Taking Stock

Well, it's the end of another year and what a year its been. Like many of you, I've started the process of re-evaluating this past year; the highs and lows and everything in between. From Mozambique to Uganda to Hong Kong to Hawaii to Germany to Capetown; there have been so many different people, so many different faces and one of these faces has a unique story.
One story I'm thinking of is the orphans we've been reaching this year. Ten Thousand Homes is currently working in three communities. This past September we were blessed to be invited to work in our third community, Dwaleni. Dwaleni is right next to our Kabokweni project so it's exciting that the Father is opening up doors right next to existing ones.
Thinking about when we started two years ago with victories, failures and wrestling with the unknown, it's humbling to see that the Father has a plan, the best plan. We couldn't have asked for a better one.

"It doesn't matter where you start; it is most important just to start. Love will show you the next step." Dr. J. Townsend (Loving People)

Please continue to pray for us and for more and more of the right doors to open so that more lives can be touched.

The Power or Ability to Invent

That's the definition of creativity. It originates from the very attributes of God, God the Father, God the Creator. It's inherent in who He is. Something that He's always been, something that will never change. And as the good word says that we are made in His likeness, creativity has become one of mankinds attributes. Lets start with the discovery of fire. Since the dawn of time we should mention the wheel, that has forever changed the movement of people. We have the airplane and the boat, which moves us across limitless possibilities of once impassable terrain on this plant. Lets give it up to Henry Ford for the discovery of the Assembly Line that revolutionized mass production. We also have the fruits of creativity that's bent towards evil. Little Boy, the Atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. 70,000 people killed instantly, 110,000 injured in the blast, and 340,000 people killed from disease resulting from the blast. That's not including the 110,000 people killed in Nagasaki. That's half a millions people from a result of two fruits of mankinds creativity.

Though evil is a constant issue we must encounter on this side of glory. Make no mistake, creativity is from the Father and it's purposes are for love and good. From breathe-taking paintings, to songs that make your body dance, to the artwork of nature's landscapes that supersede any of man's attempts to capture, to systems that even out the scales of wealth to the most needy, to inventions that help spur on life and dreams...this was God's intent, everyone was meant to create and to create for the highest good in all the universe, love. So to all you creators, here's an inspiring video to help along the creative journey....

Hopeland

One of the locations on outreach was the YWAM base in Uganda called Hopeland.

We specifically worked with a project of theirs called Orphans Know More. It's a ministry that birthed early on in the pioneering of YWAM Hopeland in the early 80's.


Basically the the staff reached out to the local communities which they found many dying from HIV/Aids. In caring a befriending the sick, many of the dying asked these YWAMers to care for the children left behind. As these YWAMers heard the call to care for the orphans, the numbers grew. Orphans Know More birthed and the model they decided to care for the orphans was not the Orphange model nor the Care Center model which we use. They believe in the family model.


As we visited each family daily, we discovered each family to have at least 15 children. 15 children. Each family trusts God for the finances for food, school fees and everything else under sun needed to care for the family.

We saw miracle after miracle. The more children the families had, the greater the joy flowed from every single child. The greater the needs, the greater the faith. "Blessed are the poor in spirit for they will inherit the kingdom of God."

To visit the Orphans Know More website it's www.orphansknowmore.com. They also have a video ....



Lets continue to engage.

Much has happened. I'm sitting here, in a internet cafe, in South Africa with a cup of lemon tea (a bit sick from all the travel) reminiscing all that's happened, all the folks that I've met, friends I've said goodbye to, new things experienced (swimming in the Indian Ocean), old cities revisited (Hong Kong is beautiful), and deciding what to write in this post.

Ok, I've decided. I'm alive! Just wanted to let you all know that and that the posts will be coming daily, in the next few weeks. Lots have happened and lots more is on the way. To sum up the last few months, from the lush green hills of White River, South Africa to the Latino spiced city of Maputo, Mozambique. From the bora bora filled streets of Jinja Uganda to the market-filled streets of Hong Kong. All that I've done in the last months touches on a moment I experienced while co-leading our Compassion DTS outreach in Uganada.

My friend and I were in Jinja, running some errands. My friend was waiting on line for the ATM machine. I waited outside the bank, on the street corner. As the bora boras (motorcycle taxis) zipped on by among the mass of people moving in every which direction, I noticed a sister and a brother that had just made it across to the street median. They hesitated a bit, with all the mess of motorcycles and cars. The only traffic law here in Jinja seems to not get hit. Their hesitation was understandable. After a few brief moments, they both lunged forward, to cross. Despite the waved of on-coming vehicles, the sister pushed on through and made it to the sidewalk.

Unfortunately, her younger brother did not brave so well. As I looked on to the face of a scared little boy, stuck on the traffic median, an annoyed older sister giving looks of embarrassment and on-lookers heckling this little boy in Lugandan, my friend walked out of the bank, ready to tackle some errands. We crossed the street, stepping onto the traffic median. As I neared the boy, I thought to help him. Immediately my mind went to our errands and how much of a hassle it would be add 20 seconds onto the hour needed to complete the errands. As I passed the boy, I made a decision. I turned around and stood beside him. I grabbed his hand and he looked up at me. I looked at him, gave a reassuring smile and we both looked onto the street with renewed hope.

My friends, the orphan crisis is growing and lives, stories, hearts...are being crushed and getting lost in the background noise of the traffic of our lives. We cannot forget them. This story has a happy ending, but I have tons more, where I looked the other way. Please, lets not look the other way anymore. Even if just reading my blogs is what equates to not looking away.

Love you all.

HEADING OUT!!!!

Hey, so there hasn't been some updates in awhile. Let me give you a quick rundown. Hosted more teams, here in South Africa, house built (YWAM Orlando team), toilet and jungle gym built (YWAM Worcester team), increased numbers in our feeding scheme in both community projects (Kabokweni and Embonsweni), 2nd Compassion DTS (www.compassiondts.com) almost complete. On a personal note; a cold, diarrhea, dehydration, diarrhea again (getting tired of that....literally), moved into my new house, exterminated an ant infestation in my house, and many small adventures along the way.
Well, so we're into the last week of or Compassion Discipleship Training School and we're gearing up for outreach. I've been asked to co-lead the outreach team to which I've said yes. On April 6th to 20th, we're heading into Maputo, Mozambique, to work with various orphan ministries and also with a start-up YWAM base. This will involve working with children in the streets and some start-up work in helping the YWAM base get started. We travel back to Whiteriver on the 20th and on April 22nd to May 26th, we'll be in Southern Uganda, working with YWAM Uganda, in which we will be working with more orphans and vulnerable children. As we've sought out the Father, we've gotten the Parable of the Prodigal Son. We'll be focusing on the son coming home and the party he receives...fatten calf and all. Now, we're working through games, food, skits, surrounding the idea of coming home and the joy which we experience as we sit at the Father's table, in our chair, our rightful place. For the fatten calf, we're thinking a massive pinata in the shape of a cow.
Hey, so please keep us in your prayers. 1.) Health: many of us have been sick with the big "D" and colds/flu with the weather getting cooler. 2.) Finances: not all the students have their outreach fees and we specifically need their airfare money ($500 US) by tomorrow. You can also pray for the rest of their outreach fees ($1500 US). 3.) Following Faithfully: though we've got our plans, the Father may change plans or our plans might be off, so please pray that we may follow His Spirit at all times. 4.) Protection/Spiritual Warfare: We live in a time and space where the battle is not of flesh and blood but of the realm of spirit. Please pray that we have eyes to really see what is happening before us and to live and breathe the authority the Father has given us. Also please pray for protection from the schemes of the enemy.

Building a Home

So one of the many teams that we've hosted was a Discipleship Training School from YWAM Orlando. They worked with us for a month and it was a blast having them here. We said hello as strangers and good bye as friends, having worked alongside each other, in the Africa sun, heat, rain (there was lots of rain), life and death and ups and downs of life here in SA. This a video clip of one of their students (my korean-sista!) as the their house building project came to an end.



Well done YWAM Orlando!

Feeling Very Small

Last week, in our Compassion Discipleship Training School , I taught on the Nature and Character of God. This teaching, which I've undergone, over seven years ago, has shaped so much of who I am and what my life looks like today. Since then I've taught on this subject matter many times; at my church, retreats, conferences, etc. This subject matter has come up more so, in casual conversations, in rather random places; airport layovers, 30,000 ft about the Atlantic, coffee shops, FB chat, etc.
As I prepared for the weeks worth of teaching and taught the first day, I realized the magnitude to which the subject matter was flowing through me, every pore, every cell, through every sine wave, all frequencies...to define how God has let us define Him, love, I found myself on my knees, Tuesday morning. The weight of it all, my finite frame explaining the very nature and character of the Creator of the Universe, Alpha and Omega...I think you get the picture.
At the end of the week, I found myself leaning on the thoughts of love. The beauty found in the simplicity, for us the recipients, the complexities, to the one giving...and we get to love Him back. I was 13 and I had seen her all week long. It was the last day, hot summer day, and my last chance. Our interaction was like that of a dancing butterfly and a flower. It seemed as if the butterfly would land permanently on the pedals, but at the last minute, would release into the air, dancing, up and down. My heart pounded, sweat on my brow, I had to tell her. But what of the risk, the risk of putting myself out here, open and vulnerable..."is there any other way?" I thought. No, to love is to risk...I walked up to her and I opened my mouth.