The plan:
Tell 10 Bible stories in 10 days on the Beach over this Christmas Season. Fan into flame a love for the Bible and its power to transform lives.
The problem:
After the very first 30cm man figure was cut (roughly 120 images to go), the red laser simply stopped cutting.
A key wire that is directly linked to the bulb was cut in order to bring the 1 meter bulb safely to Stilbaai from Johannesburg. After careful rewiring, the bulb cracked after a few times of cutting. We knew it was a risk. There was nothing I could do differently. I carefully followed the instructions from the technician in Jo'burg.
No-fault of mine, yet I need to raise R9,000 (U$554) to replace the bulb to keep cutting SandBoxBibles. The small nativity figures in the photo are part of the set that needs to be cut into XXL figures in order to tell the Christmas Story on the Beach December.
I am trusting that the bulb will be replaced soon because it will take a long time (days) to cut this unique XXL BIBLE SET.
If you live in Stilbaai and want to be involved with this over December, pop in and visit.
OCTOBER MASTERS INTENSIVE
Three locations over Zoom - South Africa, Sweden, and USA.
See if you can find me above ;-)
One of my highlights was a presentation by one of our students zooming all the way from Nepal on the "friend of the past" assignment she had to do. A friend of the past is a significant figure that shaped Christianity hundreds of years ago. When I was a student, I was "Gregory the Great."
This student had Amy Carmichael (1867-1951) She adopted children that was sold in Hindu temples for prostitution. For some reason, the doll in her arms that she used as a prop, caused me to cry my eyes out long after we all got off from zoom. I was once again horrified that this is still an ongoing practice.
I asked her if she knew about the Hindi Children Bible Coloring book that I had my skilled DTS students made for India back when I was a school leader. It apparently had reached Nepal too. She immediately said, "oh yes!" I was so happy.
You see, in my mind outreach in the sense of going to a people group, telling stories of Jesus and flying out again was simply not enough. I wanted to leave a constant reminder behind. We change when we do things repeatedly. We "meditate" on various things without knowing it, and it shapes us.
I remember how, when I was roughly 7 years old, I picked up a thin children storybook that illustrated the story of the "Barmhartige Samaritaan" in Luke 10:25. I even remember where I sat in the hallway of our house paging through it, totally taken in by what Jesus said. The point is:
"...it was in my house to simply pick up and read, and read again and again and again over time" It shaped me. It was Joshua 1:8 meditation practiced.
Whenever I went on outreach I deeply desired for kids to have something to 'pick up' and then leave it to Wonderful Counselor Holy Spirit, to illuminate their hearts. This is one of the reasons creating and bringing a Wooden Bible for kids is so important to me. I cannot draw pictures but I can cut wood! I do hope the finance will soon be available to fix that bulb!
Thanks for your amazing support and prayers.
Let me know if you want to be part of the Beach Bible Outreach - I am convinced I will be cutting soon again.
In Him and for Him with joy,
Sarah Anna-Lise,
Stilbaai.