Fountain of Life Team 2nd Week

We have just finished working with the Fountain of Life Team from Kernersville NC. Their ministry time here serving at Pan De Vida, meaning Bread of Life, was amazing. We worked alongside serving over 400 meals to the poorest of the poor, took the children to the amusement park and zoo, and started a bathroom to help accommodate all the people who come each week to hear the Word of God. We weren’t able to finish the bathroom project but the maestro and his team will finish it in a few weeks after the concrete has cured. This was a disappointment to the team because the normal for us Americans is if we start something we want to finish it. God has a plan and it is in His timing. As we ended our second week with this team, there were many whose lives have been changed forever. Again, ER is about changing lives for both the people we partner with all over the world and the people who come on a short term team. It is a step of faith for those who come on a mission trip and we want to encourage all of you who read this to have this experience of a lifetime. It might not be Ecuador but it could be with any of our other places we serve around the world. Many times you may ask God why am I here and not get an answer, other times He may answer with a clear understanding. Mike and I are so blessed to be a part of this ministry and pray we can continue to see lives changed in the future.

Macas, Shell and Banos

Between our two teams we had some time set aside to visit a partner of ER’s in Macas, near the Amazon jungle. Part of the staff drove down on Monday and the rest of us flew down Tuesday afternoon. There were 8 of us all together. We visited Emmanuel Christian School where Robin and Wendy, local missionaries, are teaching over380 students to learn English, computer skills, basic courses and most of all learning about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Most of these students come from Catholic backgrounds so the opportunity is abundant to reach out to them. Only 20% of the students are Christians. ER has a wonderful partnership with them and we are excited to see what God does through them in the future. We stopped over in Puyo for lunch at this quaint little restaurant called El Jardin, which means the Garden, where the scenery was magnificent, including the parrot in the photo. We then continued on our way to Shell where Nate Saint and four other guys flew into the jungle to try and evangelize a particular tribe of Indians. There was a movie titled End of the Spear made about them. The end result turned into them being martyred. Fortunately this tribe has turned to Christianity, because after many years one of the sons returned to the village and lived among the tribe and forgave and discipled the man that killed his father. We visited an orphanage/foster home, Casa De FE, where a lady felt called to help the children of this area and since then they have had rapid growth in the need for volunteers to help serve with them. ER is looking into a possible partnership with them, so it was great to visit this ministry. After Shell we headed towards Banos. In Spanish, Banos means bathrooms but this little town was very tranquil and didn’t meet up to its name at all. Thank goodness!! We spent one night here and attempted to ride quad bikes the next morning up to one of the active Volcanoes. Unfortunately, we had bike trouble all the way and had to call the company to come and get the bikes. We decided to call it a morning and pack up and head back to Quito. One of the most incredible things about this trip was the gas/diesel prices. We paid $1.03 for a gallon of diesel fuel and regular gas costs $2.00 a gallon. There is something to be said for using your own resources! On our way back we stopped by one more partnership, For His Children, but didn’t go in. We will be going back with a team this week for a couple of days before we leave to go back to the states. This was a great opportunity to get to know the ER team in Quito better and to see Ecuador and the beautiful country side.

Kitchen Duty

I have found myself on a number of different occasions serving in the kitchen on our short term mission trips, but a lot of you know this isn’t my favorite place to be. This time it has been in Quito with the Fountain of Life team at Pan De Vida. The team had planned for all of their members to be doing VBS, but didn’t realize they needed to have some people in the kitchen. Mike and I and a few other locals were in the kitchen for most of the time over the last two weeks. The team was able to help when they weren’t doing VBS. When Mike and I arrived in Fiji, we were all given assignments for 4 weeks at a time with different opportunities to serve. For whatever reason, this was the one place that I didn’t want to work, but it seems God really had a plan. I ended up having kitchen duty for the entire 3 months. I did my normal complaining behind closed doors of course, but God knew my heart. Four years later, my heart has been transformed for working in the kitchen and I am so thankful for it. We met a wonderful lady named Roceo (see picture above) and she taught us a few tricks in the kitchen. She was sad to see us go and told us we would be missed very much. I was reminded of my attitude again with a couple of people on this team where they felt the same way I did four years ago about their job and I shared my story about how God can use us even when we don’t like the work we have been assigned. It may not have made much sense to them now, but I know it will in the future. Jesus always has a reason for the discipline needed for the moment. (Hebrews 12:7-11)

Glory to God

Every day we have seen the Lord at work and we just want to give him all the Glory!! On Wednesday for instance, our bus was running 45 minutes late and “we” thought we would not make it in time to get breakfast fixed and served to the children. However, with it out of our control we were able to get there and get breakfast prepared and serve the kids right on time. We also prepared lunch and dinner for that day and ended up having just enough food for the dinner feeding. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, Pan De Vida has a church service with praise and worship and a feeding program for the adults and children. Wednesday night we fed about 160 people and ended the last meal with the last person standing in line. I am so amazed at how many times this continues to happen to me and Mike on the mission field. This has been unique team in that only a few of them have ever been on a mission trip much less out of the country. We love to see God at work changing the lives of the people on the team in such a short period of time. We have had to pray on a number of occasions for the rain to go away, for the gatekeeper at the dump to let us come in and serve the night workers, and for someone living on the street to be available when we are driving home to give them the extra food we have had left over from our dinner. God has certainly shown up in so many ways and we still have another week to go.

Fountain of Life Team in Ecuador

We have had our first week of VBS at Pan De Vida ministry and it has been a wonderful time with an average of 57 kids each day. Most of the children that come each week really get there stability from the Pan De Vida staff because they have so many issues at home. They see this place as a safe haven and get lots of TLC from them. The FOL team has brought a lot of love and support for the staff and kids for this 2 week period and Extreme Response is so grateful for this partnership between Fountain of Life and Pan De Vida and we are thankful to be a part of it.They have had a drama each day, played games outside, made crafts, and memorized Bible verses. They have also been fed breakfast, a snack, and lunch. For most of these kids if they get one meal a day they are very fortunate. There are 19 on the team and they have been a really big help in coming alongside the ministry to help further the Kingdom through VBS, and a construction team. The construction team is working alongsidethe maestro (foreman) and 3 co-workers to build a bathroom onto the side of the building. Fountain of Life has 3 guys that are helping with the project but it is sometimes difficult for a construction team from the states to come and work in a foreign country because so many techniques are done so differently. However, it almost always has its rewards even if you don’t see them right away. God always has a plan in place and the team usually ends up gaining more from the experience than the project itself.Thursday evening we fed the night workers at the dump and this was an opportunity for the team to meet some of the poorest of the poor in Quito. On Friday, we took the kids on a field trip to a small amusement park and had so much fun with them. For most of them it was their first time to go and it was great to see so many smiling faces when we know they have very challenging situations at home.I was lucky enough to have the oldest kids so they wanted to ride all the “big” rides and play some of the games. Two out of the 7 won stuffed animals and they were very happy to be taking a memory home with them. Through the Lord’s provision, the FOL team really blessed these kids and gave them a wonderful week.

USC nursing team at Zambiza Dump, Tosagua and Mindo

On Wednesday last week, we took the team out to the Zambiza Dump where we did medical screenings for about 40 children in the morning, then fed them a meal. These children are cared for and go to school at the dump daycare while their parents are working sorting out the recyclable materials. In the afternoon, the children have a little play area built by another team and we entertained the kids with face painting and loving on them. We left for a while to go have dinner and then came back to the dump to do medical screenings for about 70 of the night workers. The USC team wanted to do something special for them so they bought two huge pots of Chinese food and we distributed that about 8:30 that evening. There were a few out of the box thinkers that wanted more, so they took 2 liter coke bottles and cut off the top and filled them up with left overs and took food back to their families that stayed back to continue to shuffle through the trash. Jose and Theresa, the Pastor and his wife, who have been working with the people at the dump for about 4 years, always use this opportunity to share the Gospel with the workers and to build relationships with them. Extreme Responses ultimate goal is supply the need and be able to come along side and support the local pastor and his ministry.
The next day we left early for a 9 hour journey to Tosagua with a short stopover in Santo Domingo to teach CPR to a local church group. Dr. Moss and a few other team members instructed them with a Red Cross video and mannequins. They were very eager to learn and were very appreciative. From there we drove through the rainforest to Tosagua. The first day we did medical screenings for about 92 people in the village where they didn’t have any electricity or running water. One lady accepted Christ and that was the biggest highlight of the day. We are always so amazed at how the local people bless us when we want to come to be a blessing to them. They managed to serve us a home cooked meal, Ecuadorian style of course, and provided all kinds of fruits throughout the day. They were very thankful for the team coming out and it was a great opportunity for the team to see how people live on very little means. The next morning we had a screening from 8:30 to 11:00 at the church and saw 80 people. We left for Manta, on the coast, and then caught a plane back to Quito. This was a wonderful experience for all of us and a wonderful opportunity to see more of Ecuador.
The last day we drove to Mindo where the team had a little R&R before flying back to the states. They got to go on 11 zip lines over another rainforest and then stop over for shopping at Mitad Del Mundo, middle of the world. The team came back to the team house for a wonderful dinner and debrief and then we took them to the airport for the red eye flight.

God is still in the Business of Doing Miracles

Nissan came through for a transmission for the car! We have been persevering diligently with Nissan and trying every avenue we know to get Nissan to replace a faulty transmission in our "new to us" car. We received word from Nissan that they would be willing to grant our request for providing the parts for our car if we still agreed to pay the labor. We agreed and the car is in the shop today getting a new transmission. We still have to pay $1000.00 for the labor and we are trusting God for that too, but we are excited that we will be able to travel now with peace knowing we won't be broken down on the side of the road somewhere. We know this is a miracle from the Lord and there is no other way to say thanks to Him except to give Him all the glory. We have patiently waited for His timing and His orchestration and it has come to fruition. Don't ever give up on all that God can do when you think there is no hope because we are living proof that His promises are real. It just requires faith in believing He will do what He says He will do!!
James 1:2-4 NLT says, "Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested,your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.

Who would have thunk it!

Trying to understand what the world is coming to is an unraveling nightmare. Glad I know there is an eternal life with Christ where we won’t have to deal with these issues. For those of you have health insurance with your company Thank God every day for it. I mean this literally. I never thought I would see the day when it would cost more for health insurance per month than it would to own a house. Not to mention you have to carry over a $5000.00 deductible before they will even pick up a claim. What would it cost if you were sick? Obama care has every health insurance company running with their tails between their legs instead of fighting for the people. Of course we all know they are getting kick backs as well from the administration!!! I don’t know how much longer America is going to be able to stand on the expectancy of the government for everything. It appears that it is crumbling before our very eyes. God is giving America every opportunity to look to Him and to trust Him but we, including myself right now because we have just been hit hard, aren’t getting it. They continue to raise rates for innocent people who are healthy and just go for an annual physical every year and charge a lot for the location in which you live. Yes I am upset right now and voicing my opinion. Oh how I would love to be one of those people who can just head up to Washington and start telling people what I think, however that isn’t me! I am the peacemaker Is it just me or is there anyone else fed up with higher health insurance premiums?

Jesus Calling

Jesus calling is a devotional book that we received at Christmas this past year and has been such an amazing source of strength in some difficult times. This book by Sarah Young was written in the context as if Jesus is speaking to you, so I wanted to share a couple of days that really spoke to my heart and thought it might touch some of yours. Open up your mind and ears to hear and allow Jesus to speak to your heart!
March 1st
When something in your life or thoughts makes you anxious, come to Me and talk about it. Bring Me your prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, saying: “Thank You, Jesus, for this opportunity to trust you more.” Though the lessons of trust that I send to you come wrapped in difficulties, the benefits far outweigh the cost.
Well-developed trust will bring you many blessings, not the least of which is My Peace. I have promised to keep you in perfect Peace to the extent that you trust in me. The world has it backwards, teaching that peace is the result of having enough money, possessions, insurance, and security systems. My Peace, however, is such an all-encompassing gift that it is independent of all circumstances. Though you lose everything else, if you gain My Peace you are rich indeed.
Philippians 4:6; Isaiah 26:3.

April 2nd
I have promised to meet all your needs according to My glorious riches. Your deepest, most constant need is for my Peace. I have planted Peace in the garden of your heart, where I live; but there are weeds growing there too: pride, worry, selfishness, unbelief. I am the Gardener, and I am working to rid your hearts of those weeds. I do my work in various ways. When you sit quietly with Me, I shine the Light of My Presence directly into your heart. In this heavenly Light, Peace Grows abundantly and weeds shrivel up. I also send trials into your life. When you trust me in the midst of trouble, Peace flourishes and weeds die away. Thank Me for troublesome situations; the Peace they can produce far outweighs the trials you endure.
Philippians 4:19; 2 Corinthians 4:17.

Blessings

God has been so gracious to us and has blessed us with so much. We have a wonderful home and all that goes with it. We had a lot of fun, just like we did in Cape Town, running around Atlanta purchasing all of our stuff through craigslist. Little by little we have been able to get things accomplished but not without some trials. As you know, if you have followed our steps along the way, we have had car issues since we went on the mission field. Probably better to have car issues than health issues!!! We waited patiently to purchase what we thought was the perfect car and still probably is, but there is a lesson and a blessing that we are still trusting God for. My parents have both been moved to an Alzheimer’s Care Facility and even though it has been hard for them it has been a blessing for my mom because she just wasn’t able to take care of my dad anymore. Mike and I have moved into our new positions at Extreme Response and are blessed to be a part of a great team. Mike is learning how to handle all the teams and I am learning how to handle all the administration, but this doesn’t come without some frustrations. We have visited a few churches but have not found a place we can call home. We continue to pray for the right one where we can begin to make friends and get involved locally. We are beginning to see signs of spring in Atlanta and from what I have heard they are incredible. Mike and I have been in winter for 9 months and I am ready for some heat!! Mike is getting his summer now as he leads a team to Manila. Pray for us to get our car sorted out as this is a very difficult decision for us. To fix the car right, it is $3600. We could try to sell it “as is” but would probably not get enough out of it. Jesus is calling on us to rest in His presence and to wait, trust, and hope in all He has for us. Psalm 46:10 tells us to be still and know that I am God and that is where we are, resting in His Presence.

6 months of Chaos

Well since we got back in September we have been moving, setting up house, starting a new job, taking care of elderly parents, buying used cars with problems, and trusting the Lord for our provision. It has been a tough 6 months but we are beginning to settle in. Today I am sitting in a hospital room waiting for my mom to be taken in to surgery and Mike and our boss, Jerry, arrived yesterday evening after a 24 hr flight to Manila Philippines. Mike is learning the ropes of how Extreme Response does teams so we will be able to continue the service they provide when teams go to serve with our partners. They have a team of 9 from Hawaii that arrived about 2hrs ago. Everyone is tired but looking forward to seeing the ministries they will be working with tomorrow. We ask that you would pray with us about continuing to get settled in.

Final 3 Days in Ecuador

Our last Christmas Party was approximately 1500+ with another amazing partnership called Remanso De Amor (Haven of Love). They are truly doing Kingdom building in their community and it is wonderful to come along side them as an ER partner and help them in their ministry. Mike and I have been truly blessed to have been able to come on this journey and see what all ER does in person. Thank you to those who helped us to get here through your prayers and support. Last night the Church for Life group that was staying on our floor asked if they could pray for us and it was such a refreshing time. They lifted us up in all areas of our lives and we were extremely humbled. Chris, one of the pastors, had a vision while we were praying that he sees us as a bridge between the people who want to help and the people who need to help. This is right in line with the same vision John Thomas had when we left living hope that we would be a conduit or a channel for which thousands would serve others. We believe God is ever present in our lives and we give Him all the Glory. We are so blessed to be able to fulfill our calling and excited to get started serving Him in January with Extreme Response.
We had a little contest on Friday called the Great Cheese War between the men and the women. We set up an assembly line and had to make 3000 cheese sandwiches for the party on Saturday. Call it what you want but the women won. We made 1800 sandwiches in 1 hr 30 minutes. It was really a lot of fun as there was a lot of “jawing” going back and forth between the teams.
Our final day here in Quito was a day of rest and we got to go have a little fun. We went to a little tourist town outside of Quito, called Mindo. There we got to go on a canopy tour, better known as a zip line. This is 11 cable wires strung out through the trees in a rainforest and you are harnessed in and they attach you to the cable wire and send you flying across the rainforest above the trees. We had a lot of fun but were worn out from excitement. Mike and I both got to be strapped in on one of the zip lines so that you actually flew flat on your stomach and your arms out. They called it Superman style. From there they took us to this great little restaurant then loaded the bus and brought us back home.
We are waiting to board the plane in Quito which signals the end of this journey and our re-entry into life in the states.

Party, Party, Party, Party

We have had 4 parties over the last four days and served lunch one day at the dump for the people who work there. We have reached almost 6000 people and have one more party to go. Tomorrow’s party should be 3000+/-. This has been an incredible week of ministry and we have been stretched as usual. The enemy is always at work when you go on a short term mission trip and this week has been no exception. Our Canadian team arrived in time for the second day and their luggage is still arriving but we have managed to have just what we needed for each day. God is so faithful in His provision.
We have been challenged this week about being a Good Samaritan and following Jesus’ parable to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind and love our neighbor as ourselves. (Luke10:25-37) Yesterday Russ Kline, part of the management team, gave us all a 50 cent coin and told us to find a way to utilize the coin as a reminder to pray for the people of Ecuador and to bless someone with it. It will be interesting to hear how the Holy Spirit led people to be a Good Samaritan on Monday.
Our second party at Carman Bajo Church, the pastor asked us all to get into the center of the church after clean-up and the people from the church that helped us clean up surrounded us in a circle and prayed for us it was such a humbling experience for us.
We have used our morning times to prepare the crafts and bags for the next day of parties and this has been an opportunistic time of getting to know so many new people. As I sat and threaded a lot of cross medallion necklaces to be painted at the party, I wondered if the kids would really appreciate the hard work that was put into the preparation when they sat and colored their medallion and strung their beads. The answer is yes! But not the way I thought. We were cleaning up at the end of a party and this man was helping me pick up trash, when all of a sudden he laid down his bag and picked up one of the necklaces on the ground. He was so excited and stopped what he was doing until he had succeeded at getting the necklace around his neck. God shows up and reminds us of His presence when we least expect it.
We have 2 more days before we head back to the states and I am excited to see what else God is going to do with our team. There have been so many great stories I wish I could write them all but you’ll just have to come on a trip with us next Christmas!!

Christmas in Quito Ecuador

We arrived on Saturday evening and got to spend the day indoors on Sunday as the whole city of Quito was shut down for a census. It was a great time of fellowship with new friends and co-workers and some much needed rest from the week before. Monday we began preparing for the week and learning our new roles at Extreme Response. We will be “Shepherding” a team of 25 for the 10 days we are here and learning how they run their Team programs. Today we spent most of the day setting up one of the locations where we will be having one of the Christmas Parties and we have had our volunteers coming in from various places around the world to participate. Unfortunately, we have 15 Canadians stuck in Atlanta due to bad weather and they told them they couldn’t get them here until Friday. Please pray with us that they will find flights for them tomorrow as we have parties planned for over 3000 people/children before their new arrival date. They are not only coming to serve with the various parties but they are bringing a lot of the supplies that we need. We know that Satan doesn’t want us to deliver the message of Jesus to all these people, but we also know that Jesus has already conquered Satan and we must go on. We will be severely handicapped but will continue to persevere during our trials and sufferings. It is going to be an amazing week to see how the partnerships on the ground and ER work together to further the Kingdom. We are excited to be a part of this ministry. Please pray for safety and many people to accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour this week.

Tough Love

I am sure everyone has gone through some sort of tough love in their lifetime. Whether you have been the recipient of it from your parents, or have had to be the one giving it. Either way, it is never easy. Mike and I have had to be on the tough love giving end and I think it has been tougher on us. My parents have had their living situation turned upside down. Mom fell and broke her hip on Sunday and had surgery to replace the ball of the hip on Wednesday. We had a mission trip booked for Quito Ecuador for 10 days leaving on that Saturday. We went down early to get their accommodations sorted and to pack clothes for them to go and my brother came in after the surgery to put my dad into an Alzheimer’s care facility and handle their finances. All over Thanksgiving holiday of course. We had to leave on Friday to drive back to Nashville but it didn’t come with a blessing. We knew God called us to serve in our new positions with Extreme Response and we had to go. It has been tough I know for my brother and nephew to have to handle the difficult circumstances but it also gave them an opportunity to see how tough it has been on my mother to take care of my dad for so long. A scripture that comes to mind is (Romans 8:28) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. I believe prayers have been answered in a very difficult way but my parents can now have a much better quality of life. It certainly may not seem that way at first but God has a way of bringing about His perfect will for their lives. I was able to call the care facility where my dad is and they say he is doing well and fitting in with all the other folks there and my brother has some peace about all of it. Perhaps someday there will be forgiveness and understanding. Please pray for our family during this holiday season.

“Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some”

As I was reading through John 21:1-14, I was reminded again of how Jesus’ words just make everything seem so easy. The disciples had been out fishing all night and hadn’t caught anything. Early in the morning Jesus was standing on the shore and he called out to them, “Friends haven’t you any fish?” No, they replied, He said, “then throw out your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul in the large number of fish. What a story about provision and how Jesus will supply our needs. This is certainly easier said than done. I was talking to Mike about this story and discussing our need for our support and I said I wonder if we are casting our nets on the right side of the boat. We are six weeks in to our 12 week journey of meeting with friends and family and sharing our story and raising the support that we need for 2011 at Extreme Response. Satan creeps in to those little spaces where we begin to second guess ourselves even though we know we are called. We are to trust Jesus and follow Him and it sometimes means we have to wait. We have total faith that God will supply all that we need but the provision is coming in slowly. We know His timing is perfect and He allows this so we will acknowledge it came from Him. The hardest part of waiting is we want things done quickly. For example (throw the net over the side of the boat and bring in the fish.) God has been so good to us and has proven Himself time and time again. Pray for us to continue to be a good steward of time and that we will continue to meet with as many people as we can while we are in Nashville. Pray that we listen to the still small voice about guidance and where to cast our nets!!

Home, Friends, Family and Technology!

Wow it is hard to believe we have already been home 4 weeks. We can’t really call it home because we are in transition to move to Atlanta in January to work with a ministry called Extreme Response but it is home for now. We are so blessed for the time we are in Nashville because we are able to reconnect with so many friends that we haven’t been able to see over the last 3 years! God is just opening up the opportunities for us to catch up and tell of all the wonderful things He has done and is doing in our lives. We have also been blessed to visit our family there are some we have yet to see but are trying to make all the rounds. Big family!!
We are continuously amazed at the technology and the gadgets that are available. We feel like we have stepped into a time warp and we are totally uneducated about all this new stuff. However, we are catching up quickly!! We are excited about unlimited bandwidth in the USA we can upload and download all we want. What “free wi-fi?” not a chance in South Africa. We are a very blessed group of people. Freedom means so much more than most people really can comprehend. God truly has blessed America!

Our Final Words from South Africa

These lasts few weeks have been a great time for reflection and preparation for our move back to the states. We have continued to knock out our bucket list and managed to do all we hoped to do. We have managed to get all but one suitcase back before us, but our home church comes on Thursday and they will bring it back with them. We have prepared our presentation when we get back to the states, and we are saying goodbye to all our friends that we are leaving behind. Words cannot describe the way we feel about leaving this place. We are leaving such wonderful people and a majestic country, but we know our time has come to an end here. God has blessed us beyond what we could ever have imagined and we give Him all the glory for the accomplishments we have made. Thank you for being a part of our Leap of Faith journey and for praying for us. We will be on furlough in Nashville for 3 months while we raise support for our move to Atlanta to work for Extreme Response International. We are again very excited for what the Lord has planned for us next but we are out there in that “deep water” where we are totally dependent on Him. Please pray with us as we prepare for the next phase of our journey. Some specific needs are a loaner car for the time we are in Nashville, to find the right house outside of Atlanta and to find the right cars once we have moved.

Our Farewell Covered in Prayer

We finished off our time at Living Hope on Friday with an awesome farewell and a time of prayer. We have had incredible opportunities and been really stretched by God during our time here in South Africa. We have been blessed to work with such humble people and been able to share the Lord and all His goodness to so many people. The prayer time was such a special time as all the pastors prayed for us at the end. We know we have been covered in prayer for the next part of our journey. We will spend the next few weeks preparing for the 3 months furlough in Nashville before moving to Atlanta. I wish I could say this will be idle time, but it will be far from it. We will be doing lots of fundraising and getting together with people to share our story. If you are interested in us coming to share either individually or in a group please let us know so we can put it on the calendar. We would love to encourage others to step out in faith and see what God has in store!

The Final Countdown

Our last 2 weeks have kept us on the run so we haven’t had much time for the reality to set in for the end of our time at Living Hope. Now I can’t say I haven’t thought about it, because we have been training our replacements. We had a team here this past week from Sparks Nevada, Summit Christian Church, and they worked in the community of Masiphumelele. The outreach on Thursday was our last outreach and it was great to see 10 people accepting Jesus into their lives. We also got to see a lot of people that we haven’t seen for awhile and to tell them we were moving back to the states. This was a sad day for both us and them. They were asking us if they could be stowed away in our suitcases and brought to America!! On Friday, we had a farewell with the Life Skill Educators and that was very special. We work with them the most because they work with the individual volunteers and the teams. We will surely miss them. OK, so perhaps reality is setting in. We have a friend here this week that will be moving here in October and we have been showing him around. Seems like it was just yesterday that we were the ones being shown around!! God has big plans for us and we are excited for the next chapter in our lives, however, South Africa and the people of South Africa won’t be forgotten quickly.