The Journey Begins....

I can't believe it finally happened. God has granted me a miracle. I received an email from South Africa in October asking if I was interested in a long-term missionary position. I was blown away. I have been praying about this for a few years now. Finally, my prayers have been answered. God has called me into serving him in the mission field. Wow!!!! I am so thrilled, I want to shout it from the roof top. The ball is rolling. I interviewed with the LCMS World Mission, I was officially offered the position in November, I had a mini orientation earlier this month and I have started fundraising. And so the journey begins.

It's been a while

Well too much time has passed since I last wrote about the project in Shongweni.  But alot is still going on.  My friend Drew led a team in July and they started rebuilding a much needed classroom at the Lalelani School.  They also put in some gardens in the Habitat houses that were built last year.  In August Pastor Arnie and a faithful team of 4 worked diligently to finish the classroom.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Wish I was there to see it.  Duane and his team are in Shonweni now.  They were able to attend the dedication of the classroom.  The students and the teachers were thrilled.  They also presented a digital camera to the high school and it was well received.  The big project is starting work on the community center.  It was off to a slow start, but they are well on the way.  I can't wait until it is finished.  

Home again!!!

We made it back safely yesterday.  It seemed liked we would never get here.  There was a stop in Dakkar for refueling, crew change, security check which took about 1 & 1/2 hours.  It was nice landing in Washington D.C. and being back in the U.S.A.  After another layover in Chicago we made it back to Phoenix by 2:00pm.  Was it ever hot.  After being in such wonderful cool winter weather for a week it was a shock to feel the heat.

On Sunday we attended church with the people in the community and the choirs were amazing.  Hearing them sing always makes me cry.  I could see Pastor Majola standing in the pulpit with a smile on his face.  I know that he is happy that so many people are continuing to go to church.  Much to my surprise I was asked to get up and speak.  I didn't know what to say but God is good and blessed me with the words.  I told the children that Pastor Majola would want them to continue going to school and that they should help one another.  I told them that God loves them very much and that he would look after them.  I also said that the team loved them and that we would continue to come back.  After church I met the homeowner Patricia and her children and handed over the keys to her house.  She was so happy.  It was truly a happy ending to our week.  As we were driving out of the community one last time we looked over towards the Shonweni game reserve to look for giraffes on last time.  To our amazement we saw about 5 of them all in a row walking along.  It was a wonderful sight to see.

Sala gashle(stay well) South Africa, until we meet again.

Homeward bound

It is time to say goodbye to South Africa. What a wonderful expereince we had. The team was wonderful. We made so many new friends and reconnected with old ones. This morning we head back to the community one last time to go to church with the members of the community. It will be different not having Pastor Majola there. He is certainly missed.

Yesterday we had a day to relax and do some shopping. We went downtown Durban to the Victoria Street market. Shopping is always fun. We also went to the Muti market which is the local traditional medicine market. Lots of interesting things to see. Afterwards we headed to Ushaka, the beach. We had lunch and time to relax. Karli and Taylor went snorkeling. Later on we had our farwell dinner at Butcher Boys. What a great restaurant.

Farewell to South Africa until we meet again. You will be in my heart always.

It is finished.....Day #5

Today was the last day in the community. We only had a few things left to do on the house....painting, hanging the doors and putting in the windows. So we jumped right in and worked diligently to get things finished on time. We had a treat today. Sue Johnson who works with Habitat for Humanity South Africa came by for a visit. It was wonderful to see her.

We finished up about 2:30 pm and got together with Fanie, Musa, Innocent and lots of the children for a group picture. It was a sad but also a happy time. We've made lots of new friends. We then headed up to the houses that were built last year to do a community clean up. All of the children jumped in to help, even Skhumbuzo. We played and worked and laughed one last time. We will see them once more at church on Sunday.

What a wonderful week this has been. The team was awesome and we worked hard to get the house finished. We had such great fellowship with the people of Shongweni.

Dance the night away.....Day #4

Today was phenomenal. This morning we visited a daycare center (creche in zulu). The owner, Emelda was so happy to have us come. She takes care of 61 children from ages 9 months to 3 years old. The children were so wonderful. We all got to play with them and just have fun. Such amazing children and so full of joy. Emelda runs the center with 4 others. We took some coloring books and crayons for the children. They were very happy to have them. They even sang for us. It was amazing.

Then we headed to the site. Today we put on the roof.....woo! hoo! We also painted the outside a cream/yellow and sreeted the floor. So tomorrow we paint the inside, make a step and the house is finished. So great to be here for the finished product.

This evening we danced the night away. The kids in the community had a talent night for us. The youth choir and a few others sang for us. Such amazing voices, they bring tears to my eyes. We also had a few skits and then there was some zulu dancing. It is always a sight to see. And well the team joined in and danced with everyone. We had a braai (barbecue) and shared a meal with the kids. What awesome fellowship we had tonight. An evening that I will never forget.

Making progress....Day #3

Today was absolutely fabulous. When we arrived the chlidren were there to greet us with hugs and kisses and they are so eager to help. They have learned our names and have been trying to speak to us in English. Lynne and Ruth continue on with their groups and when its time for the chlidren to go, they are excited. A few of the women came back to day even though there were no sessions scheduled. How wonderful.

We are making great progress on the house. Today we finished all of the back washing and the brick laying. Tomorrow we will do the floor and start painting and hopefully the roof. Almost there!!! The team's spirits are very high and I know that when Friday comes it will be diffucult to leave. I continue to ask for prayers.