Pictures from South Africa

I've made a yahoo album of some of my S. Africa pictures. This is only a sample...there were just way too many to share.

Click on the title of this post to go to the pics.

Words could never adequately describe..

my trip to S. Africa. Here is but a summary...


Sawubona! (Hello!) Thank you so much for your prayers and support for my trip to South Africa. The Lord used this trip to teach me more about Himself and give me a deeper passion for seeing others come to know Him.

From the very beginning of the trip, the Lord began to teach us that our ways are not always His ways. He stretched us and made us fully rely on Him. Our first day the country experienced record lows and received its first snow in 20 years! Due to the weather, we were unable to do any of our planned camps. Being a person who loves to have things all planned out, this was a stretch for me. The Lord provided as always and we were able to take time to learn more about the people of South Africa and the effects of the Apartheid on the culture. Again the Lord showed His faithfulness and provision the next day when we were finally able to minister in the Simunye community. We were well received by the children and as our time progressed we gained more and more kids. Saturday we held a soccer camp and had over 400 kids come out! We were able to present the gospel to them over 5 times, even in their language. Sunday we were blessed to attend worship service led by one of our Zulu brothers and to help him host a Sunday school where over 200 kids showed up!

For the second half of our trip, we were able to work at another primary school in a different community. We had fun teaching the story of Jesus, singing songs, and making crafts with over 200 kids! During this time, we were able to present the Gospel more than 10 times and we saw one adult and one child come to know the Lord!! The harvest is ripe in South Africa and the children there are so hungry to know who God is! Please continue to pray that the seeds we planted will come to fruition.

Personally, the Lord used this trip to take me out of my comfort zone and stretch me to rely on Him for everything. Though I have been a Christian for many years, it is still difficult for me to share the gospel with others easily. Boy, was I broken of this during the trip! I had the chance to share the gospel daily in front of huge crowds with a climax of 800 students one morning in an assembly.

This trip was truly life changing! I have fallen in love with the people of Africa and hope one day that I might be able to return. Thank you for the part you played in this trip; I could not have had this experience without your support and prayers. Please continue to pray for me as I go back to teaching this week. Pray that I will be as bold in my witness here in the States as I was in Africa.

I'll post pics too above

Sawubona!

Just wanted to let you all know that I am safely back in the US after an amazing 11 day trip to S. Africa. I don't have time to update you now but I wanted to let you know I am safe and back (yes, we flew back yesterday during the crazy would be terrorist attack and yes I was in JFK for it all...super fun!)

I'll update later. PS Sawubona means hello in Zulu which is one of the many languages we encountered while we were there

It's almost time...

3 1/2 days and counting till my departure to Africa. Last night it became even more real as I went to church to weigh in my bags. If you don't know, the airliners have changed weight restrictions now and your checked luggage can only be 50 lbs. You still get 2 bags but on this trip we were to reserve one suitcase for the missionaries. I was very nervous about my suitcase b/c I tend to overpack but surprisingly last night I was 15 lbs. under! I was stoked! I'm going to go back through my bag and make sure I have everything.

I don't think the reality of the trip has really sunk in. I feel like I'm just packing for a vacation. Because we're going to be in the middle of a huge city, it doesn't fit the mold of my thought of Africa and so really I just don't know what to expect. I also feel very inadequate for this trip. Though I know the Gospel and know what Christ has done in my life, I feel very ill prepared to share it with others.

On that note, if you wouldn't mind, would you please pray for me on the following things while I'm gone:

1) Safety: Pray that everything with the trip would run smoothly and safely including our luggage.

2)Health: I usually have serious issues with my ears and the change in pressure. Please pray that this wont be an issue. Also I am starting to feel the effects of a cold which is not fun. Pray for that our bodies will fight off any foreign agents and we will remain healthy.

3) Our missionaries: Kurt and Janna Kay and their children, pray for their ministry and their church plant. Pray that our time there will be a refreshment of home as well.

4) Our ministry there: Pray that children will come to our our backyard Bible camps and that we would be able to love on them and share the Gospel effectively with them; pray also for our evangelism training with the nationals

5) Boldness for myself: Pray that I would be able to step out of my comfort zone and really share the love of Christ to those I encounter

Thank you for your prayers!! They are vital to our time there! Have a great 2 weeks and I'll post again upon my return (Aug. 10th). :)

Pass the Pigs, Africa, and a Pay raise

Last night we went over to Gary and Natalie's with Matt and Cheri and decided to play some games. Cheri was insistant that we play Pass the Pigs so Gary got it out and I was instantly taken back to my childhood. In Pass the Pigs you roll 2 rubber pigs like dice and depending on the way the pigs land you get a certain number of points. I know it sounds weird but really it is fun; you can click on the title of this post and play an online version. Brandon and I used to play this when we were younger just to pass the time. It's funny how over time things become more fun.

So I'm now 3 weeks away from my departure for S. Africa. We had another meeting on Thursday and I'm getting even more excited. Each member of our group is supposed to be in charge of one aspect of the Bible camp and guess what part I'm doing? The music! It's very ironic since I have no music ability whatsoever but they liked that I knew all the kid songs and music. I guess working at camp for 2 summers really helped. :) It's going to be good though and I'm really excited about teaching these kids about Jesus. J and I got some practice on Friday when we went with our church into a low income neighborhood and helped with a backyard Bible camp. It was a real stretch for me because I was totally out of my comfort zone having to solict people to come and then trying to motivate them to participate. It was a great opportunity for me to get a feel of what it is going to be like in Africa. It also helped me to see what worked and what didn't. I'm so ready to go!

This week the NC Legislative approved the 2006-2007 budget which included a 8% raise for NC teachers! The budget is now on Gov. Easley's desk for his approval and knowing that he's a big advocate of education I'm certain it will pass. 8% is huge! that's like and extra $2400 a year! Sadly, with the raise, we will still not be comparable to the national average. They wonder why NC is so low in education it's b/c of the work conditions we endure for the low cost we get paid. Personally, the amount of money is not problem, it's the amount of stuff teachers have to put up with, from discipline to the mountains of paperwork. I heard lately that the new teacher coming in only averages 2-5 years in the profession. I can totally understand why and if things keep going the way they are, I might be part of that stat.

Ok enough of my soap box...have a great weekend!

South Africa Bound!

So it's been decided...I'm South Africa bound this summer! I'm so excited as this is my first overseas mission trip. :) I'll be going with my church to Johannesburg to serve beside 14 other people serving the Lord! We'll be doing a vacation Bible study and a children's leaders training.


Quite honestly, I'm just amazed on how the Holy Spirit has changed my attitude toward missions. Growing up our church was never really into missions and I thought it was only for the "real Godly" people and that was not me. This change in attitude has not been an overnight change by any means; the Lord has been working on my heart since I first started college. Throughout college, the Lord revealed to me through different people just how important it is to share the Gospel to the lost. I have heard so many stories that have made me realize how easy we have life here. We are free to speak and worship as we please. So many people here have at least heard the Jesus and speak of God. We are the fortunate ones but others have not been. Romans 10:14 says"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" Someone has to go and teach them! Someone has to share the good news of Christ with them or they will never know. As this realization has come about, I realized that I have a part to play. I need to tell others what Christ has done for me. He came to earth to pay my penalty, my sin! He died on the cross that I may have everlasting life! This gift is there for all and it my responsibility to tell others about him. This has given me motivation now to go overseas and tell them about Jesus.

But on the flip side, I feel convicted that I am so eager to go overseas and share the Gospel but I'm afraid to speak out for him here in America. I'm so afraid of what would happen....the akwardness that could result with my coworkers. I think it comes down to my own pride. Why am I more concerned with my glory than His? I need to care less about myself and more about making Him known. Mark 13:10 says "And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. " This is all nations, including my little town to the ends of the earth.

So on that note, I also have to raise my own support. The trip is estimated at $2,500. I've never had to raise support but I'm confident that if the Lord wants me to go on this trip that He will provide the finances. He has shown me time and time again how He can provide for our every need. I'm excited to see Him in work in this situation as well. (if you would like to contribute, send me an email :) )

I'm just really excited!! can you tell? :)