Jesus is the reason for the season...



Christmas morn...

although not all men in the prison ward were excited, Nathan couldn't wait to share his enthusiasm of Jesus' birth with them. Walking down the hallways of their cells he invited each man in the "Awaiting Trial" ward to come, those who were hesitant ended up coming anyway when they recognized that Nathan's sound system was so loud they couldn't escape the singing!

Using his harmonica to lead, they sang "Joy To The World", "O Come Let Us Adore Him" and "Silent Night" if they didn't know the words in English, they hummed or sang in Afrikaans.

Speaking with authority and in the power of the Holy Spirit, Nathan described all the characters to whom God gave divine invitations (thru signs and wonders of angels and star)... Mary, Joseph, the wise men, the shepherds... each was personally accountable to respond. God also speaks to us and we are responsible for our response. The angels rejoiced this Christmas like on the first one as 3 men made first time commitments and one shy man gave Nathan a note and invitation to come back and speak to him individually.

By the end it was clear all 30 were happy that they attended the service and even the prison warden expressed appreciation for the message! Thank you Lord for inviting us to celebrate the birth of Your Son!


After the prison



Nathan picked up 7 chickens, rolls and apple juice (looked like wine, but was juice) from the local supermarket with help of anonymous donor to feed a group of homeless.

One man still drunk from night of drinking, shed tears in unbelief that a complete stranger would come give him food while his own family chased him away...

After praying, some of them served while Nathan took pictures.

Having 2nds and 3rds, about 16 homeless ate 'til they couldn't eat any more.

Thank you Jesus, for coming to give us abundant life...

A celebration of Jesus day of birth that these children will not forget!

Wow, we had a tremendous day today.There were 20 kids at the party today. My helpers were so organized. After I opened in prayer we joined in song - "Oh Come Lets us Adore Him". The children sang with such vigor and passion, offering up true praise and adoration.

With much action and animation the nativity story unfoldeded with something that occurs months before the birth of Jesus it was a huge bright star, high in the sky... a sign leading three wisemen to find him. They tirelessly followed that sign (Star). There were also some shepherds in the field that God revealed another amazing wonder, they saw hundreds of choirs of angels in the night sky, like the millions of stars in the sky so was the sky filled with bright and beautiful angels singing about the glory of God and peace on earth. This must have been a sight to behold.

Getting both indidvidual response and group participation at one stage I got them to close their eyes and  asked them to tell me what all was in the stable. Wow, they name the animals... they visualised Mary and Joseph... the straw, the shepherds but one little fellow smelt the animal poop and straw because he has a pony and "the straw smells great!" When asked "why are we having a party today?" the sweetest little girl a visitor from Joburg, responded by saying "because Friday is Jesus birthday and I have to go somewhere else that day." Another piped up said "yes, we've got family coming and it better to have cakes today otherwise they'll just eat too much and we will get nothing" Then little Sheldon asked, "so how old is Jesus exactly?"
 
As we got to the part of the three wise men and the gift they brought I pulled out the "I KNOW" braclets and they almost asked in unison "I KNOW ...WHAT?" And Joshua shout at the top of his voice "JESUS !! stupid, why do you think we here?" We then chanted "I know" and they responded "JESUS" and we were loud!



We then served Juice and a huge plate of cupcakes, popcorn, crunchy and mash mallows. After telling them what the gift were they were each given a balloon. they ate and ate and ate, with popcorn all over, I then told them the story of the wine that ran out at the wedding and Jesus was called to come to the rescue which he did by get them to fill vats with water and by the time it was brought forth for the host to test it was wine , wow that was a miracle.
 
At this stage I had to leave to take JP to the bus station, by the time I returned they had finished eating and where watching the movie Sunday School Musical. Not all the kids were intersted in the movie so we played a few games and took lots of photos. I had lots of helpers Robert, Strawn, Marilugh, Mercy, Shade, Dylan and Simone. All the cupcakes and cookies muffins and crunchies were abundantly supplied by many of the moms and even from some of single ladies.

Hey Sweetheart,
(email from Nathan)
 
I just remembered I didn't send you a photo of Jean Paul Solomon, we attended Cornerstone Christian Collegue together. I moved to Knysna while JP visited and worked abroad for three years. Just having him visit to catchup and him have an opportunity to have some rest and relaxation. We did some fishing together, we cycled, did a short beach hike and also circumvented Liesure Island, visited a local pub to enjoy a hearty beer together, watched a couple of dvd's together and cooked some great and gourmet meals together. We took in some of the local sites like The Knysna Heads and The Knysna Water Front.

JP holds down three jobs, but next year he will be attending UCT University of Cape Town. Besides catching up we took the odd opportunity to pray and encourage one another. I truly believe that as I shared our home with JP the Holy Spirit was doing his thing. God is at work in this young man's life. I pray God's peace over his life, and desire every success for his journey of life.

Wow, its good to know that I still have friends that still allows me the privilege to speak into his life.
 

This one didn't get away!
(email from Nathan)

2,2kg

I think the scientific name is Pomadasys argenteus (Fine-Spotted Grunter-Bream) . It was my shortest fishing trip. Extreme windy conditions, even kept our neighbor Aldo from going out with his boat.

Two casts - one bite - the fight of a lifetime!!

Adreniline landed the fish, it nearly flip flopped back into the water.

The date 12:12:09. I am a novice fisherman and have seen fishermen pull out fish to the left of me and to the right of me. But perseverance goes a long way.

I know God provided the fish because it will make the perfect meal for my friend from Cape Town.

"Who are,
Who are,
Who are we?"

"YELLOW BUCKS!!"

This chant could be heard through out the forest as Nathan and 6 other adults guided 62 children from Lhalane on a treasure hunt.

Meandering through the forest, broken up in to five groups, they followed a prescribed trail to find clues. Kids ranging from 2-12 yrs enjoyed the walk looking at various flora and fauna... birds chirping and monkeys watching from tree tops, giant ferns, yellow wood trees, as the path crossed over a river a number of times.



Deciding to use an army drill call, Nathan would call out "Who are, who are, who are we?" and the kids respond "YELLOW BUCKS, YELLOW BUCKS, ARE WE!" The kids tackled various obstacles with real passion and gusto. Once a clue was found Nathan would chant "Yellow Bucks" and they responded "MOVE ALONG!"

At the completion of the trail the groups gathered for cool drink and cake followed by hot dogs and ice cream. Feeding 62 highly energetic children was most challenging (I can only imagine if the cake and Coke was first!). The adult helpers were from The Island Church and YFC, they included Penny, Lois, Sue, Nico, Stella, Cynthia and Nathan.

Playing Mother Christmas, Sue handed out beautifully wrapped gifts for every child. The expression on each face was reward enough.

5:30 pm came all too soon for the kids (I am sure it wasn't soon enough for the helpers!), and after a double checked head count all were loaded up for the ride home. Nathan's micro bus was filled to the brim with bodies (22 kid) and full of noise as excitement and song provided a loud trip back.

There is no doubt that this was one of the highlights for Nathan this year as it is every year. To God be the glory for the privilege of hanging out with these under privileged kids who because of our relationship with them are getting to know and experience the love of Jesus in a practical way.

Wow! Friend, what an awesome privilege to officiate at the Baptism; a most solomn and special occasion. We first enjoyed an outstanding morning service, with an anointed and very obvious Holy Spirit presence filled praise and worship time. The Spirit was heavy in our meeting, almost like a thick cloud. It was one of those days when the spirit was manifested through many prophetic ways where words such as "Victoria Falls" ushered in a greater meaning, "Rivers of living
water", a cleansing and restoration. A word on angelic visitation. The spirit was also manifested in laughter, the joy was like a healing balm.

Once again the message reiterated the LOVE OF THE FATHER. Our anchore text was from 2 Chron. 16 :9 (For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.) After a time of prayer ministry, (and to save time) no coffee was served, we all proceded to the home of the Loveley's in the picturique setting of Belvedere. An awesome setting (with a tranquil garden and huge pool)it was ideal for a corporate baptism.

Pastor Brian Long opened in prayer and set the scene for the baptism, whilst Nathan fully immersed each candidate





The names were as follows (1)Jim Abinethy, (2)Sue Abinethy, (3)Zimkita Ngamlana, (4) Clive Kemp, (5) Wendy Kemp, (6)Simone Du Plesis, (7)Margot Green, (8)Jennifer Peen, (9)Maurene Rouse, (10)Lee Rosewarne, (11)Kerryn Rosewarne, (12)James Rousewarne, (13)Martha Mhlanli, (14)Marilugh Campher. So the number of candidates were 14 ,however, please be informed that two weeks ago, we also baptised Monique Howard, Katie Saunders and Elaine Young giving us a grand total of 17 baptism.

There were numerous witnesses of this solomn event of true obedience. We had prayed for good weather and God gave us a perfect day, with excellent water temperature. The witnesses were asked to participate by giving the candidates prophetic words or just scriptures to encourage and confirm God's work. It was so evident that as the candidate came up out of the water there was a new creation emerginging. Our pre-baptism class on Monday truly evoked an anticipation of the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and a clear understanding of death to the old self and birth to a new creation in Christ Jesus.I thank God for the privilege of using me to baptism these awesome folk. A few candidates have walked this walk many years however, chose to be baptised in obedience to the scriptures, even though they were priviously been baptised as infants in a more tradition type church. We also had the privilege of seeing 3 generations being baptised Tim and Sue, Lee as their daughter and Kerryn and James as their grand children.


Once all the formalities were concluded, The Island Church enjoyed a time of fellowship, and our "bring and share" was excellent. The tables were overflowing as usual with delightful snacks, cold meats, salids and drinks galore.

This was a great way to conclude our year.