Dear Ones, After an outstanding Christmas/New year’s celebration we are happy to be back in South Africa where the Lord called us to ministry years ago. There are as always many new challenges awaiting us, but we know that the Lord will not call us to a task that He will also not equip us for. So we are eagerly awaiting all the wonderful accomplishments, changed lives, etc. that this year will bring forth.
To each of our partners, friends and supporters, we THANK YOU! We could never do this work without a faithful team to rely on. Many of you have stood by us for years and thus our accomplishments are your accomplishments and we invite you to rejoice with us over all the wonderful changes/improvements.
SUPPLIES:
Here we are with one of our twice weekly food supplies from Woolies, which is a great help for Joyce’s Soup Kitchen in Sir LowAry’s Pass!
Stationery supplies for a young man in Sir Lowry’s Pass whose mother simply could not afford it.
GRACELIFE FAMILY DAY:
A special Family Day Braai was held by Gracelife Church. There were delicious boerwors rolls (of which we were able to sponsor 50 for half price to make them more readily available for our students from Sir Lowry’s
Pass), and lots of fun games, balloons and fellowship! A great time was had by big and small alike!
Every Sunday for church and frequently on Saturdays when a special conference is held, transportation is provided from Sir Lowry’s Pass to Stellenbosch and back, which is greatly appreciated by many. J
PLANS FOR THE NEW YEAR:
Our teaching has now started up in earnest again. We want to start by thanking Christiaan who is an outstanding teacher and filled the gap while we were visiting with our family. It is wonderful to be working with hard-working dedicated people like you! Thank you! This year the plan for this year is:
Monday evening: Bible studies. This will be for anyone interested, students old and new!
Thursday evening: Bible School, For those that would like to enroll, which would provide them with printed notes of each class, a certificate once the full Bible year curriculum has been covered and an official graduation ceremony at the end. The enrollment fee has been reduced to half price to make it more readily accessible. For those that are not able/interested in serious enrollment they will still be welcome to sit in whenever they want, but will be invited to take their own notes and will not be able receiving a certificate etc. at the end.
“Rooted’’ the basic discipleship course we covered last year, will also be made available for anyone who has not yet done it and would like a strong foundation to build on.
Friday: We will be doing special leadership training with the new leaders in the community.
2017 HIGHLIGHTS:
JANUARY:
Back to School event with special treats and gifts for the children to celebrate the new school year.
FEBRUARY:
New housing provided for single mother of 3 children. Sir Lowry’s Pass.
MARCH:
Big home improvements for another single mother. The room was divided to provide privacy as well.
APRIL:
Bible studies started teaching the benefits and rewards in entering into relationship with Jesus.
MAY:
A woman, who was suffering from asthma due to poor living conditions was helped to better housing.
JUNE:
Big generous Food Hampers were provided for some of the most needy families in Sir Lowry’s Pass.
JULY:
Better, safer and more comfortable housing provided for a family of three from Zimbabwe. Roof repair & furniture provided.
AUGUST:
Outside and inside walls were replaced in a house of a single mother of four. Sir Lowry’s Pass!
SEPTEMBER:
Plumbing installed for a family providing them with running water and drainage/shower, etc.
OCTOBER:
20 people graduated from a basic discipleship course which taught them how to walk in victory!
NOVEMBER:
We received approximately half a ton of chocolate ice-cream just in time for Christmas!
DECEMBER:
Besides the ice-cream we also distributed ducks and 35 Gift Cards of R 300 each per family!
Please bear in mind that the highlights shared above were just that. Besides that the Lord provided lots of supplies such as: food, personal hygiene supplies, building materials, etc. Also our Bible study group grew so that we moved to Emily’s Play School to more comfortably accommodate everyone.
This year we are praying for comfortable chairs (like plastic garden chairs), ceramic coffee cups, glasses, etc. If you would like to help with any of these needs please contact us. We will need a minimum of 30 chairs, cups, etc. to start with.
This year we will again be teaching three times a week and are excited to announce that our groups continue to grow. The Lord has great things in store for us in the year ahead and we are excited!