siyabulela kakhulu!

translation: we are SO thankful!

one of our favorite things to do these days at kids club is our "thankfulness wall." every week the kids think of the best thing that happened to them that week/something they are thankful for. they then come to the board and draw a picture or write that thing.

thankfulness fills our lives to overflowing!

what are you thankful for today?

new tradition?

i follow a blog in which every friday she does a "friday photo dump." i have a ton of pics on my phone, so i have decided to join in on the photo dump this week. hmm maybe it will become a tradition, but not sure how faithful i am at taking pics. we'll see! so here is my THURSDAY PHONE DUMP and a glimpse into my life this week...

He's a miracle God.

"My God can do it, yes, He can do it. He’s a pillar of fire, consuming fire. We can never understand him, He’s a miracle God!”

i love this song. it is a liberian song that we sing at all nations a lot. i love the picture it paints of God...the mighty, fierce, miracle God!

i experienced a miracle the other day...

last thursday my friend and i were driving back from the airport from dropping our other friend off. as we were driving down the highway my engine (of my car i just bought) started cutting out! thankfully, we were slowed down right by an exit. so we got off and literally coasted downhill into a gas station! the manager of the station checked all the levels and a said my car was fine. so i started my car and it turned on...oh my so here we go again. we get back on the road and few minutes later, it cuts out again. this time in traffic. i get the engine going long enough to turn a corner and get up onto a curb. OH MY! we are in cape town and it is about 6 o’clock. what are we to do. my friend gets the hood open. so there we are standing on the side of the road, staring at the engine as i am fanning it...maybe the engine is overheated? oh dear! i make eye contact with a man driving the opposite way. he motions to ask if we need help. umm sure?? he comes to help (sent by God!) and, lo and behold, his daughter has the same car as me and he works on it all the time! he begins doing a full diagnostic for about 20 minutes. he can find NOTHING wrong with it..but the engine continues to not work. i felt so annoyed at this point, because i knew in my heart that this is a stupid attack of the enemy. so as i am sitting in my car, i started praying-- binding the schemes of the enemy and releasing heaven over my car! a little while later, the man gets excited and asks me to try turning the car on one more time. i do and IT WORKS! perfectly. he showed me that the choke was a bit sticky and hadn’t gone back into place completely and so was letting in just a bit of air. it was just a tiny little piece in the engine and he pushed it into place and voila! a perfect engine with NOTHING wrong! oh thank you Papa God! i began thanking this man profusely!



as we began driving down the highway in my perfectly running car, i became overwhelmed...i have nothing to fear! my Father is the miracle God! there is nothing he can’t do! he is VICTORIOUS over the schemes of the evil one and he loves to deliver his children! turn to Him, press into his victory, trust him with a steadfast heart! what joy as we drove all the way home- my car filled with the presence of the Lord, victorious shouting, songs of thankfulness and hearts filled with joy and laughter!

i am so thankful for His miracles! and how much he loves me.

second chances.

maybe you have already heard this story, but it continues to melt my heart. this is a story about a boy and a God whose specialty is redemption. a story about a boy who the world had forgotten, but whose God was pursuing with lovingkindness. this is a story about Mandla*, a 14 year old boy who has seen the worst of life. growing up in poverty, fending for himself most his life because of a neglectful mother, experiencing the murder of his older brother, living on the streets with gansters... he has seen more than my eyes will ever see and more than my heart could bear.

last year when Mandla ran away and began living with the gansters we had to drop him from the Vulnerable Children program (in which i was his mentor) because his family had no contact with him and we had no way of locating him. but we did not give up on Mandla. we continued to pray for him and believe for a complete miracle in his life! in August we began to really contend and ask the Lord to restore him to his family. in September we found out that he had returned home and was living with his mother and sisters! since then we have seen such a change in Mandla. his neighbors have been telling us that he is no longer going out with his gangster friends and that he is very helpful around the property he lives.

he came to us and told us that he wants to go back to school! but when his mother went to register him they would not accept him because he had been expelled two years ago for drug use at school. we began speaking with the administrators, advocating for Mandla and testifying that he is truly changing and that we will support him. the administrators decided to admit him to school! we took Mandla to purchase a school uniform and supplies, and he began school the next day! It was such a beautiful experience to see him prepare to go back to school. i was so overwhelmed with thankfulness watching him pick out school supplies, proudly carry his full sack of new clothes for school and have so much fun just pushing around the shopping cart through the mall. i was so overwhelmed by it all and so thankful to be able to be a voice for the voiceless.

so a week after getting back into school, i received a phone call from Mandla’s school. he was in the principal's office and they needed me to come to the school. oh dear. he had skipped school and smoked marijuana. oh Lord! after spending several hours being sent to speak to practically every person in that school, Mandla was given a second chance! this child needs much, much more than being put back into a classroom with a nice uniform. he needs support, healing, love, time. so i began to ask the Lord for a plan. since then i have been spending a lot of time with him; i have pursued him like crazy. and he is melting. i see it. his sweet heart is emerging from behind all the hardness of life. he just needs to be loved, to know he is worth something, that he is seen and cared for. my friend, lucas (a local who is a part of All Nations), and i met with Mandla the other day to ask him how we can support him. he told us that he gets into trouble because he is bored and his neighbors are always drunk and influencing him. we started throwing out ideas: soccer team, helping us with kids clubs, starting a bible study with his friends. he was eating it up. he wanted all of it. he wants to be freed from his old life...he just needs people to walk with him.

i am thankful. i am thankful that this is the Jesus i follow. the One who meets the broken where they are, restoring them with his lovingkindness, and picking them up time and time again.

his love shatters our darkness and heals our hearts and draws us to life with him.

i am so in love with this Jesus! and so expectant for the miraculous in Mandla's life.

*name changed

back in south africa!

i have been back in beautiful south africa for almost two weeks! it has been so surreal coming back and jumping back into life as i have known it for the past year...not having to come and start over in a new place...that is a new experience for me after years of change after change :)

recap of my first week and a half back:

--a WARM welcome by my friends here! i even had a christmas present waiting for me on my bed from my "parents" here
when i arrived!
--jet lag and several sleepless nights had me getting a slow start, but i am now recovered and feeling settled!
--i have been so encouraged by all my friends in Masi...so much breakthrough in their lives in the time i was away. so
thankful that God is the one changing lives and he moves even when i am gone!
--cars, cars, cars. oh my goodness. this is SO not my strong suit! i have had to sell my old car (because it kept breaking
down) and buy a car. although it has been miserable for me...God is my good Papa! He has been taking good care of me
and i have felt his provision through so many people in All Nations reaching out to help me! a car is so crucial for me
and my work in Masi (because i can not walk alone in the township for safety reasons.) it has been very difficult getting
to Masi to meet with people because of my lack of transportation...i am hoping for a car SOON!
--wonderful times connecting with friends here!
--WARM weather!!! after being in winter twice this year i am thankful for the SUN :)

its good to be back!

I will NOT be intimidated!

ooooh my heart is sure.

as you may remember, nine months ago i spilled a cup of coffee on my newish computer beginning quite the epic journey. the morning of the fateful spill I had felt the Lord putting this declaration in my heart: "I will NOT be intimidated!" I felt him speaking the truth that i do not have to be intimidated by the hand of the evil one. that even in misfortune or tragedy i can be confident and stand in faith and joy! and that is what i chose that day. faith and joy. NOT sadness or pity. i felt so sure in my heart that God was going to come through!

even after my computer stopped working a few months ago i still felt sure it was going to be okay. upon arriving home i found out that i had bought accidental insurance (which i NEVER do). I sent it off to be fixed and just found out that they are replacing it with a brand NEW computer!

okay so maybe it seems silly to some...but this is a story of God's grace for me! He can choose anything he wants to speak to us and to display his goodness. and for me has chose my computer.

and it has been impressed upon my heart...
DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED. DO NOT FEAR. BE CONFIDENT IN GOD'S GOODNESS EVEN IN MISFORTUNE AND HARDSHIPS, RECEIVE HIS RIVERS OF PEACE AND JOY.

we can trust him because He cares. oh how He cares.

His grace overflows. and my heart is so sure.

the ticket is bought...

its official...i am heading back to cape town january 19th!

i have loved so much being home for the holidays...soaking up time with my family and friends that i love so much. sitting on the couch with my mom and sister, doing a whole lot of nothing & laughing and laughing and laughing. holiday festivities with my nanny, grampy, aunts and uncles, cousins enjoying being with the people that have loved me so well my whole life. good, good times in norman. time with my friends and community who are truly my family; chats over coffee (and cafe plaid, of course!), deep heart connects, playing with the little ones that i love so much, walks on campus reminiscing about the old days. so glorious. realizing how richly God has blessed me...and that my life just keeps getting better. how blessed i am!


on a date with the hartsock kids! they are my joy! its so hard to say "see you later" to all the people i love so much in the states.




but what joy to know I am returning to these precious treasures! i am dreaming and receiving even more vision for these little ones and the people of Masi...


....2012 is going to be beautiful!