GregAndSuzanne

Because Suzanne is actually in labour as we speak. I know it's quite weird that I'm blogging at the moment as she's obviously having quite an experience, but to be honest there isn't a whole lot I can do... other than being in the same room for support and being fairly inconspicious. Anyway, there's not a whole lot to say other than that we're very excited to meet our baby, that 2010 has been an exciting adventure filled with God's goodness and that we believe 2011 will be a year of breakthrough in all areas. Some photo's of Liya-Jeanne (or Liya-Jean) to follow soon. Peace to you...

Today we have exactly 4 weeks left before the final count down to being parents. I have my moments when I realise how overwhelming it is to make this statement. But, there is nothing we can do about it...she is on her way and we just trust for the best. The end of year is approaching  rapidly and I stand amazed at how productive this year was. We have grown as individuals and as a unit. Living abroad is becoming more and more of a reality to us and we just trust God that our daughter will connect with her family back home in ways that He will orchestrate. Things are going really well at church. We are growing as a congregation and experiencing different levels of God. He is always faithful to show up, and He makes our efforts here successful. Just a short hallo from us today. God bless you all, we love and miss you dearly.

Well, here we are, overflowing with all the riches that life could offer us. With humble hearts we are so grateful towards our Father for laying out our lives and enriching it with such depth and love. God is growing in us, His goodness is overwhelming and His care towards us proves His love and affirms His interest in our lives. I could write a long letter about our jobs, our social lives, our struggles but the above paragraph sums up the total of it...We are the blessed children of the Maker of this earth! As from Monday, I have 4 days left at work, I will miss it, but I am looking forward to preparing the home for our new arrival. She is active and funny, she makes her presence known, so I guess her little character is already shining through.. Liya-Jeanne, mmm, perfect,  Liya hebrew origin: " I am the Lord's " and Jeanne \je(an)-ne\ is a variant of Jane (Hebrew) and Jean (Hebrew), and the meaning of Jeanne is " God's grace ". The best part is that...

Most of you probably don't know what 'Golden Parol' is... well, it's the band I used to play with in South Africa. Two (initially three) great friends (Ant, Drew and Craig) who made music. Drew's brother filmed our last night, a few days before I flew to the UK in January 2006. It's been my dream to cut the 90 or so minutes of footage down to something that's actually watchable. Finally, almost 5 years later, I did it! It's not the best quality and the performance was probably a bit more hype than actual musical flair, but it brings back great memories of an awesome time in my life. You can watch it  here .

As some of you might know, we did Healing on the Streets in Slough High Street on Saturday. What an amazing day! It exceeded all our expectations. I think we had about 35 people from at least 4 different churches turn up for the 'training', which was really just a discussion about healing. After a short lunch break, we hit the streets. It was actually such a crazy setup. We basically walked down to the High Street (like I said, a group of about 35 people), set up a big flag that reads 'healing', knelt down together in prayer and started handing out flyers asking people to come and receive prayer for healing. It was just amazing how much peace we experienced. You would think that we'd be super nervous, but it was so natural. And I realised again that the Kingdom of God is within us, which means that it exists wherever children of God are - and where the Kingdom is, there the fruit (peace, joy, love, etc) and gifts (healing!) of the Spirit are. We must have prayed...

is probably what we've decided on, as far as the naming of the baby goes anyway. Suzanne and I have always thought that we wouldn't keep the baby's name a secret, as many people do these days. Although, we've had some glimpses of why people do it. If you share the name of the baby before he or she is born, people like to add their suggestions, which are sometimes very random, like Liya-Hotdog (kidding!). If you choose to keep the name a secret, however, and then introduce the newborn baby as Liya-Hotdog, most people will respond with a 'wow, that's really nice... I've never heard that before'! Things are going really well on this side of Heathrow. The baby seems to be alive and very much kicking. As the due date (23 Dec) approaches, we are getting more and more focused on the house and whether or not it's suitable for the new arrival. The house is really great and spacious, but as the carpets are quite old and manky (and a few other things) we'...

Suzanne and I had an awesome time in Ireland. We spent the first few days in a little town called Skerries, which is just north of the city of Dublin. It was a really good time of relaxing (sleeping until late morning/ early afternoon) and connecting with friends like 'Tannie Elly' and Johann - who ended up living in the same town. Johann took us to Dublin, which is really our kind of thing. We love big cities. We had the opportunity to see the Book of Kells, which is one of the oldest manuscripts of the four gospels. Awesome! We also had an amazing time visiting our Every Nation church in Dublin. We then hooked up with Chris and Lize and Oom Jakes and Tannie Elly on the west coast, to spend the week in a cottage beside Loch Conn. Again, it was a great time of relaxing and connecting. We did some fishing during the day (with little result) and played cards by the fire during the evening... just what the doctor ordered! We also saw a few beauti...

It's been a while since I penned something down. I suppose we've picked up the pace a bit, which is great for me. It's been great to have people over for BBQ's and dinners. Our house is definitely too big for just the three of us, especially considering that one of us is the size of a banana! (Or bana-'nur', as the english say.) Talking about bananas, the baby has started pushing against Suzanne's tummy. Suzanne has been feeling it on a regular basis and is quite excited. Apparently, it will take a while before I'll be able to feel, so I just nod and smile. :) We are still excited about going to Ireland, which is happening in a week from tomorrow. To be honest, I'm not sure if it's the best time to be taking a holiday. It feels like we're finally getting back into our groove and everybody knows how a holiday can break one's groove... Actually, I think it's the perfect time... You know you're in trouble when you need to be conv...

We have just had 2 wonderful days of relaxing. It was beautiful. I feel refreshed and ready to go for another jam packed week. I visited the midwife this week and I heard the heart beat of our baby, it beats very fast. Really cute. The midwife agreed that I am in tip top shape, so, almost half way through my pregnancy everything is 100% - just how God ordains it to be:) Lately my desire to get stuck into this community has been growing. We had our first dinner with a couple from our church last night, and I hope that this was the first of many to come. My desire is to know these people and love them and live life with them. This I must say is a revolutionary change from a couple of weeks ago, but that is why we rely on God. We aren't worth much here in Slough without His input and guidance. So I guess all I am saying is that I am grateful for the change of heart and mind. Greg is doing very well. He is such a happy chappy. I am woken up by his singing and clappin...

Is something that's really been on my heart and mind lately. When I say lately, I mean the last year or so. On the one hand it's a mystery 'like a treasure hidden in a field' and on the other it's part of who we are 'for the kingdom of God is within you'. When I as about 18 or 19, I used to say that people aren't turning to God because Christians aren't living the glorious life that God intended. I know realise that that's 100% true. I also realise that that's what the Kingdom is all about... Living according to God's will through the power that He's given us. What is God's will? Simple. The life of Jesus. That's right... Having an amazing relationship with the Father, loving people with all our hearts, healing the sick, raising the dead and teaching others to do the same. Who's going to say that Christianity is boring, irrelevant or man-made when they meet someone like that? Thing are going well on the home front. Suzan...

As most of you know, I have taken my time to settle into this new life of ours. New job, new church, new, new new everything, and much to my surprise I am not as flexible as I might have wanted myself to be. But the good news is that finally Slough is my home and the coffee shop is my job and I AM indeed the pastors wife, oh and the even though our home still smells funny, I am use to it. I don't cringe every time I realise that the smell isn't going anywhere. Today, I spoke to one of my very pregnant friends, she is due in 3 weeks. I got so exited. Realising that there will be a time where I too will only have a couple of weeks to go! I can't wait! This baby, or dare I say boy, I call the little thing my boy, I am convinced it is a little man. I may be pleasantly surprised if it was to be a little lass, but my gut feeling is saying blue shoes. (sorry ma albrecht) 32 Degrees today, I got a nice tan and it is lovely being to hot! It doesn't happen often. We live in a...

So we had the privilege of having our first scan of Granie today. It was absolutely amazing! He/ she was so active and we could see his hands and feet and everything. Almost unbelievable... Please click here  to see the photo.

I've added a few pages to the blog. As you can see there are a few tabs at the top, which will take you to these pages. I've just added some photo's of Suzanne's new place of work, which is in Windsor and is really beautiful.

The slogan that's been running through my mind lately. I think many people have bad connotations to the word 'revival'. Maybe because the world has seen some weird stuff in the name of revival or maybe because people are afraid of change. The way I see it, though, revival basically means new life... and we need a lot of new life in the world. God has been doing amazing things in and through our church. To be 100% honest, I'm surprised! I know I shouldn't be, I mean, He's good and He wants to show Himself strong on our behalf. But we're just a few people stumbling over our feet... so, we expect those kinds of results. And that's what I love about His kingdom, the fact that He uses people like us, that we have the Spirit of the living God inside our puny bodies, the love and power to face and change every kind of evil that befalls ourselves and those around us! At home things are good. A friend gave us a little baby suit yesterday and Suzanne is super ...

I will only know how far pregnant I am by this Friday, so I think I am 11 or 10 weeks 10 weeks Congratulations! Your embryo is now called a fetus, which means "offspring". She is about 3.1cm long from crown to rump and weighs less than 4g. She may be small, but she's very active, swallowing fluid and kicking her new limbs. Her vital organs – liver, kidneys, intestines, brain and lungs – are fully formed and functional, while her head is almost half the length of her entire body. Her forehead temporarily bulges and sits high on her head, but later will change into a more baby-like feature. If you could take a look at your baby, you'd be able to see some exciting details, such as fingernails and peach-fuzzy hair. The outline of her spine is clear to see, too. Spinal nerves stretch out from the spinal cord. And it's not just your baby who's growing. Your uterus (womb) is now the size of a grapefruit. You may even be able to feel it above the middle of your ...

This week I started working at the chocolate theatre company. A pastry chef, who has won many many awards has opened up his life long dream of a chocolate coffee shop. We bake a variety of about 30 different cakes and treats. We also sell a list of about 15 different hot chocolates all made from real chocolate buttons! Our food is just a wide variety of friendly sandwiches, but all in all it is a very popular little place. I am a part time manager there, even though the staff have all been there for years and they manage me,  I have the privilege of overseeing the day. It has been quite a adjustment to stand on my feet for 9 hours again, but luckily we are so busy, I almost don't feel it. This little baby in my tummy is most definitely going to be a healthy active one, seeing that I haven't given the poor thing a moment of just being, I am up and about, which I am very grateful for. Great news is that we have managed to change our scan date to this Friday!!!! I am so happy, ...

We thought we'd give you a little tour of our new place. We're still settling in and only really have the bare essentials, but we're enjoying it. To see the video, please click here .

Every week I google to see the progress of the baby, it is my highlight of my pregnancy because everything is still so unreal. It is just amazing how God knits us together in our mothers womb. Destined and purposed. Week 8 (this week past) Many changes take place this week – the embryonic tail is gone, and all organs, muscles, and nerves are beginning to function. Your baby measures about 1.6cm. His hands now bend at the wrist, and his feet begin to lose their webbed appearance. Eyelids are beginning to cover his eyes and tastebuds starting to form on his tongue   Week 9 At the week's end, your baby measures about 2.3cm long. In both shape and size, he resembles a peapod and weighs less than 2g. His eyelids are fused and won't open until week 26. His wrists are more developed, ankles have formed, and his fingers and toes are clearly visible. Arms are growing longer and bend at the elbows and by the week's end his ears will nearly be complete. Though you can't yet ...

Sitting at home tonight, thinking about our lovely family back home...I miss them. Our parents and grandparents especially. I love to articulate how much I appreciate people, but I so seldom do it to those closest to me. I want to start doing it more... So let me start with the most important people in our lives - our family, the parents of our family. We love you and miss you guys so much. It gives us joy to appreciate every single one of you when we think about your unique characters. You each have and still do play such an important part in our lives. Greg and I are very blessed to be so full filled by what we have been given through you. We are grounded in your love and our confidence rests heavily on your blessings over our lives. Thank you for your love, support, long suffering;) and allowing us to become who we are today.. A word to the fathers and oupa: Dads, together you make a beautiful picture of the heart of a fath...

We had our first official service in Slough yesterday, which went really well. I shared a bit of my life's story and them some Biblical truth from that. You can have a listen to it  here  (a few of my other sermons are also on the same website). Otherwise, I am in Starbucks at the moment, which has become my unofficial office. Not for the coffee, I'll have you know! If I wanted great coffee, I'd go to the Green Bean, Nero or Costa. Starbucks has free wi-fi, though, so their coffee will have to do. Our broadband should be installed by the end of the week. I'm off to Bristol on Wednesday to attend the Release 2010 conference with guest speaker Bill Johnson. I am really looking forward to it. We've been hearing lots of exciting this from his church, so now I can go and see for myself. Speak to you soon

Well, started work this week, the little shop is stunning! I am enjoying not having too much responsibilities but still like the hands on people interaction that the job so generously provides. Of course the beautiful setting of Eton and Windsor Castle in the background is a pleasure to see everyday. In the next two weeks Greg and I will be apart. I am finally doing that Aerobics course and will be staying in London with some friends. I am a little bit nervous because I have not done any exercise for about 4 weeks due to the pregnancy, but hopefully all will go well. I went to the doctor this week, must be honest, came home a little disappointed, I was hoping for more information but all they did was work out a probable due date (27th Dec) and then a date for my 12 week scan which is the 11th June, only then will we truly know anything about our little baby (who is now the size of a grape). We have given the grape a name...thanks to my friend Julise. Granie - short for Greg and Za...

So here we are... on the other side of 9 May, the day we were officially ordained as pastors of EN Slough. For a long time it was a surreal thought somewhere in the distant future, but now it's been and gone. I must say that I'm probably still a little obvlious to the full reality of what this means... I might get a better understanding when Trevor and Yvette don't walk through our doors on Sunday morning! On the other hand, the last three weeks in Slough have been amazing. Even though we've only lived here for little under two weeks, we've been attending the Slough church for a while longer. It's been great getting to know many new, super friendly people. I don't think you'll find a more supportive group of people in the UK! We are very thankful. I suppose one thing that I'm really aware of - more than ever - is the reality of the spiritual world and just how important prayer is. Since we've moved in (like I said, less than two...

So here we are... right in the middle of our old and new lives. The old life was set in Stratford, the 2012 Olympic village in the east end of London, from which Suzanne managed the chic Green Bean Coffee Co and in which I administrated the Stratford congregation of Every Nation Church London. The new life will take place in the beautiful town of Slough, just west of London, and is said by some to be the city where Jesus lives! Suzanne and I will become the new pastors of the Slough congregation (or chapter!) of ENL as our good friends, Trevor and Yvette - the current pastors, will be planting a church in Gent, Belgium. At the moment we're in the process of moving... We've been upgraded from a one bedroom flat to a three bedroom detached house! It comes complete with a garden and 'kitch' artificial fireplace. As it stands we should be out of here the day after tomorrow, and are scheduled to have our first BBQ garden party on 9 May (if you're in the area, pleas...