Fall Semester... Or is it Spring?

Our time of rest in Cape Town was incredible to say the least! After being there for one day I was ready to become a permanent resident. We got to stay right on the beach and had a great few days seeing the sights and just relaxing. The weather was kinda cool and the ocean was freezing, but that didn't stop me and Theo from taking a few swims. We got some odd looks walking around on the beach in just our swimming trunks when everyone else had on jeans and coats, but who cares, we enjoyed it!

We returned to Shikwaru and started Bush Camp 2.0. The new team had been up there for a few days when we joined them. Once again the Bush Camp experience was great. It's so nice to just get out in nature and spend time with Jesus.... The new team is great, although there is quite a bit of estrogen around the Hope Lodge now! Josh and I are outnumbered 8 to 2.

Although back in the States summer is coming to an end, it's just beginning here. It's definitely starting to warm up again, and we are starting to see some green coming up out of all the brown around us! We're hoping it will start to rain again soon. I think its been a good 2-3 months since we've had any.

The past few weeks we've been doing a lot of training with the new team. We plan on spending a lot of time in the local communities this semester investing in just a few schools. Most of our plans have been put on halt for the moment though. All of the schools in SA are on strike demanding an 8.5% increase in their pay. Since about 90% of our ministry involves working with schools, this is an obviously throws a monkey wrench in our plans. But God has other plans in mind... OneHope has a new curriculum they've recently come out with called 17 stories. It's 16 different stories from the Bible starting with creation and ending in Jesus' resurrection. The stories are displayed as pictures on a card that children will collect. When they get all the 16 cards and put them together and turn it over it shows the 17th story, a summary of all the 16 stories. With all of the children out of school with nothing to do, we've decided to start training some of the mothers and grandmothers in the community on how to use the curriculum so that they can simply gather up the local kids around their house and have story time.... We've also been continuing to do research in other communities.


God's been showing me a lot lately that all He really wants from us is our love. So often we worry about what God's will is for our life. I can tell you what it is, simply love Him! We complicate our lives and spend countless hours trying to make sure we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, when all along God is in complete control and He just wants us to spend time with Him. Although spending time with Jesus seems a simple task, many times it can become quite difficult. The last thing the devil wants us to do is to become closer to Jesus, so he will try everything he has to get us away from him. We live in a world that's in an epic battle; however, much of it we are blind to. There are angles and demons both fighting for us, and this is something we need to be aware of. We know that the ultimate victory lies with Jesus, but we need to pray God's protection over our lives and continue to seek after Him... I challenge you to seek after God with a new passion and conviction! If you aren't reading His Word, I encourage you to do so. And if you are already reading His Word on a regular basis, read more. Take aside 30 minutes to spend in prayer with Him, or just go for a walk and enjoy His creation... When you take the time to be with Him, even when you are tired and may not feel it it, you will become more and more aware of how much He loves you. Jesus died for you, and He would have gladly died on the cross if you were the only person in all of humanity that He could save!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and in some way I hope that God will speak to you through it. It's not because of anything I've said, I normally don't even write like this, but I just felt like God was calling me to do so... It's been so awesome getting to know Jesus better, and I just want you to experience to same.

Please continue to keep me, the team, our ministry, and the children of SA in your Prayers!