Let's Go Fly A Kite!

Wow, I am sure life must be unusually busy and privileges like kite flying must be so far removed from your thoughts. However, on flying my kite yesterday looking into the heavenlies I realised how excited God was with my gaze constantly in his direction and occasionally even being blinded by his brilliant glory (The Son/sun).

Without sermonising my recreation or relaxation there was an element of intimacy in His presence. Bearing in mind the wind is on my face and blowing around my ears (had a haircut so it wasn't blow through my hair). The brilliance of the Son blinding me some what. I am barefoot on the soft white sand of the Knysna lagoon. My arm muscles are taught my heart is pounding with excitement. I am sure you are familiar with the scripture of keeping your eyes fixed (focused) on Jesus author and perfector of our faith. Heb 12:2

In this moment I sense his saying I love my son and my response in that moment took even me by surprise "thank you, Abba Daddy but about the fact that I didn't have time to: (The doing things) pray for Deon, give time to bible study, tell my wife I love her, complete my prep for Youth Alpha etc..." I sense He said "don't stress, I've got it all in hand, I've answered your prayers already, your wife she's just enjoying watching you being like a real kid know your heart is pure and warm, and the youth Alpha I am ahead of you, I am doing a work in each of those 32 kids, I am the sovereign God, I am the creator of all things, I want you just to be and I will 'do what needs doing.'"

Well at this point I have persperation flowing into my eyes and my tear ducts are working over time. I began to sing "How He Loves" by David Crowder (sung by Kim Walker)

Goodbye Kombi - Hello Grand Livina

 A testimony of God's AMAZING provision.


The battle (loving disagreement) at our home over the past year has been one of our transportation.  Nathan prayed for 5 years for a "blue VW Kombi" (he had the exact picture taped to his bathroom mirror!), so when the Lord provided for him to purchase the YFC 1988 Kombi 5 years ago he knew it was an answer to prayer.  The Kombi hauled youth and volunteers all over the show, before I arrived, and has been faithful but expensive to maintain over the past 3 years.... and with rising petrol costs it had really become impractical, but very difficult for Nathan to part with!


2 weeks ago while walking Barnabas and deep in prayer, a friend tried to get Nathan's attention.  The friend (to remain anonymous) stopped his/her car and stood in the road but still Nathan was deep in prayer.  Finally after he looked up, they sat on a bench and prayed together about various issues the time ended with a financial gift to pay off our few credit cards so that we could qualify for financing and by the next week we are driving in a new (4 yr old) 7 passenger Nissan Grand Livina!  The biggest miracle was the peace that Nathan had about giving up his 'baby'!!

GOD IS AMAZING!!  And He provides for all our needs!!

Knysna Sunset

Last week God providentially directed Debbie Hawkridge (German Missionary) to stop in at YFC and inquire about possible lodging for about a week.  Unfortunately we have no picture of her... but she left us with a new fridge, and other odds and ends as she was sorting through a storage unit before leaving to visit her son in Pretoria and then travel back to the UK.  One of the mosts beautiful items she left was a picture taken at the Waterfront with a background the God painted in the sky!  Thank you Debbie!!

Family Camp

With one goal in mind... 'turn the hearts of the parents to the children and the hearts of the children to the parents'  (Malachi 4:6) Options facilitated a camp for parents and their teens.


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Starting with a group game... that promoted laughter then divided sessions










The parents learned practical skills to build their child's self esteem, how to hold a family meeting and how to solve a family problem (with family involvement).


Teens spent both of their sessions in a Bible Study called "Re-Discovering Your Parents."  Starting with God's plan for families... the break-down or families... to 'acknowledging my part' in my families issues.


Three facilitated activities allowed families to experience solving problems, working together as a team, and learning to trust each other











































Once again, our International Volunteers do 'child-care' while their parents and elder siblings are working out relationships.  

As 'camp commander' Nathan was in charge of keeping time and order, which allowed for resting in the shade with Barnabas!

Youth Alpha

In preparation, volunteers and staff from Immanuel Ministries (Oupad) spent a whole Saturday learning about how to hold a Youth Alpha programme. Youth For Christ desires to empower other ministries and churches with skills to reach youth "for Christ"!


Having done much of the prep work, Immanuel Ministries was ready for an awesome kickoff event the following week.

Directed to a table full of black garbage bags, tape and paper, the teens used their creativity to dress in black and white - the theme for the evening.


Youth Alpha is an evangelistic course being used by groups all around the world to help young people meet Jesus.  Using games, worship, facilitated talks and small group discussions the course covers topics from 'Who is Jesus?' and 'Why did Jesus die?' to 'How & why should I read the Bible?' over 10 weeks 

Theo De Jung - MC and main facilitator
(FT Missionary from Holland)

Marvelous Maggie (American YFC volunteer)

Costume design winners!

Small group discussions about Christianity.
Is it... 
boring?
untrue?
irrelevant?














Our AMAZING volunteers had the whole hall cleaned in 15 minutes!!  THANK YOU girls for your committment!

Hands On Parenting Workshop

Another training now under my belt.  Hosted by FAMSA (FAMilies South Africa), facilitators from many Knysna and Plettenberg Bay NGO's were given the experience of a new parenting course.  Reggie Donson (Options) and I are ready to empower the parents that we work with!

Christians In Action

Leadership camp for CIA at Knysna High School was filled with food, fun, fellowship and the Holy Spirit working in their hearts!






This year's leaders were challenged to consider the difference between being "interested" and "committed."
  
Interested people only get involved when it is convenient whereas committed people push through even when things get tough!  








Being a CIA leader requires committment.






Using the acronym CPR, Nathan taught on 'peer evangelism...
C - confront (talk)
P - plant the seed
R - reap the harvest
It is all about relationship!!

YFC L'abri Wilderness Camp

                                                                                           

(Mid January... I am behind on my blogs!)

After a looong days drive, staff from YFC-George and YFC-Knysna arrived at Clarens just outside of Golden Gate National Park. 

Just a few hours more the next day to L'abri - a centre for ecotherapy in the beautiful and tranquil heart of the Kwa-Zulu Natal wilderness, providing a challenging and inspiring setting for both personal enrichment and team-building.

Joining with staff from every province in South Africa the next 6 days were filled with team-building activities, devotions to feed the spirit and up-to-date information on HIV/AIDS for our prevention programmes.

I was privileged to share one of the evening devotions

The highlight for me was the Speckled Emporer Moth... evidence of a Creator.  How else could a moth evolve to have an owl painted on his wings to scare off predators!  There is even a twinkle in the eyes of the owl... 

The Puff Adder's long fangs, potent venom, bad temper, reluctance to flee and willingness to bite make it a formidable danger to the populace of Africa.

The Puff Adder, bitis ariens, is considered Africa’s most dangerous snake. Its widespread habitat, large fangs, potent venom, mean disposition and willingness to bite are the reasons why this snake is responsible for more fatalities than any other snake in Africa. It can be mainly found throughout southern Africa, except in true deserts and dense forests. They thrive in rocky grasslands.

Adders are nocturnal and eat rodents, birds, amphibians, lizards and small mammals. Their enemies include man, badgers, warthogs, other snakes and some birds of prey.

You know you are in Africa when you find a Puff Adder at your house!!

Nathan... pretending to "crush it's head" like Jesus did to Satan...