Catching Up!

So my last post was one of struggle, but today’s post will be one of hope! Let’s start with DTS. Brett and I have been in class learning for two weeks and the classes have been good. The Lord has reminded me of many things that Apostle Ron has taught us over this last year and revealed some things to me in scripture. It’s been really great and maybe in the next post I can share some of those things. Our class schedule is a bit grueling for Brett and I but only because we haven’t sat in the classroom for two hours at a time in a very long time! We are adjusting to that but all in all its good.

As a part of our DTS, we will do community outreach on Thursdays in Dwaleni. In a previous post, I told you the story of running out of food and taking what very little pap was left, putting in a dish and setting it on the ground for the kids to fight over. This was a very heartbreaking scene. As soon as I found out Dwaleni was going to be out community outreach, I started praying for there to be more than enough food. Thursday we headed out to Dwaleni with the prayer in our hearts for more than enough food, more than enough help, and more than enough energy for everyone to get through the afternoon. WE HAD MORE THAN ENOUGH!!! The kids were lining up for seconds!!! This community has many that are orphans and vulnerable and they never know how many will come. If you would like to give to the feeding programs, please follow the Ten Thousand Homes link to the right and GIVE! It only takes a minute and for the cost of a cup of coffee, said I’d never go there but its truth, you can feed a child for $5.00 a month.

Yesterday was a day of fun and hope here on the base. YWAM Orlando, YWAM Holmsted Manor, DTS, and Ten Thousand Homes staff hosted over 400 children from the Mbonesweni and Dwaleni communities for Kingdom Kids Camp! It took over two hours to register all the children! We had face painting, dancing, soccer, crafts, and song/storytelling stations. Don’t know why, but for some reason, I have been dubbed the song/child whisper!! LOL!! Those of you who know me know THIS FITS! In the song/storytelling station we taught them the song My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do. The mountains are His, the valleys are His and you are His handiwork too! If we could all get this down into our spirits!! My God is so big and there is nothing that He can’t do!! We prayed with about 80 children to receive Jesus as Lord of their lives!! How exciting is that?! We also prayed protection over the children, that they would know that they are princes and princesses of the King of Kings, we prayed over their families, we prayed for school, and we prayed for their health. This was a beautiful moment in the day for me. I may never see some of these children again, but one day in heaven they will know me and I will know them and we will be able to say “I met you at a Ten Thousand Homes party!” My heart rejoices with the angels!! A few pictures of the day are posted on my Facebook page. If you want to see more, please friend Jennifer Moore Price, tell her in a message that you know me, and check out her pics!

Today, my wonderful friends, John and Carla Shaw, took me out for a birthday breakfast and Brett got to enjoy the ride. They took me to Harries Pancakes!! This is, as of right now, my absolute favorite place to eat in South Africa! I love it that my celebrating started a day early!! God has richly blessed me with wonderful friends both here on base and with the teams that are here.

His mercy endures forever. His love is everlasting. His grace is more than enough.

Struggle

Struggling….one word… made for a very… long… day.

I’m going to give you an overview of what happened yesterday that caused me to struggle. Growing up in the church, where my Granddaddy was the Pastor, I learned to do everything. We painted the church, we cleaned the church, we did the yard work of the church, we were in the choir, we kept the nursery, we did kids church, we were ushers, we were greeters, etc. By now you should be getting the picture…if it needed done, we did it. WE DID IT.

Hospitality is what I do, and I enjoy and love that God wove that into the fabric of my very being.  (Psalm 139) So, when I find myself in a place where this is not what I’m supposed to do, I struggle. I struggle, to let go and let someone else do the things that they are assigned to do, especially if they’re not sure of what needs to be done or if they look completely lost. Here in was the beginning of a very…long…day.

It started with very little sleep and a fire alarm/house alarm at 4:45! It went off three times!! There was no cause for concern! It was just acting very wonky. Well, we’re awake so let’s get moving. Next is where the trouble began. There were some problems in the kitchen and I stepped in to help. There were very good intentions to my actions, however, I still stepped over the line that had been drawn for me and by me. I am NOT staff, I am a DTS student, however, because I have been here before and knew what needed to be done, I acted as staff. Hence, stepping over my boundary! The hardest part is this, Brett called me on it. At first it was with a bit of a harsh tone but then he spoke lovingly to me and called me out. Struggle begins!! My heart was in the right place but it was still wrong.

After that moment of being called out, I just couldn't seem to get myself together. Missing my family came flooding in. Missing being able to call my mom or dad and actually hear their voice and talk it through, came flooding in. I began to miss not only my immediate family, but also my extended family, and my church family. The tears began! These were the first major tears I've cried since we got here. It 

was a struggle.

Tears are a language that God understands and, even in the midst of our tears, He can break through and speak to our hearts. After lunch, I went to our room to lie down and just have some quiet time with God. As I poured out my heart through tears, He spoke gently to my heart Colossians 4:2-6 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains, pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

So now I've been “called out” by my husband, and in the moment of crying out to God to fix it, I’m “called out” by God. God gently pointed out what I needed to do, not what everyone else needed to do. Isn't it great how God does that? The only person we can work on is us. Boundaries are a good thing. Learning to live within your boundaries is a good thing. Learning to let go of something, so that God can lead you into something new, is good.

With all that said, I am a DTS student. I am here to be taught and to learn what God has for me to learn. This is my boundary and I am going to learn to stay within it.

Life in South Africa

I haven’t really shared a lot about how life has changed for Brett and I, so I thought I would take this blog to share a few things with you. Brett and I started out life living with his mom for the first two years of our marriage and then moved right next door into a 900 sq foot trailer. For years and years my prayer was that God would help us build a house with more than 900 sq feet. Where every word you said wasn't heard and the rooms were big enough to hold more than a double bed. He gave me the desire of my heart and our home was built. Our home was 2100 sq feet, two and half baths, plenty of kitchen space and you could not hear every single word that was spoken.

Fast forward to now…we are living in the back of, what is affectionately known as, the big house. We are in a room that holds a double bed, a bookshelf, and a kitchen shelf that Brett built. The bathroom has a shower big enough for one, a toilet, right beside the shower, and a tiny sink. A TINY SINK! In this room, I cook, wash the dishes, take my shower, go to the bathroom, sleep, hang my clothes is they get rained on, and try to talk without either waking someone up or someone hearing every word I say. I won’t even go there when it comes to talking about “other” things. I’m learning to hang out laundry and watch to be sure it doesn’t get rained on. I’m learning to be sure I don’t drink the water from the tap, this could be VERY bad. We are learning how to get up at 5:15 if we want to get a hot shower or have enough water to ever get a shower!

In the states we had a car. Here we have no car, yet! Having no car can be extremely difficult. Think back to the time when you first got your license and your parents made you drive their car, when they didn't need it, and you had to be back in an hour because your big brother needed it. This is our current situation where a car is concerned. Hopefully in the next few weeks this will change and we will buy one. The other thing is, unless we get lots of financial support, we will have to buy a used car. Used cars here go for the price of a new car so you can imagine how much a new car is.

Now, you may think I’m complaining but I’M NOT! I am so excited to finally be here. Things are just different. We are learning how to live in community and the learning process can be full of mistakes, culturally, personality wise, and well just…mistakes. We are learning how to be without a car and depend on others for our mode of transportation. We are learning how to be with each other 24-7 and not get on each other’s nerves. We are learning! We are learning that change is eminent. Our DTS starts on Monday and things will change again. There will be lots of reading and, Brett and I will readily agree, we are both a little slow at reading. So please pray!

My faith is being stretched to a place it’s never been. God is showing me things about myself that I need to work on and in the same moment things about me that He placed within me that He is going to release. Life here is different but it is good!

A Beautiful Day and Then....

On Tuesday, Brett and I took a day away from base and went on a grand adventure to Blyde River Canyon and the Three Rondowels. We left about 8 in the morning and headed for Harrie’s Pancakes, in Graskop, for some delicious pancakes and coffee. I had a cinnamon, sugar, and milk cream tart pancake. Brett had a strawberry preserve pancake and we shared a chili con carne pancake. We each had coke and a latte. Remember this for later. After breakfast we headed up the road to the canyon. For R5, about $.50, we were able to see the most beautiful scenery! God painted such a beautiful picture for us on Tuesday. There were these beautiful little white butterflies everywhere! At every turn we saw God and His beauty and then…

Today, Thursday, we went to a feeding in Dwaleni. This is a community that has many orphans and vulnerable children. These children wear clothes that are entirely too small or entirely too big. They wear the leftovers. They also wear hunger, shame, anger, frustration, and death all too prominently.  As we watched the children coming and coming and coming, and having seen how much food there was, something inside me knew there would not be enough food. Sure enough, not enough food. The hardest thing was seeing the ones who did not get a plate, fight for the little pap that was left in a bowl that had been placed on the ground. It was if they were feeding the dogs and this, though cultural, was extremely difficult to watch.

Remember up above when I said “remember this for later?” Well, now is later. These are the times that I struggle with what I have and what others don’t have. Here is where I try very hard to find balance. This is the place where you wonder and ask “Why God?” This is the place that tears my heart apart and yet it is the one place where I know God has called me. When my heart is torn into pieces I can only lean on the One who is able to piece it all back together again. I may not see with my natural eyes what is taking place in the spiritual realm but I rest in knowing that His Word is clear in James 1:27 (Amp) External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.  

So, today I visited with a sweet friend, Sophie. Today, I helped serve food to the hungry. Today, I cared for the orphans. Tomorrow will take care of itself. 

Getting Settled

Wow! Brett and I have been here since Monday and time is flying and yet it seems so slow. I wanted to just take a moment and fill you in on what we've been doing and how we've been preparing for the new season that God has brought us to.

As we landed in Johannesburg, Brett and I both looked at each other and said "we're home." This is what South Africa feels like to us. As we like to say at RWOC "it can't be explained, only experienced." We arrived on Monday and were greeted at the airport by John Shaw. ALL of our totes, 6 in total, made it from NC all the way to South Africa without being opened by TSA or any other security. This, my friends, is pretty cool, since there is usually at least one piece of luggage that gets opened somewhere along the way. We arrived on base after lunch and were taken to our "house" for the next little while. We are a back room of the, what I like to call, Big House. John and Carla hosted us for dinner and the pot roast, potatoes, bread and gravy were fabulous!! 

Tuesday was a holiday and, unlike in the US, very few places were open. We worked on organizing our stuff, which it still isn't completely done, and spent the day visiting with staff on base. Michael and Lindsey Kaufman invited us to breakfast, which was pancakes and eggs. For lunch, we went to the Oliveria's, where Marisa fixed chicken, a traditional New Years vegetable salad, rice, fruit salad, and fried bread. I could eat this fried bread until Jesus comes! For dinner it's back to the Shaw's for pork chops, rice, and black eyed peas. Basically we ate all day!

Wednesday started out with a time of worship with the team and talking about what they did over the holiday, Brett and I laughed and said "what holiday?" We also shared with each other a scripture that God had given to us to bring in the New Year. It was a wonderful time of hearing and sharing God with those we will be ministering with. Then it was off to town! Carla took us to get our phones hooked up. We looked like teenagers at lunch sitting around the table updating our contacts and getting used to using things like Viber and Whatsapp. Talking on the phone here is expensive so everybody uses sms, what we call text. Then it was off to Macro, which is similar to Sam's Club. We purchased a mini fridge, a toaster oven with hot plate and some other things needed for our room. Yes, you need to know these details!!!

Thursday, more of the same trying to get myself organized! Still working on it! Now we're to Friday. Today was a staff work day to get the base ready for the people coming in for DTS, which is what Brett and I will be doing for the next five months, an SOS'er, someone who comes for a season of service, and two YWAM teams, one from Orlando and one from England. Just so you know....this is a lot of people!! Please pray for everyone traveling in and the staff.

We begin our DTS training on January 14 and our days will be filled with classes, work around base, and community outreach. Until then we will be organizing our home and our time. 

Thank you all for your prayers and if you wish to be a part of our email newsletter, please send me an email to heartsforza@gmail.com We look forward to hearing from you!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year from South Africa!!! Brett and I arrived safely in ZA at 7:00 am, December 31, 2012. John Shaw picked us up from the airport and, after skillfully placing 6 totes, 4 carry-on’s, and two very tired but excited people into the vehicle, we headed to base.  We have not gone hungry since we got here! Dinner was with the Shaw’s, breakfast was with the Kaufman’s, lunch was with the Olivera’s, and dinner tonight is with the Shaw’s. Whew!! They are treating us well!!

Today, is a holiday in ZA and that means everything is closed. Tomorrow, January 2, 2013, we will head into town and pick up some things that we need. At this time we will get our phones active and our internet up. At this point we will then be able to update you on a more regular basis.

Love to everyone back home and great big, giant hugs!!