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.

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.

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.

Baptisms in the sea

Today several of our group (including two staff) felt called to be baptised. Our group leader, Virmz, along with the teacher for this week, James, led us down to the sea. After a short period of worship on the beach, we waded in to the ocean to witness people publicly declaring their faith by means of baptism. It was wild...nobody could stand still as the waves came crashing over us.

But it was also a very moving experience as, one by one, they came forward to be fully emersed in the name of the father, son and holy spirit.

No turning back now

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and supporting us. We're here now and this is our first proper update since the course started (yesterday). Last week was orientation, explanation of assignments, learning our chores, house rules and administration.

We've had a tour of Muizenberg. It's a lovely little coastal settlement, just south of the city and Table Mountain. The weather is really windy here, so you don't really feel the heat, which is nice, as there is no air conditioning. Although the downside is you don't notice the strength of the sun, so us brits tend to look a bit like lobsters! The prices here (probably due to the weak pound) are really expensive. Most things are just as expensive as in the UK and some things even more so. Let's hope the pound strengthens, so we can last a bit longer on what we've funraised.

Please pray for guidance. This week we need to put forward our choices for outreach and we've been asked to seek the Lord on where we should go. If you feel God is leading you, please email us – peterclem@googlemail.com

So far this week we've been learning about the complex nature of the trinity. There was a specific focus on the nature and person of the Holy Spirit. This was very interesting and helped unpack something that we knew already, but in a way that we can demonstrate to others (also, we hadn't really thought about it in that much depth). We've had a very enthusiastic speaker who has been very hands-on with visual demonstrations and lots of useful diagrams! It's very biblically sound.

The training that we're doing at the moment is mainly to help us have a theological foundation and knowledge for outreach and further ministry. There are many people from all sorts of denominations here, but as the speaker asked probing questions on where our churches stood on certain theological issues (such as is it possible to lose one's salvation) many didn't know. This is key to when we might be asked or challenged by non-Christians or people interested in becoming a Christian.

It has also been a great opportunity so far to have some 'time out' to reflect. We hope that God will guide us as we learn of His plan for our lives.

We're staying in a former hotel. Advantage: en-suit bathroom. Disadvantage: it's a large building (in some disrepair) and we are responsible for all the cleaning!! There are 20 other people on the course and it's fascinating to live in community. Because of the nature of this course: people are far from home and the security aspect of having to lock yourself in the building and only leave the building in groups of three or more, we end up spending many hours here, so breakfast, lunch and dinner + lectures + socialising is all done with the same group. There are other groups here, but we're definitely finding a very close bond within the DTS group.

There are 100 staff who work here. They run several schools, plus accept people staying here while they are doing outreach to Muizenberg from other locations around the world. Currently there are groups from Carlisle, Switzerland and Hawaii. So, all in all, it's a pretty busy place. You can always here someone playing a tune on a guitar somewhere!

Meantime, for us: our stomachs are still acclimatising to the diet (institution food).

We'll keep you posted regularly

P&B xx

Here at last

Greetings from sunny South Africa. This afternoon, Becky and I arrived into Cape Town International Airport. We were picked up by Matt Shields and have been well looked after by the extended Shields' family who live not far from Table Mountain.
We begin our DTS on Wednesday, so we're going to spend today and tomorrow recovering from the journey and getting aclimatised.
We'll update the blog soon with pics of where we're staying and what the course entails.
Until then.... thanks again for your prayers and support.
Blessings,
Peter.

VISA arrived

Hooorah hoorah! Praise the Lord! The Visas have arrived safely - just picked them up from the Royal Mail sorting office. Talk about 11th hour!

We fly on Sunday, so without these visas we would probably not be able to go, so thank you everybody for your kind prayers.

We will be attending St Mary's Church, Luton on Sunday morning (3rd January) at 10am for anyone who wants to see us and give us a hug before we depart! It'd be good to catch up with many of you.

God has really done amazing miracles, especially in the past few days.

On Friday we received a phone call from the South African High Commission demanding a further £600 each as a security deposit in case we 'needed repatriation' and further South African-based health care cover (our British long stay medical travel insurance was not sufficient for their standards). We have only just fundraised enough for our needs with no 'buffer', so it was a heavy blow and a shock as we had not been informed of this earlier.

However, over the weekend, and without us asking, we have received enough donations to cover all these extra costs. We are over-whelmed by God's provision and people's generosity and obedience

Hopefully (and please pray for guidance) Pete will be able to meet with the High Commission this week and give all the funds and necessary paperwork to them.

It's just 2 weeks until we fly to South Africa. There's still so much to do (mainly packing and sorting), so please keep praying for us, especially as we work to get our visas.

We have just about enough now for the first three months (study phase). Friends and family have been so generous with sacrificial gifts. We are so humbled by this. Thank you!

Thanks for all your prayers and support. It has meant so much to us, especially in the past couple of weeks which have been quite difficult. Both of us have felt really under attack. They're not things that we can easily unpack here but it has been a time of authorities personally attacking and undermining us. It all happened on the same day and we knew that this wasn't from God. This is a real time of testing and trusting God, even when things appear to fail. When God calls you, the enemy will try and put obstacles in your way. We know, however, - thanks to so much confirmation - that we're supposed to be in South Africa in 2010. Please keep praying for us to be obedient to this call.

Close friends of ours from Luton, Matt and Mareike (and baby Seth), will be in Cape Town in January and will be picking us up from the airport. This is a real blessing and just shows God is looking out for us in little ways too.

On a lighter note, Christmas is almost upon us. We've managed to escape without spending much on Christmas this year (thanks in part to Pete's family's recession-busting secret santa). It feels all too quick and things are happening where we feel like we need another couple of months to prepare...but Christmas week puts a lot of pressure on getting things done now!

Thankfully things all seem to be going smoothly...still waiting on visas, so prayers needed there!

We'd love to meet with as many of you as possible before leaving. We know that this might not be feasible, as many of you are away over Christmas. However, if you are able to get in touch - either via email, telephone or popping into our house, we'd love to see you.

flights a'booked

Hoorah! We have managed to successfully secure some flights with Emirates leaving on 3rd January 2010! It does mean spending the night in Dubai airport (a trick, I'm sure to make you go shopping), but nonetheless it was considerably cheaper than other airlines, so we're not complaining. We're still waiting for the Police to finish confirming our innocence, then we can begin the process of applying to obtain a visa (SA high commission need police checks, bank statements and a whole host of other things (incl. chest x-ray)).

We want to thank God for his provision. There are a couple of people who have approached us with donation pledges - we don't know when we'll get it, but just knowing that it's on its way has been a real encouragement and helped us to trust God more with provision.

It looks like everything, so far, is starting to come into place. We're still only about halfway there, in terms of fundraising, so please keep praying that we'll be able to get the full amount by the time we leave. Even if we don't, we know that He'll provide in His perfect time.

Pete's birthday party

A great big THANK YOU to everyone who came to Pete's Birthday party! It was wonderful that so many were able to come. We're sorry if you couldn't make it, but please do come round and we can catch up properly. We don't have much time before we leave but would like to spend quality time with as many friends as possible.

The party was a success, and also acted as a fundraiser, so thank you to all who gave. We were able to raise well over £300 in total! Thank you especially to those who gave sacrificially ... we were really humbled by your generosity and touched by your kindness. It really encouraged us in our faith too. God bless you!

Next step: visas

Great news: we've been accepted onto the DTS which now opens up the next stage of preparation: booking flights, getting visas etc.

We've just been looking on the South African High Commission's website and apparently it can take up to 30 working days to issue a volunteer visa. Please pray that we can complete this process in time for the january deadline.

Also pray that we can find suitable, affordable flights, as the price is rapidly increasing and we're not yet financially in the clear to get both visas, course fees and the flights. We need wisdom which one to get first.

This weekend we're having a fun and games evening at St Mary's Luton (Saturday 7.30pm). This will also be a chance for us to share our vision and raise some money. Please come along...have some food, enjoy yourselves and hear about our plans for the future.

You can either just turn up (you're most welcome) or email peterclem@googlemail.com to let Pete know that you're coming and if you're able to bring anything. It's combined with Pete's 30th birthday too.

Medical checks

Thanks for all your prayers... we've both had a full medical and chest x-ray and we're both in the clear! Now we can complete the registration process. These forms will be in the post to Muizenberg tomorrow!

St Mary's Mission Sunday

We've just had a great time meeting and chatting to people from St Mary's Church in Luton (in both the morning and evening services) about our preparations for South Africa in 2010.

It's been lovely to share our vision with others and have people pray for us. There have also been a few people who have generously pledged to support us, which we're so grateful for.

Doing the sums, we've got to raise around £6,700 for the first six months training (which includes flights, fees, medicals, visa etc). So far we've received £2,200 in gifts. This is excellent and will help us to complete the application process. Once this is complete, we'll open up a Stewardship Account which will enable us to Gift Aid donations.

In the meantime, we're going to have a full medical on Tuesday. Plesae pray for our health to be good enough for the next phase.


Please also continue to pray as we seek to live by faith and serve God in our preparations for mission work overseas.

Thank you!

Peter and Becky x

On Thursday 8th October, we gave a short presentation to Scripture Union staff in the Bletchley (SU England and Wales) office. This was our opportunity to share where God is leading us and to receive prayer for our preparations for training in Muizenberg, South Africa.

Thank you to all at Scripture Union who have been praying for us and have pledged to support us. We are very grateful for all those who kindly donated towards the £45 gift which has covered the registration fee for the Discipleship Training School.

Pete has loved working for Scripture Union and he hopes to keep in touch with the folks there. We'll be praying for you at this time of change at SU and hope that you can all hold onto the the hope that God has you in his hands.

P&Bx