Cape Town - Getting ready!

In less than a week we will be on our way! There have some interesting developments over the past couple of weeks. We have been asking for donations to take with us for the children at City Mision school. Our house is now beginning to be taken over with football kit, balls, stationary items and it has been great to see people's generosity. The most surprising gift was from my husband and son's football team (AFC Wimbledon, long story!!) who donated approximately £1500 of brand new kit! AS we began to look at all we had, we were wondering how on earth we were going to get it over there! Having made our children promise that they would pack lightly (difficult especially for a 14 year old girl, who's insisting at least that the hair straighteners get to go!), it was still looking unlikely that everything would fit in!
So a phone call and subsequent e-mail to British Airways were made and they immediately DOUBLED our baggage allowance when we explained what it was for. And not only ours, but the other members of our party too! So now we have the next few days to sort through everything and decide what to take.

Another development has been finding out about a project in Paarl (Montecristo Ministries), in the cape winelands. This contact has been made through Worldwide Emergency Relief who support it. The chief executive of WER is Alex Haxton, who, with his family were a part of the church I grew up in, and we have recently reconnected through Facebook. I have just met with Alex and Rita and heard about the work going on in Paarl, where over 1000 children from the informal settlements have been engaged in sports teams, including over 200 girls. As a result, I have made contact with them and we plan to visit, taking two of the guys from the Impact Centre to see if connections can be made and ideas transferred. The Impact team have just finished a holiday club for the children and young people of the Athlone area and are wanting to continue to engage with and build relationships with them on an ongoing basis. Development of sport might be one way forward and I am praying this visit might open up some doors and opportunities.

So, with just a few days to go, we are excited and expectant and praying that God will once again take us out of our comfort zones, put us in situations where we need to trust Him and amaze us by what He is going to show us. To Him be all the glory!