Mission Family

At times it is very difficult to be so far away from home and loved ones. But God has blessed me through relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ.

These are some friends from the East Rand, other side of Joburg who have become good friends. A few of them are a part of Hands On and will be leaving in April after their 4 months of serving.

This is Ruth Anne representing Baylor while I of course pulled for Duke... who won this game and continued on to be the 2010 National Champions! The Holidays were kind enough to let us come over and watch the game from 11pm till 1am because of the time difference. They are always willing to open their home to us and allow us to be a part of their family.

We had a game night at our supervisor's house. Alan and Beth take good care of us and are great to work under and with. We had fun playing pictionary even though Zach, Melissa and I came in 2nd.

Kurt and Janna Kay had us over to participate in a Passover Seder, which is a Jewish ritual that commemorates when God saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. It was at the Passover meal when Jesus announced the New Covenant and asked all of us to do this in remembrance of Him, which we all know as The Lord's Supper. It is amazing to see how God has worked out the plan of salvation through Jesus from the very beginning. What a great reminder of the importance of Easter... Jesus' death, burial and resurrection... so that now we may have life!

To celebrate Melissa and Ruth Anne's birthday I took them to see STOMP. It was absolutely amazing how people can make music out of anything including matchboxes, tubes, plastic bags, lighters, brooms, and buckets. And I have really enjoyed getting to spend time with these girls.

A family from our training in Virginia back in April 2009, came to Joburg so we were able to visit with them and share a meal together. It was so good to see them again and catch up on how life has been going serving in Africa. What a blessing this family has been to me!

These two beautiful girls belong to Brad and Georgia who work on our team. Many Fridays and Saturdays have been spent at their house having braaie (barbecues) and hanging out. Good times!

My team is awesome... a few of us went on a white water rafting trip. Other than one incident getting stuck in the trees and almost drowning, it was fun! Makes you appreciate God's creation. Reminds me of Jesus' power of nature when He was able to calm the storm with a word while his disciples sat in the boat scared for their lives. That is how I felt.

I always enjoy a good cultural event. We went to a Super 14 match between the Lions (South Africa) and Reds (Australia). A big thanks to Kurt for providing us with tickets. I'm still trying to understand all the rules of the game but I do enjoy watching it as it is very much a part of South African culture.