Bible study on Wednesday was fantastic, thanks for all your prayers, we had 6 guys and Dave E led it well. We also had a good young adults bible study and we have a good group of about 14. Apparently there was so much rain and run off on Wednesday that it knocked over a wall at the bottom of the property and flooded one of our neighbors house. It was insane!! I jammed with some of the boys hardcore style. We did a mean cover of boy brushed red living in black and white.

I went to Al and Rach Shuster for dinner and it was a great time of catching up and the supper was amazing! Their kids have gotten so big! I then went to the Forsyth's where I will be staying permanently and it was a good feeling to finally unpack all of my bags and settle in. I have Kevin's room, so I get a room to my self and follow in the great footsteps of Forsyth's who have previously occupied that hallowed space.

Tonight is a spiritual evening at youth and I will be speaking about Gods love and sharing the gospel, so please pray for that.

Also please pray that I transition well to staying with the Forsyth's.

Thank You and much love from a sunny South Africa

I neglected to inform last time that Allan and I had a Superbowl party, African Style! By that I mean nothing special, but the game started at 1 am here and I made it until the end of the 3rd quarter until I saw the time was 4am and I was fading. My Steelers (gotta hold it down for PA) were up so I went to bed happy. So yes I did miss the 4th quarter!!! but I caught it again on the replay the next day, so it is okay.

Its raining really hard today and we have gotten loads of rain already. This is possibly the hardest I've seen it rain, the streets are flooded and the bmx track at the skatepark is in bad shape. My car also was not starting earlier which is a bit of a concern. Also as I type this there are drips coming from leaks in our office ceiling in 4 or 5 places, so basically lots of rain is bad.

This has been a big sporting weekend! South Africa is now the number one ODI cricket team in world, beating those filthy Ausies, oh so satisfying. On Saturday we had youth band practice for next Fridays spiritual evening. I played guitar and helped teach the guys some new songs. It went really well and they are great, it should be really good on Friday. I helped Sean fix some of the ramps at the skate park, but the drill kind of broke so we still have some work to do. I spoke on Sunday about the problem of pain, why bad things happen to good people type of idea. We looked at the story of Paul, his shackles, his shipwreck and his snake bite. I had a braai at Daves place as a last hoorah and ended up with lots of cleaning and dishes (bad idea). We watched the Australian Open Final and then headed to soccer for a comfortable 6-1 win. Afterwards it was Liverpool vs Chelsea time and the boys came over to watch. Who knew ministry and sport watching went so hand in hand! I am now house sitting at the large house belonging to the Cox’s, I have so many rooms to choose from, its great! After work today I went with Allan and his friends to the South African Open and got to see David Ferer and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga! We had another leaders meeting tonight which was quite heavy because of all that’s been going on. The suicide really has shaken things, but I believe the church is really dealing with it well and in a healthy way. 

Dave is back today and comes back to work on Friday, pray for him and Michelle as they adjust to married life and living together (anyone needing to deal with Dave needs pray). Also pray for Pastor Doug and the leadership team as they try recover and deal with the aftermath of all that’s happened.

Its been a crazy weekend and last couple of days. Youth on Friday night was great, another good turnout and we played mini olympic type games. Its crazy working from 9am-11:30pm, but it really has been great and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have been learning a lot and I think I'm starting to get into the flow of things a little bit. Saturday Allan and I just chilled and played guitar and watched the Australian Open. We also had a meeting for the youth worship team and it seems to be heading in the right direction. I'll be helping out on Conga's/percussion and maybe guitar every now and then. Sunday I gave my first talk in the youth on disciple making focusing on the great commission, I thought it would be a good way to start off the year. I kinda ran out of time, but people seemed to receive it well and I had some people come up to me afterwards to talk about some relationships, so I was pleased. I played my second 5-a-side soccer game that afternoon and the altitude is killing me, I can feel it in my lungs and in my muscles, its crazy! We managed a dramatic 4-3 come from behind victory and I got a brace (thats 2 goals if you were wondering) to open my scoring account for the season.

Monday I had the day off, so Allan and I chilled as he was nursing a hyper-extended knee from soccer. Then Linda, Anelle and Tyron (nel's boyfriend) came over and I cooked dinner for all of them. Tuesday was a day spent in prayer and reading, capped off by an amazing dinner at Bryan and Brons. Kevin and Jeff came over last night to watch Liverpool disappoint us once again (I think Robbie Keane needs a hug) and Kev slept over and then woke up way too early to go to bible college.

There was some tragic news on Monday as one of the elders at the church Dave Duke committed suicide. It was quite a shock and nobody saw it coming. This has really affected the church and needs much prayer, especially for his family, his wife and 3 daughters. The funeral is tomorrow (friday). Please pray for Pastor Forsyth as he will be performing the ceremony as well.

Another big prayer need is for the guys bible study, we had no one show up again on Wednesday, so Dave Edwards and I spent some good time together. The girls had a good turn out and a really good discussion, but it would be amazing to see some guys come out. 

A huge praise though is that I have a car!! a green Volkswagen Golf (one of the many Forsyth cars) so I know have some independence, it has truly been a blessing!

The first night of cell groups was a little disappointing, there was a good turn out for the girls, but somehow all the guys who were going to come couldn't, all on the same night. James, Dave and I still had a good time hanging out and playing some cricket. Pray for the cell groups, that they would grow become a part of the lives of the youth as this is an important building ministry for us. Yesterday I got a chance to spend some time with Linda and Chris which was awesome! One of my goals while I'm over here is to restore some of the relationships I lost before I left here, so it was great to catch up a little bit and reestablish relationship.We have gotten quite a bit of rain the last few days, so the skatepark is closed today which free's up some of my time to finish my talk for Sunday. We also had no power all morning (something not too uncommon) so I did lots of reading. Thomas a Kempis' The Imitation of Christ is quite possibly the best book ever written. My goal is to read it once a month while I'm over here. I have also had a good start to my school work, getting a good amount of reading done. Tonight is another night of DOJ and youth so it should be a good time, and Allan is staying at my place this weekend so i expect there will be some fun times and lots of dashboard playing on guitar!

Ah the ministry life, days full of meetings and work, nothing like your average 9am-9:30pm job! It really is the best though, there is nothing better than doing what you love to do and doing it all day long! We had a really good meeting with some parents who want to get involved in the race track and skatepark which will be a huge blessing to us and will free the youth to do more relational ministry instead of work (being marshals, regestration etc.). Last night was also my first church leadership meeting, not the most exciting event ever, but it is good to see how things are working and what is going to be done in the future. Today I got to hit some golf balls with cheap clubs with Sean and Dave and I think I've had enough with golf for a while (after shooting 130 at eagle canyon!). I also worked at the Park and started my first talk to the youth, on discipleship. Tonight is also the first week of Cell groups for the youth so hopefully there is a good turn out and all goes well. Gotta head down to the A-frame (youth building) in a few minutes for that.

Well it has been a week since I left the cold frigid America for the warmth and just overall loveliness of Africa. I really have hit the ground running since I got here and yesterday was a most welcome day off. The first night of youth went really well, I’m not in charge of anything yet, just overseeing things and being up front. It was really strange being there again after 3 years and not knowing any of the kids, but it’s a good group and I am looking forward to getting to know them. Dave and Michelle’s wedding was beautiful and everything went really well (except that I didn’t know I had to turn on the mic so there is no sound for the first bit, but nothing some crafty editing can’t fix). It was good seeing old friends and catching up. So Dave is gone and I am all alone, but I have a cellphone and am working on getting a car, so things are coming together.