Wedding was had

So here we are, it is DECEMBER.  Which means the wedding of the century has happened.  Phew. God is good!!!!  

Here is a blog update of basically just photos.  This isn't much of a ministry update as we have taken some holidays to celebrate this beautiful moment with our family.  

Raphael ridding his bike at the wedding venue the day before the wedding.

Mom and I played florists & made the floral arrangements for the wedding.

I later on got assigned to do the boutonnieres...  Maman Gaudreau, thanks for passing down your creative juices and ability to work with flowers...  I had no idea I could do this, but seeing you do this so many times I figured "why not?".

Mike and Jeff being put to work

Everyone was so willing to work to make the reception hall look absolutely magical.

And then the wedding day came!!!!!!!!

Vincent visiting the bride and giving her some cuddles while she gets her hair done.

 Who said makeup and hair was serious business???

Getting ready to do Charlene's makeup.  What a privilege!

How could someone possibly make this lady even more beautiful!?! 

BRIDE

My sister in law Joyce has some mad singing talent and loves Jesus with all her heart.  What a beautiful thing to see her sing at the wedding.

Joyce singing

Foot washing like Jesus, beautiful picture of servant heart.

Brother in-law Randy officiating the wedding.

You may now kiss the bride.

DONE deal :))))))))))

Vincent "crashed" at the wedding...  T'was a long HOT day...

Mani super-size-me version, a.k.a. Mr. Mike looking dapper.

This woman!!!!!  I have no words.  She inspires me.

2 young kids in LOVE

Eating some cake :)

The energy, the dancing, it was ELECTRIC.

Most people enjoyed it, except Raph, who thought it was too loud.

Well...  Vincent did too.

Thank you from the couple.

It was a wonderful celebration.  One we will not soon forget.  Getting to spend this time with family was beyond special.

And before they left, we thought we would throw a little Christmas celebration together!!!  The last 2 Christmas we spent here in SA, so it was really nice to have a family Christmas, even though it was a month early!

Joyce setting up the tree

The kids decorating the tree, with little concept of spacing the ornaments or having 2 of
the same beside each other.  Anyone else with me on this issue???  ;)

Vincent adding the angel to the tree!

This boy is EXCITED!

Decorating Christmas cookies.

It doesn't smell like Christmas until you start making and drinking apple cider!

CHEERS

And who doesn't like some hockey on Christmas day?

We didn't quite have enough sticks...  Sorry Grandpa.

Opening presents: LEGO was a big highlight!

We hope you enjoyed those pictures.  Family is everything and we feel so encouraged and fortified for having spent this time with them. Having them leave and go home is beyond heartbreaking.  The kids enjoyed spending time with their cousins so so much, and are already wondering when we will see them again.  We are all trying to figure out how to live in the moment and trusting God has so much for us this coming year here in South Africa.  And that is what makes the sacrifice of family worth it.

Good kind of whirlwind

The last few weeks have also been packed with ministry events, times of teaching and speaking in local Xhosa churches.  There is so much to talk about, and I find myself lacking words to describe the whirlwind we find ourselves in!

Add to that the arrival of our family from Canada, and you've got yourself a beautiful chaos of laughter amidst profound ministry time that we have been having together.  It is so beautiful to share with them what we do here and to get to do it with them!

Boys on their way to go see our their cousins for the first time in AFRICA!

(We found a house walking distance from our place to host Mike's brother (Randy), his wife (Joyce) and 3 kids.  It's been a blessing to have them close by and for the cousins to bound together.)

Getting "new" hockey stick just the right size

Visiting the aquarium

Getting introduced to our Hope Africa staff

More staff, more people to love

Seeing on the map the areas where we drove through or walked through (in the township of Phillipi)

Seeing our hair school at Hope Africa

We had an amazing time walking the street of Phillipi, praying for people but of course I do not have pictures of those moments.  It is hard to describe how powerfully the Holy Spirit is working in and through our family during this time together in Capetown.

Another highlight was visiting Mawande's family in their home in a neighboring township called Mfuleni.  The hospitality we received was like nothing we had experienced before.  How beautiful seeing our 2 families, from completely different countries, background and life, come together for a meal.  That is real church guys!

Mom Fast helping getting the meal ready

The mamas and bride-to-be

Tata (grandpa) and auntie

Real tough Jets' loving boy

Mama and Mawande having a chat

The kids hanging out with the neighbors

Mike, Mawande's uncle & Mawande

Uncle Randy keeping the troops under control

Our beautiful host!

We have also started taking some very early steps to connect some of the white churches and Xhosa churches which is very very rare here, with the goal of building up and equipping the churches.

Who knows what next?!?  We await with such expectation!

Listening to the Holy Spirit

As many of you know, because Mike didn't get his Visa on time, he was unable to leave to go to Malawi.  And because of that turn of event, we found some an unexpected treasure at a difficult time.  No surprising though, knowing we serve an immensely wise God. 

That week was a school holiday here in South Africa, and like we have done during the previous school holiday, we arranged a week of student ministry.  This time, it was for 3 local churches and a group of 25 teenagers (our other programs work with post high-school students).  We spent time in worship, prayer, and teachings times.  We also got to go out into the community to serve at a disabled center and do some evangelism at a local mall.  

On Friday, the last day, we took the group of young people to the beach and had a braai (BBQ). Myself (Marie-Eve) and the kids got to join and I had the opportunity to visit with one of the teenagers and hear some testimony of her week and... capture it all on video for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

It is really special to know this young lady was encouraged in her faith, together with many of the other students, and that this would probably not have happened had Mike gone to Malawi.  Thank you Lord for unexpected treasures in difficult times.

You turned my wailing into dancing

Every Tuesday, a new local church we have made connections with called Upper Room, hosts a meeting for about 20-25 pastors from a variety of denominations and backgrounds for prayer.  The time is intentionally focused on 2 things: reading the Word and spending time in prayer.

Last week Tuesday, when we arrived at the church, we discovered that just the night before the church had been broken into and robbed.  Their sound system, camera, tithe and office computer were all stolen.  The front door was smashed and the office specifically looked like a bomb went off with the thieves having ripped apart every desk and drawer searching for things of value.  The pastor of the church was devastated.  His face was downcast as he felt so violated and understandably so.  No matter how often this kind of thing happens here, one doesn’t get used to this feeling of being violated.

We stayed in contact throughout the week with the pastor and continued to pray for him and his church at Hope Africa.  

Another pastor from the meeting borrow him some equipment to host his service on Sunday.  As you can imagine, his church people were very angry.  So much so that they wanted to curse the people who had done this and take justice into their own hands.  This pastor now had a unique opportunity to speak about God’s undeserved grace and mercy, using their own church experience as an example.  

The next Tuesday, we gathered together for prayer again at his church.  The pastor’s face was beaming and full of joy, as he shared how God ministered to his congregation on Sunday, and how just on Monday he was offered a sound system for a fraction the cost that it should be!  When the seller found out his story, he immediately offered to drop the cost by another 50%, a church member came forward and covered the other 50% and another of the pastors from the prayer group offered a computer.  So in 8 days, God had provided that which was lost, even in the midst of poverty!  Praise the Lord.

And His praises we sang at our prayer meeting.

Just a little weekly pastor prayer meeting... :)
Posted by Hope Africa Collective: Mike & Marie-Eve Fast on Tuesday, September 8, 2015