On New Year’s Eve, Francois, the host of CCFM’s “Time to Decide” radio show, invited several of us to join him on this last day of the year. We talked about all the Lord did during 2013; mentioning some of the highlights and miracles, and were able to say a few words of encouragement for the coming year. Francois asked one of us to end the show with a prayer for 2014, and Frank prayed and asked the Lord to help everyone -in the studio and listening- to remember to simply love Jesus and show His Love to others in any way possible; a smile, a helping hand, a word of encouragement, or a kind deed. We were blessed to have this time, and have the opportunity to remind everyone that we are here for a reason, and that Jesus has a special plan for each of us! And, through the smses that came in, we were inspired to see that the Lord led Francois (and each of us) to speak words that spoke specifically to listeners’ hearts. What a great way to end the year!  

While we were busy with Christmas outreach and projects here in South Africa, two of our Helping Hand members in the Netherlands -Suzanne and her son Caleb- were busy spreading the Gospel in their part of the world! They booked stalls at local markets and were able to share the message of God’s love through books, CDs, Activated magazines, and hundreds of Gospel pamphlets.      

It is the first day of a brand new year; 2014! The year ahead is like an unwritten book. Its pages are blank and have yet to be filled with all that will be accomplished in the next 365 days. Let’s pray each of us will fill every page with deeds of faith, hope, and love: always remembering that “the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13) Have a happy love-filled New Year!

During the month of December, children, adults, volunteers and staff members spent countless hours sorting and packing gift bags and hampers for the disadvantaged. All in all we distributed food and gifts to over 6500 people.  Thank you all so much for being a part of this work!    

Last week we traveled up the West Coast to a small town called Laingville near St. Helena’s Bay, where hundreds of children were invited to the local community hall for a Christmas show. A short DVD explaining the meaning of Christmas and some interactive songs were part of the program. After talking to the children about our first-ever Christmas present, Jesus, and how He wants to be a part of our lives, Amy (12) let 402 Children in a Salvation prayer. Part of the afternoon’s programme was the distribution of advent calendars, drinks, chocolates, toys, and goodie bags. What fun the children had peeking into their bags and finding all their “treasures.” What fun WE had having the opportunity to put the “Christ” into Christmas for these sweet children.  

More than 1500 people (including 591 children) were left destitute when a fire ripped through the informal settlement in Valhalla Park on the Eve of Christmas. The day after Christmas we collected and loaded two large van-loads of goods to distribute to these people. Included in the goods were enough chocolates and toys for all the children. We arrived at the civic center to unload the goods and found social workers who hadn’t slept for days, overwhelmed with the task of caring for so many with so little resources. When they saw the volume and variety of goods we had brought they were touched to tears and gratefully hugged us and thanked us for coming. Thank you for helping us to help these fire victims in their time of need.