happy moves into new homes and challenges with old homes for our sports mentors

the brothers home

we live in a world that doesn't seem fair and as you know life throws all sorts of challenges at us, however the bible says that we should praise God in the good times and the bad and it also calls us stand with those who mourn and celebrate with those who are happy. late on friday afternoon and during the weekend we had the opportunities to fulfil both of those God given mandates.

mentors old home

the first situation we were faced with came up during our weekly sports meeting, which due to the shocking weather we had to do at each of our peer educators (sports mentors) homes.

two of our mentors are brothers and when we arrived at their home the wind was howling and the rain had turned to hail in the cold cape storm. inside their small bedroom (please don't have any western idea of what this might look like) the rain was pouring through the plastic sheet which made up their simple roof.....

mentors new home

...it's hard to know what one can do during times like these and the fact that the boys told me that their mother hadn't returned from a local farm with her wages meant that there was no food in the tin box and they didn't have any means of fuel to heat their small stove which also acts as a source of heat.

myself and josh returned with an old sail sheet which we placed over the holes but by saturday morning this had blown off and so we started again!

-we were mourning with those who mourn!

the second situation was as follows...from the dire straights of one family to the joy of another of our sports mentors who informed us that he and his family had been granted a new government built home, after ten years of waiting their dreams had come true..he asked if i was able to come and help them on sunday move from their tiny tin home (just up from where the brothers stay, and were sheltering against the storm) to their new home....i gladly said yes and rejoiced with him as his eyes grew with excitement of taking the blessing that he had been praying for for all those years.

- we were rejoicing with those who rejoice!

two very different stories from two very similar situations, and that i suppose is what life is like, this afternoon i will go visit the brothers with a further piece of black plastic sheeting and see what difference we can make to the roof over their bedroom and we will also be picking up the other mentor from his new home and take him to his sports club where he will share this weeks bible story with the children who will join him at that club....

..is it a coincidence that this weeks story that all our mentors at their various clubs will be sharing is all about acceptance and the fact that God loves everyone, black or white, rich or poor, those who feel blessed and those who really really wanna cry?.....

mandela day visitors....for 67 minutes!

the aleit group with
 maz (and wind)

three of our sports mentors

today, 18th july, was nelson mandela's birthday and it's a day where the people of south africa have been encouraged to spend 67 minutes helping others...why 67 minutes i hear you ask, well nelson gave 67 years of his life serving his country so we should all be able to spend 67 minutes thinking of others less fortunate than ourselves.

as with other years we have found this to be a very busy day but it's well worth hosting the various people and organisations who are keen to come and see the work we are involved in day in day out and it's always a blessing to receive the wonderful donations that people often come with.

the shoprite team

this morning we welcomed a team from 'the aleit group' who bought up some wonderful materials, including colouring pens and paint pots, as well as bright coloured tables and chairs on which the children will undertake to create some masterpeices. (as you can see from the photo the wind almost blew them and maz away)
three of our sports mentors came up to do their bit for 67 minutes, it's amazing that these guys give of their time so freely each and every afternoon but they were still keen to come and make a difference. josh took them into the woods where they collect wood ready for chopping and burning on our fires, this was very thoughtful and helpful too.

girls modeling the wonderful glasses

four ladies from imperial came up with food and hosted a small party for the children, which they thoughly enjoyed.

the local shoprite (supermarket) came up with various donations which mel, barbara and jenny are busy sorting, with some degree of fun, as i write this blog post, see photo below of the fashionable eyewear which we found in one of the boxes.

imperial party!

frank christie kindly came up the windy mountain path with 67 cupcakes baked by the folks at 'pajarmas and jam' in somerset west, most of these have already been eaten and taken out to our 'rainbow smiles' adolecent support group which runs every friday afternoon.

and finally a large team from appletiser arrived bearing gifts and took time to look around the unit and play with the children.

we really have been blessed today and thank everyone for coming up and engaging with our children and wonderful project.

delicious cup cakes

to cap off the activities emma was busy last night making cakes which our rainbow smiles group will be icing and then taking out to local creches, old age homes and even our thembacare staff in town, this is a great way of those children seeing the difference that they can make in their own community and we trust that emma has a good time!

the team from appletise

world cup based sports outreach

with the world cup underway, we decided to stage a tournament for a hundred of the local children living in the various communities of Grabouw. these are some of the most needy children in our town, and with their home lives so unstable, it’s nice to offer them a break from the hardships they face every single day.

we divided our existing 9 sports clubs into 9 teams that each represented one of the countries playing in the world cup. we also taught them some information about the country they were representing in the week leading up to the tournament.

then, on the morning of Friday 4^th July, we held the contest at a local school’s playing field. the weather was wild, and setting up was made difficult due to the strong wind, but with the help of both dedicated volunteers (emma, shae, aubrei, polly, jenny and barbara) and of course our sports mentors, we were soon ready to play.

the sun had now come out, and the sight of a hundred kids doing one of the things they enjoy most was heartwarming. the competition was intense, but always played in a fun spirit and most importantly they had a great time. food was provided by barbara, as well as another local school cooking lunch for all the kids.

unlike the current world cup brazil came out as the eventual winners, and the enthusiasm of the kids ensures that there will be many more days like this!

written by josh holtrum