know and go

Farm Fun Day

2009-04-09T04:43:00.000-07:00

By far one of my favorite days at the Farm!

A day for the kids as well as the parents

Bouncy castles

Face painting

Lots of food

Nail polish

And so much joy and laughter and smiles

Although we were calling it the “fun day”

I knew God was wanting more…

I can’t deny how heavy my heart is for the people on the farm

I have been burdened for them

Especially the women

God keeps revealing to me their pain but yet their great need for more of him.

There is Diane…a women who is so broken

Her 7 year old son was hit and killed by a car in January

and most days I speak with her she has had too much to drink.

there is Evelynn...seeking for answers

Everytime I look into her eyes I see hurt and feeling of worthlessness

She doesn’t know she is worthy

And there is Joanna….a women of strength

I got to know her well at the fun day

She attends church but wants more and wants the lives at the farm to be transformed

And so we prayed for more than just a fun day

…more opportunities to share Jesus

..more waysTo speak truth into their lives

And God creates such beautiful answers to prayer

And opportunities he did give

I had time with each of these women to talk of Gods love and hope

And a greater burden did he place on my heart

I am reading A Lineage of Grace at the moment

And seeing the harsh lives the women in the bible lived.

But as I read about tamar and rahab and ruth I find myself thinking of

Diane and Evalynn and Joanna

and seeing how similar their lives seem to be to those women of the bible.

Living under the power of men

Finding the courage to do what is right

Having to replace fear with faith.

I pray and plead with God to place a faith like Rahab and Ruth

into the hearts of the women of the farm.

And that God would REDEEM these women as he has done before.

“ is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem,

Or have I no power to deliver?” –Isaiah 50:2

“and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man,

And he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that ALL PEOPLES, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” - Daniel 7:13-14

2009-03-20T04:08:00.000-07:00

this past week was hectic
but how thankful i am for that..

the leaders of YFC have been praying for many months that more schools would allow us volunteers to come into the classrooms and teach different lessons.
lifeskill lessons
bible lessons
leadership lessons
and last week we got the go-ahead at both a primary and a secondary school in the town of Belhar to go into the schools!

so this past tuesday we started our lessons
two lessons on tuesday
four lessons on wednesday

and it was so fun!

the kids, from 9th to 12th grade, were so receptive and engaged in our lessons.
the school is also wanting us to come in more often
which is such positive feedback
so us volunteers are expectant and excited for the coming weeks as we will be going into the school and seeing the kids on a regular basis

along with teaching lessons, we will be working with 10 kids that the teachers hand pick to focus on peer education - so that these kids can eventually teach their own peers the lessons we will go through with them.
this is what we are looking forward to the most as there will be a set of 10 kids that we will be able to build relationships with and work with on a very close basis!

so yes....lots going on
lots of new programs starting
which is so fun and exciting but sad for us volunteers at the same time - as many of us will be leaving in the coming months
so something we really need prayer for is new volunteers
these new programs have so much potential because of their structure and focus, but we need a flow of volunteers to continue this work.

we also are taking a group of the teens from the SOS village to Hillsongs church in downtown Cape Town this coming sunday. This was totally the kids idea which is so cool as we have really seen God stirring in many of their hearts the past couple of weeks!
praise God.
so we are really praying for this sunday as we will have a good chunck of time to spend with these kids and to go to church together.

a lot happening in the projects right now.
lots of exciting things
so for those praying...
THANK YOU!
and please pray that we would continue to serve with the attitude of Christ.
there are times when we, especially me, forget that it is all about serving and loving others.
pray that we would seek first the kingdom in all we do

in the big and especially the small things!

2009-02-25T04:37:00.000-08:00

BEACH DAY!

we got to take 30 kids to the farm

a day full of swimming, watermelon, sand

and fun

we had so much fun with these kids

and it compelled us forward in our relationships with them.

the kids are so amazing and so beautiful

these kids are from "the farm".

the farm is where about 13 families live together in a small community

as most of the parents work for the farmer picking grapes for wine.

earning very little

they live in such poverty

sadly, many of the kids are interrelated

many are missing teeth

many are malnutritioned

but...it is so exciting going into the farm and seeing the joy on their faces as we drive down the dirt path

so much joy

in the past week as well we have been meeting more and more of the parents

i keep praying that God will allow us to create raw relationships with the parents

we went to their church service this past sunday and they were so excited to see us come.

it is encouraging to know they want us there and want to get to know us!

i am so expectant on God to do amazing things on this farm.

they live with little hope.

they drink their weekends away

i see little hope - or an understanding of who Jesus really is and what he wants for them

even when many attend church

so i ask that you pray for these kids.

pray that God would use us volunteers to be such a shining light in the farm

that they would be drawn to Gods hope and grace and deep love for them

pray for more and more opportunities to share the good news

and that we as volunteers would be bringing more and more of Gods everlasting kingdom right into the heart of the farm!

"i cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; God sends his love and his faithfulness. I am in the midst of lions; i lie among ravenous beasts - men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. BE EXALTED, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth." -psalm 57

God has a purpose for these kids!!

2009-02-04T02:30:00.000-08:00

this week we started our projects!
it feels so good to be done with training
and finally going into the places for which we have come for.

the main project i will be working with it called the
SOS childrens village.
This is a village full of houses with 8 kids per house and each house having an 'auntie' -
someone that is in charge of the house.
Many of these kids are disabled from abuse or were ignored and orphaned as small children.
Many have never experienced true parents in their life.
Many i am not sure why they are there, but each has a story, a story that i believe God wants desperately to be involved in.

so we come to spend time with these kids.
to invest in them
to discuss
to teach
to laugh
and i pray our relationships will be honest and real and trustworthy.

the problem is many of the girls stopped coming last fall after an issue with something
an intern said.
so we have our work cut out for us.
we have to rebuild trust and relationships
please pray that God will guide us interns and give us wisdom and tacktfulness
in what we do and discuss with them
pray more girls would be drawn to come
pray that God would use us to make disciples out of these kids!

3 girls came monday night
but pray for more each time we come
and that God would do even greater things through us!

boundaries

God has none!
and how grateful i am for that
because these kids need
hope
raw hope
real hope
hope that will illuminate every darkness they have experience
and our God can go there!

our God cannot be contained!

wilderness weekend

2009-01-29T00:52:00.000-08:00

this past weekend all 18 volunteers spent 4 days in the mountains

and it was...
incredible
i don't know if incredible does it justice

the feeling of being the only people for miles and miles is so refreshing
the silence and quiet at night makes you tremble and a little afraid to speak
we were able to hike all throughout the mountains and swim in the rivers
my favorite was waking up at sunrise to climb up the nearest mountain to do our devotional together. the view just doesn't get old
God is truly creative and majestic and constant and HUGE

we had many moments to just

be still

and rest

it was definitely a needed weekend for us volunteers to spend time together without feeling the pressure of time and to spend time alone with God- to be able to sit on a rock with no one around and be able to speak to the one who created all i am seeing....
incredible.

"search your hearts and be silent"
-psalm 4:4

2009-01-10T07:24:00.000-08:00

january 10, 2009

...eleven days on african soil, and i have loved every second.

the past week was spent outside Joburg at the YFC youth camp
where we played lots of "football", danced a little salsa, and ate potjie [a rather interesting stew made with coke as the broth and cooked over hot coals] hum?
overall a good week meeting many south africans and learning more and more about the people and the culture.

one thing i have comed to love more than the rest is...

their voices

...how mom would fit right in..
at anytime they will gather together and break out in song
and its absolutely beautiful even when its the same words over and over again
i do believe God has the biggest smile on his face when he listens to them sing
as do i :)

but i am glad to be back in Cape Town where the ocean breeze blows through our windows each and every morning
the windows also give a incredible view of Table Mountain to our west
i am very much looking forward to climbing that beast...good workout right?!

our house consists of two germans, two english, one irish, and one south african.
and me the american
i have so enjoyed getting to know them all and picking up bits and pieces of their talk.

pray that our house will continue to have a spirit of unity and that God will unite us in
purpose, prayer, and passion.
pray that we will view our time here...and our lives... as wholistically for the kingdom.
that this time training will not be a time to sit back...but we will engage with the community and persist in praying for Gods leading.

my prayer has been that God would lead me to meet and talk to people that he has prepared with the good soil.
people whos hearts are ready and anticipating Gods seed of truth- so that the seed may take root and grow.
matthew 13:23

hope everyone at home had a wonderful New Years
love and miss you all!