Just Some Thoughts...

One day a friend of mine said to me "It's kind of like you're a mom down there" and that really got me thinking. To a lot of the kids I see in kids club each day I probably am a motherly figure to them. These kids come from such broken backgrounds: alcoholic parents, parents on drugs, abusive parents, poor families, single parent homes, seeing their parents have sex with multiple people besides their spouse, families with HIV/AIDS, families that don't show much love, etc. WOW! What a privilege it is for God to use someone like me, a sinner in need of deep heart transformation, to love these kids. God can use someone like me to tell them the craft they made is wonderful, the page they colored is beautiful, to hug them and show them affection, to praise them, to discipline them, and to tell them that their life is important and that they are something. I don't know why He chose me to be here, but I am so thankful that He has. My heart is here in this country and with these beautiful people and these precious children.

The other thing I have been thinking about and praying about is God's calling on my life. For a little more than a year now I have believed that God is calling me into the mission field. I have the most joy and feel most full when I am fully serving the Lord. Yes you can have that in every day life, but this is something different. Last year when I was in SA I was asking God what He wanted me to do with my life and I asked Him how I could use my four passions for Him; those four passions being: God/missions, soccer, fashion, and people/children. God showed me that He wanted me coming back to SA and what do you know I am using all four of my passions and using my gifts/abilities for the Lord. Well I am in the same spot again, asking God what He wants me to do after July, and I believe that He may be calling me back to South Africa to do sports ministry with Ambassadors in Sport. I have been talking with two coaches and a pastor who do ministry with AIS frequently. In response to something I said, one of them said in a message to me "God has given you a passion for this nation, for soccer, and for mission. This is a huge clue as to where the Lord wants you to be. I always say that our Spiritual Gifts and Abilities tell us what we will do, and our passion shows us where we will do it!"

Please continue to be in prayer for me as I seek to follow God's calling on my life. Pray that He continues to make His call perfectly clear and pray that if He is calling me back here that I will be able to get people that are willing to commit to supporting me financially and spiritually.

Thanks for all your prayers! I love you family!!

For His Glory,

Amy

PRAISES

I (AMY) have been here in SA for 2.5 months now, volunteering with Living Hope. God has blessed the ministries of Living Hope and here are 8 praises:

1. The parenting course, which teaches Biblical parenting had 13 parents from Masi graduate.
2. Red Hill salvations-12 kids in Jan/Feb prayed to accept Christ into their hearts.
3. Capricorn Outreach-the church was packed with people that don't normally come and 5 people came to know Christ that night
4. The teens team went to False Bay College to speak about sex and sexuality and had a positive response which created a buzz among the students.
5. Capricorn Primary School is one of the schools with the worst discipline, but Mzo and Julie (Life Skills Educators) have a good way of disciplining the students when they go to teach life skills, so the teacher adopted their method and it's working.
6. The school team finished term 1 alive.
7. Pre-schools=the Mama's are willing to train Grade R.
8. Masi children's prayer meeting was very powerful.

PRAISE BE TO GOD!

Cape Town For Jesus!

So this past Monday was a National Holiday so we went to the new Green Point Stadium on an outing with some of the kids, Life Skills Educators, and other volunteers for the Cape Town for Jesus Convention they held there! It was a huge gathering of Christians with live worship and several speakers. Unfortunately, we were pretty high up and the stadium is not designed with acoustics in mind so we couldn't hear very well even when it was in English. However, the height provided many opportunities for picture taking!
Here are just a few I took!
What Do You Think?

Cheers!
R.

Craft Box Opening!!!

YAY craft box!! The Pioneer Girls from my church are a group of young girls that meet every Friday to learn about the Lord. My mom and another lady from church are in charge and so they did a "special project" this year. They knew I was coming to SA and that craft supplies were needed, so they gathered up as much as they could and shipped it overseas. I received the package a couple days ago and it was like Christmas in March! The box was filled with all sorts of awesome craft supplies from foam stickers to glitter. In the pictures are four of the Life Skills Educators who were just as excited as I to get all those supplies. We will be using those items during kids club and holiday club and I know the kids are going to be thrilled to get all that stuff.

Thanks for all those who participated in buying those supplies!

AMY

Biblical Procrastination

So lately I've been really easily distracted... *Smack* HAHA just smashed a mosquito, One Point!... Shoot, see what I mean?!? Every little thing has been distracting me from being productive while at work and when I should be doing school work. So this evening, while procrastinating doing my readings for school, I became classically distracted pondering procrastination in the Bible, as well as what the Bible says about Procrastination and I discovered what I am about to divulge to you now:

So of course, you've at least heard of Noah, you know the one with the ark and all the Animals... not to be confused with the somewhat humorous 2007 Steve Carell movie, Evan Almighty. You know the one with Morgan Freeman (Who Doesn't LOVE THAT Man!?!?!) and Lauren Graham who makes me pee my pants laughing Nearly every time she speaks... most know her as Lorelai on Gilmore Girls.

Image via Wikipedia

ANYWAY, I have decided he(Noah) is a prime example of a God chosen Procrastinator! Yup, I said it, God Blessed a Procrastinator! (*Boom, Crack, Sizzle!!! Lightening from Heaven Smites Me Where I Sit*... Okay maybe that didn't actually happen) So anyway, God comes to Noah and says, "Like, yo Brother Noah! I like, totally dig the walks we take together but like, mankind it totally sinnin' too much! So I'm, like gonna cause Global Warming and melt the ice caps so the oceans will rise and like, baptize the whole Earth for a few months. But you're totally like, my BFF, so I'm giving you a heads up so you can, like build an Ark and survive... Oh yeah and you're going to bring along a few of my animals too." Okay so Maybe he didn't phrase it Quite Like That... But you get the idea.

Can you imagine Noah's response?... Well apart from saying "Sure thing G'Man!" I imagine he was Super Excited to rummage out the tool box his wife got him for Christmas five years prior and cut the price tags off! Okay maybe not, they didn't have Christmas yet... How depressing! *Smacks Forehead*... Will not get sidetracked again! So he started building the Ark.

Then we skip to the next chapter and Noah is "in his 600th year of life" and Papa G starts sending the animals to him... Did you Catch that? Noah was 600 Before the Ark was finished and ready to float!!!... Now I've always considered God to be a pretty smart being, all knowing etc etc. I therefore think it would be very unlikely that he would come to a Noah in say his 599th year of life and say, "Dude, Let me hold your walker while you build this Colossal Ark!" That said, the Bible does not specifically say how long it took Noah to build the ark. When Noah is first mentioned in Genesis 5:32, he was 500 years old. When Noah entered the ark, he was 600 years old. The time it took to build the ark would depend on how much time had passed between Genesis 5:32 and the time that God commanded Noah to build the ark (Genesis 6:14-21). So we're looking at 100 Years to build an Ark. Now, I'll give the guy a little leeway because he is so old and probably not as spry as he once had been in his youth, and he didn't exactly have Sears Tool Center and it was a pretty big Ark. But 100 Years?... Really Noah? God only gave the Animals 7 Days to get to the Ark... So Unfair... Those Poor Creatures!

In my opinion, Noah was a bit scatter brained, easily distracted, and a huge procrastinator. (But in all honesty I imagine were I to live to be 600, I would be pretty wild myself). I'm really no better than Noah though... the Bible says he literally walked with God and I certainly can't say that much.

So where am I going with this post?... Well I think the lesson I've learned is that sometimes God can use our seeming scatter braininess, and distractions to get our attention and show us what he really wants us to see. Now-a-days we don't live for 600+ years to gradually learn to listen to God and follow his callings and directions for our lives. Yet, how often do we honestly take a break from our busy schedules to sit down and honestly listen to what he is whispering? However, the Bible also warns against procrastination. Proverbs 13:4 says this, "The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied" (the word Sluggard makes me laugh... I just picture a slug shriveling up on the sidewalk after someone sprinkled salt on it... Not that I would Ever Do That!) and Colossians 3:23 tell us, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men".

For me I have felt like God is calling me back to his side these last few weeks in South Africa. Even though I'm here as a missionary serving, it has been hard for me to not have my Small Group family on a weekly basis, or a Church where I feel truly connected. Thankfully, this week I got more connected with Hillsong Church Cape Town, and even got connected with a Hillsong Connect group which will be meeting locally starting in April. The procrastination is something I know I need to work on because unlike Noah I do not have 100 years to complete my school work. However, I rather enjoy being a little Scatter Brained and Easily Distracted, it makes life just a little more interesting. However, my goal is to provide enough personal time for God in my daily life so he doesn't have to resort to petty distractions to draw me closer to him.

My challenge for you is to consider your life and how you spend your days. Are you providing God ample time in your daily life or are you forcing him to distract you from the work you continually put off till the last minute, then prioritize above Him?

BIG News...

Another couples weeks has passed and so much has happened. As you all read in my last blog, a couple weeks ago I went to an Ambassadors in Sport (AIS) training program. It teaches/equips you to share the Hope of Jesus Christ through soccer. Anyway, the whole week of training I felt so joyful and full. Of course I was with other amazing people who shared the same passion as myself, but I felt I was where God wanted me. So for awhile I have been trying to figure out if God has called me into full time missions, and more and more I believe this is true, just wasn’t sure how or what exactly I’d be doing. So I have been praying about it, but I especially began thinking and praying about everything that had happened. I was wondering if God gave me the biggest passion for soccer and a love for Him because He wants me doing full time sports ministry. I still don’t know the answer to this question, but after being in that program for a week, I had a strong interest in doing sports ministry through AIS.
I got the contact information for Bruce and Dave who were my coaches during the training program and spoke interest in finishing my time with Living Hope, coming hope at the end of July, and then raising money to come back to intern with AIS. Well it turns out that Bruce and Dave were impressed with me during the training course and they weren’t surprised when I contacted them. So we met up last week to discuss what I am currently doing here, what my passions are, how I’m trying to figure out if God is calling me to full time sports ministry, brief testimony so they could get to know me better, and possibilities that could happen now. We came to what we thought was a great conclusion, but it was something that needed to be discussed with Living Hope.
So today Bruce (AIS guy), Avril (LH supervisor), Mike (LH volunteer coordinator), Kevin (volunteer who wants to do soccer ministry), and myself all met up to discuss where my heart is. I explained to them everything and Bruce helped with that. He said to them that he didn’t want to embarrass me, but that he and Dave were very impressed with me during the training course. He said whether it was in our Bible discussions, small group things, out on the pitch (during the hottest week of summer), no matter what we did I always had the same excitement to be there and I just had a great attitude. He further said not only does she have a talent or gift to play, but she also is competent and has a gift to coach.
Originally Bruce, Dave, and I thought maybe I could intern with AIS for the next four months here, but still do stuff with Living Hope. However, at this point it looks like it’ll be best if I just wait to intern. So although I still feel a little confused or like nothing was accomplished in that meeting, it means I just need to wait for things to happen. Everyone is excited for me to do soccer stuff, it’s just a matter of getting logistics in Capricorn figured out and see what the pastor is expecting. So I am working on getting my morning schedule figured out and hoping to get out of schools, which I think will be possible, and then if all goes well, hopefully do soccer training on Monday-Thursday afternoons and then have tournaments on Saturday mornings.
So it’s a lot to sort out, but I know God will come through. He always does and He’s worked everything out thus far. And since I won’t be able to intern with AIS now, I will still get a feel for how they work, I will gain more experience, and I will get to see if that’s what God is calling me to. Then, if it is, the idea would be for me to get back by January to start a one year internship for AIS. Then if that goes well, there would be talk of me joining AIS staff, but I’d still have to raise support to be part of that ministry.
I am still involved with the women's support group on Tuesday mornings where they are learning how to sew. I have designed a bag for the women to make, which hopefully they will be able to start soon. I also designed a fabric doll in hopes that they will be able to make that as well. I make samples ahead of time to make sure my patterns are correct, so I am currently in the process of making a doll. I will put a picture of the purse and the doll on here as soon as I can.
So that’s the latest and greatest news. Please continue to keep me in your prayers! I need them so very much, especially when it comes to needing God’s guidance for my life. I miss you all and think of you often.

For His Glory,
Amy

Laptop Woes

Please pray for my laptop! Alan the I.T. guy at Living hope has it cause this morning it started going on the Fritz. I not only need it for my ministry work but also for my online classes this semester... :(
Sent from my BlackBerry

Who's in Your Family?

Take just a moment before reading this post, close your eyes and picture everyone you consider family?
Obviously, everyone has a Mother and a Father and perhaps you have sisters and/or brothers, and maybe you pictured a few other blood relations such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. But did you also picture anyone not related to you genetically?

This past week, Pumla was on leave so I was back visiting clinics with Hilary with whom I have become very well acquainted with over the last couple months. It was during one of our morning clinic visits that a little boy in a waiting room asked her if I was her son. Clearly, I am not and could never naturally become tan enough to pass as her son, but it was a little boy who had most likely noticed me following her around the clinic all morning. Since he asked her in Afrikaans I could not understand the question or her answer but after we left the clinic she told me in the car what he had asked and that she had simply answers with an affirmative. I was very touched by her answer because I really have not known her very long in retrospect. She has four children of her own and three grandchildren whom she loves and praises to me regularly and I was most touched that she would consider me among them.

It made me start to consider who in my life I consider my family. My parents and siblings are a given, as well as my grandparents. But I then began to pick through my blood relatives, coworkers, friends, and acquaintances and found that God has blessed me with a HUGE family stretching across each of the above categories and reaching into many countries. I then began to consider all of my brothers and sisters in Christ and my family just multiplied into the billions across every continent. It is very common among South African Christians to refer to each other as Brother or Sister and I really like that because it is a true demonstration of how God’s love for us and Christ’s Sacrifice links us all regardless of boarders, blood and cultural differences. Mark 3:34-35 says this, “Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

So as you go out this week I challenge you to carefully consider your Whole Family above yourself and to be a support and inspiration to them as they walk alongside you on the paths of life.

I would love to hear your thoughts on our posts in the comment section!
Who in your life do you consider your True Family (Blood Relations or Not) and why?

Cheers,
R.

Picture Fun!

Amy will be giving me some of her pictures to add to this post I am certain but for now here are a couple I have taken... Since I'm working largely in the clinics please understand the patient privacy policies prevent me from taking pictures of a majority of the work I have been doing and the rest has been administrative work which would be a yawn to picture though the first one in of the resource center where I spend a lot of time organizing and doing work :)
Cheers,
Ronnie

Brotherly Affection

Ronnie Here!

Sorry I have been a bit M.I.A. lately where the blog is concerned but now that school has started I have found a majority of my free time pouring into reading and writing for my classes. I just really want to share a recent experience with you…

So last week was my first week traveling to the Health Clinics with the other Counselor Coordinator Pumla visiting the clinics she oversees. The first we went to was the clinic in Masiphumelele (aka, Masi. Clinic) which is in a black Xhosa (pronounced Cosa) speaking community. Up until that point I had had very little direct involvement with the black communities as Capricorn and Ocean View are colored Afrikaans speaking communities. I had however heard from other volunteers that the black communities are very different and having driven through Masi before I felt prepared for the differences. Regardless, I cannot speak Xhosa so I felt the language barrier much more as the Xhosa speaking black communities speak very little English, unlike the colored communities which are pretty balanced between English and Afrikaans.

Upon entering the clinic I, as has become usual, was besieged by inquisitive stares because, and I hope this comes as no surprise to anyone reading this, I am a White Male! Yes I know the truth is sometimes Shocking! Anyway, Pumla took me around and introduced me to the counselors and a few of the other attending physicians there and I would assume she told them why I was there but of course, I couldn’t understand a majority of what was said. We then left and went to visit her other two clinics one in a colored community and one in a predominantly white area. The next day she asked me to meet her at Masi Clinic in the morning so I did so and was pleasantly surprised by the warm greetings I received from everyone I had been introduced to the previous day. I was hugged and everyone shook my hand and I even had the pleasure of seeing and visiting with a woman I was partnered with weeks prior in an HIV/AIDS workshop at Living Hope. I then watched and did my best to assess the presentation given by the counselors which obviously was all in Xhosa.

The experience made me think about what this world would be like if as God’s family we were all as welcoming to outsiders as those people in Masi Clinic were to me. Because surely, that day I returned, no one was required to say anything to me, a minority in their close knit community, and yet they welcomed me in without question with open arms. My challenge to everyone reading this blog is simply this: How can you reach out a meaningful hand or hug of love and acceptance to those around you today? Maybe it is that coworker that drives you and everyone else in the office bananas, or perhaps it is the best friend that let you down, or even the sad looking stranger waiting in front of you in the grocery store queue. Romans 12:9-10 tells us this “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection.” As this verse says, I encourage you today to love the world “with brotherly affection”!

In His TLC,
R.

PS I have discovered and have become rather addicted the blog found at: www.stuffchristianslike.net I encourage everyone to check it out for encouragement and most likely a laugh as well.

AN AMAZING WEEK!

Wow! I can't even begin to tell you what an awesome week I had. I was at a soccer coach training program through Ambassadors in Sport from Tuesday until Saturday and from 9-5 each day. They are a Christian organization which believes in sharing Jesus through soccer. So they taught us how to coach and how to bring Jesus into it. The cool thing about the program is that rather than sitting in a classroom, we were physically doing the training that we'd have the kids do. I met a lot of awesome guys and a few girls who share the same passion for God and for soccer, and have the same desire to take what we learned into the communities to run programs for the kids. Anyway I learned a lot about coaching and at the end of the week we all got assessed on our coaching ability. I was a little bit nervous, but I set up my playing area, read over my notes, and then sat and prayed. God definitely gave me the confidence that I needed. The best score that you could get on the assessment was a +1 and I received a -1, which I was pleased with because it was my first time coaching in this way. The coach that I was with all week did my assessment and he gave me really positive feedback and just told me of a few things I'd need to do next time. He also told me he'd like me to come back for the level 2 training course. I talked to him throughout the week and they (Ambassadors in Sport) have a need for people to volunteer with them and help with some of their programs-He asked if I was interested, which I am, but since I am here through Living Hope, I am not sure that will be possible. Anyway, I told Dave, my coach, that I would talk it out with Living Hope, but if it wasn't possible, I was interested in coming back to intern with them. I am here in SA trying to figure out God's calling on my life, but I feel as though it may be sports ministry. It's what I have a huge passion for-soccer and God, and there is a huge need here. Hopefully by next week, Kevin and I will be going into different communities to run soccer clinics and share Jesus with the kids. This week was so fulfilling and I was filled with joy.

So to say the least this week was wonderful but also very tiring. Friday night we all went out to dinner as a sending off for Christina. She's a volunteer here who feels called into full time missions in SA. Anyway, she's returning home for one month to raise money in order to come back here. We went to the Ocean Basket and I got prawns (shrimp) and they still had their heads on. That was interesting haha but very tasty. Afterwards we went to see Alice in Wonderland-what an awesome movie. On Saturday evening, Ronnie and I went to meet up with Clinton (a former LSE) and his wife and a couple YWAMers. It was really nice to catch up with him and see what all is going on his life. Today is Sunday, so we went to church in Capricorn which was really good. Afterwards we went to Makros (like a Costco or BJs) so I could get an electric sewing machine. I'm sooo excited to have it because now I can start making samples. If you remember, I am helping to teach sewing lessons on Tuesdays to a women's support group and I get to design what they make. So I spent the afternoon making patterns for a bag and cutting out the fabric. Tomorrow evening I will make my first bag-I'll take a picture of it and post in on here later so you can all see it.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers! I'm so blessed to have the family of God standing behind me, supporting me in prayer, finances, and encouragement. I would love to hear from you! Feel free to email me! I love you all!