Life Of Contrasts

Paula had another interesting and emotionally exhausting morning in Chris Nissen on Friday. She spent quite a while with Lorraine talking about her illness, general health and the various options that she now finds herself faced with , particularly with regard to her little daughter. She is very anxious and tearful about the future for Evidine, her daughter. Lorraine is not afraid to die, she said, but she is so afraid of what will happen to Evidine. This is such a common story and yet, thank God, she does at least have wider family who will care for her.

Pirate Party

These photo's are of Joel at his friend Sean's Pirate Party. As you can see from the photos Joel had great fun even though he was significantly younger than the other children.

The rain has been pretty relentless this weekend, don't be fooled by the sun in the photos below, the rain abated for Sean's party but kicked in again afterwards with a vengeance! The rain is desperately needed and the locals are quite excited about it but somehow, being English, we just can't get excited by rain!

Photos

Below are some photos taken by Tim, one of our FYP volunteers, we hope you like them. The explanation with each photo is probably enough but we'll just fill in a little detail here.

Ouma Sophie's Shack

Ouma Sophie's shack in CNP. We wouldn't let a dog live like this, but the sad reality for many in South Africa is that this is all they can afford.

Helderberg Mountain Reflection

Helderberg Mountain reflected in the pond in Helderberg Nature Reserve. Paula & Joel are barely visible standing on the decking near the middle of the picture.

Joel Chasing Bok

Joel chasing some Bok in the Helderberg Nature Reserve this afternoon. We had a lovely afternoon enjoying a break in the rain for a day.

Running Around

Joel running around in Helderberg Nature Reserve on Sunday afternoon.

Tyrone

Tyrone has been offered an appointment by an eye Dr (one of the best in the country) in our church in 2 months time. This is a real answer to prayer and will be a real blessing for Tyrone and his family.

Living With AIDS

Paula had an excellent morning in Chris Nissen on Friday. It was pouring with rain but she really wanted to go and visit some of the women. At last, after over 2 weeks of not seeing Dina, she found her curled up in bed recovering from a very nasty bout of gastric flu! Dina was so pleased to see her and they had a good chat. Many bridges were built and it was so good to hear from her why she has been so upset lately. It is amazing how easily an action or words can be misconstrued and misinterpreted so as to cause offense. Paula was also able to advise her about her diet, the drugs she was trying to take and her busy lifestyle. They prayed together and then Paula set about trying to catch up on Dina's busy 'visiting and caring' schedule that she had had to drop during her illness (typical Dina! always thinking of others).

Very Wet!

Dean had a good afternoon in CNP although it was cut short by the weather. The rain is here with a vengeance today and the cloud is so low that we can't see the mountains. As we've said previously, as English folk we really can't get excited about the rain even though we desperately need it.

Men's Bible Study

We had an excellent bible study this morning, looking at baptism (see the material below). Unfortunately we were not able to use the container as there was some building work on the go but we managed to cram into Michael's house. as it turned out we had all been baptised as consenting believers which is excellent.