- The Finnie family in Blighty, December 2021
- Dean and Paula pastor The Gathering together
- The Gathering
- Baptisms at The Gathering
- Preparing to serve at The Gathering's Soup Kitchen
- Soup Kitchen Welcome To 2022 lunch
- Serving hands - the heart of The Gatheirng
- Thankful Thursdays
- HOPE Home Based Care Team
- Gathering Ground
- Staying fit as a family
- The Helderberg - The prettiest of the mountains we face
Bell Valley Graduation
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?
Dean's Perspective
Paula's Thoughts
This is a picture of some ice we found in the garden this morning, just to prove it really is cold!
Thomas & Gordon
Life has certainly been busy since being back, not least because there's a lot going on in Chris Nissen, mostly encouraging but not all of it. We'll post more over the weekend, but for now thought you might like to see some photos of the boys.
Baby Of The Year Finalist!
Break... What Break?
Dean spent Monday afternoon in Chris Nissen visiting his friends and saying 'Hello' & catching up with many people. It was great to be there again and we definitely feel affirmed that this is where God wants us to be which is great as there is no better place to be!
Praise God!
We are so grateful to God for this massive answer to prayer as it means we can now crack on and get other bits of paperwork sorted such as passports, residency etc.
Arrived Home!
We arrived at Heathrow quite early and had to wait to check in which went smoothly once it happened. We managed to find the only bit of terminal 4 from which you can watch the planes coming and going and Joel really enjoyed that. We had some dinner before boarding and that's when our evening started to go downhill. The manager of the restaurant told us that we'd have to take our trolley out of the restaurant (though it was causing less obstruction than the pushchair) and we had a bit of an argument over this. We couldn't believe how pedantic he was being, plus we didn't want to lose the trolley, so eventually we agreed that he could take the trolley on the condition that he finds us one after our meal. To cut it short, he stored the trolley in the entrance to the restaurant which caused mayhem and resulted in them losing several customers! Pathetic really.
Final Countdown
We're in the last 24 hours of our time here in the UK as we fly out of Heathrow around 7pm on Saturday. Things are getting a bit tense in our house as we struggle with the packing and making sure that we're within our weight allowance, thankful we have just over 100Kgs allowance to return with which is a blessing.
Photo Update
On Tuesday Dad, Grandad and Joel went on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, a real boys day out. We had a lot of fun and hopefully will repeat the event next time we're home, so that Eli can join us.
Our Week In The Lakes
We've had a fantastic week in the Lakes, staying at Santon Bridge near Wast Water. This was a short break sandwiched in between our visits to St.Mary's Cheadle and Holy Trinity Gee Cross. We really enjoyed having some time and space just to ourselves.
Right Text
We arrived in Cheadle on Saturday afternoon and just had time to settle the boys down before we were off to the Upper Room in Cheadle to speak at an evening meeting which was part of the Stockport ‘Big Deal’. The evening was excellent and despite a slight technical glitch with the laptop and data projector the presentation went well. We had a lot of positive feedback and were encouraged by the response. It was also great to see some old friends such as John & Helen.
Mission Education Update
The Boys have been an absolute credit to us as they cope with so many new and different people almost daily, they've also carried on in their routines brilliantly which makes our lives much easier. We know many of you are praying for Joel & Eli in this respect and we know that God is faithfully answering these prayers.
Below are some photos of our time in then Lakes so far.
Down On The Farm
"Avast Me Hearties"
Joel was at the Weald playgroup this morning and really enjoyed himself there. This is a real blessing for us as it allows us to get some stuff done without having to drag him around with us. Eli remains 'under the weather', we're sure he's got hay fever but will keep an eye on him. Please pray against hay fever as he already has a lactose intolerance and suffers eczema quite badly so he really doesn't need any further allergies.
Photo Update
We've also updated Finnie's In Focus so feel free to take a look at that Blog too.
Eli enjoying the garden but getting a bit bunged up as he appears to have hay fever.
Weekend In Wimbledon
On Saturday afternoon we gatecrashed Catherine's 40th Birthday party (she's Susan's youngest), one of the activities they'd laid on was African drumming which Joel really enjoyed.
Eli's Dedication
On Sunday we had Eli dedicated at St. George's Weald. We decided to have the dedication in the UK rather than SA as family are here and we want them to be involved in Eli's life. The service was excellent and was followed by a massive lunch which several good friends joined us for. Many thanks to Lisa for putting so much effort into a magnificent spread!
Itinerary In UK
We'll blog again real soon but for now here's a list of the important dates and events whilst we're in the UK:
Fri 9th June Arrive
Sat 10th England v Paraguay
Mountain Bikes & Baboons
Last night Dean and the gang met a troop of Baboons out on the tracks and had some fun winding them up, although one has to be very careful and ready to sprint off VERY quickly should the alpha male take umbrage.
Experiencing nature so closely and in such peace is a real privilege and after a few stressful days in Chris Nissen it's great to be able to escape into the mountains, even if it is only far a couple of hours.
Ouma Sophie's Shack
Chris Nissen Social
A good fun evening was had by all and we plan to hold a few more socials in our efforts to get our church members and other Christians in the community to unite and stand together.
Beautiful Baby
For those of you who don't know yet, we managed to get Eli's passport fiasco sorted out, thanks to our living God who is a lot more accessible than the British high commissioner in SA! We really value your prayers, and can confirm that God did indeed answer them.
Fundamentalist ?
I'm reading some pretty interesting philosophy lately and came across this quote in an academic book on Christian Philosophy. Read it carefully and seriously... ; )
Plantinga and the "Real" Meaning of Fundamentalist
Having just stated that his Aquinas/Calvin model involves his belief in the “internal instigation of the Holy Spirit,” noetic effects of sin, and other specifically Christian beliefs, Plantinga writes this bit on what it really means to be called a “fundamentalist,”
The Child Within
Below are some photos of the A380 on its way to Heathrow taken by members of the public. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did (Joel thought they were quite cool too).
Food Parcels
Eli Can Travel!
Our prayers have been answered and Eli can accompany us to the UK in June! Today Dean flew to Jo'burg and then drove to Pretoria to get the document for Eli, all went very smoothly and wasn't too time consuming.
Dean has come home very tired but delighted with the result of his endeavour. We really appreciate all your prayers, God definitely smoothed the way and oiled the necessary cogs.
ANSWERED PRAYER!
God is answering our prayers.... Paul Boeteng, the British High Commissioner has agreed to our appeal and Eli will be allowed to fly with us - praise God!!! HOWEVER, we must get his passport stamped officially in Pretoria. So, Dean is now looking for the best flight price to go on that little expedition!
Thank you so much for your prayers, we really can't tell you what stress we were under here
Serious Prayer Need!
Two weeks after we applied for the temporary passport, the British Govt. very unhelpfully announced that South African temporary passports would no longer be accepted for entry into the UK. This has put us in a very difficult position as it is simply not possible to obtain a full passport for Eli until after the name change has been completed.
A Rare Shot
Michael's House
On the Friday before Dean left for Lesotho we managed to get a wendy house for Michael for the exact amount of money that we had raised, so a HUGE thank you to those of you who so generously helped. Michael & Joyce feel tremendously blessed and are so grateful to God for His provision.
Welcome Break
We really feel the need for this time off and are marvelling at God's timing. We tried to organise this for a couple of dates but it kept falling through, but now after Dean's return from Lesotho and some serious issues arising in CNP this mini break has come at just the right time.
Home At Last
In short, about 400 people were saved in Maseru and countless others were healed. We saw a massive out pouring of God's grace and healing in the city and are in awe of His saving power!
We'll post more later with some photos (Dean took about 650!) but for now bed is calling!
City Of Joy
On the way into town this morning we stopped to pray for a man who had collapsed at the side of the road. He was definitely healed and then gave his life to Jesus as we prayed for him! We then took him back to the SU centre for some food. What an awesome privilege to be involved in this man's salvation.
Whilst The Cat's Away!
Please keep praying. After a long journey and a tyre blow out whilst Dean was driving, the team arrived in Lesotho safe and well. There are about 100 people from 11 churches in South Africa helping out. Dean says it is very exciting and that no one in Maseru can fail to know about the new church starting on Sunday. The evening meetings start on Thursday, so do pray.
CNP Update
Family Weekend
We had a really good long Easter weekend which started with spending the morning at Spier vineyard, they have an excellent play garden for children and do lovely picnics, they also have a small Cheetah reserve which was a treat.
Easter & Other Bits
He is risen indeed!
Easter is such an amazing time in the Christian calendar as it marks the time in which Christ was murdered but then triumphantly rose from the dead (after giving the devil a good kicking for 3 days in Hades!). Wow what an awesome God we serve!
Gospel Of Judas
Suffice to say that we agree with Ben's view.
Michael's House
The shack seen from the front
Chris Nissen Park Update
Bloemfontein Zoo
We then spent the afternoon in the zoo before flying back to Cape Town in the evening. Joel really enjoyed himself in the zoo, especially chasing the Cape Ground Squirrel which was incredibly tame.
We met with our social worker this afternoon who handed us the final adoption court order. The accompanying letter states quite clearly that: "According to the provisions of the Child Care Act 1983 (Act No. 74 of 1984), your adopted child is now regarded as if born to you."
WOW! PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!
Michael's House - Update
Action In Chris Nissen Park
The municipality has at last acted in CNP and the netball court has been laid and marked out. Now we are just waiting for the posts, nets & balls to be delivered and then the ladies will start to compete properly.
Islam - A Peaceful Religion?
I can't imagine the Afghan who converted to Christianity (Abdul Rahman) was feeling very peaceful about the mass response towards him from other Muslims, given that most believed that he should be put to death. Indeed, Sharia law dictates that he should be put to death!
See the BBC new website for details:
Afghan Christian (search results)
Table Mountain
Frontier Year Project
Sarah has started her own Blog about her experiences including some insights on Chris Nissen, you can see her Blog by clicking HERE.
Birthday Weekend
On Sunday we celebrated his Birthday proper and opened a few presents before church, followed by lunch out and more presents on our return. The definite favourite is the Duplo dragon from Eli, Joel hates to put it down.
Enjoy the photos below:
Michael's House
In our last post about this situation we mentioned the possibility of you helping us to provide Michael & Joyce with somewhere to live. We are currently looking at 'Wendy Houses' which are basically large garden sheds with 2 or 3 rooms in them. These 'houses' sell for around R4500 (£450). We currently have approximately £200 and need to raise the balance as soon as possible.
If you would like to help (no amount is too small!) please email us or leave a comment on this post and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
Thanks in anticipation of your help!
Family Update
Family wise we're generally OK although Joel has a really bad cold right now and Eli is showing signs of picking it up. Joel had to miss church yesterday which wasn't much fun, but he's managed to go to nursery this morning.
Eye Of God?
Genesis 1:16-18 ...He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good
Psalm 8:3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place
Psalm 147:4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
A Meaningful Update - At Last!
Family Photo
Thanks Guys!
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