You can find their site at http://lesotho2012.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/mission-to-rachels-home-march-2012/

Please join us in the hall after the concert as well. There will be free refreshments and our 2012 mission team will be available to answer your questions about Rachel’s Children’s Home. Just look for the light blue t-shirts.

The event starts @ 7:30pm.

For more information or for tickets, please contact the church office Monday-Friday from 9-12 or Elsie @ (519) 620-4415.

On January 22, Stacey & Donnie will be cooking up a storm.  So what’s on the menu? Spaghetti & Meatballs, Salad and maybe something special for dessert.

Proceeds from the dinner will support our 2012 mission in Lesotho. So stick around after church, have a great meal and support our mission.

The Author in Lesotho

It all started with a speech by Stephen Lewis, the world-renowned HIV/AIDS activist. Lewis was speaking at a convention for the Ontario Hospital Association in 2004. His impassioned speech was about his experiences as the UN special envoy to Africa and the atrocities caused by AIDS throughout the continent. At the end of the speech, the room rose as one to give him a standing ovation. “Don’t just applaud, Do something!” he said.

Within a few days OH Africa was born as a joint initiative between the Ontario Hospital Foundation and the Change Foundation.

In December 2004, the first team of Canadian health care professionals and HIV experts arrived at Tšepong Clinic to work side by side with their Basotho colleagues to establish what quickly became the largest HIV treatment centre in Lesotho.

Tšepong Clinic was one of the first public HIV/AIDS treatment centers opened in Lesotho when antiretroviral therapy treatment became available to developing nations at an affordable cost.

Tšepong means “Place of Hope” in the Sesotho language, and Tšepong Clinic is just that; A place of hope.

One of the early pioneers was a young doctor from the Cambridge Memorial Hospital, a South African named Dr. Johan Redelinghuys. In the course of his time in Lesotho, Johan came to know a remarkable young woman named Hilda Seforo.

Hilda and her husband Godwill, had begun taking in and raising orphaned abandoned children. Over time, they established a primary school and a registered orphanage which Hilda named Rachel’s Home after the biblical character of the same name and this bible verse:

This is what the LORD says: “A cry is heard in Ramah–deep anguish and bitter weeping. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted–for her children are gone.” -Jeremiah 31:5 NLT

Johan became convinced that education was the key to Lesotho’s war on AIDS. He was certain that a generation of well-educated young Basotho people could tackle the issues of poverty, despair and ignorance that were the root causes of the epidemic. This was how the war would be won.

When he returned to Canada, Johan brought these convictions with him. There, he was introduced to Elsie Botha, who would become the leader of Central’s mission to Rachel’s Home.

This was the birth of Central’s Penny Project and the genesis of our mission.

To be continued…

Lesotho Mission 2009

Would you like to know how you can get involved?

Would you like to know how you can help Central give hope to 50 children?

We can arrange to have a speaker come to your event. We have a large team of  volunteers who have experienced Maputsoe first-hand. Each of us has our own story to tell. Each of us can give you a very personal glimpse into our Mission at Rachel’s Children’s Home.

For more information or to arrange a speaker, you can contact us at rachelshome@cpcmail.ca or you can contact the church office at (519)  623-1080.

Bruce Jones: teacher, elder, athlete

Three runners from Central took to the streets in October to raise money for Rachel’s Home.

The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon took place on Oct. 16. Central’s own Bruce Jones ran the marathon.

Alistair McIlwraith and Greg Gowing each ran 5K.

The Race

Bruce said he started to feel the pain during his last few kilometers. When asked if he would do it again, he replied, “Of course, it’s for a good cause.”

The ER staff at Cambridge Memorial also took part in the race. Dr. Johan Redelinghuys organized the team and almost all of them ran the marathon.

This is a huge undertaking. The team’s commitment and drive raised a large sum for Rachel’s Home (the exact tally has not been released yet). They trained for months and raised the funds on their own. Rumour has it they want to do it again next year.

Thank you so much for running for Rachel’s Home!

Dr. Johan Redelinghuys (Centre Bright Blue T-shirt) ER Team

Bruce: Glad to be done

Our catalogue lists the many ways that you can support our children at Rachel’s Home.

Come join us for lunch after the service on Sunday December 4th. Elsie and Anne will prepare the second of their home cooked meals. The cost is $10/person with the proceeds going to support our 2012 mission to Rachel’s Home. Stay tuned for the January date to be announced as well.

We are now less than four month from our departure date. On March 7th, with Elsie as our leader, we will begin the long journey back to Rachel’s Home. Events like this are vital to our ongoing efforts to improve their lives and remind them that we haven’t forgotten them and they still have a future.

The Market was a success!

Last weekend the Lesotho Christmas Market raised funds for Central’s Lesotho Mission 2012.

Clothes, crafts, chili, books and baked goods flew out of the church hall and into the hands of Cambridge citizens who came out to support our HIV/AIDS orphanage, Rachel’s Home, in Lesotho, Africa.

Special thanks to everyone who donated to our cause, the Lesotho 2012 Mission team, and all the volunteers who made this day possible.

“Our mission team this year is far bigger than just the 30 people who are going…It still thrills me to see the people, who happily do more than just donate, who pitch in and help, even though they themselves won’t get the ultimate prize. The opportunity to see, first hand, the impact we have on the lives of Libesang and Kaebetsoe and Thuso (children at the orphanage) and all the rest,” said Greg Gowing, a Lesotho team member.

The Bakery