GOLDEN HARVEST

Hello, hello, hello! How are you!

It’s the middle of Winter here, and this morning it feels a bit cold! Winter is not my favourite season of the year. I am glad that in a few weeks’ time, a new season will start: Spring! I have some plants in my garden called clivias. I always know that Spring is coming when my clivias get big orange flowers. Those flowers are like a sign telling me the season is changing.

That makes me think of another word. Do you know what a milestone is? A milestone is a special point in the middle of something happening. It is a place to celebrate what has already happened and get excited about what’s coming next. Just like when one season changes into another season. That’s a milestone too!

I was at a 21st birthday celebration last week. The young man who turned 21 was called Kyle. Turning 21 is a real milestone! Some people think it is the point when you stop being a child and start being an adult. Lots of us went out for dinner to celebrate the 21 years of Kyle being alive. He has achieved and experienced so many things in that time. And then we also thought about what Kyle was going to do next. He has just started a new job and has moved into a new house, so there is a lot of exciting stuff happening now. It was a real milestone - a time to remember and celebrate what has happened and think about what is coming next.

I wonder if you know who the man in this picture is? His name is Alan Webster. He is the person in charge of Wycliffe in South Africa - the people who work so hard to get more people a Bible in a language that they can understand. Alan likes to take part in a run every Saturday morning. It is called the Park Run and he runs 5km. This photo is on a special milestone for Alan. This was the day he ran his 100th Park Run. I am sure he was very happy that day and really celebrated all the running that he had done. But Alan didn’t stop running at that milestone. He celebrated and then started getting excited about the runs that were going to come next. That’s a milestone: celebrating what’s happened and looking forward to the next bit.

There is a very special milestone happening this year for Wycliffe South Africa. It is their 50th birthday! They have been doing God’s work in South Africa for 50 years! That is 18,250 days of helping more people hear the Word of God. Like any milestone, this is a chance to remember and celebrate what has happened and also to look ahead to what’s coming next and get excited.

Wycliffe SA are remembering all the ways that God has helped them over the last 50 years. There have been so many chances to work with different groups of people who all speak different languages. Wycliffe SA are celebrating and being thankful for all the different people and churches who have supported them over the years - by giving money or by praying so that Wycliffe can continue to do their work. At this 50 year milestone, they are thinking of all the different people who have heard about Jesus and chosen to follow Him because they had a Bible they could understand for the first time. Lots of remembering, being very thankful, and celebrating.

But, just like Alan did not stop when he finished 100 Park Runs, Wycliffe SA are not stopping. They are carrying on doing the wonderful work that they do, and they are making plans and setting goals and getting excited about what is going to come next. In this milestone year, they have even started some new translation programmes. And they are making so many plans for how they are going to do more and more. They have been working on 22 languages, but they want to be doing 40 languages by 2030. They have already made a difference to so many people in Southern Africa, but, by 2030, they want to have reached 20 million people! Wow!

I hope that you and your family will celebrate Wycliffe’s special milestone with them. Why don’t you show this letter to three more people to help get more support, funds and prayer for the next season of Wycliffe’s work?

Aunty Gill

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