Table Mountain at Night

We’ve been there before, but not at sunset. A few fellow volunteers got together and took an evening out on top of Table Mountain. It’s called “Ride and Dine”, where a single price covers a cable car ride to get to the top and back, and a voucher for dinner at the Table Mountain Café. It was a stunning sight, to see all the lights of the city from that view. I was awed. We live in such a beautiful place, day or night!

Team Building

The Living Services Team!

What a fun day! Today all of Living Services (the operations and office staff of Living Hope) went to a Theme Park for Team Building. As the Volunteer Department, we are a part of Living Services. It was amazing to have everyone from the managers to the garden staff riding together on the rollercoasters, water rides and more. I realized today why I love Living Hope as much as I do – everyone gets to play and be a part of what God is doing, no matter what you do to keep the organizations running. And even more importantly, we are all so different, yet God brought us all together as the “body” who all share our talents and gifts. We stayed at the park till after closing and everyone dragged their feet out as we were having so much fun together!

Answered Prayers

I love how God makes divine appointments. Just a few weeks ago Natasha and I were discussing with others regarding the need to better communicate the story of Living Hope in words and pictures. We could envision it, but knew it would take able-bodied hands, in addition to our own, to make it happen. For starters, a photographer and copy writer would be a welcome addition. Someone who could add this kind of content to the website would be a bonus! But without funds to cover such a position, we had to trust that the Lord would send the right people at the right time. Well, just a few days later, I received an inquiry from a local gentleman who owns his own photography and web design company. He is a strong Christian and wants to give back to the community in some way. We met with him today, and had a very exciting discussion. He is very enthusiastic about contributing to communicating the work of Living Hope both locally and abroad in the next year. How good is God?! 

Welcoming the Christmas Team

Today we welcomed a team from Extreme Response. They have been coming to Living Hope to put on Christmas parties for clients and kids for several years. In fact, my first trip to South Africa and Living Hope was on an ER team! So this was special for me, six years later, and be on the other side this time. The Christmas parties – about a dozen of them(!) – will be held next week. But so much planning goes into them in both scheduling and supplies. Today the team is organizing and making up hundreds of gift packs for men, women, and children. Each gift is meaningful, containing toiletries and other useful items. Christmas will be here in a few short weeks, and these Christmas parties are a great way to celebrate all that the Lord has done in the past year, from the kids to the support groups to the patients in the health care center, everyone is getting a bit of Christmas spirit early – and a wonderful reminder of Who it’s all about!

Roadtrip Wedding

Reunited after years!

With the lovely bride

4 Au Pair Friends Reunited!

This past weekend we travelled to see a very dear friend’s wedding. It’s a long-haul drive, but totally worth seeing a good friend make the beautiful step into marriage. It was in Aliwal North, a town about 1,000 km (625 mi) northeast of Cape Town. We hired a car to get there, as taking a flight was much more expensive, not to mention there was no airport within 2-3 hours’ drive. The interior of South Africa is gorgeous. I loved driving through other parts of South Africa during the final leg of our overland journey earlier this year, so it was great to get behind the wheel again and discover more of this amazing country. But that was just a bonus; the real treat was to watch our friend tie the knot. What a lovely couple! We were even blessed to visit with them this evening for coffee and cake at our home while they were honeymooning in Cape Town! Marieka and Piet, we wish you the very BEST!