One of our supporting churches, Believer’s Baptist Church in Griffin, Ga, asked me if I would would record a message to share with the kids during their VBS to highlight missions in South Africa. After thinking about it for a while, I thought a video from my son’s perspective would be more fitting for the VBS crowd. Here’s the video I made with my son Luke. We pray this video helps excite and encourage children and even adults in missions. Let me know what you think. Also, if you’re interested in visiting South Africa, I would love to know.
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Update June 22-29
It’s Holiday
It is now holiday here in Port Elizabeth. All students (including my daughter) now have a 3-week break from school.
With that said we only had 5 people at or youth night this Friday but we are not going to let that hold us back. Our Sunday School class was low as well but we will continue to visit and make contacts during the holiday.
Our language vocabulary is steadily growing and we are constructing very simple sentences. Our language teacher, Lubabalo, and his family came over to our house for dinner this past week. It was a good lesson in culture and customs for us as we try to assimilate to the culture here.
We have our visa extension appointment tomorrow. As of now we only have 90 days here in SA and we need 90 more. Please pray that everything goes smoothly. We have had our eyes opened to how other countries deal with foreigners and we hope we have all we need to get the extension.
Thank you to all of you for the prayers and support. We can be reached by Facebook and email at any time, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our website is NO longer www.sullivansinsouthafrica.weebly.com. We can now be seen at www.sullivansinsouthafrica.com or www.projectsouthafrica.com.
God has been so good to us and all the glory is His.
Josh Sullivan
Coffey Family May 2015 Prayer Letter
Our first pastors retreat in the little town of Addo was a great success. We had a wonderful time with our team of missionaries and pastors. The classes were a big help in encouraging everyone to keep their eye on the mark. It’s amazing how easily distracted one can get when doing the Lord’s work.
This week, Missionary Randy Stirewalt from Kenya was able to visit and teach several classes for our Bible institute. Brother Stirewalt has served in Kenya for over 38 years and has been involved in starting over 260 churches in Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan. We have been blessed to glean from his vast experience in ministry. He has been a tremendous help in the plans of our Bible college, and will be helping as we setup the struture and curriculum.
Please pray for the Josh Sullivan Family who arrives this week for a 6 month internship. As they train for the field on the field, we pray God uses them in a mighty way during their time here in South Africa.
We pray God brings more young people just like the Sullivan’s here to South Africa for training. I’m thankful to be a part of a team who has a burden to help young people to find their place in world evangelism.
Prayer Request
- The start of Bay Baptist College
- More laborers
- Pastor Sipho and his family as we work together at New Life Baptist Church.
- Language learning
- Plans for ministry expansion in the next few months
More Highlights
- Akeme Ubom, pre-med student from North Ga University, visited this month and was a great blessing to all our families and churches.
- 4 teems came to church and made professions after Akeme preached at Tamsanqa High School
- Hannah Peabody from Fellowship Baptist in Maryville, Ga arrives June 2nd for a one month internship
Needs
- $1300 to finish the electric work for the pastor house at Madiba Bay Baptist Church
- $1000 to finish the plumbing at Madiba as well
Pray for Lungisa High School
Sipho and I had the privilege to speak to the students at Lungisa High School this past week. Lungisa High School is a public high school very close to our church. We now have an open door to come and spend time with the students during their lunch break each week. This is a great opportunity for us to be able to impact many young people with the truth of the Gospel.
More Building
Here lately, I’ve felt that most of my life has been about building projects, which for me isn’t a bad thing. I love building, or better said, I love organizing the building and watching others build. It’s been neat seeing the walls go up on New Life Baptist Church. We are hoping to have the building ready for services by April 5th/ Easter Day.
This past week we started another building project at Madiba Bay Baptist Church. This project is to supply housing for Pastor Lubabalo and his family.
For almost a year, this family of 4 has been living in 2 small rooms in the church. The new addition attached to the church will provide Lubabalo’s family with 2 bedrooms, bath, kitchen, and a good size living area. Along with providing this family with a nice living space, two more badly needed Sunday school rooms will be available for the church to use when they move out. If you would like to have a part in this project here is a breakdown of the expenses.
Plumbing- $1,345
Electrical- $1,318
Labor for walls & roof- $2,197
Materials- $2,164 rand (Blocks, brink, cement, sand, etc)
Roof- $870
Total- $7,894
Below are the two rooms they are currently living in.
Building without Delay
Over the past two weeks, $15, 600 came in to help with the building of New Life Baptist Church. This has enabled us to continue building without any major delays. We are grateful to those who gave, and want to thank the Lord for bringing the funds in so quickly. We are hoping and feel pretty certain, with these funds, we will be able to complete the first phase of the building. This first phase will give us space for our first auditorium, 4 Sunday school classes, two bathrooms, and also supply housing for my assistant. I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed by the sacrificial giving of God’s people with this project.
New Life Building from Start to Present
January 2015 Coffey Family Prayer Letter
The quote for building materials for all the walls on the first floor of New Life Baptist Church comes out to 48,790 rand which is about $4,435. This will be the cost once we have the foundation completed, which will include a single garage-size basement.
For months, I have been mentioning this church, and our desire to start building as soon as possible. The day to start building has come and gone. The footers and most of the foundation wall is complete. The wait is over.
This will be the first church for me to pastor here in South Africa. Pray for me and Pastor Sipho Bonga as we work to start this church in the coming weeks. Originally, Pastor Sipho was going to start this church on his own, but for now he wants to come on as my helper to give his family a little time to adjust. As time goes on, and I’m able to be be involved in more church plants, we plan for Sipho’s role to change quite a bit.
The foundation, unfortunately, is costing more than we originally planned because of the layout of the land. We don’t have the final number for the first floor, but it looks like it will be closer to $15,000 to have everything roughed in. This is close to $7000 more than we had initially planned. More details to come.
Prayer Request
- Amy and I as we continue learning the Xhosa language.
- The building of New Life Baptist- We are hoping to have all the building quotes by next week for the first floor.
- Possible church plant in 2015- East London, South Africa- popultation over 700,000. One of the pastors on our team moved there this past month.
Needs
- $4,435 – Materials for the first floor walls
- Approx. $2500-Finishing the foundation
- Electricity hook-up will be around $600.
More Highlights
- It was great having Amy’s parents here for 2 weeks. My father-in-law, Pastor Wayne Cofield, preached or taught 18 times during his stay. I don’t think you could call this his vacation.
- 6 Saved at the first Soccer outreach day.
- 6 Saved at the last men’s meeting at Wells Estates.
- We had our first pastor’s fellowship where Pastor Cofield focused on the faith of Moses. It was a great start to our monthly meetings.
Financial Tips for Interns and Missionaries
Financial Tips for Interns and Missionaries
Banks: You will need to check out which bank you want to use prior to arriving on the field. ATM fees, extra charges and lower exchange rate are things that will dip into your monthly support. ALL banks charge something. Several claim they don’t, but they do. Some are better at hiding it than others. Some shave points off the exchange rate (without mentioning it), some charge 1% others charge 3% or higher. Some have extra ATM fees, while others reimburse ATM fees. I recently had to change banks from our small town bank because they could no longer afford what they had initially promised. I mention that because, if banks promise something that seems to good to be true, expect it to change. Enjoy it while you can, but policies change and they are in the business to make money.
Personally, I believe it’s best to find a bank that is set up to service missionaries and their needs from the get go. Find one that has been in the business for years. Expect to pay something.
My personal recommendation (at this moment) is ECCU (Evangelical Christian Credit Union).
Exchange rates: If you’ve spent anytime overseas you know the exchange rate on your money fluctuates. For smaller things this is not normally an issue, but if you are making larger purchases it can really make a difference. I have found that it is normally better to exchange/ withdraw money on Tuesday-Thursday, or, at least that has been the norm in Peru and now South Africa. The exchange rate seems to go down over the weekend and then pick back up in the middle of the week.
In some countries (Peru for example) you would receive a better exchange rate on the street than in a Bank. In other countries you wont have an option. The only currency you’ll have the option of pulling out of the ATM is their currency. When that’s the case you will learn by looking at your statements which bank gives the best exchange rate to withdraw money. If possible never exchange money at the airport.
Credit Cards: I do not promote debt! Dave Ramsey would have a conniption, and normally I would agree with him. Though, I have found that the right credit cards give you the best exchange rate. Also, they allow you to make payments to them electronically which allows you to not have to withdraw money or do any transaction on the field (besides the purchase) which allows for others to get a cut.
If you chose this option, you must find a truly international card. Unlike the banks, there are several of these out there. One that is international, that I used for years, and would not recommend is AMEX. The reason I would not recommend them is that there are several countries that do not accept this card. Stick to a Visa or Mastercard, Visa having the priority over those two.
Personal recommendation (at this moment) is Capital One Venture Visa.
Cash: Many of your purchases will have to be made with cash. There are a couple of risks associated with cash: One, though not very common, is counterfeit notes. Foreigners make a good target to unload bad bills. The other problem with cash is the risk that comes with carrying it. It’s not advisable to have large sums of cash. In some cases there is no option. In those instances, if possible, take a friend along with you for withdraws and payments.
Coffey Family December Prayer Letter
Our family hopes everyone had a terrific Christmas and want to wish everyone a happy new year. We are thankful for your involvement that allows us to do the work of the ministry. It’s hard to believe 2014 is coming to an end, but we are excited about what is before us. As we look back, there are things we could have done better, but are thankful for opportunities to make changes and improvements in every area of ministry.
As we look ahead to 2015, we pray the Lord allows us to participate in many church planting endeavors that we were hoping for in 2014. There are a couple of young preachers that are close to stepping out. I know God can use them in a great way to see His kingdom advance.
We have now been in South Africa about a year and a half. The time has passed quickly and it’s a reminder that there is a lot to do and little time to do it in. The labor that has gone on in Madiba Bay Baptist Church, Wells Estates Baptist Church, and Servants of Christ Baptist Church is just the beginning. So much more has to be done to reach the million and more people here in Port Elizabeth, and the countless others in Southern Africa.
Pray for open doors and boldness as we seek to please Him in advancing the Gospel.
Prayer Request
- Amy and I as we continue learning the Xhosa language.
- For the two singles pastors to find good wives and for the three married pastors to have strong marriages that will impact future generations.
- Stephen Underwood and Jason King families that are on deputation for South Africa.
More Highlights
- A builder is giving us an estimate on laying the foundation for New Life Baptist Church this week. The waiting to start building seems to be coming to an end.
- Amy and kids are doing great.
- Plans have been made for our first pastors fellowships, teen camps, couples retreats, and pastors school this coming year. Please keep these events in your prayers as we hope to see maturity and involvement increase.
Needs
- $600 for the water and sewer hook-ups for New Life Baptist.
- Approx. $6500 needed to build the first building phase for New Life Baptist Church. $3800 has come in so far.