Merry Christmas!

We will post more about our Christmas break in a week... we will be camping for the next 6 days, so we will not have Internet access. But before we go, we wanted to wish all of you a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We have thoroughly enjoyed our 2nd African Christmas. Still, our loved ones back home are never far from our hearts. We pray for God's richest blessings as you celebrate the birth of His Son.

Teaching the Bible... and Having a Christmas Party!

This was an eventful week for us. Hans taught on 2 Timothy on Monday. Susan taught on Hebrews on Wednesday and Friday. Saturday we had our end of the year Christmas Party for our class at a Silvermine lake. It was the perfect way to end a busy week. We had a delicious picnic and got to enjoy the sun and relax with our students. Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy!

We have one week left of classes and then begin our 2 week Christmas break. We appreciate your prayers that we will all finish well, and for safe travel for those who are leaving for the break (most of our students are either traveling home or traveling around South Africa). Hans and I will stay home in Muizenberg for the 1st week, and then are camping with friends the week after Christmas.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you in this holiday season!

greatest miracle possible...

howdy folks : )

hans here. just had a wonderful time reteaching 2nd timothy yesterday. i tell you what, its awesome to get to process a book for teaching.... and then process it again a year later.

seriously, what God communicates through His word can be so different at different seasons!? how is that even possible? what struck me last year was the love that was communicated through the book, this year is was the neccesity of faithfulness. BOTH profound truths from 2tim, just applicable in different ways. the living word is an incredible occupation... i am truly blessed.
and now,
on to the greatest miracle possible

as some may be aware, i visit a police station near muizenberg and share devotions.
last week tuesday i went with a fellow biblical dept staff (as the driver). His name is Olivier Koffi (spelling?) and he is a gifted teacher from Togo. He has studied to be a lawyer, and is an incredibly perceptive and clear communicator. He took on the topic of "grace" from Titus chapter 2, verses 11-14. Salvation has come to ALL people...
he did a beautiful job communicating the heart of God for everyone, and at the end asked if there were any people that would be interested in giving their hearts to Christ....

and guess what? there were.

i had never seen anyone do such a thing in this setting! i had never even considered doing such a thing?!? it seemed completely "out there" to me!!
are you serious?? (i was thinking in my heart)

the greatest miracle possible happened as a result of olivier's boldness.
we went back this morning (tuesday) and he did a follow up message.
declaring the neccesity of dependance, showing the brokeness of human nature.

guys, this has been one of my highlights here in south africa.
its amazing what a bit of obedience mixed with courage can accomplish!!
we will continue follow up with said individuals as the opportunity affords.
be obedient! be courageous!
who knows if God may make you a witness too,
the greatest miracle possible...


ps.
if any are interested in investing in this man of God let me know.
he is a worthy investment of your resources and or your time.
he is going to swaziland to help pioneer an SBS 1 (3 months).
he could use all the support possible. financially and prayerfully.

blessings

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are a few pictures from our base Thanksgiving meal. Our whole YWAM Muizenberg family got together for a traditional meal, complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes. The Americans put on a short program and everyone had a lot of fun eating and listening to American music. There was even a little dancing! We certainly missed being with our families, but are so thankful for this community that we were able to celebrate with.

Reverend Hans

Hans and I have been attending a local church in Muizenberg for the past year. It's right around the corner from our apartment and meets on the top floor of the local Bible college/seminary. The church is affiliated with Church of England, and has a very multi-cultural feel. We've been developing a relationship with the Pastor (his wife is a student in the SBS) and several of the members, and are enjoying being part of a local congregation.

Each week, Pastor Brian has someone "M.C." the service, so the pastor's only responsibility is the sermon. A few weeks ago, he asked Hans to do this, so Hans got to officiate a traditional Church of England service! He, of course, did a great job. He says he was honored and challenged and felt as nervous to do this as he does to teach a 3 hour lecture on a book of the Bible. There is very specific order and expectations in a Church of England service, and Hans handled it very well. He did the call to worship, the confession of sin and assurance of salvation, congregational prayer, announcements and Bible reading. Might as well start calling him Pastor Hans!

Birthday Boy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HANS!

Yesterday we celebrated 32 years of Hans' life. The day started with a very special phonecall from his family in Alaska. We then went to class and listened to a lecture on the book of 1st Corinthians. After lunch at home, we enjoyed a complimentary birthday milkshake at a local restaurant (complimentary because the owners love Hans!) We spent much of the afternoon preparing for Hans' party. We had about 15 people over for a braai for dinner (chicken, boerwoers, corn on the cob, and salad.) I even made Hans a birthday cake, which I haven't done in years (carrot cake, in case you were wondering). So there you have it... Hans' birthday in a nuthshell. And now a few words from the birthday boy himself:

g'morning..... it is here anyways (morning that is : )

what a wonderful day! memorable!! thoughtful wife, friends, bbque AND carrot cake! what else could a guy ask for?? sue put herculean effort into making the day special, and she succeeded.

i am blessed. i am loved. i am growing up (maybe); well, getting older anyways.

thank you for all the brthday wishes.

once again, i have been blessed. Thank you.

Life Carries On...

Hello! I'm never sure how to start a post... we want to keep you updated on our lives, but aren't always sure how best to do that! Hans spent a chunk of time last week writing a post about his lecture on the book of Mark, but then lost the entire post and didn't have the time to rewrite it. So hopefully he will still be able to do that soon.

I taught on the book of 2 Thessalonians last week. It's a short book, but packed with good stuff! I got to delve into topics such as a Biblical view of suffering and the Man of Lawlessness. I ran out of time but could have also spent hours talking about work ethic/Biblical perspective on work. This was where I was most challenged as I studied this book. Paul asked the church to hold one another accountable in this area, which reveals that our work ethic is actually a community matter... not just a personal issue. God values work and created us to work. John Stott writes that work has 3 purposes: It gives meaning to individuals, it benefits the community, and it glorifies God. Work is not something we do just to get a paycheck or earn vacation time. Work is part of our identity as humans. I'm not saying we are what we do, but what we do does add meaning and purpose to our lives (as well as build up the community around us and bring God glory). I'm also not saying certain types of work are more important or meaningful than others. The work God gave to Adam and Eve before the fall was to "work and keep" the garden of Eden. Whether you are building a house or teaching 3rd graders or pastoring a church or raising your children, God values the work that you are doing. I'm also not saying rest is not important. God also built the need for rest into our identity as humans. We should never feel guilty about taking time to rest... (in fact it should be high on our priority lists.) Some would say, the balance between work and rest is the key to a fulfilling, healthy life.

What would you say?

Chapman's Peak Drive

This is a beautiful spot on the Cape Peninsula that we visited with our friend Katie last Sunday. It's on the West coast and is a stretch of road right along the ocean/mountains. The road's been closed for almost two years for repairs, so this is the first time we were able to check it out. It was worth the wait! We just wanted to give you a little taste of this corner of the world where we live!

School Of Biblical Studies, 2009-2010

This is our class! 26 Students, 8 Staff Members

Our students are from: the States, Canada, South Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Italy, Nigeria, Zambia, Switzerland, Norway and Australia. They range in age from 19 to 72.

Our staff are from the States, Canada, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

As you can see, we have a very diverse and interesting group. We are really enjoying getting to know our students. They're a lot of fun and are very interested in learning on both the academic and heart level. The Holy Spirit is already at work in their lives and we've heard several testimonies about things God is teaching them and challenging them with and changing in them. We call those moments our "paycheck" moments! It makes all that we're doing worthwhile.

We will share more stories about this amazing class as we go.

Hans Taught Mark

The School of Biblical Studies is cruising along... We've completed our first month of classes. We have an amazing group of students who are soaking up God's word. We will introduce you to some of them soon...

Last week Hans taught on the book of Mark. He had 3 days to teach... 9 hours of lecture. He did a great job and many students expressed how God challenged them and spoke to them through their study of this gospel. Hans encouraged the students to think about things in ways they hadn't before, and there was much lively discussion both in and out of class.

This is the back row... (L-R) Minah and Christine from South Africa, Ann from Kenya and Natalie from Malawi

And this next pic is Minah and Cherie from Canada... who says studying the Bible can't be fun!

Muizenberg Kite Festival

This weekend was the annual Muizenberg Kite Festival. Since Muizenberg is one of the windiest places on the Cape Peninsula, it's the natural place to have a kite festival. Unless it happens to be the one weekend out of the whole year without wind! The first photo is from last year's Kite Festival. The next one is from this year's festival. You will see the difference! Even though there wasn't wind, people showed up in droves to eat carnival food (potato chips on a stick are delicious) and hang out for the day. It was still an entertaining way to spend a few hours this afternoon...

I did think it was interesting that you could get tested for HIV and TB at the Kite Festival. (That's what the booths in the picture below were for.) Not something you see at most carnivals in the states.

Classes are Underway!

It's been a little while since we've posted... we've just completed our first 2 weeks of classes for the School of Biblical Studies. We've had classes morning and evening in order to introduce the students to the Inductive Bible Study method and to prepare them to study the Bible for the next 9 months. After next week, we will only have class 2 to 4 mornings a week, and the rest of the time they will be studying on their own. As staff, we spend a lot of time working one on one with students, grading their work, and preparing to teach on different books of the Bible. It's challenging and exciting and life-changing, all at the same time. Right now we are enjoying getting to know our students, who are from so many different cultures and nations and walks of life. They are a great group and we are very excited to study the Bible with them for the next 9 months!

Here's a few photos from our first week...

Our class room before the students arrived:

Our class room bursting at the seams with students:

Class outing to Boulders Beach to picnic with the penguins:

There will be more pictures to come... Stay tuned!

Starting on Monday!

Well, our students are arriving and we are in the midst of final preparations for the School of Biblical Studies to begin on Monday. We've spent the week making beds and cleaning rooms and preparing our classroom and doing airport runs and preparing to teach next week. It's all very exciting and surreal. We know God has great things in store. We feel very privileged to be able to invest in the lives of these 26 students (yes, the number has grown) for the next 9 months. We feel so blessed that this is our job!

Thank you for your prayers as we begin this new school year. We greatly appreciate it!

What have we been up to?

That's an excellent question. For 3 of the past 4 weeks we have been in staff training, preparing for the upcoming School of Biblical Studies. Our staff has 8 members on it and we have had many valuable hours together receiving necessary training and praying for our students. These are pictures of one of our staff training sessions (taken in our apartment, by the way).

For 1 of the past 4 weeks (Sept 7-13), Hans and I were able to attend a YWAM conference in a nearby town. This was a University of the Nations gathering and YWAMers from all over the world were in attendance. There were 3 other locations for the conference as well (Ukraine, Egypt and Switzerland) and we were all linked via satellite. The theme of the conference was "For Such A Time As This" and the focus was evaluating where YWAM and UofN is at and discussing where we are headed. YWAM is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2010, so it was interesting to look back on how far it's come in the last 50 years. It was also exciting to look forward to the next 50 years. We made many valuable connections and were inspired to continue serving God in this organization.


This was one of our main meetings... there were close to 500 in attendance at our site.

The theme

meal time: where connections happened

The conference center housing... we did not get to stay in these Rondovels, but most of the attendees did. It was a beautiful area.

Friday Photo

Hans and I have begun a tradition of sending a photo out to our friends/family/supporters by email each Friday. It's just a way to give them a glimpse into our lives. If you would like to be on our email list, please let me know by writing me at susanoines@hotmail.com.

This is the Friday Photo I sent out today:

This is not a photo from this week, but it's still a glimpse into our lives...

These are boys that live either on the streets of Muizenberg or in nearby townships (in which case they spend their days on the streets). Over the year, Hans has interacted with these boys, learning their names and talking to them when he sees them. It's not uncommon to hear kids shouting "Hey Hans!" (pronounced "Hands" without the "d" sound) as we walk around our neighborhood. Hans wrote a blog post when we first got here about the dilemma of whether or not to feed these kids, since they are always hungry and asking for food. They know where we live and often ring our bell, asking for something to eat. We usually have an extra loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter around the house so we can make them sandwiches. (We don't feed them every time they ring, but it's hard to say no every time!) This time they rang and asked for tea, since it was a cold winter evening. I told them I didn't have containers for them. Within minutes they all had found empty bottles (from who knows where) that I could put their tea in. How could I say no with that kind of effort and creativity? So Hans made them sandwiches and we sent them on their way with hot tea. We still struggle with this issue. There are signs in shops around town that say "Giving Doesn't Help" because it really only perpetuates the problem. But when a hungry little boy is at your door, it's hard to turn them away.

So these are a few faces that are a part of our life here in Muizenberg:

Christmas in July!

Hello all!

This is a little out of date, but I wanted to post a few pictures of our "Christmas-in-July" party. Since our Christmas this past December was in the middle of summer, my friend Lauren (from California) and I decided to throw a Christmas party in July in order to have a "wintery" Christmas. It happened to be a beautiful, warm, sunny day, but we still enjoyed our Christmas party! We had turkey and ham and all the fixings, apple and pumpkin pie and Christmas cookies. About 30 people crammed into our apartment for the festivities. We put up a (little) tree and made paper snow flakes and watched Miracle on 34th Street. Hopefully we'll make it a tradition!

I forgot to take a picture of the turkey until it was only a carcass. (I did make turkey soup from it... first time ever!) Lauren (next to me) was the mastermind of the whole event and she and Katie (far right) helped us pull it all together.

Making snow flakes by the fire :)

Enjoying dinner

We had many hands in the kitchen!

Our lovely Christmas tree (and Katie at work in our kitchen).

We are really enjoying becoming a part of the YWAM community here in Muizenberg. We are so thankful to have a home where we can invite people over to make these kinds of memories! Relationships and community are so important, and our lives are richer because of the people we know, both here and at home. Thank you all for the part you play in our lives!

At Home Retreat

Last week was our yearly "at home retreat." The last week of August each year, the entire staff of YWAM Muizenberg gets together for a 3 day retreat. We spent those 3 days listening to a speaker, having times of worship, praying for one another and basically gearing up for the next year of schools and programs. We did have a fun afternoon of mini golf and a braai to celebrate our time together. There are approximately 90 staff members and they work in many different areas, so it was a valuable time for unity and reconnection. Our theme for this retreat was Rest and Restoration, which is always a necessary topic for missionaries to be reminded of. We were encouraged to live a balanced life and to not neglect our own relationships with God.

So, who are some of the other staff that work on our base? The 3 main areas that YWAM staff work in are training, mercy ministries and evangelism. At YWAM Muizenberg, we have many training programs, including the School of Biblical Studies that Hans and I are a part of. There is also the Discipleship Training School that runs 4 times each year, a Church Planting school, School of Intercessory Prayer, and School of Field Journalism. Another department on our base is called Urban Ministries. There are many staff members in this department doing many different types of ministries, from working with street kids and prostitutes, to working in local orphanages, to prison ministry, to preparing for the World Cup (soccer) which will take place in South Africa in 2010. We also have many administrative staff members who help with the logistics of running our base, including our registrar, financial officer, and building manager, to name a few.

For more info on YWAM Muizenberg, you can check out the website: www.ywammuizenberg.org

This is just a small glimpse into the life of our base. We feel very privileged to work with such an amazing group of people. And we enjoyed our time reconnecting with them.

We hope you are well!

Classroom Preparation

These past few weeks we've been in our "between schools" mode, getting our classroom ready for the next group of students and beginning to prepare for the books we will be teaching in the first quarter of the next school. Since we have a larger group of students this year (the last school had 16 students and we are looking at about 23 for this next one) we had to get a little creative with our limited classroom space. By changing the direction the desks face we were able to squeeze in 4 more desks, which Hans helped build. These are a few pictures of our efforts! (I'll post a picture of the finished classroom soon.)

parental visit

As Hans wrote in the previous post, we had a wonderful visit from my parents. It was such a blessing to have them here. We had 12 days for them to see our life and meet our friends here in Muizenberg, to travel around and see more of this beautiful country, and to fit in several nights of staying home and playing games by the fire. More than anything, we were just happy to be with them. Here are a few pictures from our adventures...
We visited the Southernmost tip of Africa.

My Dad and I are at the top of the lighthouse at Cape L'Agulhas.

Hans and I are at the marker where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet.
We visited an ostrich farm in Outdshoorn.

Hans is standing on ostrich eggs.

These next pictures are from our safari on a game reserve a few hours outside of Cape Town. We saw zebra, wildebeest, rhino, elephant, giraffe, lion, cheetah, and cape buffalo to name a few:

These cape buffalo greeted us outside our room in the morning:
Here we are at the South-Westernmost tip of Africa at the Cape of Good Hope:

We are so thankful for this visit from my parents. It's been almost a year since we've seen family so we can't even tell you how much it meant to have them here with us. It was a wonderful way to cap off our first year in South Africa. Thank you Mom and Dad!