Molweni, Sep – Dec 23

STRANGER THINGS.

You never know what strange things can happen in life. We have a pond outside that Barry made from old bathtubs. Last year around this time we bought goldfish for Nathan and two koi for Louise. Nathan’s motivation was to breed the goldfish, Louise’s motivation was to sit next to the pond and watch her graceful koi. So, early this year they noticed two baby fish in the filter part of the pond. Turns out the fish had laid eggs and two babies had miraculously survived. To shorten this story, only one baby has survived, and it is so ugly, it has the head of a koi and the body of a goldfish and the lips of a mermaid.
Would you believe it, Koi and Comet goldfish can breed, and you get a Koimit! I think we will call it Mamphara-fish! Our hope is that this Koimit will turn out to be a gorgeous creature when it grows up.

Life has been hard and good this year and the Lord has been turning our “ugly” into beautiful as we trust Him with the outcome of all the happenings in our lives as a family. So much beauty has come from those hard places and many hard places remain however we learn and grow.

 

TREASURED MOMENTS.

What a privilege it was for Louise to be able to spend time with folk in the USA on furlough this year. If any of you followed all her shenanigans on Facebook, you will know that she had a wonderful time doing the things in life that she finds the most fun. Quality time connecting with people and having so many meaningful conversations.
In true “Lou” style, she made the most of every opportunity to share the wonderful things God is doing, to share needs, and have as many adventures as possible. Thank you to all who opened their lives and homes to Louise while she was in the USA. We are so thankful as a family to you and know that you will never be the same again!
Furlough was a very busy time and was sucessful as far as connecting with people was concerned, as far as support raising is concerned that will take some time to reflect.

As part of furlough we felt the Lord challenging us to create “clay jars” that individuals can give towards as part of our trusting Him to provide. If you feel the Lord prompting you to give towards these funds/ projects please contact us. If you need more insight/ background we are happy to fill in the gaps.

Those “clay jars” are:
• Educate the Nate. ( Specialised program)
• Repairer of walls. ( PJ )
• Shine our light. ( Alternitive energy)
• Lou’s taxi. (Personal vehicle going to Jesus)
• Feed Kamva for Jesus. ( Soup Kitchen)

One of our supporters was suggesting that we make a request to all our current supporters who have not increased their support of us for a while if they would consider increasing their monthly support of us by 10% which would really go a long way in making up our deficit. Please would you think and pray about doing that?

PE GRADUACTION 2023.

What a fantastic day it was this year. The thing that came through so strongly through the testimonies of all the ZEBS students at graduation this year was the fact that their lives had changed, that they were taught the truth from the Word of God and that they really do appreciate all the Bible teachers at ZEBS Port Elizabeth (GQ).
Barry Thomas was the guest speaker, he encouraged us all to live for Jesus and we came away from Graduation this year thankful to God for His faithfulness and with a deep gratitude that we get to be a small part of what He is doing here amongst the AmaZioni in our area.

CLOSER TO HOME.

Jet lag was so much worse than Louise was expecting. It has taken a long time to start to feel present at home again. Barry had his left knee replacement surgery 5 days after Lou got home, it has gone so much better than the right knee replacement did in 2022. The recovery is still hard and takes time, he has lost weight again and is feeling tired as he has been battling to sleep. We appreciate your prayers for him during this time.

Nathan had just started his year-end exams for Grade 9 when mom got home and has passed well again, now we start the process of choosing which subjects he will take in Grade 10. He has been on holiday for two weeks already, is bored and feeling quite lonely. Please continue to pray with us for him to find a good friend.

Peta-Jade has one more final exam to write to end off her first year of her Bachelor of Arts. She was sick the second half of this year and has really been battling with migraines and it has been a difficult year and so we wait for her results to see how she did even with all that has been coming against her. Please continue to pray for her.

This past month has been hard for us as a family, and we realize that we need to change our living arrangements. Please pray with us for wisdom as we work out how to give our children the right kind of space they need to flourish.

May you all have a wonderful Christmas, we appreciate you all and pray the Lord Jesus will continue to show you Himself as Emmanuel.

Lots of love

Barry, Louise, Peta-Jade, and Nathan.
PS. All the bold writing are prayer points, thanks for holding us up in prayer.