JOY News 07/2025
Thursday, July 24, 2025
Letter July 2025
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Romans 5:1-5
These verses have been on my heart over the last few months, and as I type this letter, the words of these verses have poured over my soul. There is much to report in this letter, and I would like to keep my introduction brief.
I want to apologize for the delay in writing to you. I have had some trouble gaining a decent internet connection while traveling.
Ethiopia
We began our journey this year in Ethiopia. We went there to have our annual Vacation Bible School program and meet with the Church@VICKtory for a couple of Sundays. God once again showed up and showed out, and we saw about sixty kids accept the Lord as their Savior! We continue to praise God for this, as we had some who were saved last year actively witnessing to kids this year - what a blessing! When we announced the opportunity to come forward and receive Christ, we would see some of the kids signing to others and encouraging them to follow Christ. Witnessing to others is excellent evidence of their commitment to God made last year.
Once the VBS was finished, we met again on the final Sunday with the Church. After the services, my mom, Faye Dykes, fell outside and broke the bone connecting the leg to the hip. This was probably the longest week of all our lives. The leg was not the main problem, as with most people of her age, there are always other complications. Her sodium level bottomed out, and we were having a hard time finding the proper medications that she needed. Many of you who follow us on Facebook may recall the prayer requests we made, and God answered them. We were able to get her back to the United States, and she walked out of the hospital in Cochran, GA, last week! Please continue to pray for her as there is a long road of recovery ahead, but God is not finished with her yet.
Many miracles occurred during this time, and numerous prayer meetings took place in the hospital waiting room with our friends and family. What a great testimony this was to the staff at the hospital, and a showing of faith spoke to many people.
She required me to continue the missions if she were able to get home. My heart wanted to go with her and be there for her, but my wife, brothers, and even she encouraged me to continue the mission I was on. Events like this are one of the challenging aspects of our work as Missionaries.
Egypt
After Ethiopia, I was able to make the trip to Egypt. I met up with my pastor, John Estes, and the Reach Missions team God had sent. There was a Youth Conference there, and this was the first one they had ever done. What a blessing this trip was in so many ways. We did not know how many youth would be in attendance, but God blessed us with approximately three hundred young people from several churches around Egypt.
We had a great time with these precious young people and spent a lot of time ministering to them. Many were saved at the conference, committing their lives to God. What a blessing this was. I also made many new friends.
The biggest blessing of this trip was meeting a group of young men who, by all accounts, were part of a street gang. I knew when God spoke to my heart to sit down with them and talk with them, that I was dealing with a group of kids who were addicted to things and living a very rough life. My heart was overjoyed when I was able to lead many of them to Christ. I watched and tried to disciple them throughout the week, but the biggest blessing was Thursday evening, when I met with them and brought a trash can into the middle of the group. I asked them to throw away what they were holding. I challenged them to be strong and give these things to God. We were able to begin a brotherhood, and I connected them to a leader. Please keep these guys in your prayers.
I am looking forward to returning to Egypt and meeting up with them to continue what God has started here.
Pray with me for Reach Missions and Dr. Archie Norman as he navigates the mission. They have many works laid before them, and I know God is going to do great things through Reach!
Botswana
As I write this, I have been in Botswana for ten days now. What a movement from God here as I hit the ground running. I have received my five-year resident and work permit. Thank you to those who have been praying for this. We have been given a great opportunity.
I encourage everyone to follow us on Facebook. You can look up "John Travis Dykes," and follow us for real-time updates as we are on a mission.
As many of you are aware, we have been actively seeking support for our inaugural Bible Boot Camp for new pastors. When I wrote last time, we had a few individuals whom we were inviting to this, but now the number has increased to around nine or ten who have fully surrendered to God to preach and teach His word in Botswana.
Many of them were convicted last year at Emelang's funeral, but have been faithful in following through with their commitment to God. We have begun classes with three men in Gaborone. These three have committed to meeting with Carella and me three days a week, and we will be investing in them to prepare them to teach and preach. In August, we will be hosting our two-week Bible Bootcamp, where we will bring together the individuals we are teaching daily for a period of separation from the world. During this time, we will provide them with the tools they need to carry the Gospel and discipleship throughout Botswana. This time of training marks the beginning of something great, and God is at work.
While we were making plans for this training, God presented us with an opportunity that we had not even been aware of. The Lady, Ma Gofa, who is the owner of the hotel we have been using for several years now for the ministry, informed us that she has to sell her property. She has a deep desire to see this property used for God's purposes, rather than for worldly things, and through many meetings, we have decided to pursue the purchase of this property. To view our video interview with Ma Gofa and a walkthrough of the property, you can click here: Video.
I have shared with many of you, both in person and through letters, our desire to establish our first JOY Life Center, and this location is ideally suited to begin this work that will ultimately lead to a church plant in Gaborone. However, we are under a time constraint, and we must raise $40,000 as quickly as possible. So far, we have raised around $20,000 through Facebook. The first $40,000 is to pay off the bank so that they do not seize the property and sell it, giving us time to raise the remaining money needed to purchase the property fully.
Appeal and Plan
We will need approximately $400,000 to purchase the property outright. I have made Steps to reach this goal to make it easier to understand:
Step 1: Raise the initial $40,000 to pay off the bank.
Step 2: Raise $200,000 to help Ma Gofa and become full partners with her.
Step 3: We will utilize the property to help us cover the remaining costs, while continuing to raise support.
Step 3: We will initiate some business operations on the property and rent out a few sections to a Christian business, which will assist us in obtaining the remaining funds needed. During this step, we are examining measures that will support the Life Center. The property can help generate revenue while maintaining the ministry's integrity.
If you don't know what the Life Center will be, you can check that out at JOYMissions.com.
We praise God and trust in His will in all these things. This property would be a huge answer to prayer and put us way ahead of our timeframe for reaching Botswana.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this lengthy update. Please know we appreciate all of you who give and pray to make all this possible. Your love for us overwhelms us daily as we, together, you and all of us in Africa, reach the lost for Christ and minister in real ways to people.
In Christ,
The Dykes Family
"Reaching the unseen with JOY for Christ."