Life here in JBay is good and busy. Here are some thoughts on being back here. We are all doing good. The weather is slowly getting warmer. Ministries are good and the students are digging into the relationships.
Sept 29th
We walk into the gate at Ithemba and all the little kids run to us. For the next three or so hours we are their jungle gym, their friends, and their teachers. It's a beautiful thing, to be able to love on those kids. The Lord sent me to this place about two years ago to intern as an FYM. I fell in love with it then. It was always on my mind and heart while I was serving in Georgia. I wondered if I was ever going to see those kids again. If I was ever going to be able to hold them and tell them that the Lord loves them. Or if I was going to be able to play with them. So I consider myself very blessed to be able to be back here with my family at Ithemba.
This morning was my ministry teams first day of putting on and running a program at Ithemba. It is a holiday right now which means that the kids aren't in school so we are doing a holiday program. My team is teaching them all about the fruits of the spirit. They did great. It reminded me of how I felt my first week at Ithemba. The nervousness. The excitement. But in the end the Lord took care of all of those and that is what happened today. There were a couple of bumps along the way but Ryan, Kayla, Ellen pulled it off.
Oct. 3rd
So today I went to Ithemba the whole time and hung out with the kids and students. It was so good to be back in the run of things. (This week I have been sick some and had errands to do and such so I wasn't at Ithemba everyday) I played soccer with on of the boys and one of the directors for quite a while. I was tired. But is was so much fun. I think I had forgotten my love for the place and the children. Which shocked me a little. After all this was my home for 9 months not to long ago. And when I left Ithemba back in May of 07 I left part of me there. I had poured all I knew and could into those kids and that place. I had a piece that it was time for me to go but it was still hard.
Coming back has been great. I am able to pick up where I left off and now I have new things to share with them and more work to do. I love it that the Lord has put me in this place again. Yeah it's hard but it is so good.
Today Mama Queen (one of the ladies that runs the program we work at) gave me a Qhosa name. Lisakhanya. Which means still bright, never changing, the light as not left me. She told me that she gave me this name because I am the same as when I left. At first I wasn't sure what to think of that. I don't want to be the same. I want to change and become more like Christ. I want to be a better person. But what she was saying is that the Lords life is still on me I am shining. Which is a huge compliment. So thank you Queen for my new name. I will try to remember it this time.
So to let you guys know
what I have been doing since I arrived in Jeffrey's. It has been a week and so much has been going
on that it feels like a lot longer. So
when we arrived we spent a couple days catching up on sleep and getting use to
the town. The students are doing a
great job. They are really getting use
to the town and exploring and settling in as much as possible.
So the Friday after we
arrived here we headed to the bush. The
bush is a wild or uncultivated
country by definition. So we went there
for the weekend. We arrived and were
told to go find a cabin to stay in. The cabins were made of plywood and some
cardboard. So there were the basic
cabins. While there we made all of our
meals over an open fire. And had no
electricity except that that was gathered by the solar panels. So there were a
ton of times to talk and get to know the students. I had some great conversations with students
and really got encouraged and excited about the year.
We started ministry
on Monday. 8 of the students are
ministering at Ithemba (Ashley, Ryan, Sama, Beth, Sarah T, Megan K, Kayla, and
Ellen.) So they were introduced to all
the kids on Monday. Some were
overwhelmed but all excited to get started and plugged into ministry. Its
really cool to watch them playing and comforting the kids that I worked with
two years ago. This next week they are
going to be putting on a holiday program all by themselves. They are both excited but nervous. Pray for them. They will do great they just need to have the
confidence.
My role in ministry looks differently but I have found time to hang out
and talk to the ladies who run the program. I regret not getting to know them before and now really want to take the
opportunity to pour into them and love them. They do so much for Ithemba and the kids.
So things are going
good. We are all still figuring things
out and getting settled in.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
The holiday program at Ithemba
A good move for us RAs- we are moving from the house to the base this next
week. We will be able to settle in and
feel at home finally.
Encouragement for the leaders
Beat the Drum- This is an Aids outreach that we will be part of next month that is
still in need of funds and prayer. It
will be in Summerset East. More info
will come I promise.
I have made it to Jeffrey's Bay. I got in on Tuesday night my time, a little
before noon Tuesday for those who are in the states. The team is doing well. They are getting use to the area. Right now they are doing a scavenger hunt
around town. It will be interesting to
see how Jeffrey's takes having 55 Americans around. I'm sure it is in a little bit of shock right
now.
It is a little weird being here without my Jbay team from
06. I miss you guys. I wish you were here with me. But I am excited to see what happens this
year. I know that the Lord has some big
things in store for the town but also for the team.
This weekend we are going to the bush to spend some days as
a team in the middle of nowhere. I am
super excited for this. I think it will
be good for our team to get out of town and regroup. There will be some USCA (This is where we are
staying. It is a mission org. over
here.) people there facilitating activities. It should be good.
So as for prayer requests please pray that:
The rest of our team
can join us over here soon. We had
some visa and passport trouble and not everyone came with. But they should be joining soon. 3 of them
did not receive their passport and visa in time. And one lost her passport on the travel over
here and was not able to enter the country and was deported home.
Unity on the team.
We have a big team and it's hard at that size to keep everyone involved. Also unity for the leadership team we have 14
of us.
Safety and a great
time this weekend.
Thank you for all of your prayers. I promise to keep you updated as much as
possible.
Today is our last day at training camp. It has been a great week. When we picked our team up we were all very overwhelmed by how many 41 really is. But I surprised myself by learning all their names I believe. To read more of what training camp was like and see some pictures go to 08africaawakening.myadventures.org
Tomorrow we leave early from here to go to the airport to head to Africa. It is a moment I have waited for for quite awhile. The team is excited as are all of us leaders. Chris and Christina, Tag and Holly left earlier this week to get things set up and ready for the team. It will be good to get over there are see them and see where we will be living till December.
Prayer Requests: Safety in travel
2 people dont have their visas yet. One leader and one student.
So I am here in Georgia now. Got in yesterday. Last night Em, King, Ash, Seth and I had a reunion dinner. It was fun to hand out together again. It was like we never left. Training starts tonight with dinner. I'm excited to start in and see what this year is going to be like. In 5 days the participants come in and then on the 15th we fly to AFRICA. I am so excited. Here is my address for when I will be in Jeffrey's Bay. I love mail and I promise that I will try my best to write you back.
PO BOX 921 Jeffrey's Bay 6330 South Africa
Below are some pictures of my weekend up north in Michigan with the fam. It was a good weekend. Beautiful weather. I made the 5 mile walk across the bridge in 1 hour and 22 minutes.
So I have one week before I board a plane and leave for Georgia and Africa for 9 Months. I have been home now for about 5 weeks. It has been good to be home but hard too. I think I have realized that growing up changes things. Im excited to see where the Lord is going to take me in the next few year. I know with him anything is possible.
I just want to thank everyone in the little town of Marshall MI who are supporting me and praying for me. It means a lot to know that people are behind me cheering me on. As I look at another 9 months overseas I now know how important it is to have those people behind me. So thank you for everything.
I have about 4 days at home before I head out. My family and I are going up to Mackinaw to walk the bridge on Labor day. We will camp and hang out together before I head out and before my sister goes to college. Prayer that my last week here at home goes well and that I can get everything packed and not forget about anything would be great.
Sorry it's been so long since I have posted on here. It has been a little busy at home and I am having some computer problems. My sister was kind enough to let me use her computer to post this.
So what have I been doing? Well, my families' two exchange students are here now. They got in last week. So we have been busy showing them things and getting them settled in. Below is a picture of me with them at the fountain. (I know its sideways. I don't know why and don't know how to fix it. So if you do I could use the help.) We showed them around town.
Yesterday we went peach picking with them. It was fun to watch them learn how to pick and have fun. I think that it will be a good year for my parents. The girls seem like they will be good and won't give my parents to many headaches. It will be cool to get back in May and see the difference in them from now. They will be Americanized and will be so much more comfortable here.
Now on to my preparation for Africa, I have all of my visa application done except for my proof of insurance that should be coming any day. This is something that is testing my patience. I am feeling really behind being home for only 3 more weeks. It has been a crazy break. Trying to relax and rest up from this past year and from the trip to the DR but at the same time get ready for Africa. I am getting more and more excited everyday. I am so blessed to be able to return to where I first fell in love with Africa.
My support is at a little over 1/4th of the way there. My goal is $4000 and I am at $----. On the 21st of August. Which is next Thursday I will be having a Support Raiser at my church (Four Winds, in Marshall). I will be talking about here God has taken me since my first mission trip to Peru 3 years ago. So if you are in the area and have the time please come. Its at 7pm and drinks and deserts will be provided. There will be a cover charge or $5.
I am excited to share what I have been able to do in the past 3 years. The Lord has me on a great path and I am loving it. I can't wait to see what the Lord has for me in the future and want to ask you to partner with me. Please pray about supporting me and partnering with me in what the Lord is doing in Africa. If you would like to support me there is a link on the left side at the top that says "support me". Click there and it will send you to a page where you can support me.
I thank you all for all of your support and interest in what the Lord is doing in me and through me.
The second week we headed up to the mountains to a village called Arroyo Cano. We were suppose to stay there a week then go to another village but because of some situations we were not able to stay there that long. But while we were there we saw the Lord move in Big ways.
One of those ways was we were getting attacked left and right by the enemy. We were feeling extremely discouraged and uncomfortable. I have never felt what I felt there so strong before. But anyways the morning we work up after arriving there we had a meeting with the Pastor. We went over the plan for the day with him. Which was VBS and then cleaning the church. Well he told us that he wasn't sure how VBS was going to go because we didn't make an announcement at church the night before (Which is another Story of how God moved.). So he didn't think that it would be successful. But we wanted to do it and were ready so we went out in the village and invited kids. We walked around for about 15 minutes inviting any kid that we saw. When we got back to the site for VBS which was a intersection we started and soon we had about 150 kids. None of us know where these kids came from or how they found out in the span of 15 minutes but they did and they showed up. It was crazy trying to do VBS with 150 kids in a big open area. But the team did it and did great. We were able to share Christ's love with 150 kids. That was big considering that we were only expecting about a dozen or so.
So I mentioned Church. Well After arriving there soaking wet. That is another story for another blog (if I get the time). We got to the rooms where we were going to be staying and changed into something dry and had dinner. PB and J. Yum. As ambassadors you learn to love the simple sandwich which can be made anywhere with three simple ingredance. Anyways back to the story. We were told that we would have part of the service. So we "quickly" decided what DRIME and who would give their testimonies. We headed to church. When we got there it was quite an uncomfortable situation. To give you a little knowledge of the Dominican culture, the Men are quite forward and think that American women are the cream of the Crop. Therefore they all want one. Well in the city we would have the normal whistling and hissing. We just ignored it. Well here in Arroyo Cano those situations were intensified ten fold. The guys ranging from 8 to 90 were looking at us girls up and down. The girls and I too didn't feel safe. Our translators and the pastor had all the men set on the other side of the church then us. But thru the whole service the stared. It was something that I have never experienced before and all I could do was pray. Well we did our drimes and the two girls gave their testimonies and everything went well. Then Shawn got up to preach. He was giving a salvation message. He preached right to those men. He got up in their faces and explained how Christ was killed for them and how they need to realize that they need him and that is why they feel empty. Well in the end of the message he gave an invitation and about 20 came to Christ. God really showed up and spoke thru Shawn. He isn't a preacher but he was awesome. Even the Pastor was amazed at what Shawn said and said that it only could have come from the Spirit. So even though we were being attacked and ended up leaving Arroyo Cano after being there for 24 hours the Lord used us and brought His name and Love to that village.
Please join me and the rest of my team in prayer for Pastor and his village. He is only 28 and feeling like he is to young for the Job that the Lord has given him. But the Lord only gives us what we can handle. I know what he is where he needs to be. Pray that he is able to speak life to the men of his village and show Christ to them.
Okay so now I am home in Michigan and have some time to post some blogs and pictures about the DR and my first leadership experience.
Our First week in the DR we did VBS at two different locations. One was on the street in front of our house and the other was at a village called Mogollon about 15 minutes out of town. Both VBS were a big success. We had a total of about 60 kids come to know the Lord. The team did great.
The theme of the our VBS's were "The Lord Loves you So…" The first day we talked about how God made us. About how when they talk badly about themselves or others they are putting God down because we are his masterpiece. The second day we talked about how God has a plan for us. How we can make all these plans but in the end its His that is the best and that will make us the happiest. The Third day we did the salvation message. The Lord loves us so He died for us.
The team loved doing VBS and building relationships with the kids. There was a group of girls that our team got really close to that lived in our neighborhood. They would spend time with them even when it wasn't ministry time. It was awesome to see them do ministry on their own.
In the afternoon after lunch for the first week we would do Door-to-Door ministry. This means that we went to peoples houses and talked to them and brought the Word of Christ with us. Through there Door To Doors we were able to see many come to know Christ and empower a lot to go to Church. The girls didn't like this kind of ministry at first. They thought that we were pushing Jesus on the people. But thru time they say that it worked. Some even chose it over other ministries in the end.
This is what ministry for the first week looked like for the team. Now for me as a leader, especially this being my first experience, I was blow away by the Girls. They jumped right into ministry. It was awesome to watch them build relationships and advance the Kingdom. I loved being able to pour into them and get to know each of the Girls and make sure that they could to ministry.
So I and my team arrived back in the states on Sunday evening. We had a couple delays in flights but we all arrived back safe and sound. Right now I and the rest of the Ambassador leaders are in leader debrief. This will last till tomorrow when I will be going back to Gainesville.
The trip overall was great and taught me a lot. I know I keep saying that I will write more later but I will. I took loads of pictures and have some great stories. I just need to sit down and type them up.
I promise that the next blog will be longer than this.
One of those ways was we were getting attacked left and right by the enemy. We were feeling extremely discouraged and uncomfortable. I have never felt what I felt there so strong before. But anyways the morning we work up after arriving there we had a meeting with the Pastor. We went over the plan for the day with him. Which was VBS and then cleaning the church. Well he told us that he wasn't sure how VBS was going to go because we didn't make an announcement at church the night before (Which is another Story of how God moved.). So he didn't think that it would be successful. But we wanted to do it and were ready so we went out in the village and invited kids. We walked around for about 15 minutes inviting any kid that we saw. When we got back to the site for VBS which was a intersection we started and soon we had about 150 kids. None of us know where these kids came from or how they found out in the span of 15 minutes but they did and they showed up. It was crazy trying to do VBS with 150 kids in a big open area. But the team did it and did great. We were able to share Christ's love with 150 kids. That was big considering that we were only expecting about a dozen or so.
