What the Canadians said about Ocean View...

After having spent two weeks in Ocean View, this is what the Canadian team had to say when asked what their favourite highlight was:


Ocean View is a beautiful community with beautiful people. My FAVOURITE highlight was the opportunity to connect with several beautiful ladies - Nani, Baby, Audrey, and Anna. The privilege of sharing, praying and singing with these families was incredible. The openness and friendliness of this great community, to this day, warms my heart. I can't WAIT to come back!!

Sheila - Pastor of Living Hope


"Whatever doesn't work at home (in Canada) will work here." I was truly amazed at the openness of the people in Ocean View; both to hear about Jesus and to receive prayer. In the midst of the poor conditions were such tender people with beautiful hearts. Although the strategies to share Christ with them were different, and easier than how it is at home, they have truly inspired me to believe even greater for open heavens in the spiritual atmosphere of my city.
Marisa - Pastor of Living Hope


One of my favourite things about being in Oceanview was the warmth and friendliness of the people there.  Everywhere we went we were received with smiles and open invitations to people's homes. The love we received from the children of Ocean View is something that will stay with me forever. They would cling to us and hug us and hang off of us as we walked through the community. It was always hard having to pry everyone loose when it was time to go at the end of the day.

The residents of Ocean View were so warm and open with us. They were largely responsible for making this a trip of a lifetime and will always be remembered by everyone on our team.

Jason - Pastor of Living Hope

My highlight of Oceanview would have to be the children. They wouldn't even know youre name and they would just love on you and accept you no matter the color, age, or race. The love those kids exerted was awesome. I learned a lot from those kids, they genuinely warmed my heart. I miss them so very much.

Sarah - Intern at Living Hope

Ok, so what I liked about Ocean View the most was the response from the locals; they were very friendly and open, which helped me to connect with them smoothly. They made me feel like close family, for example: I met this one girl Chelsea (among a lot of other people) and i feel like i knew her longer than i met her.

Jalysa - Intern at Living Hope


My favorite highlight of my trip was when I was speaking to a young man mixed up into the Ocean View drug culture. I was able to share how Jesus delivered me from the lifestyle back home, and he was really touched. He was a quiet young man, yet I could see a glisten of hope starting to show in his eyes. I was able to embrace him and tell him just how much God loved him, and how he has a specific purpose for his life. Simply divine.

Braden - Intern at Living Hope

My favorite experience in Ocean View wasn't one actual experience, but was the overall kindness and warmness of every single person in that community. Everyday was a heart-warming experience just to say "hello" to someone and have them say "hi" back and then have a conversation with them in such a way that it just does something to you that's indescribeable and that we definately don't experience in Canada. God has definately touched certain areas of Ocean View's heart without them even knowing.

Connor - Intern at Living Hope


My highlight would simply be what God is doing there. Through us being there for 2 weeks, and through All Nations, I could see the desire people had to hear what we had to say about God. They would run up to us for prayer because, even though they don't have that relationship with God, they still knew that He was the one to run to. Even when they were as drunk as ever, their hearts were still longing for God. It was refreshing to see people fill with joy while we were there. Me and Sarah would sing songs and play games with the children, and they would just fill with a joy that is indescribable. So, God is really moving on the hearts of the people in Ocean View, and I cannot wait to see what happens! 
Melissa - Intern at Living Hope

Ocean View was rich with community! Everywhere you turn you're greeted with glowing smiles. People love to talk to you and treat you like you're an old friend. They're all calm and relaxed. People and relationships are what's important there. It was a real refreshing experience compared to the western culture.
Ashley - Intern at Living Hope


When I left Oceanview, I left a huge piece of my heart behind. I loved everything about this community. The people in Oceanview have hearts the size of the continent of Africa itself. They shared with us their hearts and hurts, their pain and their pursuits, their victories and defeats. They so readily gave of themselves and loved us for who we were, which made us love them that much more intensely. It is so apparent to me that our Father God went before us and arranged these amazing divine encounters! I have not ceased to thank Him for this incredible opportunity to visit His beautiful people in this spectacular land called South Africa. God is so amazing!
Clare - Member of Living Hope

What an absolute delight to share our country and one of our communities with these amazing people!

Canada Comes to Cape Town!!!

The last two weeks of October have been an absolute highlight in my diary this year. We hosted a team from Hamilton, Ontario and they spent their time in Ocean View.

What an amazing time we all had! They arrived with enthusiasm and with attitudes of humility and servitude. It was incredible! Here are some of the highlights:

They came with a desire to bless the community with their labour skills and so two professional men offered their time, energy and skill to put a roof on Arli’s place. The entire community noticed what was going on, and would frequently approach the team and thank them for what they were doing for the community (delightful that they recognise a blessing on Arli’s family as a blessing for the whole community). What was so amazing about this story (apart from the obvious fact that Arli’s family can soon move out of their shack and into a real home) is how the roof actually made its way on. There were so many challenges with the construction itself; the walls were uneven and some additional height needed to be added before the roof go on. Not to mention the crazy weather – October was a month of gale force winds in the Western Cape. But, Tim’s testimony is that every time he needed supernatural intervention about how to apply his natural gifts, God gave him a dream about how to proceed with his work. And (no kidding), he would turn up and put that dream into action, and it would work. This happened more than once! So, all glory to God for Arli’s roof, and a big thank you to Tim and Lionel for their hard work, giving hearts and obedience. (Before and after pictures below)

The team also arrived with an enthusiasm to perform some dance and drama in the community. They say that “white men can’t dance” but oh my gosh! did this team bust some moves. But, more amazing than their dance skills, was the response from the Ocean View locals. The children absolutely loved it. The Canadian team made a big deal out of entertaining the children with balloons and clown antics, music and a lot of fun. This gave them a platform to preach the gospel, not only to the children but to the adults who gathered as a result of the crowd. There were some awesome connections and really great conversations that took place. For instance, we met a mother whose daughter is 14 years old, and who is hooked on drugs. She is at the end of her tether about what to do and who to seek for help. The daughter often runs away from home, and spends nights out on the street. She has dropped out of school and is in a real sticky situation. The team was able to encourage the mother, to make follow up visits with her, and they also managed to meet and speak to her daughter. We are really trusting God for awesome breakthroughs in this situation, and those of us who are left behind in Cape Town will follow up with this family. (Pictures of the crowd gathering and some dance moves!)

 

Another story: the team met a guy called Franklin whose living conditions are probably the worst I’ve ever seen in Ocean View. His dwelling makes a shack look glamorous. He was really aggressive towards the Canadian and told them straight out that nothing prevented him from stabbing them or robbing them; he was very vocal about his disapproval of people who don’t really know what real poverty is all about, and simply hang out in poor communities for the thrill of it. While he was ranting at Nicki (an All Nations male leader) the ladies in the Canadian team were praying fervently. Within a few minutes Franklin’s demeanour changed completely. There were a few follow ups since this initial meeting, and now Franklin is really keen to continue meeting with Nicki to do bible study. We hope and trust that through the gospel, his whole life will be transformed – spiritually and physically too.

They strengthened the faith of the believers that All Nations is already spending time with. Just one example: Nathan and his family were so encouraged to meet them. His mother, Baby, recommitted her life to the Lord as a result of the encouragement that the Canadian team brought. The long termers here have had the privilege of following up on this, and we have invited her to attend a weekly bible study for women that some Ocean View locals are part of. Let’s trust for amazing things for her future...(Pictures below: Nanny and Baby with Sheila, and Nathan spending time at the dance/drama gathering)

 

Another aspect that I enjoyed witnessing was the boldness with which they explored Ocean View. They went on prayer walks throughout the community almost every day and some groups made it a point to venture into some of the ‘untouched’ areas. They came back with very encouraging reports about conversation they had had with Rastafarian and Muslim locals. Amazing!

There are other things that I could mention too - too many for this blog. In short, the Canadian team touched the hearts and lives of many people in Ocean View, and the communication between them and the locals still continues. What a privilege it was to host this team, to spend time with them in the community, to hang out and get to know them personally, to see how God opened their hearts to South Africa and Ocean View, to watch them minister – the list can go on! My plan is to gather personal testimonies from a few of them and include that in the next blog so that people can get a feel of what it was like for them to be here and serve.

 

Being back in Ocean View this week, and hearing the locals reminisce about what took place a few weeks back has been something special. I have yet to make my way around ALL the locals who connected with them, but I look forward to doing so, and seeing what the future holds. God was real good indeed!

Now to Him who can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Ephesians 3:20