It's been a while...

It's been over two years since I have posted anything on this blog and to be honest I'm not even sure I know how to use blogger anymore. Everything feels a bit cumbersome. Sometimes I find social media like that anyway. I will be the first to say I love instagram but I am also constantly deleting my app because I am allowing it to take up too much of my precious time. Anyone else do that? Then a few days later I re-download it, take a deep breath, realize again I didn't miss a thing, take a good scroll, comment on lots of beautiful people's pictures, maybe post a photo of my own, and then delete all over again. We have a funny relationship.

Going into this new year God spoke to me about posting here again so even though I'm not sure what to say I have to start somewhere. I am hoping it will be pictures of new art designs and little insights to our gloriously ordinary everyday lives a lot more frequently than every two years. We had a third baby in September (hopefully I'll share his birth story soon) and yikes three kids is a lot! I feel like I haven't gotten to a single thing besides nursing, catching up on sleep, snuggling my big boys, and attempting to not have our house fall apart completely. Which I am totally ok with but there comes a time to add a little more in so here we go!

2017's First Newsletter

Life has been busy and beautiful for us here lately and time has gone by so quickly that I almost forgot to send out a newsletter. I copied the html into this blog post so you could read it here too but if you want to go to the real newsletter and be able to click the links just go here: http://eepurl.com/cEzLxr 

(If you would like to receive these when I send them then just sign up in the link on the blog sidebar.) 

Hello friends,      Can you believe it is March already?! This year is already going by so fast I feel like digging my heels in the ground and trying to slow time down a little. We have been very busy in Cape Town with leadership, structuring a new ministry year, parenting, and having visitors! My parents as well as a close friend whom I (Jillian) have not seen in almost 8 years came to visit with her husband. So on our off times from work we have been tour guides and have grown more enthralled with this beautiful nation every day.      As a family we are doing well and learning to balance ministry and parenting better without getting burnt out. That was one of our struggles last year as we can tend to get really busy but we are learning how to schedule things and still prioritize Ira's walks at the beach and reading books and playing silly games, etc. All the fun things. Ira is doing really well and growing much too quickly. It's hard to believe we have a toddler. He is sweet and friendly and well loved by everyone here.       Overall the year is off to a good start so thank you for praying for us and supporting us! It is summer here which has been a huge blessing to us as we had winter in South Africa then winter in Canada and then winter in South Africa again. We were in need of some warm days for a long period of time. The above picture is from the day after new years on Muizenberg beach. Its is always crazy busy on that holiday weekend but thankfully it is not always like that. Ministry Bethesda House Getting Bethesda running again this year has been a bit of a challenge. We ended last year without a building but were still doing a lot of ministry all over Cape Town. With the start of the new year we felt the need to be very strategic in planning how we were going to run everything and instead of rushing into it we spent a lot of time praying and seeking God for His plan for the year. It has taken a lot of work and wisdom but we have a schedule that looks like it will be very fruitful.  New Outreach! In addition to the normal ministry sessions we always offer we will also be partnering with two small communities in our area. They are called Oceanview and 7de Laan. Both are extremely impoverished and as soon as you get to know the beautiful people in them your heart breaks. We will be partnering with friends of Bethesda who have already been working in these areas and offering support and help. Jason and I will be focusing on 7de Laan doing men's and women's Bible studies as well as visiting people in their homes and ministering to the teachers and staff in the area. On a personal note... The Gray's Visited!   My parents visited for the whole month of January which meant squeezing in as many of the amazing things Cape Town has to offer as possible. The above picture is from Chapman's Peak, one of the world's most beautiful drives. (Thank you again to everyone who donated towards out car last year! We couldn't have driven them there without you!) We took them to all our favourite places and enjoyed each others company. I know Ira loved having his grandparents around! It was a very sad goodbye. Having family visit makes the sacrifice of living so far away very real but getting to show them our home and all it's beauty also makes us realize how deeply we love this place.  Ira turned 1! Even though it has been over a month since his birthday Jason and I still find it hard to believe that we have a one year old. He is absolutely delightful and full of fun. He says a few words, his favourite of which are "bye" and "mama" and "papa". He is almost walking and can take quite a few steps on his own. He loves reading and climbing and eating. He is the friendliest person I know and waves and smiles at everyone. Here is a blog about why we chose his name if you would like to read it.  Prayer Requests - For health. We are all just recovering from a cold and have felt quite tired and sick the past week.  - For wisdom.  We are constantly seeking God for wisdom in leadership as we make decisions and move our ministry forward.  - For rest.  That we would work had and rest hard. Ira has slept through the night but lately it seems like one thing after the other that is disrupting his sleep and naps, whether it is teething or a cold, and that gets us all very tired.  - For our Bethesda Team.  As a team we are still in a weird transition season as we look for another building to move into and although we have dealt well with it there have still been struggles. A lot of people are also dealing with some very heavy personal things and attack from the enemy so prayer for our team as a whole would be amazing.  If you are interested in joining and supporting us financially please email and go to this page on our website:  Get Involved  It's really simple and there is a place for both Canadians and Americans to sign up and receive tax deductible receipts. Or you can donate through PayPal here: https://www.paypal.me/lewisfamily123 Thanks for reading! Don't hesitate to contact us because we would love to hear from you! With love,  Jason, Jillian, and Ira Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*

August 24th: Our Last AWAKE

On August 24th we had the last AWAKE night in our Bethesda Building. It's another story that you can read here but the short of it is that our landlord told us we had to meet a much higher rent or be out by the end of August. We had to move and are currently on the look out for the new building we know God has for us. He has clearly been telling us as Bethesda House for a long time that He had a new and better suited facility, we just didn't expect to be kicked out of the one we had before we had a new one. We are hopeful though. Truly and deeply hopeful. God is faithful to us always and we are expectant for something wonderful. 

Here are a few pictures I snapped during the last night of our beloved outreach. We changed things up a bit and instead of the usual ministry stalls we had a time of testimonies and worship. With many of our loved ones from around Muizenberg we worshipped God for all the things He had done in and through Bethesda House and for all the things He is going to do in the future. It was amazing!

Walks. Kalk Bay

Jason and I love going for walks. I mean we live in Cape Town so if you don’t go outside and enjoy the natural beauty you are really missing out. We try to go out for a walk everyday with Ira as long as it isn’t too windy or wet and he is starting to enjoy going out in his stroller more and more. Plop him in there with a teddy, currently his favourite is his turtle, and off we go. One of our favourite walks is in Kalk Bay, the next town over from Muizenberg. There is a big pier that is always full of people fishing, walking, and chatting and as long as the sun is out it is warm and bright. I think I could pack a picnic and easily sit there all day staring at the ocean and surrounding mountains. Last time we went there were even a few whales in the bay! That’s my favourite. Here are a few little pictures we took while Ira napped the day away. Don't you wish you could nap in  a stroller while being pushed leisurely by the ocean. He has the life.