Soup Kitchen

Recently we were at a Hillsong leaders lunch and were enjoying listening to a guy called Perry Noble (we had no clue as to who he was but he was very good. Read more about him here). He posed the question: "If your church closed its doors tomorrow would it be missed by the community?".  This got me to wondering whether or not The Gathering would be missed after just about a year in Firgrove.

Hand on heart I believe that we would be missed. We'd be missed for a few reasons but one of the main reasons is our weekly soup kitchen.

"Thier Latest Ploy"

ploy
Pronunciation: /plɔɪ/
Definition of ploy in English:
noun
1. A cunning plan or action designed to turn a situation to one’s own advantage: the president has dismissed the referendum as a ploy to buy time
More example sentences
1.1 An activity done for amusement: the eternal cross-stitch I was set to do before I could indulge my own ploys

Back To School

After what seems like the shortest summer holiday ever, our boys are back to school today for the beginning of the new school year.

Joel finally starts High School in full and is looking forward to all the challenges that will bring.

The Gathering's New Year's Braai

It was a pleasure and a joy to be able to Gather as a church for a braai (BBQ) knowing that we're together just for the sake of it, free from the nonsense we had to endure last year.

We had so much fun (as you'll see in the pics below) and it was great to get to know each other a bit better. For Paula and I it was great to see Joel and Eli playing with Yanko, I think they finally realised that girls aren't gross.

It was a great way to kick off 2016.

Happy Christmas

We would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Thank you for all your prayers and support through 2015, we've had a mixed year but the blessings far outweigh the negatives and we're believing that 2016 is going to be a fantastic year with The Gathering as we rise up to be more than conquerors for His kingdom.

10th Birthday

We can't quite believe that this little bundle of joy is 10 today.

He's not so little now but he's still a bundle of immense joy.

Eli truly is a blessing, he's always ready for a laugh, a joke and a bit of teasing and life would be very dull without him.

Happy 10th birthday Eli
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Testimony Sunday

Every few months we like to give our Gathering over to a Testimony Sunday in which all are free to share what God is doing in their lives. I taught into this on Wednesday and then encouraged everyone to make an effort to be there and to step out in faith as they share what the Lord is doing.

Wow what a time we had!  At 9:40 I sent out an SMS telling guys to hurry up if they wanted a seat because we were filling up with visitors. Praise God!

Simple Joys

For me one of the simplest joys in life is my time spent preparing the soup for The Gathering's weekly soup kitchen and then serving the soup later in the evening. I really value the time and space as I prepare the soup and enjoy thinking about the folk who will be receiving it. There's something very therapeutic about it all and this is topped off by the joy of seeing our regulars each week and hearing a bit about what they've been up to. It's also great to meet a few new people each week.

I was particularly touched by one guy who has been coming for a few weeks because he came to me at the end held out his hand and just said "I want to thank you". I've often found the poorest and most vulnerable to be some of the politest and most respectful people one can meet.

24

We're celebrating 24 years of marriage today and after dropping the boys at school we had a lovely champagne breakfast at Avontuur wine estate.

Twenty four years seem to have sneaked by but it has been an incredible adventure with God and each other.

Here's to the next twenty four!

A Day Of Privilege

Yesterday was one of those rare days in which one gets to see things that leave one with a real sense of being privileged.

As ever, it's always a joy to be running The Gathering's weekly soup kitchen, especially as we're getting to know some of the regulars and building trust with them. It's a very real privilege to be allowed into these guys lives.

The most amazing privilege for me yesterday was getting to see my real son in Joel, the Joel that no end of school exams and assessments will ever see.

Michael

I'd like to ask all our praying friends to pray for Michael, he had a mild stroke about 3 weeks ago and whilst he's up and about he's struggling with the loss of use of his left hand and he's a bit wobbly and has fallen a few times.

I'm gutted to see Michael looking so pathetic because he's far from being pathetic, he's a great guy, strong as an ox and always a willing helper.

Michael is a dear friend and a big blessing to us as a family and we'd love to see him restored to full health.