July 2, 2002 Newsletter -- Tour Summary

SOUTH AFRICA TOUR – OVER 5,000 KIDS RESPOND AT WENDY & THE JAMES GANG CONCERTS

July 2, 2002

Dear Friends,

We’re back from our six-week tour to South Africa - exhausted, humbled, and exhilarated by what God did and the miracles that He worked during this Missions Tour. Here’s a summary of what happened:

Number of shows: 41 shows in 30 days.
22 of the shows were in public (non-Christian) schools, where we were allowed to do the complete show, including our normal invitation. We couldn’t ask the kids to come forward, but we were allowed to pray with them.
19 shows were in the evening at churches.
Approximately 600 kids (including several adults) came forward to accept Christ into their hearts during the evening shows at churches. Total attendance at these shows was approximately 5,500 people, including families, kids and all ages.
At the 22 school shows, we directly gave the gospel message to approximately 20,000 children from Kindergarten through Grade 7.
We have no way of knowing how many kids prayed during the Invitation at the schools. However, based on the feedback we received from pastors, observers and teachers in attendance, our best sense of what happened was that 1/4 to 1/3 of the kids (sometimes even ½) appeared to be seriously involved in the invitation and were praying. Conservatively, this means that at least 5,000 kids were praying and asking God to be involved in some way in their life. The numbers are not important – God knows and that’s all that matters.
We purchased tracts from Child Evangelism Fellowship and asked Christian teachers to volunteer to give them out after the concert to those who came to their room and asked for them. There were not funds to provide them to everyone, so we had to make it clear to the kids that they were only for those who had prayed the prayer during the concert. The booklets showed them what to do next and how to get follow-up information by sending away for some free discipleship information.

We praise God for this! It is so humbling and life-changing to serve the Lord in this way. Please pray for these kids, that they have the courage to withstand peer and family pressures and that they’ll get proper follow-up. Most of the schools had pastors involved in some way, so pray for them and their churches.

MORE TOUR TIDBITS

On days we had shows, we averaged just over 2 shows per day. The most was 4 shows to four different schools in a poor area of Cape Town, back to back. All four walked to a central location.
In our second week, we did 14 shows!
The audience response was more than we could have prayed…not just the kids, but teens, adults and seniors all loved it. We were totally booked solid, and had to turn down three or four more invitations to other churches or schools after each show.
Our tour covered Cape Town (at the southernmost tip of South Africa – the Cape of Good Hope), and several cities for over 800 kilometers (approx. 500 miles) along the Garden Route, which runs east and along the coast of the Atlantic & Indian Oceans. The other cities visited included Port Elizabeth, Hermanus, East London, Grahamstown, Paarl & Wooster.
In addition to the concerts, we did one radio show, one TV show taping for the Trinity Broadcast Network (our entire one hour show plus 60 minutes of interviews) and one Children’s Ministry Training session.
We had our normal bouts with oppression – we battled sickness, tiredness, cold, vehicle breakdowns, equipment breakdowns, and scarcity of funds.
God’s hand was in this the whole time. When the vehicles failed, each time it was in a safe area. It would be a mistake to underestimate the providence this. Many of the schools and evening concerts were in very poor & dangerous areas, but our group of nine, our vehicles and equipment were kept safe.
All of the school concerts were free, and the church shows were on a love offering basis. The love offerings and other donations covered the tour expenses (travel, food, sound, lights, etc.). We donated our time.
It was wintertime there (so no, we don’t have tans!). The weather was like Ohio’s weather in late October/early November. It would get up in the 50’s or 60’s (F) during the nice days, but during rainy days, not nearly that high. At night, lower 40’s was the norm, but many nights were down in the mid-30’s. We knew this, so we brought plenty of layers, but we didn’t realize until we arrived that no one has central heating. This made the nights very cold, and many days as well. It was challenging to go from being freezing before the show, getting drenched with sweat and then just as fast getting chilled after the show. We rediscovered hot water bottles!
You would expect with that many shows in a short time that it would get routine. However, thanks to God’s grace, that didn’t happen. He renewed us daily…it was amazing how He gave us strength when we were exhausted, often just seconds before the show started! I would have never believed we could do 4 shows in a row, each to over 1,000 very rowdy kids! In all the shows, they were so responsive…it was a blast! Next time, I need to pack more Advil!
Everyone on the team did a remarkable job. Ron & Hap Madison did yeoman’s work, in very challenging circumstances. I can’t express how hard they worked and how much they sacrificed just to go. They kept us, the sets, props and costumes from falling apart and Ron documented the tour. Wendy sang wonderfully, despite the cold, and in many evening shows there was not a dry eye when she ended the show with “How Great Thou Art”. She’s pretty tough, and was such a trooper to do all the singing that she did. There was only one day that she could not go, due to laryngitis brought on from allergies and a cold…we had to cancel a morning show, and in the evening she lip-synched the songs (we told them first), and I did all her lines, puppets and some of the songs. The show was a technical nightmare, but it was one of the highlights of the tour for me – it was my first time to do the Invitation. I’ll never forget having 25 kids come forward and pray with me to receive Jesus into their hearts. I am so proud of our boys, Zac and Ben. They had great attitudes, managed to help out quite a bit when they weren’t making new friends, and both fought through bouts of illness (Zac was especially hit hard early on). Our hosts and helpers in South Africa are amazing, and are working in very difficult circumstances. We love them and made friends for life.

South Africa is a stunningly beautiful country, and the people are wonderful! The kids are so bright! It was very hard to leave the friends that we met along the way. The country has such complex societal and economic problems that are so difficult that only God can fix them. AIDS, crime, unemployment, witchcraft, housing…all are stories within themselves. There are statistics regarding AIDS and upcoming orphan numbers that are unbelievable. Overall, it was sobering to realize first-hand how blessed we are in the U.S., in so many ways. However, South Africa is a country with so much potential! Also, if you can afford the plane fare, the tourism opportunities are incredibly appealing, due to the weakness of their currency, the Rand.

What is truly amazing is the opportunity to bring the message of Christ to kids directly in the schools. We must act while we can…there are already rumblings that the door could be closing. This generation is truly a “must-win” for Christ in South Africa! There will never be a better chance! Please pray for wisdom about what God would have us to do.

There are so many things I’d like to tell you, but for photos and more complete details, including the updates that we posted when we could during the tour, please visit www.wendyandthejamesgang.com. We are working to add more excerpts from our journals, more photos and stories about the concerts and the culture regularly, so please check back often!

AT 7:00 p.m. ON SUNDAY, JULY 7, 2002 AT SPRING HILLS BAPTIST CHURCH IN GRANVILLE, OH, WE WILL BE PRESENTING A REPORT TO OUR HOME CHURCH OF THE TOUR, INCLUDING SLIDES, PHOTOS & MIRACLES. IF YOU’RE IN THE AREA, PLEASE JOIN US! FOR DIRECTIONS, GO TO WWW.SPRINGHILLSBAPTIST.ORG OR CALL 740-587-1200.

Thank you for your prayers - it was so obvious to us that many, many of you were praying! Don’t let anyone tell you that prayer doesn’t make a difference!

Finally, as I mentioned in my last letter, this is a very challenging time for us financially – the most difficult that we’ve experienced since we started this ministry three years ago. Please pray about whether God wants you to help us. Also, because of the economy, many churches face budgetary problems and are cutting back on special events, especially those pertaining to kids. This only compounds our situation. Because of the Africa trip and other factors, we haven’t had time to devote to the booking process, so please give us a call if you would like to do an outreach event for kids and families. It doesn’t matter how big or small your church is, or what your financial resources are. We have tours planned all across the country (see the web site), and we’d love to be a blessing to you.

To God be the Glory!

Take care & God bless,

David James

(for Wendy, Zac & Ben, Ron & Hap Madison, Pat Luffman, Piet LaGrange and Reinhard LaGrange)