- 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
Blogging From A To Z Challenge - B
My bikes are important to me as I'm passionate about cycling and I'm really proud to have passed on a love of cycling to my boys.
I have to admit to not being sure how this happened but between the three of us we have six bikes, a trail-a-bike, a few frames and a mountain of spare parts lying around the place. I guess we ought to think about sorting it out and getting rid of a few bits but if truth be told we won't and the collection will just increase.
Blogging From A to Z Challenge, April 2012
A is for A to Z Challenge.
For a bit more info on what this is about check out the website or go to the Facebook page.
I've decided to blog about the things that are dear to me so most of my friends will know what the letter C will be about, the rest of you will have to wait until the 3rd.
Down On The Farm
It was great to have some time out away from the usual stresses and strains of daily life and just chill in the middle of nowhere free from the shackles of modern technology.
The best bit of all though is seeing the boys roaming freely and safely on the farm, often accompanied by a pack of dogs and getting up to all kinds of mischief. It really is pure pleasure to watch them chill!
Off To Camp
For My Next Trick...
So here it is, my Nimbus 36" unicycle. The plan is to get fit enough to ride it in the Cape Argus next year 2013 to raise money for Miles 4 Smiles, a charity supported by my boys' school.
I've got a mountain to climb in terms of getting uni' fit, I need to fully master getting on it, especially in front of a crowd and I need to develop my core and thigh muscles to take the strain.
So far the furthest I've ridden on my 36er is a few laps around the school car park which is a million miles from riding the thing up Chapman's Peak or Suikerbossie.
Happy 9th Birthday!
We've had a lot of fun which sadly was interrupted by school, though Joel did enjoy seeing his friends and being the centre of attention for a bit.
The day was made even better by getting the things he had asked for, including an mp3 player and even more Starwars Lego and a celebratory meal at Taste restaurant.
All in all a perfect day to be 9.
Birthday Party
What a joy it was as he invited his four best friends from school to join him for a meal at a local restaurant followed by a movie at home and a sleep-over.
After dinner Transformers was the movie of choice with lashings of popcorn (we're still finding it down the back of the sofa - nice!). It was quite amusing watching it with five experts on the subject of Transformers.
Amazing Evening
We had planned to follow on from Sunday and give space for testimonies and to pray for folk. We had a great time and then at the end a visitor gave her life to Jesus. Fantastic!
Please pray for Bonita in the coming days and weeks as she begins a new life in Christ, pray too that she'll come along to Tree Of Life on Sundays and will be made to feel accepted and welcome.
Thank you Lord for a truly awesome evening!
All kinds of fun activities were held including DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) when the bell rang at spontaneous times each child had to stop what they were doing and read. There were competitions and dressing up as well as storytime each day. Eli guessed the quote for The Very Hungry Caterpillar correctly on Tuesday and Joel got the quote right on Wednesday which was from Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.
Perfect Day
This afternoon I was delighted to be able to watch the Palace game live on local TV and it turned out to be a very good game in which we made the Hammers look distinctly average. I guess it wasn't quite a perfect day though as we only managed a draw.
Testimony Sunday
This morning our gathering was given over to sharing testimonies of what God is doing amongst us and what an amazing morning we had!
As the weeks have gone by we have watched God at work in people's lives but to actually hear some of the accounts this morning was a privilege and truly humbling.
The Widow's Offering
"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
Learning To Fly
It is such a privilege to see guys who have been stifled for so long finally spreading their wings and learning to fly again!
This morning Chris brought a word and it was brilliant. What an encouragement to see folk stepping out into new things with Jesus. I've never heard Chris speak like he did this morning but I know that as a church we are going to be hearing a lot more as he flies in his faith.
It's Church Jim...
Our inaugural Sunday was great and all I could say to the guys afterwards was that had I been able to plan the meeting in detail it wouldn't have gone as well as it did. Praise God for his infinite grace! However, planning and executing one meeting is easy, doing it week in and week out will be the challenge.
New School Year
They were both really excited about returning to school and catching up with their friends. Both boys have got great teachers again this year so we're really excited to see how they are going to fly again in the year.
Joel is now in Year 4 which is quite a step up for him. Things become a lot more formal from now which should be good for him. Joel will also join the junior school camp for the first time this year, which will involve three nights away from home. The parents are very excited about this!
Tree Of Life Planted!
Tree Of Life Church
Please join us in praying for God's name to be glorified as his kingdom is extended in Macassar.
Drum Roll Please...
So this morning we're out in Macassar inviting people to join us tomorrow.
Our big prayer is that the Holy Spirit would go before us and rock up on Sunday, please join us in prayer for this.
Plant A Tree
The mixed emotions are born out of the many friendships we've all built with folk in Mitchell's Plain and the excitement of moving into something new with God. We'll miss our friends at Love & Grace but we know we'll see each other again soon and we'll remain in contact with each other.
Merry Christmas
Eli's 6th Birthday
It hardly seems possible that it is six years ago today that Paula flew to Bloemfontein and held Eli for the first time as she waited to bring him home.
This little bundle of joy has transformed our family life with his boundless energy and sense of fun and also making us a truly international family.
We're so grateful to God for the miracle that is Eli and especially grateful that he blessed our lives!
♫♪♫School's Out For Summer♪♫♪
WHCYIAMWOTGOC
It makes for an interesting read but I find myself disliking this logo quite intensely. I've always felt that it's a bit of a silly question for two reasons. Firstly, as the article points out, we don't really get much of a clue as to how Jesus conducted himself away from the limelight and so we can't really answer the question.
On The Stoep
It's a real privilege on the evenings when the southeaster isn't blowing to sip a chilled glass of vino and enjoy dinner alfresco, especially when the Hotties mountains are illuminated so beautifully by the sunset.
It's a great way to relax after a busy day!
Eli's Birthday Party
Much fun was had as 13 of his friends ran riot around the garden, climbing on the tree house, playing on the jungle gym, bouncing on the trampoline and getting dirty in the sand pit.
In fact so much fun was had we only had time for one organised game. Pass the Parcel went down a storm as ever and we even got away without having the inevitably distraught kid that can't accept they didn't win. Phew!
Another Year Gone
It's been a great year for the boys, not least for Eli who can now read and write. we're very proud of him for this achievement!
Girls Will Be Girls!
World Aids Day
The world seems to have gotten a bit complacent about AIDS and the devastating effect it has so it takes a bit of shock tactics to get the world to sit up and listen.
Hopefully Willy the Tourist might help to do this.
Encouraging Evening
It was a real privilege to hear testimony after testimony of how God has moved mightily through the year to bring folk to the point of being excited about planting a new church into Macassar early next year. For some of the guys there last night this has been a torrid year, starting with the collapse of the church and the hassles resulting from it. Some have then lost jobs, had to move house a number of times, had family members die, one of our number has lost two brothers this year! Others have had to look after extended family to help out financially in tough times and one family have had a terrible time with drug dealers and all sorts of related nonsense.
Weekend Stuff
This last week and the weekends either side of it has been a good time for us as we've managed to sort out and rise above a bit of rubbish that was thrown our way and as a consequence find ourselves in a stronger position than before.
Encouragement Through Perseverance
So here's the excerpt from his diary:
A Tale Of Two Guys
As I said a few posts below Ernest has just suffered a massive stroke. Thankfully he has an amazing family around him who are taking excellent care of him. As an outsider looking in it's a real privilege to see just how well loved Ernest is. My family circle consists of Paula, my fantastic sons and my brother. Ernest had 40, yes 40 members of family by his bed the afternoon after his stroke!
A Little Bit Of Admin
Hopefully many of you will have received our November update by email. If you haven't had it and would like to receive our monthly updates and quarterly prayerletters let us know and we'll add you to the list.
Now that we're (almost) no longer Crosslinks mission partners we're taking control of our monthly updates and prayerletters and we want to distribute these by email as much as possible. In fact we will no longer be sending the monthly updates by snail mail, apologies if this impacts you. If you have been receiving our news via snail mail but you have an email address please let us know as it's so much easier (and cheaper) to email them. If you're old fashioned like me and want a piece of paper in your hand then it's easy to print.
Occupy St Paul's!
I feel I should make some things clear at the outset. Firstly, I support the Occupy London protest and think it has a very simple and valid message that the City and govt need to listen to.
Neighbourhood Watch CNP Style
It is so exciting to see again two of the HOPE Home Based Care team taking the lead in Chris Nissen in the fight against crime. All of these ladies are loved in the community and we are proud of them. In particular go Anne and go Aunty Poppy!!
After just 4 months, yes 4 months! I have 99% of movement back. The scar is diminishing and the swelling is almost gone. The surgeon reckons it will be a while longer before it's all normal again but he's really happy with my progress.
I've been cycling again for the last three weeks and generally carrying on as if nothing happened and barely notice my wrist anymore.
Ernest Update
Ernest was discharged from Hotties yesterday (Monday) and went home with his family. He was much stronger than he was on Sunday afternoon, sitting up, moving his arms and able to speak a little. Please continue to pray for healing for Ernest.
Here's To The Future!
Bandana Day
Macassar Update
Holiday Time
Dean got to ride with his boys again which they all love and Paula got some well deserved peace and quiet with a good book and cup(s) of coffee.
One of the real joys of this holiday has to be the fact that we park the car on arrival and don't use it again until it's time to go home. Bliss!
Celebration
It was such a privilege to be back in Macassar, even if it was for just one morning.
Celebration Build Up
20 Years Today
On the one hand I can't believe the time has flown so quickly, one has to wonder where it all went. On the other hand it's gone quite slowly as we've done some amazing things in that time, been to some incredible places and met some truly amazing people.
Having spent over heal of our marriage serving in mission has also been fantastic! We met through the Real Life Mission in Sevenoaks way back in 1985
Thankfully as we turn 20 today we're just starting out on another new adventure. Thank you Lord!
Celebration Time!
Come meet with God through a Holy Spirit-filled meeting where the focus will be to draw near to Him.
Please join us if you're in the area or pray for the event and our outreach prior to it if you're not able to join us.
Time To Take Our Ball Back!
On My Way Home
If I've not managed to speak to you during this flying visit to Blighty please don't be offended or take it personally as it's been quite a hectic time with lots of meetings etc.
England's Burning
Alternative Views
There are five alternative ways of viewing blogs though I think the mosaic way is my favourite.
Follow the link to see for yourself: Mosaic View
The Ladies Strike Again....
We love this sort of thing... you only have to flick through the local rag and see your amazing Chris Nissen women doing yet more good work!
We're making the most of the glorious weather by spending lots of time out in the garden having fun with the boys.
Saturday was spent soaking up the lovely sunshine in the garden, teasing Rosie and playing on the junglegym followed by a cracking braai (BBQ) at Chris' house in Macassar. We also invited Chris and Bubbles over which was a lot of fun.
The Day Joel Smuggled His Camera To School
We're also not sure how he got away with taking photos in class without getting caught by the teacher but all credit to the boy for getting away with it!
Here's a few of his efforts involving some of his best friends.
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