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
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http://justiceandmercy.org/mcdivitt/
