vison & dreams come true

God is releasing so much vision over my life in this season. two areas he has been giving me vision for is church planting & seeing children healed, raised up and released into greatness.

church planting

the vision:

seeing people experience the love and power of God through relationship with him. sharing what they are discovering with their friends and family (those they are living life with); going on a journey together, in community, towards Jesus. being transformed by his love and grace. learning to love God, listen to him and respond to what he is saying.

seeing broken & hurting children restored in the Father's love

the vision:

seeing kids experience the Father's great love for them. learning to hear His voice for themselves. seeing the lies of the world and the evil one removed from their sweet hearts and replaced with the truth and love of God. seeing the 'least of these' raised up to be influencers and leaders in their generation.

i have been sensing from the Lord that these vision are to be married and that it is what the Lord is calling me to in the future. i have also been sensing that it is a season of seeing glimpses of these dreams that the Father has put in my heart come to be...

Lily*. a sweet, sweet church planter.

this child has been experiencing Jesus in powerful ways. she lives in the poorest part of masi. she is a bright girl, a natural leader. and she loves the Father because she knows him well. she knows his goodness, his love, his mercy. she has experienced his healing in her and through her. she has seen Jesus in dreams. she knows the Father's voice and receives his words for others. and she wants her friends to know her Father like she does. so she has asked me to help her start a kids club for the kids in the wetlands where she lives because they need to know about Jesus too! tomorrow will be our first kids club. and it will not be me leading this thing. she is partnering with me to lead this group because, although she is a child, she knows the Father well.

i am thanking the Father for giving me a glimpse of what it will look like for the visions He is placing deep in my heart to come together. i am so thankful for dreams come true and for the glorious future He is leading me into.

*name changed

wedding bells...a happy time!

wedding bells are ringing, ringing, ringing...

not for me :) but for many of my friends!

in this past month i got to celebrate two people who are very dear to my heart...two of the girls i have lived with in south africa!

i am celebrating ames, my dear spice, who got engaged to joel a few weeks ago!

what a blessing to spend the last six months with amy; six months filled with adventure, joy, and fun. there is constant sunshine when ames is around. it truly was an honor to live life with my spice and to get to see how much love and respect she has for joel...and now they are getting married! happy day!

and oh! amanda sperle, my sister. as an honorary bridesmaid, i celebrated (from a far) her marriage to tyler this past weekend...

words can not express how much i love amanda. after traveling to africa together twice and living together last year during church planting school in SA, she has become my sis. what a joy it was to be with amanda as her story with tyler began to unfold...to get to see it from the very, very beginning. i could not be happier for amanda and tyler. so perfect for each other. God has so much for their marriage...and now they are officially mr. & mrs. happy day!

thank you Papa for the beautiful gift of marriage. what a picture of your love and covenant with your Bride. we are a blessed people!

abundant blessings: camp in africa

summer camp in africa.

we laughed, we played, we basked in the Lord’s blessings. his ABUNDANT blessings.

from start to finish, this camp was blessed by the hand of God. it was his idea and he was so faithful to see it happen. and not only just happen, but be extravagantly wonderful! from having the team from Shepherd’s Fold Ranch summer camp (inlcuding my mom, one of my closest friends and many other friends), to the miraculous number of kids that were able to come, to having the Lord provide over and beyond the funds needed, to the heavenly weather...we were lavished upon by the Father!

of course. when the Lord has an idea and we are faithful to partner with him, the miraculous happens!

and the Father loves to lavish his love and goodness over his children, his special treasures. and that is what these kids are! all week, over and over and over, we spoke this very truth over our kids...

you are His special treasure!

you are pursued by the God of the universe...he is after YOU!

and he is worthy to be sought after because he is SO GOOD!

after weeks and weeks and weeks of growing excitement (and words can not express how pumped they were), these kids were READY for camp! they played hard, danced, sang, received lots of fun treats, performed dramas, went on hikes, played at the beach nearby, ate great food and just enjoyed being together.

and this camp was priceless for me and the other mentors because it meant non-stop quality time with these kids we love so much. i feel that we received such new insight into their lives that we never would have received by visiting them weekly or at kids clubs. trust and friendship deepened during the camp, for us and the kids, as well as, between the kids themselves.

and we are already seeing the fruit!

• at our weekly friday gathering in masi the following day after camp, we were blown away to see the difference in relationships. family and deeper community was formed and barriers broken down amongst the kids. ndiyabonga! (oh i am so thankful!)

• i visited the mama who takes care of five of the kids who were at camp. she went on and on, recalling their stories. this mama has been struggling with a lot of knee pain, so i asked her how it was feeling. she said, “oh the pain is gone! the kids prayed for it when they got back from camp and i was healed!” dumiso uThixo! (praise God!)

• i also was visiting with a family of one of the kids from camp. i asked them if she enjoyed the camp. they said “oh yes! she loved it! when can you come and do bible study with us?” the testimonies of what God did through this child has stirred up a spiritual hunger in her family! ndiyabulela! (i am so grateful!)

we were truly showered in God’s goodness and my heart is still praising God!

camp fun!

it's time for camp!

the first ever VC camp is this monday through thursday for 4o of our VC kids!

its going to be crazy, fun and life-changing for our kids.

i look forward to posting lots of FUN pics and updates next week!

breakthrough.

breakthrough.

God is a God of breakthrough.

just when i think there is no way, He comes through.

He is faithful and He hears his people!

Every week, we get together in different groups to pray. To seek the Father's heart for the people we love so much in Masi. To contend for breakthrough in their lives and in the community. As we come before the Father with things that feel SO big, so overwhelming at times, we forget how good God really is. We forget that nothing is impossible for him and that He is the master orchestrator.

So why is it a surprise when we see the very things we pray for come to pass? When we see miraculous things happening before our eyes. Why am I floored when I see breakthrough in situations that seem so far off?!

God is so GOOD! and he really does hear his people. below is JUST ONE testimony of the Father's faithfulness that we are experiencing in these days...

One of our desires in the VC program is to reach the whole family where the children live. We have been praying a lot for the moms and care takers of our children. That they would desire to know Jesus and His love, and that they would be touched as a family. After the fire we have been supporting our families and helping them get back on their feet. So many of our families said that they were so touched that Jesus would love them through our help. One older mama, Mama Eilene, was so touched that she said she wanted to give her life fully to Jesus. In her response to Jesus, Mama Eilene began to gather some families together to begin to share life, learn about Jesus, and study His Word in a bible study gathering. We found out that two of the families that Mama Eilene was gathering were two of our VC families! She had no idea that these were some of the very families we have been praying for! She is speaking into their lives and encouraging them in ways that we (as outsiders) could never do! It really is the Father's heart for these families to find hope, healing, purpose and life! He is bringing breakthrough for them... because He is FAITHFUL.

jeremiah 17:7-8

i am a tree

my roots go deep

by the water.

branches full

leaves are green

its never autumn.

'so sweet'

enter the worship circle,

chair and microphone

the sheep of His pasture.

i love these kids, our sweet VC kids.

i love that the Father has entrusted us with these beautiful children. 'the least and the looked over,' most would call them. but they are His special ones. 'the vulnerable and the oppressed,' most say. but they are His royal children made for greatness. they are the sheep of his pasture. and he has entrusted them to us. it truly is an honor.

during one of our weekly kids club gatherings a month or so ago, i began to feel a bit discouraged thinking, 'what are we even doing? are we making a difference at all in their lives?'

i felt the Father answer me immediately...

"YES. take heart. i have set these kids apart to grow up in my care." he gave me a picture of a flock of sheep, safely dwelling in the Shepherd's pen. i felt the Lord encouraging me that these kids have been chosen and set apart. we are laying foundations and sowing good seeds that will shape their lives. we are surrounding them with love, care, prayer and truth. we are defending the cause of these orphans and abandoned ones. and they are being protected by the Good Shepherd. they are being lifted up and made radiant by the King of Kings.

praise the LORD, oh my soul! so thankful for the Father's heart for these little ones, His royal children, and that he has trusted me to love and care for them.