The Volunteers are dwindling, but not without seeing amazing changes in peoples lives.

We have had as many as 15 individual volunteers and 2 teams, one with17 the other with 7, here at the same time. We have been very busy making sure they get to where they are suppose to go and happy with their assignments. It has been a great journey for us thus far. We had 3 individuals in particular who were scheduled to go to Zimbabwe through the partnership that we work with called ACTS. Because of all the trouble that was going on there, ACTS had to relocate them about 2 weeks before they arrived. They asked us if we could find some work for them to do. Mike received a phone call from one of the volunteers out at the refugee camp just days before this and asked if we had any teachers available. As you may know where I am going with, it just so turned out that 2 of the 3 girls that were supposed to go to Zimbabwe were teachers from Tennessee! God had already arranged a place for these girls to work. (not a coincidence). They had a great 2 weeks and one of the girls was really allowing Jesus to work in her heart and He was revealing so much to her. She had been sprinkled as a baby but had never been baptized and really felt like the Lord wanted her to do that before she left. She asked Mike and me if we would help to make that happen. We spoke with the associate pastor at King of Kings and he suggested Mike do it since he knew her. Mike asked her if she would like to do it and she was thrilled. We made a plan and had the baptism in the tidal pool in the ocean where we had Easter Sunrise service. It was a new opportunity for Mike and a new beginning for her! What an awesome mighty God we serve.

Just the little things God does

Writing these blogs helps me to be reminded of the little things God does. It is like keeping a journal that I can look back on and see where He has worked in our lives each week. Over the last couple of weeks, we have really been discouraged with the car we bought because it was not the right car for the ministry we are doing. We initially thought we would need 2 cars going in 2 separate directions with 2 different ministries as it has turned out we are working together in both ministries. The first car we bought was a very small 2 door that would have been just fine for me but not for Mike. Once we realized we weren’t getting a second car we decided we needed something with 4 doors and a little bigger to transport people around in and easier for Mike to get in and out of! We thought we found the perfect car, but it was sold out from under us even with a contract! Last week we went into our friend that sold us the first car and he had another car that he thought we would like, and we did, but we realized that wasn’t the right car. The next car he wanted us to look at was what we would call, a mini-mini van. John Thomas has one similar to it and we drove his car one day and put 6 people in it comfortably, so we thought maybe we should look at this one. After test driving it we knew this was the car but it was a little out of our price range. We turned it over to the Lord in prayer and in just a couple of days we had 3 people to step up and offer to help pay for the shortfall of funds for the car and we got exactly what we needed. Time and time again God reveals himself through so many different things but especially in His provision for our needs.
As of today, we have taken possession of our new (used) car! Thanks to the folks that the Holy Spirit nudged to help us to get this car!

How grateful we are for YWAM’s teachings

We are so amazed at how often we use something that we learned last year while in Fiji.
Being exposed to different denominations was so difficult for me last year and I really dealt with some rebellion and unbelief about their teachings, but as always God was just preparing us for what lies ahead when He takes us through these trials. We are visiting other churches in different communities and it is so much easier for us to be able to go into these churches praising the Lord with an open mind.
We dealt with other tough situations such as leadership skills and strict guidelines and now we find ourselves in the same situations with handling volunteers and recognizing that we don’t want to be to controlling of what God has planned for them. This forces us to remember how we felt and to be sensitive to their needs while they are here.
Each week, I plan devotions for our entrepreneurial support group. 2 years ago I would have told you there is no way I can do this but because I had to do things like this in YWAM, it makes it easier for me to do this now.
When were first got here we were meeting with the Life Skill Educators each week and teaching them a skit to use at kid’s club. We haven’t been able to go for about 6 weeks, but we really didn’t feel like we were making a difference. Well just today, we went to one of the holiday clubs and as we were getting ready to leave, one of the LSE’s asked us if we would do a skit for the kids and off the cuff we taught them a skit and performed it in front of 50 kids. It was great and when we got in the car. I said now that is what it’s all about. Mike knew exactly what I was talking about. God used us for His purpose! We tell people almost on a daily basis, if they have an opportunity to do a DTS (discipleship training school) with YWAM, do it! It will change your life. Thanks again for your continued support and prayers in this awesome time of our lives.

4th of July in Cape Town

Well it’s not fireworks and hotdogs or even a day off. We are having the heaviest rains we have had all year. Even though we are working today we did take a day off this week.
This past Monday we spent the last day with the first group of volunteers, mostly from Nashville, going Shark Cage Diving. Now this isn’t something Mike and I would have suggested for things to do, but they were young and adventurous and we said, “so are we let’s go.” We started out at 6 am and we rode about 2 hours up the East coast. We watched the sun come up and got to the place for breakfast and briefing before heading to the boat. They were telling us there would be a good chance that people would be sea sick because of the rough seas. We were prepared we had pills left over from Fiji and took them when we left home. I did bring more incase they were needed. Thank goodness we didn’t get sick. The seas were choppy but it was a beautiful day about 65 degrees and we all had a lot of adrenaline pumping. We were headed to see Great White Sharks! South Africa is one of the Capitals for Great Whites. Upon arrival we dropped anchor and they advised us to go ahead and get our wetsuits on while they chummed the water to draw in the sharks. We were only there a couple of minutes when the first shark swam by. Normally it could take up to 45 minutes to see the first one. It was unbelievable! They were about 15 ft. long and the dive master was saying these were babies! We had a great time and a few got sick but all in all it was an awesome adventure. The pictures are a reflection of our fun and excitement and how Mighty is our God to create such a fascinating creature of the sea.