Christ Life Crazy

Last term, Grant Porthen and his team ran a programme called Christ Life Crazy, or CLC for short. On 16 June, they hired a local school hall and hosted parents and friends as they showed what they had learned. Some local Christian Hip Hop dance crews were invited to perform, but the highlight was hearing the children themselves, expressing the gospel through poetry and rap. The 16th of June, a public holiday in South Africa called “Youth Day,” commemorates the uprising of the youth against apartheid. The theme was a Stand for Freedom and so Grant’s address introduced the idea of real freedom in Christ.

One of the main goals of the CLC programme was to ensure that discipleship took place. Morne, currently serving with us during his gap year, was one of the CLC leaders and here he is pictured with Devon, a boy in his group. Since the Showcase, Devon has attended Sunday Services and is regularly seen hanging out with Morne.

CLC will continue in Mitchells Plain this term but will also begin at a school in Mannenberg on Monday 23rd of July. Please pray that we find the necessary leadership to make the project work.

Trinity Children’s Centre

Renier has been busily trying to get land use forms accepted but everytime he went to the department they sent him back for more documentation. Why they couldn’t just tell him what they needed the first time he went, we are not sure. A land use inspector wasn’t very happy with us and threatened to take action but we are grateful to God that eventually the department accepted our papers and the inspector seemed content to

leave it at that. Please pray that God gives Renier supernatural patience as he deals with all the red tape involved in setting up a school.
In the midst of all of this, Renier was recently called out of his office to an emergency. One of the neighbours was about to have her baby… which she duly did on the backseat of Renier’s car, on the way to the hospital. We are not certain but we understand that they have named the baby after him.

The park next door now has equipment and just needs some more grass and perhaps another jungle gym. We praise God and want to say a big thank you to Cape Town City council for this contribution to us and the greater community.

Trevor Pearce

Trevor Pearce, the Youth Pastor at All Souls in London, came to South Africa to speak at our regional youth and children’s ministry training days called “Revive”. We had the pleasure of hosting Trevor for a few days after the Cape Town conference. He preached for us, spoke at a kids club, at CLC and the school in Mannenberg where we are taking the CLC programme. We had a great time getting to know Trevor and, albeit only for a couple of days, his wife Ewa. We are hoping that the Cape Town bug has bitten and we will see more of them in the future. The training we received was excellent and the children who had the privilege of hearing him speak, absolutely loved it.

Men’s Breakfast

Two of our key men, Basil and Warren have started a men’s breakfast which meets on the last Saturday of the month. They have had two so far and both have been well attended. In a matriarchal society like Mitchells Plain, is a joy to see the men taking the initiative and not only embracing the true Christian faith but making a huge effort to share it with other men. Please pray that God uses this ministry to reach many men who, in turn, will reach their wives and children.

George and Sophia

We are very concerned for George and Sophia. They are two of the founding members of the church and play a key role in its leadership. Sophia is suffering from a rare terminal illness called Crest Syndrome. George has been doing everything he can to help and care for his wife, but as a result his own health has been affected. He has recently been in and out of hospital with lung issues. Apparently, his work in the dying room of a fabric company, twenty years ago, resulted in a dodgy chemicals getting into his blood stream. It is hard to imagine how this family is coping but through these tremendous trials, their faith and witness grows and grows