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FEBRUARY 2016
But as it is written:
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for
those who love Him.
1 Cor 2:9
NKJV
1 Https:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/new_year%27s_resolution
2015 ended on a very low note in Masiphumelele. The congregation was exhausted
and depressed after the terrible events at the end of September in the community
with the rapes, murders, drug problems and allegations of poor policing, as well as
the November fire which destroyed so many homes. All the people wanted was
their Christmas holiday and going off to the Eastern Cape. We in Fish Hoek will
never realise the tensions and threats all in the community faced. I kept in contact
with the elders and went into Masiphumelele only when allowed and when
instructed by the elders.
I am thankful for the support received from St Kiaran's.
2016 is however getting off to a smooth start:
Session met on 18th January.
Sunday services started again on 10th January and on the 17th there were
about 45 adults and 15 children present. We plan to hold the traditional annual
Mnqophiso/Covenant service on 31st January and are trying to invite a black
minister to lead the service. We pray this will set a standard of commitment for
the New Year.
I plan to meet with the Associations to encourage them on their way for 2016.
The Elders are meeting to prepare their work in the zones (Elders' districts).
The membership roll has been attested at 31 December and it shows a positive
growth since the middle of 2015.
I controlled the Finances in 2015. I plan now to work with a finance group and
hope that by mid-year much of this aspect of the work will be off my hands. For
2015, I have balanced the Cash Journal and the Bank Statements, but still need to
unite them into one Annual financial statement.
I wish to note how the Masiphumelele Elders have remained faithful to their calling
in the last difficult year and trust that they will remain consistent in 2016 in their
Christian service.
David van Duyker
Watsonia News
The genus Watsonia was established in
1758 by the Scottish botanist Philip Miller (16911771) to honour the English naturalist and
physician, Sir William Watson (1715-1787). The
Dane C.F. Ecklon and the German C.L. Zeyher
were the first to record W. vanderspuyiae in the
mountains near Tulbagh in the 1820s, but it was
only formally described in 1926 by the Cape Town
botanist Dr Louisa Bolus.
She named the species for Mrs Melt van
der Spuy, a resident of Piketberg, who provided
flowering material for the botanical description. The pressed material is
preserved in the Bolus Herbarium at the University of Cape Town.
February's Recipe!
Eton Mess!!
is a traditional English dessert consisting of a mixture of strawberries or bananas, pieces of
meringue, and cream, which is
traditionally served at Eton College's
annual cricket game against the pupils
of Harrow School. The dish has been
known by this name since the 19th
century. According to Recipes from the
Dairy (1995) by Robin Weir who spoke
to Eton College's librarian, Eton mess
was served in the 1930s in the school's
"sock shop" (tuck shop), and was
originally made with either strawberries
or bananas mixed with ice-cream or
cream. Meringue was a later addition,
and may have been an innovation by
Michael Smith, the author of Fine English Cookery (1973).
Ingredients
1 punnet strawberries
a dash of sugar
a dash of port
meringues, broken up
cream, softly whipped
Preparation method
Mash the strawberries with a little sugar and port, and fold in broken meringues and
softly whipped cream.
Couldn't be easier! Good for this hot weather in strawberry-time!
Delicious once enjoyed by the Suter Home Group, courteously prepared by Jeanette
Goosen
Prayer Flames
Thursday 21 January I returned home from a course at 14.00 to find Elsie's
Peak engulfed in smoke, with an enormous ball of smoke exactly where our house
is. As we stay just below the hairpin bend that connects Contour and Mountain
Rds, it is immensely reassuring to have the fire truck parked right above our
garden. The battle was on! By dusk the fire seemed under control, and when I
went up to serve the fire fighters some coffee they assured me that i could sleep
peacefully.
That was not to be: at 2.30 I was woken up by an urgent call on the
Neighbourhood Watch 2-way radio and a lurid orange glow filled the bedroom.
There was a huge blaze right behind our house, and embers and bits of burning
vegetation flew over the house and garden in the strong wind. No fire fighters were
present, and we had some difficulty reaching them. Their arrival was a welcome
sight indeed!
There is a bit of waste land between my next door neighbours property and the
fire break, which is full of tinder dry sticks and dead vegetation. In addition, there
are two sizeable bushes on the fire break just above it. This stretch of land is
directly in line with the houses on Berg Rd. If the fire jumped the fire break there,
I would probably be safe as I was downwind from it, but those houses would be in
great danger. So I watched the roaring flames and prayed.
The next afternoon Jonathan and I went up to look. On of the bushes on the fire
break was burnt, the other not. Jonathan looked at the piece of waste ground and
shook his head it seemed impossible that the waste ground had not caught fire,
especially as embers had been flying all over it. Impossible? Not to God!
Eva van Belle
With our
grateful
thanks to
all our
heroes
who
fought the
fires!
Photo by Brian
Suter
Prayers with our young people: as arranged .... or whenever you wish to
arrange times with fellow Christians.