Helderberg Nature Reserve

On Sunday afternoon we went to the Helderberg Nature Reserve for a very pleasant stroll around the grounds. Joel was delighted as ever to see Spikey and to feed the ducks. This is definitely one of our favourite family activities!

Watching 'Spikey', both Joel & Eli seem to enjoy watching Spikey, Joel enjoys feeding him bread (although we were told-off last time!)

Whale Watching

We took a gamble on Saturday and decided to go to Hermanus to see if we could see any whales as the 'official' season is just about on us. Thankfully the weather was great and we did see a couple of whales although they weren't very close to the shore. Joel was excited but we could tell he was a little disappointed that we couldn't get a really clear view of the whales.

Just before lunch it clouded over and the swell was increasing so we decided to go home via the coast road (the same road where Jaguar filmed their ad for the new XK!) and as we were about 15Kms from Gordon's Bay we saw a whale really close to the beach. Hope you enjoy the photos below.

The Law Is An Ass - Update On Douglas

Back in February we wrote a post entitled: 'The Law is an Ass' in which we told you about the court case involving Michael, Joyce and his father Douglas. You may recall that the court agreed with Douglas' counsel and ordered that Michael & Joyce be evicted from Douglas' home. However, Michael & Joyce had no legal representation and were steam rollered throughout the whole process. Dean's point at the time was that: "Douglas would now be a very vulnerable man within the community due to his drinking" because Michael & Joyce had provided Douglas with a high degree of care which enabled him to live freely and healthily.

Bell Valley Graduation

After 2 years of working with Chris Nissen, we're fed up of regularly hearing about so and so who does such and such in CNP, we probably hear such rubbish at least once a week and it's never true. However, recently an organisation called Bell Valley Initiative went into CNP with a view to undertaking a needs assessment prior to actually working with the community. We're pleased to say that they have stuck with it and have now completed their needs assessment and will shortly begin working in CNP in earnest. This makes a welcome break from hearing about things that aren't actually happening.

Blogging Works!

This posting is aimed at those back home who still don't really get what Blogs and Blogging (yes that really is a verb) are all about.

My post below talks a bit about the interaction between bloggers on the web, and this post will hopefully demonstrate a little more as to how it can work.

What Is Blogging About?

There are a number of reasons for Blogging, some perfectly reasonable and some just downright voyeuristic, but equally these reasons can be applied to why people read Blogs.

Dean's Perspective

My first week back in Chris Nissen was mainly taken up with visiting friends and reassuring folk that we had returned – it’s nice to know that we were missed. By and large, things seem to have ticked over quite well in our absence with the members of our groups having held onto some of the key teachings we imparted just prior to our leave. In particular, gossip amongst the brethren appears to have reduced which is an amazing answer to prayer! We now need to build on this and help people to move forwards, building on the works God is doing in their lives. As such, our groups will press on with basic biblical teachings and discipleship which is really key to seeing personal spiritual growth.