Ministry Update
It has been an eventful couple of months! December and January are always a bit slower as it's our summer break. Many families are out of town, and people take every opportunity to enjoy the beautiful Cape Town summer weather. The new school year starts in the middle of January every year, and then it takes a few weeks to get everyone back into the swing of things. This year, we really felt like it took about a month to get everyone back to church, but by the end of February, we were back to "normal" in our Sunday services. We still have a couple of midweek studies and groups going, and have started a new one to accommodate more people. In fact, our ladies study has grown quite a bit from people seeing our posts on social media, and through this, we have had several visitors on Sundays!
We have also had a few people who live on the streets stop in to our services. One man named Ronald saw one of our families walking to church holding their Bible, and he followed. During the sermon that first week, he was sitting on the edge of his seat taking in every word, but he left before I could speak with him. The next Sunday, he came early, and I began asking him his story. He came from a town in the Northern Cape about 9 hours north of Cape Town. He had a difficult upbringing and ended up involved in crime and gangs. After spending a long time in prison, even leading a gang in the prison, he was released and now lives on the streets of Cape Town. He had been struggling with forgiving his family for past wrongs, but felt like God was speaking to him to go back home and restore the relationship with his family. He said he needed God's help. I shared the gospel with him again and asked if he had ever been forgiven of his own sin and been born again. Right there before the service started, Ronald prayed asking Jesus to forgive him of his sins and save him! What an amazing way to start a Sunday service! Please pray for Ronald. At the beginning of March, he traveled home to talk with his family. We are praying that God would use him to bring revival to his town, and that we would be able to minister to his family through him!
In the middle of February, we had some of our dear friends visit! Jeff and Deb Carter were youth counselors with us at our internship church in Massachusetts, and they have been such a blessing and support to us since we left. We had always talked about them coming to visit and see what God is doing in Cape Town, and we finally made it happen. We had such an amazing time showing them our beautiful part of the world, and the incredible people that God has led us to. Our kids especially loved having them here and struggled a bit when they left. We are so thankful for such wonderful friends the Lord has put in our life!
Many of you know that we had been praying for a while for a larger location to meet on Sundays. The hotel we used was great, but the kids' room was very small. I am so happy to share that the Lord has provided for this in an amazing way! On the first Sunday in March, we had our first service in the new venue! It's in another hotel that we actually originally looked into last year, but they didn't want a church there. In the last month, a new manager has taken over and was so excited about the opportunity to have a church in their conference facility. Not only is the main room bigger, but we now have two separate rooms for kids and nursery, both being larger than the one room we had before! We are so excited about this opportunity the Lord has opened up for us. On the first Sunday, we had 51 in attendance! We can't wait to see the Lord fill this venue with people who need to hear the gospel, to be discipled, and to enjoy fellowship!
We can't thank you all enough for your faithful prayer and support for us! We pray on a regular basis for each of you, and praise the Lord for His provision for the work He has called us to in Cape Town. Thank you for your faithfulness! None of this would be possible without these partnerships.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
