Becoming more established

Ian has started managing the project and Judy is more settled in the school and in ministry. More details below. 

Building



The layout of the parking lot is complete. The new TLB has arrived after a facelift by Titan Plant Hire in PE. The first 9 containers for building the technical school wing have arrived and work has started in earnest. All very exciting  


Family news

Amy and William came recently for a weekend. We had a lovely time, which included some whale and dolphin sightings. Ian and Amy had some bonding time with a pre-sunrise kayak trip. We also had some of our JBay friends over to share some pizzas and meet them.



Heather and Nathan are doing well at Solid Ground in Middelburg. They have just returned from their annual mission trip to Tanzania, and wonderfully managed to include people from their current church as well as their previous church, Highway, in Centurion.


David and Robynne have arrived back from their overseas trip, full of exciting stories of adventures and deep relationships maintained. They each have two-month contracts working in Gauteng, and are praying about the next step in their future.


Community

We really feel as if we have been living here for years. Deep friendships and significant influence probably decribe it best. 

In our house church on Tuesday nights, we are going through John Marc Comer's Practising the Way Course, and finding it very meaningful and conducive to slow and solid growth. It is also really growing the relationships and creating closer bonds in the group. 

An American couple, John and Edith Gross, came to spend a month with Global, offering consultations on Strength Finders free of charge after people did the test online. We saw him individually, and as a couple, and it was very helpful. We were priveleged to take them for a trip to the Addo Elephant Park one Saturday. A member of the community lent us a very impressive Jeep. What fun! We enjoyed their company.




Discipleship Groups
We are enjoying spending the weekly hour with the high school students. I (Ian) took my group of Grade 12s for milkshakes. What a great bunch!

Women's ministry

I (Judy) was approached to be part of the core ladies team, that looks after the events and wellbeing for the ladies in the community. Last term they organised the Couples weekend, and a beautiful evening to honour the single ladies. This coming term there will be a ladies weekend away, with the theme Suffering is Never for Nothing, based on a series of talks by Elisabeth Elliot. We are also having a tea to encourage the older ladies in the community to see their value, and to engage more with the younger ladies. (Titus vibes) I am really peaceful and excited about being part of this.


Teaching

The second term went by very fast. Exam time was frustrating, as I encountered the poor quality of the Eastern Cape Department of Education firsthand. I am trying to add value by offering to moderate tests and exams, but we will have to see how that goes. I feel like it is part of my ministry, in a sense, to bring my experience and attention to detail to improving the offering of the Department. Kind of bringing the Kingdom to Earth. I am still really enjoying the school, Global Leadership Academy, the way it is run, and the impact that is has on young lives. 

Creative outlets

I (Judy) spent the winter holiday engrossed in a quilting project. I made a wallhanging for Amy and William to hang in their home. It was a great deal of work and extremely satisfying. They enjoy scuba diving, so I made an underwater scene. The whole wallhanging measures 1190 mm wide and 860 mm high. Notice the two little scuba divers in the top right hand corner. :)


Prayer pointers

Ian: The building project is rather daunting, with all the unknowns budget restraints. Please pray for wisdom and clear communication to management. 

Judy: For wisdom and energy in the school space, as well as in spending time encouraging and building up ladies.


 


Popular posts from this blog

Grieving the losses, yet grateful

Image
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...
Read more

The next chapter

Image
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 ...
Read more

I&J BACK in JBay

Image
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...
Read more