Newsletter Christmas Edition 2014

2014

Our Journey

A warm festive greeting to all our AMATO friends from our beautiful new home/offices in 787 Arcadia Street, Arcadia.

Our faithful volunteers kept working their shifts, opened with devotions in the morning and kept on proclaiming that AMATO belongs to God and that He WILL come through for us. We learnt during very trying times that God will never leave nor forsake us.

However, it was not the end yet......

The year 2014 is nearly at its end and ready to be part of our past. For many of us, it is a time where we become still and reflect on our journeys travelled during the last year, including the challenges and blessings that crossed our roads.

Due to the mentioned challenges above, SA Cares for Life whom we shared the previous premises with, decided to relocate at the end of August to one of their other premises.

For Amato PCC, 2014 was a year filled with many challenges – not all easy ones. We faced many difficulties – power supply dilemmas at our previous premises; a huge branch of a tree next to our offices came crashing down, damaging our Telkom telephone line - leaving us without a phone for the best part of two months, but.........we persevered.

We tried to arrange a transfer of the contract between SA Cares for Life and the City of Tshwane Municipality to AMATO PCC to enable us to remain at 996 Park Street, but we were informed that the City of Tshwane needed the premises for office space. We kept on trusting in God and like always, He proofed to be faithful. After a lot of searching and praying, we found a beautiful new home in Arcadia Street, Arcadia but finances remained a challenge.

Lo and Behold, a precious sponsor came to our rescue and offered to cover a full year’s rent in advance. May you be blessed abundantly!

New Offices

We moved into our new premises on the 5 th of September with the help of volunteers offering a trailer, organising movers, offering their time and help and our special lady, Lina Magagula who cleaned and helped all day (week) long.

We want to extend a special thank you to Pro Care Adoptions who delivered sandwiches, cold drinks and a beautiful rose plant to wish us well in our new place. We appreciate the lovely gesture immensely.

Some of our volunteers got together after the move and dedicated the house to the Lord as a team. Amato is fully operational again and we are already starting to see how the ministry is being blessed. Unfortunately the challenges we experienced at the previous premises earlier this year, affected our statistics negatively but on the positive side during October and November we have already counselled nearly the same number of clients that we saw during the first 6 months of 2014. All praise and thanks be to God. We believe that a new season has started for Amato PCC and we are looking forward with excitement to 2015.

Awareness Opportunities

We had many opportunities during 2014 to address the youth in Gauteng about sexual integrity as well as the importance of choices. Unplanned pregnancies and options remained important topics. We presented at Tshwane University of Technology as well as at Varsity College in Pretoria. We were invited to take part in the Health and Wellness days at the University of Pretoria as well as at TUT Pretoria West Campus, Varsity College Pretoria and Hope Restoration Ministries Youth Expo in Kempton Park. We also had a stand at the City of Tshwane Expo at Mafumbuka Primary School in Soshanguve that was managed by one of our senior volunteers, Phetsile Fani. Our stands were busy and we had the chance to share with and educate many young people individually. We also gave talks at ODI Hospital in Soshanguve and at a school in Olievenhoutbosch. Dr Mariatha Yazbek’s final year BCur Students also attended an educational Session Presented by Amato staff members and our trainer Heila Chapman. We also had opportunities to create Awareness during radio talks on Radio Pulpit, Radio RSG and a talk at Choose Life Church and Doxa Deo Brooklyn Campus.

We are so thankful for all these opportunities and believe that we made an impact and a difference in many of the young lives that attended these talks and expo’s.

We are looking forward to partake in the TUKS Health and Wellness day on the 20 Bester Hall at TUT on 17 th th February 2015 as well as the workshop in the Theuns March 2015. We are still in the negotiation process with senior personnel at the University of Pretoria to render services on the campus two mornings a week. We believe that many more opportunities will still open up during the course of the year. Tour sponsors and donors: A thousand Thank you’s. Amato’s doors would not be able to stay open and we would not be able to make a difference in so many young lives in our community without your giving hearts. We would like to thank the following people and organisations: Mike Jansen, Engela Vorster, M Swart, Marita Ferreira, Esther Visser, Andrea Visser, Ria Kruger, AGS Lofdal, Anonomus donar, BE DO HAVE GIVE, Linda Alston, Celia Corbett, CURARE Helping Hand Trust, Signbrite, Theresa Gillingham, Ingrid Oberholzer, Gravity Training

good bye’s

Volunteers

appreciation

We sadly said goodbye to our wonderful Marketing and Admin Volunteer, Yolanda Wynbergen. Yolanda, a thousand thank you’s for all you have done and contributed during the past 18 months – our new logo, annual report, company profile and many many more! We wish you and hubby Rick only the best for the future and we say: BE BLESSED! You are already missed so much. We also said goodbye to some of our volunteer counsellors who had to commit to other responsibilities: Anna-Marie Rex, Diana Jose, Ingrid Oberholzer, Simbongile Masika and Susan Boonzaier. A huge big thank you to all our current volunteer counsellors for your dedication and faithful service: Esther Visser, Theresa Gillingham, Ria Kruger, Karen van Heerden, Phetsile Fani, Cathy van Zyl, Sophia Venter and Natasja Visser (was away on study leave but will be back next year). Without you girls, there would be no AMATO!! You are appreciated more than you will ever know. Thank you to the men in your lives, who support you in your calling. We also want to express our appreciation to our board members as well as our trainers Heila Chapman and Corne Boag. You are special! Thank you for your time and effort.

Training

We are in desperate need of more volunteers and hope and trust that some of the ladies trained in July, will join us in the new year. We will present an Equipped to Serve training course for new volunteer counsellors towards the end of February or early March 2015.

Please contact us if you are interested in attending the next course.

Festive Season Closing Dates

We will be having our year end function and graduation ceremony on 5 We look forward to having a special time of fellowship at our new premises in the form of a French picnic. Hopefully the weather will play along. th December. Amato PCC will be closing for the summer holidays on Friday 5 th Monday 12 th January 2015.

December 2014 and will re-open on

Letter from the Centre Director

I would like to wish all our Amato friends and colleagues and their precious families a blessed festive season and would like to leave you with the following thought from Oswald Chambers’ well known golden book; My Utmost for His Highest: Isaiah 52:12 – “You shall not go out with haste ....” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ. Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands and step out into the invincible future (2015) with Him. Remain Blessed!

Marlene Jansen Centre Manager Amato Pregnancy Counselling Centre Amato Pregnancy Counselling Centre 787 Arcadia Street, Arcadia Tel +27 12 342 3452 / Cell +27 84 740 5418 www.amato.co.za

/ [email protected]

PBO 930047307|NPO 099-407|BEE EME L4/apcc 250/201411

Banking details: STANDARD BANK / Account number: 414 354 168 / Branch code: 011 545