Dear Friends of Higher Ground

As I sit down to write an update on the last month and a half at Higher Ground I am suddenly overwhelmed by all that has happened. It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day nitty gritty of our lives that we don’t get a chance to sit back and actually reflect and give thanks for the multitude of blessings.

And there certainly have been so many blessings in the life of Higher Ground lately. I will attempt to do it all justice in the following short newsletter!

Recent Camps

There is no way I can fully explain the impact of the camps which we have just held. I don’t think I even fully understand that yet. This may sound like a bold statement, but I realised the truth in it this week as I visited one of the schools who sent children on our second July camp which was for children with an intellectual impairment. One of the learners who joined us from this particular school has a severe intellectual impairment and lives with his very loving family. As I can well understand, it was with apprehension that this boy’s mother let him come to camp – it was the first time he has ever been away from his parents and he is now nearing his late teens. Upon visiting the school this week, the principal told me that the parents have seen such a marked improvement in their child, that before he did virtually nothing for himself and he now gets his own clothes out in the morning and is far more independent. These are the types of stories we don’t hear about, and it was a profound moment for me as I realised again the far-reaching impact that camp has on our campers.

July was certainly busy with two full weeks of camp. Some of our faithful volunteers joined us for the full time, giving up a big chunk of their holidays to serve others.

Our first camp was for children who are partially sighted or blind. We had a wonderfully diverse group of children and our numbers were doubled from last year. We had teenagers join us from all over KwaZulu-Natal and five even travelled up from Port Elizabeth to join us. One of the highlights of this camp was a visit from Paul and his team at Adventure n Beyond who spent a morning with us doing rock climbing. This was a new experience for virtually all of our campers, and they thoroughly enjoyed the new challenge.

The second camp was for children with an intellectual impairment, and in many ways was quite different from the first. Every camp always feels like the best we have ever had and this was no exception. Many of the children at this camp live in institutional settings and I can’t even begin to explain the way that they responded to the love and attention shown to them at camp. There were more hugs and tears at the end of this camp than I have seen at any other! And it served, for me, as a reminder of the importance of camp.

When you see and hear of lives changed, not by us but only by God, it is all, every bit of it, completely worthwhile.

Thank You’s

Needless to say these camps cost no small amount! A week before camp I worked out that we still had R20 000 outstanding in order to meet our camp bill, and no prospect of getting it. However, I am able to tell you today that the Lord is still very much in the business of performing miracles! Our camp bill is paid, no debt, no stress! And there is no logical explanation for it, except the most logical of all. God is great and at the end of the day, He truly is our only provider.

For us, one of the ways he provides is through amazing people out there who work so hard to assist others in their communities. I would like to sincerely thank the following people/groups for their amazing support of Higher Ground:

The Fulton Trust

North Durban Lions

Rotary Club of Inchanga – 1000 Hills

North Durban Rotaract

Durban Rotaract

Port Shepstone Lions

Pinetown Rotary Club

Not only do we receive financial support, but many other forms of support too.

We had a fantastic and dedicated group of volunteers at both of the camps. What made this group even more interesting was the diversity – we had people from as close as Durban and as far away as Nigeria! People caught buses from Pretoria and planes from Cape Town. I have to say, as I so often do, that we could never run our camps if it were not for their sacrifice of time and love! To Roxy, Sakhile, Darryl, Ilze, Thembeka, Lebo, Sane, Deirdre, Elzeth, Andre and Yemisi – thank you all for taking the time to make a difference! You guys were awesome!

Then as I mentioned before, Paul and his team from Adventure n Beyond in Jo’burg travelled down to spend time with us, helped with worship in the morning, and led an exciting morning of rock climbing. Thank you guys for your time and energy!

We also had the privilege of a visit from some of the members of Durban Rotaract Club. Aadila, Anya and Camilla got right on with the business of camp, getting involved in the afternoons scavenger hunt, and it was an absolute pleasure having you guys with us. Thank you so much for your clubs continued interest and support of Higher Ground.

There are so many people that support us, and I hope I have not left many people out. Mark and Dirk at Candi-Snax in Pinetown often generously donate marshmallows for our campfires, people help with lifts where needed, prayer support is always abounding – the list goes on!

Upcoming Camps

I have mentioned the following dates in the previous newsletter, and will give them again in case you didn’t get them.

12 – 19 November 2006 Annual Camp for adults with acquired head injuries at Camp Jonathan, Eston, KwaZulu-Natal

27 Jan – 3 Feb 2007 Annual Camp for adults who are partially sighted or blind at Camp Jonathan, Eston, KwaZulu-Natal.

Please note that forms will be coming out soon for both of these camps, but please feel free to send me your name now as a provisional booking as these will fill up quickly.

PLEASE FORWARD INFORMATION ON THESE CAMPS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED, TO ONLINE GROUPS YOU MAY BE A PART OF AND GENERALLY SPREAD THE WORD AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!

In December and January there will be a number of other camps taking place. More info on these to follow.

Camps outside KZN

Part of our vision is to run camps in other parts of the country, to reach more and more people. People are not difficult to find, but accessible venues are. If you would be interested in partnering with us to bring camps to more people, please get in touch with me. It would be great to be able to find cost effective ways of running camps and increasing the number of people we are able to serve.

Volunteers

We are always in need of enthusiastic, passionate people to assist at our camps. It is a great opportunity to get experience, make new friends and most importantly have an impact on our campers lives. If you, or someone you know, might be interested in volunteering, please get in touch with us.

How else can you help?

We have many on-going needs and would greatly appreciate you considering becoming involved with Higher Ground.

Some of the equipment which we are looking for is:

Sleeping Bags

Torches

Bibles (Regular, Large Print and Braille)

A4 paper for printer/copier

Ink Cartridges for Printer

Sunscreen and General First Aid supplies

Balloons, Table Cloths and Tea Light Candles

Walkie Talkies

Laptop Computer

Digital Projector

Camper Sponsorships at approx R1600 per camper

Land or Facilities on which to run our camps

This newsletter has become much longer than I anticipated, but I hope it will serve to keep you up to date with what we are up to here at Higher Ground. Please keep in touch, we love to hear from you.

Just to mention again that you are welcome to forward this to anyone you feel may be interested. Please also let me know if you no longer wish to receive news from Higher Ground. This will be sad, but I will take you off the list!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Take care

Emma