Finally, another blog.  I haven’t blogged in a while and I am feeling guilty about that…

I keep thinking ‘oh, there is not much to tell about right now’ but as I am typing here, I guess there is. We have had a lot of interesting snags getting all the pieces together, but as of this weekend, its all coming together. Here is how we spent the Easter holiday:

Jesse just took a weekend trip with Champions for Christ guys up to George, a town 5 hrs from us. There was a HUGE rugby match going on and CFC wanted to capitalized on the opportunity to reach out to the players and coaches. Over 40 guys got saved in the end they will start being discipled next week! So cool! He logged many hours on the bleachers and now knows the game of rugby inside and out. In the evenings, there was fellowship over meals and meetings held to reach out to the players. 

 

After meeting many people in the rugby world here, there is a small chance now that Jesse will be hired by the rugby team in Pretoria as the new strength coach. He talked with the coaches and they said that they are looking to change out the current strength coach because he isn’t getting results and they like Jesse’s philosophies. So wow! What an opportunity? If we visit Pretoria and like it, it would mean that we might relocate  there for 1-2 years, which is a bit scary, but if its God, its good.The drawback is that Pretoria, although a very big city, has a lot of crime and is NOT pretty in landscape. Cape Town spoils you and there is nothing in the country that can compare with it’s beauty. Staying here in Cape Town would be ideal, but we’ll have to see. If they will pay well and we can find a safe place to live, it might be a real possibility. But coming back to Phoenix this summer is still fine, should they not make the job offer.

Some examples of what we get to see everyday:

     

 

While Jesse was gone, I was trying to stay busy. I was invited to go camping on the beach at Kool Baai with a bunch of the young people on staff at the church who hadn’t gone home for the holiday week. We did some hiking and getting wet in the ocean (getting wet only, b/c it is cold enough for a wetsuit right now!), and we set up camp on the sand next to this huge set of caves and a natural waterfall!  

    

That night, we made traditional Afrikaans brai food (sousarties- kabobs, choppies- lamp chops, & vorsht- Afrikan sausages) while telling stories. I learned Afrikaans words all night and the worship leader who had come brought his guitar so we sang. I was able to get to know them and their backgrounds; 14 new, amazing, people who are laid back and fun and we are sitting by the campfire, eating local olives, local meat, and I felt like I was with best friends! For instance, Benson, a guy who has given a year of his life to the campus outreach “Make A Difference: Make A Disciple” speaks 8 languages; 7 fluently! Everyone was sharing their food and we were talking deep spiritual issues and it was glorious…. I was kept pinching myself the whole night b/c it was like a dream come true! – 1) To be camping on the beach, with perfect weather (no wind here is very rare) &  2) To be with people who love God and love the adventures in life! 

 

The sunset that night:

  

 

The next day, we stayed on the beach together for a few hours, standing on the shore line, talking, and making jokes.  In afternoon, we drove back to town and they were on a mission: 1) They wanted to show me around and 2) One of the girls who was with us camping works at a winery. She greeted us and took us through an educational wine flight that includes using these special glasses that have a hollow stem. She would pour the wine into the glass up to the top of the stem only and then you put the glass on its side.It does not spill. Instead of swirling the wine to open it up, ‘letting it breathe’ , you actually ROLL it in the glass on the flat surface of the counter. They say it has the same effects as swirling, but its a fun way to enjoy something so traditional. She calls it the wineries “party trick”.

 

After tasting, we walked around the traditional English gardens they had on site and it was lovely. 

  

 

At wine farm number two, across town, Waterford looks like an African chateau and specializes in wine and chocolate tastings!!! You taste 8 wines, and the last 3 are paired with unique chocolates they have specially shipped in. It was such an amazing experience!  My favorite was the special dark choc. with rock salt that lightly coats the bottom. The method is to sip, bite, then sip again. When you put the chocolate on your tongue, the savoriness of the salt mixes with the dark choc. and creates new flavors to enhance the wine. It is heavenly! They said that if I enjoyed this, then soon we will go to the farms that have cheese and olive tastings paired with wines. 

 

Wine truly is an art, not just another drink. This region prides itself on its local produce, and wine is one of its main exports. If you appreciate wine, Pinotage is a unique South African blended type of red wine. You should try it! 

 

We have big praise report to include as well. Today we acquired a car and on April 1 we will be moving out of the pastor’s house where we have been staying and using their car, and we will get an apartment of our own! Becoming more established will allow us a closer drive to ThembaCare and School of Hope, where we are volunteering.

We love you and miss you!!!!!! Thank you for standing with us as we continue on this journey of a lifetime!

 

We made it to South Africa safe and sound.

After 3 hours of driving, 48 hours of travel, only 2 decent meals, lugging our eight suitcases through the London Underground (‘Mind the Gap’), and an armrest battle with a very large man while I was in a middle seat on our 12 hour flight to Capetown, we made it.

We spent about a day & a half getting used to the heat and the time change (9 hours difference), we ventured out in a borrowed car the size equivalent of a tic-tac box to find our way around the ‘town. Stellenbosch is a small vineyard community and is home the oldest, most prestigious university in South Africa. My good friend Louisa Broocks, came over in January from Nashville to study at their fashion school. She has been the brains behind us getting around and fitting in. By now, she’s an old pro and has friends everywhere we go. (She says this is not hard to do, as Stellenbosch-central is only 10 square blocks or so) but it is nice to have her experience, especially as we are driving on the left side of the road and learning the laws.

On Thursday, we drove 45 min. (in the tic-tac car that has no A/C in 95 degree weather) to an AIDS orphanage and hospital where we got to hold tiny little babies that are suffering from HIV or AIDS. Of course, we had to make extra sure that we had no open wounds that could become infected, but the hospital is very sterile and clean.

The most memorable baby I held was a little guy who was two months old but due to being born with HIV, he is the size of a ‘primi’. Yes; at two months old he is less that 5 lbs. or 2 kilos. When I was holding him, I would sit his little bottom on my lower palm and the tips of my fingers would be touching his neck. When I was burping him, my hand around his chest would reach from beyond his armpit to the other under arm. SO tiny! He face was as developed as a two month old- big eyes, little crease lines from his mouth, and cute little lips, but his body was extremely underdeveloped. Louisa and I both will volunteer at this orphanage, ThembaCare. I wanted to take pictures with the babies, but they did not allow it. But hopefully, in the future they will…and you will be able to see what little miracles they are!

And on the same property is the School of Hope, a high school set up by missionaries that “helps students who are age inappropriate for mainstream schools. The students are either former street children, rehabilitated drug addicts, or from traumatic homes. As a result, they have missed a substantial amount of their education and are two/three years older than the other students their age”.

Jesse will be doing sports training here with the students, as they have all come from the townships, and I will be doing some makeup clinics, and art classes with the girls groups. We are very much looking forward to working here and are inspired by the full time workers.

Today, we went to church, His People Stellenbosch, and were reminded of the passion and joy that the African people seem to have an abundance of. The worship service was so alive and we cannot wait to get closer to the people in this community.

Tomorrow, we will resume our search for an apartment and a car to use while we are here. And it will be the beginning of a beautiful week. Hot, but beautiful.

We want to say a big thank you to all of you who came out to support us at the fundraiser on Sunday! It was wonderful to fellowship with close friends and clients and learn about your heart for the nations.
The fundrasier was sucessful and our goal is closer to being reached! This event raised $1,022 worth of donations! We only have $3,700 to go to meet our overall goal.
Thank you so much for your generous hearts and support! We are more excited than ever that we have the opportunity to be world changers! Your partnering with us is so encouraging and we appreciate your prayers.

Jesse’s employer, Body Trac, has generously offered to host
a Wine Reception on Sunday, February 17, at 5 pm
in efforts to help raise funds for the trip!

We invite you to join us, socialize with friends and enjoy a nice selection
of wines and hors d’oeuvres. There will be a donation box available; your donations will be welcomed.

Directions: Take Thomasville Road North, Right onto Killarney Way, and follow that until the roundabout. Body Trac is in same location as Circle K at the roundabout. Jesse’s number at Body Trac is (850) 575-8722.

 This blog was created to let you know about our upcoming trip to South Africa! We will leave March 1 to go stay over in the Cape Town region for three months where we will be serving with a local sister church to help refugees.

Please view our video that conveys our heart for this mission! If you would like to partner with us, click above on the donate page to help us reach our goal of $5,000.