Good morning friends and family!

Well, it is morning here in Hout Bay and a very beautiful one it is! Mariah and I (Kelsey) are currently sitting at a coffee and crepe shop just down the street for a much-needed cup of strong coffee (that’d be tea for Mariah, of course). Yesterday, our team and Pastor Deiter hiked up Table Mountain and it happened to be the hottest day we’ve had here with next to no wind. We had to walk up stairs the whole way, but the intense calf burn and buckets of sweat were definitely worth the view. I now understand why Table Mountain is such an important place in Cape Town!

This week flew by like lightning as we continued to lead Bible stories and songs at the school and hang out with kids that attend the aftercare program. There was a slight change to our regular schedule on Monday morning. The teachers at the Sentinel (the elementary school) wanted us to lead a Bible lesson at their monthly assembly. Well, it went more like this: “You must do the Bible lesson at the assembly on Monday.” So, we lead the Bible lesson at the assembly in front of 900+ kids. Talk about capital “T” terrifying. Yet, God was good, as He always is. We weren’t as nervous as we expected and the kids absolutely loved the songs. After the lesson was done, we found ourselves in a different part of the school and a very shy, small girl tapped on the back of my leg. She led us to her classroom to talk to her teacher, but we soon found out that it wasn’t the teacher that was wanting to talk to us but the small girl. She was very quiet, so I had to bend down and basically put my ear right next to her mouth. Her request was completely unexpected and blew me away. In the smallest, teensiest voice she asked, “Can you pray for me?” She wanted healing, saying that she had pain all over. After we prayed, she was all smiles and said she felt great! Amazing. When I looked around the classroom, I saw the rest of my team spread throughout the classroom praying for kids that desperately wanted prayer. The kids were literally lining up for prayer. This experience was so very foreign when compared to what we normally experience in our culture back home, but it was incredible to witness the spiritual hunger that exists here, even within the kids.

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Kids in the grade R class

This week also consisted of being involved in worship, sharing our testimonies at the Sunday morning service, and helping out with the youth group. It’s been an exhausting week, but we’ve loved spending time with the folks here in Hout Bay.

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Fire in Imazamo Yethu (a settlement in the Hout Bay area)

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A fire just right by our house here in Hout Bay

Some things to keep in your prayers:
• ENERGY. We’ve powered through the first couple weeks, and it’s starting to catch up to us. Please pray for strengthened bodies and souls for each day.
• There have been a couple fires while we’ve been here and another one started this morning. Please pray for those who are being directly affected by it. A significant number of shacks have burned down, three people have died, and there are many, many burn victims from the fire this morning.
• We could use prayer for team dynamics as we continue and gear up for another busy week.
Thank you so much to all who are holding us up in prayer! We can’t wait to tell you stories in person. Love you all!
-Kelsey