We had a very special time celebrating Anthony’s 80th birthday with family and friends! This milestone is a very special marking of the Lord’s faithfulness and anointing through all the many (over 55 years) of full time non-salaried missionary service! And how wonderful to be surrounded by such a large family of so many different loved ones! Praise the Lord!
Some ladies from a crisis center-where we teach devotions weekly- were treated to a special “tea and treasures” time together.
The circumstances and background story of each one are as different as the ladies themselves. This event also gave them a way to open up a bit about their lives and the heart-breaking challenges they face. We were so touched to hear about all they have bravely faced and felt privileged to bring a bit of love and light into their difficult lives. We sat, ate, and fellowshipped – it was wonderful!
Each lady was presented with chocolates, lotion, facemask, nailpolish, a handbag mirror, lipgloss, jewelry, and a “From Jesus With Love” book. They were so sweet, appreciative, and thankful for this gesture and we all thoroughly enjoyed celebrating and encouraging these special women.
We prepared appreciation packs of chocolates and cool drink, together with a Gospel poster, for 206 hard working ladies who help to run a orphanage, creche, soup kitchen, frail care, skills training centre, and library! These wonderful community pillars deserve every bit of thanks they get plus much more, and we were very pleased to see how happy these gifts made them!
For this Sunday School class, we divided the children into two groups of about 25 kids each, and had a friendly competition back and forth to see which group could name the most things they were thankful for, without naming the same things as the other group. We laughed and praised and were amazed to see how many beautiful unique praises the children came up with! We were also able to sing songs together, play some football, and send each one home with a cup of delicious warm oats!
“She was beautiful, for the way she thought. She was beautiful, for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful, for her ability to make other people smile, even if she was sad. No, she wasn’t beautiful for something as temporary as her looks.” -Scott Fitzgerald
How wonderful it is to have ladies in the world who are beautiful in their souls – who love Jesus and thus love others. Such women who hold on to their faith and are sure to share it whenever possible are absolutely stunning. God sees and knows, and His beautiful Light shines through such ones. Happy Women’s Day!
For a memorable and uplifting Mandela Day, we partnered with a whole team of volunteers from ASICS (who donated the wors and rolls) to hold a big event for two rural communities. We set out the braais, tables, and all the items, then worked together to make hundreds of food hampers – packed with fresh food and non-perishables, as well as basics like tissue paper and a Gospel poster or tract – and hand them out!
After receiving their hampers, each man, woman, and child also got a delicious boerie roll, together with a juice of their choice!
The fires were hot, all the hands busy, and the whole thing a great success!
What a great joy it was to see the many happy faces, and know that the seeds of care and message of “you are loved” linger and grow in the hearts of all who were there.
The two-week Grahamstown (Makhanda) National Arts Festival Outreach this year was wonderfully blessed, exciting, and full of God’s setups! The team was able to visit many individuals that had previously accepted salvation or exchanged details, and spend quality time ministering personally to them.
Immediate, known results are…
We were contacted and asked if we’d like to partner with The Department of Health in reaching out to new mothers. The plan from the department was to hand out pamphlets with much needed health info, and they thought if we could add practical items like nappies, it would make it a much greater blessing and immediate help for these moms and their little ones! By God’s Grace and through miraculous supply of items, the project has taken off! Over the last months, we have been a part of over 1500 moms receiving these packs with pamphlets, nappies, soaps, lotions, and clothing items!
