We arrived in Mossel Bay a few days before Christmas, and stayed for two weeks in Brandwag, a hillside community located a few kilometers outside the city. We stayed with the in-laws of our school leader, who opened their home to the nine of us to use as a hub for ministry and a place to stay for the holidays. “Auntie Julie” was a great host, feeding us more than we could eat and, like any good mother would, going through our rooms to collect and clean our dirty laundry.
Since most of the churches here are closed during the Christmas season, we didn’t really have a solid partner for ministry. One local church allowed us to use their sound equipment and helped us lead a few open-air programs, but most of our ministry was in visiting homes in the community and running children’s programs. We also spent time in a nearby community called Sonskyn doing similar ministry.
More than 80 kids attended the Christmas program, where Father Christmas himself showed up all the way from Switzerland to hand out goodie bags filled with South African candies and “cool drink.” We spent Christmas Day together as a team, opening small gifts we bought for one another and enjoying traditional South African fare.
Because of the drought, fires are sweeping over the Eastern Cape. We witnessed a brush fire that started in the hills and literally came within inches of Sonskyn, charring the edges of homes along the back perimeter. We recently heard of more fires in other coastal towns, like Plettenburg Bay, that are actually reaching communities and destroying homes.
We left Mossel Bay on Tuesday morning, and after fifteen hours of driving and one blown tire, we arrived in Johannesburg. we’ll be staying here until Wednesday when we leave for the Philippines. We have new pictures up and a Christmas video - check them out.
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