Hello all back home! I know it has been awhile since my last blog. So here is an update! We are in Bloemfontein, South Africa staying at Grateful Guesthouse. This was our ATL(ask the Lord) month. So we were free to pray to God and let HIM guide us to where he wanted us to go.
We first prayed back in November and heard God saying Zambia. 5 of us got the word so we trusted that and went from there. The first contact we tried out wasn’t so good. The church there didn’t believe that the spiritual gifts applied to life today. And since that is a GIANT piece of the WR, we all knew that that wouldn’t be a place where we would be able to be fruitful in the things we walk in. So we continued our search. I had a list from our squad leader Lia and it had a contact in Lusaka, Zambia so I contacted him. They were open to the idea so we kind of were leaning on that.
About 3 weeks from the ATL month, it gets brought up that we aren’t going about ASK THE LORD month as we should. We basically didn’t pray about this contact, just sort of settled on it since it was where we knew God wanted us to go. We prayed about it and asked God to guide us WHEREVER he wanted us to go. Be that Zambia, Swaziland, or SA. So the next day we meet a guy from Swaziland and we have some GREAT time of fellowship with him at his house. We thought maybe that was a sign from God telling us Swaziland since he was going there that week and knows a ton of people and even said that some would be very interested. We go to the internet the next day or 2 and delegate things for people to look up. Different country options and whatnot. That is when Grateful Guesthouse is found. We call him and the phone call is broken but we are able to swap email addresses. That is the beginning. We exchange emails with information that he wanted and that we wanted. They speak life into us over the email and we finally come to an agreement to be there for the month of January.
We leave our contact and AMAZING kids at the orphanage on 5th of January. After a few hours of searching for a bus, God gives us one with just 6 seats left that is going to Maputo that afternoon. We leave around 1PM and board the bus. The seats were not made for average Americans. My butt and knees and literally PINNED in the back of my seat and the one in front of me. So once every so often I had to stand up so I didn’t GO CRAZY! That was a 24 HOUR BUS RIDE! We stopped numerous times to pick up more and to drop of people. Sometimes for over an hour which gave us quite a bit of walk around and stretch time. One time we were, honest to God, in the middle of nowhere. There was a small house/shop building where you could buy food that they cooked on an open fire out in the dark. I didn’t opt for that adventure, but I did enjoy a refreshing mix of lemon and lime also called Sprite. Colby and I got on the top of the bus and just admired the awesomeness that in the universe above us. When you are in the middle of nowhere with no city lights around, the sky looks fake. Truly fake. It was amazing.
We finally got to Maputo around 2pm the 6th and get a truck to take us to the bus place to get a ride to Jo’burg then connect to Bloemfontein. So we go to a couple and get the news that no buses will be available til Saturday or later. So that is out, but we can get a taxi, which is really a mini bus, to take us to Jo’burg. So we get there and it is just a typical madhouse when whites come in. I am talking with a guy and everyone seems to be inputing their own opinions into the conversation. I am getting irritated since I feel that they are jacking up the price since we are white. The truck to the bus place started at 500 then on the way he was like, well with all the bags 700 is better. I was like no you said 500 but he was being dumb. Then since we drove an extra 10 minutes and a couple miles, he wanted 1500. I said NO and when I gave him 1000 when we were done but he was following me around and saying don’t do this, and I was letting him know I don’t have anymore and that is plenty. But he wouldn’t SHUT UP so I gave him the last 60 RAND I had and turned around and didn’t say anything. I was NOT happy. I truly felt it was because we were white. Then the other people were putting our stuff into a trailer and covering it to avoid getting wet from rain. But they were putting our bags onto the WET floor of the trailer. So we had to like argue why we didn’t want the bags on the WET just by putting them IN the trailer. So we argue about that for a few minutes and they were NOT getting the clue, so Colby and I just grab the tarp and do it on our own. I am getting SO frustrated by all this and it is showing some. We finally get the bags loaded and start to get loaded and I God starts to let me know that I didn’t represent him like I should always. I have the feeling I need to go and apologize to the guys I snapped at. So I do and explain that we just had a LONG 24 hours bus ride and we didn’t get much sleep. Not that that makes it any better but I saw that I wasn’t being who I should be and what I have been feeling God teaching me lately was that I need to check myself when my old self wants to react. And when we had gotten in and I had shared that I did that, some of the team said they saw a change in one of them before we left. We get in and head out. A couple days later I thank God for showing me I was screwing up and that I had a the chance to apologize instead of missing that chance.
We get through the border, get us some grilled corn and some refreshments and head on. The EASIEST crossing so far! We stop a few times, which was so great, since I had the common problem with no leg room. So good for that so I didn’t go NUTS! It also got cold! It has been extra cold here and it was CRAZY to feel! From Mozambique where you can’t escape the sweating to needing a coat! It was quite refreshing! So we arrive in Jo’burg around 2AM and start to find out the next step to get to our final destination. We find out that the bus station opens the doors at 230AM but no companies open til maybe 4. So we had talked to a couple shuttle type buses about going to where we are going and first they said no, but then like 15 minutes later they were interested. Hmmm.? But we go in and check once again about the big companies but come to the conclusion that it is going to cost more than we have to go. We head back out and set up to go with these guys. It is good since we will have our own bus with our bags inside and it costs what we can afford. We think it’s because they were going that way anyways so why not make some extra money. They pull over at a gas station to sleep for 40 minutes but it turned into 2 hours which is fine to us. I stayed awake the whole time just to keep an eye on things since they came across as kind of sketch individuals. They actually end up being rater courteous most of the time. We arrive at our AMAZING place at around 10 AM. And a funny tid bit of info is that when we pull up, the driver immediately asks John who is paying, it was in Africaans(local language here) so I didn’t hear it. But John instantly says we have paid and the guys laughs like he was joking. Like I said, sketch.
THIS PLACE IS AMAZING‼! I can’t explain it to you. It reminded me of Colorado at first. About 10 minutes outside of town, a cool breeze whipping through the pine trees and nice green grass! SO GREAT‼ We are pumped to get to know this couple and to see what God has for us. We heard some of their story and it is great where they are letting God provide and are trusting in what he is giving them. So good. This and Czech are so far the 2 places I would love to go back and visit. Also this place is exactly how I would want to live. Just a tad out of town so it’s quiet and a little land. I can’t say it enough…I LOVE IT‼ And Tommy’s team is coming to stay with us tomorrow (Sunday afternoon) and leaving Monday morning. They are breaking up their LONG travel time. So that will be a good fun blessing time!
I am SO happy here and know that God had us come here. We are able to just BE here. Not stand out or anything. For the first time in 7 months, we were able to read and worship WITH the music, not be sat up in front of the church facing out, and didn’t have to get up and TALK! We were part of the congregation. We were able to receive. We were able to shut down and let God come in.
The church is also involved with a college here that offers classes in media, music, prophecy, dance, drama, and many other things. The team is taking advantage of some of those things while we are here! I can’t express it enough that this place is SUCH a breath of fresh air and has such a distinct presence of God.
Well that is about it for now. We are heading to Jo’burg around the 22-24th to get ready for our flight to the Philippines. That is next chapter. Please be praying for us as we venture that way!
Thank you all for praying for me daily! I have needed it and still do! Thank you and I love you all‼
And if you were worried about the beard and hair, they both are still kicking butt! 5 months down….5 TO GO‼
Picture was on Christmas on the beach in Beira, Mozambique.
