3913 US Hwy 64W Apex, NC 27523
(919).362.8974

Newsletter - March 2022

March 30, 2022

Changing lives by sharing God’s love and hope with children in need

“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”  Matthew 25:40

BBQ AND AUCTION BENEFIT

Want something fun to do while really making a difference in the life of a child? Then join us for one of our major fundraisers benefitting the children of Ya Bana Village.

We are very excited about our Mabopane BBQ and Auction Benefit which is less than a month away on Sunday, April 24th. This special event will be at the Shady Wagon Farm, 259 Shady Wagon Farm Lane in New Hill from 5:00—8:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for $20 per person and may be purchased by contacting Becky at becky.young@mabopanekids.org or via cell phone or text at (919) 818-3804 or at the Mission House at (919) 362-8974. We are limited to 150 participants, so order your tickets NOW!

Live and Silent Auction: We have some incredible live and silent auction items ranging from weekend getaways and fishing excursions, to food and drink baskets, and much more. So come prepared to bid passionately for the benefit of the Ya Bana children. The silent auction and dinner begin at 5:00 p.m. and the live auction begins at 6:30 p.m. We are still accepting items, services, or packages for auction, the value of which should be at least $100.

Bid by Proxy: If, for some reason, you are unable to attend the event in person but would still like to participate, we are accepting proxy bids in advance of the event. Please contact sarah@mabopanekids.org to be added to the list of persons requesting a proxy. We will send out information about the proxy bids about two weeks before the event.

Benefit Raffle: Enter our Benefit Raffle to win a brand new 42" Toro TimeCutter® Zero Turn Mower (Model 75746)! 
 
This is a dream mower that is built to last. It comes with a Toro IronForged® deck engineered for years of reliability and top performance. This mower makes mowing an enjoyable experience with features like an under-seat storage cubby, front step-through and cup holders. You will have a gorgeous lawn and more time to enjoy it.

The mower is valued at $3,500. Tickets are $100 each and are limited to a total of 75. But you can enter as many times as you like until all 75 tickets are sold. Hurry and purchase your ticket online before they sell out!

https://mabopanekids.org/benefit-raffle

Come and enjoy food and fellowship and  BID WITH PASSION to benefit our beautiful Ya Bana children.

HEARTS AND HANDS

Gathered around the new register at the March 12 Pop-Up Sale are (left to right) Connie Betbeder, Terri Feiertag, Donna Willis, and Holly Rucker.
This month, we honor two individuals and their respective groups who demonstrate love through service: Donna Willis and our group of other cashiers, cashier counters and assistants and Board Member Mike McCarty and his Fuquay-Varina UMC Bible Study Group.

Donna Willis began working at the Mabopane Foundation Mission House more than 6 years ago at the invitation of long-time volunteer, Barbara Martin. “I totally fell in love with Mabopane,” said Donna. “I started as a floater; but when the opening for a cashier became available, I jumped at the opportunity.”

Donna has served faithfully as a cashier at our Pop-Up sales - primarily on Fridays. But she has also been willing to pitch in whenever and wherever she is needed. During the Christmas season she cashiered for three straight days at the open house events. And it is not unusual when someone else is serving as cashier for her to serve in some other capacity at the sales.

“We have come a long way since our days outside using a cashbox and calculator when the weather was often less than ideal and we needed a propane heater and handwarmers because of the cold. We can laugh about it now, but I can remember having to come inside the Mission House to finish cashiering because of an approaching hurricane. Thankfully, we have now “graduated” to an enclosed and weather-controlled carport where we began cashiering with an actual cash register and credit card reader. But very recently, to simplify the cashiering process even more, we acquired a new register which has a built-in card reader. (By its official name, it is known as a Fully Integrated Square Point of Sale System Register) It has been fun over the years to use some of my training skills to help other willing volunteers become familiar with the cashiering process. It certainly isn’t nearly as difficult as it appears—particularly with the new register. It just takes a little focus and a pinch of patience—especially on half-price days. We had some training recently for persons interested in learning to cashier or captain at the Pop-Up Sales.

It is a privilege to serve alongside some of the most wonderful volunteers with whom I have since become dear friends. All of us have the same goal—to serve the Lord and provide for the precious Ya Bana children. Because I have the privilege of cashiering often, I can catch up with those who shop regularly. Many of them have also become sweet friends; and I love it when one or more call out to me by name. Of course, there is always a bit of teasing going back and forth. It has been a blessing to use some of my retirement hours for the glory of God. My favorite scripture verse is Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) which says: “The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing.”

A big thank you to board member, Daniel Jebaraj for volunteering to cashier at some of the sales, for evaluating the Fully Integrated Square Point of Sale System Register and, along with the IT Committee, recommending it to the Board for purchase.  Daniel has also been available to help with training.

And a big thank you to ALL the volunteers who help with the cashiering process.

HEARTS AND HANDS—continued

“My name is Mike McCarty and I have served as a Board member here at Mabopane since June 2021. My wife, Sylvia, and I live in Holly Springs, North Carolina and are members of Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church. We were first introduced to the Mabopane Foundation in 2020 and have both enjoyed taking active roles in the work of the foundation and volunteering. We have two beautiful children, Sean and Kaci, who follow Christ and attend Florida Southern College and Fuquay-Varina High School, respectively. 

Sylvia and I are members of a Bible study small group which has met weekly for the past three years, both in person and virtually due to COVID. Our purpose is to study the Bible and spiritually grow closer to God as well as each other in the process. A few months ago, our small group participated in a service opportunity which we learned about from Hope Community Church in Apex. It is known in several church communities as the Mina Project. (Ed. Note: A mina is a unit of currency used in the eastern part of the world in ancient times. The Book of Luke 19:11-26 contains a parable involving the mina that shows how investing wisely brings about a bigger return.) Participants in the project were given a small amount of money, like $10 or $20, and asked to find creative ways to multiply God’s blessings. As the Gospel message is clear; whatever we have is to be used to invest in the Kingdom of God. Our generosity to those in need is simply a reflection of His generosity towards us.

Our small group decided for our Mina project to make artwork from tobacco sticks and donate some of the artwork to the Mabopane Mission House for the sales events in March. The history behind these tobacco sticks is fascinating. The sticks came from a local farm in Fuquay-Varina off HWY401 and were donated to our small group by Randy and Daniel Vuncannon, who told us that the sticks have been in their family for 80+ years and were last used at their farm back in the 1960’s.

After much discussion and collaboration among small group members, we ended up creating several different tobacco stick designs,which include a design in the form of the state of North Carolina, the shape of a star and one design which has a cross at its center. Our group met three or four times over several weekends as we created templates, cleaned the sticks, cut and nailed the sticks and burned them slightly to enhance their appearance. The pictures below show the pieces of artwork we created in greater detail.

We hope that this service project serves God well and that the proceeds from the artwork sales will allow the Mabopane Foundation to further support the precious children at the Ya Bana Village this year.”
Featured here with our pieces of art are our small group members (from left to right: Sylvia McCarty, Mike McCarty, Paula Everett, Jonathan Everett, Leigh Holmes, Kristi Brown, Paul Brown, Jolene Linehan, Brian Linehan, Bridgette Rose, Lee Holmes, and Dale Rose. Not pictured group members – Michelle Platts and Jeremiah Guffey).

A LETTER FROM SAMMY

A Former Resident of Ya Bana Village
Dear Mabopane Foundation:

The story of my life is interesting enough. My life began on 8/16//1999 in South Africa, where I was delivered at 01:00 am to my mother.

I came to Ya Bana, my new family, at age 9, with my 2-year-old little brother Dakalo. My little brother and I grew up with love and studies. We lived at Yellow House with Mama Kgomotso.
Young Sammy
The most important thing about Ya Bana Village is that they have love, care and kindness. God’s word is taught. This is what helps us to believe in ourselves. We enjoy sports, art and dance. We even get to visit the most beautiful places! We get to experience good things because someone out there cared and gave something to us. They have shown us the heart of giving and therefore we go into our community and give back.

We thank all the people who wake up every day just to see us happy and having the best future. Thank you very much Mabopane Foundation.

Many of you are old now. I would like to thank you for spending your last time in life doing good to children like me in South Africa; giving us the opportunity to have the best future. You are so loving!
An older Sammy with his younger brother Dakalo
Sammy in the solar room at Ya Bana Village Village
Now I live outside Ya Bana on my own. However, I’m working there with the solar panel systems in the village. I do my training with Mr. Roger. I also help him outside the village doing projects. I still do my music and love playing the guitar and singing.

Thank you for everything you are doing.
Please keep on doing good. God bless you! We are all keeping you in our prayers.
Sammy practicing guitar with his Ministry Friend, Bobby Dobbs


Kind Regards, Sammy

A VERY SPECIAL LETTER
TO OUR VOLUNTEERS

Mabopane Volunteers: thank you for the unexpected birthday wishes. I’d like to also thank you for something that gives me much pleasure—the smiles on those little faces in Ya Bana. Because of you, those little people are—likely for the first time in their lives—warm, well-fed, and loved.

You are giving them a chance to become responsible parents of another generation of smiling children. Long after you are gone, there will still be smiling faces in South Africa because you cared.

Thanks again, Ken VanGooder

3913 US Hwy 64W Apex, NC 27523
(919).362.8974
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