God's Answer to My Prayer

This is Judy. I wanted to share with you about her because she is so special to me and because she is God's answer to my prayer. Before I even came to South Africa, about 4-5 months before, I started asking God that He would send someone around my age that I would really be able to connect with in Africa. Someone to hang out with and just be able to be myself around and build a strong friendship with. And I know without a doubt that Judy is His answer for me and I really just wanted to share that with you and to give the glory and praise to God.

Judy came in Novemeber, along with Sofia, from Venazuela. She is not fluent in English yet...but she tries so hard to learn it. Her language struggle is yes, a struggle, but such a blessing too because we have some good laughs with her as she tries to describe what she is saying through sometimes very funny actions and gestures. But, most of the time I understand what she is trying to say which is really great. She definitely is getting better. She is a nurse and so she helps a lot with the care center here and is a really get help on outreaches when we find people who have wounds, cuts and more.

Judy is soo crazy, and Dione will agree with me, for she lives with her. She is crazy and yet a very sweet, gentle person. And she is 25, only 4 years older than me! She is such a joy in my life and I'm soo thankful to God that He brought her here. Our God is so great and I'm so thankful that He listens to even our simplest prayers. What a faithful God we serve.

Update on Pieter and family

Thank you so much for all who have been praying for Pieter and his family. His operation last Tuesday (a week ago) went very well. It was four hours long! They removed an huge ulcer that was attached to his stomach, liver and pancreas. And the first few days after the operation we needed to pray hard that no infection would come and it didn't! God has been so good in this situation and please continue to pray for proper healing with the wound and stitches. Please along with his physical health, pray for his spiritual well-being as well as Marties and their children. The devil really tried to get us down and away from the Lord during the times when we are weak. And on behalf of the family, thank you so much for your prayers from across the ocean : ) God has heard your prayers.

Oops

Sorry, D just let me know that I gave you guys some wrong info. It was not a couple months ago Pieter almost died, it was two years... Ok, that's all I wanted to let you all know. Have a happy Sunday! Oh ya, I guess I can let you know that he is now in really good care in the ICU and he's blood count had gone up. And they had really good nurses and help when they got to the hospital so praise the Lord. The doctors say that if he doesn't bring blood up again they will do an operation on his stomach Monday or Tuesday. So you can keep that in your prayers. And if you could pray for his wife, Martie, to find a place to stay in New Castle while he is there in hospital. For some weird reason she had to come back home to Dundee yesterday because the hospital wouldn't let her stay in the ICU with Pieter... I dunno but I sure would have put up a great fuss if I was in that situation. She tried but didn't work... Thanks everyone for your prayers.

Please Pray

Hey everyone


I'm asking each one of you who reads this to pray for one of the families that me and D work alongside with here at the mission. Pieter, the dad of the family, has been taken to the New Castle hospital today because he is having great problems with losing blood. He went into the Dundee hospital Friday because he was vomitting up blood and getting really weak. He stayed there till Tuesday and was back at the mission until Thurdsay when he started vomitting up blood again and his blood count is now going down. It was 9 then 6 and now today it is 4. So that is why he is going to the other hospital. Please pray for his wife, Martie, and family of four kids. Martie is not doing very well and is really stressing out because she is re-living the time when the same thing happened some months ago and he almost died. Pray that the whole family would continually lean on our Father and that they would give Him the glory in the whole situation and trust that He is in control of all the happens. Pray for the children as they have to stay home and continue going to school. Pray the rest of us at the mission would help out in anyway for the children as their parents are away from home and just give them the attention admist our own shedules. And please pray for healing of Pieter and that God would give the doctors wisdom in how to deal with Pieters health condition. Thanks you so much. God bless

This is Martie and her second oldest, Claudette.

This is Pieter and his youngest son, Andre.

My Tour Part 2: The Care Center

This is the care center we have on our mission. It is a carecenter only for HIV/AIDS patients. And unforunately, for those who are living their last days because of this terrible disease. The Lord has been doing incredible things here though. For instance this guy whos' name is Sifiso, came in to the care center about four months ago and he was very weak and hardly able walk and now he is walking around helping around the mission with little things and he even came with me and D to the black church and was dancing with us! He is so cute. Here am I trying to teach him guitar. It was so funny the way it happened. I was doing devotions with the patients one day about setting your mind on things of above and just as I was leaving I asked them "So what are you going to think about today?" And Sifiso, who doesn't know much English, replied "I will be thinking about playing guitar.." haha I was like "Oh.. ok..." And then I thought, why not teach him something? So then I told him, yes I will come back that day and teach him a few chords and oh boy was he ever excited about learning it!

The Lord has also been working in the lives of the voluntary care givers. One lady came here with bad alcohol addictions and now she is totally changed and has become a Christian and was offered a paying job in a different town! The Lord is so good.

Judy has also started working at the care center, along with Lynn and Denise. Sorry about the sideways picture...

The carecenter takes up to 10 patients at a time and is strictly only for those with HIV/AIDS. They are such a blessing to us. They are God's special children as well. Please remember our care center and the patients and caregivers in your prayers. For salvation mostly, and healing too. Thanks so much

My Tour : Part 1

I thought I would show you around the Mission a bit, the best I can... So I know these pictures won't protray where I've been for the past four months the best but it will have to do : ) Here is a picture of me.. all excited to show you guys around. haha

First I'll start with my place. Welcome to my livingroom. This is the view coming in from the front door. See my nice setup of my laptop WITH wireless internet. Ya, I'm pretty spoiled there... And as you can see the piano on the right.. ya, when I first walked in to my new place I was like "Are you serious Lord?! My own piano in my PLACE?!" My overflowing joy quickly diminished when I started playing it to find the keys falling off and a very unpleasant out-of-tune sound... Well, I guess I can't be too spoiled right? I'm content with my wireless. There are my two lovely comfortable chairs, one of which was recently fixed due to me sitting on it and breaking it while sitting down with a bowl of icecream! Oh and yes, and notice my strand of Christmas decor??

Let us go through to my cute little kitchen. Welcome to my kitchen. I don't have an oven but I share that with the lady I live next door to. And a toaster.. and a bathroom.. oh I will need to put I picture of my bathroom on here! Anyways...I'm blessed to have a fridge because when I first came here I didn't have it.. and I was sharing with Denise for a few weeks. So ya, thanks God for the fridge!

And lastly, my cozy comfortable bedroom.. which this picture is kinda lying because pretty much most of the time it does not look like this... I just cleaned it. haha Anyhoo....

And yes, I do have a random sink in my bedroom...and it works too! Well one tap does...

And here is the view looking out the front door. The building to the left is where the residents stay. The residents are men who are struggling with drug and alcohol addictions and they come here to work on the mission and try to start clean again. And on the right is where we park all our vehicles.And this is the view from the back, looking out the kitchen window. That building is the main building where the office is and the team meeting room and the church and a big donation room full of clothes. And on the left.. the lower building is the kitchen/dining hall.

So there you go! That is Part One of the Tour. My place. So for those of you who might be worrying about my living conditions... (namely, mom...haha just kidding mom) I am very blessed to live where I'm living. I definitely wasn't expecting a cute little place like this.

Crazy New Years Eve!

Check out Andre giving himself bunny ears. haha i love it. He is such a cutie. He always comes to my door and gives me flowers that he just picks around the mission. And as you can see, Judy is a pretty crazy character too. She is soo funny! I just had to put this extra picture on because Nukathula looks soo hilarous! Like, what she is doing?! haha. She is the black girl for those who don't catch onto the Zulu name...

We had a deadly New Years Eve here at the mission. The five of us girls, D, Marysa, Judy and Sofia and I hung out with the five kids here that live on the mission. Nukathula, Pieter, Andre, Claudette and Valeree. We are a crazy bunch and the kids are so funny and great so we had many laughs and lots of screaming playing games D and I use to play at camp, and eating good food; hotdogs, cinnamin buns, chips and chocolate and juice and coffee. We also had a lot of fun taking random pictures. Hope you enjoy the pics! We hung out 7 to 11 and then we had to clean up and get ready for a team meeting at 11:30 in the chapel. The pastor wanted us to pray into the New Year and thank God for this year and what He has in store for us this year. We also shared communion together. It was a great New Years for us all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!