A Year Ago Today!

1 Year Ago Today we departed on the trip of a lifetime - we left London on Feb 17, 2010! Can hardly believe that a whole year has gone by since we started the most exciting chapter of our lives so far!


Read all about it: http://changethruhope2010.blogspot.com/2010/02/day-1.html


We’ve decided to do something unique for covering the overland trip from London to Cape Town. We’ve decided to make it a continued feature over the next several months. So right now we’re featuring the preparations and departure from England, and the first days in Europe. We will come out with “new” blogs and pictures from what happened a year ago! So watch this space!

Catch Up Week!

This week we feel a bit out of sorts - Monday was the first day that we didn't have a team since Jan 7th! So we are digging ourselves out of piles of to-do-list items and playing catch up! It is a bit of a battle to sit still at a desk and work after having been in the field for all these weeks. But we have another string of exciting teams coming next week until April! So pray that we get everything that we need to do done to prepare for all the teams.

Happy V-day!

We are taking advantage of a pizza special and watching a movie at home! Haven't done that in over a year.. so very excited! Hope everyone feels the love around them today and most importantly from the One who is love! 

Thank You to Call 2 All

With Kona Call 2 All Team

This morning we had to say goodbye to yet another team – can you believe it – that have been here for just about a month! This team was especially special to me. They are a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Call 2 All team from Kona, Hawaii – where a friend of mine and I wanted to go and do DTS (Discipleship Training School) back when I was still a young South African figuring out what was next for me after my year as an Au Pair in the US. So I just loved hearing all about what they did and the experiences they’ve had. For this past month the team partnered with us and one of our local pastors in our smaller community of Red Hill to help set-up small groups within the community. These guys have been phenomenal in breaking down boundaries and helping us reach people by building relationships. Thank you so much to all of you guys and praying that God bless each and every one of you in whatever is next for you all.  

Eyes Opened

Tim managing registration!

Wow, what a week: In 5 days and a half dozen communities, over 700 people were examined, and nearly 550 reading glasses were distributed! The even more encouraging part is that each and every person was prayed for, and many accepted Christ! The week just flew by and we are just in awe of all that God did through this team this week. We helped with coordinating with the local Living Hope Support Group Facilitators to set up all the different clinics in each of the communities – but the team really are the ones who made this week what it was. They worked tirelessly to not only test everyone’s eyes, they also allowed a platform for tremendous counseling. There is something powerful in the personal touch of the up close eye test followed by the simple question: “Is there anything you would like me to pray for?” We heard some of the most heartbreaking stories from refugee teenagers facing rape pregnancies alone, to mothers struggling alone with abusive husbands and their drug abusive teenaged children. Being from the outside people (surprisingly) opened up to them like no one could have imagined. So many people got to see properly for the first time – but ultimately the most amazing part was how many spiritual eyes were opened and how many people made decisions to follow Christ! How humbling to be a part of it all.

New Team Arrival - Eye screening!

Today we welcome the fifth team of 2011! They are a team of 12 people from one of Living Hope’s church partners in Nashville, TN. This particular team is the first of its kind. They have come to conduct vision screening clinics in the community, which has never been done before. There is a great need for this sort of specialist work, particularly because there are very few affordable opportunities for people to get help. This team will be testing for near-sighted needs, and have brought over 700(!) pairs of donated reading glasses of various strengths. We’re hoping that the work done this coming week will just be the beginning to the possibilities for these kinds of teams to come and fill a significant void in our area. We are so blessed to have this opportunity!

Farewell to UD Intervarsity Team

After 29 solid days of being here, we said goodbye to the UD Intervarsity team. Their stay of nearly a month is more than twice as long as most teams do. We had a wonderful time getting to know them – and more importantly, the staff and clients with whom they worked got to know them better, too. What a great bunch of young adults! We’ll miss them; they became such a help to us on many fronts, from home-based care in Ocean View (4 of them were 4^th-year nursing students) to kids clubs in Capricorn, to serving at Living Grace homeless ministry, to general maintenance and improvements in various areas. We wish them all the best, as many return to class on Monday already!