Good Tidings!

Good Tidings!

by | Dec 18, 2022 | News, newsletter

I have some wonderful news! You will remember that in our previous newsletter we had asked for some special financial assistance to get the roof repaired of the “Share tears and grow” safehouse for abandoned and abused children here in Nelmapius? We had some wonderful help from a few overseas supporters and together with the local gifts we surpassed our target this week!! What a great Christmas gift!! Many thanks to all of you who gave a helping hand and a special word of thanks to Hart voor Kinderen in the Netherlands. We are hopeful that the work on the roof will start soon. We will keep you informed!

We also had such a remarkable experience a few weeks ago when we were visiting friends in Clarens. We were privileged to watch the Midlands Chamber Choir giving a performance of Handel’s Messiah.

Listen to the whole song here:

by Don Neuen - Crystal Cathedral Choir | The Messiah

The public watched in awe throughout the excellent performance. I must also say that the acoustics inside the little church in Clarens were very good. No need for any sound installation. It was an amazing performance, and the choir received a long and loud applause when the last “Hallelujah” was sung. 

The director then asked the public in the church if anyone had ever sung the “Hallelujah” (from Handel). What happened next was really something out of this world.  The choir divided itself up and went in between the public, as per alt, soprano and tenor and everyone then sang along. Watch the video below.

Just try to sing along! (Hallelujah)

by Don Neuen - Crystal Cathedral Choir | The Messiah

As we all sang the “Hallelujah” (Praise the Lord) together, we all felt the Spirit of God really coming down on us. Towards the end I could not sing anymore, because of the lump in my throat. I saw people with tears in their eyes and I am sure many felt the shivers along their spines, as I did. It was an unforgettable experience. So beautiful.

Jesus: our Wonderful Councilor, our Strong God, our Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

Psalm 22:3 mentions that God actually lives and dwells in our praises. This is the mystery and the miracle of the breakthrough power and presence of God when we worship! When we worship, we affirm the truth of God’s Word, and it is being rooted deep in our hearts. Praise causes the presence of the Lord to come into our midst. When we praise, God comes in and leads us forth…our spirits are raised and our faith and trust increase.

Christ came into the world to bring us peace, no matter what the circumstance or chaos around us. Let us all celebrate Christmas again!

Wishing you a blessed Christmas and God’s richest for the year ahead! Please drive carefully and stay safe.

Henry and Annette

Oh, Thou that tellest good tidings to Zion!

by Don NEUEN - Crystal Cathedral Choir | The Messiah

Heart for Children Newsletter November 2022

Heart for Children Newsletter November 2022

by | Nov 12, 2022 | News, newsletter

How time is flying. It seems to me that the older you get, the quicker the time goes. 2022 has come and is already almost gone! I cannot believe that it is almost Christmas time again. On behalf of all the children, we want to thank Hart voor Kinderen (NL) and all our donors and supporters here who have made it possible to continue helping the homes that we have committed to. Amidst the adversity, that is a miracle on its own. I do want to draw your attention to one of the homes, namely the safe home “Share tears and grow” in Nellmapius, where the roof is in desperate need of repairs. It is leaking at several places and there is no ceiling; that makes it warmer on hot days and very cold on cool days. See pictures below.

We have a first quote which is R15000 for the repairs of the roof and R22000 to fit an Isolite ceiling. We are proposing that we take this on as a project for 2023. Can we count on your support? When you make an extra donation for this, please mention the word ‘roof’ so we can allocate your donation to this project. Many thanks for any amount you can give!!

DONATE | Heart for Children

CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL MINISTRIES SA

 CCMSA | Bread on the water 

 

PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO LOADSHEDDING & OTHER FACTORS WE ARE EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL PROBLEMS IN PUTTING NEW VIDEOS ON THE INTERNET. WE MAY HAVE TO ACQUIRE SOME NEW EQUIPMENT FOR WHICH WE NEED EXTRA FINANCES. WE ASK FOR YOUR PATIENCE WHILST WE ARE TRYING TO FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THESE PROBLEMS. THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING.

2021 Easter News letter

2021 Easter News letter

by | Apr 14, 2021 | newsletter

Dear friend,

If ever I heard a song that stirred my soul to realize again the importance of Easter, it must be this one: https://breadonthewater.co.za/2021/03/26/easter-song/

Indeed, the lyrics do carry the most powerful message the world has ever heard!

My own favorite Easter story is of course the one where Jesus appeared to the two men from Emmaus. It brought me to a point where I looked at the Scriptures that Jesus must have been referring to, in Luke 24:27.

See here: https://breadonthewater.co.za/2019/04/15/easter/

As a man of science, and since I first attended an exhibition in 1977, I have always been interested in the Shroud of Turin – said to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. Indeed, I wrote something about the Shroud here:

https://breadonthewater.co.za/2017/02/20/if-god-exists-why-cannot-we-see-him/

I was surprised to hear that in the light of the pandemic they are apparently planning an exhibition of the Shroud on television on Holy Saturday, i.e. 3/4/2021. This is really something: exhibitions of the Shroud are normally very, very scarce. I quote from Msgr. Nosiligia, Wednesday 3/3/2021:

“In these troubled times we need to nurture and communicate our hope. And for us believers the most effective way to increase the hope of the whole world is through common prayer, by kneeling before the Lord. For this reason, we celebrate also on Holy Saturday, the day of silence, before the tomb of the Lord but also of the expectation of his resurrection, a special liturgy in front of the Shroud that reminds us of this event, the living center of our faith and our hope.’ More about this here: https://www.shroud.com/latebrak.htm

Irrespective of whether you believe the Shroud is real or not, you must agree with the bishop’s sentiments. Indeed, if there is anything I hope we have learned from the Corona crisis, it is our dependence on God for health! In this respect I should also mention that it seems many of us are even suffering from some form of depression now because of all the restrictions on church and family gatherings. Let us all kneel and pray that we will soon be free from the scourge of this disease.

Crystal Cathedral Ministries SA (CCMSA) is broadcasting a special Easter service via the internet. Dr. Schuller’s message centers around John 11:25 where Jesus said: “He who lives and believes in me shall never die’.  It is the video on top of our CCMSA page. Please click on the link below:

https://breadonthewater.co.za/ccmsa/

If you missed the testimony from Immaculee Ilibagiza on how she miraculously escaped the Rwandan genocide, you must watch the video just below our Easter service!

Many thanks to each one of you who continue to support Crystal Cathedral Ministries SA with your tithes and donations. May God bless you richly.

Like many other charities at this time of Covid 19,Heart for Children is also battling with lower-than-expected income. For the time being, we have therefore put our plans that we had at the beginning of the year, on hold. I am sure that things will improve as soon as the economy picks up some steam again. In the meantime, as an extra income for Heart for Children, Annette and Adele will make greeting cards (birthday, thank-you, Xmas, sympathy, etc.) and linen shopping bags, on order. See pictures at the far end of this news letter. All proceeds will go to Heart for Children. If you are interested in ordering this from us, please contact Annette at: annette.pool@gmail.com

Every little bit helps!

We wish you a very blessed Easter and Passover. If you are going on holiday, please travel safely! Please do stay safe and healthy by taking the necessary precautions for Covid 19.

Henry (0836297690) and Annette (0834696875)

henrypool7@gmail.com     annette.pool@gmail.com

https://breadonthewater.co.za/

 

Summer 2020

Summer 2020

by | Jan 23, 2020 | Donations, News, newsletter

Let us pray for rain!

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:1-3

 First of all, I wish you a very healthy and blessed 2020! We trust that you had a good festive season with your loved ones and that all is well with you and your family.

Seeing the effects of the drought all around, I really hope and pray for rain this year! I immigrated to South Africa in 1976 when it was drought time, just like it is now. I remember everyone asking people on radio and TV and in churches to pray for rain for the farmers. Coming from Holland, where it is raining almost every day, I had found this somewhat strange. I was rather enjoying the sunshine! Today, the situation is again much the same: many farmers are having a tough time. Yet, strangely enough, no one in the media is asking you to pray for rain anymore. One is simply told that the droughts and the resulting fires are due to man-made climate change. Hence, the ‘bad’ weather is simply your fault……

The earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord! (Ps. 24:1)

Must say: I do recall Jesus making a specific point to all his disciples [with Him in a bad storm on a boat] that He (God) is [also] always in control of the weather (Luke 8:24-25). On reading this story again, it appears that we can always pray to God [in faith] asking Him to change the weather!

Having learned of all the intricacies of the weather – namely, for example, how God has put several brakes in place so that it does not get either too hot or too warm – I have come to  appreciate any type of weather, as ‘good’ (coming from God). Even if the weather gets so bad that it destroys life in its wake, I always know that God still is in control. Often you find that even ‘bad’ weather opens doors for new life to begin. Join the discussions about this and related issues on “Henry’s Blog’, website: http://www.breadonthewater.co.za

Many thanks to all of you who responded to our request for extra funds to renovate the children’s home in Koraalstr 7, Jeffreys Bay. A special word of thanks goes to John and Peggy in Northcliff and Monique of the MyMostBeautiful competition. So far, we have received about R30000!!! This is not at all bad compared it to our previous special effort. You will recall the time when we collected R26000 for new appliances for the Rehoboth Children’s Village in Port Shepstone. See picture above.

Spring News Letter 2019

Spring News Letter 2019

by | Oct 11, 2019 | Campaign, News, newsletter

Well, spring has arrived! Isn’t beautiful to see the flowers, new leaves and other changes in nature? A few months ago, I decided to buy a puzzle featuring a collection of pictures of animals of Africa put together by Charlotte Firbank-King. However, I never realized how big the puzzle really was….It took me days of frustration and many weeks to get all 1500 pieces in the right places. At some stage I realized that my Big Puzzle here in Pretoria was of course still very, very small compared to the Puzzle of Life, that is: God’s Creation. Indeed, in reflecting on his own life, the famous physicist Isaac Newton – who was able to understand and write down the laws of gravitation – once said: “I just went to the beach and played with a few pebbles”… Looking at the smallest in matter and looking at the wonders and the incalculable greatness of the universe, I am sure you and me can only wonder as to exactly what laws and relevant formulae are holding it all together.

Every day I looked at my puzzle, I became strangely aware, that, just like my puzzle was not yet finished, so God’s Creation is also not yet finished. Jesus came into the picture 2000 years ago to show us what God is really like: God is Love and Grace. He gave His own life for us and at that point we all became a part of his Picture, for sure! Each one of us has a role to play, no matter how big or small.
Puzzling!

Indeed, love is the source of our enthusiasm, optimism and creativity. Yes, there are still many more people to be born, and yes, there are still many more things to find out and laws to understand. I remember that whenever I was able to finish one of the 80(!) animals in my puzzle, I became so excited noticing how the pieces all fitted together enabling me to see all the details… Then I thought: that is how it is in the Big Puzzle of Life: sometimes we get a glimpse of the part that we all played in God’s Creation and how we fit into the big picture. As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 13:12: ‘For now we see only [a reflection] as in a mirror [dimly], but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known’.

On one occasion, when we visited the safe home for children in Nelmapius (Pretoria) that Heart for Children is  supporting, I was moved to tears by the love of the children shown to us after we had brought each child a ‘lucky’ packet. I felt privileged that we are able to help Jochi there with a steady income now for her home. 

God is doing His work in all 21 homes sponsored by you in South Africa and the Netherlands through Heart for Children! Many thanks to each one of you for being a piece in the Big Puzzle of Life.