Europe

Well friends I am off again. To Europe I go. First I have to say sorry for not blogging my trip very well of South Africa, its just how it goes over there and I hopefully will put more stories on this blog of that trip later. But I am heading off to a wonderful land called Europe in 5 days. I have been looking forward to this trip for quite some time. Kent and I planned on this trip starting about a year ago. Kyler will also be going with us. He is a new addition to our trip, and its a good thing too. Three people helps, two is doable but hard. Anyways we will be going first to Ireland then to Portugal, Spain, I will split to London for a couple days, and then down to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Crotia, Bulgaria, and back to Vienna. That is our plan for the first month and we have two so it shall be interesting where we go from there. Please pray for us!! We need all the prayers we can get. Hopefully I will do a better job on keeping up on this blog. I love all you guys and will see you when I get back.

Accounts from Table View

Well I must apologies to all of you guys for being silent for so long. Life just moves so fast over here and its hard to get down time just to catch up on a blog or even an email to my mom and family. SO since the last report much has happened way to much to really explain exactly in detail but I will try my best to keep everything in line.

Time with Dale and Marvin here in Cape Town went fast and as Dale liked to say the Gravy Train was leaving when they left and it did. The week that they were here with us was more like a vacation than a mission trip. Though we were involved with getting connected to many people over here we were doing so many cool things it was quite unreal feeling. One place that we did get to visit that was pretty significant was Robin Island. The island was used for many things but is mostly remembered for the prison during the partied here in South Africa between the Dutch Africans and Black Africans much like what we had with the Civil War. The experience was very different than what I thought it was going to be. It was not like an experience like I had with the concentration camp in Europe. I expected to be sobered by the whole place but in reality I think I was so disconnected to the whole thing it really did not hit home. The history of the whole story I was just learning that day and it never came on me as hard. The lesson thought that I did bring away from it all was that humans are cruel beings and we are always going to be cruel to each other. Some people have fallen under Satins rule and he will punish the world through them like puppets. That is something that we are going to have to live with until God comes down and saves us from our bondage of this broken world. Praise the Lord that we have that to look forward to. I do not want you to think that I was a cold hearted fool that walked through the prison with a hard eye without pity for the people that went through unjust punishment and cruel times. I did feel for those people, it was just hard for me to connect completely with the story of it all.

So that was Robin Island, on with the trip. Dale and Marvin left on the 26th and it was time to work. Roger had many things for us to do but also knew that we also had plans of our own. That weekend after Dale and Marvin left was a settling weekend. Kent and I needed some rebooting sleep. SO we took a couple mornings to sleep in. After that weekend I got the pleasure of going and staying with a missionary family that is living in town, there names are Craig and Candy Stevens. So that Monday and Tuesday I got to basically become part of there family. I got to go with Craig to a couple of meetings with brothers that he had been teaching and is teaching currently. Monday morning we went and met with a group and just discussed the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. It was refreshing to be able to learn from a completely new angle and perspective from the men living so far from my home. During the day we came back home and had lunch with the family and I got to teach their daughter how to do her Math homework. I mowed their lawn which was a crazy experience because the mower was completely electric. That night was the crazy part of the day because Craig and I went into Dunoon which is a very dangerous part of Cape Town. It is one of the villages in the Cape Flats where all the poor people and immigrants come and live. It is almost like a squatters village. And we were going during the night. Though I knew the Lord was going to protect us with everything that we were going to be doing it was to easy to keep looking over my shoulder while we were there. I also kept my hands in my pockets just about the whole time to keep all my possessions extra safe. We went into a small building to teach a few men more on how to study the Bible a little bit differently, trying to see things in stories of the Bible that we normally would not see if we just glanced over them. Really breaking them down and seeing what they are trying to say to us in our time now. So Craig and I did that and made it safely back home that night by the Lords grace. The next day was Tuesday and the work at Rogers began. I strated stamping CDs that day while Kent did a ton of homework. Im going to skip a few days not to bore you with just junk.

Last weekend Kent and I got to go on a camping trip with some of the families that we have been connected to. It was a great time to be with them and get to know all of them a little better and on a different level. I was sick kinda the first day of the camping so I was a pooper and had to watch as the kids and Kent got to swim in the ocean. The first night of the camp out we had a traditional potjie which is cooking a lot of food together in a pot over a fire. It was DELICIOUS let me tell you what, these South Africans know how to cook. SO the next day of the campout I was feeling a lot better and I got to take a morning swim with the kids and played cricket with the families after lunch on the beach. We had a lot of fun and I got to teach some of them how to play American football after they taught me cricket. Well lets just say that night was great, we had a braai which is a Bar-B-Q in their terms, really nothing different. But the bummer of that day was, I got burnt to a crisp and I am still feeling it to this day almost 5 days later. I did not feel sick from the sun but my skin felt terrible, the sun here in SA is a lot more intense because the Ozone layer here is thinner and I did not know that. Even though I put on sun screan 6 times, mom, I still burnt. So on with the week. In the proccess of it all I have been able to be apart of shipping and packing over 4000 Bibles in the little time that I have been working in the print shop. I only tell you this not to brag or show what we have accomplished but what God has physically allowed us to do and be apart of because each one of those Bibles will statistacly be read by 7 people front to back just because of how valuable literature is here in SA. So praise be to God that we are able to do that. We have also been able to video a lot of stuff while we are meeting with the house churches which has been a blast to do.

So I really want to comment on what happened last night that shows how awesome our God is. We met a couple at a Rugby game because we started only to ask them to help us with the rules so that we could understand a little better what was going on. We began to talk with them and eventually we told them that why we were here and that was to work with house churches. The women whos name is Andriette picked up on that and asked about what that was all about. By the end of the converstation we had agreed to take them to a house church and they invited us to their house for a Braai. So the Braai happened last night and Kent and I before all this happened had no idea what to expect so we really went to the Lord to help us out with this meeting because we really had no idea what these people were goint to be like at home. We got to there home last night and it was a very neat well kept cute house and for South Africa thats rare. And within a few moments of the converstation of remeeting we all figure out that we are Christians!! Even their friends who were coming over just a little later. We had no idea either sides what this night was all about. So we spent the next few hours fellowshiping with these people just living it up and encouraging one another in life and all that we were doing. Kent and I were blown away by their encouragement that they gave us and the blessings that they pored on us. The husband of Andriette who is Ian verbaly stopped the converstation to give us a blessing. I could not believe my ears at what they were hearing. I expected that night to have to really be a strong Christian and teach people and start them on a new path but no the Lord had other plans for Kent and I to actually be the listeners that evening. Of course we had our blessings to give to because they were new at the idea of house churches and really wanted to learn all about them and Kent and I really got to feed them with what they needed. So last night we got to plant a house church and be encouraged by some really awesome people who we just happened to sit by at a random Rugby Game... and to find out they had the wrong tickets and sat in the wrong seats, so by no coincidence did this happen. God knew that we were supposed to be connected to these people. We all walked away completely shocked and amazed. Its one of those experiences where words really cant describe what you feel about that.

Well thats all for now hopefully it will be sooner next time. Thanks for reading love you guys.

Cape Town- My new Home

So we arrive after a successful trip to Venda and a great hunt in All days. So the stories from that. The chicken farm was not as much of a mess as we thought. The chicken farm is a small business that Dale and Kent started here up in the north eastern part of SA. The man will remain nameless but he did not follow up on his payments on the loan that Dale gave him for the business and there were things to discuss when we got there. Many questions had to be asked there and there were many answers given. The man running the business also had confessions and got many things off his chest that needed to be relieved from his shoulders. After a couple of days there at the chicken farm and with a couple of meetings with the elders of the church near by the situation was all worked out. We taught them how to get things running properly again and really stressed to them that communication with us was key. The man had not commicated with Dale for the past 7 months, thats one reason Dale went out there. So it went well there were chickens there and the business seemed to be running and we left with a good taste in our mouths.

The HUNT. So after a very stressful couple of days with the chicken farm the Lord blessed us with a connection with one of Kents friends who just got his PH "Proffesional Hunters Licence" so got to take us on a two day hunting trip. The ranch that we stayed at was near a town called Alldays- meaning its hot alldays there- and ladys it is close to the largest diamond mine in the world.. the Venetian mines. SO the hunt was on starting early Friday morning at 3. We got in the field around nine because we started about an hour away from camp. We got our guns and headed out in a 1946 land cruser that was topless and we were set to kill. With 6 guides and Kents friend Piet and now my really good friend we had a good time. It started out with a bang when we spotted a herd of Gimsbak and off Piet and Dale went stalking. Kent and I were left in the truck with 3 none English speaking hunters who could spot a mouse at 100 yards. After about an hour of riding in the truck, which is hunting, we spot a herd of Impala and its my turn to shoot. My blood was pumpin man and it the big bull of them sticks its head and breast out of the bushes and I had fives seconds to take the shot. I took aim and right before I shot I asked Kent, hey where do I shoot it, in response he said, "just like a deer". And in the next moment I had myself a very good trophy Impala. Kent was filming the whole thing which the video is pretty awesome. The Hunt was not over Dale ended up shooting a BIG bull Gimsbak and Kent another really good Impala. I shot another Impala bull that evening after missing a really nice one. So all in all the hunt brought us 4 really nice animals and I cant wait to hang them up on the wall at home. OH and by the way while out in the field the Lord treated us with seeing 22 Giraffe while we were hunting.

Now we are at our home away from home in Cape Town. We arrived last night and have already done so much. We talked with the youth here this morning and got to meet so many people of the church, we encouraged them and had a wonderful morning. Then Roger gave us another surprise with some tickets to a proffesional Rugby game tonight. So at 5 we were sitting in our seats on the second row by the Try zone. And we had a wonderful time at the game and got to learn what it was all about.

So the Lord had been good and we have been able to do His work, but in between hardships and emotional discussions with the people here the Lord has blessed us with some fun things to do as well.

Thats all for now and I love all of you! Thank you so much for your prayers.

News from South Africa

Well this is going to be short to short to get everything that I want in here but here we go. We have landed safely and soundly here in South Africa. We spent the weekend in Durban and had a blast teaching and preaching to the people in Durban. Strangly the weekend was about unity within the church. We were there to teach to sheep what it looks like not to steal other sheep form the flock but rather go find lost sheep and bring them back home. The people here are in a verbal war over here about tradition and the ways of doing church. They are stuck on the little things and it is difficult to teach them that all that matters is JESUS IS LORD and by his sacrifice we are saved. They are addicted to argueing over what church should be and how it should be run and who shoudl be in charge and what should and shouldnt happen in "church service." The weekend thought was awesome because Kent and I got to stay with a family that was one of the families stuck in the traditional ways and were not very good listeners. We had a rough moment with them but Kent and I chose not to fall into the trap of saying or doing something we would regret. We chose to show them love throughout the weekend no matter what they said to us. And believe me somoe things that they said were not fun to hear. Things like.. all evil comes from the stupid Americans and you are bringing it with you. It was a fun weekend none the less. It is beautiful out here. I will be sharing more later. All my love to you guys.

Hello friends! With this blog I hope to keep everyone updated with my travels and share some stories of what will happen in the next 6 months of travel. I also want to use this blog to show how God works through every situation we come to in life. God has really been showing me that through Him all things are possible. God also has been teaching me what trust is and what true love towards others feels like. I also want to tell you guys that God really does take care of us. I learned about my trip to South Africa, which I will be going on Feb. 11 with Kent Bresee, only two weeks before Christmas. So in my mind I was then and am now trying to figure out how I was going to raise $5000 dollars for this trip. Thus that brings me back to say that the Lord takes care of us, because 50% of my donations or a little over that has come from people my age and younger. I am very proud of my friends who have donated to my trip and very thankful. Everytime someone hands me a check or cash I feel limp and extremely humbled. God provides for us in ways we do not understand and in ways we thought would not be possible. So you are asking to yourself what about this trip? Am I excited? What are my thoughts about leaving for so long and why am I doing it?

I must explain that this trip to South Africa is going to be one of the most unique adventures that I have ever embarked on. It is an act of faith to jump on board with this trip because it will be out of my comfort zone, the farthest I have been from home, a new hot and uncomfortable living sometimes, challenging physically and emotionaly, with people that I do not know yet except Kent, and many more reasons that would bore you to death so I dont want to kill you. South Africa at one point was a place that I did not want to find myself going but now the Lord is taking me there. The trip for me even though I have not left has already started. Emotionally I have been attached to Tulsa, Oklahoma and OKC. The places of home where I have made many friends and have started to find out what God wants me to do here. BUT all that has been put on hold for this trip and it truly hurts me to leave what has only thus begun.

And for what the trip entails. Kent and I will travel down to South Africa with Marvin Phillips and Dale Bresee, Kents father, to establish relationships in small businesses in Venda where Dales chicken farm has been started. Dale is going with a rod in hand because the chicken farm has not paid back what they said they would in the time Dale has been gone away. But I wont dwell on that because thats his story. The four of us the first weekend there will be heading to Durbin which is a coastal city south of Johannesburg to meet with Roger Dickson and George Funk. While in Durbin we will be prepairing to go to Venda in a rent car. To the chicken farm we will go, then after bumping heads with the chicken farm we will have the pleasure of a South African hog hunt for just a day. Then we will fly down to Cape Town and send off Marvin and Dale back home. Kent and I will stay and become slaves to Martha and Roger Dickson. We will be working in a print shop printing the Bible and books that Roger has written for his International School of Biblical Studies. After working there for a time or two in Cape Town it might be in the planning books for Roger, Kent, and I to go on a distributing trip up through South Africa to Namibia and then over to Botswana and back down to Cape Town. And from there on I do not have any knowledge of where the trip will take us other than meeting with house churches and teaching and preaching whenever we can.

So to tell you the truth I am excited and a little frightened but not trapped by fear about the trip. I trust the Lord that He is sending me there for a reason that I cannot quite figure out right now and I am ok with not knowing that right now. Why am I going on the trip? Well for selfish reasons I want to see this place BUT this trip I would have never gone on if God did not give me a push out of the door. I am going on this trip to be a servant of God.

God I pray that I may be used to glorify you in all that I do over there and will be able to have the courage to do anything you put in my path. Make me a light to a dark world. May this trip encourage others and inspire them to break out of their comfort zones. I pray that you put situations in my life that I have to choose to trust and love you. Thank you for your mercy and grace on such a broken world and broken person such as me. Thank you for your love that never ends. Amen