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

Worse Shower of my Life!!

Last night I saw my first big ugly scary spider since I've been here. And of ALL places, it just had to join me in my shower. Sick man.
So here is the story. After a tiring long day of working over time and getting dirty from painting and moving things around and what not, I hop into a very welcoming shower to get all nice and clean and head to bed. Unforunately, "welcoming shower" was not really truthful. As I was shampooing my hair I looked over to see a big black blurry spot right beside my shoulder. I squinted, due to no glasses, and FLASH! I was out of that shower with shampoo and all in my hair, shower still going. I grabbed my towel, ran to my place, grabbed my DOOM (spray that kills bugs) and rushed back to the shower only to find that it was no longer there, or should I say.. in sight. But luckily, if you can call it luck to find a big ulgy spider on your bathroom roof, it was there. The DOOM came out and that sucker would NOT die! He was a fiecisty one. It was so incredibly gross. His thick ulgy legs running down the wall, running away from his death. Oh yes, I need to let you guys know that it was not I who was spraying this thing. The lady that lives next to me came to my rescue. Actually both of them did. It was a housemate bonding experience! lol.
And you want to know the sick thing? My house mates said they have never ever seen a spider like that in this house in the whole year they have been here. So ya, lucky me, I got to see the first one, and, of course, it had to be in my shower.
Sorry I didn't take a picture, I was going to take one of the first big spider I saw here, but this one kinda caught me off guard a little.
Cheers

Home with Jesus

Please pray for us as a mission during this time. This Saturday night the mission lost a really really close friend and co-worker. He had a heart attack at his nieces wedding. He served at the mission for close to 2o years and he was a huge part of the leadership. His name was Lowelyn. He has a wife, Lynn, and an "adopted" little Zulu girl, Nukatula, who is 10. Lynn is one who helps run the care center here. Please remember them in your prayers. They are taking it very hard and it is going to be a long journey. Please remember to pray for the whole team as well. It is very sad and everyone is taking it pretty hard. I myself am very shocked about this and my heart is breaking. I'm soo incredibly thankful to God that I got to know Lowelyn, even if it was only a short time.. two months. He affected my life soo much in this short time and so I cannot even imagine the great pain the rest of the mission is feeling. He was such a kind, gentle man. He was so caring towards me and he was so genuine and he loved the Lord with all his heart. I'm going to miss him a lot on outreach. He always transulated the Zulu language for me and his heart was with the poor and the needy. Me and him always prayed together for the people in their homes. He always said that we needed to listen the cry of the poor and the needy. I'm going to miss him at team meetings too. What he shared was always so powerful and strong and uplifting. He was 63, and we were just last week, talking about celebrating his birthday which is in two weeks. He always made me feel loved and welcome here and he always asked me everytime we met around the mission, "Howzit my sister?"
For me, and I can say this for the rest of the mission as well, it does not feel like reality. I am still expecting to see him walking around doing the different things he does everyday. We are all in great shock so please, pray for us. Pray for wisdom, for healing, for unity and for protection over the lies and attacks of the evil one. Please pray that at the funeral the Holy Spirit would be working in the lives of his family members. They are unsaved and I'm sure one of Lowelyn's deepest prayers was for them to know Christ.

All of this is bringing back so many memories of just over two and a half years ago when my dad went to be with Jesus. It is good for me to " go through it" again because I believe this is a powerful way that God is going to heal me from my pain of lossing dad. Now that I know it was reality I believe God can deal with my grief and pain once again but in a different way. Because before, it was hard to deal with it all because I felt so numb for the longest time and in a way, blocked it from my mind. But I want God to do His work in me and bring me to more healing and restoration. I miss dad so much and even though it is hard, I love to think about him and remember who God made him to be, from all the little things he did to the greater things. I love to remember how much he loved us and mom and all that he did for us. My dad was so gentle and strong and incredibly compassionate. He loved people dearly. Didn't matter who you were, he cared for you. He accepted everyone in his path and LOVED to talk with anyone he met. My dad is so great and I can't wait for the day when I will hug him again and hear his voice and laugh with him again and hold his big, strong hand and live forever together with Jesus. Thank you Jesus so so much.

Mouse in the House

I have been blessed to have not even seen ONE huge spider here yet! Amazing hey? It's funny cause D gets them often in her place.... poor girl! But, last night I did have my share of a creepy crawler in my place.. but I guess a mouse isn't really a creepy crawler.. anyways, it was enough for me I ll tell you that! Here is a picture of Sanjay trying to kill it for us, but that didn't go far.... we ended up with a unleveled fridge and Sanjay breaking a plate and cutting himself on the foot and hand.. All due to a stupid little rodent. haha, it was so funny. The lady in the back ground is Denise, the lady who I share a kitchen and bathroom with. She is really great and we have had some good laughs together and good talks. She works in the missions care center with Lynn. So ya, that night at home group Martie gave me some rodent poison to put in my place.. I really hope it works!

This is my great friend Martie : ) I love her. She is the cook and I work with/alongside her every morning. She loves to make trouble and do crazy things.. like spray me with a water hose as I make food parcels and like starting a yogurt fight... and more. And here is just a random picture of her feet. She was proud that day that her's were the dirtiest on the mission.

This is the buckie just before heading out for Outreach. As you can see there is a lot of crates full of bread and veggies and other food for the families. And I love this picture because the Orange Grove truck is right behind it. Orange Grove is a local dairy place where we get all the yogurt, maas and juice for our food parcels. They give us all the outdated things and damaged. But most of it is still great to eat which is a great blessing to the mama's and their families.

Apples

Hey everyone,
Sorry it's been a while. Things are going well with me here. Today was soo nice because it was my day off. I worked in the kitchen all weekend, by myself, cooking... and so ya, right now i'm sure some of you are laughing or just curious to know how that went. haha so i will tell you. It was actually rather quite ok. I made scrambled eggs and toast for breaky and potatoes and wieners and veggies for lunch and pancakes for supper... and that day was great. Sunday.. someone esle offered to help make breakfast for me cause i had worship practice at 7:30 so taht was really nice. And then came lunch... lets just say I made spaggetti and mince... but I didn't boil the water first before i put the noodles in... yeah.. so, for those who don't already know, the spaggetti was very sticky and I had some pretty fat noodles to serve. Oh boy.. that's why I shouldn't be in the kitchen.. especially cooking for 25 people. haha, but no it was actually fun and different.. and then supper was easy.. i was going to make garlic bread and so i put it in the oven and then when i went to check on it there was mold all over it.. so ya, that was thrown out. But hopefully I haven't scared you all away from ever wanting to come over to my house to eat cause there are some things that I can cook well.

Today I went for a full neck, back and shoulder massage for the FIRST time in my life and it was sooo nice! agh I'm so thankful there are people who have that job! and it was soo cheap! 30 minutes for $12! That is a deal hey? So I think I will be going to that place a little more often now....

As I went to town I filled my purse full of apples. It's funny how in Canada I would never do such a thing but here it is so easy to do and you don't get strange faces when you hand them out, but rather, smiling faces filled with thankfulness for one small little apple. It's such a simple thing but such a wonderful way to bless those around you. I think I brought about 7 so I gave them to some babas (older black men) and mamas (older black ladies). And as I was walking I ran into my friend Uncoseapa and chatted with him for a while and so I gave him an apple too.

Here are some pics of two weekends ago. Dione, Maresa and the kids, Valerie and Claudette and Pieter and Andre (the kids are the kids of a couple here who works at the mission as well) took our friends, the skipping boys and Wellington (their coach), to the dam to swim for that Sunday afternoon. We had a great time hanging out playing with the balls in the water and soccer in the beach and trying to try the sport kayak. It was soo hard! I tipped over soo many times but at the end I was getting it.. a little bit.

Claudette, Lunga and Wellington in the back of the bukkie.

Andre, myself and Maresa in the back of the bukkie.

Trying out the sport kayak

Paul doing some hand stands and whatnot..

Dione and Claudette soaking up the sun... under an umbrella... lol

It was all good except the little leeches that were all over my feet and the huge spider that was crawling up my back... sick man. I hate bugs. That was the first time I got leeches on me. Thankfully they were not the big ones.