Busy busy

Morning all, its been a really busy few days but great fun! This week we have been telling the story of Moses which has involved some dressing up and multiple tea-towels! The kids seem to listen much better if we dress up to tell the story so we may do more of that in the future! It has also allowed us to clearly give the gospel message to them all and around 80 children heard it yesterday and hopefully the same today!

I have almost finished making 5 sets of the armour of God from old cardboard boxes which has been a challenge. We really hope that this will provide entertainment and good substance when it comes to the holiday club schedule that will run throughout the world cup.

I must tell you about yesterday morning, where Mzo and I had around 2 hours together which was great. Everyday at club we give the children a sandwich, an apple and an orange. In order to have around 100 sandwiches ready for the end of club, we give the bread and the poloni to the lady who makes them the day before they are needed. However, we forgot to give her any bread on tuesday. So.....Mzo suddenly announced that we needed to rush to Redhill as Eugenia (the lady) was stressed that she wouldn't have enough time, so I asked the transport manager if he had a car spare. Turns out he did, but only a buckie, pickup truck to you and me. So I drove with Mzo to the supermarket and loaded this massive truck up with 14 loaves of bread (Mzo is loading the 'heavy' bread into the truck). Twas rather funny and a good time together. Photos are attached and on picasa soon too.

Working here is a great blessing and I am really enjoying it, feel very settled in and enjoying the lifestyle and culture too. I was given a xhosa Bible yesterday which was very kind of Nolo, one of the staff here, and am trying to read and speak it!

That's plenty for you all now, happy reading.

Music!

Hi all, just got given this recording of a song we made up recently, someone has mixed it together! We now sing and chant this with the kids at Redhill!! Enjoy...https://www.dropbox.com/home#/Redhill

Sunday evening!

Hi all!!

Its been a really busy but good weekend. Saturday we ran a football tournament for around 70 kids in the bright sunshine for most of the morning. The football skills accompanied Biblical teaching and values, for example having completed a shooting drill we then talked about what our aim in life was and what we wanted to do (score a goal). The teams played a round-robin style knock out tournament whilst doing the skills too. It was a really great time of fellowship with the kids as a local mission team ran the event allowing us to get alongside the children and spend time with them.

Having very much enjoyed that I watched most of a local football game where a few friends were playing and then went out for a goodbye meal with many of the Living Hope staff and volunteers. An American couple are leaving here tomorrow having made a great difference in Masipumelele (a local township) that Living Hope works in.

Today has also been very busy, King of Kings (church) morning service was all about receiving the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to work strongly in our lives, a really great encouragement and challenge too! A few of us then went to join in the Global Day of Prayer celebrations with around 11000 other christians from Cape Town. This started in 2001 and has now gone global, with all 220 countries from around the globe participating in today's event which was broadcast online and on TV.
This evening's service was also focused on the Holy Spirit and has been really great.

Looking forward to the week ahead, I am doing more finance and budgeting work with the support groups, trying to coordinate Redhill's teaching and ministry a little better and might even join the ladies group in Capricorn (another township) on their thursday morning sewing class!!! Very excited about that one. Mum would be proud that I showed someone how to sew on a button the other day.

God Bless you all, more photos coming on picasa soon

Stuart

Tuesday!

Morning all,
I understand some people are daily logging on to read this so sorry for the lack of posts in recent days! Irene especially its good to have you on board!

Its been particularly busy just recently but really good too. Saturday morning we took 13 children up Lion's Head which is directly in front of Table Mountain and most children got to the top! It was a great day out with the kids, most of whom had never seen the city centre. We gave them a large lunch of sandwiches, fruit, crisps, drinks and ice cream! They loved it. Photos on picasa soon...
A few of us walked up Devil's peak on Sunday afternoon which overlooks Cape Town city centre and Table Mountain too. It was a great time of fellowship and, although a challenging walk, great fun!
With work, I did the first of a few sessions on basic budgeting with the Support Group Facilitators and it was a really good session. My simplistic setup of calculating monthly income, outgoings and random extras was just right for the level of financial management that the people here need. I will do more sessions around the peninsula for the next couple of weeks or so.

I also got more involved in the running of our pre-school in Masi, the nearest township to the offices; we had 130 2-5 year olds running around and enjoying themselves!

Work in Redhill continues to move forwards too, Mzo is really starting to pick up his game and lead the sessions with enthusiasm and great teaching. We heard yesterday that another township, having presented a simple gosepl, had 16 children accept Christ into their lives. We pray the same might be true for Redhill one day!

In the next few days there is a football tournament, more financial work with the Support Groups, flag making, global day of prayer and a long session trying to make multiple sets of the Armour of God from cardboard!

Thanks for all your encouragement and emails, do let me know what you are doing so I can pray for you!

Stuart!

Youth in Redhill!

Friday's are training days so today we have all looked together at how this week has gone and have prepared for next week's teaching, we are looking at Moses.

I am currently waiting for a car to become available so I can drive to Redhill to help set up a movie night for the youth of the community. We are showing 'The Jesus film', which looks like a really simple dialogue of various historic events from his birth to death, resurrection and ascension. We hope it will encourage and challenge the young folk of the community.

Its been a really good week with the door to door ministry and much other work in the mornings too. Next week promises to be equally busy, I am starting some basic financial training with the Support Group Facilitators around the peninsula and will also probably do some teaching in a local school too. As the world cup comes nearer we are starting to develop some of the sports activities and flesh out their content not just the general overview!

Tomorrow we are walking up Lion's Head (the same hill with the sunset on picasa) with some children from Redhill, and on sunday up Devil's peak which is next to Table Mountain. Do pray that we would have good conversations with the kids and enjoy their company!

That's about all for now, God Bless.

Evening all!

Hi guys, great to hear from a variety of sources that you are enjoying the posts! Sorry for their irregularity!

It has been another great day today, I had the chance to join another team in Redhill going round the houses again and speaking to the people there. The highlight was definitely a chat with the shop owner, Hamad, who came from Somalia and has a Muslim background. Always working round the language barrier was tough but I was able to explain the gospel of Grace rather than his idea of works. He eventually agreed with us that he had no idea whether he had done enough to receive paradise from Allah and so I was saying that perhaps he shouldn't go to bed in the evening but rather go out and DO more 'good things' to earn Allah's favour. He was then interested in how and why we had such confidence in the future. We explained that because of Jesus' work on the cross for us we could be sure that we were right with God and, although we still messed up, he looked on us as righteous and clean. It was a great time and I hope to return to his shop as I didn't have any money......also to talk more!

Praise God for Hamad and what we could say to him and many others. One of my main goals was to share the good news with someone who was old enough to understand it so I am really pleased that has happened. May it happen many times more.

In further news:
The sun appeared for the first time in a week today!
We had 70 kids at our afternoon club and gave each of them a sandwich, orange and apple
I learnt some more xhosa, the main language in Redhill, Tiko uyi nkosi (jesus is lord)!
God has continued to be good to us all and kept us safe, warm and fed.

I am about to upload some more photos onto picasa so keep your eyes there.

God Bless you all, thanks!!

Stu

Redhill

Morning all, really hope the weather is better back in the UK, people have said that Cape Town rain goes sideways and its not far short of that!

Just been meeting some of the community in Redhill and getting to know them a little, kids and teens club always runs in the afternoons but we are trying to reach out to the wider population too not just the children.

Brian is 17 and has been kicked out of school multiple times as he was bullying other children. If this happens in South African schools the teachers invite the parents in for the whole day to control their children. As Brian's parents work and need that money, his education has been cut short and he just sits at home all day doing nothing but listening to music. Do pray for him, he does know of God and knows much of what he does is wrong but has made no attempt to change. His cousin Cruz, in a very similar position, is attempting to become an electrician and is very skillful with his hands. We prayed with, and for, them both.

We also met Luyanda who has been a gardener for some years but is out of work right now. Most contracts for gardeners, cleaners etc, run for 4-6months and are rarely renewed. He has cultivated a wonderful garden outside his home and was very proud of it. He believes in Jesus and wants to press on with Christ each day of his life!

We spoke also with Virginia, who is very ill at the moment, and Rabie (pronounced 'robbie') too which was great. We have had an excellent time meeting these people and praying with them, but it clearly highlights the type of life that they live and the lack of opportunities they have to change.

As previously mentioned, a major vision for Redhill is to see it's church grow from and in the local community. I believe that this witnessing and relational ministry is at the core of making that vision happen. Do join me in prayer for these guys and for us as we speak clearly and boldly about God, its never easy cross-culturally but more so when few of them understand our english!

Speak soon, once again thanks for the encouragement!

Redhill!

Hi all, sorry for the little delay between this and my last post! It has been busy......

really enjoyed some good time and fellowship with staff and volunteers at living hope, a few of us went last saturday to the aquarium in the city and saw the contrast between the 2 oceans that meet around south africa. The sharks were massive and their were some turtles too ('dude') and many other great animals. God has been extravagant in his creation and its great to see and be reminded of that!

We also enjoyed time in the waterfront, apparently 'world famous' but there we go!, cruising round the shops and enjoying some of the local food.

The evening saw the wider staff join us at a Mexican restaurant which was a great time of fellowship and a good opportunity to get to know my colleagues better.

On the work side of things there has been plenty happening, one of the main visions that I have been working on is to identify and grow leaders in the Redhill community to strengthen the Redhill church. We have had all sorts of problems trying to move forwards with this, a lack of willingness by current church leaders, the underlying racial tensions and cultures along with fairly standard lack of communication and different people all trying different methods to do achieve their different goals.

THis is quickly becoming my main focus, along with the other day to day work, and its great to be involved but will clearly take some time to set straight and start to work well.

Thanks once again for all your support, it is much appreciated, do email me little comments about what you are doing and what's happening in your life, its great that I can share on here about this trip but I want to know about you too!! (stuart.d.rimmer@gmail.com is me)

God Bless, there will be some more photos on picasa soon......

kids club!

hi all!

really enjoying the work now, long weekend which included 2 hikes, loads of photos, a distinct lack of sleep and a hillsong service was all good fun! Yesterday saw the first pre-school kids club that I have been to, we had 133 kids aged 2-5 join us in one small-ish room for 1 hour! Sang some songs, did some teaching on human trafficking and played some games too. A particular favourite was the 'coffee' song, which you could well imagine is sung like the ladies from sister act! natalie sings.....'1 coffee (1 coffee repeated by us) 2 sugar (2 sugar) and a milk (and a milk), (all together slowly and then speeding up) and some water water water water water....... By this point all of the children are dancing around the room shouting 'water' at each other! wierd and slightly random but great fun. I will video it and show you later.

Today I am working on the teaching for the kids in Redhill which is all about alcohol abuse and drugs. Some of the children as young as 8 regularly drink with their friends or parents so we are trying to change that. Ephesians 5:18 is one memory verse (rimmer paraphrase) 'do not be filled up with alcohol but be filled with God (Holy Spirit)'

Thanks for all your encouragement and comments on the pictures!

Speak soon

Photos!

Hi all, some long awaited photos are now online at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/stuart.d.rimmer

There are quite a few but hope you enjoy them!

All going well, enjoying the weekend before what looks to be a busy week ahead!

Thanks for all your encouragement and support

stu