We were able to spoil some expectant mothers from a local crisis centre. It was our great privilege to be able to treat these brave women – who have come through so much – during this difficult time of their lives. Breakfast, gifts, and a whole lot of love filled our time together! (Note: faces blurred to protect privacy)

The children presented the faithful refuse collectors with Christmas parcels full of food and goodies. Such grateful and glad reactions!

The children at this underprivileged creche are so precious. They often come from troubled families, and need a lot of love and encouragement in the right direction. In addition to helping them with foodstuffs and educational materials during the year, we like to do something special for Christmas. Each child got their own present – and oh what joy as they looked them over and began playing with them! We also played games with them, which was so much fun! Goodie bags with snacks and sweeties rounded off the event, and even the teachers got their own “thank you” parcel for the faithful care they give, day in and day out.  

Hundreds of families gathered eagerly to receive their Christmas parcels; apples, oranges, bananas, potatoes, and carrots; then for the adults, lotion, sunglasses, and a packet of balloons for the festive season! The children also were given a toy each, as well as a goodie bag of snacks and sweeties. Best of all and most importantly, 150 individuals accepted the call to receive Jesus as their Saviour, which for us is most wonderful and inspiring!  

What a wonderful time we had last week; spending time interacting with and giving gifts to the children of the Sive Nathi care centre. These children are severely mentally and physically disabled, and have very little opportunity to enjoy life in the ways we are accustomed to: walking, dressing themselves; even talking is almost impossible. Thanks to donations, we were able to give foodstuffs to the centre, as well as a toy for each child. We brought along some bubble blowing bottles and soft cuddles. Each child was able to get something they liked! Even E – a young man who has been at the centre for many years – got his own Gospel music album to enjoy! The bubbles especially were a huge hit and the children loved watching them float around and attempting to pop them. We were able to spend personal time with the kids, just loving them up and watching them respond to that love. Also, for the special men and women who care for the children, a gift bag full of Christmas treats and presents! Always smiling, singing, and so positive; they care for these young cerebral palsy patients with so much love and patience that we felt honoured to present them with this token of thanks. Here you see the packing of the bags and the staff receiving them. Thank you to our sponsors for making Christmas special for these faithful staff members!

There truly is something wonderfully beautiful and extremely powerful about Christmas. It brings heaven back into our thoughts and lives. Because of this, we often find Christmas music some of the most resonant and peaceful to listen to. Recently, we were all invited to a Carols by Candlelight service in a nearby garden. We had an amazing time as we joined hundreds of others in fellowshipping, singing, and praising God for the miracle of Christmas. Young and old, we were blessed to be there!

For World AIDS Day, we gifted food parcels to the patients at the Fisantekraal clinic. The medical staff at the clinic were holding an AIDS awareness event and had asked us to help them with this event by bringing food for each patient. All the mothers, children, and elderly individuals went away happy with both fresh food and non-perishable food items, like soup packets, tea, tins etc. Just days before the project, a local business had donated sunglasses, which turned out to be a real hit with everyone!