CELEBRATING 7 YEARS

Every year, we try to go out to eat and celebrate God bringing us to live/work in South Africa.

Feb 28th marked seven years.  It doesn't feel like that long.  Time has gone by so fast with lots of incredibly memories.  Our children have lived here longer than in the States.  Kyle and I have lived more of our married life, here than at "home".  But, even after these 7 years there are still some days when we feel like we don't belong or don't have a clue as to what we are doing!  So, we try to take time out as a family and talk about this "journey".  It impacts each of us differently.  There are so many joys, but also a few heartaches.

I'll share some of the things we talked about:

Question #1- What to you is extra special about living in South Africa?
        Kyle- Going to the game park.  Traveling to places on my motorcycle
        Heather- traveling to some beautiful places in the country
        Abby- participating in Rhythmic gymnastics
        Emily- being a part of the Rhythmic gymnastic team
        Natalie- warm weather to swim

Question #2- What do you not like about living in South Africa?
        Kyle- the crime and being away from family
        Heather- my answer was the same as Kyle's
        Abby- lack of safety and so many different language barriers
        Emily- seeing so much suffering
        Natalie- didn't really have one :)

Question #3- What do you look forward to in this next year?
        Kyle- building into other people and pastors
        Heather- there are lots of events coming up like, my parents visiting in April, a trip home in July, Regional Conference in Oct
        Abby- making new friends
        Emily- making new friends and helping new pastors
        Natalie- playing

At Mugg N Bean waiting for our sandwiches.  We thought we were going to enjoy a nice cool lunch, but it was sooooo hot outside that the air conditioners for the mall couldn't keep up.  It was so sticky in that booth :) 

FUNNY MISCOMMUNICATION

Every Tuesday morning we go out as a family and do activities with a group of kindergarten children (see previous post 1/29/14 Abby and Emily's Ministry).

This week, it was a combined class of kindergarten and Grade 1, so there were a few new kids that didn't know us.

Greetings went well.  Actions songs went well.

Then it was time to split up into groups for reading time.  One little guy that was supposed to be in Abby's group broke out in tears, went limp and refused to go to her group.  We couldn't figure out what was wrong!  A teacher stepped in to help, talked with the child and then broke out in a big grin.

The poor little boy thought Abby, dressed smartly in a black skirt and ruffled shirt, was a nurse . . . and that she was going to give him an INJECTION!  

Not sure at all where he got that from, but soon he was smiling and sitting in her group for stories :)

No injections were given.

MY HEART IS SMILING

This post has been a work in progress . . .

My heart has actually been smiling for a while now, but I couldn't quite figure out how to communicate it.

When Kyle and I first started into missions, the part I would play as a nurse on the mission field was always something we assumed would happen.  Kyle didn't, and still doesn't, have any problem with me having a ministry centered around my nursing training.  It makes sense.

I'm a nurse, I love people, I love helping them =  I love ministering to people through my nursing.

But, as the Care Home ministry (where I worked as a nurse to dying HIV+ women) was coming to an end and the pastoral training program that Kyle is involved in started picking up momentum, my heart started getting excited about different things.

I was SO excited . . .  to see my husband SO excited about the potential of teaching Zulu pastors.

For the first time, I wasn't wondering what I was going to do- how was I going to use my nursing skills- how was God going to use me?

For the first time, I couldn't imagine anything more exciting or more fulfilling than supporting my husband in this new adventure.  Even if that included putting my nursing training to the sidelines for a time.

So, my heart is smiling.  Smiling because it feels so right to encourage, support and pray for my husband's ministry.  Smiling because he is smiling.  Smiling because I feel like a dark, selfish corner of my heart has been cleaned out by the Holy Spirit.

STILL LEARNING TO BE FLEXIBLE

Plans change, things don't work out as expected, trying to be flexible . . .

These statements were all part the conversation in my head yesterday.

Frustrating?  YES!

Going to have a bad attitude about it?  NO! :)

Here's the story:

The girls have been asked to work with a kindergarten class on Tuesday mornings out at Pastor Clement's school (see previous post).  At the same time that they are working with the little ones, I was asked to work with a group of high schoolers that were interested in a medical career.  It was supposed to be 15-20 students for 45 minutes.  They wanted hands-on activities like learning how to clean a wound, listen to heart sounds, teaching about the immune system and basic concepts, etc.   I was more than eager to do this and set about preparing lessons and thinking through activities.

The first day had a few glitches . . . there were about 40 students and a lot of them not interested in a medical career, so they promptly tuned me out.  But, I pushed forward hoping that the next week would be the promised smaller group of students.

Attempt #2:  We arrived the second week.  The girls were all prepared for their little class, I was all prepared for my SMALLER class.  But, we were told that my class wasn't ready yet.  They would have to come get me.  Unfortunately, they didn't come to get me until 45 minutes later when the girls were done and we were supposed to be going home!  There also wasn't a smaller group for me- they were going to have me speak to the entire Grade 10.   Needless to say, Kyle spoke with Pastor Clement and it was decided that we would postpone my classes until some new classrooms (currently being built) were finished.  This would provide some more space where a smaller group could meet.

I'll admit, I was disappointed.  I was really looking forward to this teaching time and getting to know the students.  But, I look forward to what God has for me and will wait patiently :)  

ABBY AND EMILY'S MINISTRY

This excites my heart!  Our girls have always been heavily involved in our ministry, but this is a ministry of their own :)

I've spoken about Pastor Clement quite frequently and just recently we were out to his place for a visit.  Their Christian school (reaching out to orphans and the poor) was just about to start its school year.  Pastor Clement asked Abby and Emily if they would like to be involved.  He had a need for them . . .
The school works hard to get the kids speaking English fluently.  This is hard when they are surrounded by Zulu speakers 24/7.  Clement was hoping that our girls would want to come out once a week and play games, read books, color, etc with one of the younger grades  AND do it all in English.

The girls were so excited and started planning right away!  They had some "ministry funds" to buy supplies and worked hard at talking through a schedule.

Their first day was this week on Tuesday.  The 45 minutes included- action songs, a story book, a coloring page that went along with the story book and a game that taught the English phrase, "Hi, my name is _____"

They are definitely looking forward to next week!

YOUNG ADULTS EVENT

Eight young ladies came out for the year's first young adults activities.  This was our first time leading it, so we felt a bit like we were floundering!  But, everything seemed to go well and, minus the two that will be leaving for college, they all asked when we were scheduling the next one.

Here is the line up of what we did:
Ice breaker game called "two truths and a lie"
Big pot of soup and bread
Kyle gave a devotional
Then we closed with the game "Pit" . . . always loud and fun :)

And yes, for all those who recognized it, we did hold the event in the Care Home.

Please be praying for the next meeting in February.  We are making up little fliers to pass out at church and hoping we can catch some of the young adults that "slip in and slip out".  There is a HUGE young adult population in Richards Bay and we would love to find a way to minister to them.

CLOSING OF THE CARE HOME

Yes, we've officially closed . . . all for good reasons.  The biggest reason being that our area is a lot healthier.  And it felt like it happened overnight!

Several great things happened in the last year that led to this:
1)  education about AIDS was everywhere.  This opened dialog about a person's status, encouraged people to get tested, and decreased the stigma surrounding AIDS.
2) then the medications to treat the patients started becoming readily available along with more doctors to handle the numbers.  The ARVs are incredible- someone can go from being bed bound to up and walking in 2 weeks as their immune system gains strength
3) big companies in our area started supporting their HIV+ workers, providing education at the work site and even mobile clinics to bring them their medications and take blood for testing if necessary.

All of this has caused a dramatic reduction in the number of dying HIV+ people, increased the family acceptance of them, and essentially made us obsolete.

Are we upset by this?  Not at all!  This means moms and dads are living longer.  It means we have more time to reach of the communities with the gospel.  It means that HIV+ people are being treated better.

So what next?  There is still a lot of work to be done!  Lots of kids were "left" behind when their parents died and so many young adults have grown up without learning any life skills.  We are praying to see how God wants us to be involved.

Please pray with us!