Monday, 23 September 2013

Slowly But Surely....

The workmen are making slow but steady progress on our disabled and gent's toilets.

 


 
There will be NO Messy Church this Saturday (28th September) as our building is still too Messy from this construction work! The next Messy Church will take place on 26th October, 4 pm - 6 pm. 
 
 




Tuesday, 17 September 2013

News from the Storm family

Annelie Growing Up!
We love how adaptable and outdoor loving Annelie is.  She already has many stories to tell.
However, one of the knock on effects is the regular breaking of any sleeping pattern she develops.
Recently Annelie is only sleeping at night by cuddling Mummy or Daddy! As lovely as this is, it is also very demanding on us - as you can imagine.
This week we will be breaking this pattern so that she learns to sleep on her own once again. We expect a fair bit of screaming, crying and at the end of the week - a sleeping baby!
Please pray for this process this week - Thank you.


 
Full Time Team is Expanding!
 
This month David has welcomed Joce (UK) and Wayne (China) into the team full time.  We are now a team of 4!
Praise God for an expanding team and pray for them as they adapt to their new roles.


Friday, 13 September 2013

Work in progress



Work commenced on Monday!!!  Good progress is being made.  Our building will be busy with normal activities this weekend.  Just keep in mind that for a couple of weeks our only toilet facilities are on the first floor. 

Tuesday, 3 September 2013

A Work in Progress...


Great news!
 
September 9th sees the start of our building project to upgrade our toilets facilities to have a properly fitted disabled toilet.  This is being accomplished in part with a grant from Awards for All.  
 
To push ahead with increased facilities we will have to run with significantly reduced facilities for two to three weeks.  Please be advised that from 9th  September our only toilets will be on the first floor.  This may impact anyone with a mobility issue. We have spoken with all groups using our building but want to inform any visitors to our Sunday services.
 
Keep an eye out here for updates on the progress of the work!

Tuesday, 20 August 2013

News from World Horizons

Here is the latest update from David and Corne Storm.


Team Photo

The 8000 mile round trip to Eastern Turkey and back was not without its fair few challenges!

However we have already heard that since praying and fasting for a couple of days in one north-eastern province, the number of believers in the province has now doubled!  The Lord God is Mighty to Save!


 Iftar
The Turkish government put on mass 'Iftar' end of fast dinners.  Here, we joined 500 Kurds and Syrian refugees in the breaking of their daily Ramadan fast.  We were welcomed very warmly by Muslim families and individuals alike.

Iraq Convoy
Due to a change of events, we had the unexpected bonus of a spontaneous trip to Iraq!  This was quite a journey involving an armed convoy along the Turkish/Syrian border as we entered Iraq.  In Iraq we met some friends and Iraqi Christians.  It was so encouraging for us all to hear their testimonies and to pray together.

   Cairo Skyline

The August trip to Cairo has been cancelled.  However please join us in remembering the nation and people of Egypt. We will specifically be fasting lunches over 2nd-6th September to pray and invite you to join with us.

We recommend reading this link to better understand the current situation and in understanding how to pray.  https://www.sat7usa.org/understanding-the-present-situation-in-egypt

Tuesday, 13 August 2013

Soul Action South Africa Update

 
 
It was good to have a visit from Phil, Rachel and Zachary Bowyer back in June while they were in the UK. They spent 4 weeks travelling around to spend time with their family, and visiting churches and groups to share about their work. It was a trip that they found physically exhausting, but spiritually, socially and emotionally energising, inspiring and surprising!
 


I'm a church leader, get me out of here!

On their return to South Africa they hit the ground running by gathering local church leaders on their first day back to pray about their national conference planned for next March. During the first week they were back they met with the 20 leaders they have been gathering to think through what it means to empower communities to use their own resources to meet their own needs. The leaders in the photo may look like they are trying to escape the building, but in reality they were asked to make the longest line they could with the resources they had on them! The exercise not only brought out their competitive streak but also drove home the point: we can sometimes overlook our own resources, and - worse still - forget that even those people in what we think are the most desperate situations still have resources and potential.

Pray:
  • That this group of leaders would be catalysts in this country for a move towards people empowerment.
  • For stories of people for whom empowerment has led to them re-discovering their fullest potential in God.


Educators discussing in groups the advantages of shared reading.
 
Soul Action South Africa's Literacy Project's vision is to empower children to reach their full potential. To achieve this they have chosen to support teachers in low economic communities by working with schools to teach children to read and write in English. One of the ways Soul Action supports teachers is by facilitating workshops. In this case the teachers had asked for support with shared reading. 19 teachers attended the workshop which aimed to develop an understanding of what is meant by, and how to facilitate, shared reading.
 

Feedback from all the groups
 
Pray:
  • For Rachel as she continues to train teachers, and especially for the relationship she is developing the Department of Education in KwaZulu Natal.
 
Copies of the Soul Action South Africa monthly newspapers are available in Priory Lane. Or go to their website: www.soulaction.co.za for more information.
 


Kids Try Praying


Our children and young people have enjoyed getting to grips with praying over the summer with the help of these great Try Praying books for children and youth. Like the adult version, these books explain what prayer is all about and encourage young readers to try praying for themselves with some simple steps they can follow.

The children's version has stories and puzzles which made learning about prayer fun for us all! The youth books have plenty of testimonies from young people who have found that praying has really made a difference to their lives in all sorts of trials and difficulties which are so typical in the experience of young people today.

We have a few of both books left over, and plenty of the adult version too, so let us know if you would like one! Or you can find out more about TryPraying and order books at www.trypraying.co.uk