Tim & John playing with some of the kids in CNP. They had been playing rugby until the ball (on the floor slightly right of centre) gave up the ghost!

Face Down

On Friday we had the privilege of going to the Face Down tour at Jubilee Christian Centre in Cape Town. Matt Redman was leading with support from Chris Tomlin. Wow! What an evening! Enjoy the photos below. The photos were taken by Tim one of our FYP volunteers this year.

Above you can see some photos taken this afternoon in CNP. They are of some of our FYP volunteers playing with the kids in the community.

Paula's Cell

Paula's mums and tots cell group grew even bigger last week as they have been joined by 3 pregnant girls, all in the last few weeks of their pregnancies. The girls are staying at the church pregnancy crisis centre and at the moment, all of their babies will be adopted out. Following the birth of their babies the girls have 60 days to decide whether or not to continue with their decision whilst their babies are being looked after by 'kanga mothers', so it is obviously quite a harrowing time for them.

Cell Group

The cell starts with a social time of tea & coffee and lots of chat. God friendships are developing which is a real blessing

Cell Group

Paula's cell getting down to the serious business


Running Around

Joel running around during the social bit of the cell group

Patrick

It's late as we write so this is a quick update.

Patrick was discharged and sent home today which is a bit of a shock. It's less than a week since the amputation and he is still in so much pain! Dean's main concern now that he's home is the level of care Patrick will receive and who is going to dress his wound each day. Patrick is staying with his daughter Mabel for a while and she has a drink problem and is not wholly reliable. Please pray about this, Patrick really needs tiptop care.

Michelle

Dean received a telephone call early this morning informing him that Michael's daughter -Michelle- had been raped and murdered. Unfortunately, Michael learnt of this from the news last night on E-TV. As the day progressed we gained more information and it transpires that Michelle was raped and murdered on the 1st May but the police say they were unable to locate any family so allowed the story to be broadcast in the hope of family coming forward. However, we also learnt from Michele's boyfriend that he approached the police soon after the incident and as such the police were fully aware of the family's whereabouts.

Sunday

Wow what a service! Ansie (a Rasta from CNP) came to church and appeared to have a good time. This is quite remarkable as the Rasta's very rarely venture near any church. Please pray for Ansie that he would have a personal encounter with God. Paula & I were in the creche all morning so didn't get to speak to Ansie or anyone else, which was a shame.

Dean didn't get to see Patrick over the weekend so will go tonight. However we did hear this morning that one of the women in CNP has died.

Container

At long last we got to use the container in CNP for the Men's Bible Study group. The container is actually 2 welded together with the middle cut out, but it provides an invaluable resource. Pray that we may continue to have free access to this resource as certain elements of the community are politicising the usage of it.


Patrick Update

Dean has just returned from the hospital where he saw Patrick and Ben.

Patrick is in so much pain after the amputation. His leg was removed just below the knee, so he will be somewhat unbalanced when he has recovered. Dean has never seen anyone literally writhing in pain before and it was quite distressing to see him in this state. Aunty Kuku has agreed to visit tomorrow so Dean will take her in the afternoon to see Patrick. Unfortunately their grandson Enslen has been dumped on her again. Enslen is seriously disable having some form of palsy and having him in the home puts a huge burden on Aunty Kuku.

Patrick Et Al

Dean went to Hospital today with our two medical electives (Jonathon & Rachel) to visit Patrick and Ben. Whilst there we also saw Annie who is being treated for severe chemical burns. She was working in the farms in Feb and was exposed to some chemicals which have left her quite badly disfigured and have burnt her throat and lungs. Dean didn't initially recognise her as she had lost so much weight.

Patrick is scheduled to have his leg removed tomorrow (12 May) and he is really upset about this. Whilst Dean was with Patrick, Paula arrived with Joel which appeared to brighten up Patrick's day.

Mountain Bike

Joel on Dad's mountain bike.

Lots Of Illness

Patrick remains in hospital but is very confused and quite upset. He really wants to see his wife (Aunty Kuku) but she doesn't want to go to the hospital and is enjoying the break from him, which she really needs!

Lorraine was taken to hospital last night as her stomach had swollen dramatically.

Ben collapsed in CNP this afternoon, Dean wasn't there but thankfully another volunteer was and he's a Dr so was able to help. The ambulance was called and Ben is now in hospital, so Dean will see him tomorrow.

Hospital Visits

Today seems to have been dominated by hospital visits for Dean as he went to see Patrick at lunchtime and again tonight. At lunchtime Patrick was still in casualty and eventually stayed there for just over 24 hours. Thankfully by the time I visited tonight he had been moved onto a ward. Patrick is very confused about his situation and also angry with his family for not coming to see him yet.

The reality for Aunty Kuku (Patrick's wife) is that she's enjoying the break from him and is reluctant to visit the hospital (although this may in part be because she is not very well herself).

Delvera

Dean on the Delvera vineyard as part of the Dirtopia mountain bike event in Stellenbosch.

Why not? we're always looking for an excuse to visit the local wineries!

Patrick

Please pray for Patrick, he's back in hospital this evening. Dean went to CNP as usual and called in to see Patrick and was alarmed to see that the blister which had appeared on Patrick's foot late last week is now the size of a tennis ball! Dean immediately arranged to take Patrick to hospital and they arrived there at 3pm this afternoon.

Patrick is in a lot of pain but doesn't want to stay in hospital - quite understandable! Please pray that Patrick will get a thorough 'MOT' and a very thorough bed bath. Unfortunately due to his amputation and stroke, Patrick finds washing and showering almost impossible. We're also left feeling that the health service here are only interested in addressing his symptoms and not the underlying problems, please pray into this.

Update

Joel is quite ill at the moment with another bout of bronchiolitis, the Dr gave him some drugs which have had a positive impact but he's coughing like mad and is really fed up with it.

We're both well and Dean is just about recovered from his bad back. He recently acquired a new mountain bike (see the piccy) and as he was getting used to the new seating position etc his back obviously stretched, no permanent damage but a bit sore for a few days.

Mesmerised

Joel mesmerised by the waves crashing onto the beach in Plett.

Boat

Joel lounging by a boat. As the lagoon was so shallow we were able to wade up to many of the small fishing boats which Joel thought was great.

Judy's House

Judy's house in Plett. This is where we stayed for 2 weeks, our bedroom was the one with the balcony. The house was stunning!

Plett Lagoon

Joel and dad at Plett lagoon. This was Joel's favourite bit of beach as there was no tide and the water was very shallow.

Beach

Walking on the beach with mum.

Seesaw

On the seesaw with mum. Not sure who enjoyed it the most!

Elephants

Joel watching the elephants at Knysna Elephant Park. Joel was able to feed the elephants and really enjoyed getting this close.

View

The view from our bedroom balcony in Plettenberg Bay

Holiday

We've been back home for a week now having spent 2 fabulous weeks in Plettenberg Bay on a family holiday. Despite traveling through one of the worst storms the Cape has seen for years (roads collapsing and parts of the country losing 10 years worth of top soil, for example!), we managed to arrive relatively unscathed with a new pair of windscreen wipers, having driven for 8 km in driving rain without any - not to be recommended!

Getting Ready

Forgive our lack of communication since our last Blog, life has been hectic and will continue to be so until Monday when we set off on a 5 -6 hour drive for two weeks by the beach. That's Monday, before then we've got so much to do.

Last weekend we had Joel's birthday party at a little indoor play centre. Joel had about 8 friends there and they all had a ball. It was great too for the parents as we could sit and chat over coffee whilst the kids ran themselves ragged in a totally safe environment. We'll be back there again!

Catch Up

Life has been pretty hectic since our return from Bloemfontein. We celebrated Joel's 2nd birthday a couple of days late (we missed it whilst we were in Bloem) but he more than made up for it. He got a kiddies tent which he loves playing in. We gave him a toy microwave with lights and stuff which he enjoys and he was given a Barney DVD which he is glued to when he's allowed to watch the tv.

Photos Of Zim Friends

Below is a selection of photographs taken over the weekend at the NFI leaders conference in Bloemfontein.

The photos are of friends from Zimbabwe whom we haven't seen since our departure in 2003. Some of these friends are still faithfully plugging away in Zimbabwe and a few have moved to Jo'burg to be a part of a new church plant there called God First.

Travelling Across SA

We have had quite a monumental weekend which began with us setting off on Thursday morning for an 8 hour drive up to Colesberg where we were staying overnight before driving the final couple of hours up to Bloemfontein for the NFI Southern African annual leaders conference. We thank God that we enjoyed great safety on the road in both directions, despite seeing some absolutely classic driving! However, it was extremely uncomfortable on Thursday in particular driving that far in the heat of the day (40's) with no air con!

Getting Ready

This past week has been really hectic as we prepare to drive to Bloemfontein for the NFI Africa leaders conference. We've been quite stressed about the childcare arrangements or lack of them and after much discussion and negotiation have decided to leave Joel behind with some good friends. This is better in many ways as he won't have to endure the 10 hour drive (Bloem is just over 1000km's) and we'll be able to attend all the sessions without having to worry about him. Sadly however, we will miss his 2nd birthday on Saturday and needless to say feel quite gutted about this and just a little guilty! We'll have to make it up to him when we return on Monday.

Bible Study Outing

Dean had a good morning with his Bible Study group, he and John (an FYP) took them to the local shopping mall for coffee and muffins. Unfortunately it was simply too cold to go to the beach (we won't get too much sympathy from you we know) as it had been raining overnight and was still overcast this morning. Patrick is struggling with the cold due to the lack of circulation in his leg which is looking very serious now. Dean will be taking Patrick to the Dr's again on Friday afternoon. Michael was amazed by the mall having never been there before, he loved gazing into the shop windows to see what they were selling.

Prayer Items

Joel is recovering well from his recent bout of tonsillitus. His appetite and character are returning, thank goodness, and we are enjoying having our boy back again! It is nearly his birthday, just 10 days to go, and we are busy planning a little party for him with his friends! We are also off to the NFI Africa leaders conference in Bloemfontein with Joel from 17-21 March. We would really appreciate your prayers for safe travel (about 10 hours each way!) and that Joel doesn't get too tetchy in the car. He isn't at all used to long journeys.

Aquarium

Joel @ Cape Town Aquarium. Joel really enjoys his time in the aquarium and it has certainly been worth our while becoming members. We often pop in for the morning on Saturdays and Joel really rewards us and the staff with his interest in the fish and his antics.

Under The Weather

Today we said 'farewell' to Nick, Julia & Becca as they returned to the UK having spent two weeks with us here in Somerset West. It's always a privilege to host folk form home but even more so when we are able to introduce them to CNP and the people there. Nick & Julia were able to spend some quality time with various residents of the community and we know this was a blessing to them. Thanks for coming Guys, we really appreciate you taking time out to be with us and to spend time with our friends in CNP!

Joel & Becca

Joel & Becca at Little Impis.

MA

Dean had a long two days in Pretoria on Thursday & Friday last week, he was at the induction for his MA. This our big news at the moment. Dean will be doing a Masters Degree in Social Behaviour and HIV/AIDS with UNISA, the course is over 2 years by distance learning. Needless to say Dean returned home quite stunned by how much work will be involved over the 2 years and the academic level at which he will have to work, but he feels that it is a challenge worth facing up to.

Joel & Duwayne

Joel walking with Duwayne in CNP. Duwayne is one of Patrick's grandchildren and a very sweet little boy

Great Day

Dean had a great day in CNP today and spent a long time with Patrick and his family. The photo of him is with his grandson Eugene. Patrick was far more lucid that he has been for a long time and we all had a really good laugh together! Dina arrived towards the end and was telling us that 3rd Degree (local version of Panorama) are to interview her on Friday in relation to some missing money from the CNP trust. We were pulling her leg saying that they wanted to see where she parks her Mercedes, poor Dina she was quite concerned but laughed a lot!

At Last!

Over the last week or so Joel has been taking tentative steps in walking but hasn't really gone for it.  Today Joel walked for ages in the local shopping mall surprising us and providing much amusement for many passers-by.  We are so grateful to God that at last Joel is walking and h just looks so proud of himself!

Patrick

Patrick with his grandson Eugene

Encouraging Weekend

Dean was invited by our neighbour Don to join him and three friends for an early morning prayer meeting. Dean really enjoyed meeting with a small group of men as this is something he is looking at starting in our church here. The only downside was that they met at 6.30 on Saturday morning, a bit of a shock for him!

Tortoise

Joel & Tortoise at the Helderberg Nature Reserve.

TB

Dean had a meeting with one of the Sisters at the Govt clinic in Nomzamo (opposite CNP) this morning to talk about the TB epidemic which is sweeping through CNP. We've agreed to organise a TB awareness day in the community and to involve as many other agencies as we can to assist with the day. We're planning for this to coincide with World TB Day on 24 March.

Roller Coaster

Tuesday started with an email from Paula's sister telling us that Michael Howard had died. Michael was the vicar in Weald for several years and was due to retire in a few months. We had tremendous respect and love for Michael and his family and they were key supporters of our ministry. Michael will be sorely missed by a lot of people and especially in the village of Weald, please remember them in your prayers.

FYP's

Today was the first full afternoon that the Frontier Year Project (FYP) were with Dean in Chris Nissen Park (CNP). Their main role on a Monday afternoon is to follow up on the children who attended Sunday school and to make contact with their families. We hope that this will build further bridges between the church and the community as well as encouraging the parent/s to come along to church. Please pray for this initiative as we believe this could be a real blessing to the church, the children and their families.

Tough Week

This week seems to have been completely manic for both of us but probably more so for Paula, we don't feel that we've had a chance to catch our breath. The week culminated with our hard disk collapsing leaving us with a complete headache! We've lost lots of emails and a months worth of photos which is very frustrating! We were budgeting for a new laptop later in the year but have had to bring that forward to late Friday afternoon. On Friday we also had the dentist and as new patients the dentist wanted to do x-rays etc. This led to Paula getting a bit of bad news and has to go back for a few more appointments.

Busy As Ever

.This week has been a great week so far, not least because Joel has decided that standing unaided is actually a good thing and something he wants to do!  We're rejoicing that he is making such major moves towards walking, and he certainly appears to be happy.  Joel had his second day at nursery today and again he appears to be thriving on it, however he was so hyped up that he didn't have his lunchtime sleep so mum & dad are feeling a little frazzled!

This afternoon we went to a braai with another English couple who are getting involved in a variety of social action projects and it looks like we may be able to develop some positive links and share resources which would be great.

Table Bay

Us at Table Bay, Cape Town

New Beginnings

Today has been an exciting day of new beginnings! Firstly, Joel started nursery - what a proud day for mum and dad! He seemed pretty pleased with himself too going off with his little tortoise shape bag packed with goodies and art T shirts etc etc. Paula stayed with him for about 2 minutes before one of the helpers had him engrossed in a puzzle on the floor - oh well, no time for "I'll really miss you mum"!! Apparently he was an absolute angel all morning and had a ball - particularly during wet play, when Joel took it literally and got completely soaked to the skin! The leader also noticed how much he loves music and said that he has a really infectious belly laugh which had them all laughing! Thank God for a flexible, friendly little boy!
Where was God in the Tsunami?

We've just heard that the latest death toll for the tsunami is now 280,000 and rising.  We've also heard many questioning the where's why's and how's of God and his role in the tsunami.  We  believe that the creator God needs no defending and we have no intention of defending him.  However, we would like to offer some thoughts to those that would ask the questions; how could a loving God allow the tsunami to kill so many? or where was God whilst the tsunami was killing thousands.

However, let us make it clear that this is a personal perspective based on our faith in God.

Items For Prayer

Please pray for Michael and his daughter (we don't know her name and M was to upset to give it) as she has been attacked. She definitely has a broken arm and it appears that she has been raped, although we can't confirm this. Michael is really upset and feeling very angry, pray for grace as he comes to terms with his daughter's ordeal.

Breakthrough

Dean had a good day in CNP today -if a little sad too- as he spent over an hour with Michael and his wife Joyce counseling them after a long weekend of rowing and domestic violence.  This is an area Dean has been wanting to get involved with and so to have an opportunity to work with a family in this was really good.  Michael was very receptive and appeared to be genuinely remorseful, whilst Joyce appeared to be glad that he had been open and honest with someone.

Sad News

We've had a really good week, both in CNP and out and about, however Paula is really looking forward to this week as finally all the groups she and Joel attend restart after the summer holiday. Also, we should know in the next couple of weeks whether or not Joel has got a nursery place. Please pray that he will as this would free Paula up to commit more time to her role in the church and to the cell group she is starting later this month.

Missing Blogs

Below are two Blogs that for some reason weren't published.

Wheelchair at last!

Dean took Patrick and his 2nd daughter to the physiotherapist again today and the physio commented on how well Patrick is progressing. We then had a conversation about our attempts to acquire a wheelchair to no avail. Amazingly the physio said that we could take their brand new one (just had to fill in a few forms) and they would get another one for themselves, Brilliant!!! Patrick and his family are well chuffed! Now we need to find someone who could build him a ramp from the street to his front door.

New Year

Welcome to 2005!

What will this year have in store we wonder? If any of the previous years are anything to go by it should be time to buckle up and hang on for the rollercoaster is about to be launched....

Dean has been back in CNP since Tuesday (as well as visiting a bit during the Christmas break) and learnt that three folk died on Christmas day.

It's New Years Eve as we write and once again we find ourselves on our own. This seems to have been the story of Christmas for us this year. Our original plans were scuppered by our friends 'outlaws' who forced them off to Durban. Failing any further invites we decided to do our own Christmas and bought the turkey etc. only to receive a half hearted 'sympathy invite' very late on. Christmas day was great, Joel was able to open his presents at his speed and play with each one before moving onto the next so he wasn't swamped. We had a lovely Turkey dinner in the evening under the stars in the garden.

Happy Christmas!

We want to wish all of you a very Happy Christmas!

Don't forget the one who's birthday it is..... Jesus Christ

Lots of love

Dean, Paula & Joel

XXX

We had our Mulled Wine & Mince Pie evening last night. For those who have ever been to one of these (at Bible College, Zimbabwe, Wimbledon) you'll know how legendary they've become! If you've not been to one, you have no idea what you're missing!

Christmas Buildup

Many businesses seem to have shut down already in time for Christmas or as it seems to be more popularly known here; the 'Holiday Season'. We've always been disappointed with Christmas in Blighty as it seems to start in Aug' and drag on for months, but at least it is called 'Christmas'. Here it appears that Christmas carries very little significance with most shops & businesses advertising for the holiday season, choosing to ignore the reason for the season. Our church held it's first ever Carols by Candlelight service last night which went well, however it was a hot night and a couple of hundred candles didn't help much!!

Reconciliation Day

Today is Reconciliation Day so we've been enjoying the day off. We went to the aquarium in Cape Town this morning and then spent time playing in the river with Joel. He had a great day, at the aquarium he was by far the most excited child and we had a job to contain him at times. Still, it was all good fun!

Last Week

Once again we go into another week having failed dismally to keep our Blog upto date!

We had a good week. We met up with Maurice & Wendy (friends from Zim) and spent time catching up which was great. Then later in the week Pete & Ash came for tea with their 3 boys. Their youngest was born after we left Zim so we hadn't met him and Ash hadn't met Joel so it was a great afternoon catching up. Pete is now leading God First Christian Church in Jo'burg, well worth a visit if you're in that neck of the woods!

Freedom

We've just enjoyed 2 nights away without Joel and it was brilliant! We missed him dearly but it was so nice to be able to do normal things without him. We ate lunch when we wanted, Paula could have a cappuccino without having to share the froth, we went to the cinema but best of all we got to lay in in the morning!!!! Joel was a star by all accounts and was a credit to us.

World AIDS Day

We'd like to encourage you to take a few minutes to reflect upon the pandemic of HIV/AIDS upon the world and your own community.

Pray for those in your community who are HIV+, you might not know them by name (or even realise that some of your neighbours are HIV+) but they need your support.

CNP Thanksgiving

True to 'traditional' African time, the CNP Thanksgiving started about an hour late, but was good fun nonetheless. We finally got to meet Chris Nissen himself (a surprisingly humble man) as well as some of the other key players in establishing the houses for the community. Dean felt very honoured by the public comments that were made about him, we both felt that this was real recognition of the impact that God is having in the community through the church. 

Overview Of The Week.

Patrick was discharged from hospital on Wednesday which appears to have been somewhat premature as he has no mobility at all and can't control any of his bodily functions. Needless to say he's feeling pretty humiliated by his condition and doesn't want to see people. I've seen him a few times and prayed with him but apart from that he wants to be left alone. Please pray for Patrick and his wife Katrina, they haven't had things easy lately. On Wednesday next week I'll be taking Patrick to see a physiotherapist to get some exercises. Patrick's daughters will come too so that they can see how the exercises need to be done.

England 32 South Africa 16

We managed to watch the rugby with some good friends and needless to say they were gutted by the result. The South African team have been very arrogant calling their UK tour 'The Grand Slam Tour' which of course it isn't. Still, it made trouncing them all the sweeter.

Where Did That Week Go?

The flies are still with us and are becoming a major problem. We now have so many different traps etc around the garden and in the house that it's a wonder they can get in. However, for those that do make it in they run the gauntlet of Dean's 'Fly Gun'. This gives Dean endless hours of amusement shooting flies (with what is essentially a spring loaded fly swat) and Joel now laughs when he kills one. We'll not describe Dean's particularly nasty treatment of the ones he catches alive!

Swings

Today was great in CNP as the team from Penge came in and repaired/replaced the swings for the children. The previous swings were old tyres that had been cut to shape and then turned inside out and hung on chains. Needless to say they weren't good quality and had been broken for quite some time. The kids were delighted as the 6 swings now have solid wooden seats and sturdy chains holding them. They were also hung at slightly different heights to accommodate all size of children (and adults!).

CNP Update

I've just heard this morning that Brian has died in CNP. He was a lovely man suffering with TB. Please pray for his family, his death will hit them hard, emotionally and financially.

The church currently have a team out from Penge in London and they're looking at what the church is involved in. As part of this some of them will be spending a bit of time in CNP with one of their main jobs being to fix the swings for the children. Hopefully this will be a real blessing to the community.

Back On Line

I'm on a bit of a 'high' as I write as I've just watched Palace hold Arsenal to a 1-1 draw, they were lucky not to get beaten! Having watched the Birmingham game last Saturday in which we won 1-0 things are quite sweet at the moment.

We had a great time away with our friends Mark & Leanne and their two children, Kelly and Matthew. We'd not seen each other for almost 2 years so they'd not met Joel and we'd not met Matthew.

Friends From Zim

This will probably be our last update for just over a week as our dear friends Mark & Leanne have come down from Zimbabwe. We're all bunked down at ours prior to going to Cape Town on Friday for the following week. We're really excited as Mark & Leanne have never met Joel and we've never met their youngest, Matthew. Also, we're God-parents to Kelly (in the pic) and it is frustrating not being able to be an active part of her life due to the distance, but at least RSA is closer to Zim than the UK. We're planning all kinds of trips and stuff but more importantly just want to spend time chilling out and chatting together about life etc!

This Week Shot Past

This week seems to have shot past leaving us no time to update the Blog.

The highlights have been Roger & Shirley's visit on Tuesday including a trip into CNP. Roger was soon playing cricket with some of the lads (he was out for a duck!). We visited Patrick & Katrin, Aunty Poppy, Mama Jane and Dina each of whom said they really appreciated meeting Roger & Shirley. In the evening they took us out to a seafront restaurant in Gordon's Bay which was great. We really enjoyed meeting up with them and it's always good to see people out of context.

Oh Dear!

I was in CNP this morning and bumped into Sandra, she was in a foul mood and was extremely derogatory about Dina. Sandra alleged a number of things about Dina most of which I know to be untrue. What really saddened me was the fact that she turned against myself saying that I had put Dina up to getting the police to visit herself warning her about intimidating Dina. I had no idea that this had happened, although I did happen to know that Sandra had verbally abused Dina in my presence and later threw stones at Dina as she was walking to work. The long and the short of this is that Sandra is clearly not wanting to make any effort to befriend Dina despite indications that things were about to improve.

Sunday

This morning in church we had the privilege of hearing Paul Reid from Northern Ireland speak. He and his wife Pricilla are currently in SA. Paul was excellent and spoke about 'getting out of the boat' as Peter did when Jesus walked on water. This was really challenging and at the end when Paul asked to pray for those feeling challenged by his sermon, over 90% of the church stood up!

Family News

A week ago Joel was sat in his paddling pool and we were able to host Dean's birthday party outside as the weather was so hot. A week is a long time in politics -as they say, and the weather has gone totally pear shaped in the last few days. The rain is back with a vengeance (which is a good thing) and the North Westerly wind is blowing wildly. Maybe it's because an Irish couple have just arrived at Helderberg and they've brought the weather from the Emerald Isle with them?! Dean was quite chuffed as he got to fly his kite properly today (and has friction burns on his hands for his troubles!).

Rasta

Dean was in CNP this morning and heard the Rasta died at 4.30 on Wednesday afternoon. Whilst this death was far from unexpected it has still shocked the community following the 5 deaths last month. Rasta's death is the second death in October with only seven days gone. The other significant impact these deaths have on the community is financial. Most people don't pay into any kind of death policy and so the funeral expenses must be covered by the community and with so many deaths the community are feeling the strain financially. This is compounded by the fact that the community is already impoverished and most people are barely getting by, as such they really don't need this added burden.
Two trips to hospital in one day, not bad except that it was 2 different hospitals over 40kms apart. This afternoon I went with Dina to see one of the Ooma's (old ladies) in CNP, she was desperately ill and refusing to allow Dina to call an ambulance. We managed to persuade her to allow us to take he in the church kombi to the hospital. After an hours wait the sister agreed to call me prior to discharging her. As yet they've not rung so I trust she was admitted. I told the Sister that the Ooma is all alone at home and with no one to care for her they must arrange for the Home Based Care Team to contact her prior to discharge. Hopefully the system will work! Please pray for this Ooma, she really is in a desperate state.

Another Year Older!

On Friday I sat with a group of Rastafarians and chatted for an hour or so (I'm now fluent in their greetings - respect!) which was very enlightening. They feel very strongly that alcohol is a huge problem and want to see the shebeens closed but also the breweries. I found this a little amusing as the pulled out a 'sack' of hash and proceeded to roll the most enormous spliffs! They saw no irony in this rather explaining it as being what helped them meditate on the book of life! They want to talk again so I'll being doing some research on Rastafarianism before that.

Visiting And Building

Today was a beautiful Spring day - cloudless blue sky and temperature at least 28 degrees with no wind, wonderful!! We are so looking forward to more of this type of weather. Paula spent yesterday afternoon with Joel and a friend and her 2 children in the Nature Reserve. It was another day like today and they had a wonderful time enjoying the scenery and chatting while the children played. Please pray for a deepening of these friendships for Paula and Joel. In many ways God is really answering this prayer after only 2 months in the country, but Paula is keen to establish deep roots from early on so that they both have real security in the coming years.

Update

On Sunday we showed The Passion at church after the morning service. This was primarily aimed at folk from CNP, Lwandle and Nomzamo who didn't manage to see the film whilst it was in the cinemas. About one hundred folk stayed for soup followed by the film and the initial; response to has been very positive. Dean was particularly encouraged by Dina's response after the film when she asked for prayer as she was going to go back to CNP and make her peace with Sandra (a community leader), please pray for this and for Sandra to be saved. It was also exciting to see Patrick attend the film after his recent amputation. He conducted himself with such grace and dignity as he struggled from the bus to the church hall.

Death In The Community

Mama Jane's husband -Harvey- died from straightforward TB in the early hours of Monday morning. Tannie Jane has been a faithful steward of her finances and has been paying into a funeral policy so the costs of Harvey's funeral are taken care off. Given that Jane will now lose the grant her husband was receiving and she continues to care for her two children and two grandchildren she will need all the money she can find. Please pray for Tannie Jane and her family, they know Jesus and are faithful witnesses to his word. Pray for blessing in their lives.

Awesome Weekend

We've had an amazing Sunday and a very good weekend overall. Dean had Friday off as he had worked quite a few late nights and was feeling quite shattered emotionally having been a sounding board for some folk in Chris Nissen Park. Things are beginning to happen and it appears that Dean has gained the confidence of most of the key leaders within the community. We praise God for this as we asked you to pray that he would be accepted by the community as we left the UK and God is certainly answering this prayer! Please continue to pray for favour for Dean as he continues to build relationships in CNP.

Cycle Of Poverty

Dean had a very illuminating afternoon in Chris Nissen Park today. He met with a man called Michael who wanted to talk about the witness of some Christians within the community. Many residents in CNP receive monthly grants from the Govt' due to their age or disability, however most of those who receive these grants have borrowed against the next month's payment in the Shebeens. They can buy their groceries and alcohol in the shebeens but they have to 'sign' for them and leave their ID cards and grant papers with the Shebeen owner.

Spring Has Sprung

Spring is now officially 2 weeks old and over the weekend it has felt like winter is finally over. Whilst this is great in terms of wearing T shirts and shorts it also means that there is no more rain due until March next year. This is really serious in the Western Cape now and water restrictions will be in place from the 1st October. We don't know what form those restrictions will take yet but water bills will definitely increase by at least 20%.

Dean visited Patrick last night and enjoyed a brief chat, he is doing well and was sat in the chair next to his bed which is really positive. Dean will be taking Chris Nissen folk again this week to see Patrick and he is really looking forward to seeing his family again. Continue to pray for swift healing and strength of spirit as he recovers.

Hospital Visits

Dean has been ferrying family and friends of Patrick to see him which involves quite a long drive from Chris Nissen to the Govt hospital. Patrick really appreciates these visits and this afternoon Dean visited on his own taking some reading material and some salted popcorn. Patrick appears to be coping reasonably well with the amputation, he was out of bed this morning and he has already been trying his crutches. Not bad for a 72 year old!

Latest News

No bad news today, primarily because Dean got the dates wrong and hadn't realised that Palace weren't playing on Sat due to an international match. However we had a lovely evening with some new friends here and look forward to building upon that.

Late last week Dean took a group of ladies from CNP to see Patrick in the local Govt hospital. Patrick is waiting to have a leg amputated as gangrene has set in due to his diabetes. Patrick was chuffed to see so many friends and family members.

Theft

We discovered at about 10am this morning that our car had been broken into and the stereo stolen along with Paula's sunglasses.  The rear quarterlight was put through creating a huge mess inside.  We spoke with our neighbours but no one heard anything and none of the dogs barked!  This is really strange as we live right in the middle of the complex and ordinarily the neighbours dogs go crazy when anyone comes near the house.  We're not too concerned about the stereo itself as an object but it's the mess created and time involved in clearing it all up that is annoying, as well as the unbudgeted expense of new glass and trying to get a new stereo and sunglasses in time when we feel we can afford it.  (We can't claim on the insurance because the excess is higher than the replacement cost!).

Answered Prayer

Our God is a faithful God!

Minton and his wife were released from custody last night.  We're not sure yet as to whether charges have been dropped or whether there is insufficient evidence to detain them further.  Either way it is good news as the case is obviously very weak.  Minton and his family are now having two weeks away to come to terms with all that has happened but also to be away from the community in which the tragic events took place, they don't feel safe there at present.

Joel's Day Out

We took Joel to the Cape Town Aquarium on Saturday and he really enjoyed himself.  The highlights for him were being able to stand against the tanks and watch the fish, sharks and seals come right up to his face.  The seals were particularly impressive with their acrobatics and Joel just giggled the whole time.  Afterwards we had lunch at the Aquarium restaurant and there were 3 seals on the quay immediately below us, needless to say Joel was enthralled.