a glorious journey indeed!

A GLORIOUS journey, indeed!

well i am finally home from my five months in africa. and an incredible five months they were! when i left for cape town in february, i didn't expect that i would return home so changed. as i have been reflecting back over my time in africa i am overwhelmed with JOY because of how much the Father did in my heart and how much he has changed me. when i think back on my time one word keeps coming up to describe it: GLORIOUS. looking back all i can see is the Glory of God covering every second of my journey. and the good news is...no matter where our journey with the Lord takes us, he promises us that every step will be filled with his glory (his splendor and bliss), his goodness and his love. and let me tell you; my last five months were not easy. so many hard, hard moments that stretched me and pulled on my every weakness...but all i can say is it was so worth it. and as i look back on my journey, i thank God for every second because he was so near to me and has moved in my heart in ways i could have only have dreamed of! i am so in love with Jesus and i am so expectant of my life's journey with him!

when i created this blog i randomly chose the title "oh what a glorious journey." but little did i know how telling it would be of what the Lord would do in my heart. if i could chose one thing that the Lord solidified in my heart these past five months (and believe me there is an endless list to choose from) i would say that he has grown in me a deep assurance that i am my Beloved's and he is mine, and that i can fully trust him because he is taking me on a glorious journey!

here are some things that i have learned through being in CPx:

1.) i have been equipped. it has been a dream in my heart to be a part of a church planting movement...seeing disciples producing more disciples and simple churches planting more simple churches. a dynamic movement of God sweeping through a community, transforming MANY. a movement that is not dependent on me, but that will keep growing even after i leave. but i had NO idea how to do that. through what i learned in the teaching phase and then implementing it during outreach phase, i feel that tools, strategies and vision has been placed in my hands. i have seen even in just my two months in zim those dreams in my heart coming to pass! Praise the Lord! i can't wait to grow more as i live out what i have been taught!

2.) the strategy is simple. during my time in Zim the Lord taught me about the power in coming alongside people where they are to help them encounter Jesus for themselves and be transformed by relationship with him. the stategy is simple because God is more powerful than we can imagine. when people truly begin walking with him they can not help but be transformed by the love, goodness, kindness and grace of Jesus. Holy Spirit really is the best teacher and God really is the redeemer. if i can get out of people's way and simply point them to relationship with God transformation really does happen! i can trust that God will do all the hard work :) the best part is that i really did learn methods and strategies to help me introduce people to a lasting relationship with God...pretty sweet!

3.) i am secure in Jesus. a verse the Lord gave me to sum up one of the main things he did in my heart is psalms 62:1-2 "my soul finds rest in God alone; he alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress i will never be shaken." i have walked away from my time in africa so confident in who God is and who i am in him. i have never been so sure of the truth that i am important to God. the Lord has taken away all my fears, doubts and confusion and has given me a deep, sweet assurance in his love and goodness! my soul is at rest in Jesus!

4.) Jesus is the best companion. i use to be so dependent on people for their company, for my energy (i am an extreme extravert!), approval, and so much more. i had a deep need for people and a fear that i would be alone. because of my time in zim as the only single girl, i found that Jesus really is my best friend! i learned to take all my thoughts, fears, hurts, joys to him first, to process with holy spirit first and to find my acceptance in him alone! WOW. lets just say this will change a person if you start living like this! my source is in God alone!

5.) i found the key to life. (aren't you excited :) my newly adopted principle for a living a life FULL of joy, victory, and great fruit is: keep your heart alive to God. i call this the Cinderella principle. (ha cinderella is my favorite!) if you look at the story of Cinderella, she lived an oppressive and sad life. she lost everything. YET, she did not shut down her heart. she did not live from a place of bitterness and anger. she lived with great JOY, embracing life, caring for those around her, and she continued to DREAM! this is the key, (in good times and in hard, but especially in the hard times) to keep our hearts ALIVE to what God is doing and saying; choosing joy and choosing to believe God and his promises. continuing to look to him and to DREAM with him! lets choose to ALWAYS keep our hearts alive to what the good, good Father is saying and doing!

well i have said a lot, but there is still SO much more to write about! here are some pictures because they are worth a thousand words, right?!

Victoria Falls...one of the seven wonders of the world!

Me and one of my little loves, Beyonce. She would always come and snuggle up on my lap during the bible studies we had at her home.

Me and two of "the market ladies," as they call themselves! The Lord led us to this amazing group of women who work in the locals market. The Father loves them SO much!

Me and baby Leah. She is the daughter of one of our dear friends, Future.

The girls of the zim team standing in our gorgeous backyard.

We are wearing zambias (the locals' skirt of choice.)

There is a baby on my back! This is how ALL the women carry their children. oh goodness, it was a bit terrifying having a two month old baby tied on my back using a blanket!

My walking partner, Shannon and me hanging out with some elephants that were right outside one of the markets we visited a lot!

Mama Alice! We loved spending time with our african mama. We met her randomly one day and she was miraculously healed by God from chronic back pain right on the spot! We formed a wonderful friendship with mama! She is so funny!

Baptism and child dedication at our friend's home!

Chipo's place...one of our favorite bible study groups!

My roommates! Reunited after two months of being apart during outreach phase!

Oh what joy!

This is truly my family in Africa!

mike and kalyn arndt (my african parents) and my sisters from norman, rach and amanda :)

WE LOVE SOUTH AFRICA! back in cape town for debrief. we went to visit the world cup fan zone in down town cape town during our free day! The atmosphere was charged and everyone was so excited for the world cup festivities! so fun!

My roommates dressed in red, white and blue! About to go watch the USA soccer game at a restaurant with some friends!

I AM HOME! a ton of my friends and family were waiting at the airport to welcome me home! i am beyond blessed!

i want to say one more time...

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

Thank you to each and every one of you that have journeyed with me these past five months. i am so blessed to have people who carry me with their prayers, financial support, encouraging words and love. none of this would have been possible without all of you... so THANK YOU! may the Lord richly bless you!

MUCH love,

whit

Mwari Wakanaka! (God is good!)

Life is wonderful here in Zimbabwe! We are staying in the community we are working in. We are staying with the Tandi family, a beautiful family who lives in Chinotimba. They are wonderful and so gracious, and have welcomed us with open arms! Things were exciting here right from the beginning. We had a special visitor our very first night! As we were preparing dinner, we suddenly heard Munya calling us to come outside…as we went running out of the house we saw that right across the street was an ELEPHANT! Our first elephant sighting and only feet from our home! Soon people from down the street came running, yelling and banging pots to get the elephant to leave (we have learned that the community does not like the elephants hanging around because they trample their gardens and eat their trees. But we sure do love them! Since then we have seen several more! And most nights we hear the people down the road yelling and banging their pots and pans running the elephants away!) Since then we have experienced a lot of the African wildlife here. One day I saw a herd of 9 elephants crossing the road, including three tiny baby elephants! We daily see baboons and warthogs roaming around town!
I really enjoy life here, living in the community and adapting to the way of life of the people. It has been so fun to become part of the community and culture, such as, learning how to cook Zimbabwean dishes, shopping at the local markets and washing my clothes by hand! I have also adopted some of the Zimbabwean fashions, such as the colorful cloth that the women wrap around their waists as skirts and getting my hair braided! I also have two Zimbabwean names that I go by here (one for each of the languages spoken here.) It really feels that our team has become integrated into the community and the way of life here in Chinotimba. No matter where we go, whether it is running to a tuck shop in Chinotimba or walking down the main street in town, we are sure to run into many of the friends we have met here (you can always hear people calling out to us with our Zim names!) This week our whole team was invited over for dinner to one of the homes that we have been having bible study with. The girls on our team spent the evening with them cooking, and then rest of the team came over later to enjoy the meal together. It was so amazing to get to spend time with the women in the home preparing the dinner. After dinner as the girls were cleaning up, we broke into an African dance party! All the women and kids in the home were packed into the small kitchen dancing for about an hour! What JOY!

The ground is so soft here and people are so hungry to know more about God. People are experiencing God in powerful ways! Entire households are coming to know the Lord and people who have just started following Jesus are taking the good news to their friends and neighbors! God is answering our prayers so quickly, such as many people are being healed and are getting jobs! I have dozens and dozens of stories I could tell you! Here is just one:
Before our team left for Zimbabwe in April, one of our friends from CPx gave us a word that he had received from the Lord. He told us that we would meet a woman named Eunice and that she would have a problem with her right leg. Since being in Chinotimba we have kept our eyes open for Eunice, but had not met even one woman named Eunice. Last Saturday morning my friend, Shannon, and I were planning on spending the day in the locals market with some friends we have met and hopefully meeting other people hungry to know God. Before we left, I felt the Lord say that we were to meet a women dressed in all lime green. When we got to the market, we began walking around. We stopped by a group of women selling (one was wearing all lime green) and began talking with them. After talking with them for a while we realized we didn’t know their names. The women in all lime green told us her name was Eunice! We then asked her if she happened to have pain in her right leg. Eunice got very serious and asked, “How did you know that?” She then told us that she had been in a car accident a year ago, injuring her right leg and that she has only began walking again a couple of months ago. We then told her about how God told us we would meet her when we were in Cape Town! She became so excited and began calling out to everyone around her. People began gathering around from all over, trying to listen to what she was telling them. They wanted to know more! We then were able to tell them that God sees them and loves them. Shannon shared her story with them and we looked at some scripture with them as well. They were so eager to know more and wanted us to come back another time to read the bible with them! This past Saturday, we went back to have a bible study with them. Eunice told us that her leg was feeling much better! (We are continuing to believe that God has a full healing for her!) We then spent time with the group of women who sell in that area and studied the parable of the prodigal son. The women were so hungry and open, and were really teaching one another. One of the women told us that she had fallen away from the Lord and after reading this scripture, she wants to start following him again. We told them that they could pray and read the Word together any time they wanted. They then told us that none of them had bibles. That morning the Lord told me to bring one of our extra bibles, so we were able to give them that bible! They were so excited and wanted us to write in the front of the bible that it was the “Market Ladies Bible!” They said that now they can study together every day! For many of them it was their first time to read the bible for themselves. We walked back by them later that day and they were reading the bible we gave them! We are believing for a movement to be started in the market of people experiencing the Lord for themselves and sharing with one another!
Me and the beautiful waterfalls!


Here is a picture of my friend’s nephew. He was in the middle of a bath! He looked so cute sitting in the bucket!

Here is me and Shannon with our friend's five daughters! We love this family so much!


Our friend with the five daughters taught me and shannon how to kill a chicken! Oh dear!

My friend Shannon sitting in our friend’s home.

This is me sitting in front of our home in Chinotimba!


I am learning so much here and the Lord is doing so much in my heart as well! He is really teaching me what it means to find my joy and contentment in him alone. It has been a really sweet time of growing deeper in love with Jesus and learning more and more my identity as the Lord’s Beloved!

Thank you to each of you who have given me so much love and support! I could not be here without you! If you would like to read more about my time in Zim, here is the CPx blog site: http://www.cpxoutreach.posterous.com). All the All Nations teams have posted to this blog, so here are the titles of the blog postings for my Zimbabwe team! (We are Filled with Joy!, Mwari Vedu Vanonzwa Vanhu! (God hears his people!), Mwari Wakanaka! (God is good!),
Pressing Into the More!, The harvest is plentiful in Zim!) Enjoy!

MUCH love and joy,

whit

some pics and then to ZIM!

It is the night before i leave for ZIMBABWE! i will be heading out tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM on a 50 hour bus ride to my new home for the next 2 months! i will be going to zimbabwe with my team of 8 people (we lovingly refer to ouselves as "dream team oh 10 :). here is a pic of the team!

things i am excited about:

1.) staying in the community of the people i am serving! we get to stay in chinotimba with a family who has opened up their home to us! it is my dream to stay in the same place as the people i am serving because i really believe in living life, fully immersed with people! so i am pumped!

2.) roughing it :) we will be doing laundry in buckets, cooking local food (our food budget is tiny to ensure this!), and eating zim delicacies, such as, catipillars! yum! i love adventures like this!

4.) seeing three new countries in africa! we will be traveling through namibia and zambia! i love traveling so i am actually a bit excited for this cross continent road trip :)

5.) experiencing new places in the Lord's heart as i spend time among a new people group! every nation displays different aspects of the Lord's character because he made every nation! so i can't wait to receive more of the Lord's heart for his people in zim!

we really treasure your prayers! here are a few things we would love prayer for!

1.) safety (and sanity) for our LONG bus trip!

2.) unity for our team; that we would with joy lay down our lives for each other daily.

3.) that i would receive a deep LOVE for the people of zim

4.) contentment in being alone (i am the only single girl going and as an extreme extrovert i am

nervous about having my own room and not having other girls to constantly process with!)

5.) a verse the Lord has really given me for zim is isaiah 62:

"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. 2 The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. 3 You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married. 5 As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you...12 They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted."

God is a restorer and redeemer. He has been speaking to our team that he longs to restore zimbabwe. that zim would no longer be called deserted and desolate but instead, the Redeemed of the Lord and a Holy People! Praise the Lord! i am filled with joy that i get to bring the good news of Jesus' hope and redemption with me to the nations!

while in zimbabwe, i am in charge of communication for my team. i will be posting blogs on behalf of my team on a new blog spot (all the AllNations teams will be posting to one website). i will probably not post to this blog as much so if you would like to follow my adventures in zim you can visit:

http://www.cpxoutreach.posterous.com

(there will be a link on the right side of the page where you can click on ZIMBABWE).

but before i go...here are some pictures of my time in cape town for your enjoyment!

Incredible view in the wetlands (this is the area of masi a lot of the families and people we have been meeting with live.) i love this place!

These are the amazing women that i spent my time in masi with! (from left: julianna, vovo, and nicole). they are incredible and such a blessing to my life.

here are some of my loves at kids club! they are so beautiful! (umhle!)

i have many more pictures but internet is a bit slow here...i will post much more when i return home in july :) i really miss everyone from home! i would LOVE to hear from you all! i have new email because it is difficult to connect to hotmail here... here is the new email: whitneyelise211@gmail.com

MANY MANY MANY BLESSINGS and MUCH LOVE!

whit

life is good in south africa :)

Hello friends and family!

I have much to tell! It has been an exciting past couple of weeks full of fun breakthroughs! I had some really good days in Masi last week. On Thursday, we went to visit this guy who we have been meeting with weekly. I will share a quick testimony about him! A few weeks ago, we were meeting with him in his shack reading the word and sharing with one another. During our time with him I kept having pain shooting from my hip to my calf in my right leg. I never have this pain so I took note that it might be from the Lord. (Sometimes the Lord will give people pain for a minute that someone else has so they can know to pray for that pain in the other person. This is called a word of knowledge.) At the end of our time, we asked him if he needed prayer for anything. He began sharing that he has leg pain and began pointing to his right leg in the exact place I had been having “pain.” I began freaking out and telling him that I had been having pain there and that the Lord wanted to heal him! We explained about the word of knowledge and he was getting so excited! We prayed for him and declared healing. He told us it hurts him at work when he stands for a while and that he couldn’t tell if it was healed yet. WELL, when we went back the next week he told us that he had been healed and that he no longer had leg pain!!! Praise the Lord! Well as we were on the way to his house last week his neighbor stops us and pulls us into her shack and shuts the door. She began speaking to us in a hushed, serious tone and was barely looking at us. She begins telling us that she has a secret that no one knows. She begins pouring her heart out...that she is HIV positive and that she stopped treatment because some people found out and were making fun of her. She shared that her life is a mess, she can't get a job and she can't stop drinking. She told us that she has seen Vovo, who is a girl from Masi who began following Jesus and is now in CPx, and others in "our church" from Masi and that she sees the way their lives have changed and that she wants that! She told us that she has never followed Jesus, but that she wants to start!!! So we shared the God story with her and I had a word for her from psalm 18. She told us that she wants us to come back and read the bible with her and help her follow Jesus. This whole time she was so serious and as we were leaving she was hugging us and smiling! She was so giddy and was introducing us to all her friends and family who were outside! It is so good to follow Jesus! His grace really does melt all our guilt and shame, and his love and power really do heal and transform lives! Ndaba ismnandi! (good news!) Later as we were walking down the street, we ran into a man we had randomly prayed for the week before. We had prayed that he would get a job. He called us over and told us that in the next few days after we prayed he got a job! There are so many testimonies of God’s provision and healing in Masi…he is bringing his Kingdom to earth because he loves his children! Praise the Lord!

So I have been living in south Africa for 2 ½ months now. I really love living in another country and culture…it is always an adventure! But there are definitely so many fun cultural/communication breakdowns every day. So often we will have to stop and try figure out what in the world the other person is trying to say! One really fun cultural difference we have come across recently is that in Xhosa culture it is a good thing for a woman to gain weight. So one of our African sisters told my roommate (with excitement and good intentions) that she was looking big! She came back to our room mortified that she had just been called fat! We had to do some major debriefing to help her figure out that it was meant to be a nice thing! Ha! I have found it is always an adventure living cross culturally and I am loving it! For your enjoyment, here is a list of some commonly used phrases here that I am learning to use!

queue: a line you stand in
how's it?: what's going on?/how are you doing?
is it?: really?
sort it out: take care of it/figure it out
just now: in a little while
now: in a minute
now now: right this second
pitch: come/show up
top it off: refill
long: tall (so you would say: that boy is long for his age).
crockery: dishes
chips: fries
crisps: potato chips
biscuit: cookie
scone: biscuit
crumpit: pancake
a sweet: any type of candy or desert
takkies: sneakers
hooting: honking (as in a car)
robot: traffic light
windy house: a shack
kreche: preschool

fun facts from last week:
1. I ate sheep intestines for the first time! Ladies cook them on the side of the road in Masi and sell them...so my friend Vovo bought some to share with us the other day. OH MY! Lets just say it was verrrry interesting...and very chewy!
2. I saw my first dolphin last weekend! On my day of last week, my roommate, Rachel, and I took a taxi to fish hoek beach. We saw something swimming around in the distance...at first we thought it might be a shark but then i saw it jump up out of the water...it was a dolphin! I love dolphins and I have never seen one in the wild, so i was sooo happy :) dream fulfilled!

i leave for zimbabwe in 5 days! i am so excited! i will write more soon about our upcoming trip.
MUCH LOVE!

whit

healing the land!

“…if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven

and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

2 chronicles 7:14

I want to tell you all about my favorite class session so far in CPx. The week before last the focus of class was spiritual warefare. First, I just have to say that I feel so blessed to be in classes taught by Floyd McClung (the founder of AllNations). He is incredible...I could sit in his classes forever! I just want to honor him and say that if you haven’t read his books you really should! Anyway, our Wednesday morning class was literally one of the most epic experiences I have ever had in my life. That past Monday the leader of this neo-nazi white supremacy political party was bludgeoned and hacked to death on his farm by two of his black workers...yikes so intense and sad. He has in previous years served 5 years in prison for attempting to murder one of his black workers. Also at the same time one of the leaders in the anc party (african national congress...black party, currently in power) has been singing this hate song that translates to kill the boers (white farmers). needless to say there is crazzzzzy tension in the country and people have been really fearing that war was going to break out between the whites and blacks. So Floyd does this teaching on Daniel from the bible and his strategy/spiritual warefare tactics...the main message of God is in charge and that he has authority over all kingdoms. He sits above all the things that are happening in our earthly realm and in the spiritual realm and we have to battle from his perspective...sitting with him in heaven...letting him first give peace to our hearts in the midst of circumstances like this in order to hear what he is really saying over a situation. He then asked us to go and spend time seeking God's heart for south africa. He then began second session asking us to share what the Lord was saying. This is when things got REAL crazy. An Afrikaaner girl in our class, suretha, began sharing (afrikaaners are the whites or "boers;” the party that was responsible for apartheid, the oppression of the black and coloured people, was mostly afrikaaners.) She says that the Lord was speaking to her in the verse in Revelations that says we will overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. So she told us that she feels she needs to share a testimony. She begins sharing all about her family line and about her grandparents and parents...she is sobbing, sharing about her love for her culture...that her family sought God but that they were so deceived by Satan...they were lambs in wolves clothes. She began testifying how God saved her from the deception and crying out for her people to be saved. She began repenting for her people and declaring who God has called them to be. After that it was a floodgate...people begin confessing and repenting for hatred they held in their hearts for whites or blacks, or south africans in general. People sharing how the Lord was revealing to them that you cannot intercede for a country you do not love. Others were sharing visions and pictures for south africa. One girl asked the Lord how we were to come against this hate song and the spirit behind it. He gave her Isaiah 42 talking about singing a song of praise. So we decided to sing a song of praise together. Floyd had the five white afrikaaners in our class to come up to the front and they formed a circle and we all gathered around them. We began singing the song, "Our God is an awesome God." and we just began worshiping and praising God. It was so powerful...everyone is crying out and declaring who God is over this nation. I just began looking around thinking how much I LOVE these people...literally they are my family here...I can't explain the love I have in my heart for them. The Lord gave me this picture of heaven and I saw people from every nation running around, laughing and playing, so in love with God and so in love with each other. Children of one Father. I was overcome with joy as the Lord began speaking to me about how he longs for heaven to come to earth and seeing, as we are seeking the Kingdom of God here, how this aspect of children under one Father is translated to earth. It is so unbelievably rare the way the AllNations family functions in south africa. Whites and blacks are maybe friends some times...but we are really family...no one thinks of color, we embrace one another’s cultures, loving and honoring the things that each culture brings! It is soooo beautiful! So then Floyd had us begin sharing things we are thankful for about the afrikaaner people...so people begin speaking these things over them and praying blessings over the afrikaaners. (since apartheid was overthrown, they were thrown out of political office and have really been stripped of so much, leaving them with a lot of shame.) After this one of the afrikaaner guys, Johanes, shared that he has never one time in his life heard anyone speak a good thing over the afrikaaner people, he has only heard the shameful things spoken over them. Floyd shared that nothing breaks a hard heart like a tender word. I just began to realize the power in seeking and calling out the gold in people and in declaring life rather than death. It was truly such an act of forgiveness. That is the way of the Kingdom! So then Johanes, who is this really intense guy, ended our time with a prophetic act...he told us that he was going to prophetically give william wallaces dying speech and we were to celebrate and declare victory after. so he yells FREEDOM just like william wallace in braveheart...there was a pause....and then everyone just went nuts and were shouting and jumping up and down, cheering, chanting VICTORY...i am like crying and laughing because it is so intense and beautiful. Seriously, I believe so much ground was taken and so many strongholds were broken over the country in that one session of class. It was not even planned, but the Holy Spirit led us into this time of healing and intercession for South Africa! It was soooo beautiful! Yes!

God is so good and so faithful! He invites us to come and sit with him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). That is the place of victory, rest and joy, no matter what our circumstances are! Praise God that he invites us to sit with him! So seek the Lord today and ask him to raise you up to see the way he sees you and your circumstance from heaven’s perspective! Amen! I am praying that you and your family are doing well and filled with much joy and many blessings!

MUCH LOVE FROM AFRICA,

whit

my comings and goings...

A few updates, stories and pics from my life recently! I will post some more soon! I haven’t updated in a while, so I have so much to write about!

We met a group of about 8 girls who are all around the age of 15 or 16. We have been meeting with them every Thursday. They are all friends and most of them stay on the same street in Masi. They are so fun and bring so much joy to my heart! It is so fun watching their interactions, seeing how each week they are opening up more and more. But there is a reality that strikes my heart every time I hang out with them. They are victims of a continuous cycle that plagues the people of Masi. At the age of 15 one of the girls in the group already has a child and another is pregnant. One of the biggest strongholds of the community is the lack of fathers. The vast majority of the young women I meet already have one or more children, and yet it is extremely rare for the fathers to be in the picture. The majority of people have not been raised by fathers who speak worth and identity into their lives. The women do not know how much they are worth. So many women in Masi live with verbal and physical abuse, as well as, rape. In a nearby township, statistics say that at least half of the women have been raped. My heart cries out for these young women, that they would know how valuable they are. I long for them to know the greatness they were made for. For them to have men in their lives who will protect, provide and love them well. For their children to grow up with a father, and in a safe and healthy family.
“You hear O Lord the desire of the afflicted, you encourage them and listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed.” Psalm 10:17-18 My heart really does cry out for the fatherless and the women who are so oppressed by this cycle. My heart is so stirred to see restoration of families in Africa. It is so needed and so near to the Father’s heart! He loves families!

Lately I have been running into a lot old friends that I have met the last three times in cape town! The other day I was getting an ice cream cone at McDonalds near our house. As I got to the front of the line, I noticed that the girl at the cashier looked so familiar. She looked up and saw me and her face lit up. I realized that I had met her one of my previous times in Masi! It was so exciting to get to reconnect with her! She told me that after we had prayed for her to get a job, she got a job at McDonalds! (Unemployment is unbelievably high in South Africa, so most people we meet ask us to pray for a job.) She also told me that she started a tech program and is taking classes! Praise God! He has a hope and a future for his children. Since then I have run into her in Masi… I love that I have been able to invest in this community and that the connections I have made here in the past are so lasting!

One of the joys of my life is the weekly kids club that we put on for the Vulnerable Children kids. Last week, after we played games in an open field, we were coming back to the house were we hold the kids club, we were walking with a group of about 40 children. They were all singing and dancing in the streets in unison all the way back to the house. I have never wanted my video camera so much than in that moment. The streets were filled with joy, dancing and the sweet sound of children…people were peeking their heads out of their houses to see what was happening. The Lord many times as given me the same vision for Masi: his people singing and dancing in the streets, freed from their chains of oppression and filled with his joy and hope! In that moment watching those kids, I caught a glimpse of that vision the Lord has for Masi. It was such a beautiful moment and I know I will never forget it! Here is a pic of the children listening to a story at kids club! They are my joy!

I have found that Easter is a much bigger holiday here than in the states. People begin celebrating and traveling to be with family starting on Palm Sunday. Here is a pic of a group from the Zion church parading through the streets of Masi, singing and preaching as they go!

Here is a pic of my roommates in our backyard! (From left: Me! Amanda, Nicole (from florida) and Rachel).

So a fun tidbit for you in closing… I am officially AFRICAN! I received a Xhosa name last week! My new name is Bubele, which means kindness or friendliness. (Name meanings are really important in Xhosa culure, which I love!) We met a dear woman named Irene, a fun, joyful mama who is so hungry for the Kingdom. She is everything you would imagine an African Mama to be! On our last visit, we were just talking and having tea with her and she ended up giving us Xhosa names! It has been really funny introducing myself with an African name to people in Masi and seeing their confused faces! Ha!

I treasure your prayers so much! Here are some things you can be praying for!
-Teaching phase: The Lord would use my remaining three weeks in Masi to see long lasting fruit in the people I have met and am pouring into! Also pray that all the things I have learned/am learning will be imprinted on in my life.
-Outreach Phase: I would continue to receive the Lord’s heart and dreams over Zimbabwe, as well as, pray for unity for our team!
-Future plans: Direction for my next step after completing CPx.

-Financial provision: I am still in need of funds in order to complete my last tuition payment for CPx. Please pray for provision! And if you feel led to give towards my last payment (which is about $500), you would truly be an answer to prayers! (*See below for details.)

MUCH LOVE and MANY BLESSINGS!

whit

(* If you would like to sow into my last tuition payment, you can send checks to 10513 S. 86th E. Pl. Tulsa, Ok 74133. Checks can be made payable to Whitney Caldwell. Thanks!)

david watson teaching!

"Look at the nations and watch--and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.

habakuk 1:5

Two weeks ago we had an exciting week in CPx! On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we had a guest teacher, David Watson, who is the founder of a church planting organization that is seeing tremendous amounts of fruit all over the world. In 14 years they have seen over 5 million people baptized and functioning in simple churches. In Africa alone they have seen 10, 037 simple churches planted in just 5 years. Needless to say, it was a stirring week full of new insights, strategy and methods for church planting. Here are some highlights from the teachings:

-The thing I love about his teachings is that not only did he present a method but he conveyed so beautifully the heart behind church planting.
-He emphasized that no one wants our religion, but the thing I have to offer is my connection, communion and relationship with the living God. It is about living wholeheartedly for the Kingdom in a way that transcends the intimate places of my life and spills out into every area, and into my relationships with those who don’t know the goodness of Jesus.
-One of the things I loved was the way he described “ministry.” He defined it as the church answering the prayers and cries of the lost and those in need. It is about loving and caring for people. Meeting people where they are. This is the call of every follower of Jesus. To constantly be answering people’s prayers, looking for ways to love people tangibly.
-His method is focused on planting churches that are self replicable. It is about taking the focus off of the church planter and onto the raising up indigenous leaders, through empowering them to be the leader of groups even from the beginning.

My eyes have truly been opened to so much and I really feel forever changed by all that I have learned this past week. If you want to hear more, email me! I would love to share more in depth with you!



MUCH LOVE!



whit