Dear friends,
We thank God that He gives us favour with some families in the community and we would like to share a few testimonies with you.
Cake Ministry
In Onseepkans a birthday cake is a rare commodity. To buy a cake at a grocery store you have to drive 130 – 230 km. Only a few people in the communities have ovens to bake their own cakes and cake ingredients are also very expensive in the Onseepkans shops.
Recently we started baking birthday cakes for some of the people in the community, including some elderly ladies. One of these ladies turned 75 this year. She has only the use of one of her lungs. Most of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren stay with her and from her couch, she takes care of her family. The whole family came together for her birthday. They were nearly 50 people. We baked a big cake for her and her family. She was so happy and thankful.
Small opportunities like this open the door to the people’s hearts and create opportunities for us to share with them about the Lord’s love.
Cupcakes for the Elderly Lady
A Cake for a Lady in Our Congregation
The Elderly Lady with Some of Her Great-Grandchildren
Funerals
There had been a significant increase in funerals lately. We were quite shocked at the amount of funerals taking place every weekend.
A few months ago in one of our newsletters, we wrote about the mattress ministry. Some people started to come to us and ask, “Do you maybe have some mattresses that we can borrow for the weekend? We need to accommodate the family members from far who come for the funeral.”
We started to help the first people and now the word has spread that we lend mattresses for the funerals. Now people regularly borrow mattresses for their funerals. When they come to collect the mattresses it opens the door for us to share with them God’s grace amidst their sorrows.
The privilege of buying groceries at a big grocery store.
Imagine how you would feel if you were a single grandmother who has to take care of your few grandchildren. The only income that you have is a monthly social grant of the government. When you arrive at one of the small local grocery shops in Onseepkans, you realize that you do not have enough money to buy what you need for the prices are way above what you can afford. However, the shop owner is willing to open an account for you. You can now buy groceries on account, but in return for that advantage, you need to hand over your social welfare card and identity document to him. You have now became officially a slave of this shop owner. He controls your money and draws from your bank account whatever amount he decides will cover your account. You do not even see your account or the prices of the items that you bought. You have to try and convince yourself that the shop owner will be honest and not cheat you. If you want to break this vicious cycle of debt, you have to take a lift to Kakamas (150 km) away to shop at the big department stores and your transport could cost well over 200 rands.
For the past two months at the beginning of every month, we began to take a few elderly ladies from the community to Kakamas to buy groceries in the big grocery stores. We helped one of these ladies to break free from this vicious cycle of debt that she found herself in. The first month we took her to Kakamas, she was overwhelmed by the big grocery department stores. She has never had the opportunity to buy groceries for her household at such a store. We encouraged her to buy what she needed for the month. It was sad to see how she still was in the mind-set to choose the few basic items what she would normally buy at the local shops in Onseepkans. We encouraged her to take more than the few items that she would normally buy every month. When we got to the till (check out), before we paid her groceries, we asked her how much she thinks it will amount to in total. She was very nervous and afraid that the total would be way above a thousand rand. She was amazed to discover that the total was half what she thought it to be. It was wonderful to see the joy and relief on her face when she came home. Now she was free.
Some of the Typical Items in an Onseepkans Shop
PUT A SMILE ON A CHILD’S FACE
This December we will again in collaboration with the Police Community Forum and an individual from the nearby community-run the project, PUT A SMILE ON A CHILD’S FACE. It is a project where there is reached out to children, who may not have a Christmas, giving them a special time.
Over the Christmas period (23 to 25 December) we will go to the three nearby communities and give the children a meal and a small gift. We will also try to hire a jumping castle.
Children Swimming at a Previous PUT A SMILE ON A CHILD'S FACE event
Christmas Dinner for Families
Over the past year, we have built relationships with a few families. Their children came often to visit at our house. We would like to give them a Christmas dinner at our home and a small gift for each child.
Contribution
If anybody felt led to contribute to the Christmas projects, we will greatly appreciate it. If you want to be part of these events, please specify which project you desire to support.
Thank you for all your prayers towards the work in Onseepkans.
Gerhard, Elmanè, and children
