THE minister at Okehampton's Inspiration Church, Mike Davies, has returned from a trip to South Africa where he visited several churches and a facility for homeless children.

Mr Davies was invited by various churches to speak at either Sunday services or conferences and decided to make the most of it by combining family holiday with speaking assignments.

He first visited a church in Muldersdrift, near Johannesburg, and spoke at two well attended meetings.

He was then a guest of the Bethany House Trust in Johannesburg and was provided with a tour of the facilities by the principal.

Bethany House Trust is a charity which provides accommodation to homeless and orphaned children in Johannesburg.

It also runs counselling services for children who have been attacked or abused and works closely with many schools.

The facility provides a home for more than 40 children and supports some 500 children every month through local schools.

Mr Davies said that it was great to see accommodation at such a high level all with modern facilities.

'The aim of Bethany House Trust is to make every child feel like they are receiving the same love and support as other children and to give them the same level of facilities,' he said.

The minister, who has recently been co-opted onto Okehampton Town Council, was then a guest of churches in Fish Hoek near Cape Town, and spoke at El Shaddai, one of the larger churches in Durbanville, Cape Town.

He then travelled to Port Elizabeth and Jeffreys Bay speaking to four church groups in Port Elizabeth and one in Jeffreys Bay.

This was his eighth visit to South Africa and he said that although there had been some major changes in ten years there were still a lot of people, especially children, with no hope for a better tomorrow.

He added that culturally, church life in South Africa was very different to the UK.

In South Africa many churches had weekly attendances well into the thousands and expected a lot more than a 20 minute sermon.

Inspiration is currently collecting old mobile phones and empty printer cartridges to raise funds for the Joshua Project in Jeffreys Bay.

This is a project that feeds and educates street children.

Items can be donated directly to The Inspiration Centre at the corner of Northfield Road and Crediton Road, Okehampton.