Many of you know I've been praying for God to reveal His way forward for a long time now. Well, I think that He might be revealing some of the answers this week through Liz and Anita as they visit me...
Just over a week ago, Liz (my sister) and her friend Anita arrived for a 2-week stay. We've certainly packed a lot into these weeks and they are not over yet! (I'm planning a quiet weekend...) Anita sponsors several children at GGA and wanted to spend some time with them so we've spent a fair amount of time up there.
Firstly Church@GGA has been interesting. I returned from the UK keen to start Youth Alpha with the kids but we were greeted on the first Sunday back with a visit from a group from the Zion Church. That would have been fine except they were under the impression that they were going to run the church there from now on, which would not do at all. Google them if you want to know why... Anyway, after a morning with them, the children were upset and we were not too happy either. Praise God that the situation was sorted this Sunday and now we are back on track to start Alpha next Sunday, just a week later than planned. So far, 29 children aged 11 and over have signed up and it looks like it could be an amazing course. Please remember us in your prayers over this term.
We've also spent a bit of time catching up with a couple of older GGA boys who've been relocated to a township in Pietermaritzburg. It was great to see them and also challenging as they were already out of the food that had been given to them. Thankfully we had some food to leave with them and we've popped back today to check on them. It's obvious that their spirits are lifted by our visits and so I've no intention of stopping seeing them... In fact, plans are coming together to help them in alternative ways. More details to follow soon...
Also, Liz's church - Triangle in Ipswich - has been sponsoring a family in the valley of Mophela and today we arranged a visit to them. We collected the local community health worker this morning and took her with us as well as Siyabonga, Anita's sponsor child. Liz had been given some money to buy food for the family and we had a good time in Spar yesterday purchasing lots of different food to give them. I'd visited 3 years ago with my parents and I could thankfully remember where the house was. We borrowed a wheelbarrow from a neighbour and took the food down to the house. The oldest girl in the family was there and she was overwhelmed by the gift to them. It was a real blessing as today they were down to their last bit of food and she had been praying for a miracle. There are 6 people there including 2 small children and they were all grateful for the donation.
While we were there Anita and Liz got to pray with her and to encourage her. We also discovered they want some chickens and have built a chicken coop but couldn't afford them. So we set off to find a man who could sell us some and after a few enquiries we found some chickens. However, only kids were at home and the chickens were out wandering so we couldn't get them there and then, but we arranged with the CHW to collect them later on. Apparently chickens regroup in the evening and are easier to catch!
I'd brought along some woolly hats that my Grandma had knitted and the children were really excited to receive these. It was chilly first thing but then the sun came out and the hats were still on their heads. They will be useful when the cold season starts again later in the year. Photos to follow...
In amongst all this, we've managed to pack in a quick trip to the Game Reserve over the bank holiday and finally saw some lions. Later in the week the girls are treating me to a Spa Day which will be lovely and relaxing. We are having an amazing time but also we are quite tired. We've prayed together a lot and we know that God has brought us together for a purpose and for such a time as this. There will be many more good times together. I've also realised that my time in South Africa is not over yet and that I must stay longer and trust God to provide for my needs. It feels good and it's exciting to be a part of established and new ministries out here.
Please continue to pray for God to direct His work out here, and as I said before, there are very exciting new projects in the pipeline and I'll reveal more about it in due course...
