Women's Ministries is thriving in South Africa with different faces and a variety of programs, meeting local needs.

During October Ardis Stenbakken, Director of Women's Ministries at the General Conference, and Ivy Peterson, Director of the South African Union Conference, spent two weeks in Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town. They presented two full weekend retreats; presented devotional talks to the staff at the Transvaal Conference and at the SA Union offices; Stenbakken addressed the student body and made a presentation of scholarships at Helderberg College; visited a literacy program; and toured Soweto and Khayelitsha township.

In Khayelitsha ADRA is carrying on sewing, gardening, beadwork, small business training and a loan program. All of these projects are a direct outgrowth of the literacy program begun several years ago by ADRA and Women's Ministries. Delyse Steyn directed the literacy program and continues to give unlimited support and guidance to the programs. "It was such a thrill to see that something we began is continuing and meeting real needs. When you start something you have no idea how far the Lord will lead," noted Stenbakken.

Scholarships: Ardis Stenbakken, center, with the five young women who received scholarships at Helderberg. They are Judy Prince, Nicky du Preez, Sara Lourenco, Joanne Harebottle, and Bianca Martins.Three scholarships have also been given at Bethel College.

"We care" is the motto of Women's Ministries in the Transvaal Conference. Here three women proudly show off their tee shirts. "These three women come from ethnic groups that did not associate together before; it is so wonderful to see them working together in Women's Ministries," Stenbakken points out.

	AIDS Blankets: Enid Harris, WM director at Bethel College, thought of the idea. Women responded. At the Bloemfontein retreat she holds up one of the many blankets made for AIDS babies. South Africa suffers from one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in Africa.

Ivy Petersen and Kizzie: Before there was any outside help for the women of Khayelitsha (1.5 million people live in the squatter/sub-standard housing area) Kizzie, an Adventist woman, wanted to help her neighbors and began to do so. When the literacy project began, ADRA and WM connected up with her.  Petersen remarks that, "Kizzie always knows what needs to be
done for the women and always has ideas for what to do next."

Blankets, bags and hats: The women responded to the call for baby blankets. They also made and gathered blankets for senior citizens; made cloth bags for the cancer society to give printed information to women who had cancer; and made hats for women had lost their hair during treatment. One church had to use an extra trailer to transport their donations. Here, Denise Newton, WM Director of the Transvaal Conference, sorts some of the contributions.

	Witch Doctor?: Some of the Xhosa women who have received the benefit of the ADRA/WM projects in Khayelitsha attended the Cape Town retreat. On the right is Connie, a supporter of Women's Ministries, who teaches the bead work, and on the left is one of the students she is studying to be a witch doctor but because of Connie, she is also taking Bible studies.

	Sewing project: Some of the women begin to learn sewing in the project held in Kizzie's home. In this picture, they are learning how to thread the machines and sew straight seams. "I saw some of the things they made in the last class," says Stenbakken, "They were beautiful and well done. The problem is there are only three machines for 16 women in each class."

Women Help to Spread the Gospel in Indian Villages

"Hallelujah! Jesus is my Savior. He died to save me from my sins!" sang Mrs. Chavan as she worked in the field cultivating the crops with the other women of the village.

The other women who worked with her enjoyed the songs. "Tell us about Jesus, the God you are singing about," one of the women asked one day. "You seem to love Him so much."

Mrs. Chevan shared all she knew, but she didn't know much more than the songs she had learned since she is illiterate and unable to study the Bible. Anyway she kept singing the songs, even composing new ones to tell the new things she was learning week by week in Sabbath School and church.

Today there are several ladies ready for baptism, attracted to Christ through the songs of this illiterate tribal woman from the Ramoshi Community.

In Waluj there was another lady who had a burden for the people of her community. After her baptism she began to visit her neighbors sharing the truth with them to the best of her ability. When there was an interest she told the pastor, "You must come now and conduct some meetings and prepare these people for baptism!" At the conclusion of those meetings 21 people were baptized because of the witness of this one woman.

So far 337 people have taken their stand for Jesus Christ in Maharastra this year.

Dorothy Eaton Watts, Associate Secretary, Southern Asia

Do You Have Leadership Traits?

Find out if you're a leader by seeing if you possess these qualities:

*Leaders start projects by asking "What has to be done?" instead of "What do I need?"

*Leaders next ask "What do I have to do to make a real contribution?" The answer best suits the leader's strengths and the needs of the project.

* Leaders continually ask, "What are my organization's purposes and objectives?" and "What qualifies as acceptable performance and adds to the bottom line?"

*Leaders don't want clones of themselves as employees. They never ask, "Do I like or dislike this employee?" But they won't tolerate poor performance.

* Leaders aren't threatened by others who have strengths they lack.

Source: Communication Briefings. Peter Drucker, cited in Fores ASAP, 60 5th Ave, New York, NY 10011.

GC President Jan Paulsen Receives Preliminary Copy of the New Women's Ministries Evangelism Manual at Annual Council Session 

On the last day of Annual Council, General Conference President Jan Paulsen was presented with a preliminary copy of the new Women's Ministries Evangelism Manual during one of the general sessions. Ardis Stenbakken, director of Women's Ministries for the General Conference, made the presentation, sharing inspiring information about the evangelistic work women throughout the world are engaged in and how they are making a difference in the lives of their family, friends, and neighbors.

The manual, written by Cynthia Burrill, Ione Richardson, Waveney Martinborough and Ardis Dick Stenbakken, is scheduled for release to WM division directors early next year. Translation will then be done in some divisions. The manual, over 160 pages in length, will also be available from GCWM.

The introduction to the Manual states, "This manual is different. It is written for women by women. Women think differently than men. They build relationships differently. They even preach differently. Never before has there been a manual just for women, taking into account their particular strengths. So this manual is to help women do what women do best share the love of Jesus." We are sure you will agree!

Chapters include information on the gospel commission; preparing the community and the church; evangelism one to one, small group, and seminar style; public evangelism planning; sermon preparation and presentation; getting decisions; baptism; and discipling new believers. The appendix has resource information, surveys and other information to support and assist in evangelism.

Following the presentation, Elder Paulsen was also given the year 2000 Women's Ministries devotional book In God's Garden for his wife, Kari, to enjoy. No doubt, however, the messages in the book, written by women for women, will give him spiritual insight and inspiration as well.

- Iris Stovall

WM Emphasis Day Packet for 2000 Completed

Yes, There IS Joy in the Journey, the resource packet for June 10, 2000 Women's Emphasis Day, was recently released by GCWM. This packet contains a suggested outline for the worship service, a sermon, and an optional speech choir reading. The packet was written by Iris L. Stovall, who works in GCWM. She is administrative secretary to WM director Ardis Stenbakken and is assistant editor of this newsletter.

If you would like a copy of this resource, contact your conference, union, or division Women's Ministries director, or you can obtain the packet for $2.50, plus shipping and handling, from GCWM.

Gifts and Scholarships

Here is an idea for you that will help many women. In the Southern Regional Conference (NAD), Women's Ministries has asked the conference to become involved in helping the women on its staff and the pastor's wives. In response, at a recent WM retreat the conference paid the way for the office secretaries and also gave money for all pastors' wives to attend the retreat.

The conference also is now encouraging each church to sponsor at least one woman, especially a new convert. Excellent ideas!

Merry Christmas &
Happy NewYear
2000