The months of October and November have been absolutely amazing.

I certainly hope that the value I add to those I help matches the value I gain.

I have the privilege of working in a team environment with several other volunteers, and that is very cool. It is amazing how much good can be done with teams of people working together.

Highlights of my projects over the past two months include the following:

The Durban BEC:

• On November 21st, the Durban BEC had a ceremony to recognize students who had completed one or more of the correspondence courses. Of the 90 students who qualified to receive a certificate, 30 of the students attended and brought guests. We had approximately 70+ adults in attendance. Barry Van Heerdon gave a motivational exhortation, cake and tea were enjoyed by all and overall the ceremony was received very positively. Many of our students attended the BEC the following week to receive their pictures and had very positive comments about the ceremony. Additionally, many of the students who couldn't attend have been visiting the BEC to get their certificates, which has resulted in extra attendance at the BEC in the following weeks.

• Following the BEC graduation, the other volunteers (Mat, Simon, Laura I, Laura S, Jude, Julie, Richard, David and myself) all contributed to a public concert with several short Kingdom of God talks scattered in between. I found this experience to be TOTALLY awesome. The messages were short, sweet and well received by the audience. During the singing and the talks, the other volunteers would hand out leaflets with BEC information and the address to help the recipients find the BEC afterward. Attendance was pretty good considering the weather looked rainy, though God kept the rain away for the full concert. Initially, we were surprised that only a handful of the concert crowd came to see us, but much to our positive surprise it turns out that the visitors from the concert visited us in the days following the concert. This actually makes sense as many of the observers were actually on work and would need to make a plan to come by the BEC. All in all, this was a success in the results of driving visitors to the BEC, but an even greater success in getting us volunteers used to the idea of doing public singing and preaching for our Father! Do it a couple of times and it get's less and less scary. In addition - it is good to note that if you have a whole support group with you doing this together, it is quite fun!!

Happy's School:

• Happy's is on a regular rotation of two Bible classes weekly. The current curriculum is a combination approach of the God's Master Plan (facts of God's plan from the bible), Bible stories to familiarize our students with the main "Characters" of the Bible, so that they can begin to identify with the Hebrew people, and the promises that follow them. Finally, I'm adding some Purely fun stuff in with it. Bible videos that support the Bible stories already told. Bible trivia. Anything to help tie the facts together in an enjoyable way. We have a pretty good mix of students and find that this mix best suits the class that we have.
• During the last couple of months, I've had a tremendous amount of assistance from Richard, Mat, Simon, Julie, Jude & both the Lauras'. We have sung songs, done crafts, had one on one mentoring on "God's Master Plan" coursework and made generally good progress.
• Many improvements are coming to Happy's school. But first, one of my favorite recent activities at Happy's has been to assist in the receiving of wheelchairs, and also to help cannibalize old wheelchairs in the repair effort of existing but broken wheelchairs. We have fixed many wheelchairs and made many people very happy. It is exciting to help change someone's reality in a positive way, and then to be appreciated for it is doubly good! Here are a couple of pictures of fixed wheelchair recipients.

The following has new wheels, adjusted brakes, a new back, a new seat and new seat mounts. While not obvious, prior to this, the wheels (leaning on the left side) were out of round, chopped up and the wheelchair didn't roll smoothly. The seat was no longer properly mounted and the seat would "shift" side to side. This is bad enough, but the old back wasn't screwed on, it was wired on to the frame using something much like our bailing wire. So when the seat shifted, the wire rubbed against the flesh, and this was very uncomfortable. After a few swaparoos, we were able to give this chair to one of the older students, and put the previous owner in a chair that was more their size. Everyone wins!

New wheelchair recipient:

Thandika receives a new Wheelchair. Her previous wheelchair was for a full sized adult, and while she is probably in her early twenties, Thandika is at the approximate size and weight of a ten year old. As you can see in the picture, Thandika was VERY pleased to receive a chair that is sized appropriately for her! Thandika is also one of our Bible class regulars. She is proud to tell any who will listen that she is pretty Cheeky! While this is a common English term, it best translates in USA english to Honery! She definitely makes it fun - and it's good to see her in a chair that is comfortable for her!

A note of Humor:

While Mat is actually pointing at the brakes that we had just fixed...Mat had commented while he was pointing at the brake that he was totally amazed at how many wheelchair parts could be fixed by simply whacking it with a hammer.

We got a good laugh out of that, then whacked the brakes fixed ;-)

Mariannhill Baptized Class:

• During October, I put together an outline of bible class material to help develop bible skills for newly baptized members. However, we only had about 4 classes before the youth at Mariannhill began their end of year exams. As a result, we have put the baptized classes on pause until school has released for the season. this class is an interesting challenge, and I look forward to continuing the development of these Bible classes and students in December.

Lessons I've learned (hard earned):

• It's one thing to know that the Bible says to help those in need, but when everyone around you is in need, it's difficult to know where to start. It's hard to explain, but I'm learning to "listen" better to understand where I need to help out. When I am asked for food, If I can, I give it. If I'm asked for bus fare, if I can, I share it. Changing my perspective from "Owning" to being a good steward of what God is entrusting in my care. This is not easy, but I have experienced many surprising results and can see God "In the middle of it all"! In truth, watching Richard (another volunteer) and how he touches the lives of others has been a great experience and has helped me gain insight into a Godly approach to helping others. Amazing experiences!

Going forward:

• Resuming the Mariannhill baptized class in December
• Next scheduled Graduation on February 20th, 2010
• Teaching the youth class for 11-12 year olds in the January Youth Bible School