Fashion Show

The girls who come over to play during the afternoons find many things to do at our home, and a recent game is 'fashion show.'  They had watched me get ready and put on my make-up a few times and decided they would like to do the same, and then it turned into an event!  I think they look beautiful!

Love,

Sarah

Sarah's Talks from Youth Retreat

Click here to read Sarah's first talk from the youth weekend (second talk in the series).

Click here to read Sarah's second talk from the youth weekend (third talk in the series, as Casey did the first and fourth).

Enjoy!

Sarah

Things I realized this weekend

I realized a few things this weekend.  A few of them were while we were on the retreat.  A few happened elsewhere.  I realized that...

• It's really nice to be at a Youth Retreat and not be in charge.  
• It's really fun to stir up trouble on youth trips, like Woo always did.
• It's possible to make teenagers go to bed around 10pm as witnessed on Saturday.
• I still really enjoy being around a bunch of kids for the weekend.  
• I think that everything my little girl does is totally hilarious or completely adorable.  I can't help myself.
• Hillsong is a very easy church to bring people to.  I'm thankful for that and want more churches to be that way.
• I can still get really hyper because of a great worship service.
• Ubuntu Sports Outreach is on the move, about to explode, and step into an exciting season!

Cheers,

Casey

Weekend Update

Hello friends and family!

Well we have had another great weekend in ministry and are so thankful for all God has done!  It was an exciting one as we spoke at the Capricorn Community Church (they are baptist 'affiliated' but not called Baptist - semantics....) youth retreat!  The campsite was near our house which was helpful as Kieren never could figure out how to take a nap or sleep AT ALL with all the noise around.  First impressions of the kids as the arrived was taken in through our EARS as they were so loud!  I mean I have been around groups of loud and noisy kids before but this group of almost 30 early teens were like a stampede everywhere they went!  Honestly, I think they scared Kieren until about the last day when she finally warmed up to them :)  But I think it's because they are in an environment where they are always feeling judged, always looking at others, in harsh family situations, and so you put them in this beautiful camp setting and they came ALIVE!  It was truly awesome.  The theme of the weekend was 'Reality Check' and we used reality shows as a theme to talk about the reality that God has for their lives even at a young age.  Casey spoke the first night about Jeremiah and his challenge was to 'chase the race' that God has before them.  I spoke Saturday morning about Esther and I helped them to follow her in the theme 'give, get, and GO!'  Then again I spoke Saturday night about Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler and pushed them to surrender ALL to God so He could make them new.  It was a beautiful time of worship and reflection afterwards.  Then Sunday morning Casey finished up by talking about David and how we have to 'forget fear' and run ahead knowing that God loves us even when we fall.  We think the kids really 'got' our messages and had a fresh encounter with God.  We loved hanging out with them, being in a beautiful environment, and just seeing them have a blast.  They ran, yelled, laughed, sang, jumped, and loved every minute of their time away.  It really was fun to see how profound a weekend away can be for kids living in a hard township environment, and we felt very privileged to get to share the time with them.  I am so proud of our friends Shagmie and Lauren Levendall and the great ministry they do with these teens, along with their strong group of adult leaders.  It was TIRING for sure (I seriously took a nap EVERY day of the weekend, including Friday) but such a blast.  Then Sunday afternoon we came home a rested a bit before our weekly Hillsong Sunday night outing.  We had a BIG group of friends that ate dinner together in town afterwards, and this weekend Kieren even had a buddy!  We have new, GREAT friends Brad and Kate Senekal who have a daughter, Bailey who is 2 years old.  Kieren and her are becomings buds and they are Hillsong friends too so they joined us after the service.  It is pretty funny trying to keep TWO toddlers from total late-night meltdowns in public, and nice not to be the only one making a scene :)  Brad is South African and Kate is American and they met here in Cape Town and also have a heart for Ocean View and live very close to us.  God continues to bring such awesome people into our lives that bless us!

Well we are still a bit fatigued from the weekend but excited for another week ahead here.  Thanks for your prayers this weekend!  We will post our talk notes and hopefully some pics soon!

Lots of love,
Sarah

Fun Ahead

Please pray for us as we head off for a youth retreat this weekend that we are speaking at!  Our friend Shagmie Levendall is the youth pastor at Capricorn Baptist Church; Capricorn is a nearby township.  There will be about 30 kids and leaders at a camp near where we live and we are PUMPED to spend time with these young people.  Can't wait to share the great things God does!
Love
Sarah

Challenging Thoughts...

This is a blog post from a great leader in the States on Reconciliation.  His name is Chris Rice, and he was a student with me at Duke and now has helped to form the Center for Reconciliation (see it here) that is at my alumni, Duke Divinity.  It's a great center and I would love to do anything with them!  So our other friend, Chris Huertz, posted this blog by Chris, some of his thoughts from a recent conference at Duke on reconciliation and friendship.  Click here to see Chris Rice's thoughts titled 'Embracing the Ambiguities.  The article speaks to some of the tensions that arise when we befriend people 'at the margins' or who are different from us, and it gives a peak into some of the struggles and thoughts I have been having lately.  I wonder how I can have authentic and full relationships with people here in Ocean View when we are so different and there are places where we can never understand or be the same?  I am thankful that other people are asking these questions and wrestling to find answers along with me!

Bible Study with the Women

We are slowly making a change in our Monday night Ocean View women's group.  We have been spending months just coming together and sharing our stories and lives.  This has been revolutionary to these ladies because in our community you never share openly, especially as a woman, because people use it against you and gossip about you to tear you down.  People are very hurt in this community and as I fully believe, 'hurt people hurt people.'  So to come together and learn to trust and care and listen and love one another is a beautiful new thing for many of these women.  Our time together is often one of the highlights of my week.  However, we have grown so much and God is blessing the group so that every week my living room is FULL to capacity and we probably have about 30-40 women that come in and out of the group.  I have felt a tug from God calling us to grow and reach out to others so they can be blessed like this group of women have been.  So very slowly I have unveiled a vision for these women to start a weekly community Women's Bible Study for women in Ocean View.  The time would have teaching and then 'small groups' to discuss, be accountable, and connect.  They have been cautious to let go of something so good, but are jumping into the vision to spread the blessing we are experiencing.  The goal is to launch the study, where we will study the Gospel of Luke, at the beginning of January!  So please pray for this process!

In preparation for the change, I thought it might be nice to start a bit of Bible Study in our weekly support meetings, and so for the month of October we are studying the Proverbs 31 woman.  The women confessed that they have never really studied the Bible and don't know much of it themselves, so this will be empowering and deepen their faith.  We started Monday night and it went great!  You can see a copy of my leader notes here.  God is moving with these women and I love seeing it unfold!

Lots of love,
Sarah

Sarah's Day in a Nutshell

•something i accomplished today:  painted a chalkboard on Kieren's wall (bought the paint a year ago...)

•something i screwed up today: getting my daughter to eat healthy today.  She has eaten cereal and dry    bread... I am thinking she is sick today, or just trying to make a fool of me...

•something that I am trying to get done: my talks for a youth retreat that Casey and I are speaking at this weekend.

•something funny or cute my kid did or said: Kieren woke up from her second long nap talking and singing.  The best.

•something yummy i ate today: it's really a 'drink' but a can of Coke.  That is a special treat to me and it's heavenly.  But also had my usual Diet Coke.  Don't judge.

•something i read today:  few blog posts and My Utmost for His Highest - my devotional

•a tv show or movie i watched today: right now watching Oprah as I catch up on internet.  Tracy Morgan from 30 Rock is on.  Love him.  Want him to be my friend.

•something i did today that i hardly ever do:  led the weekly Bible Study for Ocean View Methodist.  It's Wednesday mornings, and mostly the older crowd of our church, but I love the opportunity.  They are wonderful.

•something i did today that i do every day:  sung 'Dora the Explorer' with Kieren.  She is obsessed.

•something i am thankful for right now:  Casey.  He is busy out today working, visioning, and planning for the next phases of Ubuntu.  He is so inspiring and amazing!

Festival Follow-up

Hey folks, I just posted a little festival follow-up on the Ubuntu Blog.  Check it out!

Casey

Great Article

Great article by a guy named Shane Claiborne; an open letter to 'non-believers.' But pretty good, even from the believer side....

Sarah

What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff?

Antoine and Mathy

This week I was able to have some time with Antoine and Mathy and their kids Onesie and Christ.  I went to visit them on Sunday night and catch up with what has been happening in the past week of their lives.  Antoine is back at work and they are really working at moving forward with their family.  I was overjoyed to meet them at their house and see their faces filled with smiles.  They had spent the day with another close family from their church and I could see and feel that something has lifted from their pained spirits.  We talked and shared about things that have been developing since Lauren's death, which is such a strong thing and shows how they are growing past the tragedy of the death.  Antoine is facing challenges with his co-workers as they believe in African witchcraft and that another person has caused their daughters death, and Mathy has also been speaking with people in her ministry that believe differently than their Christian beliefs.  I think it is evidence that God is continuing to create environments where they can share their authentic faith with others and I see their hearts and the longing to express their love for their God.  As we talked I told them to not feel pressured to begin to minister to these people, but when they are ready, obviously God is already bringing people into their path to share with!  How incredible that God is already using Lauren's death and the attention that the family is getting for His glory.  They feel thankful for all the love that has been expressed to them and the many ways that people have surrounded them during this time.  In their opinion, the 'white people' love in a very different way during tragedy and they have been very humbled.  All this is deeply humbling to me and I am so thankful that God has used our family and others to carry them.  God is amazing and they are already looking forward again to their plans and dreams to move back to the Congo and start an HIV ministry there.  These people are truly saints and I can't wait to see what God does through and in them next!

Thanks for your prayers for this dear family and please keep them coming!
Love
Sarah

“Let’s change our language. Let’s not talk about ‘the poor’ anymore. We talk about our friends. The problem is, most of us don’t have friends who are poor. That speaks to the poverty of our friendships.” — Chris Heuertz, co-international executive director of Word Made Flesh

Sarah's Sermon From Sunday

To read Sarah's sermon from Ocean View Methodist Church on Sunday click here.

Monday Update

Hello everyone!

I am feeling so strange today because I am for some reason SO EXCITED that it's Monday!  I don't know what the annoying deal with that is, but I think I'm just looking forward to another week of life and ministry in Ocean View.  It could be that Casey and I had some VERY relaxing time this weekend as we were able to get away for 24 hours by ourselves with no sweet Kieren!  I did miss her, but then I just took a long nap, and ate TONS of great food, and stayed in a cool hotel in the city with Casey, and slept some more, and had a million conversations with my best friend, and that helped me get over it :)  We took some much needed time away and even though it was only 24 hours, it was very renewing and fun.  We came back Saturday afternoon and took a hike with Kieren - or now Casey calls them 'adventure treks' as we have all been inspired by Kieren's new best friend, Dora the Explorer.  The only problem was that after 20 minutes of singing in her backpack on the hike, Kieren promptly fell asleep for the rest of the hike as she was EXHAUSTED from her fun weekend.  Our great friend Danielle stayed at our house with Kieren and her two kids Joshua and Natalie and everyone had a great time.  This family is going through a rough patch (I shared about Danielle a lot this summer in the States) and so it was nice for them to just be away in our house.  One of the kids thanked Danielle for 'spoiling' them and letting them stay at our house.  Wow, too sweet and  humbling.  It was a win for everyone.  Saturday night we had dinner with our wonderful friends Wayne and Laurel Denne at their home.  They are incredible people; Laurel was a volunteer with Living Hope a few years ago from the US, met South African Wayne and the rest was history!  They are encouraging and wonderful friends.  Sunday morning started with church at Ocean View and I preached but with some  help from Casey.  I realized this week that our church family here had never heard Casey's story from high school of losing his parents and all God taught him through that, so he shared and I preached a short sermon on Romans 12:1-2 because Casey lives such a great LIFE of worship no matter what is happening.  Then we went to Hillsong Church in the city for a morning service and afterwards had lunch with Michael Jenkins and friends.  We noted that Kieren is becoming more and more fun to take to restaurants and really enjoys the time out too (this might be strange for toddlers, but she does great!).  Then we picked up Ben and Antony from UCT to bring them to Ocean View for our One Valley Festival wrap-up and celebration with the planning team, volunteers, and coaches.  It was a lively time and I hope Casey will share more this week.  We finished with a big group at our house for a pizza dinner.  Whew!  Even with a time of rest our weekends still end up being very full!  It was all great and we are excited for another week ahead.  Casey is working through more Ubuntu visioning and planning and I will be leading various ministries at Ocean View Methodist while my co-pastor Kyle is on holiday in the States.  Lots of do, but as I said, we are excited!

Lots of love,
Sarah

Happiness