Encouraged.

This weekend was such an incredible blessing to do a lot of different things in the city.  We all woke up early to go to David's church, Valley Church in Hout Bay.  Oh, and it was raining... shocker.  Therefore, our plans for hiking Table Mountain obviously changed.  Thankfully, it began to clear up later in the day, yet it was still pretty cold and windy.  So, we went to David's church and the contemporary service was great!  Really great worship and sermon.  The pastor spoke on defeating discouragement (Nehemiah 4:1-23) and how we must overcome fatigue, frustration, and fear through requesting God's help, reorganizing our priorities, remembering who God is, having a right attitude of the heart, and relying on other people.  Great message! 


After visiting there, we drove to Hout Bay Market.  We have been here before, but we all agreed to go again to check it out... and to eat the incredible food.  It was unbelievable.  Mia and I both ate homemade soup for lunch.  SO GOOD.  Once we left, we didn't really have a plan so we drove by Llunado Beach near Hout Bay.  We were able to get out and see the gorgeous view (just like any other view) and take a few pictures.  

Signature pose.

Holden and I noticed some huge boulders out in the water and wanted to go check them out, so we drove down there and stumbled upon them by walking through some residential areas.  They were amazing.  

Yes, I am a giant. 

We just jumped around and crawled under/through them all, and came upon Holden on a huge rock right by the water screaming and shouting for us.  The waves would crash against the rocks creating huge splashes every few seconds!  We eventually met him out there and were getting soaked by the water.  It was beautiful!  Our God is so BIG and we were all reminded of his beauty watching the water crash against the boulders.  A view that I will always remember!  

Holden taking it all in! 

SO COOL!!!!

After chilling on the rocks for about 30 minutes, we drove back to the house to pick up Will and then leave for Hillsong Church!  It was about 35 minutes away so we arrived around 4:45.  The service began at 5:00 with a lot of praise music and announcements.  It was a really neat experience.  I don't know if I would attend Hillsong on a regular basis, but it was still cool to see how they do things as a church.  

  

Today was a great day as well!  I went to Living Way this morning to help out with some of the curriculum for the Agri-business program.  It was cool to read through what they have so far and contribute bits and pieces to it that will be used by people who are trying to break out of the cycle of poverty.  It is so rewarding to know that the curriculum will be used to teach those about business and how to live sustainably, not only in the world, but in Christ.  I will be there on Wednesday and next Monday, Wednesday as well! 

Kids club today was really fun too.  I was able to teach several kids (8 or so) the hand jive again and the chicken dance, along with the "bernie".  Awesome.  We combined it to make a really funky dance. Throughout club, they would run up to me and start flapping there elbows and then leaning back into the bernie pose.  Soooo funny!  Haha, I loved it!  I have been learning more and more names too, which allows me to not only show them love by name, but also be able to discipline them when needed.  We spoke on compassion today and how to show it to your neighbor.  After speaking on showing kindness to one another, I saw two boys kicking each other.  I called them both out by name and tried to reiterate what they just heard so that they may be reminded of how to respect one another.  I will be praying that these children really take to heart what we speak about each day, and that the Holy Spirit would just move through them.  

After clubs, we ate a delicious dinner of chicken, rice, butternut squash, potato wedges, and a salad.  We had Bible study over at Tim and Natasha's house tonight.  It was wonderful, to say the least.  They asked us 2 questions: 1) How have you seen the glory of God in the past week? 2) What are you struggling with in your faith?

We had an incredible 2 hour conversation that consisted of everyone speaking up about what the Lord is doing in our lives.  It was truly a blessing to hear what everyone had to say, because I was so encouraged the entire time.  I absolutely loved hearing people's stories and relating to them on a deeper level.  It was much needed for us to do something like this as a team.  A lot of insight and wisdom was given by Tim and Natasha, which was absolutely fantastic.  Even though I am sad that I only have 3 weeks remaining, I can't wait to finish this journey walking alongside these people who are going through similar circumstances like myself.  What a blessing!!!! Thankful for these brothers and sisters of Christ!