July was Xakekile (Busy!)  We had 3 different mission groups from 3 different churches come and see the ministries that are going on here in South Africa. It was a joy to spend time with them and show them this beautiful nation. But more than that, we pray that our burden to see this country reached with the Gospel of Christ reached their hearts. Please pray that God would send laborers. 

​      With the groups here, we were able to be a part of more outreach opportunities. Pastor Sipho Bonga put on a V.B.S. where we were able to help and see many souls saved! Also twice this month, Bro. Mark Coffey hosted "youth days," at Camp Rhino. We saw over 100 kids attend both days; and I even had the opportunity to show a young man in a Xhosa bible how to be sure we are saved. We are also trying hard to memorize the romans road in Xhosa. We want to be able to witness to anyone in Xhosa at any time we need to. Please pray that we can get a strong memory of the verses. 

      Along with hosting groups, and learning language, we had a couple of celebrations this month! My wife and i celebrated 9 wonderful years of marriage; and our middle son, Avett, turned 5 years old. We praise the Lord for giving us another year with each other and with him. My wife and I have been joking lately about how "African" our kids are. Each week they say something new that sounds more and more South African. God is a good God who is knitting our hearts here.

Lastly, my wife and I just wanted to express how thankful we are for each and everyone of you. At the beginning of this month Meagan suffered from some illness. After asking for prayer, we truly were shocked at the response. We had people from all over reaching out to us, asking how she was doing, and praying. We were so humbled. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. 

      Visa Update
      - Our Visas have been sent to the high court and we are still awaiting an answer. We can stay in country as long as it is processing but it will be great to get a visa and we will have more oppurtunities here. Continue to pray for this!

      This past month we are experiencing our first missions group season. We have already had 3 missions teams and are expecting 3 more. Though we are still busy in language school we have been working with the groups when we are able to. It is a blessing to watch many of the young people experience South Africa for the first time. It reminds me of the first time I came to SA when I was 19 years old. God changed my life in that trip and I am so thankful for the opportunity. If you have never taken a missions trip and you are interested we are already planning trips for next year. We would be glad to host and show you how God is working in SA. All you have to do is email me at missionarysullivan@gmail.com and I can send you the needed information. 

      Please pray for Wells Estate Baptist Church in the Wells Estate township. The church was started earlier this decade but over the last few months there has been some decisions made in the church and now they are looking to restart. Pastor Sipho Bonga is the Pastor at New Life Baptist Church but he has now taken control of Wells Estate. Please pray that God will send more leaders and laborers to this church to help them to grow and to continue to spread the gospel to the needy people in that area. 

      We are slowly but surely progressing in the language. I usually teach a lesson on "giving" on Thursday nights at Soweto Baptist Church. Meagan has been teaching a children's lesson on Sunday mornings for about 5-8 minutes. Please keep us in your prayers. I posted a couple of videos last month on my facebook page of Meagan and myself practicing our lessons with our teacher. If you have any interest you can go to my page to view those videos. 

      Please pray for God to raise up some South African men. While in language school I am looking for a few young men to begin to train in the ministry. The main goal of our ministry is to plant churches and I need men to help me do that. Pray that God will help me find them so we can begin training and preparing for a church plant. Thank you for your prayers and support. God Bless. The Sullivan's.

       "I serve a Risen Savior, He's in the world today!" Of course, this is exciting news all year round, but celebrating Easter and the sacrifice Christ made for us, always encourages me to do more. On Easter, I had the privilege to preach along with 6 other men on the "7 sayings of Jesus on the cross." This was a blessing to my heart. 

      We had a happy, busy month. Language school can become monotonous at times, but when we can start to apply what we know; then we are reminded why we are here. My wife and I were so encouraged this month as we have begun practicing with people in town.  One day, Meagan took the opportunity to invite the check out lady at the grocery store to our easter service. To Meagan's surprise she immediately wrote down her information and seemed very interested in coming. We were able to visit her in her home the following Saturday. She then told us she had no idea if she would go to HEAVEN or not if she were to die. What a blessing it was to sit and share the gospel with her. We were thrilled with her receptiveness but there was still some confusion when we left.

      We believe that is due to the language barrier. This was a sweet reminder from the Lord to keep on keeping on. The gospel is for every tribe, and every nation; and is too important to let a language barrier stand in the way. Our new friend, Nolubabalo did come to church, and we are praying the Lord keeps working in her heart.

      Our missionary friends, Jeremy Hall Family, learned this month that they have received an extension on their visa's. This was an answer to prayer for all of us because there has been a lot of confusion and denials for many missionaries in South Africa. But this tells us that the South African Government is still giving out and extending visas. We know that our God is big enough as we are continuing to pray that we will hear good news about our visa situation. 

      
      

      Isaiah 40:31"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run; and not be weary; and they shall walk; and not faint." I have heard my pastor say many times over the years that this christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. This quote has never mean't more to me than it does now. I would love more than anything, to send you an exciting update about all the lives being changed. But four months in; we are realizing this ministry is a marathon; not a sprint. Right now, our days are filled with taking the baby steps that will eventually lead to BIG (ministry) steps. Meagan and I have finished our first xhosa book and we are now feverishly working on our second. There is a total of 6 books that we will try to complete by November of next year. Meagan is progressing well in language school. I am so proud of her because she is successfully working two full time jobs; language school and motherhood. 
      While practicing, practicing, practicing the language, we are doing the same things you are hopefully doing in America. Making contacts, meeting people, and telling people the good news of the gospel. We are currently praying for the "Grwebi" family. They are a sweet family that lives near our church. They haven't attended yet, but seem to be receptive. We are praying they will come to check out what the weird white people are doing in their area. I also want to request prayer for "Nosipho." She is a kind employee of the gas station I frequent. After a short conversation about church, she asked for prayer. This lady believes she is going to "make it" into Heaven because she has a "pure heart." I informed her "There is none that doeth good, and sinneth not." Im praying God will do a work in her heart. Unfortunately, people like NoSipho are the majority here in South Africa. The more people I meet, the more burdened I become. They need the truth. We need more workers. The harvest is truly plenteous but the laborers are few.
      With spring time approaching, many churches use this season to focus on missions. We have had several of our supporting churches reach out to us with special notes of encouragement, extra prayers, and even extra financial support. Whether this includes you or not, we just want to share that we are thankful for each and everyone of you. We are always humbled when we think of the love we are shown from God's people. We are praying for fruit to your account. and also about how much more we can be doing for world evangelism.
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* We celebrated Mercy's first birthday this month!
* we are excited about Easter services, and praying for souls to be saved.
* Meagan will be speaking at a "purity conference" in a couple of weeks, more details about that in our next letter
* Praying about details of church plants. Will share details in the upcoming months.

      Time flies when you’re having fun. 2018 was the fastest year of our lives. Our family had a new baby, finished up deputation, and moved across the world here we are, just a few weeks into being in our new home, and it is the beginning of a new year. What a perfect time to set some goals and get started in this ministry God has called us to.

      My wife and I are excited about beginning language school in just a few days, and we covet your prayers. Although many here speak English we know this is crucial in gaining the hearts of the Xhosa speaking people, and starting churches. Although December was busy “setting up house,” and with holidays, we did not lack in ministry opportunities.

      We have been attending and working at New Life Baptist Church in the KwaDwesi township. We were also thrilled to be able to help in the first year of Camp Rhino. This was a teen camp run by missionary Mark Coffey. It was a tremendous week with 19 professions of faith. I was also blessed to be able to preach at Bro Jeremy Hall’s church, Soweto Baptist. Here a convicted murderer, shortly out of prison, trusted Christ as his savior. I am so thankful there is no sin too big for our loving Savior. Also at Soweto we had a great Christmas service preaching and testifying about Christ.

      My family had a very blessed Christmas this year. We were sure to explain to our children it is because of the sacrificial giving of our supporting churches. We had many give above and beyond their regular support; and we are so thankful. We pray that you all had a blessed Christmas and a happy new year as well.

      The Sullivans going to South Africa are now the Sullivan’s in South Africa. We arrived on the 29th of November and It has been a whirlwind ever since! Upon arriving,  we immediately began buying appliances and furniture for our new home. We did this in a hurry because two days later, we set off on an eleven hour drive to the city of Durban. This is where our attorney is located, and we had to apply for our visas as soon as possible. The process went very smoothly. While we were there, we had the pleasure of attending services with The Matney family. It was exciting to see how God is blessing their ministry in just the 7 short months they’ve been there. 

      We are finally getting over our jet lag and the children are adjusting well. Thank you for all of the prayers and extra love offerings; we can’t tell you how much they mean to us! A special thank you to our home church, Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, TN, and our Pastor Tom Hatley. They have been behind us 100 percent since before we even started deputation; and they gave us an incredible send off service. It was definitely a night we will never forget. 

     We have been asking for prayers and support for our visas for months now. We are extremely happy that this phase is finished. Of course we will not get an answer immediately. It is now a waiting game but we can stay in country as long as they are reviewing our applications. This is a huge blessing because the longer it takes them to review it doesn’t matter we are allowed to stay in country until they give us an answer. We have faith that our God will meet our needs. Please continue to pray that the home affairs will be kind and accept us on the first try. 

      Now that we know we can stay in SA indefinitely we will take the rest of December and get the rest of our house furnished and set up. We will be ready to begin language school in January and help in a local church that has already been established here in Port Elizabeth. 

      We are very thankful for the Mark Coffey, Kevin Hall, Jeramy Hall and Stephen Underwood families who have graciously taken time to welcome us and help us during this transition. They have bent over backwards for us and we greatly appreciate their help. Please pray for these families as they continue to service God in their own ministries and church plants. 

      Although it doesn’t feel like it to us (80 degree weather,) Christmas is upon us! We pray you have a blessed holiday season with your families and church families. We are eternally thankful for the gift of Jesus Christ, our reason for celebrating each and everyday!

November Prayer Letter

      30 months. 2 new family members .4 different homes. 268 churches. 89,198 miles. 32 different states. 2 mini vans. Countless new friendships.  96% of our needed support, AND deputation is finally coming to an end! We have so many emotions going on in the Sullivan household these days.

      On top of all those stats as we reflect back on the last couple of years; we are in awe of all the Lord has done! It has been a time of “tough love,” a time of growth, and a time of sweet fellowship. We have made lifelong friendships; and God has gently molded our hearts. We are a little nervous, and a lot heartbroken to leave friends and family; But more than that we are excited and ready to start the ministry God has called us to. We are leaving in 24 days! We covet your prayers as we prepare bags, and move out of our house.
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      Thank you very much to all who have purchased shirts. Because of you we have made nearly $1,000 for our visa attorney fees. Thank you to those who have donated to our set-up fund and those who monthly support the ministry. There are truly not enough "thank yous," to go around. We are humbled when we think of all the folks who have sacrificially given, so we can do what God has called us to. We are excited to put Gods money to work in South Africa.

October in Review                                                                             Set-up fund
- We were in 8 churches in 4 states and Canada.                   - 6 plane tickets were 5500 now $0
NC, TN, PA, NY, Ontario                                                               - Vehicle was 5000 now 3000
- We have 3 new partners                                                           - Shipping/customs was 2500 now $0- We travelled 3000 miles​                                                            - Visa Attorney Fees was 6000 now 1000