2013 to be full of hope.....

christmas day chilling with a coke!

we are sorry for the lack of blog posts over the last week or so but we have experienced some inconvenience with our internet service being cut off and us having some really great family time with the kids and house moms, as well as tim's family being over which has been nice.

on Christmas day we were welcomed to the home of some friends from elgin united church where we and all the kids, house moms and volunteers descended into their space, it was a wonderful time, the house moms and kids swam in the pool and we enjoyed some lovely food together.

waiting for the new pool to fill!

the children received a new paddling pool which has entertained them for many an hour, it's great to see the joy that a simple pool of water can bring.

we also ventured to the beach on new years day, again the house moms and kids enjoyed a chilled time, splashing around in the sea and making sand castles. this is such a wonderful time of the year in cape town and we have been truly blessed with some fantastic weather.

collecting water with mommy maz

not every one's 2013 started with such festivities, 4 children from our local community have died from the effects of diarrhea, which seems incomprehensible in this day and age, however with little access to clean water or basic sanitation the situation can quickly lead to death for these little ones.

i (tim) was able to assist with the funeral transport and support towards the family of a very close friend of mine who's 7 month old sister passed away on Christmas day, the family who have nothing (and i mean nothing) have had a little piece of their joy taken from them and we mourn the passing of their daughter with them.

things have also been interesting around the village of hope as well, with a large section of fencing being stolen over a number of days, we have managed to find some of it in the local community with the police being involved in finding those who are causing havoc around the town. our neighbour has been broken into 3 times over the new year and we praying that he will remain upbeat in a dire situation.

so it is into 2013 we look with hopefulness, we pray peace and joy over all of you and whatever 2013 holds for you we continue to thank God for your support towards the work we are doing here in south africa.