Thank You Grandma, for showing me how to laugh until I cry;

Thank You Grandma, for always being there to bandage me up after, I returned home from yet another long adventure;

Thank You Grandma, for entertaining all my crazy "tea parties" and just "playing house";

Thank You Grandma, for teaching me how to cook your mouth-watering recipes (even though yours was always better);

Thank You Grandma, for taking me to your strawberry patch to pick beautiful, red, ripe strawberries.

 

Thank You Grandma, for showing me how to be a strong, independent woman;

Thank You Grandma, for all the good night kisses you used to give me right before I laid my head down to sleep;

Thank You Grandma, for taking me on the numerous shopping sprees and teaching me how to spend Grandpa's money;

Thank You Grandma, for all the deep and encouraging conversations throughout the years;

Thank You Grandma, for coaching me on how to look completely innocent, even though I wasn't!

 

Thank You Grandma, for showing me the power of a genuine hug and a few kind words;

Thank You Grandma, for loving Grandpa so dearly; because of that I know that true love does exist;

Thank You Grandma, for showing me what it means to have pure joy in my life;

Thank You Grandma, for telling me that it is alright to cry uncontrollably when I am sad;

Thank You Grandma, for being a woman of Christ and challenging me to be the same.

 

Grandma, now that you are gone, thank you for showing be how to leave a legacy...

 

 

 

I love my Family :0)

"Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love." – Lamentations 3:32

I was on the Cookhouse team, a little town about 20 minutes outside of Somerset. This town has the highest HIV rate in the whole world. They say the reason for that is that there is a truck stop right there in town and the truckers stop and then sleep with the prostitutes who wait for them on the side of the road. Pretty much everyone who has had sex in this town has had sex with each other because it is so small and there is no where to go. As soon as we drove into this township, I could sense the evil there. The look of hopelessness was upon everyone's face walking through the community. It broke my heart to see such brokenness in such a small town and that fact that the devil seemed to have a good grasp the people in it. Well we show up on the first day to show the movie and the hall we were showing it in was a short walk from the high school, but the students were supposed to be escorted by the teacher's to the hall for their last period. It was about time to start the movie and we had no children in the hall, apparently the teachers told the students to go home first and drop off their bags then come back for the movie, well we all know how well high school students listen, so we ended up with maybe two-thirds of the 302 students we were supposed to have viewing the movie. But we knew that the students who needed to see this movie were present, so we started the two-hour movie. When we were about 20 minutes from the end (the most important part) our DVD froze and we could not get it to play. So the students started leaving and eventually we had to dismiss them without them being able to see the end of the movie. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong on our first day. Our team had a rough night, but after digging into scripture and praying about it, we knew that God had a different plan than we had for Cookhouse, so we cheered up and decided to go with what God gave us for the net day. 

Well to our surprise, the head mistress was now on board with our ministry there (when the day before she was rather reluctant). When we showed up, she had cleared the whole schedule for the afternoon and had three classrooms ready for us to set up sound systems and show the WHOLE movie to the entire school. What a blessing, we were so excited and praised God for this opportunity. Well we showed the movie to everyone and barely had 5 minutes to try and have some conversation with the students about the movie, trying to cover some of lesson one since we were so far behind. The next day our goal as to have the children write a letter to Francis, a lady in the movie who opened an orphanage in Johannesburg for street kids, about their troubles and hardships that they have to deal with on a daily basis. They wrote the letters and then dropped them in a box and we were able to read them later. It was tragic and oh so hard to read the letters. One girl's parents were divorced and her dad left them and then her mother is never around so she feels like no one loves her or has ever loved her and she wanted to know what to do about it. Then another girl said that she had been raped by her teacher just like one of the girls in the Beat the Drum movie. In another letter, a girl said that her brother and her dad raped her, but she couldn't tell anyone and she had no idea what to do. One boy wrote that if he found out he was HIV positive that he would to kill himself because he no longer have a reason to live. And the letters went on and on...these children are only in Grade 8, meaning they are 12 and 13 years old. It was so hard reading these letters feeling a burden of wanting to make it all better, but knowing that there is absolutely nothing you can do; only God can jump in and save them. Once we jumped over that hurdle we had many more in front of us, but we knew that it was God's battle against the evil one and we were just there for Him to use. 

"This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up you positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.' " – 2 Chronicles 20:15, 17

We finished the week and God has so much success by the end. The class I was teaching (grade 8), all 25 of them accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior and they all committed to abstaining from sex until they get married. Not only that, but of the 302 students in the school, 108 went to go get tested to see if they were positive or not. I know some of these students were horrified to find out their status, but at the same time they wanted to be courageous and make a stand in their community. I was so proud of my class and it was really wonderful to see how they changed from the first day we arrived to the day that we left. I left knowing that Satan no longer has a strong hold on this town, but that it is now in God's hands and He has great plans for that little community. Please keep Cookhouse, along with the other schools, in your prayers. Even though we made an impact this week, the devil will still try to creep in and feed these people lies and get them to turn away from the decisions they made this past week. 

I have another very important prayer request...the girl I taught with, Abongile, is from Somerset East and she is not saved yet. She is really looking for the Lord and trying to figure everything out, but she is also nervous that she may be infected with HIV. She had unprotected sex at least once and does not know the status of the guy who she had sex with. But she went to go get tested and since it was her first time they couldn't tell right away, so she has to get tested again in a couple weeks and then she will be able to know if she has Aids or not. I could see in her eyes that she was very scared about the possibilities of having HIV, so please pray for her and pray that she is not infected with the virus. She was such a wonderful blessing and her testimony really motivated most of our kids to go get tested. I love her very much and I am praying that God continues to reveal himself in her life and that from there she will accept him in her heart and continue the work we started in Somerset East this past week. 

This is the verse that got me through the week:

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." – Deuteronomy 31:8

Dancing with Jesus

Psalm 45:11 "For your royal husband is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him for He is your Lord."

So one day last week, when we were in Somerset East, I had an amazing experience with Jesus that I wanted to share with all the girls (if you are a guy reading this you may appreciate it, but it is mainly for the girls.) So every morning last week we had morning devotions as a large group and usually got about ten to fifteen minutes alone to spend with God before we started our next activity.  Well this particular day I sat down to meet with God and as soon as I closed my eyes He said, "Meet me at the beach." So, being the obedient lady I am, I went to the beach and looked for Jesus (in my mind.) I showed up at the beach and it was empty, but felt completely serene and majestic. I started looking around for Jesus and when I looked to my right I saw Him kneeling with His arms open wide waiting for me to run into His arms. Naturally I did just that. I took off and sprinted into my Father's arms. I was struggling with feeling lonely lately, so it was just what I needed at the time. (Amazing how God knows exactly what we need when we need it.) So I am in His arms and I love every minute of it and of course the lady running devotions that morning comes on the microphone and says time is up. I was so angry at her because I just wanted to spend some time in my Father's arms, but I obeyed and left Jesus to move on to the next activity. 

This after school program is called "Talhado Children's Haven"...here is what the pamphlet says about the program: Talhado was started in 1998 to address the needs of disadvantaged children in the areas of St. Francis Bay. Pre-primary education and a safe place to play, under adult care, was needed. Talhado Children's Haven now provides for over 200 hundred children many of whom are victims of HIV/Aids, molestation, neglect and substance abuse. A meal of soup or milk, sandwiches and fruit is also provided; for many of these children, this is the only meal for the day. 65 children attend pre-primary school with three teachers. The salaries of these teachers are subsidized by Talhado Fishing Enterprises, a local Calamari fishing company, who have also provided much of the infrastructure for the Haven. Over 200 children enjoy the "Speel Kliniek" in the afternoons, where we are trying to provide access to toys, sports, arts and crafts, and life skills. The after school Care Center is run by volunteers from the community. All the fund raising and administration of the Haven and pre-primary school, is done on a voluntary basis. There are a growing number of children affected by the Aids pandemic and the situation is crucial. With the increase in Aids, there is a subsequent increase in child and substance abuse. The Haven receives no subsidy and relies on donations to keep its doors open to these children.

I, along with three others from my team, have been chosen to serve in this Haven. We arrive at the Care Center around 2 pm after school is let out. Every day between 2 and 3, there is a mix of boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 8. Then on Monday's and Wednesday's there are only girls in the last two hours (3-4 ages 9-12 and 4-5 ages 13+). On Tuesday's and Thursday's there are only boys in the last two hours, the age groups are roughly the same as the girls. In the hour that we have them, we run a program with them, usually focusing on a theme in scripture and having a Bible story, craft, song, and game that can relate to the theme for the day or week. If the children have homework, we first allow them to complete it and then we start the program. The last twenty minutes is devoted to a snack of milk and biscuits (cookies) or fruit. This gives the children nutrition that they do not get at home. We have been in the township hanging out with the children for a few weeks now, but since schools were on holiday, the Care Center was closed. This is our first week of assisting with the care center and we are all thrilled beyond belief. 

There is one little girl, Samantha, who has clung to me since the firs day we arrive in St. Francis, which was three weeks ago. The second we pulled up into the community she came running at me and jumped into my arms. She hasn't left them since. This particular girl never has shoes on and is always in summer clothes, even though it is pretty cold here, but she is always smiling when I see her. She fights with other kids to make sure that I hold only her. Her smile brings a joy to my heart that I have not felt in so long. I feel at home in this community and I can't wait to see how God will use my teammates and I to work in the lives of the people in this township. Please pray for Judy, Lesley, and Eunice who take charge of running the Haven, as well as, the families in the community who suffer daily from Aids, substance abuse, and so much more. Please also pray for the children that we will be ministering to. Please pray that God reveals Himself through us everyday to the children and that the Holy Spirit is with them every step they take protecting them from all the negative influence of the enemy. Thank you so much for your support and your prayers.  

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:9-13

 This is just a picture of me in the Africa Bush, where we went the first weekend we arrived for team builders and cold fun!!!  I haven't yet gotten to take pictures of my ministry site, but I will soon and be sure to post those pictures for ALL of you to see :0)  

For the second week of being in Africa, our team was divided up in half. One part of our team continued in their ministries in the morning and in the afternoons. The other half of our team helped UCSA (the place where we reside) run a Christian camp for high school students. I was part of the group who was picked to help with this camp. At first, I had a very sour attitude about having to move out of my bunk and into a cabin where I would be all alone with high school girls that I didn't know from all over the Eastern Cape. I was nervous about my stuff getting stolen, about the girls plotting against me in their home language (that I of course do not know), not bonding with my own team, not having any time to myself, and so much other stuff. I was mad at myself for being so bitter about helping out with this camp when I know I am here to serve God and that was where He needed me for that week. So this camp starts out on Friday and it was freezing cold and the wind was blowing so hard. We were standing outside waiting for buses to arrive between 11 and 3, so I was miserable standing there freezing my toes off. There were 301 students attending this camp along with 125 leaders/teachers, so there were 426 people squeezed into a very small camp ground. My job, along with most of my teammates, was to be a small group leader. We picked our groups and then headed off for worship after waiting in line for an hour to get dinner.  

The next day was much better when we actually got to be in our small groups and get to know our students. As time went on God started changing my heart and I was happier to be working this camp. It wasn't until the Sunday that God really showed up and told me that I was supposed to be at this camp. We each took our small groups out into town and did an ATL (Ask The Lord) where we pretty much just show up and tell God that we are there to serve Him and ask Him what He wants us to do at the very moment in the place we are. My team prayed and prayed (mind you none of them have training on this and I have very little experience in it as well) and God just told us to go to this festival that was in town and to pray for the vendors. So I split the group up into two's and sent them on their way. 

When we had first entered the fair, there was a lady I saw and God told me I needed to go pray for her right away. So I went back to find her and I was uneasy about approaching her table since there was nothing there I could pretend to be interested in buying to start up a conversation. So I walked back and forth a few times and God was just like "GO NOW"! So I went in and started talking to this lady, her name was Mary. We talked for awhile about her and her family. She told me she was "born again", but neither her child nor her husband were. She also shared how her business is doing very badly, but she was comfortable with God providing only necessities. After a long conversation I asked if I could pray for her and everything she shared with me. So I did and afterward I saw some dolphin rings, and I love dolphins, so I asked her to pick out her favorite one for me to buy to remember her by. She picked out this gorgeous one and then just gave it to me as a gift. I begged her to let me give her something, but she refused. Mary just wanted to make sure that I would tell everyone in the United States about her and my ring. I thanked her again and then left telling her I would return the next day to visit with her. 

After I left Mary, I went in search of a group from my team, but could not find anyone, so I decided to look around at the different tables that were set up. My eyes were drawn to this one stand that had this gorgeous jewelry at it. I was looking at the rings and the man working there started talking to me about prices and how they were made. I decided to make small talk and find out a little about him. His name is Leon and he is from Cape Town. His story was some what different than Mary's. His business too was suffering, but his relationship with his girlfriend was worse. They had been dating for 18 years and this past year had been particularly hard for him. He has three children and he was worried about providing for them financially. He told me that he was saved and in the conversation seemed to be trying to convince me of it, so I am not one hundred percent sure, but I am praying that God shows Him the way if he doesn't already know. After we finished praying together I wanted to buy one of his necklaces to remember him by. So I picked out one of his favorites and asked him how much it was, knowing it was around 55 rand, and he just gave it to me, he said that is was a blessing for me. He not only gave me the necklace, but a matching bracelet and earrings. I did not want to just take it since I knew that the money I could give him would help him out a lot in his business, but he would not take anything from me. In addition to his beautiful jewelry, he gave me his name, address, phone number and cell phone number telling me to stay in contact with him. I thanked him several times and told him that I would be back the next day to visit and say hello. When I went back to meet up with my students they were so thrilled that they were actually able to walk up to complete strangers and pray for them without knowing anything about them. I just know the Lord revealed Himself to everyone in my group, including me. It was such an amazing day and everyone in my group wanted to go back with me the next day to meet Leon and Mary, as well as, the people they prayed for. I bought both Mary and Leon a Bible and wrote them a little note about how I was praying for them and their families. I ask that you lift both of them up in prayer, for they are both remarkable people who are in desperate need of God's love.

 We finished out the rest of the camp and it was so wonderful. One of my girls had me pray with her a few times about her relationship with her boyfriend and by the end of camp God asked her to give up her boyfriend so she could spend more time with Him. She came to me crying asking me for advice and to pray with her for strength and courage. I was so touched that a girl that young could make a sacrifice of such greatness for her Father. I was sad when the last day arrived and all the students had to go home. I now look at this experience as something I could not live with out. I am so thankful to God for putting me in that situation where I was extremely uncomfortable and uncertain of my role. It now helps me in my ministry when I feel uncomfortable or unsure, I just remember that God is not and that He has a plan if I just say "YES" to Him and allow Him to work through me. 

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

I desire to serve people for God's sake, not my own

I desire to be bold in sharing the gospel

I desire to relate with the many people I will encounter in Africa

I desire to share hope and love with children in need of it

I desire to love everyone and anyone

I desire to leave my biases and prejudices at home and go with an open mind

I desire to follow Jesus' footprints

I desire to be a light in the dark places

I desire to engage in fellowship with my teammates

I desire to learn from others

I desire to question things that I don't agree with and to find the truth

I desire to fulfill my missions

I desire to be one hundred percent selfless

I desire to change my way of thinking

I desire to find God's voice in the silence

I desire to lead by example

I desire to not let my fears prevent me from doing anything

I desire to hold on to my faith through thick and thin

I desire to represent Christians in a new, refreshing light

I desire to be a blessing to those I meet

I desire to change someone's life

I desire to plant several seeds in various people

I desire to see fruits of our labor

I desire to only speak words of encouragement

I desire to share my testimony

I desire to have total and complete faith in God at all times

I desire to change

I desire to share my experiences with others

I desire to show gratitude to those who have supported me