- 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
Feeding Programme
Home Improvements
Mother's Day
As you can imagine, Joel and Eli were delighted when a friend of ours recently returned from the UK with 2 pairs of matching Ben 10 pyjamas for them! Joel couldn't believe his eyes and questioned mum for ages as to where they had come from - knowing he hadn't seen them in the shops here!!!
Miles 4 Smiles
Eli got off to a flying start (literally!) and took the little ones race by storm whizzing round the coned off track. The only trouble was that he didn't know how to turn corners, so we had to do a bit of quick coaching!
Chickenpox
For the last few days Joel has been lethargic and complaining of not feeling too well. Today he broke out in spots and the Dr confirmed the obvious... Joel has Chickenpox. He's actually quite proud of it, especially as it means he gets to stay at home tomorrow instead of going to church and will probably miss most of next week from school. Joel decided he likes the smell of the calamine ointment but doesn't enjoy the application as it's "too cold".
Media Stupidity Pandemic
This is a pandemic that really should have the world seriously concerned! We've seen many ridiculous media events and stories over the years but the speed with which this Media Stupidity Pandemic took hold has truly broken any previous record!
Wobbly, Winter, Weird, Weather
Joel has been very excited over the last few days as one of his teeth became very wobbly and eventually fell out on Tuesday evening just in time for the tooth fairy to come. Thankfully Joel had been prepared by Charlie & Lola so he knew what to expect.
And The Winner Is..
Was this a foregone conclusion or not? It was argued that for the first time in South Africa's democratic history there was finally a solid opposition to the ruling ANC. Sadly such optimism was unfounded as COPE slumped to a miserable 7.42% of the national vote whilst the DA were confirmed as the main opposition party with 16.66%.
Election Day
This election has been billed as the biggest and most important since the end of apartheid and not without reason. Firstly, there is now a credible national opposition party* in the form of the COPE (congress of the people) which is made up of disaffected ANC party members.
Alive & Kicking
It's been a while since we last posted anything, but to be honest blogging isn't always the first thing that comes to mind. Also, sometimes it's simply better not to say anything rather than say something and get into trouble.
To see more about their Epic Adventure see Dean's mountain bike blog. He'll be updating it over the next few days with more facts, figures and recollections of the event.
For now Dean is delighted to have completed the TOUGHEST mountain bike race in the world and to have finished in the top half of the 598 starting teams. No mean achievement! He's even happier to be at home with Paula & his boys!!
God's Plans Are Far Bigger Than Ours!
And They're Off
Visit his bike blog for more info: Epic Adventures With A Mountain Bike.
6 Years Old!
He was absolutely thrilled with his presents. He loved the surprises and was so pleased to get a couple of things that he has been asking about for months and months!!
6th Birthday Party
Joel had his 6th birthday party today and was really proud to have his friends round. Inevitably the theme was pirates so all the games had a pirate twist to them!
Much fun was had by all with plenty of gold coins and pieces of eight being given out as prizes.
We're Still Alive!
On Fire - Yet Again!
It was when we went outside however that we began to realise how bad things were. The garden looked like it had been sprinkled with snow but in actual fact it was all covered with ash.
Helderberg On Fire - Yet Again!
This one started a few days ago and the fire crews have been battling to get it under control for a while. Sadly, despite using helicopters to water bomb it they don't seem to be winning. Thankfully the wind has dropped a bit which should help. The mountain is largely obscured by the smoke during the day and the air is thick with the smell of it.
Previous posts on this: Feb 08 & Oct 07
Joel pulled a blinder on Dad today. He came home from school with some make-up on as he'd been chosen with several other children for a promotional photo for the school. So Joel decided to paint the rest of his face red to be a "bloody pirate". As he came out of his bedroom he complained to Daddy that he was "burning up". Daddy fell for it, got into a bit of a state just in time to realise Joel was laughing his head off. Nice one! Cracking sense of humour which we'll be nurturing.
Garage Worship
Regardless, Daniel and Mervin did a great job of rallying the troops and making sure as many members as possible knew that we would meet in Davey's garage instead.
Down On The Farm
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