Outreach Update! Muizeberg, Cape Town This week was a fantastic, jam-packed time for our team. We continued our time in Bellville, a suburb about 45 minutes away from the YWAM base in Muizenberg. We had the opportunity to share twice at a primary school in the township of Klipeuwel. The school had been having troubles with their children and “taxi drivers” in the community. The taxi drivers would come and give treats to young (around grade four and up) girls, use them, and them leave them alone outside of town. We did a drama for the kids, and afterwards, two of our team members shared about the value that God places on our live, and the way that this should affect how we treat each other. Later on in the week, we had the opportunity to share again, and around twenty kids got up and gave their lives to the Lord. It was incredible to see the way that God worked in the lives of these kids during our time there. We also had the chance to visit the townships of Imizamy Yetu, Sir Lowries, and Delft during the week, where we were involved with children’s ministries. All in all, it was a fantastic week just to see everything that God was able to do!   Muizenberg This week kicked off with us back in Muizenberg, and excitement for the World Cup was building into a fever pitch. We had the chance to set up a World Cup Kick-off party of sorts, in the township of Delft. One of the people that lived in our house on base is a pastor of a church in Delft, and we worked with him for a few days this week building connections in the community, playing with kids, and organizing events for the day. On Friday, we had around 200 people in a little wooden church to watch the opening match of the World Cup, and they were all excited beyond belief. We were able to share with them a bit of what we were doing in Cape Town, and what God has been doing in our lives. Afterwards, we served food, and talked with them some more. We also did some kids ministry in the township of Capricorn, which was within walking distance of our house in Muizenberg. The kids there were sometimes difficult, but always eager for the love that we showed them.   J-Bay This week, we left Cape Town, and travelled up the coast of South Africa to the town of Jeffrey’s Bay (also known as J-Bay). We stayed with YWAM J-Bay, and had some great opportunities to help out in the community. We had a chance to help out with a kid’s camp being run at a local church during the World Cup. In South Africa, all of the kids have the time during the World Cup off from school, and so become easy targets for human trafficking, a problem on the rise. The aim of this camp was first and foremost to share God’s love with these children, but also to provide something for them to do to lessen their risk of being trafficked. We also worked on a painting project for the base in J-Bay, and  talked to people in the Fan Zone in Port Elizabeth, an hour’s drive away from J-Bay. Right now, we are preparing to head up to Durban, and cannot wait to see what God has in store for us next!

Outreach Update!

Muizeberg, Cape Town

This week was a fantastic, jam-packed time for our team. We continued our time in Bellville, a suburb about 45 minutes away from the YWAM base in Muizenberg. We had the opportunity to share twice at a primary school in the township of Klipeuwel. The school had been having troubles with their children and “taxi drivers” in the community. The taxi drivers would come and give treats to young (around grade four and up) girls, use them, and them leave them alone outside of town. We did a drama for the kids, and afterwards, two of our team members shared about the value that God places on our live, and the way that this should affect how we treat each other. Later on in the week, we had the opportunity to share again, and around twenty kids got up and gave their lives to the Lord. It was incredible to see the way that God worked in the lives of these kids during our time there. We also had the chance to visit the townships of Imizamy Yetu, Sir Lowries, and Delft during the week, where we were involved with children’s ministries. All in all, it was a fantastic week just to see everything that God was able to do!

 

Muizenberg

This week kicked off with us back in Muizenberg, and excitement for the World Cup was building into a fever pitch. We had the chance to set up a World Cup Kick-off party of sorts, in the township of Delft. One of the people that lived in our house on base is a pastor of a church in Delft, and we worked with him for a few days this week building connections in the community, playing with kids, and organizing events for the day. On Friday, we had around 200 people in a little wooden church to watch the opening match of the World Cup, and they were all excited beyond belief. We were able to share with them a bit of what we were doing in Cape Town, and what God has been doing in our lives. Afterwards, we served food, and talked with them some more. We also did some kids ministry in the township of Capricorn, which was within walking distance of our house in Muizenberg. The kids there were sometimes difficult, but always eager for the love that we showed them.

 

J-Bay

This week, we left Cape Town, and travelled up the coast of South Africa to the town of Jeffrey’s Bay (also known as J-Bay). We stayed with YWAM J-Bay, and had some great opportunities to help out in the community. We had a chance to help out with a kid’s camp being run at a local church during the World Cup. In South Africa, all of the kids have the time during the World Cup off from school, and so become easy targets for human trafficking, a problem on the rise. The aim of this camp was first and foremost to share God’s love with these children, but also to provide something for them to do to lessen their risk of being trafficked. We also worked on a painting project for the base in J-Bay, and  talked to people in the Fan Zone in Port Elizabeth, an hour’s drive away from J-Bay. Right now, we are preparing to head up to Durban, and cannot wait to see what God has in store for us next!

South Africa so far Day 1 (May 18th): Melbourne, Johannesburg, and Cape Town Paper Planes to Foreign Skies Today, after much waiting and anticipation, our Cape Town and Beyond outreach team began our travels. We left the Melbourne base, where we have all been living the last three months, at 6:00 in the morning and headed out for the airport. We had no major glitches there, and were soon off on our flight to Johannesburg. It was a fairly uneventful flight, with excellent entertainment, and 15 hours later, we landed safely in Johannesburg. Here, we parted ways with the Mozambique team (also from our Discipleship Training School in Melbourne), whom we had been traveling with, and boarded a two and a half hour flight to Cape Town. By the time we landed, we were all exhausted, and ready for a good night’s sleep. We had difficulty meeting our contact from the YWAM base in Muizenberg in the airport, but eventually he found us. We arrived at our accommodations in Muizenberg (one of the surrounding areas of Cape Town) at around midnight. We are excited to see what God would have us do here! Day 2 (May 19th): Muizenberg, Cape Town Today, we all got to sleep in a little bit, a welcome rest after yesterday’s travel. When we woke up, we had a chance to explore a bit, and found out that we have a mountain literally in our front yard. It seemed surreal, and absolutely beautiful. We had base orientation with the base manager, Verneal, and learned a little bit about South African culture. From there, we had a tour of the base, and were able to get a better view of our surroundings from the rooftop. There are mountains all around, with the ocean being only a few minutes walk away. Later on, we met with our base contact, Kiffi, and learned more about some of the opportunities for ministry for us. These included sports with Kickoff (a ministry based around the World Cup), working with street kids, prostitution ministry, and human trafficking. After this, we were treated to a bri (a South African barbeque), on the Muizenberg base. Afterwards, we headed back for bed, incredibly jet-lagged but excited for what tomorrow would hold. Day 3 (May 20th): Muizenberg, Cape Town Open our eyes to see the things that make your heart cry…. Today, we all definitely felt the effects of jet lag, waking up at ridiculous hours of the morning. The main things on the agenda for today were training for human trafficking, and AIDS, and a Thursday night meeting. Training went well, with everyone learning a lot. Human trafficking was particularly useful, as it is something that a number of members of our team have a heart for. We are hoping to be involved in a program called Traffick Proof while we are here in Cape Town, who do presentations in communities that are at high risk for trafficking to help them recognize ways to lessen their risk of being trafficked. That evening, we had a chance to go to Thursday night meeting. It was an absolutely amazing experience. There were at least 200 people at the meeting, and everyone was so passionate about worshipping. Everyone always talks about how different and intense African church is, and now we got a chance to experience it firsthand. It was an excellent experience for all involved. Day 4 (May 21st): Muizenberg, Cape Town The Science of Foot Washing Today was a bit of a slower day for activities for us. Something that we have discovered since being here in Muizenberg is that the base here likes to make sure that you have a thorough understanding of the work they are doing in a particular area before you jump in to help. So, today, we had another training session. This one was at the main base, with two or three of the other visiting DTS groups from Australia and England, as well as people from local churches interested in the program we were learning about today. This program is Samaritan’s Feet. They are an organization dedicated to sharing the gospel with kids. The vehicle that they use to reach these kids is shoes. So many kids here don’t have something as basic as shoes, and so giving them a pair is an easy way to practically meet them where they are. The way it works is that we would go out, taking shoes with us to a venue, and set up there. We would get to wash these kids feet, give them a new pair of shoes, and Jesus with them, the reason that they can have hope in this life. We are all excited to see where this opportunity will take us. Day 5 (May 22nd): Muizenberg, Cape Town Today was our first off day since arriving in Cape Town. We decided to take this opportunity to have an outdoor adventure. The first thing that one notices when walking out the front door of our house is mountains that look as if they are close enough to touch. Since the first day here, we have all wanted to go hiking in them, and today was our chance. After having a time of worship and devotions, we headed out to the mountains. We didn’t really know where to start off climbing, so we picked the first openly accessible spot we saw, and started up. About five minutes later, we realized that this had probably been a bad decision. From back where our house was, the mountain looked like it was covered with grass until about halfway up, but up close, that same grass became waist high shrubs and large boulders. Needless to say, this made life more difficult than we had anticipated, until we finally found a path set up to the top. From that point, it was about half an hour’s worth of walking to the mountain shoulder. It was hard work, but well worth it. The view was breathtaking, an awe-inspiring blend of ocean, mountain, and urban sprawl. A few of us continued on for a better look at the top of Muizenberg Peak, about a 15 minute walk farther up. All over that mountain, it was impossible to escape the presence of God. Everything about it screamed his name, from the view stretched out as far as the eye could see, to the rock rooted firmly in place beneath our feet. Days like that are clear reminders that God is real, and that all he makes are masterpieces in their own right.

South Africa so far

Day 1 (May 18th): Melbourne, Johannesburg, and Cape Town

Paper Planes to Foreign Skies

Today, after much waiting and anticipation, our Cape Town and Beyond outreach team began our travels. We left the Melbourne base, where we have all been living the last three months, at 6:00 in the morning and headed out for the airport. We had no major glitches there, and were soon off on our flight to Johannesburg. It was a fairly uneventful flight, with excellent entertainment, and 15 hours later, we landed safely in Johannesburg. Here, we parted ways with the Mozambique team (also from our Discipleship Training School in Melbourne), whom we had been traveling with, and boarded a two and a half hour flight to Cape Town. By the time we landed, we were all exhausted, and ready for a good night’s sleep. We had difficulty meeting our contact from the YWAM base in Muizenberg in the airport, but eventually he found us. We arrived at our accommodations in Muizenberg (one of the surrounding areas of Cape Town) at around midnight. We are excited to see what God would have us do here!

Day 2 (May 19th): Muizenberg, Cape Town

Today, we all got to sleep in a little bit, a welcome rest after yesterday’s travel. When we woke up, we had a chance to explore a bit, and found out that we have a mountain literally in our front yard. It seemed surreal, and absolutely beautiful. We had base orientation with the base manager, Verneal, and learned a little bit about South African culture. From there, we had a tour of the base, and were able to get a better view of our surroundings from the rooftop. There are mountains all around, with the ocean being only a few minutes walk away. Later on, we met with our base contact, Kiffi, and learned more about some of the opportunities for ministry for us. These included sports with Kickoff (a ministry based around the World Cup), working with street kids, prostitution ministry, and human trafficking. After this, we were treated to a bri (a South African barbeque), on the Muizenberg base. Afterwards, we headed back for bed, incredibly jet-lagged but excited for what tomorrow would hold.

Day 3 (May 20th): Muizenberg, Cape Town

Open our eyes to see the things that make your heart cry….

Today, we all definitely felt the effects of jet lag, waking up at ridiculous hours of the morning. The main things on the agenda for today were training for human trafficking, and AIDS, and a Thursday night meeting. Training went well, with everyone learning a lot. Human trafficking was particularly useful, as it is something that a number of members of our team have a heart for. We are hoping to be involved in a program called Traffick Proof while we are here in Cape Town, who do presentations in communities that are at high risk for trafficking to help them recognize ways to lessen their risk of being trafficked. That evening, we had a chance to go to Thursday night meeting. It was an absolutely amazing experience. There were at least 200 people at the meeting, and everyone was so passionate about worshipping. Everyone always talks about how different and intense African church is, and now we got a chance to experience it firsthand. It was an excellent experience for all involved.

Day 4 (May 21st): Muizenberg, Cape Town

The Science of Foot Washing

Today was a bit of a slower day for activities for us. Something that we have discovered since being here in Muizenberg is that the base here likes to make sure that you have a thorough understanding of the work they are doing in a particular area before you jump in to help. So, today, we had another training session. This one was at the main base, with two or three of the other visiting DTS groups from Australia and England, as well as people from local churches interested in the program we were learning about today. This program is Samaritan’s Feet. They are an organization dedicated to sharing the gospel with kids. The vehicle that they use to reach these kids is shoes. So many kids here don’t have something as basic as shoes, and so giving them a pair is an easy way to practically meet them where they are. The way it works is that we would go out, taking shoes with us to a venue, and set up there. We would get to wash these kids feet, give them a new pair of shoes, and Jesus with them, the reason that they can have hope in this life. We are all excited to see where this opportunity will take us.

Day 5 (May 22nd): Muizenberg, Cape Town

Today was our first off day since arriving in Cape Town. We decided to take this opportunity to have an outdoor adventure. The first thing that one notices when walking out the front door of our house is mountains that look as if they are close enough to touch. Since the first day here, we have all wanted to go hiking in them, and today was our chance. After having a time of worship and devotions, we headed out to the mountains. We didn’t really know where to start off climbing, so we picked the first openly accessible spot we saw, and started up. About five minutes later, we realized that this had probably been a bad decision. From back where our house was, the mountain looked like it was covered with grass until about halfway up, but up close, that same grass became waist high shrubs and large boulders. Needless to say, this made life more difficult than we had anticipated, until we finally found a path set up to the top. From that point, it was about half an hour’s worth of walking to the mountain shoulder. It was hard work, but well worth it. The view was breathtaking, an awe-inspiring blend of ocean, mountain, and urban sprawl. A few of us continued on for a better look at the top of Muizenberg Peak, about a 15 minute walk farther up. All over that mountain, it was impossible to escape the presence of God. Everything about it screamed his name, from the view stretched out as far as the eye could see, to the rock rooted firmly in place beneath our feet. Days like that are clear reminders that God is real, and that all he makes are masterpieces in their own right.