Building a Community of Hope

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PICTURE GALLERY

BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF HOPE

PART 1

VRYGROND 1988-1992 ALONE WITHOUT SUPPORT FROM ANYONE-CONSIDERED TOO DANGEROUS!

(Eventually working with the ANC underground through Yvonne Baard the local leader pictured)

This is a story that should be told-of people living in squalor, hopelessness, violence and without meaning in life.where I was the only white face during a time when the country was under siege and violence flaring up everywhere. When I first started bringing food, clothes etc in 1988, I saw the desperate need not only in a material sense, but being locked in to drug and alcohol addiction, violence, depression etc the greater need was to be freed from a life of a sense of worthlessness. This is essentially a spiritual dimension, and my ex brother in law who preached to the coloured communities as far as Swellendam came to assist me for a short while, after which I carried on by myself, with the most amazing miracles happening over time.. I myself had previously an amazing spiritual transformation while alone on a mountain (see my story) but was not equipped to help people at that stage. We found a place next to the tap pictured and started to talk to people. Soon a crowd gathered, and my brother in law started to tell them that they did not have to live that life, and soon many asked for prayer. What followed was probably one of the most amazing periods in my life, where people were all being healed of arthritis, asthma, epilepsy, addiction, and many other sicknesses and diseases. One woman was kneeling in the sand next to me and kept tugging on my jacket-I turned around and asked what do you want-she said I want to walk–on impulse i put my hand on her head and said in the name of Jesus, stand up and walk. She jumped and grabbed her crutches and ran around holding them in the air!. I also arranged Easter and Christmas dinners for the poor, and on one occasion arranged a Christmas party where I was dressed as Father Christmas- we got the mayoress of Cape Town to join us. Seen in a picture speaking to the children with Father Christmas-also to a couple whose child had just been abducted and murdered next door-she called in the army and police and the next day the little girls body was found buried in the sand dune where she stayed.

There are too many stories to tell, so I will close this Part 1 with this story-An ANC Councillor had passed away and wanted someone to hold a funeral ceremony-as I was not a certified minister I got hold Ps. Hendricks who assisted me later in my work (pictured below with the guitar, baptising people etc) and asked him to do the ceremony. I managed to raise the money they needed to transport the body to E. Cape and the day came to do the ceremony. All the local ANC members were there and we started the ceremony, while they went to fetch the body in a trailer elsewhere. In the beginning there was a stony silence, and they obviously did not want to enter into the spirit of the meeting. This went on for hour after hour as the body only pitched up in the evening,, and after about 4 hours of the beautiful singing of our local congregation they all suddenly softened and thanked us for the atmosphere which was one of real love and concern and there was a total turnaround-so much so that during the many uprisings everywhere, there was no violence that I knew of from the Vrygrond community during the 3 years where I often sat on their board of elders as an adviser, on matters that affected the community. I have included a few copies of documents such as a community magazine I printed with gardening, sewing, feeding and other projects, as well as various documents involving street lighting, power from the council, a hall etc.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”3662,3672,3552,3673,3680,3597,3666,3668,3664,3675,4171,3677,4170,3676,3661,3679,3674,3641,3639,3634,4169,3665,3638,3678,3682,4167,4207,3681,3635,4168,3636,4192,4166,4191,4172,4173,4174,4175,3670,3663,3669,3671,3659,3658,3657,3654,3655,3656,4176,4178,4179,4180,4177″ img_size=”300×300″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF HOPE

PART 2

(Still working with the ANC and the various forums through Yvonne Baard the local leader pictured, when the new Township Capricorn was formed.)

From 2000-2016 I was given a plan of the entire township when I wanted to establish 4 soup kitchens from homes inside Capricorn with Christian women using their kitchens in their homes.There were times of arranging meals for the elderlyd, and young children such as Christmas and Easter etc. Had to arrange large pots, electricity, fetching food from Pick and pay and the Lions in Wynberg etc., all self funded. I had arranged with Pick and Pay for the ladies to come twice weekly for food to a certain maximum and they monitored the accounts for me which fed up to 100 children per soup kitchen. . In the early days I tried to get other churches involved such as Living Hope through Avril Thomas, Jeff Kidwell through what is now known as the Bay Church and a number of other Churches-but it was considered too dangerous at the time so was forced to abandon the idea. I had already purchased a steel structure for a hall and had to return it. (a map of the then proposed township is shown amongst the pictures) Living hope subsequently built a hall where I had originally intended it, and Jeff Kidwell established the Bay Church right next to the township and are doing great things there. In the latter years many organisations have come in and done sterling work in many projects such as education, feeding schemes etc.

Again too many stories to tell but one or two stand out. There is a picture of a man in a red t Shirt who was desperately sick for 2 weeks and thought he was about to die, and next door to one of my soup kitchen ladies, Patricia, who was with me from the beginning and a strong believer. (Pictures of all ladies who helped at the beginning of the gallery) So I asked him what he would do if he was healed-he said he will serve God. I said ok and prayed for him as I was by now seen as a pastor by the community, but definitely not the religious type, and still just an engineer with a heart for the underprivileged, much as I was as a child. He was totally healed, and ended up converting his house into a little church. I assisted him with getting free food from Pick and Pay, and he ran a feeding scheme from his house church from that time on. I had through my connections with Pick and Pay also got food free from the Lions and the Food Bank in Epping. This man ended up doing many great things, as well as preaching all over with the same miracles happening in his life.!Someone who assisted greatly was Faranaas, a lady who had a creche opposite the library in Vrygrond avenue., and when there were too many children we used here premises for special occasions like Christmas, Easter, Parties for seniors and the youth etc. She can be seen at the end of the gallery holding a little child. Very last is Maymoena, who ran a soup kitchen just opposite Faranaas’ creche. I close with a nice story where one of her ladies who helped with cooking the food and was an alcoholic was lying in bed sick for a few days and very sick. I was asked by Maymoena to go and pray for her, so we crossed the road and went into her little house. I prayed for her and laid my hands on her stomach to heal her condition. The next day she was as right as rain, and I believe that she also had stopped drinking. Maymoena has progressed so much and expanded greatly with the assistance of overseas volunteers and various organisations, making a big difference in the community due to her perseverance and vision.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”3645,3644,3643,3652,3647,3648,3554,3548,3546,3549,3574,3551,3550,3547,3713,3714,3575,3573,3572,3571,3570,3569,3568,3567,3578,3576,3580,3581,3582,3583,3584,3579,3566,3565,3564,3563,3560,3558,3557,3556,3555,3586,3587,3588,3590,3591,3592,3593,3595,3596,3613,3616,3618,3619,3623,3622,3621,3614,3615,3617,3608,3606,3605,3603,3600,3602,3625,3711,3632,3631,3628,3626,3629,3635,3700,3701,3699,3698,3697,3688,3691,3689,3693,3694,3696,3706,3686,3758,3748,3757,3745,3747,3746,3744,3750,3749,3751,3739,3738,3737,3736,3740,3754,3732,3729,3728,3724,3726,3722,3721,3720,3719,3727,3718,3717,3715,3948,3950,3945,4202,4203,4204,4205,4201,3545,3553″ img_size=”300×300″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Beginning of revival meetings around communal tap in the bush (Busy updating with text)