Thank YOU & Exciting News

Hey Friends! Just wanted to give you an update and tell you that my surgery on Wednesday went well! Dr. Fisher said everything looked great and we needed to leave the spots to heal for a couple months before going in and putting the implants in. Thank you all so much for the sweet text messages, e-mails, and posts the past couple of days. We have definitely felt the prayers and are so grateful for the encouragement and amazing people the Lord has put in our lives. Also, I have to brag on my husband for a second. I married one of the most servant hearted people on this planet. He has been so amazing the past couple of days and made sure I was comfortable every minute I've been awake. He is a superstar you guys and I am so thankful I can call him my husband. Okay, I'm done! :) With that being said, we have some exciting news to share. We have really been praying about moving when our lease ends in October for a couple of different reasons. We love our landlords now and the place we stay is great. There are a couple of things that we don't have that we would like to have since we will be here another year or maybe longer. We have a lot of visitors coming at the beginning of the year and so a spare bedroom is one thing we were really looking for. Another thing is an oven. We have been cooking from a toaster oven and two burners. It hasn't been that big of a deal, but now with all my food allergies there is just a lot more I could do with an oven. Another thing is we would love to hold a small group of some sort at our place and we just don't have the room where we are right now. We prayed about it and talked to our landlords and explained that we may not be renewing our lease in October. They were great about it, a little upset because they loved us staying here but we knew it was what we wanted. So we began praying and praying and searching gumtree (South African Craigslist) and we found something we liked and contacted the property agent. She explained to us that the place we wanted to look at wasn't very suitable for what we were looking for, but there was something that came up but wasn't on the market yet. It happened to be a flat that was off of her main house. The people staying there right now didn't really work out so she said we could come look at it. We went and looked at it yesterday and fell in love instantly. It has everything that we were looking for and is in a great/safe location. We are right down the road from the Lankfords and the Elders who have become great friends of ours since being in Cape Town. The move in date was the 1st of October which is exactly what we were looking for. We, or actually I, was stressing out about finding a place to live in such short notice, but the Lord provided for us once again. It's in these little blessings that I am reminded of our purpose and calling here. The Lord knows our desires and even if it's something like finding a new place to stay, He is going to provide as long as we're seeking Him. There are many exciting things coming up in the next two months. Nathan and I are celebrating 1 year of marriage, I'm turning 25 years old, and our 1 year anniversary of moving to this beautiful country. It's so fun for new chapters to start and old ones to be closed. I am excited to see what this new home brings and all the memories we are going to make in it. I am overjoyed at the thought of my family and friends getting to come here and experience our life for a couple of weeks in the new year. But most of all I am thankful that I serve a God who knows my every need, desire, hurt, and struggle but continues to love me everyday and loves to see us happy! Thank you once again for all the prayers the past couple of days and cheers to new beginnings and new chapters being started!

You Revive Me

Do you ever have those moments where you feel like it's just you and God in a room with nobody else around? I had one of those special moments this morning and surprisingly enough, I was surrounded by quite a few people. I was at the gym this morning running on the treadmill before heading to Red Hill for the day. I had my ipod in listening to a random playlist of songs when Christy Nockels "You Revive Me" came on. I have heard that song countless times, but this time it was as if God was whispering the words in my ear. As I was running I started to think back on this amazing journey our Father has taken Nathan and I on. The joys and the struggles that accompany the past 10 months and how they have changed both of our lives for the better. Incase you haven't heard this song, the lyrics go like this...

You revive me
you revive me lord
And all my deserts are rivers of joy
You are the treasure, I could not afford
So I'll spend myself till' I'm empty and poor
All for you, you revive me lord

Lord I have see your goodness

And I know the you are
Give me eyes to see you in the dark
And you face shine of glory
That I only know in part
And there is still a longing
A longing in my heart
My soul lord is thirsty
Only you can satisfy
You're the well that never will run dry
And I thank you for the blessing
Of calling me your friend
And in you name I'm lifting up my hands

I'm alive im alive

You breathe on me
You revive me

As I listened to the words I began to thank Jesus for those times in the past 10 months where we felt hopeless and alone in a desert. A desert where all we saw when we looked out was thousands of miles of sand and nothing else. I thanked him for bringing us out of that time and filling our hearts with so much JOY and love for where He has brought us. I thanked him for breathing new life into me and for giving me this passion that I know only comes from Him. My prayer during those times was Psalm 28:6-8, which says, "Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. The Lord is the strength of his people, he is the saving refuge of his anointed." In the confusing and lonely times I cried for help and the Lord heard my cry. He reminded me that this life that I'm living day to day in South Africa isn't my own, but it belong to HIM! He has placed me where I am today and I am so confident in our calling to this beautiful and broken country. 

God is moving in huge ways in Red Hill and Satan knows that. He continues to try and bring us down with the smallest things. He doesn't like that Christ name is being proclaimed everyday in this community and people are coming to know Jesus as their personal Savior. This disgusts Satan so much that he is using attacks to make us feel like what we are doing isn't important. These attacks from Satan are not going to hold us back from the work that is being done in this place. He has brought on another attack and it's in the form of a tooth! With that being said, I would like to ask for a specific prayer request. About two weeks I went to the dentist with terrible tooth pain on the left side of my mouth. As I sat in the chair I figured I just needed a filling or something small. The dentist took an x-ray and came back in to tell me that I was going to need to get my back two teeth surgically removed. I have had quite a bit of work done on those back two teeth but there is no longer anything they can do. As I sat there listening to his words, my eyes filled with tears and I felt defeated. Things have been so amazing since we have been back and I have felt so much better knowing now about my food allergies. I felt like Satan swooped down in that dental office and stole my joy right from me. I left the dentist office, got in the car with Nathan, and had a good cry. I began asking WHY!? We went to Red Hill and talked to Lumka and Kennedy who encouraged us and told us everything was going to be fine. It was in that moment, sitting in the Red Hill container, that I began to see Jesus in the midst of it all. We found out later on that the procedure was going to be quite costly, but knowing that I serve a God who has no bounds and no limits, I began to feel his peace cover me. I reminded myself of that verse in Psalm and how it says, "The Lord is MY strength and MY shield; in him MY heart trust, and I am helped." We began to pray and e-mail friends and family back home to explain the situation and what needed to be done. The Lord has continued to be faithful and has provided us with the necessary funds to have the procedure done this Wednesday. We are blown away by all of you and how you continue to support and love on us thousands of miles away. 

We truly believe Philippians 1:6 with all of our hearts. "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Like I said before, God is moving in huge ways in Red Hill and we are so blessed to be here, serving this beautiful community everyday. We are anxious and excited to see Christ plan continue to unravel. If you could join us in prayer for the coming months and the attacks that Satan is going to continue to bring. Pray that even through those times, that Christ name will be exalted above the mountains that surround Red Hill. Pray for Nathan and I that we will continue to focus our eyes on Him daily and even in the difficult times we will see Him high above everything. Please pray for the procedure on Wednesday and that the pain will go away quickly and I'll feel back to normal by next week! We are so grateful for your prayers and support as we continue to live life here and with the help of Christ, bring hope to Red Hill!