Dear Friends

The peace of God is just that - it is the peace of God. It can not be imitated or bought, but it is free to whoever wants it.  Now that is a good deal, and those who know me well enough, know how I like to chase the good deals…

Well, it is all happening at the O’Connor household - we sold our home and are renting in Berea as we wait and prepare for our second son to arrive on the 16th of August. Linda is fine, and looking forward to getting this new addition out of her beautiful belly and into her arms. We have been prepping Thomas on his responsibility as the big brother and I am sure he is going to handle it well.

A few months ago, Murphy (my Jack Russell) went looking for me when I went on one of my trips. He has done this on a number of occasions and usually reappears after a few days/weeks, but not this time. So only the Lord knows what has happened to my loyal companion. So on Friday, I got a new dog. Ruger is a pitch black Ridge-back cross. So on top of normal life and ministry; moving house + puppy + new baby = sucker for punishment.

On the ministry front, we had a successful “Adventure Soccer” week, where the inner-city kids had a great time playing soccer, worshipping, dancing, watching skits and being taught and mentored by the forty youth leaders from First City and Stirling Baptist Church.

Something totally new - I had a great opportunity to be invited onto three episodes of ‘Mosaic’ (TBN Africa) which will be broadcast in September.

“The young population of South Africa has immense need. Prospects for a life of quality, particularly in relation to job opportunities and general living standards, remains a major concern in respect of our young people, especially in the Eastern Cape” -Statistics SA. Considering this and our mandate given by Jesus before He physically left this earth, I have become involved in creating a national office for the “GAP programme”. GAP is a ten month holistic mentoring programme for youth between the ages of 17-24 years. It places young people on a productive course of life by dealing with their past, present and future with a combination of academic, psychological, physical and spiritual interventions (www.inthegap.co.za).  One of the things that caught my attention when I was introduced to the GAP programme, was that it is the first community development programme that I have come across that is eliminating the self-destructive attitude of “entitlement” within our youth. Together with setting up their national office, I am assisting with the current regional programme, where we are putting together a week long mountain bike tour to raise awareness for the programme. This will start on the 26th of September, riding through Eastern Cape farm lands and beautiful rural settings. If you would like to be part of this tour in any capacity, please let me know.

Further, I have been approached to assist the Texas Baptist Men with another project in Zimbabwe.  This involves the organisation of a distribution project to circulate an additional 1000 water filters throughout Zimbabwe.  I am still in communication with them regarding the dates of when the trip will take place.

This newsletter is to keep you updated on what is happening in our lives and the Gateway Services ministry. We rely very heavily upon your prayer and financial support – thank you.  We stand in partnership with you as we do our part in making a difference to the Kingdom and the African continent.

We will not be discouraged by the massive need, but rather motivated and driven by our desire to see the lost experience the love of our Lord.

Thank you.

Leo and Linda