Saturday, June 4, 2011

Welcoming you to downtown Paarl

In the heart of Paarl is the Monte Christo Miqlat Coffee Shop. In addition to being a fully functioning restaurant, its unique purpose is to serve as a gathering place where members of the central community are made aware of the wide range of needs that people have throughout Drakenstein. It is a popular gathering place for men's and women's bible studies, and you can often see several groups of youth enjoying it after school in the afternoons. The large upper room serves as a perfect venue for meetings and conferences, and the prayer room is active all day long with people of all ages. Some of our unused space has recently had a facelift, as we have recently joined hands with Charlie's Coffee Shop. Now, you can find a wide range of Christian books and DVD's that you can rent and enjoy in your own home. Meet your coffee shop staff...Ameaka, Barbara, Gamu, Jasmine and Anestene. They are all very special people...some of whose stories are similar to many of the people that we serve.
One of them whom I spent time with recently (and ask
ed to remain anonymous) made some very poor choices in her teenage years. After getting involved with a partying group of friends, she also got mixed up with a drug using boyfriend. The downward spiral continued, and she found herself pregnant at a very young age. After being banished from her family for a while, she spent some time at the Salvation Army in Paarl where she connected with our ministry and learned the skill of making furniture. Later, she joined the coffee shop staff, and has completely turned her life around as she learned how to work with food and wait tables. Some of her dreams include getting her driver's license, owning her own home and settling into a nice, church community where there is no judgment and she can feel at home. She is definitely at home at the coffee shop! We hope that you will feel welcome, too!

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