Dear friends,
We wish you all a happy and blessed New Year.
In this month’s activity report our daughter, Martie, would like to give some feedback on our Christmas projects and share some prayer requests.
PUT A SMILE ON A CHILDS FACE
Imagine you are a young child who stays in Onseepkans. You may live in a small 3m by 3 m tin or reed shack and if you are privileged maybe in a small government funded brick home with two small bedrooms and a small living area. It is summer and the temperatures are high (between 37-48 degrees Celsius). As the festive season approaches you wonder how this year’s Christmas will be. Will your mother and father be sober or will there be a drunken brawl and maybe a knife stab at or around your home? Will you have food to eat on Christmas day? Will you at least get a new dress or a shirt and pants as a Christmas gift? These questions race through your mind.
Then, just before Christmas, you hear that you and your friends should come together at a certain place in your community. Some people will come and do something for you. Excitedly, you call your friends run to the appointed area. Soon after you arrive, you see two or three vehicles coming. Kind people hand out hotdogs and cupcakes to you. Then you drink a glass of ice-cold fruit juice. Afterwards you receive a big red Christmas stocking filled with a variety of sweets and two packets of Nick Nacks (chips). Now you have something nice to enjoy during Christmas time. You are so happy that someone thought of you and made Christmas time special for you!
Children Waiting to Receive Hotdogs
Young Girl with Her Hotdog
Small Boys enjoying Their Hotdogs
Small Girl with Her Cupcake
Boys with Their Christmas Stockings
We are thankful that in collaboration with our local CPF (Community Police Forum) and a community leader, we could run this project for three days before Christmas. Local farms and shops helped to sponsor the +- 600 hotdogs and cool drinks. In our gas oven, which can accommodate two cupcake baking tins of twelve each, we baked over 800 cupcakes. We iced them and decorated a smiley face on each. A local mine, Vedanta, donated the red Christmas stockings.
The Cupcakes for one of the Neighborhoods
We went to each of the three neighbourhoods of Onseepkans separately, gathered the children together, shared the Christmas message, and handed out the refreshments as well as the stockings. They enjoyed it so much! One could really see how much it meant to them that someone thought of them and wanted to make Christmas special for them! One of the organizers said that the looks of happiness and joy on the children’s faces made all the work and effort worthwhile.
One of the Volunteers with Two of the Girls
Christmas Eve Dinner with our Congregation
This Christmas we felt it on our hearts to have an old Christmas Eve fellowship and dinner at our home for our congregation. We wished to have an informal Christmas Eve service and afterwards a special Christmas meal. We also trusted the Lord for a gift for each of our Sunday school children.
We are grateful for the kind donations that we received from the Spar retail shop in Kakamas, who donated meat, groceries and cake for the Christmas Eve dinner.
A friend of our mission felt it on his heart to donate money for the Christmas gifts. We could go to a shop and buy games, toys, and dolls for the children. Afterwards, we wrapped the gifts and placed it under the Christmas tree.
The Gifts under the Christmas Tree
It was a blessed Christmas Eve. There was a short service where we shared a few thoughts about Christmas and the message of peace that the angels brought to the shepherds. Afterwards, we handed out the gifts. Each child excitedly and expectedly waited until his or her name was called. Then they came and received their gifts. The children was so happy and thankful for each item which they received.
Jason Looks at His Tractor
Carmen and Jo-Jo with Their Dolls
We had a lovely meal, the elderly ladies shared stories and interested experiences. They enjoyed the delicious food and dessert. After the meal the children played with their toys.
Nolene and Cloe- Lane Enjoying the Christmas Dinner
We are grateful that the Lord provided the resources for us to have had such a blessed evening. Something that stood out to us, afterwards, was that the elderly lady, about whom we wrote in our previous newsletter, also was with us. In the past during Christmas, she would have been drinking, but now she could gather with us this Christmas and rejoice that God has send His Son to this earth to bring peace and salvation to all mankind.
Christmas Tea Party with the Elderly at Our Nearby Community
The community leaders of Melkbosrand, the community the closest to our mission, asked us to bake refreshments for a small tea party that they would have for the elderly. They invited us to join them for the afternoon. We baked cupcakes and cake. The elderly ladies and gentlemen enjoyed the time together. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to serve and build relationships with the elderly of our community.
Comprehensive Sex Education implemented in South Africa
The South African government has decided to implement Comprehensive Sex education (CSE) in the South African National Curriculum from this year (2020) forward. This means that from now on children from approximately 10 years onward will learn everything about sex in school.
This is a big concern for us. We can see what a devastating effect this will have on our country‘s society. Already, the terrible effects that immoral television shows have on our communities are awful. We cannot picture how it will be when children from a young age is indoctrinated at school with CSE. One member of another community said, that before the South African government wants to teach CSE to the children, they must first teach it to the parents. She asked, “Why must young children be taught things that adults do not even know?” Many of the citizens of South Africa is against the implementation of CSE and tries to stop it.
The implementation of the new curriculum touch our congregation as well. The young children, that come to our church services each Sunday and attend Sunday school afterwards, will in this new school year sit in classes at our local government school where CSE will be taught. Please pray for us for wisdom in dealing with this challenge in our country and ministry. Pray for the innocent children whose lives the devil wishes to destroy through this new curriculum. Pray that God may open the eyes of our nation and government leaders so that they may stop to ruin the future generations of South Africa.
CYPSA (Concerned Young People of South Africa) and Family Policy Institute are gathering signatures against the implementation of CSE. Please assist by signing this petition: https://www.citizengo.org/en/fm/35997-stop-cse-south-african-schools?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=65433335&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-95jpFA98DAXECkghXM09pmLmjrihLKYUN5CodvXe4PKhcM5o6zY5zKrXy9Zov3IpPRKlq3HATvBVpz-n1qTAYpJDu64w&_hsmi=65433335
May the Lord bless you and be with you,
Martie (on behalf of Gerhard, Elmane and children)
