Picnic on the Mountain

Some of our friends that the

Lord has blessed us with who

went on a hike this beautiful

spring day with us up a mountain.

Ian and Benj on the

Big climb!

My cute babies...
who aren't babies anymore.



Getting into some more
serious climbing. There
wasn't a path so we just
forged our way...FUN!

All the kids ready for the

second half of the climb after

we finished lunch part way

up the mountain. A fun day

of climbing w/ the moms and

kids while the daddies were working.

Pictures from Weekend to be Remembered...

The complex where we stayed...there

were many small townhouse style places

in a row that formed a campus. We had

a LONG walk to the the meeting area.

My closest South African friend and my
roomie for the weekend, Jabu. Her husband
is a lecturer at the Bible School. They have lived
on campus and served the school for 40 years!
This was the traditional banquet and service.


The beautiful beach that we visited for about
30 minutes...we could see it in the distance
from where we stayed as well.



The infamous bus where I spent
36 hours last weekend and the
awesome ladies I rode with...


A couple ladies enjoying their
"snacks" on the bus which consisted
of chicken, mealie pap, spinach, and
a homemade bread called dumpling.

A Weekend to be Remembered...

Last weekend I went to the national Women's Ministry conference. It is held every year the first weekend in August, which is the beginning of "Women's Month" in South Africa. This was the second time that I attended this event and both times I was the only white woman there. It was held in Port Elizabeth, which is a port city along the southern coast of the country. I chose to ride a bus that several of the churches in the Northwest province came together and hired for transport to PE because it was cheaper than flying and I knew that I would have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with these precious ladies. Also, it means a lot to the nationals for me to just "live like they do", so I went with them and "did it their way" for the weekend. The trip was extremely LONG...it took 17.5 hours to get there, but much of the trip was through the night. We sang, talked, laughed, ate (the Africans are serious, they pack chicken and rice or mealie pap, and homemade bread instead of just snacks!), a little bit of sleeping, and even praying. It was quite the adventure. There are so many stories that I could share from a long weekend like this. But, I just want to share a few highlights or impressions. First, the African ladies are "hardcore"! They kept a grueling schedule...I had to push myself to keep up. We had basically been up all night and travelled until late in the afternoon. The first meeting on the agenda was a prayer meeting from 6 pm- midnight to kick off the weekend! I almost passed out when I read the program...SIX hours??? When I was that tired??? But, I freshened up and put my skirt on and off I went. I thought, I will just put my head down when I pray if I am tired. Well, there was no such thing...there was singing and dancing and worshipping the Lord for the first few hours with periods of prayer in between. Then intense warfare prayer for the rest of the time. The woman who was leading the prayer said, "We must bathe this weekend in prayer if we want anything to be accomplished that is lasting in our lives". I thought, "Wow! How powerful". Needless to say, I was tired, but I enjoyed an incredible time of prayer. These women know how to pray!! The second thing that really made an impression was that the women are so abandoned and sold out to their Lord in worship. It doesn't matter who is leading worship, or what song is being sung, and not even how tired they are; when the worship begins, they are worshipping Him with their whole bodies. The little old ladies who struggled to stand and walk were still doing whatever they could to wiggle their little bodies, even if they were sitting, and dancing in response to their love for the Lord. It challenged me and motivated me to offer myself as a sacrifice to the Lord in worship...even after 4 hours! They never tired or praising their Savior. The weekend was SO tiring, but it was worth every moment. I so enjoyed getting to know these women better and meeting new ladies as well. There were times when my American self reared its ugly head and got frustrated that we stood in line for 3 hours to get served our lunch; but, overall it was a time that I will look back on and thank the Lord for the opportunity to be spilled out and spent for Him. What a privilege it is to serve Him and be touched by Him. I was motivated more than ever to learn their language...it was so frustrating to have talking and laughing erupting all around me and have no clue what was going on! Pray that I can learn this language and QUICKLY!

Grayce's Choral Performance

Grayce singing her little heart out!
We are so proud of how well our
kids have acclaimated to their new
home and school. They really
love it here, praise the Lord!

Grayce performed with her school choir

at our mall on Saturday to represent

Selly Park in an Education Expo;
she did awesome!!

God Knows it All

God knows where we are and exactly what our needs are, even more than we understand our own needs. For that alone, He is worthy of our praise! A couple of weeks ago, I had an incredible encounter with God that I feel compelled to share. It was one of those worship services where I was paralyzed by God's presence; God isolated me from my surroundings so that it was just me and Him. It was an intimate experience and it felt like time stood still. I couldn't feel my children all around me and I didn't care that mascara filled tears ran down my face because I was being touched by my living and mighty God. I was so moved that I wasn't able to sing with my mouth, but my heart was rejoicing and worshipping.
There is nothing more precious than a "God moment" like this. Often when the Holy Spirit touches me in that way, it is because He is preparing me to do something for Him. So, I asked Him what He wanted me to do or say and I was ready to obey. But, the word He spoke was that He was simply pouring out His love on me. Wow! What a God we serve...He allowed me this experience because He loves me and wanted to show me it in a special way that morning. I tend to be a "doer"; so I aways look for what God is wanting me to DO. But, today, I was able to drink in His spirit and allow Him to love on me, just because. All He wanted was for me to love Him in reply.
I realized that I often am so busy doing that I fail to just enjoy and love my Jesus. I was so overwhelmed and thankful that God knew what I needed and then met that need without me ever asking Him. My family had been gathered together in my favorite vacation place, Sebago Lake, Maine. I fought the temptation to give in to sadness and the Lord helped me to have a great week. But, that morning, God filled me up with an abundance so that I felt renewed; He took away any loneliness that I may have been feeling. There is no need that God will not supply...no matter where you are or what you are feeling, God sees you and is ready to aid you. I love serving Jesus.