Sublime Confectionary

Evangeline Ministries was at the famous Cape Town Food and Wine Festival thanks to Sublime Confectionery staff Melanie who contracted with Mandisa, shown here and Sylvia, one of our first graduates to make aprons and bags for their booth. I was so excited and yes, very proud of their work. Here I am at the booth with that hot pink apron.

Along with their own label, Sublime Confectionery added an extra Evangeline label so people can learn about our work and employ our graduates. We are now beginning to see a steady stream of work come in for the women, great fruit after years of planting hope and skills into their lives. We hope soon to be able to offer some of these products to people elsewhere. It is your support that makes all of this possible so we say thank you.

A very special day with Bishop Pike

Bishop Eric Pike and Evangeline Class

Last yearI was invited by a friend to attend a retreat on Celtic spirituality. Since I needed a break and it was being held in a beautiful country side retreat, I went and it was there I met Eric Pike, who retired as the Anglican bishop of Port Elizabeth in 2001 and who now lives with his wife Joyce about three minutes from me. What attracted me at first to Eric and still does was his love of Jesus and the sense of Christ's presence you feel when you meet him. Added to that was the fact that he grew in in the Eastern Cape, home of our students, and was an evangelist to the iXhosa people there. To find someone like him who not only love the Xhosa people but speaks their language was such a treasure to me that I immediately asked him if he would speak to my class then. As it happened Joyce who excels at craft, was instrumental in getting the retreat ladies to agree to give us two beautiful praise tapestries for our rather bare classroom. We made it a grand occasion for them to come and hang and bless the banners and as Eric spoke then I could see how much that October class loved it. And so I prevailed on him to come to this class and he did today. Prior to this I attended his book launch as as I read the riveting account of his life what happy insights I saw. His book about Jesus describes how God led him through high school to teaching and through the loss of his first wife to cancer. And then in one of the surprising turns of his life, God called him to ministry and more improbably, to be an evangelist in the townships around him. In all of this, go gave him the courage to protest against the apartheid system and stand up with people like Desmond Tutu when priests were beaten and jailed. This cost him a relationship with his father, which eventually was repaired. I was so moved by the way in which the Holy Spirit touched his life and amazed that he and Joyce walked the Camino de Santiago at the same time my dear friends Ian and Betty Bain did. So today Eric came and conducted a service for the class and he spoke, they sang and he then prayed for each person individually with a blessing. It was a time of celebration and though I could not understand all he told them, I could see the powerful effect and their tears and his. It was a time of pure love, God's love for His precious children, so beat up by township life and its hardships who today felt His gentle but so pwerful presence of love.

What a very special day, and thank you Eric` and Joyce and you dear Lord Jesus!

A day in Evangeline Class

A Day in the life of Evangeline Class.

On Tuesday May 17 as I sat in the sewing classroom I was so moved at evidences of God's love for our class and the love of our neighbors both here in Cape Town and around the world who make this class possible.

We are looking ahead to some special days; first a spiritual emphasis day with a former evangelist to the Eastern Cape, Bishop Eric Pike and his wife Joyce. Next on June 9, we will go down to the Virginia and Alfred Waterfront, the shopping and design mecca of Cape Town. None of the students or teachers have been there and they are so excited. I am keen for them to see the craft shops with goods made by people in villages across South Africa. On Saturday July 9 is Graduation Day, the day for them to receive their sewing machine, Bibles and computer and sewing certificates.

We have one sewing room and our Bibles are part of our class. Just seeing them gives me such joy. Hearing the students read and discuss what the Lord is saying to them is one of the most satisfying parts of this ministry here.Already the women have made some lovely items such as the seat cushions you see here. They use them to make their chairs more comfortable. Then it was a special moment when I handed out blankets to Pumeza (l) and Ntombekhaya. Both of these ladies lost their homes in the recent fire and these beautiful quilt blankets were a surprise gift from Mrs. Joyce Pike. To see the delight on their faces was truly a precious gift.

A New Friendship

Masiphumelele Corporation

Today was my first day as a volunteer with the Masiphumelele Corporation. I joined Milli Firth at the library, seen in the picture as part of the Adult Literacy Class attended by one of my current students.When I am more settled and the students know me better I will take a photo of the group. For a long time I have wanted to volunteer in another ministry since I believe working for others is so important as we build ministry relationships. What was significant about this class today was that there were people who had been affected by the massive fire that rendered more than 5000 people homeless last week. I am impressed with the magnitude of the response from individuals, groups, churches and organizations. I am equally moved at students from my class and others today who continue with their lives after losing all they had in the fire. Today at the Library I came across Tamara doing some Early Childhood Education training and the Library, built and run by MasiCorp is the educational hub for the community. This relationship with Evangeline and MasiCorp is something we will develop in the future so EM can be a stronger presence in the community and connect with others who are helping in Masi. Today I was thrilled to be part of the group as they learn English to help them cope in the larger society outside the township. I will help with Reading skills and I so look forward to that.

A New Friendship

Masiphumelele Corporation

Today was my first day as a volunteer with the Masiphumelele Corporation. I joined Milli Firth at the library, seen in the picture as part of the Adult Literacy Class attended by one of my current students.When I am more settled and the students know me better I will take a photo of the group. For a long time I have wanted to volunteer in another ministry since I believe working for others is so important as we build ministry relationships. What was significant about this class today was that there were people who had been affected by the massive fire that rendered more than 5000 people homeless last week. I am impressed with the magnitude of the response from individuals, groups, churches and organizations. I am equally moved at students from my class and others today who continue with their lives after losing all they had in the fire. Today at the Library I came across Tamara doing some Early Childhood Education training and the Library, built and run by MasiCorp is the educational hub for the community. This relationship with Evangeline and MasiCorp is something we will develop in the future so EM can be a stronger presence in the community and connect with others who are helping in Masi. Today I was thrilled to be part of the group as they learn English to help them cope in the larger society outside the township. I will help with Reading skills and I so look forward to that.

A New Friendship

Masiphumelele Corporation

Today was my first day as a volunteer with the Masiphumelele Corporation. I joined Milli Firth at the library, seen in the picture as part of the Adult Literacy Class attended by one of my current students.When I am more settled and the students know me better I will take a photo of the group. For a long time I have wanted to volunteer in another ministry since I believe working for others is so important as we build ministry relationships. What was significant about this class today was that there were people who had been affected by the massive fire that rendered more than 5000 people homeless last week. I am impressed with the magnitude of the response from individuals, groups, churches and organizations. I am equally moved at students from my class and others today who continue with their lives after losing all they had in the fire. Today at the Library I came across Tamara doing some Early Childhood Education training and the Library, built and run by MasiCorp is the educational hub for the community. This relationship with Evangeline and MasiCorp is something we will develop in the future so EM can be a stronger presence in the community and connect with others who are helping in Masi. Today I was thrilled to be part of the group as they learn English to help them cope in the larger society outside the township. I will help with Reading skills and I so look forward to that.

A New Friendship

Masiphumelele Corporation

Today was my first day as a volunteer with the Masiphumelele Corporation. I joined Milli Firth at the library, seen in the picture as part of the Adult Literacy Class attended by one of my current students.When I am more settled and the students know me better I will take a photo of the group. For a long time I have wanted to volunteer in another ministry since I believe working for others is so important as we build ministry relationships. What was significant about this class today was that there were people who had been affected by the massive fire that rendered more than 5000 people homeless last week. I am impressed with the magnitude of the response from individuals, groups, churches and organizations. I am equally moved at students from my class and others today who continue with their lives after losing all they had in the fire. Today at the Library I came across Tamara doing some Early Childhood Education training and the Library, built and run by MasiCorp is the educational hub for the community. This relationship with Evangeline and MasiCorp is something we will develop in the future so EM can be a stronger presence in the community and connect with others who are helping in Masi. Today I was thrilled to be part of the group as they learn English to help them cope in the larger society outside the township. I will help with Reading skills and I so look forward to that.

Only five zincs

Pumeza seen here in this photo wrote on the board during an English lesson, "I am poor, I live in a terrible house." Two nights ago that house burned to the ground and Pumeza is one of 5000 homeless people in the township of Masiphumelele where I work. Today I went to see the after effects of the fire and to search for Pumeza and Ntombekhaya,my bright English student who also lost everything. As I walked among the crowds, lined up to receive their supplies, I ran into Tamara. Last December she lost her shack home to a fire and had only just restarted when her new place was burned again on Sunday morning. Thankfully we had not as yet replaced her sewing machine which was lost in the December fire. Already government officials ringed by hundreds of police, were handing out materials for people to rebuild these flimsy shacks. Pumeza lamented, "only five zincs each", a zinc is a sheet of galvanize and five could barely cover the shack. It seems to me an endless cycle of impoverished people living in places not meant for homes with hardly any room to breathe between them. This makes it difficult for the fire fighters to get to the blaze and there is much damage before they can begin to put the fires out. The fire started in an area called the Wetlands and this past year has seen more fires than ever before. Careless or more often inebriated people come home late at night, knock over paraffin lamps and a disaster is born. As I reflected on what I saw I first realized that neither Pumeza or Tamara seemed bitter, just resigned to do it all over again. The stores and neighbors, church groups and non-profits are again helping and I am so thankful to be here giving women like Pumeza and Tamara skills , sowing seeds that I pray will produce wonderful fruit in their lives-to include a better house.

Pray with me for the government to find the will and resources to provide masses of low income homes for people who live in townships like Masiphumelele. They are there because they are desperate for employment and see living in what is the one of the leading tourist areas of the world as their best chance to earn a living, educate their children and help their families back in the Eastern Cape. Pray also for these precious women to keep hope alive.