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Tuesday 23 February 2010

Action stations

We've just come out of a meeting to discuss outreach. It's really exciting and the Lord is speaking to us through many different verses from Scripture. The main ones are Isaiah 61: 1-2, 54:17 and Isaiah 30. There are others too. We feel God telling us to abide in Him.

Our deadline as a group of 15 to raise £30,000 to enable this outreach to happen is 6th March, so the heat is on! Please pray! To raise these funds, we will be selling cookies, doing carwashes and anything else we can think of. We'd love any of you to also partner with us in fundraising if you feel led to do so ... please pray about it. Perhaps your church may also be interested in getting involved. The deadline stated is for pledges, actual funding can come a little later, if need-be.

To help with our fundraising, Becky is going to be selling African arts, crafts and jewellery. Please contact us if you're interested in buying any, or promoting/selling on our behalf..

Thanks for your prayers
Thank you to everyone who prayed for Pete today. Thank you also to all those who emailed us to let us know that you're praying. It means a lot to us and we love to hear your updates too. We will respond to each email individually (when we have internet access), but please be patient if you don't hear from us the same day (things are a bit slower here!).

Pete's meeting with SU went really well and he's hoping to build good relations with them over the next few weeks and after the outreach (from June). This work would be voluntary.

Wednesday 17 February 2010

Getting into the Word

Last week we had teaching from DeWet who's a speaker in the School of Biblical Studies. He has an amazing knowledge of the Bible and he really helped us unpack the book of Ephesians. While doing so, he taught us a number of techniques for Bible study. Mainly, the inductive method: reading and observing the passage; contextualising; asking what it meant to the original audience (i.e. what overall message was the author trying to convey) then identifying practical ways we can apply that message to our lives today. He really helped the Bible to come alive and his passion, enthusiasm and motivation was contagious!

Also during that week, we spent some time receiving teaching on a Biblical overview: looking into the big picture of the Bible and how throughout the old testament God's plan of redemption and grace led to Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. It was quite an eye opener and really showed us how much more we need to learn! What struck us most was how strict God's laws were on purity and holiness and how expensive it was for the Israelites to give sacrifices for their sins. This showed us how valuable Jesus' sacrifice really is. The price he paid means that we can live - for free! This is something that's easy to say, but we're really starting to appreciate really how great this gift from God is.

This week we're learning about the Father Heart of God. We have a well respected speaker that is sought after by lots of schools. Virmz - our school leader - managed to get him to come all the way from Hong Kong, where he currently lives. So far he has given some amazing testimonies about how God has touched his life. We have been so amazed by his humility and openness. We have been set a lot of homework recently, but today's was slightly different. Part of it involves praying for a fellow student and asking God if He has a message for them. The twist is: we have to deliver the message in a way that God shows us. This involves lots of praying and listening! Danie (our teacher) told us how 17% of what was said is remembered, but 83% of how it was said is remembered (this apploies to any context). He told us that's why God is so creative (citing the burning bush etc). Over the past two days he has been laying a foundation for the teaching. We are looking forward to what God will be doing in our lives this week. The DTS school from Worcester has come to join us for this week. It's lovely to meet them again and get to know them a bit better.
Peter continues to volunteer at Sibongile (a home in one of the biggest townships for children with cerebral palsy) where he helps the mamas by spending time with the children, feeding them, changing nappies and generally helping out (with a team of other volunteers). He's finding it both challenging but extremely rewarding.
Becky will be getting more involved with Justice ACTs now that one of their staff members is back. More on this later.
Please keep praying for us! Send us your news: peterclem@googlemail.com We miss you all.
If you'd like to call/text us, please let us know and we'll send you our numbers.

Saturday 6 February 2010

A week in Worcester (updated)


Just an update to let you know that over the past two weeks we've been delving deeper into our walk with God.

Becky has begun work with Justice ACTs – once a week to start with – on the investigation team doing research into trafficking and prostitution in Cape Town. We can't put too much on here but please do email us for more information. Needless to say, Becky's loving it.

Since our last update, we spent a week in Worcester – a town about 2 hours north east of Cape Town (though it was a 4-hour train ride!). In Worcester we learned about the Holy Spirit. The week was challenging for most of us and we are still processing what we heard. It was strange, too, to be at a much bigger base, where there were many different teams and a different 'culture'. All in all, we were all grateful to return back home to Muizenberg and 'back to normal'.
Worship last Sunday was awesome. The whole group became much much closer and there was a real feeling of unity among the group. People opened up and shared deep and personal things.

This past week we've had an amazing man of God speaking to us about the cost of discipleship. It was really sobering and powerful stuff. Please pray that we can be obedient to God. He's been speaking to us about being generous with our belongings and has sometimes called us to give things away. We are learning to be obedient with the right attitude (which is sometimes difficult).

Meantime, we're still planning our outreach to Asia. We need to raise 18,000 ZAR (1,500 pounds) each. So please also pray for that. We'll keep you posted as things develop.

Thank you for your prayers.