REWIND - Shades Women bring new ministry to South Africa

23 July - 1 Aug 2011

This team of 9 women and 1 really confident male
brought new ministry to Living Hope and Capricorn Community Church! Specifically...

- Abortion Recovery Counselling and Training to be a Counselor

- Faithbooking - teaching Believers in Christ to write down their 'Faith-story' in order to document what God has done in their lives AND to learn how to open up conversation about Christ to those that aren't comfortable speaking about Christ.

- Couples Ministry at Capricorn Community Church - the team helped host a Date Night where married couples connected to the church could come for a 'night out' (babysitters provided in home). Many of the women of our church attend without their spouses -because of the stigma of church life or the husbands are not Believers in Christ. This event was a way to open the church doors for a relaxed gathering and allow the men specifically to get to know the pastor and the other church married church members.

These ministries helped Living Hope and the Capricorn Community Church see areas that need growth and deeper ministry. There's a lot of work to be done. We've opened 'cans' that have revealed much hurt and counselling needs and we're allowing the local teams to follow-up and evaluate this ministry and where it needs to go from here. This Women's Team was brilliant in allowing the 'field teams' test the waters of these new ideas and move forward as needed; it required LOTS OF FLEXIBILITY - before a new schedule could be put on paper, it was changed, changed again, and changed again. I think this 'flexibility' threw many of these women but they grew through it and were troopers! I truly believe God allows us to make plans that seem right and then He rocks them so that He can get more glory than we could ever imagine!

Not only did this team forge new ground with the fore-mentioned ministry, but they also:

- taught women how to dig deeper into their Bibles and prayer-life

- participated in Afternoon Kids Clubs in Capricorn and Overcome Heights

- organized 4 rooms/closets in our Capricorn facility

- built cabinets and shelves

- Youth Camp Fundraiser - Braai (BBQ) Borewors Rolls (sausages) and sold them on the street

- created a Mexican Fiesta for the LSEs before our Wait4Me Celebration

- participated in our annual Wait4Me (Sexual Abstinence Program) Celebration - setting up, taking photos, sharing testimonies, cleaning up!

- and most importantly ... they worshiped with our Capricorn Community Church family 2 Sundays - which was so valuable in relationship-building and showing the congregation just how much they're invested in the church!

Here are a few pictures from the week:

LSE Faithbooking

Wait4Me Awards Night!

Meagan on the drums during Wait4Me worship!

Wait4Me audience: whole community was invited - specifically the school children we'd taught the Abstinence Program to in schools, local youth groups, our Afternoon Teen Club members, and any parent connected to those groups. We had around 250 people in attendance!

As David was building shelves, the security gate on the closet door shut and the automatic lock sealed him in. Oh how fun it was to see this manly, man behind bars in his own workshop! Meagan to the rescue with her keys!

Capricorn Community Church Date Night - Shades Team preparing appetizers

Date Night in action.

Fruit from these efforts are already being seen. Many men who do not attend church with their wives have come to Sunday Worship or have stopped us on the street to say an intentional hello - normally just shrugging us off as if we're they're wives friends, not theirs.

Please continue to pray for follow-up in all these areas. We've got counselling to do, prayer needs to sit with, Youth Camp to plan, Women's Ministry to dig deeper into, and church-planting to continue ... and oh these are not light things. I've realized the power of prayer in my weakness and the importance of admitting my weakness daily. Pray with me!