being a blessing and being blessed!

the girls netball team from rooidakke

during our journey into the unknown here in south africa our western thoughts and minds are being constantly challenged. today was another one of those days as we were able to bless around 20 children from our local community with a day at the beach and a burger and chips, which most of us would think nothing of doing either during a summer holiday or if you live 20 minutes from the beach here in grabouw on a weekend afternoon, however for these children this was a very very special experience of which they may have never known before or ever have the chance to experience again in the very near future.

beach cricket south africa style!

a game of 'beach tennis'

we all really enjoyed the luke warm sea, the hot sun and delicious burgers whilst having the opportunity to play some beach cricket, tennis and a game football, including a mixture of other people from the beach joining in our impromptu game which was a major success.

the day was made possible by some of our wonderful volunteers, from england, holland and an australian who provided us with her lifeguarding skills.

tomorrow we will be taking the some children from a local farm, whilst on thursday we will be taking two further groups from our local community sports outreach.

all the above is wonderful however what really hit me was the fact that about 20 minutes after i had dropped the children to either their tin and wooden shack or simple breeze block homes in the informal settlements in grabouw, i was able to take a shower to help cool me down and remove some of the salt and sand which had attacked my body during the day, with the knowledge that many of these children, and thousands like them in our town, live in homes with no running water or even electricity let lone a shower.

however i thank God that we were able to bless the kids, whilst also remembering we are constantly receiving blessings ourselves and giving thanks to God for that is the important thing!