Carols By Candlelight

Tonight we got together with several new friends and volunteers to enjoy the beautiful sights and sounds of Christmas at Kirstenbosch botanical gardens. We came early and brought a picnic dinner and enjoyed the garden views in beautiful, sunny weather with the backdrop of Table Mountain. About 1,500 people attended. What an amazing sight it was incredible to see all the flickers of candlelight across the outdoor amphitheater-like area! It was great to sing all the familiar Christmas carols in between re-enacted scenes of the Christmas story, narrated with the words of the gospels. Many people who attend are not Christian, so to hear them sharing the gospel so openly is really such a realization of the freedom we have.

Fundraising Committee

As the new Special Events Coordinator for Living Hope, I’ve been asked to join the Living Hope Fundraising committee. The committee is set-up to discuss different ways in which we can raise funds for Living Hope. With all the funding cuts over the past 2 years, Living Hope is left to find ways to be self-sustainable and to be creative about the ways in which we can fund the current ministries of Living Hope. Although Living Hope experienced tremendous growth over the past 10 years of its existence, the funding cuts have forced us to relook what we have going on right now and how to accomplish our mission more effectively. The main goal is to reach people for Christ – so if we can accomplish that then we would have done what Living Hope set out to do. The projects are the way we accomplish that goal. So the funding is needed to do the community projects to ultimately reach people for Christ. That being said, the fundraising committee comprises of the Living Hope Trust Chair and Living Hope founder (John Thomas), the general managers, a few board members, Marketing Department… and me! LOL I felt a little out of my league, but also know that God has me on this committee for a reason. Its funny how God brings us full-circle… when I felt the calling to go into full-time HIV/AIDS ministry I gave up my career path and dream of Events Coordination - now I find myself in and HIV/AIDS NGO as the Events Coordinator. All you can do is smile.  We will be organizing a Golf Day, a Gala Dinner and an Open Day. The Golf Day and Gala Dinner are both to raise awareness and funds among local businessmen and women. The Open Day on the other hand is to raise awareness among the local pastors and general communities – it seems that most of them don’t really know what Living Hope is about or what Living Hope does. What currently happens is that people come to Christ through Living Hope’s programs in the communities in which we serve. But since Living Hope is not a church, partnering with the local churches is absolutely crucial for these individuals growth beyond salvation.  Tim and I are finding that a large part of our ministry here is in building relationships with these local pastors and their wives. That all being said, we realize that 2011 is going to be an incredibly busy and amazingly exciting year for us!

Cape Town Bike Show

Bike Show at Living Way Campus

Living Way, our economic empowerment division at Living Hope, hosted a motorbike show fundraiser on its premises today, the first of its kind. Natasha and I volunteered to help staff the event, from ticket sales to the Living Hope info table. The turnout was good, thanks to great weather. We hope to see more events like this in the future, not only to raise funds, but also to increase awareness in the local community. Many we talked to at the info table had a very limited understanding of what Living Hope was all about, if at all. We took full advantage of the opportunity to share the news, and got many positive responses and some contacts interested in helping out.