Ruth is now safely with us in Wellington.

Pray for wisdom for Dawn and Maxwell from Hope Prison Ministry as they try to support Brian, who has now been released from prison, without him becoming too dependent on them. 

Give thanks that Fraser has found solutions for several small snagging issues with the Portal. Pray for insight into the problems that remain and for opportunity to establish a forum for help and advice with people working in similar situations. 

Scheduled power cuts are expected to last into the new year and Fraser cannot get work done without the internet when the power is off.  We are grateful for having had over a year of uninterrupted electricity. 

Pray for peace of mind, security and safety on the roads.

Dawn has finished studies on “Forgiveness” and “Doing no harm to others” at Drakenstein prison. Pray that men will hear and apply what God is saying to them.

 Pray for humility, a realistic godly outlook and good communication in the leaders of the prison ministry, that decisions will be made in a timely fashion, and that many inmates and prison staff will be impacted for eternity.

 Hugenote have appointed a staff member responsible for their e-learning system and library catalogue to work closely with Fraser.  Pray for good working relations.

The NetACT server has been delivered and installed.  Fraser is now transferring his platforms on to it.  A few more tests to be performed and then “live” testing!

The South African gangs outside and inside the prisons try to control body, mind and spirit and there is literally no escape from gang influence 24/7.  Pray for new prisoners who don’t want to get involved and that correctional officers already in the pay of the gangs will be removed.

A church in Wellington is to have a “Drugs and Crime Awareness Film Festival” in December, for both young people and their parents, with a large pool of reformed offenders to draw upon for testimonies and insight.  Pray.

Gus, a gang leader in Wellington, is starting to be convicted by the Holy Spirit.  Maxwell and Ashley, ex-drug dealers and gangsters, with lives completely turned around by Jesus, have visited Gus (Maxwell was once his gang leader).  Gus can’t deny the change that Jesus has made in their lives, so pray. There hasn’t been a shooting in Wellington since we started praying about the gang situation two weeks ago.

 Brian is worried that his son Dylan is getting entangled with gangs in Stellenbosch. Brian is keen to lead a godly life when released in a few weeks but is worried about how to react if gangs hurt his son.  Pray for wisdom.

Fraser attended a two-day conference in Cape Town last week, getting practical ideas on how to make the NetACT portal mobile-friendly since many students have smartphones rather than PCs.  He may also be allowed to attend an “in-house” conference at Stellenbosch University later this month if the university accept his ‘visitor’ status as equivalent to staff.

 This past week Dawn was to go to Pollsmoor prison on Tuesday and Wednesday for a training course on the Victim/Offender dialogue.

 During the last few weeks, Stellenbosch University played host to the Director of the Barnabas Fund and members of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life who are very interested in what NetACT is doing.  They are keen to collaborate with us on the current project of producing a book on public theology in Africa.

Fraser has just learned that a big South African denomination expects him to have everything organised for courses to start in January.  Pray that Hugenote would find the right forum to scale the church’s expectations down to a realistic level, that Fraser won’t be overwhelmed by the workload and that he will be able to identify other people who can train lecturers to use the system he has set up.

Pray for Mondray whom Dawn has counselled at maximum security.  Sentenced to 17 years for gangster, drug and murder related crimes in 2012, three months ago he surrendered himself to Jesus.  He feels strongly that God wants to use him to reach out to the other “sinners” in maximum and is full of enthusiasm over how his prayers for his family’s relationships are being answered.

Pray that Dawn will have wisdom and discernment as she interacts with the prisoners.

Pray that the amazing work that God is doing in the lives of prisoners and their families through Hope Prison Ministry will not be lessened by avoidable hiccups and frustrations.

 Addiction to Tik (crystal meth) is widespread and destroying communities.  It’s hard to see how to help. Pray that there would be more hope and alternatives, so people are not drawn into drug addiction.

 NetACT and Hugenote College are ready to buy the server together.  Pray that everything would fall into place and the order would be placed with the supplier this week.

Pray that we would have perseverance in the face of frustrations as we try to be in the places God wants us to be and grow to be the people he’s designed us to be.

Thank God for the time we’ve had together with James and Ruth, and ask for strength, peace and encouragement as we part again. 

 Give thanks that Dawn is now cleared to go into the local prisons with Hope Prison Ministries.

Give thanks for Brian, one of the participants of the Restorative Justice course, who has turned from Islam and rededicated his life to Jesus. Pray for his safety, patience in the face of antagonism and that the Holy Spirit would shine brightly through him. He has recently been given a release date in December, a miracle in itself. Brian has the potential to be used greatly by God; pray that nothing will get in the way of that.

The long walk to the NetAct server is continuing with everyone in agreement. Pray there’ll be no hitches, technical or otherwise.

Once Hugenote have a new server in place, they plan to install a new Library Management System.  Pray that Fraser will be able to communicate clearly the implications of the policy and technical options that the Hugenote College library staff will have.

Pray for good communication and the ability to identify and overcome cross-cultural differences. 

 Praise that when Dawn’s car wouldn’t start on their way home from a training session at Pollsmoor prison, a neighbour of one of Dawn’s passengers was able to fix the problem with very little trouble.  God doesn’t always prevent problems from happening, but He will mitigate their effects and provide a way through them.

 Dawn’s long-term prison clearance has still not come through. Pray that it will be ready by the end of August, so she can get fully involved once James and Ruth have returned to the UK.

Please also pray for good health and safety on the roads.