I’m having trouble keeping track of my kids. Isaac is in Singapore this week, Ana flies to Boston on Sunday, and Margaret flies to Boston in a few weeks. What an amazing blessing for them to travel the world like this!
Alberto and his teammates have been using the manual as a guide, and have seen many young men give their lives to the Lord. Actually, they come running to Christ, amidst their tears. “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” (Mt 9:37) David Bliss used to share that verse with us, and I am seeing that it is indeed true.
A number of graduates received their Restorative Justice certificate recently, having successfully completed not only the one-week program, but also the follow-up meetings.
Joanna recently celebrated her 47th birthday by zip-lining in the mountains outside Cape Town. It was a wonderful day! Ana and Margaret also enjoyed it.
Ana recently celebrated her 21st birthday! I’m in a bit of shock actually! Praise God for Ana’s life and her commitment to follow Jesus. She is excited to fly back to Boston this Sunday, and hopes to see many of you before heading to Camp Deer Run. After camp, she will return to Cape Town to staff the DTS, where she just made a two-year commitment. She is in the process of raising money for her support, so please consider joining her support team.
You can read more about her story here:
Ana’s newsletter
Margaret is in the final throw’s of 8th grade. Thank you for praying for a Christian friend for her. She has a new friend from Portugal, via Poland. And yes, Margaret also cut her hair! She also recently volunteered with children on an olive farm.
I recently found an autism coach who is going to visit Phoebe’s Montessori preschool and make some recommendations to the teacher and aide, both of whom are very committed to Phoebe’s unique style of learning.
Autism is tough though, and Phoebe has many sensory issues. Taking off her clothes is a challenge in these cooler months, so we have become very creative in keeping her clothing on. Also, she continues to grind her teeth. We have started seeing a homeopath for this, as nothing else has worked.
Her diabetes is well-managed, but requires constant attention, including many middle-of-the-night glucose readings. We have had a couple of low readings, so want to investigate a continuous glucose monitor. This will be the ultimate challenge for a sensory-sensitive child.
On a more positive note, Phoebe’s speech is coming, slowly but surely. “Time to eat,” “Lunch time,” “Meat please,” and “I want to eat” are her favorite phrases.
Drought Update
Thank you for your prayers. We are still in a drought, as our dams are at 21% capacity. It could take years to fill them. Desalination projects started supplying water earlier this month. We have had a few good rains as we enter the rainy season, and continue to pray for more!
Pictured above is our 2500 liter water tank that will collect rain water from our gutters this winter (declaring that in faith). We can then fill buckets from the tank for many household needs. We have a love/hate relationship with the buckets: love that we have water, hate carrying them. It’s a good way to empathise with the populations who use buckets for water throughout their lives.
Financial Opportunity
Thank you to all of you who have made it possible for us to be here.
If you would like to support our work in South Africa through YWAM and Hope Prison Ministry, please make a donation to Park Street Church with our name in the memo. The online giving link is parkstreet.org/give.