Christmas in Red Hill

Outside the Shelter

The Clinic in Red Hill

The past couple of weeks have been super busy for us. This past week in Red Hill we had two Christmas parties for the kids. It was such a wonderful time! Wednesday was our first Christmas party that Lumka, Kennedy, Nathan, and I put on. There was a lot of preparation that went into that day, but it was completely worth it. When thinking about what we wanted to do for the Christmas party we were all on the same page. We wanted to bring to life the story of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. We decided to turn the shelter into Jerusalem and the clinic into Bethlehem. The kids were broken into two groups and traveled between the shelter and the clinic to get the full story of the birth of Jesus. We decorated both of the places and tried to make each place feel like Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Lumka and Nathan were at Jerusalem and Kennedy and I were at Bethlehem. The party was mainly for our kids, ages 3-10, but our teens played a big part in the day. We asked them to play the different characters in these stories. They did a wonderful job. We had a Mary, Joseph, 3 wise men, King Herrod, and 3 shepherds. In the shelter Nathan talked to the kids about King Herrod and how the 3 wise men went and talked to him. He then explained how the wise men followed a star which led them to baby Jesus. At the clinic Kennedy explained how Mary and Joseph had nowhere to go the night of Jesus birth. He told the kids how the Savior of the world was born in a place where all sorts of animals lived. The kids thought this was very interesting. It was really amazing to see the kids so interested in the things that we were teaching them. They finished up the day doing a craft, getting their faces painted, and enjoying a nice meal. We were blessed to have help during this party. A team called Extreme Response was there with us helping us with all the different things that we were doing. The party was such a great time to be with our kids and remind them of the real reason we celebrate Christmas!

Nondera is excited about the Christmas party

Sweet Quantum Showing off his face paint

Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus

Saturday afternoon we had another Christmas party in Red Hill. We didn't plan this party though. The organization Children's Cup put it on for the kids. We were able to come and just help them with whatever they needed help on and to hang out with the kids. The Children's Cup mission is to change the world for hurting and forgotten children by giving them hope in the love of Jesus Christ. Their hearts are for children and making sure that they are shown the love of Christ. Greg and Angie, who work with Children's Cup, came to Cape Town to see if there was a need for the organization here. Keep them in your prayers as they are seeing where they can be best utilized. As you can imagine, the kids were so excited to be having another Christmas party! Greg brought a lot of volunteers with him yesterday to Red Hill and they were all All-Stars! They jumped right in with the kids and did an incredible job. A lot like our Christmas party Wednesday, we did a lot of the same things. They were told about the birth of Jesus, had a time for praise and worship, faces were painted, they were fed hotdogs, sang happy birthday to Jesus, ate birthday cake, and they even had a blow up jumping thing. As you can see, it was a busy afternoon, but the kids had a blast! When they left they received little red bags with Christmas gifts in them. They were all so excited! I'm so thankful that our kids were able to see the love of Christ through this group of people and here the story of Jesus' birth again!

Some of the boys after getting Christmas gifts

Looking back on this week I am so grateful for where I am and all that the Lord is continuing to teach us. He is present in all circumstances and his love for us is so BIG! This community is becoming more like family everyday for us. When we pull in everyday and hear them yelling our names and there faces light up is a feeling I can't begin to put into words. Even though I miss being with friends and family back home for this Christmas season, I am so grateful for the family we have in Red Hill and Cape Town. This is such a wonderful time of the year and it's so incredible getting to spend it serving such a beautiful community. Please pray for Red Hill during the next couple of weeks and that they will not lose focus on the things we have shared with them. Help them remember that Christ is why we celebrate CHRISTmas! As we know it's easy for our minds to get clouded with other things, but this is truly the most wonderful time of the year and our kids get that! You can see it in there eyes, smiles, and the way they hug your neck! They are the next generation of leaders and I'm excited to see the Lord continue to move in and throughout their lives! Thank you Father for your love and the way you use us everyday to make your name known here in South Africa!

This coming week is our last week before we have a couple of weeks off for holiday. This week is going to be super busy though and we would appreciate your prayers. We are doing Holiday Club this week in Red Hill. Club runs Monday-Friday and we will be doing kids and teens club everyday. Kids club will run from 10-12 and teens club from 2-4. It is going to be tiring, but we know the Lord is going to show up in huge ways! Please pray for strength for Lumka and Kennedy as they are exhausted. They have been fearless leaders who continue to serve and not miss a beat. Pray that we will be affective this week in the things we say and do and Christ would be the center of everything that we are teaching! Pray for the times we do get to rest that we will be able to sleep well and feel rejuvenated for the next day! Thank you for your continued prayers and support as we continue on this journey! We are so blessed to share our life here with all of you back home! We pray the Christmas season is treating you well and that you'll take a minute to remember how very blessed we all are this time of year!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13

A time of Thanksgiving

This past Thursday families gathered to celebrate one of the best days of the year, Thanksgiving. We cook food, spend hours baking our favorite treat, and even watch a little football. I love this holiday and all that it entails. This year Nathan and I spent our first Thanksgiving as a married couple thousands of miles away from our family and friends. We missed all the traditions that we were used to and spending time with those who mean so much to us. While it was hard, it was nice getting to know people here in South Africa. Thanksgiving had a different feel this year, but it was a good one. Before I talk about that, I want to share something else that we get the opportunity to do every Wednesday.

"Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take eat; this is my body.' And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them saying, 'Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Matthew 26:26-28

Every Wednesday morning Nathan, Lumka, Kennedy, Phyllis, Nadine, and myself all gather in the office in Red Hill to take communion and pray for the community of Red Hill. The first couple of weeks that we did it I loved it, but it wasn't until this past week that I realized how special this time was. As we sat there and prayed for our kids, teens, and the community as a whole, I couldn't help but think how very blessed we all are. Yes, of course we all have needs, but when hearing the needs of Red Hill compared to ours, they seemed so small. Sometimes we make the biggest deal out of something that isn't that big, and I'm definitely guilty of this myself. Sitting there this past Wednesday and hearing the prayers sent up to our Father brought peace to my heart. Knowing that we have someone there everyday of every week listening to our requests and blessing them as we continue to follow him in our daily lives. Prayer is so powerful and sometimes that is so easily forgotten. Life speeds up and it seems to busy to sit and have that time with the Lord. I am challenged every week during that time because I see the impact of prayer everyday in Red Hill and how the Lord is continuing to move in that beautiful community. I love the mental picture I get when I think about talking to my Father. When I close my eyes to pray I picture grabbing my favorite green and brown blanket, reaching out my arms, and our great God picking me up and sitting me on his lap in a big comfy chair. I picture sitting there with him and just sharing my heart. The good things that are going on and the not so good things. He listens to every word that comes out of my mouth and with his gentle spirit lets me know the things he wants me to hear. I pray that one day when I get to heaven, my Father and I can share this moment together. I am so thankful this season that I work with a group of people who know the importance of prayer and who want to share in the blessing of communion in the middle of our crazy hectic weeks. It is truly a blessing to remember the blessing of Christ giving his body and blood for us, so that we may be forgiven of all the times we fall short.

Thursday morning we woke up and it didn't feel like Thanksgiving outside because it was 75 degrees, but we were excited to celebrate later that evening. We were invited to a get together of a bunch of the wonderful Americans that we have gotten the privilege to know in the past month of being here. Joey and Courtney Lankford had around 40 people over to their lovely home where we fellowshipped and ate a meal that left me full for at least the next 24 hours! Nathan and I were able to meet a lot of new people and get to know those better that we had met in the past month. Something that we have struggled with the most since we have been here is finding community. Thursday night was very good for us. When we left we talked about how for the first time since we have been here, it was finally starting to feel like home. What a blessing it is to meet new people and make new friends. We have been praying for that feeling since we got here, and it is finally starting to feel that way. Even though we missed spending Thanksgiving with our families, I couldn't imagine being anywhere but here for this holiday season.

"Enter his gates with Thanksgiving, and his courts with PRAISE! Give THANKS to him; bless his name!" Psalm 100:4 

One night last week Nathan made a suggestion to me. He told me we should write down all the things that we are thankful for. I knew that I could write for hours about all I was thankful for, but took out my journal and starting writing.

I'm thankful for:
1. My Father's unconditional and steadfast love
2. My loving husband who serves me daily
3. My mom and stepdad
4. My amazing in-laws
5. Meme, Pop, MeeMaw and Wally
6. Rachel, her friendship and her life
7. Curt and Sanghyun all the way in China
8. Rolling Hills Community Church
9. All my wonderful, supportive friends
10. All of Nathan's incredible friends
11. My health and my families health, the ability to wake up this morning
12. Living Hope and the vision that they share
13. Red Hill community- Lumka and Kennedy
14. My country and the freedom that we have thanks to our amazing troops serving all over the world
15. Our cozy little flat in Cape Town
16. The food that we eat everyday
17. Divine appointments with new people
18. New friendships
19. The ability to communicate with family back home, via. e-mail, Facebook, Skype
20. Spiritual growth that only YOU can provide
21. Moments of loneliness when you draw me back to you Father
22. The future you have planned for Nathan and I
23. YOUR constant LOVE and ENCOURAGEMENT

Father,
Today is a slow day in Red Hill. It is cold and rainy and I'm just sitting here in the office. I know I have told you that I'm feeling tired and I guess you heard my prayer and have given me a slow rainy day. Thank you for hearing my prayer. As I write down all that I'm thankful for today I realize how loved and bless I am. Father, the past month has been a whirlwind of emotions. I know that you know my heart and the things that I'm struggling with, but I just want to take a minute and say thank you for all of your blessings. This season of our lives is new, but you have continued to reveal yourself to me time and time again. I know you know my uncertainties and when I want to be at home, you quickly remind me of why I'm here. Whether that be a hug from a child, or a smile from someone I don't even know. There are so many things that I am thankful for and I just want to say thank YOU for this life and the opportunity to bring your Word to the nations. It is a blessing to know that you are in control always and you are always looking for ways to bless us. I pray that I can be this kind of blessing to those around me. You are ALL KNOWING and I pray that in my moments of loneliness you remind me how vast your love is and how you've gone before me and know my next step. Happy Thanksgiving to my loving Father. I am SO very thankful for you and how you have transformed my life. I love you. 

This Thanksgiving was a beautiful reminder of all the things that are most important. I am thankful to be where I am during this time of the year and praying for God to use both Nathan and I in ways that we can't imagine. For the first time we aren't surrounded by the craziness of Christmas in the states. I pray that we can focus on the true meaning of this special season and remember to give thanks during it all knowing that everything comes from our gracious Father.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17

I'm gonna make this place your home

"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.." ~ Psalm 127:1

Today we visited our new church here in Cape Town, King of Kings.  In the middle of their Family Month, today's sermon was from Psalm 127 and focused on the importance of having a loving home rather than simply having a house to live.  Being newlyweds and looking forward to raising our own family (no, we aren't pregnant), this sermon was really encouraging and honestly got me very excited to have a family one day.  However, it was the first verse of this Psalm that we studied today that has constantly been in my mind all day long, and as Claudia and I start this new season of life in ministry, this verse hit home on so many levels, no pun intended.  This flat in Noordhoek is our first home together, and we know the importance of having Christ as the center of our family, but this also hit me on a broader scale.  In ministry in general, if the work we do isn't God-ordained and God-inspired, then our work is in vain.  Without God, all skill, strength, and effort is worthless - this definition of vain that the pastor used today just rocked me and Claudia and I had quite the gut-check moment.  It was such a great reminder of why we're here.  It's through that lens that we will gain perspective on all our work here, whether planning or singing and dancing with our little ones, we must continue to rely on the Holy Spirit for the remainder of our journey.

This was our second week of Kids and Teens Clubs, and our second full week to work alongside Lumka and Kennedy and the other LSE's.  I can't begin to describe how amazing it is to work alongside brothers and sisters from across the world who have the common goal of making Christ known to the kids, teens and parents of their community.  It's truly a privilege to get to partner with them in ministry, and when you listen to the hurts and cries of their hearts for the lost kids in their communities, you can't help but be encouraged because regardless of where they are in life, they are sold out to making God magnified in their communities.

In Kids Club this week, we continued to focus on watching our words.  "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer" Psalm 19:4 was our memory verse this week.  We wanted the kids to see how their words are important and should be used to lift others up and not tear them down.  The highlight of the Kids Club for me was seeing my wife read The Little Engine That Could to these little ones.  For 15 minutes, you could hear a pin drop in a room where every other minute is organized chaos.  These kids were completely fixed on every word and picture on every page.  It's humbling to think that most of these kids don't get read to before bed every night like I and many of you were when we were their age.  It was the most beautiful picture in the world, getting to see Claudia make many of these kids' days by just taking time to read them a story.

Our goal this week for Teens Club was to encourage them to Finish Strong.  This time of year school is winding down for them, and we wanted to just give them a push to finish the race with momentum.  But also, we wanted to gain momentum into this week, which is our Wait 4 Me event (we called this True Love Waits).  We read in Matthew 12 where Jesus said "out of the abundance of the heard the mouth speaks."  We talked about how the things we put into our hearts and minds are what will ultimately be how we speak and act.  Much like kids in the USA, these teens are exposed to so much more than I was as a teen, and with the technology that they do have, they have access to much more than was available 10 years ago.  But even with all this evil surrounding them, there were glimpses of hope.  One girl asked "So if I think about sex, does that mean that my heart and mind aren't pure?"  Claudia was able to share with her that though we may have bad thoughts, that doesn't mean we're impure, and even though we are sinful humans, we were bought by Jesus' blood on the cross, and we don't have to live in bondage to these desires.  God is moving in these teens!! Please continue to pray for opportunities like this one to proclaim Christ to these hurting kids and teens.

Our weekend was very relaxing, and Claudia and I got to spend time getting Christmas presents for our families and also spending time with Matt, one of the new volunteers here.  We went on a date Friday night and caught up on laundry on Saturday.  I already shared about church today, but we had a great time experiencing community this weekend, and we're looking forward to the relationships we'll make here.  As I wrap up this post, I just want to let you in on some ways to continue to be in prayer.  First of all, our landlord, Dieter, had a heart attack on Friday night and has been in the hospital for 2 nights.   I'm not sure just yet if he and his wife are believers, but I was able to pray and offer condolences to Jennifer.  She said he'd had a heart attack once or twice before, but the doctors were even more afraid this time because it seemed he had a stroke as well.  Keep Dieter and Jennifer in your prayers this week for healing and strength.  Pray that Claudia and I could be a positive influence in their lives as well.  Along the same lines, John Thomas, the senior pastor at King of Kings and founder of Living Hope is having surgery tomorrow morning.  I'm not certain on all the details of the surgery, but I know it's serious.  Pray for his family, Avril his wife, and children.  Pray also for the doctors and nurses and surgeons who will be with him tomorrow.  Finally, we're still fundraising for this rest of this year and next year, and I'm anxious to see how God provides.  He's blown us away in the last month with generous gifts from friends and family and even people who don't know us, but support God's mobilization of his people.

Thank you all so much for your texts, messages, and emails.  It is so encouraging to hear from you all and your support has been so meaningful to us as we continue to venture on this journey.

Cheers

First full week complete!

We can't believe that we have already had our first full week here in Cape Town. It has flown by but has been absolutely incredible. A week ago today I was in a completely different place then I am today. The first couple of days it was really hard for me. I guess in my head I thought this was going to be a lot easier then it really is. I have experienced many changes in the past couple of months. From graduation in May, getting married in September, and moving to another country just 10 days ago, it has been a whirlwind. I was feeling very sad last weekend into the beginning of this past week. I missed home, family, friends, and the life that seemed so normal to both Nathan and I. I knew that this move wouldn't be easy, but I wasn't expecting to miss the things back home so much. I realize now that a lot of that emotion came from a lack of sleep we were getting, but we are thankfully caught up now and that has helped immensely. Through all the tears a couple of days ago, I was quickly reminded by our God and my loving husband that He is never far from us. In the times where things seem so far from normal, He is right there ready to comfort any emotion we may be feeling. It has been so neat to see how much different I feel from last weekend. A big reason for feeling the way I do now is being able to go to Red Hill this past week.

When we pulled into Red Hill everyday this week it's like every worry and fear goes away. It's such a beautiful place that brings so much joy to both of us. When we drive to our container office, there are so many little things that make my heart overflow with happiness. The smiles of the people we pass, the random animals running around, the women filling up her water bucket for her family, and of course the children that run along the gravel roads. All of these things will never get old seeing day after day. This week we did a lot of observing; seeing how Lumka and Kennedy run things day by day in Red Hill. Lumka and Kennedy are the Life Skills Educators that we get the privilege of working alongside each week. Lumka is such a beautiful women inside and out. She is more of a quiet spirit but has a huge love for the community of Red Hill and so many ideas to make kids and teens club better each week. I can't wait to continue getting to know her. Kennedy is such a fun spirit to be around. He and Nathan enjoy talking about a lot of things and he is a great leader in the community that many people look up to. We love being able to do kids and teens club with them this week.

Kids club this week was crazy and upbeat, like usual! On Monday's the kids meet in upper camp and on Wednesday's the kids meet in middle camp. We start off each kids club with singing worship songs to our Father. It is such a blessing to hear these children sing praises to our great God. They get so excited and sing at the top of there lungs. We loved getting to jump around and sing with them on Monday and Wednesday. Monday we talked about ways to use our words in a positive way. We looked at James 3:5-10 and talked about how the tongue is a fire and we have to control what words we say to each other. We explained how the tongue can be a blessing and a curse and how we need to really look to uplift people with the words that we say. On Wednesday we had a movie day at kids club. We watched Despicable Me and the kids loved it. I have to admit, I probably laughed just as much as they did. Before kids club started though we were able to play with the kids for about 30 minutes. Some of them were playing soccer, others were dancing to music, and some were looking at books. I had the opportunity to read a children's  book to about 5 kids before club started on Wednesday. One of our sweet girls, Iyaka, asked me to read a book to her. As I sat in the corner with 5 kids trying to sit on my lap I couldn't help but think how normal this was back in the states. Most parents read a bedtime story to there children each night before they go to bed, but for these kids, that was anything but normal. They were so grateful and happy to just sit and listen to a story being read to them. Sitting there reading that story to the kids my eyes filled with tears and my heart grew heavy. In that moment I remembered how big our God was and how blessed I was to share a story with His beautiful children.

One thing I love about Red Hill is how Lumka cooks the kids and teens a hot meal each week. On Wednesday and Thursday the kids and teens both got a hot meal after club. I asked Lumka one day how many of the children get fed well that came to club and she said about half. That meal might be the only warm meal that these kids and teens get in a week. That is really hard to wrap our minds around. We are so blessed to get hot meals everyday. Something that Nathan and I want to stop saying so much is "I'm starving." It's a saying that we throw around a lot when we are hungry and even though it seems so simple, to these people it is completely different. Yes, we may be really hungry, but we will probably never know what it means to be starving. It is truly a blessing to get to serve these kids and teens food each week. To see there faces light up and gobble up there food is such an incredible thing to be apart of.

We weren't able to make it to teens club this past Tuesday, but on Thursday they also watched a movie. We watched Alvin and The Chipmunks! There were only about 10-12 teens there on Thursday. It was so cool to just sit with them and be able to enjoy a movie. Nathan talked to me on the way home on Thursday how much alike the teen guys are here and back home at our church. They both struggle with a lot of the same things and want to be accepted by there peers. At the same time though, they love to just get together and hang out. Despite all the things that these teens are struggling with and going through in Red Hill, they are still kids at heart. They enjoy being able to come and watch a movie in a place that is safe and be accepted by the people around them. Like the kids, the teens received a hot meal on Thursday. We loved being in Red Hill this week and serving this beautiful community. We can't wait to see how the Lord is going to continue to move in that place.

Friday was a really fun day for us. Every Friday we will have a meeting at Living Hope from 8:00-12:00. We will gather with all the other Life Skill Educators and volunteers and talk about the week and start preparing for the next week. Nathan and I were able to share a little bit of our story this week and lead everyone in a short devotion before we started. It was really cool getting to hear all that the Lord is doing in the other communities and get to meet the other people we will be working with. Halfway through the meeting we split up in two groups, kids and teens. I stayed with Lumka and Nathan went with Kennedy. Lumka and I were able to start planning for this coming week and talk about different ideas that will keep the children engaged and excited about coming to club. I feel like together we have a lot of good ideas and it will be cool to see them come together in this next year. Nathan and Kennedy went and met with the people that work with teens in the other communities. He shared with me later how they spent about an hour addressing the needs of the teens and praying that God would show up in big ways in there lives. Nathan told me how open the other life skill educators were with the things that these teens are struggling with. A lot of the stuff is extremely heavy and he was very broken for these teenagers. His past two years as an intern with the youth at Rolling Hills is going to help him in a lot of different ways when it comes to encouraging and talking to these teenagers. I'm very excited to see the Lord work through him and the lives of these sweet guys. Tomorrow morning, Monday, Nathan and I will meet with Lumka and Kennedy in Red Hill and continue planning for this coming week!

Friday afternoon we had off so we went to the beach for a couple hours and then went up Chapman's Peak! It was so beautiful and such a fun time together. This place is truly breathtaking and I wish everyone could experience the beauty of this place. This weekend has been pretty relaxing for us both. We went to dinner at the Waterfront in downtown Cape Town with some friends yesterday. It was really nice being able to spend time with them and catch up. When we got home we were able to Skype some special people for a couple hours. It was great to see family and friends! It brings a little sense of home to us both! We have been able to catch up on sleep, read, and do laundry this weekend also so that's always good. We are still getting used to hanging our clothes on the line after we wash them, no dryer for us!

As I wrap up there are a few things you can be praying for this week. Continue to pray for Nathan and I as we continue to settle in and adjust to everything. Pray for Red Hill and all that the Lord is doing there. Pray for the kids and teens that there minds would be filled with positive things and that they would use there words wisely this week. We are continuing what we were teaching last week so praying that they will understand the things that we are trying to teach them. Pray for Lumka and Kennedy as they continue to lead and that they would be encouraged by Nathan and I and feel a overwhelming peace each day. Pray for the other communities, Masiphumelele, Capricorn, and Ocean View, that Living Hope work with and for there kids, teens, and leaders. We can't wait to see all the Lord is going to do this week and to share with all of you! So thankful for our great God and his GREAT love!

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39

The 3 Day Blur

It feels good to be writing to you all again.  Claudia and I have been able to get somewhat acclimated to our new life here in Cape Town and tomorrow we get to embark on our first day serving in Red Hill!  But before we start this adventure, I'd like to recap the last 3 days for you..

After an emotional farewell from our friends and family at the Nashville Airport, we boarded a plane to Washington D.C. and then made our seamless transition to our Gate and boarded our plane for Johannesburg.  Only half of the personal media screens on the flight worked, and the two of us were in the lucky bunch, so our traveling was about as smooth as it could be.  Our plane refueled in Dakar, Senegal and we were off to South Africa.  Then came JoBurg.  What happened in Johannesburg is somewhat of a blur now, but I can tell you in the moment, it was everything in me not to just book a flight home and come back.  

To be fair, we'd been warned about taking the "Refueling in Dakar" flight.  We'd heard horror stories about how long a one hour pitstop easily turns into four, so we were completely prepared to miss our final connecting flight to Cape Town and knew what to do should our flight not get to JoBurg in time to make our flight.  So when we arrived earlier than we were supposed to, we thought it would be easy breezy. We thought wrong.

We landed around 5:35, ahead of schedule, and proceeded to a relatively painless immigration check in.  We grabbed our luggage and hustled to recheck our bags around 6:00.  We ran up the stairs, knowing we were cutting it close to our flights departure when we got caught up in a line and ultimately missed our flight.  But no big deal, right? Just go to the South African Airlines desk and they'll put us on the next flight, and we'll just be delayed in our last flight to Cape Town.  WRONG.  Apparently, (and the jury's still out on whose fault it was, SAA or Orbitz for advertising a flight with such a quick turnaround) the flight was "illegal" because we only had 30 minutes between our arrival into JoBurg, and our Departure to Cape Town.  Because of our apparent deviant flight booking techniques, SAA wouldn't grant us a ticket on the last flight, we would have to pay a $500 to change the flight, or buy new tickets for $600.  Well we didn't have working credit card yet or a SIM card for our cell phone.  We got our phone working and called our contact, Tim, and by the time we got the security flags off our credit card, the SAA desk was closed.  So it was off to a hotel we went.  Thankfully, Orbitz offered to reimburse us for our hotel, flight, and food, but unfortunately our psyche took a hit.

The next day our experience at the airport was much smoother, and we got to Cape Town just after noon.  Natasha, Tim's husband, took us back to our new home.  We unloaded our luggage and took a long nap to get ready for our first run at the South African grocery, Pick-n-Pay.  The next day we went and got our new car, Jackie, a Toyota Corolla and our adventures began.  We revisited the PnP to go by the ATM and as we parked, I heard a little voice call out "NATHAN!"  It was Shinazo, one of the little kids from Red Hill who I've gotten to know on our mission trips.  Made my day.  Then after getting our cards figured out, we went back to the ATM and in the parking lot I ran into Mzo, who visited Rolling Hills 2 years ago and was the reason I went on the South African mission trip.  God put into my path 2 people who have been influential in bringing me back to serve long term.  Just the affirmation I needed to keep on, the day before we start our work.  Praise God!! 

Tomorrow we take another step in our journey and we couldn't be more excited! Please pray for the kids and people we'll meet in Red Hill.  Pray that their hearts would be softened to the Gospel.  Also, lift up Kennedy and Lumka and their families.  Pray that they would have the energy to keep on teaching and leading these kids and teens.  Please keep us in your prayers as well, we are still battling jet lag and haven't been asleep before 3AM any night this week.  Thank you for all your support and encouragement! We couldn't do it without you!

Donating Link

http://justiceandmercy.org/mcdivitt/

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5 Days Away..

Today is our Social Media Outreach Day and our goal is just to spread our story so that people can ultimately remember us in their prayers over the next two years, but also so that they can have an opportunity to join alongside us in our journey and partner with us financially.  We've prayed over this day and we have set a goal to raise $5,000 dollars during this 12 hour period.  More than anything, we want for Christ to be magnified during this day.  There's no way we could do any of this without the Holy Spirit moving into hearts and spurring them.  We know that our God is big enough to take care of all our financial needs and we want to look back on this day and have no other choice but to give praise to the One to whom all Praise is due.  Thank you for taking time to support and encourage us.  You prayers during this journey has comforted us when we felt overwhelmed and gave us the confidence to keep pursuing this wonderful adventure God has for us!

18 Short Days

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged, I promise it will have a lot more consistency once we get to South Africa. The past couple of months have been a whirlwind to say the least. On September 15th Nathan and I finally tied the knot and the day couldn't have been more perfect. It was the wedding I pictured in my head ever since I was a little girl. We are so grateful for everyone who made that day possible for us, especially his family! Now that life has slowed down a little bit we are really able to focus most of our attention to the big move in 18 days, not that anybody is counting. If you asked us how we are feeling you would probably get a handful of answers. Excited, anxious, nervous, happy, grateful and humbled would be some of our answers I'm sure. I can already tell why people love being married, it truly is one of God's greatest blessings. As we look forward to the weeks ahead we are so excited to be in Cape Town and start our life together, just us! We are currently living out of suitcases and living at his parents house in his room upstairs. While we are so thankful for time with family right now, we are ready to be in our own little small "flat" that we will call home. We started reading through Acts together right after the wedding and it has been such a blessing. Learning and growing together brings me so much joy. Being able to seek the Lord through all these huge steps in our lives is a blessing in itself. Psalm 105 3 says, "Glory in his holy name, let the hearts of those who seek the Lord REJOICE!" Reading through Acts we have seen so much. One of my favorite stories we have read so far is in chapter 4. The boldness that Peter and John have is the boldness that I pray Nathan and I will take to the beautiful city of Cape Town. "But Peter and John answered them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19-20) WOW! That is exactly the kind of attitude that we want to have. It's not going to be easy. We would be crazy to think it was going to be. There are going to be those days that we are uncertain why we are still there and days that Satan seems like he's getting in between everything. It's in those days that we will dive into the word and read verses like Acts 2:28, "You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence." We are reminded daily of the plan we have for our lives. We know that every step of this journey is God ordained. When we step on that plane in 18 short days, we know that we are taking another step of obedience toward the next chapter of our lives together.

As most of you know we are raising our own support for the next couple of years. This has been one of the most humbling experiences for both of us. There are times when we sit together and wonder how we are going to pay rent 6 months from now or wonder how much money we will have by the time we leave. We have had moments of rejoicing and moments of doubt. In the moments of doubt we are always blown away by the faithfulness and sovereignty of our Father. We quickly remind each other that we didn't call one another to this country. The God of the universe called us there. We didn't choose for our hearts to long for hugs and kisses from the kids in Red Hill, God gave us that longing to be there. We didn't plan 3 years ago to fall in love with each other and that beautiful community, but He did. As much as we like to be in control, we couldn't be anymore not in control. God is carrying this all out by himself. He asked and we simply said yes. So when we are looking over our budget and facing uncertainties we must remind ourselves how we got here in the first place. He is the one providing our next step, He always has been. So with that being said I ask you to join us in prayer these next couple of weeks. We are having a couple more fundraisers and we know God is going to show up. Next weekend, October 12-13, in Franklin we are having a huge garage sale. There will be so many things there for sale and we would love to see you come out. Sara and Steve Ingmire have been kind of enough to let us use there house. The address is 3145 Vera Valley Road Franklin, TN. The other fundraiser we are going to do will be the week right before we leave. We haven't set a date for it yet, but just so you have a heads up. More details on that will come in the next week.

More then anything right now we need your prayers. There are some specific things that you can be praying about. Pray for the kids and teens in Red Hill that we are getting the blessing to work with the next couple years. Pray that there hearts will be open to us when we get there and that they will feel comfortable and will be able to see Christ love in us. Pray for Lumka and Kennedy who are daily serving in the community of Red Hill. Pray that they feel encouraged and loved daily. They are two fearless leaders who are always looking for ways to serve others. Pray that Nathan and I will be able to encourage them in the way that will help them the most once we get there. Pray for last minute things that need to be done before we leave. We are still waiting on our visas to arrive and that is something we have to have before we step on that plane. Lastly, pray for our hearts these next couple of weeks. Pray that we would be so filled with the spirit that it would overflow out of us. Pray that we continue to seek Christ in every little thing and that we will be BOLD in all that we do. I can't believe the countdown is less then 3 weeks, but couldn't be more excited! Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. May God continue to get the glory everyday with each step of obedience we take.

The Stillness of the Night

It's 2:07 in the morning and I couldn't be more awake. The house is dark and quiet as I sit still on the couch upstairs. I pulled out my Bible and started reading the book of Psalms. The truth and light that the Psalms shed is incredible. I am blown away every time I read of our God's power and how He has been working through people from the very beginning of time. I began to read Psalm 18 and it had a completely different meaning for me then it has in the past. David is addressing the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued Him from the hand of all his enemies. Reading the words on the page that David spoke brings me so much JOY! "In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears" (vs. 6). David was no different from us. In our times of distress we call upon the Lord. We want our Father to hear us and comfort us in times that are hard. He hears our cries and he listens to our every word! David goes on to acknowledge how GREAT our God is! "For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? The God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of the deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed. For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me. You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed. The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation. For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name!"(vs. 31-49). David from the beginning of this Psalm is stating his love for the Lord. David is sharing with us how he is yearning for God and the close love that he has for his Father. This is the kind of love that we pray and yearn for daily. A love so strong that we can confidently say that we have are arms wrapped so tightly around our Father. David explains to us how he has been saved from his enemies and God was so faithful and deserves all the praise. Seeing God for his worthiness is so important, as David points out for us. I pray that we will daily remember that God is the only person deserving of our focus, praise, and service because of all that He does. Revelation 4:11 says, "Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power because YOU have created all things, and because of YOUR will they exist and were created." Please pray that the worthiness of God is something that we will seek daily. David goes on to talk about how God took delight in him. In the same way God takes delight in us. God takes delight in all of his children! This is such a beautiful picture! When we are obedient to the things that God has called us to, He takes such delight. God is always our number one fan. He wants the absolute best for us no matter what the circumstance. We must see our Father in this light. Reading this passage in the stillness of tonight has shed a new light. Just like God delivered David, He is waiting to deliver us. He wants us to yearn for Him. He wants us to draw close to Him. He wants us to recognize His worthiness and be the only one deserving of our focus and praise. He wants us to delight in Him and be obedient when He calls us. So many things that David learned we are learning today. The same God that delivered David and called Him by name is calling us! My heart is thankful tonight for the blessing of knowing this God and knowing that His plan for us is HUGE! I pray that Nathan and I will continue to cry out to God and seek Him in the stillness of the days to come. He is waiting patiently and we are so blessed to have a Father whose love never runs dry!

The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed

Getting things ready for South Africa hasn't been as easy as we originally thought it was going to be. There are so many small details that have to be taken care of before we can move on to the next step. The past couple of weeks Nathan and I have been scrambling around trying to check things off of our list to do. We quickly realized that we were unable to do a lot of things until something else was completed first. We were able to send out all of our letters before we left for the beach two weeks ago and that was a huge blessing. Now we are in one of the harder stages of the process, getting things together for our South African Visas! The list of things we have to have is a bit overwhelming when you first look at it. I remember looking at it at first and thinking how in the world are we going to get all of this stuff done. We have been so blessed with the people around us who have been helping us in anyway that they can. I was able to Skype with Lesli, the missionary in Cape Town, last week and my conversation with her helped so much. We made a list and have been checking things off as we finish them and the list is finally getting smaller and smaller. Even though this process is very overwhelming and stressful, the Lord continues to remind us how much He is in control. When we were in Florida a couple of weeks ago we went to visit some of our friends that are working Centrifuge in PCB. While we were there I ran into one of my pastors that I had last summer while working camp. His name is Brandon Bowers. He spoke to Nathan and I for a couple of minutes and we told him a little bit of our story. Worship began and we found our seats ready to hear what the Lord was trying to teach us that night. We weren't sitting long until we heard Brandon ask from the stage if Nathan and Claudia were still in the room. We raised our hands from the back and he asked us to come up front. There we were standing in front of hundreds of students while Brandon began to tell a little bit of our story. He told the students that it didn't take something crazy to happen for them to be open for God to use them. They just had to be open to the things God is calling them to do. Brandon asked the students to bow their heads and he began to say a prayer over Nathan and I and the journey that we were about to begin together in South Africa. The prayers of those students overjoyed my heart and brought tears to my eyes. Ephesians 3:6-8 says, "This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." As we left worship that night Nathan and I began to talk about how unworthy we were to have this opportunity. Why has God chosen us? Why are we getting to partner with Living Hope to bring the Gospel to those in Red Hill? How can God use sinners like us to spread the good news? Ephesians 3 lays it out clearly for us though. God's grace is washed over us every single day. We are new creations and his power has made us alive in Him! His love for us stretches as far as the eye can see. We have boldness and confidence through our faith in Christ and according to the riches of His glory He may grant us the power through His Spirit and we may be filled with the complete FULLNESS of God! WOW, what a blessing! God has continued to show us in the small things how He has His hand over everything that we are doing. Through scripture, conversations with people, random phone conversations, camp, our family and friends, and so much more He is revealing to us our purpose in what we are doing. Right when we feel like we have hit a wall, something will happen where we hear Him whisper, "It's going to be okay, I'm right here, and I'm going to take care of you." That is the kind of Father we serve! As we continue to move forward in the process I ask that you continue to pray over this journey. There is still a lot to be done in the next couple of months and we know it will all get taken care of. Right now we are still in the process of getting our visa stuff together before we can send it all off to New York to get processed. We are hoping to book our plane tickets in the next week which will be one of the last things we need before sending everything off. I ask that you continue to pray for the support that we need to raise. I will place a link at the bottom of this entry where you can go online and make a one time gift or a monthly gift if you want to support us in that way. Every little bit helps and we are so grateful for those who are supporting us financially! Your prayers and support mean so much to Nathan and I during this time. We are so excited to see how our God uses our gifts and passions to bring glory to Himself! Continue to lift up the people of Cape Town, South Africa and all that God is continuing to do there. Pray that the Lord continues to prepare our hearts for things we will be doing once we get there! May God continue to receive the glory in everything that we do!

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence." 2 Peter 1:3

Copy and paste the link below to support us through giving! Thank you!

http://justiceandmercy.org/mcdivitt/ 

All Glory To God

"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'"
 Matthew 26:26-28 

What a blessing it is to know that the Savior of the world gave us the opportunity to take communion and remember the gift that He gave us. As I sat in church this morning and took communion I was reminded of this blessing. Jeff walked us through 15 Psalms this morning and showed us the meaning of each of them. God had a purpose for the words that were written and they each individually show us the beauty and grace of our Father. Psalms 120-122 are Psalms of vision. We see here that the God of the universe watches over every single one of us. He knows all of our individual needs and desires. None of them go unnoticed and they are all important to Him. As long as our eyes are fixed on the Lord we will be able to see things come together in His perfect timing. Psalms 123-125 are Psalms of confidence. Having confidence in who you are in Christ  is so important. We belong to Him and nobody else. We should meet with Him daily and realize that He is enough for us and nothing we can do can tear us away from his loving arms. Where we find our confidence is so important. "Our help is in the name of the Lord and our confidence is found in Him." Psalms 126-128 are Psalms of enjoyment. Having the joy of Christ is a feeling unlike any other. Waking up each day with the feeling that we are here for a purpose that is so much bigger then we can fathom is so incredible. The joy of life should pour out of us. Our hearts should be filled with so much laughter and joy because we have a reason to celebrate every day, and that reason is Jesus! In 1 Thessalonians 5:16 it tells us, "REJOICE ALWAYS, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." This verse couldn't have been written any better to explain the joy that we should find in our God. Pslams 129-131 gives us a glimpse of how sometimes our pride gets in the way. It is so easy to take the glory for the things that we do every day. God continues to work every single day, and while He uses us in situations, the glory should always be given back to Him. ALL things come from Him. James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly light." We should always remember this in times that our pride tries to get in the way of giving the glory back to the One who deserves it. Psalms 132-134 is a beautiful picture of the blessing that we have to bless others around us. We are blessed so we can bless the lives of others around us. I can't think of a better way to show the love of Christ then to share God's love and be a blessing to those around us. I couldn't begin to count the number of blessings that God has lavished on me, but I do know that He is the only one that they come from. We have been chosen by God, we are His and we get the opportunity to make His name known! "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light," 1 Peter 2:9. 


Last night marked a very important milestone in my life. I graduated from college! Looking back at my four years at Union I can't begin to thank the Lord enough for all the blessings. Not only did He put people in my life that will be my best friends forever, but He grew me and stretched me in ways that I could have never imagined. He showed me daily how much He loves me and how His love is constant and unending. He taught me hard lessons that I will never forget, and in the hard times He was always waiting for me arms open for me to run to. Closing that chapter of my life was hard, but looking now to the future has never been more exciting. As the summer begins I pray that you will join Nathan and I in this journey. A journey that we don't know exactly what it's going to look like. A journey that is going to have it's surprises and uncertainties. A journey that is so exciting that I could jump out of this seat I'm sitting in right now. During the next few months we will be seeking the Lord's guidance in all that we do. We want to make sure that every step is God ordained and that He receives the glory for everything. Like I talked about above, we want each step to reflect those Psalms. We want to have our eyes on the Lord daily. We want to be confident in who we are in Christ and confident in the direction that He is leading us. We want to be so joyful in the fact that the Lord has called us to take His name to South Africa, not only as individuals but as a married couple. I pray that our marriage will be a reflection of the love that Christ has for the church and people will be able to see that in us. We don't want our pride to get in the way of the glory that God deserves. He is the only reason that we are getting the opportunity to spread the Gospel and make His name known. Lastly, I pray that we will be a blessing to others. We are both blessed way beyond what we deserve and we want to be that blessing to every single person we come in contact with. The God of the universe gave his Son so we may freely receive the blessing of spreading His name throughout the world. His body and blood were given so we can freely live in the arms of our Savior and I pray we will never let that be far from our mind. The next couple of months are going to be busy, but I ask you to continue to pray for Nathan and I as we continue to seek God's hand in our lives. We are so thankful for each and single one of you and the encouragement that you bring to our lives. May God receive the glory today and all the days to come.

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

It is absolutely amazing to me how the God of the universe has adopted all of us into His beautiful family! He could have done everything by himself, but he chose all of us to carry out his promise to the world. I am blown away by the love of our Savior and reminded in the stillness of the night how much He truly loves his children. Before we even saw the world around us the God of the universe knew us and chose us! "My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, what as yet there was none of them" (Psalm 139:15-16). He knew US, God chose US! From the very beginning God knew exactly what He was doing when it came to creating every single person. We all play an intricate part in the body of Christ and what a beautiful picture that is. Tonight is one of those nights where I have been reminded in small ways how amazing of a Father we have and how badly He wants us to be apart of His story! His love for us reaches higher then the mountains and stretches far across the sky. His love is steadfast and true. He isn't going anywhere and reminds us that His love is unconditional even when we mess up, which will happen daily. It is very humbling to know that Christ chose us despite our sinful nature. He gave the ultimate sacrifice so we can have the joy of knowing Him! I know there will be days that we feel like we don't deserve His love, but that couldn't be any less true! "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). His Son was the ultimate sacrifice and there isn't anything we can do to separate ourselves from the love of Christ! What a blessing! As I continue to pray for what the future holds, I am reminded tonight that there is no greater love then the love of my Father! Through everything, the good and the bad, He is isn't going anywhere! Things will begin to get overwhelming I'm sure, but at the end of the day He is already moving in South Africa! He doesn't need me or anyone else, but He chose US because we are His children. We are apart of the greatest love story ever told and it's a beautiful story! He will always be our Father and we will always be His children! We all play a part in this story and I love that about our God! "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God" (John 1:12-13). I pray that we are reminded of this truth daily! We don't have to earn this love because He is our Father. We just have to run to him, crawl up in His lap, and accept the invitation to live a life of freedom and joy in His arms!

The Changing of Seasons

The word change scares a lot of people in the world today. We are faced with the unknown and something that is so unfamiliar to the life we are living right now. Change can be good and sometimes change can be bad. It's in these moments of change that I find myself completely dependent on the Author of my story. If you would have told me five years ago that I would be graduating from college, getting married to the most amazing guy in the world, and then picking up our new life and moving to South Africa I might have thought you were crazy. The past year of my life has had some of the most joyful times and some of the hardest times. Through everything one thing stayed consistent; the sovereignty and love of our Father. He has been preparing me for this season in my life from the very beginning. He has given me the desire to be a wife and love my husband unconditionally through everything. He has given me the passion and love for people that I wouldn't trade for anything in this world. Then He came along and grew my heart for the people of Cape Town and the ministry that is taking place there. He continued to show up in my life and truly showed me what it means to sacrifice and be obedient to His calling and not my own. As I look to the future and all the "unknowns" it excites me more then ever. I don't know exactly what the future looks like for my new family in South Africa, but I do know that my Father has gone before me and knows exactly how we're going to be used. I know there will be times of hardship, when it feels like we've hit a wall and there is no way around it. I pray that in those times we will cling to our Father's feet and let him guide us. Change can be scary sometimes, but the big change that is about to happen in my life is going to be one of the most exciting moments in my life. He has opened door after door to get us to this place. I have no doubt in my mind that Nathan and I are right in the center of His will for our life and I've never been in a better place. My prayer is that we cling to the words of Paul in Philippians 4. "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again-REJOICE! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all that he has done. Then you will experience God's peace which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus!" God has already blessed us beyond what we deserved and will continue to poor those blessings on us. Though the seasons will continue to change, I pray that the way we carry the name of Jesus will bring glory to his name always. In the midst of all the "unknowns" ahead of us, our God is the one thing that will never change. Thank you for this new season of life Father! I'm so excited and ready to experience ALL you have for us!