School of Bibilical Studies Graduation

I don't have any pictures of our actual graduation ceremony, so you'll just have to trust me that it was a special event. There was a time of worship, thanks given to all the people on the YWAM base who helped make the school possible and our experience better, testimonies from 2 students, words of wisdom from our school leader and the handing out of diplomas. Graduation was followed by a dessert reception and then the blissful feeling that there were no more deadlines to meet or homework assignments to complete (at least, until we start the next training program on Wednesday!) Here are a few pictures from the reception:

Jeremiah (in the center in the white jacket) was one of our students. He is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him and seeing God work in his life throughout the School of Biblical Studies. He has a heart for evangelism and preaching the Word and testifies that God deepened his knowledge and love of the Bible during the past 9 months and challenged some of his foundational beliefs. Pictured with him are family members that live in SA and were able to come for graduation.

Thabo and Garrett are the sons of our school leader.

They have a special fondness for Hans.

Lauren from So Cal, Petra from Belgium, Me, and Sharon from Canada/Pakistan.

Graduation Celebration!

On the night before the SBS graduation, our class went out for a special celebration dinner at a restaurant called Moyo. After spending the day debriefing, reminiscing and sharing memories and highlights and things we learned over the past 9 months, we went to Moyo for an African meal complete with face painting, entertainment and all you can eat meat and African dishes. It felt good to celebrate this amazing accomplishment and to be together as a class before we all move on to the next thing God has for us. Thankfully, most of the students are remaining in Muizenberg to complete either the Titus training or to participate in another training program on base, so there were no tearful goodbyes. Instead there was a sense of both relief and excitement for what lies ahead. We each got our own unique face paint design.All the girls posing for the many cameras.

There was a lot of excitment and celebration!

Vera from Cameroon.Derrik from Minesota and Rahila from Nigeria with Hans and me.We did our best to get a class picture... this is everyone!

Last Week

Well, we are in our 35th week of studying the Bible, with 2 of 66 books to go. Today we are studying Song of Songs and tomorrow we wrap up our study of the Bible with Ecclesiastes. Thursday we have a debrief/fun day as a class and a graduation dinner, then we graduate in our base meeting on Friday morning. It's hard to believe our first school is coming to a close! It's been an amazing, challenging experience that we will continue to process and learn from long after it's over. In the next few weeks we will have more time to communicate and blog and write a newsletter, so we will share more of our experiences soon.

Well, it's back to class for me. Hope you all are doing well... and that all you fathers had a wonderful Father's Day!

- Susan

activities...

so what have we been up to?

life is good..... or so my frisbee says. (brandname) and i can only concur. rather, God is good. and our lives currently reflect His faithfulness...

we are nearing the end of our first SBS in africa. sue's school and my first staffing experience. She has studied 62 books of the bible as of today, and i have studied 6. : )
honestly...... how fortunate are we!?!
God has kept us.
sue and i were looking at zechariah this morning; israel having returned to the promised land from exile, neglecting God's house while building their own......... dashed expectations. disappointed. and not just for a few weeks.... but 16 years.. 16 years... that really struck me.
israel's disobedience caused exile...... while in exile God preserves them mightily. miraculously. time and time again. Then God raises a ruler that finances their return to jerusalem (cyrus). and the people respond with depression. disappointment.

kinda pathetic really. and yet so applicable to me.
God, instead of tiring with them at that point......encourages them. and gives reason for hope, through His prophet Zechariah. "...I have purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem... do not be afraid... I will save you... you shall be a blessing... let your hands be strong..."

Thankfully God is unchanging and treats us the same way......
God pursues, and continues pursuing.
IS 42 says a bruised reed i will not break......
and i am so thankful.


Sue and i are tired, yet fulfilled. we are nearing the end of round 1 (less than 2 weeks from graduation). there have been challenges, but the primary sensation is satisfaction...

God has kept us.

we have both been challenged personally, in our marriage, and in other relationships, God has stretched our hearts our minds and our abilities to think, He has brought change, and profound transformation. our beliefs have been challenged, both as it comes to our understanding of God and ourselves. our perspective on humanity and the effect of sin has been altered.

Scripture, in dynamic relationship with Holy Spirit, has changed our lives.

Not only our lives, but the lives of every staff and student here with us.
We are in the process of celebrating this experience, and in the initial phase of mourning its end.

God has accomplished much.

We are thankful. To Him primarily, and also to you who read this, for making it possible for us to invest in His kingdom in this fashion.
Thank you.

God is good. and frisbees are a testimony to that... : )

-hans

ps. check out http://www.sbsinternational.org/ for a cool look at what is going on.