God is a Redeemer!

God is a Redeemer.

Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of spending the weekend with ten beautiful 15 and 16 year old girls. A few months ago, two members of the Ocean View CPx outreach team, went to the principal of the Ocean View High School and asked him to give them the ten roughest, most troubled girls in the school. The principal happily agreed and they began meeting once a week after school. It did not take the team members long to see that these girls were not “trouble makers” but treasures waiting to be discovered. So they decided to have a camp just for them. A weekend dedicated to loving them and speaking truth into their lives. These girls have seen the harshness of the world. Most are addicted to drugs. Many are involved with gangs and have been abused by family members and boyfriends. These girls come from broken families and cycles of addiction and violence. They don’t have people in their lives telling them what they are really worth. No one is telling them they were made for greatness. No one is believing in them. So we did. Each girl had their own “big sister” for the weekend. It took me about 10 minutes with these girls to absolutely fall in love with them. It was a joy to get to know them and to share a cabin with them. It was so fun to watch them get the chance to simply be teenagers. I loved laying in bed at night listening to them talking and laughing, while eating junk food and listening to music. They told us that this was the first time in a long, long time that they were going to bed sober on a Friday night. wow. But most of all it was a privilege to witness the beauty of their hearts. They shared so much with us. Throughout the weekend we had different “sessions.” The first was about self worth and true identity. Another was about the truth behind a life of drugs, gangs and sex, giving them the hard facts. Another session was dedicated to encouraging them to dream for their futures. And for the last session they brought in women (from the girls' very own community) who have risen above lives of addiction, teen pregnancy and gang involvement, and are now living beautifully redeemed lives because of Jesus! wow. After each session, we would have one-on-one time with our “little sisters.” There were many tears, as they began realizing who they were made to be and the Love and greatness they were created for. After one session, my "little sis" shared with me all about her struggles and some deep secrets of some bad things that have happened to her. She told me that she really did want to leave her life of drugs, but that she didn't know how. “I believe in you.” Such a simple phrase for most, but ground shaking in her life. Tears filled both of our eyes as she began dreaming of a life of freedom and hope. Afterwards, just before she went running off to play volleyball with her friends, she told me that she felt free and happy! She said it felt like a heavy thing was lifted off her heart. wow. What a pleasure to be able to experience the Redeemer working miracles in these young girls lives and to be able to witness the furious love of God begin transforming in their lives. Bit by bit, these girls are finding freedom and life. Why? Because the Lover of their souls delights in them and is pursuing them. He has destined them for greatness and believes in them wholeheartedly. I am thankful that I got to spend a weekend with these girls and catch a glimpse into his heart for them.

jacob.

For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself,

Israel for His special treasure. Psalm 135:4

Last yearI had the wonderful privilege of being roommates with a woman named Nicole during CPx training school. I was constantly learning from her and being challenged by her relationship with the Lord. She trusts and listens to the Father without fear and with great faith. And because of this trust and faith the Lord moves mightily in her life and entrusts her with much. During CPx, the Lord began speaking to her about a dream that had been in her heart for many years...to adopt. no wait. This story begins far before last year. This story begins before the beginning of time. It begins when the Father began dreaming of a precious boy that would be born. He knew his face. He knew his name. He knew the plans for his life. He knew that he would call Nicole to South Africa and that she would be willing. Willing to lay down her life for another. To give up all the comforts of home and family to move to a distant land. To sacrifice her life to care for a child whose young, hurting mother could not care for him. Last March, Nicole and Jacob's lives crossed in the All Nations office after he had been taken into BabySafe's care. (Babysafe is an amazing ministry connected to All Nations. For more info visit www.thebabysafe.org). The story of how the Lord confirmed over and over again that Nicole was to foster Jacob is an unbelievable story of the Father's beautiful orchestration and I am so honored to been a first hand witness to it. Nicole has been fostering Jacob since last December and was recently officially named Jacob's foster mom for the next two years! Jacob's mother is still in contact with him and is being mentored by a Babysafe member, in order for her to finish high school and be in a place where she can eventually raise her son. She is an unbelievable foster mother. She is laying solid foundations of extravagant love and sowing seeds in his little life that will forever change him! I am so blessed to get to be a part of Nicole and Jacob's lives here. I often get to babysit Jacob and spend time with him. He is an absolute joy! I am so in love with him!

I just wanted to share Nicole and Jacob's story. God provides miraculously for Nicole and Jacob weekly! Recently, Nicole enrolled Jacob in school and is really trusting the Lord to provide the $250 a month for the tuition. If you, or anyone you know would like to sow into Jacob's life and sponsor his school fees, please let me know and I will give you the giving info! Or you can contact Nicole directly at lalli911@gmail.com or read more about her at www.lalli911.blogspot.com.

with Love,

whit

princes and princesses :)

His royal children...

this past week at kids club, Anna asked the kids, "Who is the King who lives in heaven?" One child raised her hand and answered, "God!" Anna then asked, "Well then who are His princes and princess?" One of our sweet girls quickly shot her hand up. She answered, "PRINCESS FIONA!" I just began laughing knowing exactly what she was referring to...the princess from SHREK :) We laughed really hard and explained, "Yes Fiona is a princess but so are each one of us!" Oh the joys of spending my time with sweet kids!

a fresh commitment! and stories from my life.

I have not been very good about sharing my stories through my blog in the past month or so. Two weeks of being sick, Easter and several South African holidays, and then the devastating fire in Masi has taken a toll on my amount of blogging. BUT I am making a commitment to blog more frequently; to share my daily life, the little happenings, funny stories, revelations, pictures. My heart for this blog is to bring my amazing family, friends and community along with me on this journey. So here we go!

update from the fire:

Jehovah Jireh. God provides.

We are still receiving donation after donation for the Masi fire victims. Food parcels, clothes, boxes and boxes of brand new shoes, furniture, mattresses, pots and pans, dishes, and building material... lots and lots of building material! We received a phone call that 12 truckloads of building materials were being donated to Masi from the sets of DENZEL WASHINGTON'S new movie that was being filmed in South Africa!

God has prepared a HARVEST among the people in the Wetlands who were in the fire. He is not only wanting to rebuild and restore shacks and possessions to his people, but he is wanting to rebuild and restore hearts and lives! He is preparing his people to be transformed by HIS love, goodness and grace. He longs for a people whose lives are built on the Rock, who will not be shaken. People who will rise above the ashes and walk in the glorious future he dreams of for them! God is faithful.

let faith arise.

it is easy to fall into routine. to get caught up in business. It is easy to forget to take time to stop and really dream. this past week, a fresh measure of faith has been rising up in my heart. I am made for the impossible. to see Light dawn in the hardest, darkest places. there has been a stirring in my heart to live for these things wholeheartedly! To press into the Father's great love and to dream with him without limit!

I have recently started meeting with a family full of drunkards. I was sitting with them at 2:00 in the afternoon the other day as they proceeded to drink one glass of alcohol after another. They are looking at me and telling me all the terrible things that happen when they are drunk. One tells me her boyfriend beats her. The mama, who is a half hearted witch doctor, tells me that she got the cast on her arm because a man kicked her when they were fighting over alcohol. One of the women is skin and bones, and is very ill. They tell me they want to quit living like this...as they pour another drink. It would be easy to think they are just a lost cause. to throw in the towel and find another family to spend time with. But I feel the Father whispering, "Stay. My love is always greater than the darkness." I am believing for the miraculous. I am believing for life and freedom for this family! Let faith arise!

story of the week.

A fixture in my week has been my run-ins with Maria. Everyone knew Maria as being "crazy." She was often drunk or high from drugs, and she would say she was schizophrenic. Maria would often come up to just about anyone and begin telling them about her life and about the abuse she has experienced from her previous husbands, family members, her neighbors...just about anyone. She would talk about how she has no money and that she sometimes sells her body for money. Several weeks in a row Maria would show up at the shack where me Nosipo (the amazing girl I spoke about in a previous post) were meeting. Each time, after pouring her heart out once again, me and Nosipo would minister to her, speaking truth and praying for her. It seemed a bit hopeless, but I truly believed that the Father had more for her.

Two weeks ago Maria comes up to my car. She looks beautiful. There is a brightness in her eyes that I had never seen. She tells me that she has meet Jesus. I really could not believe my eyes. She tells me about how Nceba (a friend of mine who was in my CPx class) prayed for. She tells me that when he prayed something happened inside of her. She says that it is as if her mind suddenly became clear. He told her to quit drinking and drugs. So she did. She has been sober for three weeks now. She has been meeting with a group of women that meets on Thursdays. I am in complete awe as she tells story after story of the miracles that are happening in her life daily. She has experienced the love and power of Jesus and it is completely transforming her life! Even her friends who are also trapped in a life of alcohol and prostitution are seeing the transformation. They are asking her "what is different?!" They are telling her "we want what you have!" And she tells them, "Its Jesus." He really is enough! The power of his love is real. And I have seen it in Maria.

a few pics for you to enjoy!

beach day last month with some of my favorite kids. i am missing those warm beach days now that it is nearing winter here!

I LOVE spending time with these funny girls. They are always singing and laughing!

Sunrise breakfast with friends on Easter morning!

Suretha, a friend from CPx last year, got married last month! So fun to attend a South African wedding. It was all in Afrikaans, but luckily we had George (on the left) who could translate for us :)

with Love,

whit

He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap... (ps. 113)

One of the biggest fires Masiphumelele has ever seen swept through the Wetlands (the poorest part of Masi) early Monday morning. The fire trucks arrived soon after it started, however because of the wind and the location of the raging fire in the back of the wetlands prevented the firemen from getting to where the fire started. The count of lost homes on Monday was 1,500.

It truly is a devastation for the community. Thousands upon thousands have been affected. The fire spread so quickly that most of the people I have spoken to were not able to salvage much of their belongings. This fire effected 8 of our Vulnerable Children families. And in our All Nations family, we have many more BabySafe clients, house church members, and friends that have lost their homes, as well.
I spent all day Monday in Masi doing whatever I could to help. I spent time connecting with each of our VC families, assessing needs and comforting them as best I could. We partnered with the disaster relief efforts, volunteering our time and service organizing donations and serving food. I spent time with some of our VC children who had no where to go while their parents worked on registering with the government, clearing out the debris and gathering supplies. We "set up camp" at our prayer shack in Masi, providing them a place to rest and food to eat. We thankfully have space in our Africa House to house some of the families that lost their homes and had no one in the township to stay with. Our families are beginning to make plans on how to start again. They have all registered with the government in order to receive aid. On Monday, they received two thin blankets and food from the government. They will also receive five tins and some wood. This will not build a shack, but it is a start. We are hoping to provide clothing, coats, school uniforms, blankets, building materials, furniture and basic household items for our VC families and some of the families that we have relationship with. We are also continuing to partner with the local efforts to provide assistance to as many families as possible.

It truly is overwhelming. But I am filled with comfort as I turn to the Father who cares. He cares for his children. He is not abandoning them in this hour of crisis. At times I feel to overwhelmed to even know where to begin to pray for the multitude of people who have lost so much. But the thing that the Lord speaks to me over and over is HOPE. I am crying out for the God of comfort to fill his people with his HOPE. I am praying that they would be filled and overflowing with the reassurance that the Father is with them. I am praying that the same hope that drew me to Jesus in my most desperate hour would fill each and every hopeless and desperate heart. Please join with me in praying this over the people of Masi!

If you would like to give financially toward the fire relief efforts in Masi you can send donations to:
All Nations Family, Inc
c/o Walsh Washburn
5360 College Boulevard Ste. 100
Overland Park, KS 66211
**Please enclose a note that says "Crisis Relief Fund, Cape Town"

If you live in the Cape Town are and would like to find out how you can help please contact me at Whitneyelise211@gmail.com and I would love to send you more info!

A picture (taken by a friend who lives in Masi) during the height of the fire early Monday morning.

Have you ever seen such big pots?! The government brought in a hot meal Monday evening.

That is a LOT of rice, people!

There was a huge rainbow as we drove into Masi Monday afternoon! Thank you Lord. You are faithful and loving, and your promises are always sure.

We gathered our sweet VC kids for a fire safety presentation just last Friday. When I found one of our young VC girls on Monday after the fire, she proudly told me that right as the fires started she told her mother that they must call the fire department and then told her the number! (very few people here know the emergency numbers and it often takes a while before the fire dept. is called). So proud of our little one!

Oh how I love these kids! Friday afternoon kids club.

Blessings to each of you! I will write more soon.

with love,
whit

nothing is too big.

over and over as I look into the eyes of the hopeless, the destitute, the sad and the oppressed, I am filled with an assurance that nothing is too big for the Father. As I listen to stories of children sharing the horrible things their young eyes have seen, I am filled with hope that nothing is too big for the Father. No circumstance is too difficult and no one is too far off to be redeemed by his love.

I have a sweet friend that I met last year name Nosipo (name changed). She is beautiful, inside and out. She is so special. She is an orphan. She is 19 and has a one year old daughter. She has told me in the past that she had no hope. She has told me that she has been crying since her birth; that her life has been so full of hardship. She has told me with great sadness that her life has turned out so differently than what she had dreamed. But as I looked into her eyes, I did not see a hopeless orphan. I saw a chosen daughter of the King, whose destiny was brilliant and glorious. I saw one who was so seen by God and who was being relentlessly pursued by Him. What it a joy it has been to walk with her on her journey towards finding her true identity and the abundant life she was created for. Just the other day as I sat with her and her little girl in their shack, she told me with great joy the ways the Father has been providing jobs (she is very skilled at braiding women’s hair) every weekend since we prayed specifically for that! She has begun facilitating a children’s support group for a program for orphans that she used to participate in when she was younger! Her heart is beginning to dream again as she takes hold of the truth that nothing is too big for the Father.

Last night I volunteered with Hope Prison Ministries, a ministry in Pollsmoor prison that All Nations is connected with. They put on a marriage enrichment dinner at the prison for the wardens and their spouses. Amy and I helped serve the dinner. What we didn’t know until we got there is that we would be serving with two of the inmates that work in the dining area for their “job” in prison. These guys are wonderful people. We had so much fun serving with them and getting to know them. They were so humble and so open. They shared much with us. The Lord began speaking to me about his heart for them. So later in the evening I got to share with them the words the Lord was giving me for them. They both received the words with great joy, soaking it up. I can’t explain the joy of looking into the eyes of these prodigal sons who have NO idea of the Love they were created for. We talked about the Father for a while. I shared my testimony of redemption. As I shared, one of the guys, Jude (name changed), was just staring with an intense hunger in his eyes like I have never seen before. After we had kind of changed the subject, he said me with such sincerity and desperation, “Tell me more.” I shared my story and about the Lord’s goodness in my life. Amy and I shared with him about a Father who can do anything. They then began sharing about life in prison. They shared about the prison gangs and the gang’s rank system; that they are bound by these gangs to do as they say or else they will be killed. Jude said he didn’t know how he could begin a life with the Lord while he is still in prison. He said he wanted it, but it seemed impossible. As I looked into his desperate and hungry eyes, I was filled with faith that truly nothing is too big for the Father. I believe that just as God met Joseph in his darkest hour, locked away in Pharaoh’s prison, he will make a way where there is no way for Jude. He will deliver Jude because nothing is too big for the Father.

with love,

whit

a day in the life.

many people have asked me the question:

“what does a normal day look like for you?”

so I thought I would choose a day from last week and give you a run down of what I was up to!

wednesday, March 9th:

7:00 am: Wake up, pray, take a walk, get ready for the day and pack my lunch.

9:00 am: Head to the All Nations prayer shack in Masiphumelele for Masi team prayer. we pack in the prayer shack once a week as a team to worship together and cry out for the people of Masi!

10:30 am: To Africa House (all nations “headquarters”) this week is the Housechurch Leaders Gathering that I am organizing for Floyd. So I spent a few hours in the office nailing down details for the event. The office is full of wonderful people and lots of activity. Although logistical work isn’t always the most fun, we are all very fond of our time in the office because of the vibrant community we get to partake in while there :)

12:30 pm: Planning session with Amy (fellow intern/housemate). brainstorming a strategic plan to target potential local resources/donors for the Vulnerable Children program.

1:30 pm: TO MASI! (my favorite time of day!) We picked up one of our VC girls for a treat at KFC for her birthday! Words can not describe how excited she was for her special outing!

3:00 pm: We met up with Sbu, a local Masi guy, who is a part of our Masi team (he did CPx with me). He has a huge heart for the young guys in masi and is partnering with us to reach our teenage VC boys!

We headed to one of the VC households that I am mentoring. There are two teenage boys in this family. They are orphans and are being raised by an aunt (who has 5 children of her own!). I have connected with the aunt and the other girls and children in the home, but the boys are SO shy with me. Sbu has a real gift with people/kids and immediately connected with the boys! It would have taken me MONTHS to build the connection that Sbu had in the first 5 minutes! As Sbu got to know the guys, I spent some time with the Mama of the house. As I had been praying for her earlier in the week the Lord had given me to verses to encourage her with. She is a beautiful and loving women. She has such a heart for her family and single handedly provides for 7 children!

We then headed to one of the VC households Amy is mentoring. They have two teenage guys as well. Sbu connected with them and even planned a beach day with the guys from the two households! (we are working on starting a guys group. there is a desperate need for the young guys to have good male role models, as well as, a place for them to find peers who will be a good influence, so we are in the process of starting a ‘boys club’ with our VC teenage boys!)

7:00 pm: me and Amy headed home for dinner and rest!

that is a pretty typical day! my days are never the same and never dull! some days are hard as I walk with dear friends who have nothing and are battling circumstances that are larger than I can even fathom. I see and hear things everyday that bring such pain to my heart. But I also am seeing the mighty hand of God moving among his people on a daily basis. I am seeing miracles and redemption happening before my very eyes. I am seeing God defend the cause of the fatherless, the widows, the downcast and the brokenhearted. He is mighty to save and he has invited me to be a part of it! I love this journey and I am learning more and more that although it may seem hard or impossible at times, there is NOTHING that compares with a life fully given to Jesus and seeing his Kingdom come! although it seems that I gave up so much in leaving home, my life is so full and rich. And that is the glory of giving up all for Jesus...he fills our empty hands with the riches of his Kingdom!

here are some pics of my life lately:

"The heavens declare the glory of God..."

"the skies proclaim the work of his hands..." Psalm19:1

an afternoon in masi. the kids LOVE my car. ALL the kids call it ngwinya which means "fat cook" or a south african fried bread. i don't know why they all call it that!

the other day there was random traffic on the road near my house. as i got closer i realized the traffic was caused by horses on the road! T.I.A! (This. Is. Africa.)

Food for 300! I was in charge of our monthly Celebration (where all the house churches and people in the All Nations family get together to celebrate what God is doing). Shopping for enough food to feed 300 people is NO easy task!

this is a pretty typical sight...the back of my car is often filled with beautiful kids like these!

i just thought this was the cutest sight! they were fascinated by amy's glasses! they took turns reading my Xhosa bible with amy's glasses on :)

thanks for reading!

much love and joy to you,

whit