Hidden Treasure 2011 / 2012 Newsletter

By: Tere Basson – National Coordinator

The delegates at the 2010 Baptist Union Assembly will never forget the sound of leg irons and chains, dragging along the ground, as some of the ex-offenders from Pollsmoor Prison made their way to the front of the church, to share their testimonies. These were the ‘trophies of grace’ and ‘beautiful fruit’ resulting from the power of the Gospel shared through the lives of Jenny and Johnathan Clayton, from HOPE PRISON MINISTRY. Our hearts were warmed and our eyes filled with tears as we heard powerful testimonies shared and ‘AMAZING GRACE’ sung by one of the prisoners. I personally felt a deep conviction to come alongside the Clayton Family and do what I could, to support their ministry… and the obvious thought that dropped into my spirit was… they need a HIDDEN TREASURE SHOP!
The following week I got into my car and the search began. God was so faithful, and provided a perfect shop in a perfect spot at the no-so-perfect price, until a careful motivation and a few negotiations were made and we eventually ended up with a shop that is a real bargain! When a plan comes together, so quickly, it can only be God and this is what makes the work we do sooooo exciting!
It is a known fact that the public in general have spent most of their disposable cash by the 10th of January each year. It did not make ‘business sense’ to open HOPE HIDDEN TREASURE on the 13th of January 2011. BUT GOD has had His hand of favour on the shop, right from the outset. We are situated on the Main Road in Plumstead, Cape Town. The donations and the customers continue to pour in. We have truly enjoyed tremendous support from the churches in the area, and the general public as a whole.
A real treasure that we are blessed to have at our shop, is in the life of Charmaine Josephs. Charmaine came to know the Lord during her 5 year prison sentence for dealing in drugs, and surrendered her life to Jesus. She has been discipled through Jenny Clayton, and is now doing an excellent job as the Assistant Manageress at the Hope Hidden Treasure Shop. Whenever the opportunity comes her way, Charmaine shares the Gospel with customers, continually giving Him glory for the wonderful change He has brought about in her own life. She truly is a ‘shining light’ for Him. We give God all the glory for the work He is doing through this ministry.

NEWS FROM OUR STORES NATIONWIDE...

ALBERTON HIDDEN TREASURE
The Hidden Treasure shop in Alberton has been doing really well since it moved to a bigger store last year. In May, the Alberton shop received a temporary overseer. Mark Williams stepped in when Carmen Pretorius became the General Manager and Public Relations Manager for the Door of Hope. Mark is a Cooperative Baptist missionary from America. He and his wife, Sara, came over in April to partner with the ARISE ministry group. Mark has worked at places like John Deere and Caterpillar and knows the challenges and joys of bringing ministry to the work place. He loves the idea of using a Christian charity shop to help various ministries that need support. He is excited to become part of the Hidden Treasure organization.

ATHLONE HIDDEN TREASURE
We want to place on record our sincerest gratitude to our Faithful God for His provision and protection at the Rylands Shop in Athlone, Cape Town. We are indebted to all who have donated generously to the shop: we value their support of this vital ministry.
Our sincere thanks to all the volunteers who have unselfishly given of their time and energy in making the smooth running of the shop possible. We have just celebrated our 4th year of Ministry, and look forward to bearing more fruit for the King, wherever He places us.
We stepped out in faith at end of July this year and made a move!!! God opened a door for us in the Athlone CBD and we are so encouraged by the daily increase of customer support. We hope that the Cape Town Baptist Seminary students will still enjoy the benefits of a Hidden Treasure Shop in their area. As they come forward to serve in the shop, we hope to bless them with an income towards their studies.
The WPBWD Executive requested that we channel the majority of the profits raised from the Athlone Shop, to support the much needed ministry of the Parkhaven Old Age home. As a ministry of the WPBWD, the home provides safe and secure accommodation for 26 needy pensioners from churches in the area. We are excited about the future of this shop and the effective ministry God has in store for us there. Please pray for us in our attempt to gain the support of resourceful churches in the area.

BERGVLIET HIDDEN TREASURE
The Bergvliet shop continues to thrive in a very busy area! The all time RECORD for one month’s income was reached by the Bergvliet shop this year: Congratulations for record sales received during the month of May!! We are so proud of you as staff, and thank the Lord for His abundant provision! We welcome new members onto the Bergvliet Shop Management Board from June 2011: Rev. Mark Walters (Chairman), Portia October (WPBWD Executive) and Garth and Lisa Airey (Finance). Thank you so much for being willing to serve the Lord in this way.
God continues to provide for our shops in the most amazing ways! ‘Sea Gems CC’ recently
made a R40 000 donation of magnificent, imported shells, jewellery and handbags, to our Hidden Treasure Shops. What fun my daughter Shayley and I had, choosing the stock for our shops! He asked that we return once the stock had sold, for our next, free consignment!

EAST LONDON HIDDEN TREASURE
We celebrated our 8th Birthday in June this year! Since 2003 we have helped a variety of ministry projects through our Border Baptist churches. At every Management Board meeting God made sure we always had something to give! We can only thank the Lord for His faithful provision over these past 8 years.
Because of renovations being made in the centre we were in, we were forced to move the Shop to Berea, East London. This was a challenge as our regular customers and general public did not know where we were. We phoned the churches and promoted as much as possible. It wasn’t long before donations started pouring in. As we unpack, our goods sell like hot cakes!
During the cold winter months, we are always blessed to see the poor being able to buy lovely warm clothing at very affordable prices. Our customers often compliment our shop, proudly wear the clothing they have bought there, and go on to tell all their friends about their favourite Hidden Treasure Boutique.
On the 5th of July East London experienced a severe storm. The highways and businesses were flooded. We arrived at work to find the shop under 3 inches of water! We thank the Lord for the fact that apart from a few books and old electrical items, we suffered minimal damage. We spent most of the day sweeping water out of the shop, and had it all ‘spick and span’ in time for our visit and APPRAISAL from our National Coordinator, Tere Basson. She was delighted with our shop and we praise the Lord for all He has done!

KING WILLIAMS TOWN HIDDEN TREASURE
The shop in King Williams Town has been open since the 2 March 2009. Our goal has been raise funds for a safe house in King Williams Town where many poor and displaced people live and have no where to stay.
We have been blessed with a gift of a shop rent-free and for this we are grateful. This has enabled us to start saving towards our project even though sales and stock are erratic. We have an overseer and two manageress and volunteers to run the shop. Over the last two years these ladies have been faithful during good times and bad times. We give God the glory for what we have been able to achieve.

PIETERMARITZBURG HIDDEN TREASURE
On Monday 25 July, we spent a lovely morning with the Evergreen, of the Baptist North Church. Sandy Ellayer, Linda Moodly and myself enjoyed serving cupcakes, singing and using the icebreaker to inform the retired group how they could support us.
The moving of the shop is proving to be a slow process, but the progress made this far is very exiting and so we move forward with much anticipation for the finished project.

PORT ELIZABETH HIDDEN TREASURE
Mrs Gerda Stroud the overseer, Mrs Claire Gouws (Manageress) and Joann Schroeder (Manageress) from the PE shop went on a road trip to visit the other shops in the Eastern Province in February to encourage fellow workers together in the same ministry. They met with Nomzamo Landu the overseer of the King Williams Town shop and her staff and did some shopping. Then they travelled to East London to have fellowship with Lanie Wright and the ladies in that shop.
The staff at the Port Elizabeth shop have celebrated the 5th Birthday of the opening of the shop. Thank you to the volunteers who give of their time to service in the shop every week.

RANDBURG HIDDEN TREASURE
In April we celebrated our 5th Birthday with a delicious breakfast for 20 people. We are blessed with the original staff from when we opened our doors and we continue to enjoy God's blessing and favour as our shop grows and donations pour in. We are now well established and the shop has a life of it's own, with donations coming in from all walks of life and communities, not forgetting the strong support from our local churches. This month we were able to give the Salvation Army some of our extra winter stock. Our steady profits go to the Baptist Theological College in Randburg, where the management board and principle are most grateful. We in turn enjoy the support and extra hands that the college and students lends us.

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