Families serve as overseas missionaries
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

OUT OF AFRICA- - The Heintz family returns to Thousand Oaks after living in South Africa 15 months, working on community projects for Lily of the Valley, an AIDS orphanage in the village of Mophela. From left are Nina, Sharon, Anika, Tim and Seina .

Spitting cobras that can shoot venom into the eyes of a victim 10 feet away are what frighten Krysta Christensen most as she prepares her family to move to Africa.

The Thousand Oaks wife and mother is willing to sell her home and all her possessions to travel with her family across an ocean and help impoverished people and AIDS orphans in an African village. If things go as planned, the Christensen family will take the place of another Thousand Oaks family who just returned from that village.

"It may sound silly, but I do worry about the spitting cobras," she said. "They can permanently blind people if their venom gets into your eyes."

Contracting tuberculosis or AIDS is something she's not concerned about, even though the area the Christian missionaries are hoping to move to is severely impoverished, with unemployment at around 90 percent and an estimated HIVpositive rate somewhere between 60 and 80 percent

"I've learned about TB and AIDS, and I'm not worried about being infected with them," she said.

When she and her husband, Dave, first met with officials of the Agourabased Lily of the Valley Endeavor and the need in South Africa was described to them, they looked at each other with great excitement, she said.

"What is needed is wide open, and that is just the kind of place we wanted to go," Krysta said. "We get to help kids and the community learn to be productive and give them hope."

That is just what the local Heintz family spent 15 months doing for LoVE. Tim Heintz, a composer who's written musical scores for movies such as "Gone in 60 Seconds" and "Enemy of the State," and his family were helping the people of Mophela, a village about 40 miles from Durban, a coastal city on the Indian Ocean. His family includes his wife, Sharon, and their three daughters.

While they were there they managed the community projects, taught computer classes, built a medical clinic and were involved in farming, building a performance amphitheater, developing small businesses and giving out food.

They rented out their house and put their possessions into storage, not knowing when they would return to California, Heintz said.

The Christensens and their five children would also be going without a return date. Both families said they felt they were called by God. The families go to help improve the lives of those who live there, which includes taking care of their physical needs as well as their spiritual needs by testifying of the Savior Jesus Christ.

"We will not force our beliefs on anyone, but we are there to teach people about Jesus Christ," Dave said.

Before he can do that, he said, they have to sell their home and find sponsors who will pay their $3,000 per month expenses in Africa. The airline tickets are also a big expense for his large family, he said.

"It's not been easy to get everything in order so we can go there," Krysta said. "We know this is really what God wants us to do, but that doesn't mean that everything will go perfectly. Our faith will get us through."

For stories about the Heintz family's adventure, go to www.timheintz.com/ africandiary.html.

To learn more about LoVE, go to www.lilyvalleyusa.com.