Zimpeto

The Cape Town team who travelled to Mozambique! From left, Genevieve, myself, Denise, Stacey, Lesleigh, Natasha, Ramzay, Kevin and Dorothea.

After a celebrity-like goodbye and send off from Cape Town airport (thanks to friends and family who came!), our adventure to a Portuguese-speaking nation began.

We were blessed to be able to see a different side to Mozambique, a country usually well-known for its beautiful beaches and colourful sea-life.

Zimpeto Children's Centre

We stayed in the visitor's section at the Zimpeto children's centre, run by Iris Ministries. This centre is home to about 300 children ranging from just a few months old to teenagers. Some of the children here are orphaned, but others of them do have relatives who for various reasons are unable to care for them. We spent time doing activities and games with some of the children.

The kids regularly sing a song based on John 14 v 2: In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

The words of the song say that even though they don't have homes here on earth, they are looking forward to the home that God has prepared for them in heaven. The Zimpeto centre definitely has made a huge difference in the lives of these kids who are trusting in God and are full of hope for their future so sing this song with such passion.

Kevin, Ramzay and myself teaching new games to some of the teenagers at the centre

We also met young adults who previously stayed at the centre as kids but are now as adults actively making a difference in Mozambique.

Feeding time in the babyhouse

We travelled to Maputo city centre on some of the outreach ministries. We prayed for the sick in hospital ( I didn't do too well here. Got very lightheaded in that hospital!) and ministered to street people, both adults and children. We also visited Bocaria, a city garbage dump that has people living on it, trying to make a living from what they can salvage from the trash. It was really unsafe with so much broken glass around in the area and most of the kids running around barefooted. Iris Ministries has established a church in this community and we attended a service while we were there.

One of the highlights for me was our visit to Khongolote Children's Centre. There we met Mama Sefa, a brave lady whose plans together with her husband to go to Madagascar had lead them to Mozambique. We listened to her life story as she decribed how they had travelled from the Congo through various countries in central Africa, looking for the best way to head for the island of Madagascar. After months of travelling and finally running out of funds, they ended up stranded in Mozambique, unable to speak the language and unable to return home because of the war that broke out in the Congo. Someone connected them with Iris Ministries who helped them get back on their feet again. Through God's provision, they were able to start another children's centre in a neighbourhood called Khongolote which is close to Zimpeto. Her story was a real testimony of how when things don't turn out the way we planned, that God then unfolds His perfect plan.

A rare experience..

We left the centre for a weekend outreach into one of the villages near Maputo. We pitched our tents outside Pastor Pedro's house and spent the weekend assiting him. Pedro lives in a simple house with electricity while water needs to be fetched from a communal point. He pastors the Iris Ministries church established in this village.

Pedro, his wife Yvette - seated, their kids and Beatrice, a family friend standing on the right

Stacey coming to terms with public transportation

a boatride to the island..

We began our adventure on Friday travelling by taxi, boat and lots of walking to reach a village on a nearby island. On Saturday we assisted as some of his church members were baptised in the warm ocean of one of Maputo's beaches.

standing next to a warm ocean..



Early Sunday morning before getting ready for church, 2 of the pastor's kids are seen here grounding peanuts for our lunch time meal. The ground peanuts are added to cassava leaves to make a green sauce eaten over rice.

The weekend experience was such an insight into the lives of ordinary Mozambicans. I felt it a privilege that God allowed us to see a part of His world that few others get to observe. A rare experience indeed. As we spent time with Pedro and the members of his church, we were able to see their joys as well as the daily hardships they face.

Obrigado!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support not only during this trip, but also throughout the year. May you have a blessed Christmas and a prosperous new year!

Step into God's Story

"The whole church taking the whole Gospel to the whole world"

The month of October saw Cape Town host the third Lausanne Congress, a diverse gathering of Christians from around the world. At the historic congress, the 4 000 delegates from 198 nations discussed and grappled with global issues affecting the church and evangelism. The congress derived its name from Lausanne, Switzerland where Billy Graham and other leaders hosted the first congress in 1974. The Lausanne movement aims to unite Christians in order to see 'the whole church taking the whole Gospel to the whole world.'

From the 20th to 22nd of October, I was blessed to be able to attend Connected2010, a conference running alongside the Lausanne Congress. At Connected2010 I heard how God has strategically placed Africa and specifically South Africa in a favorable position to impact the world. God has indeed given South Africa so much - He has blessed us so we can be a blessing to other nations. Despite the many challenges facing our nation, God's vision goes beyond our own communities to the cities and villages of a world in desperate need of good news.

Step into God's story

God is earnestly seeking to get His family, the peoples of the earth, back to himself. One of the speakers at the conference said that complexity is easier to deal with when you know whose story you are in. The story of God's glory is a story bigger than ourselves because it's purpose centres around God and His renown, but it's a story in which we all are precious. Another speaker added that God invites us to collaborate with Him to see relationships restored.

'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.'

2 Corinthians 5 v 17 - 20

Above is a worshipper at our church's recent Tabernacle experience. The tabernacle, which really means dwelling place, points to Christ and speaks of God longing to be with His people. God, a relational being is looking to gain relationships back to Himself and is continually inviting us into intimacy with Him. At the special service, everyone was invited into a deeper love walk with God, knowing that there is never a time when we cannot approach Him. All of God's dwelling with His people is on the basis of the finished work of the cross, where the cost for our intimacy with God has already been paid in full. The experience for me was an encouragement that I can come to God with the confidence and openness of a young child who knows that her parent loves her uniquely and distinctly.

Jesus: 'Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.'

Zimpeto

Please pray for 9 of us from His People Tokai as we travel to Mozambique on a mission trip from the 19th of November till 5th of December. We are visiting the Zimpeto Children's Centre in Maputo, a part of Iris Ministries, started by Rolland and Heidi Baker. The centre hosts a children's home, a clinic and a school. Zimpeto is full of opportunities to serve, so please pray that we make the most of these, serving in a way that best reflects God's compassion for the people of Mozambique.

Building on Faith

Bricks and cement. Hard hats and spades. Roof tiles. What an awesome experience in Building on Faith. We built a two-bedroomed house for Tholi Madini (pictured above), a chef who has been living in Mfuleni for about 7 years. Tholi is now able to move his family into a decent place to live.

Recently, His People Church participated in Building on Faith, an event organised by Habitat for Humanity South Africa. Habitat for Humanity has been building in this community for the past few years now, so Mfuleni is slowly being transformed from a place of informal dwellings to a neighbourhood of houses.

In Building on Faith week, 11 houses were built by various participating churches as well as some international volunteers. The theme this year " What a mighty God we serve" was a reminder once again that we CAN place our trust in a very faithful God.
Thank you so much for your prayer support. Thank God for a successful and safe build and that 11 families will soon be moving out of the poverty of informal shacks into adequate housing. Thanks to God also for all the positive experiences that the volunteers came away with.

Here's what Adrian had to say:

"I helped to dig the foundation trenches on the first Saturday. I then came on the last day of the week to help with the finishing touches. It was good to see the completion of the house. I enjoyed the interaction with new people, encountering different cultures and had fun taking pictures."

Dorothea, pictured here with Victor, our crew leader for the week, enjoyed getting to know the kids in the community. She took time to chat to them and paint their faces. She says:

" I definitely want to do this again. It's exciting to be part of making someone else's dream of owning a home come true. This is the first time I physically got involved in building so learning how to mix cement and lay bricks was educational. As for the kids, it was refreshing for me to be able to spend this time playing with them."

Some more His People volunteers:

Maurice (above left) and Debbie (left)
Ann and Ken (right) painting the door and window frames; Below: Tim and myself working to get the roof tiles onto the roof!









Andre (left) perfecting the stoep and Ps. Wayne (below)

At the end of the week we built all the walls from the foundation level and placed the windows, doors and the roof onto the home. Tholi moves in once the plastering, plumbing and electricals are completed by Habitat for Humanity.

Thank you so much for your support that helps make events like this possible. Know that as a co-laborer, God promises a reward to you for every life changed and every victory for His kingdom. As the ministry you are sowing into grows, you reap new growth and life because of your investment. Thank you!

A Delightful Inheritance

(V838 Monocerotis - Dec 2002. NASA, ESA and STScl.)

Jeremiah 32 v 17: "Ah, Lord God! It is you who has made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you."

When looking at the universe surrounding us, it is easy to see God's spectacular power. Scientists are still trying to see an end to a continually expanding universe. What does that then say about a creator God whose greatness is unsearchable?
The picture above is V838 Monocerotis, a red supergiant star 20 000 light years away from earth. It flamed to 4 000 times its previous brightness in Jan 2002. This new brilliance however, soon faded and the star returned to something close to its previous brightness. The surrounding rings are called light echoes and are formed as light reflects off the nearby space dust. God's obvious power.

Despite displays like this of God's obvious power though, one of my big life questions has been this: Is God's greatness beneficial to me? Can I really trust in His willingness (in addition to His ability) to work things out to my good? In finding an answer, this is what I am learning...

I'm learning that the God who created Monocerotis the masterpiece, is actually not like it at all. He is not a variable star. He is called the Father of Lights but unlike those lights, He is constant and does not change. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

(Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300 - NASA, ESA & the Hubble Heritage Team (STScl/Aura))

Psalm 16 v 5: The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

I've begun to look at galaxies as a picture of trust but also as a picture of life. Providence means that each event in my life, whether good or bad, is arranged like the stars against a black canvas. So instead of God intervening in my life through a dramatic miracle, He's working out His divine purposes for me through ordinary everyday events. And day by day, as I choose to trust, I can see that my life is not falling apart. On the contrary, the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places and I have a delightful inheritance!

(Eagle Nebula M16 - NASA, ESA & the Hubble Heritage Team(STScl/AURA))

Psalm 36 v 5: Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

(Interacting Spiral GalaxiesNGC 2207 & IC 2163 - NASA, ESA & the Hubble Heritage Team (STScl))

Jeremiah 9 V 23-24: Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight.

(Jupiter with moons - NASA/ NSSDC)

Job 38 v 4 - 7: Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements - surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

(Earth - NASA/ NSSDC)

EN2010

I've just returned from an awesome conference in Manila. The event proved to be a time of refreshing and an exciting chance to meet Every Nation family from nations around the world with different accents and costumes, all coming together to worship the King of kings!

The first thing that struck me about the city of Manila is the incredible hospitality of the Filipino people. Everywhere we went were warm welcomes, friendly smiles and a willingness to do so much for visitors like me looking somewhat out of place.
The second thing that struck me, was the abundance of shopping malls. Manila is either a shopper's paradise where you find everything that you could possibly imagine you need, or it could be a shopper's nightmare, where too many options to choose from means that decisionmaking becomes a torturous affair!

And thirdly, let me not forget to mention the traffic on a rainy day!

The conference itself was like a banquet table set for God's children, with God himself inviting us to come and feast. It was a time to receive healing, establishment, victory and love - all from God's banquet table.It was also awesome to listen to stories about what God is busy doing in other countries - testimonies of His grace. An absolute highlight was the attempt to set a Guiness World Record for 'The Most Languages Performed in a Song'. Every Nation sang Amazing Grace in 50 different languages including English, Xhosa, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Arabic and Hawaiian.

Sian, Nobby and myself in our national costumes!

Ladies from the Philippines: Ana, Erianne, and Tim

Above is a picture of Selena and myself with the Real Life Foundation team. We stayed an extra week after the conference to train some members of this team at the Victory Pasig City church in Metro Manila. The vision for the Real Life Foundation is to honor God by serving the poor and improving their lives through educational assistance, leadership development and community service. This they achieve by providing financial assistance to selected students, coaching through a personal growth program, as well as training in practical skills and character development and providing emergency relief where necessary. It was encouraging to see the enthusiasm on the faces of the participants as they learnt more about God's story and how our lives fit inside the framework of His story. One participant said about the course: "It's an affirmation of what God put in my heart a long time ago. It brings focus to what I need to do now and maybe for the long haul. Also a great encouragement as we are starting our work and ministry in the community. It's like saying we are on the right track."

We also had the opportunity to prayer walk in Pasig City, the area immediately around the church and the Real Life centre. Pasig City is a vibrant, bustling place bursting with signs of vitality. As we prayed we sensed that God was already busy in this community, pulling down those things that are not from Him and breathing His new life into it.

And with every banquet there has to be dessert. Behold the Halo Halo!

Halo Halo means 'mix-mix', so what you see here is a blend of ice-cream, jelly, coconut pieces, custard, chickpeas, beans and crushed ice. A favourite dessert that I was told reflects the mixed heritage of Filipino culture.

Housepainting

An early Saturday morning and we arrived at the Habitat for Humanity site office in Mfuleni, ready to work! After dedicating the day's labour to God, the His People Tokai volunteers set off to do some housepainting at a newly-built home a few streets away.
Habitat for Humanity is a Christian housing ministry that to date has built over 350 000 houses around the world. We met the homeowner William and could sense his excitement at seeing his home so close to completion. We as volunteers had a "let's get dirty" opportunity to partner with him! As a beneficiary William not only invests his own labour and hours of his time into the building of his own home, but also helps with the completing of homes that belong to others in his community. Please pray for the Building on Faith week happening from the 13th to the 17th September this year. His People will be involved in this annual event designed to be an awesome opportunity for churches to show God's love in a very practical way.

Happy painters Octavia and Johan (above) and Stacey (below).

My niece Rejane hard at work and below.. Viola! a newly-painted green house!

Later this month I will be heading to the Every Nation world conference in Manila, Philippines. The conference is a once every 3 year event where members of the Every Nation family get together for an awesome time of worship and fellowship. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to form new friendships with others in the Every Nation family! While there, my friend and mentor Selena and I will also be facilitating training with the Real Life Foundation, a compassion ministry dedicated to seeing marginalised Filipino youth uplifted. Please pray for us as we do preparation that God will speak powerfully into the lives of the participants during the training.