Photos
August 11, 2008 – 3:45 pmI have started uploading the photos from the trip. Check them out here!
Friday 8th
August 9, 2008 – 2:17 pmOur day to leave! We got up early to have breakfast and pack up our stuff then headed off to Holger and Jilly’s for our debriefing with Holger. It was a time to reflect on what had happened, what we feel we have learnt, how we have grown, what God has done with us and others around us and also thinking about the future. Then we had time in our prayer trio’s and the leaders to pray and share about the biggest thing we feel has happened for us during our time in Cape town.
Jilly made a really nice pudding AGAIN! Hehe. The group headed back to the base with Nige and I stayed to take the hire car back then we headed to the base to say our goodbyes and leave for the airport, where I am now writing this 
…
We have now returned home! It is Saturday and it was a smooth flight, although our baggage took forever to come through so parents were waiting for a while at Heathrow but I was surprised to see Dad, Kels and Annie there to say hello and welcome me home before they headed off to Nottingham!
Time to settle into home life again, I really hope that although we are coming back to our lives here in Sussex we can use what we have seen and learnt in Cape town to change how we view life and how God can use us when we step out!
Well that is it…Cape town the trip has come and gone and it is up to us to decide how it changes our lives. Thanks for reading this diary and for supporting the trip. I will put the photos up when I have had a chance to sort through them!
God Bless,
Grae
Thursday 7th
August 9, 2008 – 2:13 pmThe last full day in Capetown! Yikes it has gone quickly here. We are spending the whole day in Masiphumelele as that is where we have been serving most of the time and we wanted to spend the last day there.
We headed first to get some bread and cheese and stuff as the rest of the YWAM base were praying and fasting today then we headed into the township and went to Timmy’s house and started there with me sharing the plan for the day. We were blessed with the company of Paul Weaver, Jenny and Sarah which was really cool as they just arrived in Cape town and had the chance to spend a day with us.
I sent the group (including our visitors) off around Masi praying for the township based on whatever they saw and also when the opportunity arose they chatted with the people there and listened to their story. Emma had the chance to pray with one man which was really cool. I think we could have done more of this if we had not done the orphanages so much but there we go, maybe next time!
Once the groups that were walking around Masi got back to the house we shared what had been prayed for, words from God, stories etc and that was a really great time and some really interesting things came out of that.
We then split the group up to start different things, some went off to the High School Bible study, some did girls basketball and some (including me) went to the Art/Photography class. Nothing huge to report from this but as always it seemed to be a good time for everyone and it gave our visitors a chance to see what we have been up to.
There was no basketball for the boys today as we decided to take everyone (well most people) that we had been working with to a ‘restaurant’ in Masi! They only did meat so us Vege’s didn’t get anything but it was a great way to socialise with the guys and girls in Masi and also bless them! Those that did eat the meat demolished it VERY quickly!
After saying goodbyes to our friends in Masi, Paul, Sarah and Jenny we headed back to the YWAM base where they were having a Nations to Nations eveing. This is basically foods from lots of different nations, a chance to share and dance! The Schein boys (Mike and Harry) shared for everyone, Mikey playing a couple of songs on the guitar and Harry doing a dance with a friend. They are very talented boys and Sam is too!
The food was brilliant, we did turn up late because of our commitments in Masi but there was still some left over A great way to end our time there at the base in Muizenberg!
Wednesday 6th
August 9, 2008 – 2:09 pmThis morning was the last time we visited the orphanages, they were as crazy as ever! At the orphanage in Nyanga we turned up to find the children just been washed so we had to dress them and then feed them breakfast! Not too messy. Then we were teaching them ‘Ring a Ring a Roses’, and then ‘Head Shoulders Knees and Toes’! Which was good fun, there is the language barrier but they just tend to copy us if enough of us are all doing the same thing! J
We came back to the base for lunch as one of the YWAM guys here is fundraising for a plane ticket so we took part and bought lunch from him…some sausage thing…being a vege I stuck with the base lunch..Cheese Sandwich!
We didn’t have to leave the base until about 2.30 so we had a couple of hours to relax and socialise, playing cards and sitting by the very cold pool!
Masi was much the same as most days, the Art and Photography happened in the library and was a fairly small group, but those that are there really focus on what we are trying to teach them so that is excellent. Hopefully the group will grow with time. The girls basketball is much the same, early days for both.
Boys basketball was good as always although Adam was having a bit of a rest so the tall England man was on the sidelines!
I took the Art group and girls basketball group back to Muizenberg and then headed over to Holger’s to spend a bit of time with them before I left, and I got dinner! Some of the rest of the group went to Kendra’s, she is a YWAM’er who has stuck around and has been taking part in the girls basketball. Kendra was saying today she has a friend back home who is a youth leader who is thinking about doing much like we have done with the trip and she has been trying to get an idea of how we have done things, how it worked and what went wrong! So it is cool to think that there might be people following us!
On the way home a couple of the group in my van wanted to stop at the beach so we stopped in Fishhoek and paddled, the girls were running away from the waves so I was unable to resist the temptation of picking up AJ and then Mere and running into the sea with them pretending to drop them…somehow I managed to get wetter than they did! But then AJ and Abbi decided to swim fully clothed! Crazy people!
I spent the Evening with Holger and Jilly, Holgs cooked noodles! So it was a nice chance to spend a bit more time with them!
Tuesday 5th
August 5, 2008 – 9:49 pmBack to the orphanages this morning, Emma and Nige took the van with most people to Nyanga while Abbi and I took the Car with the rest of the bunch to the other one that I can’t spell (Sibongiele or something like that..) But we didn’t have Marco to direct us to that one and the Sat Nav battery died so we had to resort to A MAP! Which made it interesting but we did find it in the end…And it was a really good time. I think we have the most impact there at that place as the children get more attention with us lot turning up and we also can help feed them too which is messy but helpful J
This afternoon we headed down to Masi as a big group…turned up too late for the High School Bible study…DOH! Communication problems…guess we are settling into Africa too well!
We were still able to do the Art/Photography class and Basketball sessions. The turnout for Art/Photography isn’t as good during the week as it is on a Sunday. A DTS team from Kona will be taking over from us when we leave which is great, it means we leave someone continuing something we started with Tonya! Abbi is hoping they will take it over tomorrow so she can spend some time with the basketball girls before we leave.
I was watching the guys basketball today and started thinking about how this was an outreach, I know it is but I was just thinking it through in my mind. I think I have said before about the relationship thing being the basis for anything out here and I was just smiling at how God had used something so simple bring people together and to share in His love. The bible study is brilliant with those guys, it will be a shame to miss it on Friday as we will be on the plane home.
Monday 4th
August 5, 2008 – 9:49 pmThe group got a lie in this morning as there wasn’t a prayer meeting! We left for Tonya’s about 9.30am for our bible study, continuing to look at how we hear God, specifically what gives us the ability to hear God. Again it was a really great time and a combination of Tonya’s stories and bible verses relating to her talk spoke to us all. We did the same as last week and walked down to the lake where Tonya gave us time to spend alone with God and thinking/praying about various things. Another great time ending with some worship back at their house with Kevin.
The afternoon most people went to Masi for the Art/Craft and Basketball but I had to take Laura to the Medical Centre with Emma to have her foot checked out. She hurt it on Saturday jumping on a rock and following Jilly’s advice we got it checked out. The X-Ray showed no fracture or anything so it is just bruised which was an answer to prayer as it was a weird injury! She is still hobbling around but it isn’t stopping her from getting involved or playing table tennis!
Random News & thoughts…
August 5, 2008 – 9:48 pmSome of the group were on the roof praying this evening and Jenny prayed for her thumb that she hurt yesterday and then shortly after came running downstairs to tell me it was healed! AWESOME!
I have had a number of people come up to me including Holger telling me how great they thought this group was. How on fire for God they are, how willing they are to jump in and get involved, how mature they seem and how great it is that there have been no big arguments when we have been living so closely for over a week now. Be encouraged that these guys are setting a brilliant example while here in the land of Cape town. One of the YWAM base guys told me how great it was to see the group not only serving here but getting involved in the base, socially and practically! A lady asked for volunteers to help wash up the other day and I could tell she seemed shocked that she had too many volunteers because 5 of the UK team threw their hands up!
Tonya recommended a book to us on Monday called “Is that really you God?” talking about hearing the voice of God. Apparently it is one of the first books that the DTS guys read as it gives a good history of YWAM too. I randomly found a copy lying around yesterday and have been reading it…on chapter 8 tomorrow hopefully, which for me is really good. It is really challenging me, there are some truly amazing stories about how God has answered prayers, spoken to people and worked into different situations. I had to force myself to put it down and get some fresh air on the roof! Really great book, if I don’t finish it before I leave I will have to buy a copy!
God is really challenging me about where I am going and what I am doing in life. A bit like when I prayed about what is next for the youth group and we ended up coming to Cape town…I am kind of wondering what God has next for me.
Sunday 3rd – Church in Masiphumelele
August 5, 2008 – 9:48 pmAs a group we decided that because we were working in Masi so much we wanted to spend more time there and going to church was a good start. There was a Baptist church opposite the school we have been running the basketball at so Holger suggested going there.
We turned up at 11am’ish and found our seats near the front. We were kinda expecting the same sort of service as last week but this was quite different. Mainly because the vast majority was in Khosa! Doh!
All the worship was in Khosa which was interesting but one song that the choir did was translated for us by the lead singer which helped and then the sermon was in English translated into Khosa mainly, so it was worthwhile being there which I was a bit worried about to start with! It was good and hopefully some of the congregation will recognise some of us wandering around the township later this week!
This afternoon we had the Art and Photography class. Not so many there this week but that is how it goes in Africa! Also it is good having smaller groups because it means we can work more one on one, which for photography is essential, especially while they are learning. Phil is really good at helping them work with the pictures and Alex is picking it up well too, I just plod along as always. Abbi, Amy and Mere led the art group today.
Please pray for this outreach, Tonya (the lady who is leading it) has big visions for this, bigger than working out of a classroom on a Sunday afternoon! It would be great to really see it grow and the girls that are doing it grow too.
Saturday 2nd – Final day to be tourists!
August 5, 2008 – 9:42 pmToday was our final day off…we gave the group a lie in and they didn’t have to be ready until 9.30am…how kind we are J
We headed off to Green Point market in Cape Town city with Holger’s instructions as we didn’t find it on the Sat Nav until we were on the way! However…after driving around randomly for a while where we thought it should be, we found that it was not happening on Saturday…but instead, Sunday! DOH!
So we headed down to the waterfront where there was an indoor craft market which the group were keen to visit and many of them spent a large majority of their money!
After our shopping spree, buying souvenirs we headed to the seafront and found a nice big bit of grass on to play football and then withoutselves. The weather was nice, which it wasn’t meant to be so that was a real blessing. Some of the group were watching the waves crashing against the walls, Jenny and Phil got so wet it looked like they had wet themselves…
We all walked further along and found a children’s play area…so I had a group of ‘children’ playing on the swings, climbing frame etc! All good fun, thankfully we didn’t scare away any of the kids!
We planned to eat out and found a nice place in the waterfront marina where we ate. Laura told us while we were waiting for our food that she had hurt her foot earlier in the day and it was starting to really hurt…So Laura, Amy, Emma and myself headed over to let Jilly have a look and bandage it up. Before leaving we improvised with a empty shopping bag and ice from our drinks to help! What a team!
Jilly said unless it gets worse to have it checked out by a doctor on Monday, so we will be doing that. It was kind of a day of injuries…as well as Laura, Alex hurt his leg on the seesaw, Abbi hurt her thumb, Jenny hurt her thumb and knee and Mike had a headache! The team is falling apart!
Friday 1st August – Abbi turns 20 and Holger makes a curry!
August 5, 2008 – 9:37 pmQuite a cool day today really, almost felt like a social but loads happened which was great! We started the day with worship at the local church with the rest of the base! Certainly different to what you guys would expect back home.
We sung a few songs, some in English, some in africaans and I think some in Xhosa too! Good fun J We also had a time where Edwin was calling up the different nations to the stage to praise God and we went up and danced for maybe 20 seconds! Was great, and all the England team ran up and just jumped around uncontrollably! Certainly was different.
A lady from Japan spoke called Yoko about her vision for Asia to The World, and that fits with a number of other visions on the base. One guy that I think I mentioned before called Verms has a vision for Africa to Asia…so basically the reverse of what Yoko has but it was a very interesting time to here her story and the passion that God has given her to serve abroad, not just in Africa. She was saying it was a time for Gideon’s to rise up….or something to that effect. Which fits with a verse in Judges 6 that is important to me. Maybe I will share more on that one day, not now though.
Next we all headed over to Holger and Jilly’s but we had planned to have a little celebration for Abbi when we got there, so we had to get the team there before Abbi arrived! So me and Alex kept her back for as long as we could and then on the way over Abbi saw a whale in the sea so we stopped to look at that and ended up being really late! Lol but I think she was surprised and Jilly made a really nice carrot cake again and we all sung happy birthday.
Holger led a bible study sort of time building on what Tonya had been speaking about on Monday. It was a really good time for the team to properly think about their relationship with God. Then we all broke off into pairs to pray, I seemed to be particularly energetic…ask Laura!
I then headed off with some of the team (Emma, Laura, Jenny and Ben) to Mfuleni where we were to join in with a youth group. It was the same township where we went to church on Sunday. It was an interesting drive over because the guy showing us the way was telling us about the group…and where we were expecting it to be a bunch of 14 year olds which I kinda had something planned for. But it turned out that they were older and some had done a DTS! So we were wondering on the way over how we could really share with these guys.
But the youth leader Yasanda (I think that is spelt right) chatted with me before the meeting and I got a feel for what we could share and I think it went really well. Hopefully blessed those guys and gave them something to think about. Basically we talked about the ups and downs of preparing for the trip and how we really had to trust God at certain times and then how he answered our prayers to fulfil his promise of the Cape Town trip.
The youth group meet in one of the church member’s garages so we were there in a township meeting in a garage…quite an experience! They asked us to start with some worship songs…so we had to teach them and naturally everyone looks at me! I can’t sing! But Laura did come up with a good song to get us going and we sung that and then they basically re-mixed it and it was soooooooooo much better! Oh well, we tried J
Just before we left we got to hear the choir practicing for maybe 10 minutes…really amazing singers!
On the way back to Holger’s I think the guy directing us took us on a tour of South Africa! It seemed to go on for ever; at least I can say I have much experience driving in South Africa now! Weaving in and out of minibus taxi’s and ‘working’ with the traffic lights here in Cape Town…I don’t like them so much.
We got to Holger and Jilly’s eventually and Holger had made an AMAZING curry! Just what we needed. We had just some social time there which was brilliant.
Tonight Alex led the bible study with a short verse and then we prayed for each member of the room Korean style…that means all at once! Was good J
Tomorrow…a lie in! YES!