Thanksgiving Day

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because he's given Jesus Christ, His Son.....(by Don Moen)

As Thanksgiving Day approached those words keep coming to mind. For the first time I am away from family and friends on Thanksgiving Day. I wondered how I was going to spend the day, would I be alone, would I have turkey, will it be a sad day for me. But God is good and gracious. I will be spending the day with two American missionary families in Pretoria and we will have a traditional Thanksgiving Day. I am very happy for such a wonderful blessing. So today I give thanks to God for the many blessings he has bestowed upon me and for the opportunity to serve Him in South Africa. I give thanks for my family and friends and for all of their love and support, I miss you all very much. I also give thanks for the new friends that I have made here in South Africa and for the families I will be with today.

All praise glory and honor to you my Father in heaven always and forever.

I read a devotion yesterday that was titled "True Thanksgiving". It talked about a man named Horatio Spafford who lost everything including his family and rather than be angry he gave thanks for all that he had left and he wrote the song "It is Well With My Soul." I leave you with this verse and the words to this song..... "Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20

When peace like a river attendeth my way

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say

It is well, it is well with my soul

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!!!

Needles, thread & bobbins.....

When the team from Phoenix was here a few weeks ago, they gave sewing classes to the ladies in the community. There were about 16 that attended. For the majority of them it was the first time that they used a sewing machine. Linda Funk and Norma aka gogo worked everyday with them. By week's end the ladies had made small bags, aprons and lampshades.

On Wednesday sewing classes resumed. A local lady named Gori will be working with the ladies in the coming months to get their sewing skills refined. There were 12 ladies in the class. Some were new and the others had attended with Linda and gogo. Gori along with Thandeka, a young lady from the community that has a sewing certificate instructed the ladies on how to thread the machines, fill the bobbins and the basics of sewing. By the end of the day they all learned how to make a book cover.

Since some of the ladies were new and still a bit nervous when using the machines so Thandeka and I had a follow up class on Friday. This time when making the book covers they used batting and did a design in the material. They turned out really well. There is a gogo named Regina who is determined to be tops in the class and considering that her vision is not the best, she is leading the way. I had not touched a sewing machine in years, so I had to search my memory banks to remember how to thread the machine, etc. Luckily Thandeka was there. By the end of the day there were needles, thread and bobbins all over the tables as we cleaned up.

It was a wonderful week and the ladies were very excited. Gori was very pleased with how it all turned out. Keep the ladies in your prayers as they progress with their sewing.

Pretoria in Springtime.....

I spent last week in Pretoria and it was wonderful. It was a time to debrief with my supervisor Cindy about how I feel about being here, if I'm adjusting, what challenges I may have, that sort of thing. We talked for a long time about lots of things and it is great to know that I have her support and her friendship. I also got some well needed R & R and caught up on some work.

Now the great thing about Pretoria especially in Springtime are the Jakarander trees. The streets are lined with them and they have beautiful purple flowers. Just looking down the streets all you can see are rows and rows of purple. Absolutely amazing! There are Jakaranders in Hillcrest, but they are scattered here and there. I got to spend time with one of the other missionaries as well. It was a good trip. I got back to Hillcrest Saturday afternoon. Yes, Saturday was Halloween. It's not that big of a thing here in South Africa like it is in the U.S. I pray that everyone had a safe time trick-or-treating. Have a few pieces of candy for me.