Previous news from Beth Elwell serving with YWAM in Jeffery's Bay South Africa
Hello to all of you! Wow, i can hardly believe I have been back in jeffrey’s bay for almost a month. Time really has flown, although so much has happened. I really want to thank each and every one of you so so much for you amazing support through prayers, financially and for being there for me through everything. It really means so much to me and I would not have got where I am now without you all. thank you!!!
Living in Jeffrey’s Bay
Arriving back in Jeffrey’s Bay has been amazing! I had been quite excited about it, but also so nervous – will the kids remember me, who of the staff will I still know, where will I stay etc, all those questions that run through your mind. I arrived to an ecstatic welcome as I went round greeting old friends and making new ones. God has also amazingly provided me with a much smaller room where I share with just one other girl, Grace, who has become one of my closest friends! What a blessing to have the best roommate ever and also have so much privacy. To me this is such a miracle and I really praise God for it. I miss home a lot – of course – it is hard leaving my family, friends and culture. However, I have been welcomed into such a fun, loving and supportive community who always look out for me and vice versa, so that really helps me to stay strong.
PRAYER REQUESTS
· Praise God for my family in the UK being so supportive and my YWAM family being so open. Please pray that I am able to settle in easily and not miss home too much.
· Praise God for the welcoming atmosphere I have come back to. Please pray for all the staff here and also for good relations continue so we can work well as a team.
· Praise God for the direction He has already given to me. Please pray I am able to know His will and that I am guided in the actions I should take.
· Praise God for the work and opportunities He has provided for me here. Please pray I know which to take and which to say no to.
· Praise God for the people already in place to help with the kids work. Specifically Hannes and Miriam. Please pray God will raise up more people to support the work and be part of the team.
· Praise God for the ministries I am involved in. Please pray for them that God will use them to reach more and more children and to have an impact on these children’s lives. Please also pray specifically for Nozuko as she is going through some very hard home situations at the moment.
· Please pray for the family and friends of Karyn, previously a member of my worship team here in Jeffrey’s Bay. She sadly passed away on Sunday (24/01) afternoon after having a completely unexpected stroke. A huge shock to all after she was seen dancing and celebrating just that morning.
Making paper work fun...mostly!!
My passion in South Africa is the children. I have made that clear. However, I am also spending most of my mornings in the office at YWAM Jeffrey’s Bay serving the base. The atmosphere gets just a little tense sometimes with paper work flying, lots to do, stressful base leaders etc. But we always seem to have a laugh in there too! My main responsibilities include sorting the endless phone bills that come through (i.e. so I know which naughty staff need to be sent bills for their personal calls haha), editing the website for YWAM Jbay (www.ywamjbay.com), writing base newsletters, making PowerPoint presentations for the worship sessions, and generally every 10 minutes someone decided to find me another little job to do!
Kids, Kids and...More Kids!!!
The kids ministry has totally gone through the roof. The week after I arrived on the base we had the first staff meeting of the year where Pieter announced that he believed God wanted the base to focus this year on the harvest and on the youth and children. WOW! What a time for me to return. We then had a more private meeting about my vision and his vision combined where we looked at objectives for this year including concerts, camps, school visits and homework clubs to be run on base. Obviously this is a lot of work and a huge vision for one year, so please pray that people will step up to take on some leadership roles in these areas as I am not able to cover everything on my own.
Since being back I have quickly come to realise I am going to have to put up some boundaries of how my time is divided. I am currently helping head up Wednesday ‘Kidzone’ alongside Miriam and Hannes, other staff here at YWAM JBay, with the prospective of me eventually taking over Friday ‘Kidzone’ as Miriam is not available to run it on that day. With around 19 children attending each week, it is much smaller than the original Kidzone based at Victory4All as we no longer have that connection unfortunately. However it does mean we can give each child much more love and support and make a deeper impact on each one of their lives. So far the current DTS has not been very involved with it and so it has been incredibly stressful trying to keep 19 young children in order with just 3 and sometimes only 2 adult supervisors.
I am also involved in helping young children with homework at iThemba, a project for children in that area of the Jeffrey’s Bay community. I love doing this and am passionate about seeing these kids achieve their potential in life. It is also really good training for when we raise a homework help centre at the YWAM base itself.
Angel Girls has not been so easy to revive. Sadly Nicolene, who used to choreograph dances for the girls, has been unable to stay in Jeffrey’s Bay. The girls want to come back and I have got access to the main hall on Monday afternoons so that I can meet the girls there. I am, however, very reliant on having a positive response from the DTS students as it is not possible for me to run this programme on my own. I know that if this project is something God wants to happen and move forward, He will make a way.
I am mentoring a 16 year old girl called Nozuko. She has had a very difficult home life with several situations interfering with her school work and personal life. It is a challenge for me to mentor her, but it is a growing experience for me also and I look forward to forming a closer friendship and trust with her as time goes on.
As you can tell, I have a lot to be getting on with and only so many hours in a day. I absolutely love what I do and have a great time doing it. I just have to keep track of myself to make sure I do not wear myself down too much and give myself time for chilling out and relaxing a bit.
It may be tiring trying to coordinate office work with kids work and then, of course, the all important the food preparations, but I have a great laugh doing so alongside so many friends and amazing kids! God has been so good and has been a steady rock through the hard times and has given me the privilege of having the biggest adventure! I am so excited to see what God is going to do in Jeffrey’s Bay and how He is going to raise up this new generation to become world changers and history makers, AMEN and Hallelujah! God bless you all xxx
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