The Laughrens,Pete, Fran & Denzil

mkOlapB ®Tmes

GEORGE, SOUTH AFRICA

Winter 2010 "Vol. 20 No. 3

A Photo Journey of the South African WorkGreetings once again in the middle of your cold winter. We are in the middle of summer here and the days are

getting shorter and fall is getting nearer.Every newsletter that we send is about the work that goes on here and, as you know, we always include pictures.

Several years ago we sent out a newsletter that was exclusively pictures and we got a very good response from it.Seeing that many agree with my thoughts that we would rather look at pictures anyway, we thought that it was time foranother one put together that way.

So, greetings from South Africa. Enjoy the pictures that are presented here in many different categories. Thanksfor your prayers for the work here and please continue to pray for the drought in our area. Thanks for all that you doto help us be here and may God bless you as you serve Him.

Work in South Africa 'We are involved in many facets of the work here in South Africa.

frf- -

I teach in many different places and these are two different groups that I taught at the different yearly conferences.

This is a group of studentsthat I taught in Kimberley andwe shared meals together.

Fran teaches in many differentways - from VBSs to YouthWork " and enjoys fellowshipwith the girls.

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Thanks for the input ofBettie Goodman of Col-

leyville, Texas. She hastried to get the ladies hereinvolved in making beadednecklaces, but there hasnot been much interest

from the local ladies. Theywould rather have them

made for them. So Fran

has developed the projectby herself, and done atremendous job.

I

Clothes were distributed

to many needy peoplein the church in Graaff-

Reinet. When we ran

out of supplies, theytook measurements of

the kids that still needed

them and bought moreout of their own pockets.This was pleasing to us... they not only received, but they havelearned how to give, too!

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Under the direction of Stacy Garner, internships havebeen a large part of our work here. He has done atrememdous job.

Jerome Calvert, a strong leader of youth here in George, The goal of our work here is bringing people to Jesus Christ,recently got married. He and his wife are doing well. Here are some recent baptisms.

Various Other Facets of the WorkWhen we arrived back from furlough, we brought a container. Through the generous donations of churches in Tennessee, Georgia and Florida, we were able to provide many needed clothes and school supplies to needy people ofall ages. Here are a few sights of joy as evidenced by the receiving people.

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The members of the church in Knysna were very thanl<ful for the donations...

• \

... as were the kids in

Richmond where Cor

nell and Pethro Georgelive (see photo in "people" section).

.

Englewood Christian Church in Jacksonville, Florida, through their Vacation Bible School, sent back school supplies that we used in George . ..

Yatdtioiimiesaoet

and they even sent leftoverVacation Bible School T-Shirts...

and leftover Vacation

Bible School supplies..

... and in Knsyna

... and, as you can see. Mascot outfits that are still beingused, no matter what the Vacation Bible School theme is!!!

South Africa SceneWe have always maintained that South Africa is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It is an undiscoveredbeauty spot. Here are a few photos to prove our case ...

The Augrabie Falls near Namibia are spectacular...

Cape Town and all of South Africa isgetting ready for the 2010 Soccer WorldCup. l-lere you see the Cape Town stadium in the final stages of construction.

Diamond mining is famous in South Africa.This is a hand-dug mine in Kimberleycalled "The Big Hole" for obvious reasons.

But still to me (Pete), one of the most beautiful sights in.. .As are Victoria Falls on the world is where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet, atthe Zimbabwe/Zambia Border Cape Point just south of Cape Town.

Graff-Reinet, where we do a lot of teaching, is in the middle of South Africa.It is famous for the mountain called "Spandosl<op." The one picture is of themountain, the other is of the one taken of the town of Graaff-Reinet from near

the top of the mountain.

We have beautiful coastlines here in South Africa

but we also have long and winding roads ... with trees few and far between in the arid regions.

South African PeooleAs 1have alw/ays said in our stateside presentations, the most beautiful thing about South Africa is the people. Theyare what makes the work here so rewarding. Here are just a few who have touched our lives.

A strong brother from Graaff-Reinet isMax Cudjoe.

Andrew Calvert and tiis family wtio leadttie ctiurcti in George.

James and Elizabeth Booi from the

Mfuleni church in Cape Town.

Brother Tyityifrom thechurch in Queenstown

in the Eastern Cape.Brother John Jacobs, the leader in the church in Up-ington, with two local brothers.

Brother Eric Nkebe, a strong leader atthe church in Mfuleni who has the nick

name of "Ouvrou" which is Afrikaans

for "old lady" because of his love oftelling the young children stories.

Two sisters from the George Church,Gladys and Elizabeth.

Cornell and Pethro George are originally from the church in Graaff-Reinet,but they now live and work in thesmall town of Richmond. They workwith the youth there.

:-r- V,-A.

The Jantjies family was one of the first families that we ever met in SouthAfrica. They live in Macassar in Cape Town and work with the church there.David and Audrey lead a fine Christian family.

AnimalsMany people think that since we live in Africa that we see wild animals everywhere we go. But, since South Africa isso modern, we do not. However, here are a few that we have seen in our travels that adds to the scenery.

In South Africa, the National Animal is the Springbok. It is called the Springbok for obvious reasons.

mmBaboons can be real hazards on golf courses... and warthogs can do real damage to your grounds.

y^hen you meet one of these tortoises in the middle of the highway, there is a possibility of real damage to your car ifyou hit it.

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85% of the world's ostriches are raised within 50 miles

of here, just across the mountain.

•••••

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Since we are so far south, there are many penguins in thewild right by the ocean. The Blesbok is another deer-like animal in South Africa.

Familv Photo AlbumOf course we need to add some family photos so we can share how our lives are going, tool

Denzil is growing up way too fast. He is now 15. He is being home schooled with Fran being his teacher and he makesstraight A's.

Here are two recent pictures taken of us as a family ...

--i ...

one by the Augrabie Fails... and one by Spandoskop in Graaff-Reinet.

Denzil, only 15, is becoming tall likeme. I often kid him that, while hemay be as tall as me one day, hewill never be as good looking. Hethen smiles and tells me, "Yea, youjust wait and see!"© This pictureivas taken at a wedding that I performed in December in Cape Town.

The Funnv Side of LifeTo end this photo journey,, what would life be like without looking for thehumorous side of things? We hope that you enjoyed this photo journeyand also hope that you enjoy these photos that we found humorous In ourtravels. May God bless you as you serve Him.

Don Dorris of Woodlawn, Illinoiswith Abram Modupi in Barley-Westin front of... what is the name of

that church?

Transportation is done in any way possible.

OutreochInternotionol

Addresses:

Pete &_Eraj[LLaughtenP.O. Box 10421

George, 6530South Africa

Phone: 011-27-44-873-0448

Fax: 011-27-44-873-0548

e-mail: laughrn@mweb.co.za

Forwarding Agents:Mark & Annette Tuttle

P, O. Box 22

Granville, Ohio 43023(740) 321-3377

Mission Services2004 E. Magnolia Ave.Knoxville. TN 37917

Return Service Requested

R380

Deben 27

Hotazel 63

I don t l<nowabout you,but this town in the north

ern part of the countrysounds pretty warm to

I always lil<e stores where there is a variety. .. fruitstands and navel piercing. Would you lil<e naveloranges, or a pierced navel???

Non Profit Org.U.S. Postage Paid

Knoxville, TNPermit #374

I just hope that there is a live bodyattached to that leg!!!

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OlapE "SltmBS

GEORGE, SOUTH AFRIcAThe Laughrens,

Pete, Fran & Denzil Spring/Summer 2010 - Vol. 20 No. 4; Vol. 21 No. 1

Travels of 2010

In our work in South Africa we travel to manyoutlying places for times of preaching and teaching.These past few months have seen us in several different

places.Over Easter we spent the weekend in the northern

Cape town of Kimberley and helped in the services therenorthern Cape

churches. We arrived

there on Thursday

— and left on Sundayt t ^ afternoon. While^ \ there 1preached and

: i taught several timesi ^ j j and Fran taught the

ladies and children.Fran taught theladies and j^ere were over 200children in Kimberley. , • ^ ^

' people in attendanceand it all went well. We were even able to spend sometime with fellow missionaries, the Steve Caulley family,and it was a good time of fellowship.

We visited the church in Knysna over this timeperiod and the tiny church is doing well. The leader ofthe church travels overseas for construction work, and

this hurts the church a bit, but they carry on. We arepleased with the success of the Knysna church.

Fran taught the ladies andchildren in Kimberley.

have been for Sister Mary George who losthappy occasions, husband, brother Stan George.While we have taught there, we have been there for twofunerals for two of the strongest brothers in the church.Brother in laws, Arrie Koeberg and Stan George werevery different in dispositions but both were very strongin the Lord. Arrie was very outgoing and wanted peopleto know where he stood in many situations while Stanwas just a real strong behind the scenes worker. Oneof the brothers who spoke at his funeral said that helooked for pictures of Stan working in the church, butcould not find any as he was always working behind thescenes. Arrie was 76 years old and left a wife and 5children when he died from cancer after a short illness.

Stan was only 57 and battled cancer for around threeyears and he too left a wife and several children. It was

Jeremy Koeberg is a faithful workerfrom Cape Town.

Roland Joseph, from Kimberley, is afaithful worker.

Pete standing with two brothers fromGraaff-Reinet, Richard and Donovan.

strange to do funerals so close together of two suchstrong Christians. But we rejoice in the confidence thatthey have both have received their eternal rewards.

While we were at Stan George's funeral, we gotword that another brother in law in the same familypassed away and the following week we had to goto Port Elizabeth to do the funeral of that man, HarryOersen. The church in Port Elizabeth will be weaker in

his loss, but the work must go on. Please pray for thechurches in Graaff-Reinet | 1 n-and Port Elizabeth as . 'they work through these 'losses. They are doingwell at present and we

feel confident that they will

Our work takes many ; .forms and the sadder times

are when we say good byeto good friends. But it is allpartofthe work ofthe Lord Brother Jacobs, from Uping-here in South Africa. ton, is 94 years old.

VBS 2010 bv Fran

to help. I was also able to get some help from one ofmy friends, Kitty, who is the mother of one of Denzil'sfriends and very involved in ministry now. Pius, Peteand Denzil would pitch in when and where they could..,So, the Lord helped us get everything ready in timewith the help of many hands from different places.

The VBS in Thembalethu is organized by thepolice of that area as a program for working with thecommunity. It had to be postponed until another datedue to their increase of responsibilities with the WorldCup activities.

Since the church in Graaff-Reinet is able and

willing to do VBS on their own now, they asked forour assistance by doing the lessons and music thisyear. As usual, it was a great success with attendancearound 500 every day. The church of Graaff-Reinethas been under a great amount of stress this year withdeaths, weddings and VBS, but none the less they arestrong and positive. They keep going, they keep thatservant of Christ attitude no matter how tough thingsget. We are so proud of them and it is a pleasure towork with them.

I must add that as much as I love to sing and loveto lead the kids in song, I do not have the gift of singingwith a nice tune. So needless to say, we really missedthe leader of the internships, Stacy Garner, and hisstrong, beautiful voice this year. Thank goodness forgood CD's and sound systems! © To make the loadof work lighter, Pete, Denzil and I shared the Biblestory times. The kids really get a kick out of seeingand listening to Denzil with story time. We were veryproud of him.

This year we didn't have any help with Vacation strong, beautiful voice this year. Thank goodness foiBible Schools from visitors or interns from the States. good CD's and sound systems! © To make the loacWe were scheduled to do three; One in Graaff-Reinet of work lighter, Pete, Denzil and I shared the Bible(June 14 - 18) and one for LIFE Community Servi- story times. The kids really get a kick out of seeincces (a Children's feeding service) in George (June 28 and listening to Denzil with story time. We were ver^- July 2) and one in the township of Thembalethu in proud of him.

group also carne over one day At the School in George, the fenf crowded -- but it was great fun!

Working

Community Ser-

year

was great fun. .They are an or-ganization that ''provides after ^school care, soup - -kitchen and a

place to meet theneeds of manyunder-privileged

the

Theymade a plan this At the last day of the Vacation Bibleyear to do a four School in Graaff-Reinet, they gaveweek Holiday Bi- ^^enrfance.ble School since the school holiday was extended withthe World Cup activities going on. Each week theyhad different "themes and leaders" do the program.But each week they depended on their staff and folksfrom the community and their youth to help with thechildren. They had a tent in the front of the buildingwith flags representing different countries, and the kidswere divided up into teams and named after differentcountries that were represented in the World Cup. Itwas a fun atmosphere and the kids were entertained,taught skills for life and living a life for the Lord, fed andmost of all loved with the love of God through thoseworking with them.

The staff of LIFE was well organized in dealingwith the children so that all we had to do was the program. We taught songs, gave the Bible lessons andprovided the crafts. Every day they ran around 300- 350 in attendance. There were plenty of helpersand the kids were well behaved. Itwas a huge help forone of "our" church youth members, Jody (who camefor three days in-spite of our saying we didn't need theextra help) to lend a helping hand anyway. The extrapair of hands came at the time we needed them. Hetruly has a serving heart and we are so proud of him.

Thanks, again, goes to all of you who havehelped provide craft supplies. We were able to leave abunch of crayons and markers with the LIFE Community Services and they were surprised and so excited.You had a part in blessing them. Thank you for yourprayers and words of encouragement. Though we areexhausted every year at this time, it has been fun andwe feel blessed in having a part in the great work thatis going on for the Kingdom through the children ofSouth Africa.

Denzil with his friends, Peter, Davey and Kenneth.

Prayers

Please pray for Denzil as he starts grade 10. He isa straight A student and we are real proud of him.

Please pray for the churches in Graaff-Reinet,George, Knysna, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town asthey grow in spirit and truth.

Please pray for our fonwarding agent's son and newwife, Jonathan and Nicki Tuttle as they start theirnew married life together. They were married onJuly 24 in Georgia.

I (Pete) am in the U.S. until the end of August helpingmy mother and step father relocate from Georgia toFlorida. My sister, Lisa Andrews is also in Georgiaand we are working together in the process. Pleasepray for all of us during this time.

Denzil is 16 and in the tenth grade now.

OutreachInternotiofiol

Addresses:

Pete & Fran LaughrenP.O. Box 10421

George, 6530South Africa

Phone: 011-27-44-873-0448

Fax: 011-27-44-873-0548

e-mail: laughrn@mweb.co.za

Forwarding Agents:Mark & Annette Tuttle

P. O. Box 22

Granville, Ohio 43023(740) 321-3377

Mission Services2004 E. Magnolia Ave.Knoxviile, TN 37917

Return Sen/ice Requested

Non Profit Org.U.S. Postage Paid

Knoxviile, TNPermit #374

Praises

* Even though we had no interns to help with thisyear's Vacation Bible Schools, things still went well.Fran is a great organizer and crafter and the Vacation Bible Schoois went smoothly.

* Fran and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversaryin June and we thank God for his protection for somany years.

* We have gathered some new supporters for the workin South Africa and for this we are extremely gratefulto the Lord for his provisions. Our Lord is faithful.

Y

Even the ostriches found the snow a little different to be in

as we had record snowfalls recently!

ETC.

Other than the funerals mentioned earlier, we aiso

had a faithful Christian sister die here in Georgealso.

On further sad notes, a student intern working in Kim-berley, with the Steve Caulley family, Renita Rambo,died recently in a car accident. Caulley's daughter,Maria, is still recuperating from the accident.

Two weeks iater, fellow missionary Stu Cook, whoworks in and around Johannesburg, also died in acar accident going to a Bible study. Please continueto pray for his wife, Marilyn as she continues her recovery. It has been sad times here for the work inSouth Africa.

These Bibles were provided by Stacy Garner of GatewayInternational Educational Sen/ices on the last internship.

mije

The Laughrens,Pete, Fran & Denzil

Prayers for Fran

Greetings once again from South Africa. Wehope that you are well and serving the Lord whereyou are.

Those of you familiar with our work here knowthat an important part of the work is traveling andpreaching and teaching in various areas. Our annualconference is a major part of the yearly calendar, asare our monthly trips to Graaff-Reinet for weeks ofteaching. Back in September we spent the monthgetting ready for the annual conference that was tobe held in the Cape Town area and plans were goingwell.

About 3 weeks beforehand, Fran started to have

a severe headache. She always has headaches ofdifferent sorts, but this one persisted and would notgo away. No matter what she tried, nothing worked.The weekend before the conference, it got worseand we had to make a decision to do something. Wethen canceled our plans to go to the conference andgot her to the doctor. We sent our planned lessonson to brother Max Cudjoe from Graaff-Reinet and hepresented them for us at the conference.

After examination, the doctor ordered x-rays andthey revealed what he thought were two fused disksin her neck. He gave her treatments and therapy andtold her what to do and what not to do and it has been

an on going process. Late in the year we went to aneurologist who noticed that some of the pain that shementioned did not seem to be neck related and she

ordered some x-rays of her shoulder. These x-raysrevealed what she thought was a tear in the shouldermuscle and ordered to go to a surgeon to see what

EORGE, SOUTH AFRICAL^ w

Fall 2010 & Winter 2011 -- Vol. 21, No. 2 & 3

could be done. Of her neck she arranged some visitswith a chiropractor. After further consultation with thesurgeon he determined that while itwas not so mucha tear, but just a "wearing out" of the muscle and hetried a cortisone shot that seemed to take care of the

problem. She now has better movement.As for the neck problem, the chiropractic route

has not seemed to help the problem and we areseeking other areas for help. The pain is not as badas before, but there is still a problem that needs to betake care of. That all being said please keep her inyour prayers that we find proper treatment.

Since she was in pain and could not drive for alongtime and since the church people in Graaff-Reinetwere very concerned for her health, they asked that Inot leave her alone at home. So therefore, we have

not been to Graaff-Reinet for teaching in the lastseveral months. We have stayed close to home andworked with the church here in George and mademonthly trips to Knysna to teach and preach at thechurch there. Please pray for us as we try to get intoa regular schedule this year and please pray for Franin her pain that we may find the proper remedies.

The "Toy Wagon"

Frequent readers ofthis newsletter will rememberthat over the years when we have had interns we havescrambled forvehicles for transportation. You will alsoremember that one particular vehicle that we haveborrowed from friends many times became ours when

This is the Volkswagen Microbus with the new engine.

1

The kids love to sing with Fran

... while Pete teaches the lesson each day.

we purchased it in 2008. It is a 20 year oldVolkswagen Microbus that had one owner andit ran like a top. We use it often in church workhere in George and it has become a valuabletool in the ministry.

When a friend borrowed it in September,he brought it back and mentioned that it didnot seem to be running right. Upon furtherinvestigation the reason that it was not runningright was because of a blown engine. One thingled to another and we had two options whilereplacing the engine. We could put anotherreconditioned Volkswagen engine back in, ora brand new Toyota engine in, and these wereboth for the same price. The advantage of theToyota engine is that parts for it are availableeverywhere and all would be brand new. Thatis what we went with, and it is back to tip toprunning condition. Many of you helped with thisproject and we are forever thankful for your help.We can never say thanks enough for your helpto get this done.

Since it is a Volkswagen with a Toyotaengine, Denzil has affectionately renamed thevehicle, the "Toy-Wagon." We are very thankfulfor its repair and getting on the road again.

Vacation Bible Schools

Even with Fran's injuries, she was still indemand for Vacation Bible Schools at various

places at various times. We did a VacationBible School over the Christmas break with a

local feeding center and we had about 80 kidsin attendance. Back in September at the heightof her headache problems we did a short onein Conville and they have asked us back againwhen we have interns coming this May andJune. We are thankful for this part of the ministryand we look fon/vard to the ones to come. Fran

is running lowon crafts supplies and is hoping touse them all up with the following Vacation BibleSchools before we return stateside. Please prayfor Stacy Garner as he leads another groupfrom St. Louis Christian College, and also fora group from McDonough Christian Church inMcDonough Ga., that are coming in late June.

Furlough at theend of 2011

This year is the end of our four yearterm. We will be returning to the U.S. aroundNovember 2011. We hope to locate in theHampton, Ga., area for furlough but nothing isfor sure at this point. Please be in prayer forus as this time approaches. Denzil hopes tocomplete grade 12 while we are stateside in2012. We do not know what the future holds

after that, so please be in prayer with us aboutthat.

Prayers*Please be in prayer for Fran's medical

condition and that we find the properremedies.

*Please be in prayer for us as we makefinal plans for furlough and the future at theend of 2011.

*Please pray for Denzil as he completesgrade 10 and starts on grade 11 in March. Heis a straight A student and he makes us realproud.

*Piease pray for our folks as Fran'sparents have moved to MissourifromTexas andmine have moved to Florida from Georgia.

Praises

*Weare so pleased for the vehicle repairson the Volkswagen Microbus and thankful forthose of you who helped in so many ways.

*Support has slipped overall, but Godis faithful through his people. We are verythankful for all who continue to help in the workhere in South Africa.

*We are so thankful that even though wehave not been able to go to Graaff-Reinet inthe last several months, they are doing verywell. We will make our first visit this year inFebruary.

*Thank-you for continuing to pray for usand the work in South Africa.

Visitors from Cape Town are always welcome. These sistersare from the Jantijies family in Macassar

Andrew Calvert is the faithful minister here in George.

Youth leader of the George Church, Jerome Calvert.with is wife, Ruanita, and their new addition, Ruan.

OutreochInternationol

Addresses:

p£te_&.EranJLaughrenP.O. Box 10421

George, 6530South Africa

Phone: 011-27-44-873-0448

Fax: 011-27-44-873-0548

e-mail: laughrn@mweb.co.za

Forwarding Agents:Mark & Annette Tuttle

P. 0. Box 22

Granville, Ohio 43023(740) 321-3377

Mission Services2004 E. Magnolia Ave.Knoxville, TN 37917

Return Sen/ice Requested

This is a recent family picture of the three of usDenzil is growing up too fast

Non Profit Org.U.S. Postage Paid

Knoxville, TNPermit #374

Emile Calvert, Andrew's son, and Denzil have beenclose buddies our entire time in George.