As the seasons change and we draw closer to winter, I’m looking back at the past month with a grateful heart.
We celebrated Easter and with the support of a local sponsor, we able to distribute 450 copies of Lion and Mouse’s Easter Adventure worksheets to local schools and cheches. May we never get caught up in Easter Egg hunts and chocolate bunnies that we forget what Jesus has done for us. This was my first sponsorship and a great success.
Another milestone worth celebrating is that Cowboys don’t Cry – Level 1 has been uploaded to the website. There will be 3 levels to this course as we progress deeper into emotions, emotional awareness and find ways of bringing our our joy and pain to God. There is no cost to sign up. My dream with this is to plant groups that will meet and provide a safe space for men to be honest, to drop the mask that says, “I’m fine”, a place where tired Cowboys can Cry when they need to. Please note that this is not counselling and is meant to be used in self study and small group work.
Behind the scenes: There were quite a few obstacles that I encountered when I set out to build the course. I spent days building, uploading and testing only to find that I’d have to spend $200 a year for a plugin to have the course work like a proper LMS. At one point I got very upset and frustrated. With a bit of tinkering and a long conversation with Google Gemini, we figured out how to host a course, while also asking men to sign up with an email address. I would like to be able to reach out to men who have done the course for feedback, so having their contact details is essential.
I’ve also started building an Afrikaans section of the website. This has been something that I’ve wanted to do for a while and men have asked me when material will be available in their mother language. It’s going to take time to get there, and I appreciate your understanding. I work full time and translating takes time.
Something else I’ve been planning is the Launch of a YouTube and TikTok. I’m having some equipment issues and have recently bought a cordless microphone.
As you can see there is a lot happening on this side. I’ve also recently had a another local minister offer to walk with me and support me in my ministry. This is a huge blessing and something that I have needed for a while now. The amount of opportunities out there is really exciting. At the same time, I’m looking to grow the ministry sustainably. If I sign up for services that cost $10 to $20 a month that will place stress on a ministry that currently doesn’t have a regular income. I also don’t want to rob men of the blessing of partnering with me in what I’m doing. In May the ministry will be 1 year old and I’ve been carrying it alone while paying for hosting and printing costs. I don’t ever want someone to feel they are being forced to give, or that I am upset if they don’t or can’t afford to. Anchor and Ember is a labour of love and I’m going to invite men to walk with me so that we can reach more men with the message that God gave us the emotions we have, that they can be a blessing and that God wants to heal our emotional pain.
Thank you to everyone who has walked with me this year, for every prayer you’ve said for me. It matters.
~ Martin