Christian Centre Outing

This past weekend was our Christian Centre outing to Kaaimans River and it was a smashing HIT! We had a whopping 30 students come, which was great to see. There were even students we had never met before who joined us for the day. What a neat way to fellowship with other students and invite them into our community. Kaaimans River is a river that flows down from the mountains into the ocean. There is a small beach where the river meets the ocean, which is perfect swimming. Sean, our neighbor, lent us 7 of his 2-man kayaks. Most of our students have never seen one of these boats let alone been in one, so this was an amazing experience for them. They were kind of hesitant at first until I put them all in life jackets and strapped them in so tight they couldn't breathe. (99.9 % of them can't swim.) :-) They loved it...really loved it. Even Pauline, the woman we work with, had never been canoeing before. She and I partnered up and had a lovely time. After our adventure down the river we had a big braai and then tried to play volleyball on the beach, but unfortunately it was much too windy. This was the first relatively warm weather we've had in weeks. So the sun was a blessing for our outing even if the wind kept us a bit chilly.



Right when we arrived, these guys started climbing on the drift wood. This is James and Self, both new to the Christian Centre this year.



Mnqobi and Bathobile (our President and Treasurer)



Isaac, our prayer warrior. This guy is on fire for God and is really spurring on others to pursue God.



Natasha and Asanda. Natasha is one of my Bible study girls. I’ll be updating you soon about her.



Pinky, Mulanga (another of my bible study girls), and a new face to us, Tobe, who is very much pregnant. It’s so neat to see Pinky, who was in her shoes a year ago, hang out with someone who is going through the same situation.



Vuyo, our ever faithful helper. Stephen and he now meet on a regular basis to study the Word together!



Philani, our Committee Coordinator.



Self. This kid is so sweet.



Tobe , Lee, and Braden. Lee came out to our Monday lunch Bible study at the beginning of the year. He’s a new father and could really use your prayers for the amount of pressure he’s under. He’s away from his wife, a new dad, has a part time job, and is in school full time. It’s a lot for a 24 year old to carry.



Mulanga



T.K. (our observing member on the committee), Coleen (also new to the Christian Centre and as we found out this weekend a wicked fast runner), and James.



Pinky



Zodwa (whom you’ve been praying for). On top of losing her brother, last week her uncle passed away which was her mom’s last surviving brother. Please continue to be in prayer for them.



The first round of students pushing off and trying to get the hang of the paddles.






Kutalani, Natasha, and Rodney. We became friends with Kutalani at the beginning of the year. He is a B-tech student and roommates with Muedanyi. He is really a quality guy and seems to be seeking out spiritual matters so please keep him in your prayers. Also, we just found out this week that Rodney is another one of Muedanyi’s roommates and is a believer. Natasha and he have the same birthday and threw a party together last Friday to celebrate. They both are very vocal about their relationship with God….more about that later.



Coming back and showing what a blast they had!



Nkhosi and Ilse. You may remember that I was meeting with Ilse for a time to study the word together. She was really growing in her walk with the Lord. Unfortunately, she has given up pursuing God for the time being and has really gotten herself into a place I think she will later regret. We were thrilled to see her out with this crew for the day. Please pray that our students would continue to pursue her, show her love, and that her heart would again be softened to the word and love of God.



Vuyo…poor guy. He was standing on the bank to rinse his feet off and before he knew it, he slipped and lost control and found himself sliding backwards into the water! The panic on his face was priceless (also one who cannot swim) and he performed a 10 out of 10 face-plant for all us bystanders to enjoy! This is his recovery position from shock and probably embarrassment because he was soaked from head to toe. We had 6 other people do the same thing throughout the day so his pride wasn’t too badly hurt :)



Fun on the river. Pinky and Braden.



Mnqobi and Nkululeko.



Nkhosi and Bathobile looking like real professionals. They were a part of the second round of the students who went into the water.



Pauline and me. She figured, if all these students could do it and also not know how to swim so could she. She LOVED it.






On the way down the river.



Drying out before the rest of the activities for the day.

This really was a wonderful time for all. Please continue to be in prayer for our students as we continue to reach out and invest in their lives through fun and friendship.


A few videos from the day:








Notice how they call him "SteveVoVo". I can’t even remember how it got started but it stuck and now it's their affectionate name for him. :)