The Blaak Family: Deck the Halls with... hats and sunscreen?

Hello dear friends and family!

I can’t believe that it’s December already and I haven’t posted anything since Raelynne’s birthday! I’m so sorry for such a long delay! Needless to say that it’s been a very busy season!

Can I just say that it feels so weird to be gearing up for Christmas while the weather is getting hotter and hotter, especially when you see pictures of Santa with a surfboard and Bermuda shorts. So wrong! No, we don’t miss the cold and driving in the muck, but we do miss our friends, and the familiar sights and sounds of home.

Here’s what we’ve been up to since you last heard from us…

Global Leadership Summit (Oct 18-20)—this was the biggest project for us this season. The GLS is a world-wide leadership event from Willow Creek church (Bill Hybels) that takes place in around 200 locations globally. It was the first time that Victory Church was hosting it and leaders from every level of society came… teachers, politicians, business leaders, church members, etc. Erwin was the “production manager” and he was simply amazing! “Well done, Babe!” Beforehand, there was much training and much preparation, but the level of precision took the whole worship/media/production team to new levels of excellence! We were so proud of them! This was the first GLS that I had ever attended, but it won’t be the last. It was the best leadership training that I’ve ever received! If you ever have a chance to attend one, please do! You won’t regret it.

Worship Academy CD Project—after the GLS, Erwin went right into the recording studio with the Worship Academy students. Each year they produce a CD to capture a taste of what they’ve created that year. He was delighted to be asked to play drums for the project...no, he was more than delighted… he loved it! And the final product is amazing! Let us know if you want us to send you one! You’ll be impressed!

Women's Mentoring Gala Event (Nov 10)- this was our year-end event where each group decorated their own table and we got together to celebrate all of the wonderful things God did in our hearts and relationships. (Brenda, I've got some great pics for you.)

Other than that, we took the kids to the Planetshakers concert which was held in conjuction with the Wildcard Youth Event (Sept 25-28). Wildcard is the South African equivalent to YC and it’s hosted each year by Victory Church in Jeffreys Bay. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we decided to take everyone to the Delirious? concert on Oct 10th too. And let me tell you, it was simply amazing! What a powerful time in God’s presence! The kids LOVED it!

‘Year-end Crunch’—most of you know that the school year in South Africa goes from January to November. That means that we’ve just completed recitals, concerts, award ceremonies, and 2 weeks of exams. Hooray! Everyone did so well!

Rachel is more-than-ready to start Kindergarten in January. She is smart and energetic and loves to read and write letters. Her fine motor skills are exceptional and we constantly find a trail of drawings and paper scraps around the house. Aaagh! She wants to be an artist!

David was the delight of his teacher this year. He is incredibly bright at math and is doing well at reading. He also loves to sing made-up songs and pretends that he’s singing in Afrikaans. Hilarious! At the awards ceremony, David was recognized as having “excelled in the character trait of Joyfulness.” How perfect!

Joshua has really settled in well at school. He’s made some great friends and is having a lot of fun now. He’s still taking surfing lessons and has also discovered a passion for skateboarding. At the award ceremony, he was recognized as having “excelled in the character trait of Responsibility, as well as in Literacy and Numeracy.” Well done, Josh!

Raelynne continues to mature into a beautiful young lady. She’s adapted so well to life in SA and has made some wonderful friends. She loves reading, drama, singing in the choir, and playing with her friends (and sister). At the awards ceremony, she was recognized as having “excelled in the character trait of Humility, as well as achieving the second highest average in Grade 5 with 86%!” What a girl!

So yes, it’s been a busy season, but I’m happy to report that the kids are on “Summer Holidays” now until Jan 16! Hooray!

AND... my Mom and Dad are coming for Christmas! Double Hooray! They will be here for a whole month, from Dec 17th until Jan 17th, and we’re so excited to see them again! Erwin will also have some holiday time coming after Christmas and we’re looking forward to some good “down-time” for the whole family!

“Thank You” - We also want to take a moment to say a huge Thank You to all of you who have been financially supporting us so faithfully this past year. Your generosity has really allowed us to learn what we learned, do what we do, and have such an impact for the kingdom this year! It’s really been an incredible year and we can’t even start to measure what eternal results have occurred. Thank you for sowing into our lives and ministries! We pray that God will richly reward you for your faithfulness!