Happy New Year!

Happy New year everyone! I trust that you have enjoyed the holidays and are most likely in “full swing” for what needs to be done in this New Year.

Kuyasa had a very nice close to the year including the Hats & Glasses camp, completing some renovations on the facility and several focused planning sessions for the coming year.

All of our programs winded down well in 08, but the Hats & Glasses went especially well, as we were all able to get away and learn in beautiful place. We spent seven days reflecting together about true discipleship, how Worldview affects our lives and what it means to be a servant leader. Please email me if you would like more details about our time together.

Personally, I was able to house sit in town for the majority of the holiday and enjoyed spending time with kids from our Kuyasa programs without the pressure of other work related tasks. I was able to stay with and work with a friend and colleague in Khayelitsha for some time. This was a productive and rewarding time with my friends family as we worked together to see her NGO get a great start for 2009. I learned a considerable amount about Khayelitsha and the areas where she lives and works. Khayelitsha is the second largest Township in the country, Soweto being the largest. I was able to drive her organizations mini-bus nearly every day as we took care of all that needed to be done. This allowed me to get my bearing better in this huge place and become familiar with several areas there.

Currently, I am back with my family in Kayamandi and enjoying a feeling of “home”. I have been more officially been given the tasks of Human Resource Development, Hats & Glasses oversight and management of the Visual Arts programs for 2009. In addition to other projects/tasks I am working on these responsibilities will most definitely keep me busy in the coming year.

I was blessed to have access to a car for the last month and got a feel for the opportunities and freedom it can bring. I was able to get groups of kids out of Kayamandi! Out to the beach or just for an ice cream. This was very special to me and to them. Also, I was able to make myself available for family of a friend in the hospital and transport others to train and bus stations as they left to see family. In addition to these things, I lived with an enormous peace of mind knowing that I could access things I needed when I needed them and take time to be away from township life and work when I needed some rest. So after a lot of prayer and conversation with many of you, I am in the car market. I hope to find something reliable but older that will fit in well here in Kayamandi. I will be able to park the car at the office so it will be secure. I really do believe it is time and that the positive impact on my life and the lives of others is well worth the cost.

If you have not heard, there is more exciting news, I have been given the opportunity to come and visit the States for a short time this February! The Woman’s Ministry at North Coast Calvary Chapel has invited me to speak at the Bible Study’s and Winter Woman’s Retreat in February. This is a very exciting opportunity to share and learn with the women of my church and to re-connect with many of you. I will be arriving in San Diego on the 11th of Feb, spending some time with my brother’s family and their new baby Benjamin and then again be in San Diego from the 15th of Feb to the 23rd. I believe there will be a reception and get-together at my parent’s home on the afternoon of the 8th and I hope that many of you can find the time to come.

I look forward to seeing family and friends and catching up on all the new things going on in your lives. I am so grateful to have had a very blessed, rich and special 2008 and look forward to being a part of what God is doing this year as well.

Blessings and Love to all of you!
Heather