GRACE FAMILY CHURCH and HOUSE OF LIFE

Grace Family Church of Umhlanga, Durban has been a tremendous help and encouragement to the HOUSE OF LIFE ministry. In this blog I wish to thank them and the CONTAINER MINISTRY for the help and encouragement they have been to this ministry.

Fig. 1. The empty Lounge of HOUSE OF LIFE, May 2009, now full of furniture

The first encouragemnt to us was when Pastor Mark van Straaten and Dudley Thomson came and prayed for the house when it was newly rented and totally empty.

Very soon the house began to fill up with fridges, stove, curtains, crockery, utensils, blankets etc. Many of those donors were from Grace Family Church in Umhlanga, Durban. Nearly everything needed for daily use has been provided for. This has been imensely encouraging to us.



Fig. 2. The HOUSE OF LIFE girls about to be baptised at Grace Family Church. Finished with the old life, they are born again and have started to live a new life, a transformed one.






Fig. 3. One of the HOUSE OF LIFE girls about to do the plunge! She is being baptised by Pastor Mark Straaten of Grace Family Church and one of the assistant Pastors.






The CONTAINER MINISTRY, one of the ministries of Grace Family Church, began to play a large part in the supply of foodstuffs and practical equipment for the house.



Sometimes the flour supplied by Container ministry is used to make cookies, and aresold at churches and the money raised used to help pay bills. The skill of cooking is one of the skills taught in the excellence program so that girls can earn money from home business when they leave the center.




Fig. 5. Dried vegetable mix from the CONTAINER MINISTRY in the inner city feeding program. The dried vegetables are used to make vegetable soup and a vegetable stew. Because they are dry, they can be preserved for several days even though the benefactor has no fridge or deep freeze. His storage cupboard may be a rock by the sea or a bush on the beach.







Fig. 6. A cold Thursday on the beachfront, Destitutes sleep on the beach because they cannot afford the shelter fees of 3 USD. Then they come at 3 pm to hear the preaching of the Word of God by Pastor Steve Blomefield and are given food for the day. The food is prepared by HOUSE OF LIFE women. It often includes food donated by the CONTAINER MINISTRY.


Some of them impoversished by the economic climate, others are prostitutes impoverished by pimps and sickness such as HIV and tuberculosis. Others are hobo's impoverished by alcoholism. First the Word of God is preached. Then the people prayed for, then they are fed. Many go back to their parents and families and leave their destitute and criminal lifestyle. Some join a church rehab program or a city rehab program. Some go into the women's rehabilitation program at HOUSE OF LIFE.

Mostly we would like to thank our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for He is the one who is the compassionate one that fills people with love and compassion, who then act on behalf of Grace Family Church and the Container Ministry to give food, money and equipment to HOUSE OF LIFE, enabling us to feed the poor, clothe the poor, rehabilitate girls and teach them Christ.