South Africa Outreach - Week 1 Summary

Happy New Year from South Africa! We are here after a very long but grace-filled journey, arriving on the Worcester YWAM base at 2am on December 26^th. Our travels went smoothly and we even got a Christmas present from the Lord on December 25^th when the airline upgraded our whole team to business class for the last flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town! I experienced more turbulence than I ever have before but there was lots of peace to deal with it. So, thank-you all who were praying for this specific issue with our travels! I felt your prayers and the “cocoon of protection” my mom prays over me was at the forefront of my mind!

Here’s a brief rundown of what our first week looked like!

Sunday – sleep (after sleeping very minimally in 50+ hours), team meeting and grocery shopping

Monday – rest, team meetings, move to our new room, trip to the mall for groceries again (got to meet and pray for people in the mall while waiting for the people who were grocery shopping), Shane went without crutches and we had a team healing!, evening ministry in a squatter camp

Tuesday – team meetings, drama/testimony/sermon preparation, ministry with the children at the squatter camp (drama, testimonies, mini sermon, distributing food, and lots of playing, dancing and singing with the children)

Wednesday – team meetings, children’s ministry at an apartment complex called River View (face painting, singing, gospel story, prayed for people, talked, played and always holding someone), back to the same complex in the evening to ministry to families in their apartments

Thursday – Preparation Day, practice guitar for worship songs, did laundry, got money exchanged, more grocery shopping, team meeting, drama/children’s ministry preparation

Friday (today) – Day Off! Catching up on sleep, communicating with loved ones, doing a little more laundry and spending time with Shane and Jesus! It’s a low key New Year’s Eve for us and I’m really thankful for the rest!

Random details and blessings:

- The view from our bedroom is GORGEOUS! The mountains are the most beautiful I’ve seen!

- The birds sing a lot here!

- The dogs bark all night and the train goes by every two hours with a very loud warning throughout the day.

- It’s cool in the morning and evenings! Definitely a lot cooler than Kona! I should have brought more pants!

- It’s super windy in Africa, just like tv shows =)

- They have two faucets instead of one at sinks. So, it’s impossible to get warm water to wash your face before bed. It’s either hot or cold!

- The base is has been fairly quiet because they are on Christmas break. It’s been so nice to have more silence and space. It’s going to get busier around here soon!

- When school begins we won’t have to cook for ourselves or grocery shop anymore which will save time. Though, we’re eating really well and healthy right now so I’m really thankful for the food!

- Shane and I have our own room in the building with the families. The first night we slept in our own room in the building with the rest of the team. I was sad that we had to move but I’m actually liking our new building more!

- There are no screens in South Africa. I just had to kill a big bee that flew in the room as I was typing this after it came back in 3 times!

- People drive on the left hand side of the road and it’s just so weird! It often feels like we’re driving into oncoming traffic! Thankfully I’m not one of the drivers because I’m far too conditioned to drive on the right!

- Many of the students and staff on the base are from Brazil! The families are so welcoming and nice!

- We have an hour of quiet time with the Lord every day after breakfast and I LOVE that part of the day!

- The currency here is Rand. It actually is similar to Canadian money, the bills, the colors and the coins.

My favorite part of ministry so far is loving on people and praying for them. I’ve met some very special people and I love encouraging the young girls I meet who are Christians. It’s so special to see their eyes light up when we’ve been interacting a while and we then tell them that Shane and I are married. It’s so amazing that my marriage is not only a blessing to me, but an incredible testimony to the young ones here in South Africa. I encouraged one girl about her worth, her value, pursuing purity and holiness, and got to pray for her about these things, all based on her response when Shane came over and told her that I was his wife. You should have seen her face. I think the Lord is going to use us as an example to many children and teens here about what marriage, love and family should look like in a very corrupt society.

I also love showing Jesus’ love to the many children here. I’m always carrying someone, touching someone’s head or face, holding someone’s hand or holding 1-3 kids on my lap. I love it! They experience tons of negative and incorrect touch and it’s such a blessing to show love in a physical way to these kids. I tell them about Jesus and tell them about how much He loves Him. I am so blessed to be able to do this.

South Africa is beautiful and God has much in store for me, our team and the people of South Africa over the next 9 weeks!

Good-Bye Kona and Merry Christmas!

We're off to the airport in 1.5 hours with our team! We're packed, cleaning is complete and we passed room inspection! Yeah for the $50 deposit back!

It is raining cats and dogs and my t-shirt for the flight is already soaked. There goes being dry, the least greasy as possible and the least stinky as possible! Oh well! It is starting to thunder and I just saw lightening! It has rained a number of times here but hasn't thundered and there hasn't been any lightening since we've been here! I'm praying this doesn't effect our flight!

So, good-bye Kona and we'll see you in March! It's been a good and growing time in the last 12 weeks being here. God has done much in my heart and though there have been hard parts about being here, I'm so glad we came. God's leadership is perfect!

And to all of our friends and family, we love you and Merry Christmas! PLEASE keep us in your prayers over the next 10 weeks! We need them more than ever!

South Africa, here we come!

The Latest...

In 48 hours we'll be boarding a plane for LA, then Altanta, then Johannesburg, then Cape Town. We've spent this evening saying good-byes to my parents and packing. Tomorrow all our stuff that isn't coming with us to South Africa is heading into storage for 3 months. So, everything I need for 10 weeks is stuffed into my travel backpack and it's amazing that I've widdled my needs down from an apartment to a backpack =)

Today was our last day of work duty and that makes me happy! I've actually enjoyed work duty. It's means 2 hours a day of working with my hands instead of my heart and head quite so much. It's some debrief in my head time! I've prayed, hummed and cried my way through work duty over the past 3 months. It's been an important part of the day =)

The funeral for my friend's baby was today. I didn't know until lunch time and couldn't go. Tomorrow is the memorial service here on campus and I'm going to go to that. I'm so sad for them.

Well, in the busyness of these few days, I still have yet to get week 11's summary out. So, instead I thought I'd just write a few words about today for you all. It's a snapshot of today. 1 more full day in Kona. Wow! It's hard to believe the first stage is over and now the second is beginning!

Sad news...

It has been a tough few days with a variety of emotions. One of them being sadness and mourning for our friends here on campus. We have been praying for a miracle and comfort since we found out the news on Thursday about our friends' baby girl.

We found out today that she was born last evening at 8:15pm and did not have a heart beat. Her parents have named her Hadasa Gabriella and she was 7 pounds 9 ounces.

God did a miracle in the birth and she was able to avoid a c-section, which seemed inevitable. This was really important to our friends and I'm so glad she was able to deliver naturally.

Please pray for our friends and our YWAM base which is very much affected by this devastating situation. Our friends arrived back on base this evening and are going to need a lot of comfort from the Lord in this time. Their faith is incredibly strong. Their hearts and bodies are exhausted and I can't imagine what they are going through. Please pray for the comfort and nearness of the Lord and the peace that passes all understanding that only He can give.

Thanks for those who have been praying with us. Our hearts are sad along with our friends.

Urgent Prayer Request!

Please pray with us for life and a miracle!

We have friends on campus that we met within the first few days here who are on staff. They are due with their second child, a daughter, now in December. They are such a beautiful family and I've had the pleasure of talking with the mom, praying over her and her baby a few weeks ago and talking about labor and delivery when we first got here. They have a special spot in my heart.

My friend has been in labor over the last few days. She went in to the hospital today and we got devastating news during our Ohana Gathering tonight. When she was hooked up to the monitor when they got to the hospital, there was no heart beat.

My heart is broken and I have been praying all evening for this situation. This family has been on my heart in a really strong way for the last few days and I've been thinking and praying about them, especially today.

My friend is still in labor. Please pray for life and a miracle. Pray that our God, who raises the dead, brings life to this little girl. Pray for my friend, her husband and their 3 year old son. Pray for the whole situation. Life, life, life!

Week 10 Summary

Wow! It's amazing that we've finished week 10 already and only have 11 days until we leave for outreach! It's been hard to connect with the reality that we are actually going to Africa this month! But, since Thursday, I have a new excitement and readiness for the next part of our adventure with Jesus!

Week 10 was a full week, with joys and challenges. Our speaker for the week was Jonathon Almanzer, a church planter and missionary from Colorado, who spoke on Identity in Christ. I got a few things out of the week, but not as much as I had hoped. He spoke on a number of things but I didn't have a clear picture by the end of the week about the topic.

My favorite lecture days were Monday and Thursday. Monday, he touched on the Potter and how God is forming us. I could identify with that and the feeling on the wheel when all the molding and shaping is taking place. It's not always so comfortable but it's comforting believing that I'm in the Potter's hand. Thursday was the best day because we had an "unplug" morning at the beach! We went for 1.5 hours to have quiet time with the Lord. No cell phones or ipods allowed! Woo! Hoo! It was glorious! The only other time we've done this exercise was on my birthday in October when we did an exercise on hearing the voice of God. Those two days have been such a blessing in this lecture phase!

Some of my favorite lines from the week are:
- The Potter has complete control. The spinning is for a purpose. He's shaping it and making it into what He wants it to be. (Jonathon)
- There is no dishonorable vessel that the Potter makes. They all have purpose. (Jonathon)
- Jesus' blood purchased the Potter's Field (the place behind the potter's house with all the broken pots). (Jonathon)
- Jesus' death and resurrection are no the Gospel but they are what makes the Gospel possible. (Jonathon)
- "Live in the now. Not in the then, maybe when". (Jonathon)
- Wake up each day saying, "This is Your day God. What do you want me to do today?". (Athol, our school leader)
- "Because we are in a position of dependence on others for finances, we are in the position to share the stories of God's provision. Money forces us to share these stories. " (Sean, a staff member here, leading the leadership meeting I sat in on.)
- "If we lead with character and integrity, people can trust us" (Garth, leads a DTS in Asia, spoke in the leadership meeting)
- "God equips those who He calls and calls those whom He has equipped". (Jonathon)
- We often grow the most when we are placed in a group that isn't like us. (Jonathon)
- "Prayer is a very important part of the Great Commission". (Loren Cunningham, introducing the speaker during Thursday night Ohana Gathering)

Some other things that happened this week:
- Lots of outreach related meetings - how to incorporate the 7 themes of Call2All in outreach, dramas, finance meeting, prayer meeting Tuesdays at 7am (I got to lead it this week), Children's ministry/games workshop, South Africa team meeting, worship practice with South Africa team and we got to see the slide show of the last South Africa team's outreach. It's neat to see some of the places we'll be going to!
- Ohana Gathering - this week the speaker was from Africa and talked about the great turning of the militants in Nigeria! It's awesome what the Lord is doing in Nigeria!
- School of Biblical Studies class on Jonah - always a good time and only 1 week left =(
- A visit to our class from Mark Anderson (the speaker from Week 1 and the leader of Call2All) - discussing opportunities for the future with Call2All

This week was also hard emotionally at times. We continue to deal with Shane's foot. We were pretty sure we were dealing with a broken toe, but a little nervous if it could possibly be a broken foot and wanted to be wise. We had an Occupational Therapist look at it and check it out and called our wonderful medical friend, Roman, back at home for some advice. We started to look into our travel health policy and to make a long story short, they have deemed our policy invalid because of a clause in the small print. Bummer! So, with the favor of the Lord, we got an xray requisition sent for free from a clinic, got an xray with a 65% discount and got the results over the phone for free without having to see a doctor! Woo! Hoo! Indeed, Shane has a broken toe but not a broken foot!

Please pray for the healing of his toe. Right now, he can't walk on it and uses crutches to get around, which is really limiting him. It's a bummer for us in our last few weeks in Hawaii. We have been sitting in the room a lot and not getting off base which makes the weeks on campus long. We need some speedy healing for our upcoming outreach so please pray for healing!

The other aspect that made this week hard was Grandpa's funeral and trying to grieve far away from home. We wrote something for the funeral that was read on our behalf. It was emotional writing it and we cried and smiled when thinking of memories of Grandpa. We were able to read it to our class on the day of the funeral and they gathered around us, prayed for us and hugged us. Please pray for us and our family as we grieve the loss of Grandpa.

So, each week has it's own joys and challenges. We pray that there would be no more death, sickness or injury! Week 11 is all about evangelism which should be a fun time just before outreach!

Here's some pictures of week 10 to enjoy!

Monday morning worship with the Compassion DTS and a worship leader from South Africa. Fun dancing!

Some of the guys from our DTS in the prayer room. It all just happened spontaneously that morning!

Deanna and I joined the guys on the stage

"Unplug" morning at the beach - my adorable husband enjoying God's creation

Such great time with Jesus!

Shane connecting with the Lord

My spot for the morning, under the palm tree

The view of the harbor and volcano on the way back to the vans!

The two guys (Shane and Joe) with crutches giving one another a hug!

Today is a team building day with our South Africa team! We're off to the City of Refuge!

The Official Announcement!

Well, dear friends and family, we have the news that you have been waiting for! As of today, all of the money for our outreach funds has official arrived! Every cent and an extra $4.81 to boot!

Praise the Lord for His wonderful works and the amazing ways He provides! It's been an incredible journey so far and His abundant way of providing for us has blessed us and built our faith! We hope it has built yours up too! So many of you are a part of this incredible story!

At the beginning of all of this, Shane felt the Lord say that He would provide all the school and outreach fees we needed. We didn't know how He was going to do it, especially with the thousands needed the week before the due date in both October and November!

It was amazing how the Lord sent two $1000 partners to cover the $2000 we needed the days before our October due date. And then November was a hoot as God brought in over $4000 in 10 days! $2500 was in a day!

When we found out we were going to YWAM on the last day of July, it was crazy to think we were leaving in 8 weeks and wondering how God was going to provide tens of thousands of dollars in a matter of weeks! Well, in His perfect timing and perfect amount, He did the impossible in our lives again.

God has provided through 62 individuals/couples and 1 anonymous person and we dearly appreciate our partners in the Kingdom of God. Our partners range in age from 12-90 years old and in denominations of $5 - $2000+. Every cent counts and the eternal value really matters!

One afternoon, we were meeting for outreach and Shane and I were the two students that still needed finances to come in for outreach. I was asking the Lord about it and felt Him say "maybe this isn't about you...". It dawned on me that maybe the Lord wanted to work out the details in His specific way for the benefit of more than just us. Maybe His reasoning was for someone else that would be part of this story. Just after this came to mind, our team prayed for us and our finances. One of the girls prayed an incredibly sweet and honest prayer asking that God would do an incredible miracle to build her faith through watching what He would do in our situation. Wow! It's not just about our faith and it would be a detriment to try and do this on our own, when there are so many different people the Lord wants to weave together in this story. We definitely can't do this on our own and really need the team alongside us! So, thank-you!

We are so happy to be able to share the good news of God's incredible provision with you all! Be blessed!

Week 9 Summary

Week 9 was the 50th Anniversary of YWAM so all our lectures were corporate sessions in the mornings and evenings with optional break-out type sessions in the afternoon and work duty. It was a full and busy week and many things happened, both good and not-so-good.

As for the good stuff, it was such an honor to be here during a very special time for YWAM. I don't understand the full significance of this event for YWAM because I'm new to the YWAM scene, but it was so meaningful to so many people that have served all over the world in missions over the last 50 years. I know it was a historic moment in YWAM's history and so I'm blessed to have been a part of it. It's interesting that we were called here at this specific time!

The week kicked off Monday evening with a grand opening ceremony! The nations of the world, specifically the Pacific islands, sure know how to have a good time! There were cultural dances, fire dancing, singing, and much more and it made for a fun night to kick off the week! There was the presentation of all the flags of course! 209 countries were represented by students and staff for all the countries that have come to Kona to do a DTS! Wow! I cheered extra hard for Canada, Hawaii, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Mexico, Haiti, North and South Korea and Israel! I cheered hard for these ones because I've been to them, have a loved one in them or know their prophetic significance!

Highlights this week:
- Beautiful Polynesian dancing - it's amazing how they move their hips so fast! Even the children!
- The calling out for a double portion of love during the fire dancing!
- Welcoming the Middle Eastern countries gave me the shivers in the Spirit!
- Finding out on Monday (29th) that Honolulu legislated "YWAM Day" in Hawaii!
- Getting to know more of the heart and character of God through the various cultures
- Envisioning session with Mark Anderson
- Big birthday party on Friday night with an even more incredible show than Monday, a cupcake food fight and a torrential downpour of rain
- Got to play the piano and sing to the Lord in the early morning hours in the prayer room twice this week! It was good to be back playing and singing in the prayer room context!
- Being a part of the unveiling of so many innovations going forward! My favorite was the uniscript of the gospel of John that came out for the first time in Hawaiian and Mandarin! It's incredible that people that haven't been able to read the Bible will have an easy way to learn and will be able to read the Word of God for themselves! Very emotional presentation!

Favorite lines from the week:
- "Go means changing locations" - Loren Cunningham
- "All the individual acts of obedience have brought us all to this place" - Loren Cunningham
- "God is telling all of us to pioneer" - Darlene Cunningham
- "In the Kingdom of God, efficiency isn't the highest value" - John Dawson
- "We, as missionaries, can't be sustained by the vision" - John Dawson
- "Multiplication has to include discipleship. Discipleship includes teaching." - Loren Cunningham
- "Prepare on the last word until God gives you the next word. If you don't prepare, you are not a good leader"
- "Stop calling the prayer movement and the missions movement two separate things. They are one and they are mine" - What the Lord said to Mark Anderson in a dream
- "We are being prepared for a different day" - Mark Anderson
- "Young people are ruined for His presence. They would rather spend their days in a prayer room and not eat (fasting) than build a ministry" - Mark Anderson

On a sad note, we had a hard week at the same time. On December 1, a wonderful man who is so special to Shane and I, Grandpa Ross, died back home in Manitoba. We have been expecting this for some time, but it is still hard, especially to grieve far from family and home. We checked flights to see if it would work to come home for the funeral, but it is just too expensive to do that. We are sad to be missing the funeral next Friday, the 10th, but we will be writing something for the family to read on our behalf. I really loved Shane's grandpa and it's so sad to lose him but even sadder to know the eternal choice He made (unless there was a significant encounter that nobody knew about in the final days and hours). The reality of hell is the part that makes mourning for Grandpa the hardest. Please continue to pray for us and our family as we mourn the loss of someone we loved and process through the pain of the reality of eternity and our free will in deciding our eternal destinies.

Also, in the midst of the cupcake food fight, my dear husband's food collided with another classmate's heel, resulting in what we believe is possibly 2 broken toes. So, my husband is out of commission and having a tough time getting around campus because there are lots of steps, hills and distances to walk here. Thankfully we got a hold of crutches from the Primary Health Care school but they don't fit right. But, they sure are better than nothing! Please pray for healing for Shane.

Here are quite a few pictures from this week's celebration!

The opening ceremonies! A good amount of fire involved!

The view of the stage for the week

Matt (fellow South Africa teammate) carrying a flag as part of the procession of the flags

Shane, Cam and myself praying on the 4K map for South Africa, and specifically the western Cape

The view of the prayer room and 4K map from above

Shane praying on the 4K map

Me praying on the 4K map with Stephen, another South Africa teammate

The unveiling of the Mandarin uniscript on the table and the gifts from China

Call2All helping serve at a moment's notice to put the birthday cakes together before the session started as the band practiced behind us

YWAM's 50th birthday cake after completion!

Full of icing after helping prepare the birthday cakes!

My happy husband after a food fight! The girls did his hair using the "mousse" of the icing!

The happy couple after getting soaked in the rain and Shane getting caked in the food fight!

My beautiful friend, SoJung, dressed in a beautiful Korean dress

Shane getting crutches from the Primary Health Care team and first aid tent

The Jubilee Covenant we signed

Jadon and Joshie (sons of classmates and school leaders) playing with Shane's crutches

A beautiful painting about Jesus on the white horse and the nations gathering to Him!

The final morning celebration in the Plaza of the Nation with all the flags of the nations that have been here!

What a full, fun and hard week all in one. Happy 50th Birthday YWAM!