Christmas Time in South Africa

Here are some pic's of our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in South Africa. I'm so glad we had each other. It was so different celebrating Christmas far away from home without my family but God blessed my Christmas time here as well. Enjoy!

We had some red bull that night to keep us up and so this is the result of it

This is what it looks like when Canadians are desperate for a Christmas tree.Our beautiful hand-made Christmas tree and Christmas treats.

Cute Judy. She was so crazy that night!

On Christmas Day we had a braai (South African BBQ) with the whole mission. It was such great food and fellowship. Peter and Angeline's kids also came up for Christmas so it was really nice having them around all together.

From left to right : D, Micheal, Timothy, Megan, Angeline and myselfUmballi, Nukathola, Sofia and Judy

The men cooking the meat

Megan and MarysaI got to talk with my family Christmas night which was SO great! I really missed them that day. Hearing all of their voices again and laugh with them was so great and such a blessing. And while on the phone they laughed about the way I pronounce my words! haha I guess I'm becoming more and more South African? I dunno.. it was funny though. Aaron said I'm going to be bugged when I get back home...haha

At night we had a great night of card games at the pastor's house with their kids. It's nice that they are close to my age. They are a lot of fun and we have many good laughs together.

Well, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year as well!
Cheers!

Craziness at WIMPY'S

Sunday was our last day before the guys left for Christmas to visit their families so we decided to take them out for lunch to WIMPY's. We had such a good time. They tried, again, to teach us more Zulu words and how to make the clicking sounds they make with their language. Its really hard! Its a good thing they are so patient with us 'cause we spent so much time on just one word! Trying to get the right pronounication. haha. And on Saturday they began teaching us this beautiful song in Zulu and so we began practicing that again, right in the resturant! It is so cool how we just don't care. They are soo fun to sing with because all our voices blend really well and they can do harmony so well. After a while they started to get a little wierd... (well, I did too as you can see in the pictures). D was the only normal one. It's awesome how they can feel comfortable around us to just be themselves and be goofy. Good times good times. Hope you enjoy the pics!

Blessed be the Lord

Oh my goodness today was SUCH an amazing day! I think the best day I've spent here in Africa. God is so incredible and soo awesome and His plans for us and blessings for us are so great. I love how He blesses us so hugely when we are least expecting it and today was definitely one of those days. So... last week Tuesday we met three guys, Lucky, Sepiwae and Lindo, who are SOO in love with the Lord. They are such a huge encouragment to me. Since 1999 they have dedicated themselves to the work of the Lord and have been on a crusade (with a pastor) preaching the Word of God in different townships and villages around here. They are young godly men, 2 are 23 and one is 25, and they are so dedicated to the Lord and His work and completely live by faith. Me and D were talking about how rare it is to find young men dedicating themselves fully to Christ. It is soo encouraging. They are so kind and easygoing and comfortable to be around. We met them because we always need transulators for our kids club and so a lady we know told us about these three guys. They came and helped us do kids' club last tuesday and it was so nice having them there to help us and be with the kids. They got right in there and joined in on the games and they spoke in Zulu for the puppet play we did.

So, now about today : ) After church D and I went to our very first black church service and it was sooo deadly! Wow I really felt like I was in Africa today! It is the church where our 3 friends have been preaching for the last 6 months (and we only met them last week!). They invited us and so we came at 10:30 cause they told us that's when it started.. so we get there about 10:35 and there are only 4 sisees there.. and we were like.. "Um, is this the right place?" (It is just a white and blue striped tent that they set up) It was the right place but no one was there yet.. not even the preacher! haha, so we just walked around the streets, the only white girls around, and it was just so nice to do that. Then about 11:15 we heard singing from the tent and so we went back to join the service.

Black church services are SOOO awesome! Soo lively with their sweet dance moves and beautiful, powerful singing voices. Soo passionate about the Lord and His work. Soo welcoming and kind to all who enter there little tent church. One lady even came up to me and she shared how it was soo great to worship in one body, whether we are black or white and I totally agreed with her. It was amazing. Even though me and D, I'm sure, looked very "out of rhythm" with the dancing and couldn't sing half the songs because of the language, I felt so welcomed and a part of that church family. Oh my goodness though! They made us go up to the front and share our names and where we were from! And they even got Dione to come up and help a girl come to the Lord through a prayer! haha I told D I was so glad it was her the pastor picked and not me! lol. Shame she was nervous and unsure of what to do. The service just kept going and going until about 2:30. Three hours long! And the pastor was so loud and shouting and he was so into his message. It was deadly. It was an incredible message about the walls of Jerusalem being the protection of the city and how holiness in our own lives are the walls around us and how holiness is what will protect us, and how the walls of Jerusalem fell down and needed to be rebuilt just as the holiness in our lives and communities need to be built up again but there is so much unholiness being lived out.

After the lively, uplifting service D and I decided to invite the 3 of them out for lunch. And oh my goodness was it ever a blessing to them! It was there first time ever being at the resturant and when they opened the menus they didn't have a clue what to do! We had to help them choose their food cause they just didn't know how to go about doing it. And after a big, hearty lunch of steak on a bun with fries and a nice big cold coke, we offered them some icecream and they just couldn't believe it. They were so grateful to us for taking them out, what we would think, a small blessing, but to them it was so huge. Shame though, we fed them so much! They had a hard time finishing it all and then they ordered icecream and when we got it they were soo BIG! We were all so surprised and so the poor guys struggled to get it all down but in the end they said that is was a battle to be won and so they all finished it. Except for me cuase I didn't care if I lost.

Oh man, it was hilarous. So just before we invited the 3 guys to come to lunch the pastor said that he had to go to a prayer meeting... and he was already late cause the morning service went for three hours! So he is in his car and saying goodbye to everyone when he finds out that we are taking the guys out for lunch. Then one of the guys tells us that the pastor is going to join us too. Man I love how the Africans view time. They are never on time for anything and in this case today, when they are very late already for something it's still ok to go and do something else before getting to that previous meeting! Soo funny. But it was great having all four of them there.

Lindo(left) and the Pastor are in the picture with me, and Lucky (middle) and Sepiwae are in the picture with Dione.

Then when we finished about 5:30 we drove them back home in time for them to get ready for their next service which started at 6:30. The three of them preach every night at 6:30, Monday to Sunday! In that same tent church. Amazing hey? Here is a picture of Lucky's adorable nephew and of us and them and Lucky's mother.

When D and I got back to the mission we decided to go to the 6:30 meeting as well, cause we loved it so much in the morning, plus we wanted to hear our friends preach this time. Shame, they were so surprised they saw us back there again. The people were so welcoming once again and this time D and I started to get better with our Zulu dance moves! haha. It was so fun just laughing with the sisee beside me as I tried to dance and praising the name of Jesus with everyone there, so loudly and freely.

These 3 friends of ours are so great and we are so blessed to have met them. They are a huge blessing to us. Please would you pray for them as they continue on in their ministry of preaching the Word of God to many different townships and towns around the area. At the moment they are praying for a car so that they can drive around to the places they wish to minister to, as well for a sponsor from overseas, like a church or a group of people, to help them with their ministry vision. They have a desire to one day go to Canada and do their ministry overseas. They also have this great vision to start up their own mission here in Africa, similar to ours here at Melusi, with a care center and different ministries. So please, would you pray for them in these areas. Thank you so much. And thank You Jesus for your many blessings of this day.

Kwazitole Kids Club

Last Friday I went with Denise to a township I had never been to and it was soo much fun! Denise leads a Bible Study there with the older ladies and she had the idea to start up a Kid's Club there so me and Sofia, one of the two new girls here from Venezuela, did the very first Kids' Club there. The children were a bit hestiant at first to come to us but once I took out the soccer ball we went from about 9 children to close to 40! From ages 3 - about 16. It was pretty awesome. We did a few other games and then I did a Bible lesson. That is the picture where I have the lovely Zulu transulator beside me. Her name is Cling-eeway (that is totally not how you spell it but how it sounds! haha) She also is a volunteer caregiver at our HIV/AIDS center. Transulators are soo great! But still, I really wish I could understand the kids even a little! I need to learn more! Pray I will take the time to sit down and learn some more! Please keep this kids that we are ministering to in your prayers and pray for us as leaders that we would show them more and more about who Jesus is.

Graduation Day!

Today was soo cute!! The creche I have been helping out had their graduation day today. They were all so cute dressed in their best clothes and the grads in their adorable gowns. Their were five children that graduate. It was quite the African experience for me. The program was suppose to start at 10:00 but didn't end up starting till 11:00. Precious and I went to her house at 10 because she wanted to change! It was weird leaving when it was suppose to start but really no one was there, so I was like ok.. maybe we will be gone for 10 minutes cause she said she didn't live to far away. It;s true, she didn't live very far away but we will still at her house at 10:30. I was so nervous! I thought everyone was going to be seated waiting for us! But, luckily, when we got back there was still nothing started. So 11 it started and went till about 12 ish. I have been teaching them songs (in English of course : ) and so we sang to their mamas four songs. It was so cute. I'm so proud of them. Then we had a very nice big meal. Rice, curry chicken and mutton, and mixed veggies and cake (cause it was one of the kids bdays) and chips and cheezies and pop. It was really nice. It was soo soo hot outside though but it was alright. Everyone here uses umbrellas here when it is so hot. But it was a good ceremony, not like any grad ceremony I have experienced. It was very relaxed and just "whatever goes, goes". That is kinda nice about the African people here. No one was upset that it started an hour late and that is was so hot. They just accepted it. It didn't end till about 2:00! Here's some pictures