If we stay here in South Africa, the surgery would be in August.
Pray for our mission teams coming to South Africa this summer. Pastors Aaron Smith and Scott Young just left, and we currently have Newton Baptist Church with us. We will have three more teams in July.
As many of you know, I had viral meningitis a few weeks back and had to be in the hospital for a few days. The worse of it is over, but some of the side effects are lingering a bit more than I was expecting. It’s nothing serious, but the main problem is that I get tired really easy and have little energy before the day is over. Please pray I can get past this and be energized for the ministry ahead.
Quick Updates & Reminders:
My son Tyler is now in Argentina on his six month internship. Pray he has a great and productive time in South America.
We are in great need for staff housing here at Camp Rhino. I need to raise about $20,000 in the next weeks to get us where we need to be. Pray we can complete the facilities we need soon.
Our hopes are to have at least one full week of camp in July. If we can work out housing for our staff, that won’t be a problem. If we can’t we will probably have a few camp days where we bus in the teens.
New Life Baptist Church is going well. We have four students currently enrolled in our Bible College and the church is maturing.
Because of problems at one of our sister churches, our pastoral team is spreading out to pastor both churches at the same time.
Right after services at New Life, Pastor Sipho, Khona (assistant pastor in training), and Mvume (song leader) will be driving over to Wells Estates Baptist Church and starting services. We will also hold midweek services at Wells Estates on Thursdays.
We are planning to start Bible institute classes in both churches this year for the growth of both congregations. Pray for our team as we continue to ministry and see both churches prosper.
Thank you all for your prayers and financial support. It’s an honor to serve our Savior in South Africa and to be able to partner with you all in the ministry.
Please be in prayer for my son Tyler. He is finishing up his missionary training degree at the Our Generation Training Center in Alpharetta, GA. His last step is a 6 month internship in Argentina, with Missionaries Patrick and Leslie Henry. If you are interested in helping my son, any support can be sent to our board.
Please be in prayer for our upcoming Purity Conference at Camp Rhino which is an event held for our ladies. We are expecting a good turn out from all our churches in PE.
Please also be in prayer for our Youth Day at Camp Rhino where all teens from our PE churches will be coming to Camp Rhino from 9am to 4pm on Saturday, May 18th. Pray for souls to be saved and lives surrendered to the ministry.
Quick Updates & Reminders:
We are excited to announce that Camp Rhino is now 100% debt free. All of our dorm buildings, pool, pavilion, kitchen, and house have completely been paid for. We are progressing new construction only as money comes in.
A special $3000 donation was given this past month to help finish 3 rooms and possibly help build a small storage facility.
We are soon starting our mission team season here in South Africa. Our first group arrives here on May 29th and we have groups through the summer until August 1st. We then have a medical team that will be here in September. We are honored to host these teams and pray that the Lord does a great work through them and in them during their time. Please be in prayer for these teams as they ministry in S. Africa.
This has been the most unusual month for my family. About 2 weeks ago I started feeling ill. It started out as a sinus infection and turned into viral meningitis. I was down for several days at home and then ended up being in the hospital for three nights.
I’m still a little out of it and now recovering at home, but my very first time to spend the night in a hospital was very strange and different, especially when they put me in the isolation ward.
I want to thank all those that prayed for me. I am overwhelmed by the amount of prayer support that people gave. Seeing everyone who mentioned they were praying for me on Facebook was very humbling and life changing.
I believe that it was a much more serious situation that was diffused by all the prayer support. I’m not sure how I contracted the meningitis, but I am thankful for all your prayers.
