- 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
International Day Of The African Child
The children were protesting against being forced to learn in Afrikaans, demanding instead (and not unreasonably so) to be educated in their own languages.
Father's Day
The school had gone to town in making the hall look great with muffins, coffee and chocolates galore for the dads. The children performed a great array of pieces from songs and poems to dances and jokes.
All the children did really well but I was particularly proud of my boys!
World Blood Donor Day
When my younger brother was dying from Leukaemia he was often asked "What can I do for you?" His response was always the same "Give blood!"
Blood was literally my brother's lifeline.
To not give is simply selfish! To not give because you're scared of needles or some other rubbish is simply pathetic!
Ask yourself one question. When I'm sick or hurt and need blood, who's going to give it to me?
Miles 4 Smiles Assembly
Dean had the privilege of attending the Miles 4 Smiles assembly at the boys school this morning.
We love how good the school is at getting involved in stuff but the way they get involved in this particular charity is quite amazing. Between the children in this picture they raised just over R34,000 (£3100) which will be used by Operation Smile for corrective surgery for children with cleft palates.
And The Winner Is...
Both boys loved dressing up and Eli went as an Alien who Loves Underpants. He was particularly pleased with his costume, as he got to fulfill a bit of an ambition by wearing a pair of underpants on his head to school. What made it even better for him was the fact that the teachers loved it!
Well it truly paid off for Eli as he was presented with the prize for best book week costume in the junior school.
The World's Clean Again
We remain so thankful to God for His healing work in Eli’s eyes. We have known for a long time that he has been experiencing sight difficulties but had not realised the extent until the first round of testing when he was just 3 years old. It was explained to us that not only does he quite serious myopia but he also had a stigmatism which meant that his retinas were shaped like rugby balls. The odds were truly stacked against him.
Flying Thing
I think it might be a hornet but am not too sure. Whatever it is I was surprised to see it out on a cold winter's morning.
Aunty Poppy
Don't Go Camping Tomorrow!
So Harold Camping and his sect have come up with a convoluted mathematical formula to determine exactly when the day of judgement will be.
For the whole week they were given a 'reading buddy' from a higher year and every time the bell sounded they had to Drop Everything And Read (DEAR), grab their buddy and go for it - how cool is that! Each day there was a quotation competition for the kids to have a go at guessing and winning a prize (Joel was thrilled to win on Thursday when he guessed the quote from Charlotte's Web!) and they also ran an all-week photo competition with various staff and pupils hiding behind their favourite titles!
Exhausted!
Tonight's choice, after mummy had already read the next chapter of Charlie And The Chocolate factory, was Charlie Cook's Favourite Book which is a classic Julia Donaldson tale which goes full circle to end where it began.
Hmmm, think I need to join my boys in the land of nod, accompanied of course by a good book.
Miles for Smiles
Celebrations
Then came the highlight of the week for Eli as Jo had promised to be his bunk buddy one night. Still don’t think Eli can believe that she actually did stay over in his bunk bed – lots of laughs!
Royal Treatment
Helderberg On Fire - Yet Again!
After the horrific fires of two years ago when just about everything on the Hottentots Holland mountains was burnt between Gordon's Bay and Jonkershoek we'd have hoped we might have learnt our lessons. Apparently not!
Word locally is that the Erinvale estate had a 'controlled' fire earlier in the week and today's fire is a result of a flare up from the controlled fire. So much for controlled, if it's true.
I May Be Wrong
I kind of thought that if one genuinely seeks restoration of friendship then one needs to acknowledge that friendship has broken down. If one acknowledges that friendship has broken down one needs to acknowledge that one played a part in that breakdown. If one acknowledges that one had a part to play in that breakdown then one needs to express a degree of sorrow or remorse for their part in that.
Surely then, if one then sits there and claims "I feel I have nothing to apologise for!" then clearly one is not genuinely seeking restoration.
As I say, I may be wrong, but I'm very open to discussing it. Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
Sans Enfants
The high just gets higher as today we're off for two nights without the boys. We're sloping off to our favourite retreat in Pringle Bay whilst the boys will be in the very capable hands of
I'm also looking forward to a meeting on Friday. Whilst it's not a meeting I particularly want it should be a time of laying to rest a lot of the nonsense of the last few months.
To top it all off I've been invited to preach again and am really looking forward to it on Sunday. That'll be twice in a month which is a bit of a novelty.
Bring it on!
Heroes Of The Faith - Pt 3
Let me start by telling you a bit about these guys...
Blog Stuff
After the recent relaunch of the blog and it's integration into Facebook I knew I'd have a better idea of how many folk were reading the blog and roughly where and how the blog was being read.
Tea On The Beach
This is definitely becoming a favourite family activity, but what's not to enjoy about a stunning beach, breathtaking views and one's favourite peeps in the whole wide world to share it all with?
The perfect end to a great day.
Amazing Morning!
This morning was about exactly that as no sermon was planned but folk had been asked to spend time seeking God with a view to sharing this morning. How good it was to see a willing flow of folk bringing some amazing testimonies, words and encouragements. What a joy to hear so much of how God is moving in the lives of folk and extending his kingdom in Mitchell's Plain.
Labour Of Love In Action
If you're in SA and can help, either contact Alfred directly or give me a shout.
The original article in Grabouw Ads can be found here.
Perfect Saturday
Took my boys to watch Rango at the flicks which was great, all washed down with plenty of popcorn and sodas. A great film which really is wasted on children. The humour is great and very dark in places.
After a brief lunch at home I then decamped into the garage with my boys to paint their new toy chests. Joel chose a Prince Of Persia theme and was particularly proud of his Hassansins.
Renovations
Our new bedroom and bathroom are finished too so we now have room for visitors!
Many thanks go to our dear friend Michael who has been a total legend coming each day and just getting on with painting etc. Without his help we'd be nowhere near finished.
A Little 'Taste' Of Heaven!
Ceroplesis Capensis
He looks quite nasty with the red stripes but I guess that makes for an excellent deterrent.
So there you go, you learn something new everyday!
Supper On The Beach
The boys simply adore exploring the environment and messing around in the rock pools and this time playing tug o' war with a washed up kelp plant.
A large number of dead jellyfish also held their attention for quite a while as did a nasty looking bug (see below).
Joel's 8th Birthday
He has been so keen to reach this landmark and was so excited last night before bed that it took him an age to finally go to sleep! On Thursday his class came for a now legendary Joel pirate party and they all had great fun. It was so nice to see such a great bunch of children together - some of whom Joel has now known and been at school with for more than 4 years.
Fun With Family & Friends
Dangerous Trees?
As I was scanning loads of old photos recently I came across this one taken in Greenwich Park in 1987.
The sign was erected after the hurricane in '87 and many of the oaks in the park were in a bad way, hence the need for Elf 'n Safety to wade in.
Love And Grace
Bible based and open to the Holy Spirit. Doesn't come much simpler than that really! Everything was God centred with leadership that felt no need to draw attention to itself which was quite refreshing after our church experiences over the last few years.
It's always great too when God rocks up, meets with you and leads you on further into his purposes. We certainly came away feeling very encouraged and motivated to get on with the next step of what God has in store for us.
Valentine's Ball
Joel had everything planned. He spent the entire day before worrying about what to wear and then spent an hour making a card for his Valentine (we'll let you guess who that is from the girls featured below!).
From the moment he got home today, Joel asked on the hour every hour how much longer he had to wait and from 4 o'clock was dressed and holding "the card" in his hand!
It can be very telling but it can also mean absolutely nothing. Silence between real friends is comfortable whilst silence between colleagues or those who assume a degree of authority can be uncomfortable.
Read into our silence what you will, or email us.
What I can tell you is that I've been out for a great meal with the love of my life!
Mission Ed' Videos Part 2
Here's the second video we showed during our mission ed visits. This is our informal photo presentation which is simply set to music with a few captions.
It's a lighter look at our lives at work and play, but mostly at play!
Part 1 is here.
Mission Ed' Videos Part 1
HOPE (Hands On, Prayer & Evangelism) Home Based Care Team video produced for our 2010 mission education trip to the UK. We used this video as part of our main Powerpoint presentation.
This video is a follow up to our previous HOPE video
On our return home we heard a few things about the church, though sadly nothing from the leadership about what was likely to happen and on Sunday Grace Community Church closed up and finished.
Wherever You May Wander...
So, we'd only been home for the afternoon and it started raining. What's that all about then?!?
Despite being fleeced of ninety quid by the thieving swines at BA for having bags over 23kgs (despite our almost 300kg allowance!) we had a long, smooth and easy journey. It's good to be back home and really pleased to be in the midst of unpacking and sorting things out.
On Our way Home
We've had a great time in Blighty and it was fantastic to see so many friends again especially those we hadn't seen for nearly 20 years.
Apologies to those of you we didn't get to see, hopefully you might be able to make use of our spare bedroom in Cape Town sometime soon.
Mission Education - Final Sunday
It was a very busy morning giving our powerpoint presentation in two services followed by lunch and a brief talk about some of our friends in South Africa and our photo presentation. This was all topped off with a 4 hour drive down South!
Facing The Mountain Roadshow - Sheffield
It was great to stay with friends, Tim and Liz Rose, from old CYFA venture days, whom we haven't seen for a long time.
Ladybower Dam
The boys enjyed seeing Ladybower but were incredibly disinterested in the few other things we tried to show them. Kids eh!
Facing The Mountain Roadshow - Sheffield
This evening we'll be at 30 Bannerdale Road, S7 2DL in Sheffield for our final Facing The Mountain Roadshow.
Facing The Mountain Roadshow - Cheadle
Big thanks must go to the Markham's for so generously hosting the evening, providing plenty of food and drink whilst opening their house up without knowing just who was going to rock up or how many would.
We had a brilliant evening catching up with some great friends and it was really good to be able to talk a bit about what we're doing out in South Africa and the challenges ahead.
Midweek Mission Ed'
In between last Sunday speaking at St. Cuthbert's and this Sunday speaking at st. Mary's we've been busy with some midweek meetings. The joy of the midweek stuff is that we get to meet smaller groups of folk and speak a bit more candidly about the stuff we're involved with.
St. Cuthbert's
After a long drive on Saturday it was good to decamp from the car into John and Tricia's for a relaxing roast dinner before a busy morning at St. Cuthbert's on Sunday morning.
Our visit to St. Cuthbert's was great! We shared our Powerpoint presentation in the service which was followed by a cracking lunch and our photo presentation which was well received once again.
Good Evening
A good evening was had which was topped off nicely with a visit to The Windmill for a real ale or two.
Next stop Cheadle to spend time with great friends in Cheadle and Sheffield. We're really looking forward to the next 10 days!
Lies, Damned Lies & Blame Shifters
Being lied to,
being lied about
and blame shifters.
The lying I can handle even if it does annoy me but the blame shifting is something I'm, not sure I'll ever get to grips with, especially when it's Christians doing it!
Paris Part 2
We had a great time mooching around the city, enjoying the sites, cuisine and the wine. We'd gone just to chill and other than visiting Notre Dame weren't too fussed about seeing too much else.
How we wish that more folk in life would grasp this simple analogy and accept that often in life we make it up as we go along and have to trust that we're making the right decisions for the right reasons.
As Christians we pepper it all with prayer but that still doesn't give us any superior knowledge as to what is necessarily the right or wrong way. We step out in faith, trusting...
We had a great time with family and it was good for Joel & Eli to spend time with their cousins as this is a rare treat. I also enjoyed spending time with Bethy, our middle niece, as we made the most of the late night rides to go on the bigger rollercoasters that the others either couldn't ride or wouldn't ride.
Christmas Day
Christmas dinner was fantastic as ever thanks to Lisa's great cooking (courtesy of Delia) and it was great to actually have a family Christmas dinner on Christmas day for the first time in three years.
Happy Christmas
Eli's 5th Birthday
The first half of the day was at Grandad's where the family made a fuss of him with some great presents.
The second half of the day was spent back in Wimbledon (after the now regular trudge along the M25) where he finally got to play with his toys.
The day was then topped off with a lovely family meal at an Italian taverna in Wimbledon where genuine Italian gelato was the winner!
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