New Beginnings - Vistarus Makeover

From the beginning we have renovated and fixed many areas of vistarus. This year we have decided to start with the kitchen. Many things were stored in an area of the kitchen and we decided that it was time to clean up and make more space for the staff to work in. At first, it looked like an endless road but as the end of cleaning came closer, the difference was incredible. Vistarus staff worked hard to get the kitchen neat and tidy. It also lifted the morale in the kitchen as there was more space to move around in.

We then moved onto the main offices where the counsellors and directors are during the day. Absa donated a lot of furniture. That was used to make all the offices look better and give the people who work hard a bit of a boost as well. There was also a donation of various items from Woolworths which was also used to decorate the offices.

Thank you to Absa and Woolworths for your kind heart and warm generosity and thank you to the staff at Vistarus for the hard work and effort they put into cleaning, sorting and organising the areas.

We decided to give the leaders rooms a makeover with new bedding from Woolworths. They were all very excited.

Church Opening

Our church has grown so much that the people were standing outside the hall wanting to be part of the services on Sunday nights. We have arranged with Sydenham NG Church to use their facilities on Sunday nights so that we can seat everyone who wants to attend our church. The opening of the church was 30 March 2014 and it was amazing. Andrew Greef from Harvest started the service with praise and worship followed by a short sermon by our pastor Rudi van Rensburg. The church was packed with excited faces wanting to hear about God.

Thank you Andrew for giving your time to lead us in praise and worship. Thank you to all who attended the service on Sunday.

Church Information:
Time: 18h00
Where: NG Sydenham

Wedding Bells are Ringing

He came in looking for a place to rent.

She came to us, highly motivated to just be. Set in her own ways, and too stubborn to listen. We thought this tough woman is going to be a hard egg to crack and boy! do we have our work cut out for us! So the journey begun, and years later we can proudly stand next to this beautiful woman and say she is our warrior for Christ. Helping other is what she loves to do and serving God by continuing his vision for Vistarus is what she does. Penny has taken charge of the front office and does her work with pride. The no-nonsense tough cookie is now a reformed lady who fell in love and became a wife.

Welcome Mr and Mrs van Schalkwyk!

 Daughter and Bride

 Kobus ready to escort the Bride inside

 A nervous groom

Taking Communion as a couple

Leadership Training School Graduation Day

For the past five weeks the leaders of Vistarus were in a course called the Leadership Training School. It involved a lot of soul searching, letting go of past worries and hurts and looking forward to a better, whole future. It was also about finding your relationship with God.

Foundations were shaken and the walls people built around them came down during this course. Today we see the same people in a different light, singing a different tune and changing every day. The have found the path to walk with God.

Thank you to Gill Naper for introducing this course to our leaders and to Mary Villinger for the support over the years.

Peter and Denise Nagel Renewal of Vows

Denise and Peter Nagel came to Vistarus in January 2013 and today (8 November 2013) they have decided it is time to renew their wedding vows as changed people who are in a better place than they have been when they first landed at our doors. Today, we see that the love of God truly does amazing things. Denise and Peter have, through God, found a new love for each other and their son.
In December, they are leaving Vistarus because Peter has found work as manager for a family business and they have been blessed with a home, a car and a wonderful school for Monre.

We are proud of these two beautiful people. This is what makes our work so much more rewarding each day. To see that what we do at Vistarus is not just another job, but that God truly works among our people and make them anew.

  Peter and Denise Nagel

 Peter and Denise with a special friend from Vistarus.

Their son, Monre

Vistarus Turns 15!

Vistarus Mission Station was founded 15 years ago on 8 July. Today, we accommodate more than 500, 228 people are on the destitute program and we have, on average,  80 children living with their parents.

The destitute program are for those who have lost everything they owned due to either addiction problems or something else that went wrong in their lives. Vistarus cares for their shelter, food, clothing, toiletries and other necessities such as doctoral, dental and an optical.

Each year, we have a celebration of the day Vistarus was established. This is also to remind everyone of what we do exactly, and how far we have come over the years.
This year, BayFM broadcasted from the premises and interviewed Heloise, the social worker, the founders Lynette and Kobus Jacobs as well as Reynette Oosthuizen, one of the counselors, the pastor Rudi van Rensburg and Fatima Collins, PRO of Vistarus.

  Heloise le Roux(social worker), Eric Knight(Vistarus leader), Wynand Jacobs(project manager) , Kobus Jacobs, Lynette Jacobs, Reynette Oosthuizen(counselor), Fatima Collins(PRO)