Welcome to Prince Ministry in South Africa
Paul and Micky Prince
Why We Feel God Has Called Us to South Africa
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We both feel God has called us to work in South Africa. We fell in love with the place and the people when we visited the first time. The people here are hungry for the word of God and the poverty just breaks your heart, especially the children. We want to minister to them body and soul. The body is easy, but we need to learn the local language (Sotho) before we can minister to their soul, allowing our actions to be a light to them until we can find the “words” to tell them about Jesus. After starting to learn the “proper” language, we discovered no one knew half of what we were saying. So we found a teacher who is teaching us what the locals say, instead of the proper grammar. It’s actually a mixture of a lot of languages spoken in this village. We want to learn the language so that we can be a greater help to the poor and witness to them. We want to know they’re getting the full gospel truth and not a watered down truth from the interpreter. Ancestor worship and animal sacrifice is found in just about every area of worship here.
We’re working in the Limpopo province in the town of Vaalwater. The township of Leseding is where the poor people of Vaalwater live. There is estimated to be 50,000-60,000 people living in Leseding. They have small brick houses or tin shacks, and rarely any electricity or water. They have to walk every where they go. To get a job, go to school or get benefits from the government, they must have a government ID. If they lose it or never had one, they must apply for one and the office workers will not help these mostly illiterate people with the forms. Even if they get the form filled out correctly, it can take years to get an ID. Unemployment is at least 40% and the AIDS infection is said to be the highest in this area of South Africa. Some women have as many as 3 children by age 20. When asked about abstinence, they say men won’t marry them until they prove they are fertile. Once pregnant, they’re usually abandoned. If they find a husband, he usually wants nothing to do with another man’s child. The children are abandoned or given to granny, who also has no money to raise them. With no orphanage in this area, young children become head of household because of AIDS. Our goal is to rear up a new generation with morals, God fearing and respect for all living beings. The smallest child, who has no one else to abuse, kicks the dog. It’s all they know. We want these children to know our love and God’s love, and we want to ensure they get a good education for a better future than what they have now. The only English speaking church for 100 miles (St John’s Community Church) contributes funds and volunteers for a Wednesday feeding in Leseding. They feed an average of up to 1,000 children, pregnant women and young mothers. We’re an independent Christian organization, working with those who are already helping, so that more children can be helped. We’re not answerable to St John’s Community Church, but they do approve of what we’re doing. We attend church there and Paul occasionally preaches there. We also attend two indigenous local churches, as this is where we hope to find our parents who will also have a heart for the orphans, and will work with us to show these children the love they need. It is our intention to open a children’s home, which will have individual family homes, with a mom and a dad and up to 8 children in each home. We have done a lot of networking with others who are interested in helping the children and have visited other orphanages in South Africa.
In the beginning we helped out where we could with other local missionaries. In our first two years here, we have accomplished a lot. We have set up our own non-profit organization in South Africa, called The Fold, SA Children’s Home. We have a total of 11 board members who have a heart for the orphans. We have also obtained tax free status for our organization, which means more funds for the work. We
signed a contract to purchase property for the children’s home in June 2009. After waiting for 8 months for the title deed to the property, it was voted on, and we stepped out in faith and decided to go forward with the building project. The builder starts working on 6 April 2010.
We plan to minister in South Africa until no longer needed here. We sold most everything we owned before we left. We are both retired and are second career missionaries. This means we have our own income, and do not use any of the ministry funds for personal use. 100% of your donations go to the ministry.
Current address:
P.O. Box 1265
Vaalwater 0530
South Africa
Cell: 011 27 84 967 6022
Website: www.princeministry.org
E-Mail: prince@princeministry.org
Feel free to call with questions or make appointments to see us.
Forwarding agent for receipt of donations and gifts:
Prince Ministry in South Africa
200 Solley
Winchester, MO 63021
Checks should be made out to Prince Ministry in South Africa and is tax-deductible.
