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I&J BACK in JBay

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I am back - what an adventure!  Judy and I have been home now for a week and I'm starting to feel I can focus on evaluating the past five weeks, and how to look forward to the next season of adventures and realities. Thank you so much to those who prayed faithfully for me throughout. During the US trip, I felt I was walking on a path that had been paved in preparation for me. In Birmingham AL, I worked with Grace Klein Community , raising support for  Beats and Books , an NPO I have been involved in here in Jeffreys Bay. I only had to mention Cornie and Prima Ngosa, the local founders of Beats and Books, and I was welcomed as one of the family. They were unable to get their Visa approved because they are Zambian.  In Pontiac Michigan, Cameron of  Zera Ministries had prepared meetings for me in an amazingly thoughtful way.  Birmingham Alabama - Grace Klein Community - FeedBHM  The pace was something to experience. I arrived Sunday evening, the 5th of...
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And he's off!!

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Ian's trip to the USA So Ian has landed in the USA. The purpose of Ian's trip is twofold: firstly to raise support for  Beats and Books  in conjunction with  Grace Klein Community  in Birmingham, Alabama. Soon after we arrived in JBay, Ian and I started a parenting journey with Cornelius and Prima Ngosa. They have become very close friends and we have been able to draw alongside them with the health of their marriage and family.  Cornelius is the founder and CEO of Beats and Books,  which  helps  children from under-resourced communities thrive musically, intellectually, and spiritually. Grace Klein has been instrumental in the support of Beats and Books for many years, and they have facilitated a full itinerary for Ian to connect with potential partners. We are so grateful. The Ngosa family He spends three weeks there, and then to moves on to Pontiac, Michigan  to help train student leaders at R ochester Christian Un...
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The next chapter

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It feels like a new chapter for us, with a different focus in ministry for both Ian and Judy.  Dr Seuss with Olivia and Emily  We are co-leading a course called Life Plan for Couples, which is proving to be deeply impactful for the participants. We continue to  mentor a few  people  and couples.   The beautiful couple in the picture below, Andre and Elze, asked us to prepare them for marriage. What a privilege. We attended their wedding in Bloemfontein in early January and will continue to walk a journey with them. Beats and Books One of the local ministries to the under resourced is Beats and Books , headed by friends of ours, Cornelius and Prima Ngosa. The journey we have been walking with them as a couple has expanded into Ian spending a lot of time assisting with the reshaping of the ministry for 2026.  Ian feels the need, in this case, to move from hands-off mentoring role to the practical assistance of building capacity.  In line with their ...
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Grieving the losses, yet grateful

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Let's dive straight in: Thoughts from Judy: If you remember, I was diagnosed by a neurologist with motor neurone disease on the 30th of July last year. It is bulbar onset, which means the degeneration of the nerves started with those connecting my brain stem to the tongue and throat muscles, so I struggle with eating and talking, and the weakness has started spreading to my limbs. Recently, I've had times of grieving, grieving the losses. Loss of normal conversation, since my speech is slower and softer, with less variation in pitch. Loss of robust fellowship over meals, since I eat slowly and take long over mouthfuls.  L oss of being able to connect with kids, from young to teens.  The loss of my profession.  It's really hard. T he weakness in my hands and arms has thankfully stabilised and doesn't seem to be getting worse. Things are changing, like  Ian has to make phone calls for me and conversations are slower and not over a meal. I still go into shops and ask fo...
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