My Birthday Weekend

My birthday weekend, also Easter weekend, was so much fun we decided to start working on our bucket list and do the touristy things around Cape Town. On Friday, 6 of us hiked up Table Mountain again, but this time from a different starting point. The day before Mike and I were exercising and I thought to myself “well I probably won’t be hiking Table Mountain again” and then later that day one of our friends invited us to go and we didn’t want to say no. This route took us about 3 ½ hours including a wrong turn going back down the mountain, but it was a great challenge and I am glad we agreed to go. I will say this again, 3rd time should be a charm, I shouldn’t need to do this again! Saturday was my birthday and we went down to the waterfront to go to the Aquarium and to go to my favorite little restaurant. After all if this we stumbled on this coffee shop that had the best cheesecake we have found here. Yes, we cheated again on our diet since it was a special occasion!! Easter Sunday is always a special time here as we go to the Sunrise service on the beach. This one however was even more special. The Wednesday before Mike and I shared the Evangicube in our Bible Study and all the guys recommitted their lives to Christ. 3 of them that had not been baptized were baptized by Mike at the Sunrise Service on Sunday morning. We are so blessed to be able to share these special moments with our Zimbabwe friends and I ask that you please pray for them to be able to stay committed to all God has in store for them. Lastly, on Monday we took the Big Red Bus tour that drives around the city and talks about the history and takes you to all the highlights. I have wanted to do that since we got here and Mike was eager as well since it was still my birthday weekend, technically. We had 4 days off and used up every bit of our time taking in the sites. We ticked off a couple of things on our list. (They say ticked instead of checked)

Our Trip by Train

In our newsletter we wrote about going to Beaufort West to check out another ministry and a good time was had by all, meaning both of us. Our car has still been a thorn in our side, or better yet the biggest LEMON any one could ever imagine. We weren’t able to drive it because that week it had issues of its own. We had already planned the journey to meet up with our friend, so we checked into taking the train. It turned out to be the cheapest way to travel and it took a lot longer but it was worth it. We were like 2 kids running back and forth from window to window checking out the scenery. We got to eat in the dining car and because we got to go off of our diet for a couple of days, I had a toasted cheese sandwich (grilled cheese in the US). Man it was good. Mike and I have been trying to stay away from bread and sugars but I was ready to cheat and that I did. I even had one the next day at another little hole in the wall and it was even better!! It was an awesome journey and this time I am so glad our car wasn’t co-operating.

Swimming Upstream

It seems like sometimes you take 2 steps forward and 1 step back when you are working in ministry. You want so much for the people to be able to get out of there tough situations, but the truth is they are generally there because that is the way they choose to live. Other reasons for their lives of poverty are cultural issues or what we “westerners” would call laziness, but we are still learning that sometimes it is not that at all. Sometimes it’s just lack of education or resources. Over the last few weeks, I have been asking locals about different cultural issues and I am amazed at the ideas that people have different from ours (this doesn’t mean ours are all right but this is an example). We learned from the black culture a long time ago the children are responsible for their parents and they work and support them until they die. Now when these children have children they also have to support their children so how can they possibly get ahead? We just learned last week that the same goes for the colored culture. The colored culture has a desire to go to school but can’t be all that they want to be because the parents will not have income while they are in University (College) so they don’t allow them to aspire to be Doctors, Lawyers, etc. These world views differ all over the world but no matter what we do or say they are still the people’s values and beliefs and we are swimming upstream if we think we, without Jesus Christ, are going to be able to change any of it. All we can do is plant the seeds that God gives us and hope that the Holy Spirit will touch their lives and help them to be true disciples of God with Biblical world views. This really hit home when Mike and I went to see the movie, Precious, Saturday night. We knew this movie would be hard to watch, but we didn’t realize how hard. This is real life all over the world and it will break your heart to know that people who are supposed to love you abuse you for selfish reasons. Here in South Africa that abuse happens every day and no one cares. Just last week, one of our healthcare workers was called to come home because her 3 yr. old daughter had just been raped. This is horrific news and it is only getting worse in these communities.
The other issue that makes things so difficult here is the stigma for HIV/AIDS, it is unbelievable. Living Hope is hoping to promote a new program to try and figure out how to Stomp Out Stigma (S.O.S.) People are dying all the time with complications of AIDS but the families don’t know the patient, family member, is infected so it appears they died from Tuberculosis or some other ailment. It is like breast cancer was 20 years ago, no one would talk about it and thought it was a bad thing, but we have now learned to have the awareness so we can save lives. I have been reading a book titled, “A Hole in our Gospel” by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision, and there are a lot of challenges to the things I am writing about here. He states, “We are not to judge others by their culture or the state of how they live” and I truly have to ask God for forgiveness in this area. It is difficult when you live it out day to day. Please pray with us to help stomp out the stigma of HIV/AIDS.

Cape Argus, Lance Armstrong, and the Capricorn Celebration, wow what a week!

Last Sunday was the 110 kilometer annual event for 35,000 cyclists from around the world. The roads around our area are always closed, so we decided in 2008 that we would make the Argus an annual event and we have thoroughly enjoyed it every year. This was our third time and Lance Armstrong came for the event this year. Now I can’t actually say I saw him because they came by in a flash. There was one guy that was way out front in the colors that we knew Lance was wearing, but it turned out not to be him. We got some great photos of that guy!! We had the majority of the volunteers camped out with us in the middle of the road so we could see all the bikers coming down the main road in Fish Hoek, for most them it was their first time and great fun was had by all. Lance wound up coming in 9th and took home the grand sum of R1000 equivalent to about $130. He left immediately from the race in his private jet, almost an oxymoron.
We had a team here from Birmingham at the same time as the Argus and their team leader actually rode in it. The team manned a water station and this kicked off their week of ministry to Living Hope. The remainder of the week the team visited Capricorn Community and went door to door knocking, praying with people and inviting them to do testing on Thursday, including HIV, diabetes, blood pressure etc. They had a huge success and tested about 100 people and 68 of the people for HIV. They also invited them to come Thursday evening for a community celebration including a meal and there was close to 350 people present. Children and adults were singing praises to the Lord and thanking Him for all He has done for their impoverished community. This was our largest turnout event yet for Capricorn and we had 5 people that accepted Christ into their lives. Overall, this was a huge success for this team and they are planning on bringing back two more teams this year. Praise God for what He is doing for this community and may we see others come to know the Lord through Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Birmingham Ala.

Life goes on

The weeks just seem to run together and before you know it 6 weeks have gone by. We have been consumed with working on our car and trying to get our new budget with Shepherd’s Staff worked out in detail. We have had our second team come and go and that has been an awesome experience for all of us. The last team from Franklin Tennessee, just outside of Nashville, left on Saturday and we are expecting another team from Birmingham Alabama on Friday. The outreach that they do with the communities is so rewarding and it really gives both locals and internationals an opportunity for God to work in them and through them. The Rolling Hills Team built a cover over our medical clinic and re-leveled the buildings where the ground had shifted. They also fed about 200 people at the celebration. We had a Nashville songwriter “celebrity” and his family on the trip and they jumped in and participated in all the activities. He only sang one song at the celebration but is sure makes us miss country music!!
We had an opportunity this past weekend to attend a “Lobola” with our Zimbabwean family Brian and Blessing. This was the couple that got married last year, January. The Lobola is the ceremony where normally the future son in law would pay a “bride price” for his future wife to the family. We did it a little backwards because the mother and father allowed them to get married last year before Brian had the money to pay them. We were thankful that he allowed them to go ahead and get married but we really thought they had forgiven the Lobola. Unfortunately for Brian, they had not and it cost him a lot of money (used to be cows and goats) to make it true with the family. I know this doesn’t seem right to our Western way of thinking but it gives them a lot of security in the community as a whole. It lasted about 2hrs but an experience that will last a lifetime.
Lastly, we have started to listen to God’s lead for the next season of our lives as our visa’s run out at the end of the year. We are praying and seeking God’s will for direction. This is always a stressful time as we want to be sure we do what He wants us to do, not what we think we should do. Please pray with us as we need wise counsel and guidance for this next course in our lives.

Update on the Car

Wow is all I can say when I think about how God rescued us from mouths of hungry lions. With lots of perseverance, we were able to find someone that had a rebuilt car part and we saved 2/3 of what the original quote was going to be. In the states we are very fortunate to be able to go to junk yards and find parts to replace the one’s that break down. Had we not been a seasoned shopper for parts they would have taken us to the cleaners!! Sorry about all the clichés, but I know you all understand every word I am writing. We got the car fixed in a couple of days and someone from Living Hope loaned us her car so we wouldn’t have to pay for a rental. We were truly blessed and give God all the glory for all of the repairs and provisions.

Getting back into the swing of things

This past couple of weeks has just been getting back into the swing of things. We had lots of catching up to do and decisions to be made. While we don’t always see God’s plan, we know that He has one. We have not raised all the support needed for us to be here, but we don’t believe it is time for us to leave. We believe He brought us here for a reason and that we will stay until He calls us to do something different. He is our Provider and He will supply our needs. Speaking of meeting our needs, we went to Table Mountain for a hike yesterday and when we got ready to park our gear shifter “went whonkey” that is the term they use here for totally messed up. We had to tow our car back to Fish Hoek, about 20 miles, and will have to deal with car repairs all next week  It doesn’t matter where you live there are always car challenges it just seems our car has been more than the usual for folks around here. Join us in praying that it won’t cost a lot to get it fixed. We have NO budget for car repairs this year and this car cost $1600.00 last year. We hope everything has broken that is going to break.
I have wanted to do a Bible Study with our group about Biblical Financial Principles for a long time, and it is finally coming together. We started last Wednesday and will continue on for 4 more weeks. I am very excited and challenged at the same time. This has been a passion of mine. I hope that we can continue to use it at Living Hope and anywhere else it is applicable. Please pray for me to gather the material and information needed for their cultural differences. It is very different from the way Westerners think. Mike has been “snowed” in with e-mails from volunteers wanting to come and serve in the ministry. We know this is going to be a very busy year with the World Cup Soccer coming here and people wanting to visit and serve at the same time.
We hiked Table Mountain again yesterday, but we weren’t sure we were going to make it. We huffed and puffed all the way up. It was great to get to the top, but I have decided that I won’t do it again. I can say I have done it twice and that is enough. The other 3 folks that went with is hiked it up and down. We rode the cable car down. Ahhhhhhh!!

Our Celebration Dinner for Bible Study

We wrapped up our Bible study last week with some really great prayer time and plans for next year. We always like to give our friends some sort of celebration at the end, mostly food, and for tonight the celebration will be the same. The only twist is that instead of a home cooked meal it is going to be KFC. Yes that means Kentucky Fried Chicken. To them this is like going out to a nice restaurant for their favorite meal. We really thought we would take them somewhere that they have never been but we had a conversation with a couple of them on Sunday and they told us they love to have a piece of chicken with the bone and chips (fries as we say in the states). They told us they just don’t get this unless it is a special treat, so we are making it a special treat. The things we think are so simple mean so much to folks who have nothing. We are excited that we have been blessed to be able to provide them with some comfort food and always remind them that it is not from us but from the Lord. We are excited to see what God will do next year and I am especially excited because they are keen to do a study on Biblical Financial Principles. It is going to challenge me because I am finally going to get the opportunity to put together a 4 or 5 week study for them before we return in January. This has been my prayer for a long time and it looks like it is finally going to come together. Please pray for me to be able to find the time to put the study together.

God is Able

We are counting down the hours now and I just want to share this story before we get on the plane tomorrow headed for Nashville. The Lord has truly blessed my mom with 2 wonderful ladies to help them get their breakfast and pills sorted each day. Being this far away always seems like a challenge to get anything done, but with God’s help anything is possible. A couple of months ago we were headed down that same path again with my mom and the medications seem to have quit working. I began to pray and ask God to show me how I could help. Through all of this I e-mailed the Pastor of my parents’ church asking if he knew of anyone looking for a part time job. My parents live in the country and the chances of finding one person that was willing to drive seemed slim. This is how big our God is, He sent 2 ladies that live 5 minutes from their house. One lady comes Monday through Friday and the other on Saturday and Sunday. My mom has done a 180 and is better than she has been in a long time. I am always reminded of the scripture about leaving family to do what God calls us to do, (Luke 18:29)but this just reaffirms that what He says in His Word is truth. I didn’t share with family that I had been the one to make all the contacts because I wanted to give God the Glory, but my mom asked one of the ladies last week how they found out about them needing some help. Kay finally said, “I was wondering when you were going to ask” and she told them that I had arranged everything. I just happened to call just as they were finishing up that conversation and my mom really was appreciative of me helping to make all of this happen. I was very excited that all was revealed before I got home and I believe it will put a new light on our relationship. Praise God for what He has done and able to do.

Our last few weeks before coming home for Christmas

Last week we had a team here that took out some old cabinets out of one of our buildings. We were asked by the head of maintenance if we had any use for them to help people in the community. We told him absolutely! So we made a plan last Saturday to work on one of our friends shacks. This particular girl has a shack that is about an 8 x 10 and she and her sister and baby all live there. They cook on the floor, keep everything on the floor and her sister has to sleep on the floor. We took a half day Saturday and got some other folks to help and we put in some cabinets and shelves for her. Her shack also leaks so Mike put in a beam across the top to try and raise it so the water would run off not in. She was very happy and thankful for what she was given. We were very blessed to be able to help where we were needed. The needs are never ending we received a phone call this week from a lady just asking for some help because she is hungry. Another lady stopped me in the office parking lot to tell me her shack burned down on Sunday and she had to start all over. As if she had a lot to start with! These are very tough times here and we just ask you to pray for us for discernment as we know we can’t help everyone.
We started back with our Zimbabwe Bible Study 4 weeks ago and we have really enjoyed our time with them. We haven’t had as many people, but we have had more intimacy with the ones who have been coming. This means more to us than the numbers!! One of the prayer requests this week was for the group to continue Bible Study while we are away. We ask that you help us pray for that request, as this is what we are trying to get them to do. Disciple each other!!
Thanksgiving is just around the corner and we will have 18 volunteers over to our place for food, fun and fellowship. Everyone is quite excited as we will watch a taped football game and then follow it with the Charlie Brown Christmas DVD. We couldn’t get pumpkin pie fill last year so Danielle had a team bring some so we will have traditional pumpkin pie, I have ordered up a cheesecake, and we found green asparagus in a can for a short period of time so we bought a couple of cans to make an asparagus casserole. Everything else we have managed to be able to find. This is a potluck of course, but as hosts we will provide the turkeys, dressing and casserole. A good time shall be had by all!! We will only have 1 week left before we fly out. We must be excited we have already packed a couple of bags

Fun mixed in with Ministry

Over the last few weekends we have managed to have a little fun. We did another amazing hike that was even more stressful than hiking Table Mountain, Halloween weekend. We also went to see the Michael Jackson movie. We thought it was very well done and enjoyed watching him dance, sing, and be a normal person for a change. We have also been doing some Christmas shopping and sent a bag home with a team so we won’t have to pay for extra luggage when we come back for Christmas.
Friday night we got to dress to the “nines” and attend the 234th birthday ball of the US Marines. When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was here, we met a lady through this event and have made friends with her and her family since then. Her husband is a US Marine and they invited us to go with them to the ball. A couple of months ago we were invited to meet the U.S. Consul of South Africa and have now been added to their list to attend some of their functions and we attended one on Thursday.
Sunday we did a 5K walk for Living Hope Awareness, but it didn’t work out like we planned. It rained the whole time forcing us to cover our shirts with our rain gear. After completing the 5k, we walked 5k more because we left our cars at the starting line and decided to walk back instead of taking the train. A good time was had by all!
Sunday evening we were invited to a church across town to share our testimony about how God called us to Cape Town and what we were doing with Living Hope. We only spoke about 10 minutes of a 2 ½ service but had a really good time in a diverse culture. God has really blessed us with a balance of ministry and fun this year. We look forward to seeing what He is going to do in 2010.

Our last team for the year!

This week and next will wrap up all the teams Mike and I have for the year. We have had back to back teams the last few weeks and we have 3 vision teams that will be here over the next 3 weeks but they won’t be doing any ministry outreach programs. They will be looking to next year to see if they see their church fitting in with what we do. We also have a team coming after we leave that does Christmas parties for all the staff, but this does not fall under us. We have had an exciting year and look forward to what God has in store for next year. These teams have had great responses with door to door knocking and praying with people. We learned how to do this from our time spent with YWAM in Fiji. This plan has really opened doors to the communities. Last week we had a team here from Kentucky and they helped our Life Skill Educators to get into areas of the neighborhood that they have not been in before. They brought portable soccer goals and balls and reached a new group of young men that really need the Lord. One of the Life Skill Educators gave his testimony about being a gangster and a drug dealer and these guys really listened to how God had moved in his life. This one event truly opened up the door for Shagmie and the others to go into this particular neighborhood now and minister to them each week. Praise God for the freedom we have here to share the good news of Jesus Christ with people.

Table Mountain High

After yesterday we can tick (check) off Table Mountain as one of our biggest milestones. It took us 2 hrs and 15 min to go vertically 2500ft. There were 6 of us that decided to take on the challenge. 2 of them were 18 so they put the rest of us to shame. There were some people actually running up the mountain and I was doing all I could to put one foot in front of the other. We had a great time and really felt great when we finally reached the top. One of the most amazing things was how cold it was when we reached the top. We all brought jackets because we knew it was cold but I just didn’t realize it would be that cold. We decided earlier that we would ride the cable car down. As we fast approached the bottom of the cable car ride, it occurred to me that our car was about 1 ½ miles away. We all just laughed and said this is nothing it is flat we won’t have any trouble hiking this. I really thought we would be sore today but we are fine. We actually got out and walked again today.

Shocking Prices

Ok, so I almost fell out of my chair the other day when Mike came home with the receipt for windshield wiper blades. They were R450.00, translated that is $60.00. That got me thinking about what we paid for our oil change and 15,000 Kilometer check up on our car R895.00, translated $119.00. This makes Jiffy Lube prices look really good. Most things here don’t cost as much in the states, but I think we call this highway robbery! I was in a conversation today where a local South African was talking about getting ripped off in the airport and I thought let’s talk about getting ripped off. When I told him what I paid he shook his head and said he buys his wiper blades for R27.00 at the pick and pay (our Wal-Mart if you want to call it that) I’ll be checking that out today!! He also said that kind of price for an oil change is crazy. I happen to agree. Unfortunately this is one of those things that we have to accept as a foreigner and move on. Just another few examples of price gouging at the grocery store: tortillas $8.50(we don’t buy them), laundry soap, $11.99 for ½ gallon, Campbell’s soup $3.99 per can, Kraft Mayonnaise, $3.99. These are just a few of the shocking prices that keep going up. Never do they have buy one get one free!! We truly understand why the staple food for the poor is bread and a type of porridge similar to grits because there is no way they can afford to have anything else. The oppression is so great here and no way for them to get ahead. We like to surprise some of our friends with something that we know they can’t afford and it really makes their day. (Obviously nothing mentioned above) Thanks for your continued prayers and support as we are able to pass on some of your blessings to the poor.

Blog, Blog, Blog

Journaling has never been a big thing for me, but I know when we look back on our Journey it will be great to have all of these stories to read about and reflect on what we did along the way. I wrote a blog and it turned out we would use it for a Newsletter article, so I thought I would post this along with Miracles still Happen. We have been waiting for the weather to get better and the sun to set later in the day so we can start back with our Bible Study. The Zimbabwe ladies asked us yesterday if we could go ahead and get started. We are excited about this and plan to start next week. We will only have about 8 weeks before we head back to the states for the holidays. How amazing another year will have gone by. We continue to help Khumi with the bag business as she is still recovering in the Healthcare Centre. We continue to have a steady flow of teams but the individuals have slowed down some. We actually are getting longer term volunteers which are great for the ministry. We have 12 here now that are for a year or more and expect another 5-10 next year. We are also expecting 2 families next year. It is great to see God at work in all of the lives of these people.

Miracles still happen

We had a team here from Knoxville, Faith Promise Church, and we did the standard outreach where they go door to door for the week and invite people to testing day and a celebration with Praise and Worship and food. This time we had to have the celebration in a different location and had to bus the people there. We were told that a lot of people wouldn’t come because of the distance, which was less than a mile, but those that told us that were wrong. We packed the church and had an awesome time. When it came time to pray for people, the team made themselves available. I was standing at the back observing. This young man came up beside me and asked me to pray for him. I asked him, “How I can pray for you and he proceeded to tell me that he was a homosexual living with another young guy and he found out 2 months ago that he was HIV positive, his mom had passed away and he didn’t have any way to get any help because he doesn’t have any identification. So how do you pray for all of that? I prayed for him and he moved on but I told one of our support group facilitators so she could follow up with him. This is one of many young people living this same lifestyle and on top of everything else they are hooked on “tik” Chrystal Meth. It is no different in America, but God has called us here to help these folks. Just 2 days ago, I took a class that Living Hope is asking all of its employees and volunteers to attend. Mike is going on Tuesday. It is a substance abuse training course to understand how we need to help with addictive behaviors before “we” (lots of people who are here because God called them here) can fix the HIV problem. We also have to address the “poverty of the mind” issues before we can fix the HIV problem and we are doing that through Living Way. There is a lot of work to be done here! Here is where the miracle part comes in. Because we were told that we wouldn’t have that many people, we only fixed food for 250 people. As the box dinners began to dwindle, Mike, Danielle and I looked up and there was still a very long line of people to get food and we began praying Lord please let there be enough food for everyone. We just repeatedly looked at each other saying, “keep praying, keep praying!” So as the line started to dwindle down, yes you guessed it, the very last box went to the very last person in line. In the Bible (Mark 6:30-44) Jesus talks about feeding the 5000 people on 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, I believe in this day and age Miracles still happen!!

Beauty For Ashes

Isaiah 61:1-3 was the signature scripture for the conference
61 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
It is amazing that we are 8000 miles away and an American Author, Angela Thomas, and Christian Singer/Songwriter, Nicole C. Mullen, come to the Women’s conference here in Cape Town. Now what is even better than that is we got to meet them and have our picture made with them. In the states, this doesn’t happen. We were ministered to and sung to and had or “tanks” filled up. Nicole had airport issues in Atlanta so she didn’t actually make it for the conference. However, she did a make-up concert for us and so the guys were allowed to come. Hence, Mike in the photo! I think he must have prayed really hard for some way to get to go and as a result she had to postpone until Monday night. We really enjoyed her singing. We have had a great week with a Team from Shades Mountain Baptist Church from Birmingham Ala. and had 1 man give his life to the Lord during the celebration. The team goes out door to door each morning for 4 days and prays with folks and invites them to a celebration on the last day. We have testing for HIV, blood pressure, diabetes, etc. and then have crafts for them while they wait. In the evening we have some worship music, people share testimonies and then provide a meal for them.
This past Friday evening the US Consulate General, Dr. Alberta Mayberry, invited many of the American Volunteers working here in South Africa to her home for a celebration. Yes it was 9/11 and we did have a remembrance, but it was also recognition of our duty to serve. Then on Sunday we got to go over to a couple’s house that we met earlier who works for the Consulate and watch “American” Football. It was live and everything. This is a blessing when you don’t get to see football but once or twice a year.
This week we have started our second phase of the entrepreneur class and will finish this on Thursday. We also have another team here from Knoxville Tn. doing the same thing that the team did last week. We are looking forward to the celebration on Thursday. Please pray for more seeds to be sown.

Live in the Faith Zone, not the Safe Zone

For most of us, we live life in the Safe Zone. I always had a steady job a place to live and a car to drive. Until about 7 yrs ago I thought I had all I needed, but changes in my life and moving into The Faith Zone has given me more than I could ever have imagined. I took my first step of Faith when I went on a 2 week mission trip to Honduras with Mercy Ships in May of 02. I didn’t know anyone, but as I stepped out in Faith God placed a couple in my path that were from Nashville. We met before we left but they were only going to be joining the dental team for the second week. This was my first step towards trusting God in all that I do and it has been an adventure ever since. I went on a couple more trips alone, but soon after that God gave me a wonderful husband to share my life with. We began living in the Safe Zone again and did not have the fulfillment that each of us had while serving God independently. We began praying that God would move us in to the Faith Zone and that is exactly what He did. The Faith Zone requires some risk and it makes us leave our Safe “comfort” Zone. So these are some words of encouragement, from John Maxwell, for everyone who is ready to live in the Faith Zone.
• “We do not naturally leave the safe zone. Most people don’t want to have changes in their lives, but without changes you will never experience anything different. Just because you don’t want to do something doesn’t mean you shouldn’t!”
• “Growth begins when we leave the safe zone. Yes I had a lot of security in my job and owning my own place, but not until I let all that go did I learn what was really important. I also discovered a lot about me and became remade by God. You can’t stay the same and learn at the same time. If you want to grow, you need to go.”
• “The safe zones rob us of our greatest moments and memories. Many people are so afraid of risks that they spend their lives in the land of just enough. God wants us to leave the wilderness and enter the land of more than enough. Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the risks you didn’t take than by the ones you did.”
I must say that leaving my safe zone has allowed me to enjoy God’s blessings to the fullest. Moses was taken out of his comfort zone in all aspects of his life beginning at birth and we are challenged by his story to Live in the faith zone, not in the safe zone.
This is Moses’ Prayer for us
Lord God, the God of my fathers,
Give my friends a healthy discontent. Draw them out of the safe zone so
that they may live every day in the faith zone. Make them wholly dependent
on You, so that they can do things greater than themselves.
Amen

Time Back

In South Africa if you work overtime you get time back and most people use that time here and there. Mike and I took some time back over the last week in the form of a holiday. It was a very blessed time for us and we have been rejuvenated and are ready to finish off the rest of the year. Monday was our first day back to Living Hope and we have been non-stop since then. Monday evening we had an incredible light show behind our flats. The fire department burns mountains around the area to keep fires down during fire season so the area behind our flat was the target area. It went on for about 6 hrs. The point where the flames were so intense was unbelievable. It was like a tornado the fire was spinning and the winds seemed like they were about 40 mph. All the neighbors were out back watching the firefighters working hard to keep it controlled. We found out a little later that the fire was actually out of control for a short period of time right behind our place. One of the ladies didn’t see Mike and she said is Mike inside praying because it was a miracle that the fire didn’t shoot across to one of the houses on the hill. I told her he was watching the fire from upstairs but he had prayed previously for our safety. It is good to know that our neighbors see us as praying individuals

Date night with Hillary Clinton

Yes we did spend time with Hillary Clinton on our date night, but it was for a very short period of time. Here is how it all went down. Mike and I were headed to our favorite little restaurant that we like to go to at the V & A Waterfront Mall for date night. Living Hope/Living Way were invited to bring items to sell, Khumi’s bags and Vusi’s candles, in the 2 hotels where Secretary Clinton and the media were staying. Pat Ball, one of the American Volunteers at Living Hope was asked to man the table. She called us before we left home and asked us to bring some Living Hope brochures to the hotel. By the time we got there Mrs. Clinton had already walked through and said hello. We figured we had missed our chance and went on about our day. After dinner we thought we will walk back to the hotel and see if any of the bags or candles had sold. They hadn’t had a lot of business, but after a few minutes someone came in quickly and said here she comes, here she comes! So yes she came into the little vending room and the room got very quiet. It was really difficult for her to shop because we were all just staring at her not knowing what to say. Hillary began to ask questions about particular items and I spoke into Pat’s ear and suggested that when she gets around to us start telling her about Khumi’s bags and Living Hope. Mrs. Clinton took one of the rugs and started moving toward us. Pat moved in for the kill and when it was all said and done she had bought one of Khumi’s bags. When Pat mentioned Living Hope, Hillary said, “wow you guys are all around” Pat said, “Praise the Lord”, Hillary said, “Praise the Lord”. We had a fun time and left them shortly after and headed home.