Laura

I'd like to ask you to take a moment to pray for Laura.

While I was in SA, Laura became a dear friend. I honestly don't know how I would have survived without her! She is truly a blessing from God! I miss her terribly.

Though my time in SA is done (for now), Laura's isn't. She'll remain in SA until October. Please pray for her. Pray for her as she transitions to a new house and to being the only Voxer on the ground. Pray that God leads and guides her through the remainder of her time. Pray for strength, health, and safety. Pray that God gives her a servant's heart and a teachable spirit. Pray that He overwhelms her with His love. Pray that He provides all that she needs- financially, physically, spiritually, emotionally, socially. Pray for grace and patience. Pray for contentment. Pray that God opens her eyes to the opportunities that surround her.

It's not the end

My last few days in SA were hard.

After church on Sunday, Laura, Jerome, and I enjoyed a lazy afternoon before heading over to the Klaasens to watch the Confederations Cup final. Monday was also fairly low key- just hanging out at the Klaasens the whole day. Once again, Nikki surprised me. She had kept me out of the classes because she had the kids making cards for me. Monday afternoon she gave me all of the cards in a book. I couldn't have asked for a better gift! It was so touching. And so encouraging. To think that the same kids who had never spoken a word of English just a few months ago now tried to write full paragraphs. And to think that I had a part in not just their education, but in the growth of their confidence. Wow! God is so good!

Tuesday: my last day in SA. Tuesday morning Reagan and Nikki took the Cynergy team to the Apartheid Museum. It was an incredible experience! Throughout the museum, Nikki shared her grandparents, parents, and her own experiences with me throughout the Apartheid years. Her stories amaze me! I have even more respect for her and Reagan. After the museum, we headed back to the Klaasen house for a few hours before heading to the airport. For my last lunch in SA, Reagan bought me a Special- a sandwhich with chips (fries), bologna, and pickles on it. It was... interesting. Tehe. After picking up Kaylin, we headed to the airport. After dinner at Mugg and Bean, it was time to say goodbye. I hate goodbyes! Leaving was harder than words can say! It took me at least a half an hour to say goodbye to everyone. Tears were in abundance. Finally, I torn myself away.

My journey back to the States was long. I got through security fine. However, my flight from Joburg to Atlanta was delayed, so I missed my first connecting flight. Thus, I got rerouted through DC. My flight from DC didn't leave until 7pm. When we finally boarded, we were told that we had to sit on the runway for an hour because of severe weather. Finally, after over 30 hours of traveling, I was home.

It's weird being in Holland again. Everything is different- even the amount of water in the toliets. Tehe. It's hard being so far away from my SA family and all of my kiddos. But I know that this isn't the end of my journey in SA or with Cynergy. I know that I'll return to my family and to my kiddos. As of now, I'm planning a trip to SA next May with my university. My hope is that, of the ten students on the team, two of them will fall in love with the country and people of SA like I have. We're working on some other programs Cynergy related as well.

Praise the LORD:
~For keeping me safe as I traveled, for getting me and all of my luggage home.
~For my SA family
~For my kiddos
~For using me
~For opportunity
~For hope
~For abundant love
~For impact
~For growth
~For purpose
~For vision
~For a bed to sleep in
~For food to eat
~For sunshine
~For South Africa
~For second chances
~For puppies
~For humor
~For freedom

Please pray:
~As I continue to transition to life stateside again
~For prosparity in the Cynergy program
~That God will provide abundantly for the Klaasen family, Laura, and Jerome
~For safety for Jerome as he leaves for Mozembique on Sunday
~For wisdom and comfort for Laura as she'll soon be the only one on the ground
~For wisdom and guidance in the future
~That He opens doors for me to return to SA
~That I have a servent's heart

Don't Say Goodbye

I HATE GOODBYES!

This week has been rough. Sadly, I didn't have a chance to say goodbye to my Goedehoop kiddos on Tuesday cause Nik thought it would be easier on me not to see them. We we supposed to have private sessions Tuesday afternoon, but we rocked up late to the first session and my kids had already left, which was a huge bummer. We did have the second session. Nikki and Reagan were at a meeting, so I ran private sessions with the help of Zunaid, Elano, and Lykita. It was hetic! Because Zunaid, Elano, and Lykita hadn't been fully trained on this book, they took the class the Nikki usually taught because the class was just writting an assistment. In the meantime, I taught Reagan's, Elano's, and my classes. It was quite the feat as each class was in a different place in the book.

Wednesday I broke down. After three days of basically doing nothing Cynergy related, I broke down. After Nikki and Laura returned from a meeting, I pulled Laura outside to try to tell her how frustrated I was because I felt like I was being isolated from the program. Shortly after, Nikki walked outside and asked if everything was ok. I told her that I didn't want to leave and broke down. When I first got here, I never would have imagined that I would become this attached. And now I am left with the task of a few thousand goodbyes. I hate goodbyes! Shame man. Nikki is so sweet! After comforting me and calming me down, she went inside and prepared a feast. Meanwhile, I learned a bit of cricket playing with Dillion, Jerome, Zunaid, Jachin, Elano, Lykita, and Joanne. I'm grateful for the opportunity just to hang out with them. When we came inside, Nikki surprised me with the farewell dinner that she had prepared and reminded me that no matter where I was, I was always a part of her family. Shame man!

Thursday was great. When my mom was here in March, Nikki and Reagan took us to the China Mart (basically a ton of shops owned by Chinese people that sell products at stock price). Every since, my mom has been asking me to get some stuff for her from there. So Thursday Reagan, Nikki, and I spent the day at the China Mart. Though not terribly impressed with the merchandise, I was glad that I had a chance to get stuff for my mom. Moreso, I was grateful to spend quality time with Nikki and Reagan. It's funny how nearly anything that I do with them is enjoyable solely because I'm with them. :-)

Friday morning we had a workshop for the Reigerpark and East Rand Legends. The workshop included a speech on what it means to be a Legend by Nikki (a lot of Legends have been slacking lately), an "I Choose" session with Laura (HIV info), and a hip-hop session. It was really fun. After the workshop, Mr. Fisch, the principal of Reigerpark, presented me with a framed certificate of thanks for helping in his school. Then Nikki also thanked me and presented me with a journal in which each legend had written me a note. It was the perfect gift! Afterward, Nikki surprised me once again with a party at her house with all of the Legends.

Saturday was crazy early as we had to drive to Edenpark for a workshop with our Legends there. Afterward, we spent the day at Nikki and Reagan's, where we got to meet Beauty, Bianca's older sister. She's a sweetie! I spent most of the day playing with the kiddos. After the other kids went inside, I played catch with Bianca. She loved it! She was constantly laughing and mumbling to herself. Too cute! For dinner, I got to experience Chicken Lickin, which actually wasn't that bad. Tehe.

Praise the LORD!:
~For health and safety
~For the incredible relationships that He's given me here, for my family here and for my kiddos
~For hope
~For love
~For favor and grace
~For heat
~For opportunity
~For using me to do His work
~For wisdom
~For His Word
~For strength
~For mercy

Please pray:
~For strength to say goodbye. It's been so hard! And I still have my hardest goodbyes, the Klaasen family and Laura, to go. Pray that we're able to still stay in touch with one another. Pray for peace. Pray that I keep an attitude of thanksgiving, thanking God for the incredible people that He's put in my life rather than focing on having to leave them.
~For God's protection and provision over my family and kiddos here. Pray that He blesses everything that they touch. Pray that He overwhelms them with His love and peace. Pray that He gives them rest.
~For wisdom and guidance as I transition to life stateside. Pray that I don't get comfortable.
~For safety as I travel. Pray that I make all of my connections and that the flight is smooth and easy.
~For my mom's health. She has larengitious.

Searching for the pause button

I'm not sure how to begin this post as my mind races with a million thoughts. Where has the time gone, my friend? It seems like only yesterday that I was counting the days that I'd been in SA; now I'm left counting the days that I have left. It amazes me how much has happened over the few months that I've been here: all of the lessons that God has been teaching me, the incredible relationships that He's given me, all that He's gotten me through. It's amazing! It's left me wishing I could slow things down a bit here. Honestly, it's left me torn. A dear friend pointed out the irony of my situation. Just a few months ago, I was nervous to leave behind friends and family for the time that I would be in SA. Now I'm struggling to leave my friends and family IN SA. What an incredible answer to prayer! Our God has incredible provision! It amazes me how He's taken care of my every need.

Anywho, this week has been a bit different than most. Monday night Laura, Jerome, and I had an incredible opportunity to go to a FIFA Confederations Cup game. We saw Italy v. America. The experience was incredible! Praise the LORD for keeping us safe and once again providing for us! As we were walking through several checkpoints before the game, Jerome somehow dropped his ticket. Needless to say, we were freaking out a bit. There's no way that he would be allowed into the game without his ticket, and the chances of him finding it on the ground somewhere among the crowd were even slimer. Frantically we searched through his back countless times, but to no avail. Thus, Jerome decided to attempt the hopeless serach of looking for his ticket on the ground. This lead to another problem: how would he get back through the checkpoints? After talking with several police officers, he and another man were allowed to exit the perimeters. As Jerome backtracked, Laura and I contemplated what we would do if he couldn't find his ticket. We didn't want to miss the game, but we couldn't just leave Jerome; we had been bused a few km away from where we parked, so he couldn't return to the car. We kept praying that he would miraculously find his ticket. A few minutes later, Jerome returned with a grin waving a ticket in the air. He explained to us that the other man that had walked out with him, Andre, worked for FIFA, so he could get into the game without a ticket. Thus, he gave his ticket to Jerome! God is so good!

The game itself was exciting. Somehow, the US was able to hold off Italy and was in the lead for the first 2/3 of the game, perhaps the second miracle of the night. Tehe. Sadly, we decided to stop playing in the second half and Italy whooped us 3 to 1 in the last 20 minutes. Considering our rankings, I'd still say we did pretty well.

Because of holidays this week, I've been able to spend some quality time with Laura and Jerome. We've had some pretty cool conversations over the past few weeks. It's been great getting to know them better. Definately going to miss them!

I'm also going to miss my kiddos! This week, I had to say goodbye to two of my schools, Reigerpark Primary and Lakeside. I hate goodbyes! Though it was hard, it was encouraging to see the impact that I've had on my kiddos as well as on their educators. It was so rewarding to walk into the classroom and have dozens of kids shout my name with glee. After I announced that I would be leaving at the end of this term, I was mobbed with hugs. Several of my kiddos told me that they were going to miss me and didn't want me to leave. A few even told me that they weren't going to let me leave while a few others told me that they were going to come with me. Cooler still was the response that I had from the staff at the schools. I had one educator tell me how much she appriciated my time there; she thanking me for teaching her kids and simply loving on them. She told me how excited they got whenever they saw me walk into the classroom. The principal at Lakeside also thanked me for my time and said that the school would sorely miss me. She was eager to find out when I would return. Mr. Ficsh, the prinicpal at Reigerpark Secondary, asked that I come see him this past week. It was a bit intimidately not to know why I was being called to the principal's office. Tehe. What he told me was shocking! After thanking me for my time, he went on and on about how my presence had changed the environment of his school. In gratitude, he is giving me a certificate and a letter to attach to my resume. He was also considering holding an assembly in which he would present these things to me in front of the entire school, but we desided that it would be better to present it at the Legends' workshop instead. Wow! God has blessed me immensely!

Yesterday while driving around Joburg trying to find property that Nikki and Reagan wanted to check out, I was given a wake up call to how huge Romaposa, one of the shanty towns, is. It broke my heart. The poverty that one sees here everyday is heart wrenching, but now it's become personal. Those aren't just shacks that I see; those are the homes of my kids. This is the reality of their lives. Yet their thriving. It was incredibly humbling that God would use me to love on these precious little ones.

Praise the LORD!:
~For the INCREDIBLE people that He's placed in my life over the past few months- Reagan, Nikki, Dillion, Kita, Kaylin, Jachin, Laura, Jerome, Dezzi, Elano, Jo-Charm, Andrea, Alex, Mankies, Johnny, my kiddos, the Legends...
~For giving me life changing friends and family in SA
~For giving me life changing friends and family in USA
~For growing me
~For teaching me
~For His favor and grace
~For hope
~For opportunity
~For using me
~For change
~For strength
~For safety and health
~For His incredible love
~For forgiveness
~For opening my eyes
~For a roof over my head
~For my daily bread
~For never leaving or abandoning me
~For adopting me as His child
~For His incredible provision
~For teaching me to forgive
~For life
~For sunshine

Please pray:
~As I transition over the next few weeks
~For strength to say goodbye
~For wisdom as I begin life stateside again
~For continued health and safety. Almost everyone that I'm in contact with is either sick or getting over being sick. Please pray for a speedy recovery.
~That God will lead and guide me for His name sake
~For Cynergy
~For Laura
~For guidance in the future
~For my kiddos. Pray that God overwhelms them with His love and provides for all of their needs. Pray that they grow spiritually, mentally, physcially, emotionally, and socially. Pray that they become world changers. Pray that they discover their God-given potential so they can fulfill their God-given destiny.

I <3 the ocean!

This past week I had an incredible opportunity to travel to Durban with Reagan, Nikki, Laura, and Jerome. Durban is quite similar to the city of Miami; tall buildings surrounded by ocean and beaches. It was beautiful!

We spent much of Monday driving (Joburg to Durbs is about a 5 or 6 hr drive). As we were driving, we saw SNOW! It felt quite homey. Tehe. After settling in to our home for the week, we ventured outside to enjoy the beauty of the ocean. I hadn't realized how much I had missed living near water. The ocean is somehow calming and exhilerating all at once.

We spent most of the week working on tech stuff for Cynergy, enjoying the ocean, doing some shopping. I think we were at the Gateway Mall, the largest mall in the Southern Hemisphere, every night. We also found a nice resturant called Taco Zulu where Nikki and Reagan had their first Mexican food experience (there are only three Mexican resturants in the entire country of SA). They were so impressed that we ate there three times.


I was amazed by the ocean. Though I could sleep in, I was up every morning by eight. The crashing waves simply beckoned to me. As I explored the sea life on the rocks, I wished Tori was with me so she could explain all of the incredible creatures that I saw. On Thursday I had an opportunity to swim in the Indian Ocean. It kicked my butt! I've swam in the Atlantic and Lake MI countless times, but it was nothing like swimming in the Indian Ocean. It didn't help that I was swimming as the tide was going out. Opps! The water that I was standing in only came up midcalf, but when I wave came I wasn't strong enough to stand. Stronger still was the current that pulled me back out to sea. It was incredible! So invgorating! It amazed me how strongly the waves gripped me. What an incredible picture of God! Imagine the power and vastness of the Creator of the oceans! His creativity shown through the brilliance of the creatures. My God not only created such things but controls them, commanding the waves to seperate themselves from the land. Wow! What a mighty God we serve!

And His might isn't revealed by nature alone. As you've noticed, I've been praying for wisdom and guidance for my future. There are a lot of incredible opportunities before me; I'm trying to find God's will in these, asking Him to guide my every step. Wednesday I had a very humbling experience. I had a plan of how I wanted to see these things come to reality, a plan and a time table. Wednesday morning I realized that I needed to surrender this plan to God, as hard as it was. I needed (and still need) to trust His plan and timing above my own. And if/when my plan doesn't match His, I need to give up my plan for His. As I was praying these things, praying that God direct my steps, pray that He fill my mind with His plans in a way so evident that I couldn't ignore it. As I was praying, Laura was upstairs dreaming. Later that morning, she shared with us what she had drempt, something that she doesn't usually do; it simply came up in conversation. After hearing her dream, Reagan inturpreted it. It spoke into what I had been praying for wisdom with! Wow! As I prayed for God to direct me, He did exactly that in a dream to Laura. What a mighty God we serve!

Later that day, Nikki and I had an incredible conversation by the ocean. I love her so much! She spoke into my life as we discussed surrendering to and trusting God, God's perfect timing, facing trials, growth. She is an incredible woman of God! She has blessed me more than she realizes!

Overall, Durban was incredible! And though I miss waking up to the sound of the ocean and warm weather, I'm excited to see my kiddos again. I've missed them. Tehe.
Praise the LORD!:
~For speaking into my life
~For Nikki
~For Reagan
~For Laura
~For opportunity
~For using me
~For the ocean
~For His power and love and grace
~For vaction
~For safety and health
~For His provision
~For wisdom
~For His perfect timing
~For growing me
~For beauty
~For sunshine
~For snow
~For my kiddos


Please pray:
~For smooth transition. I honestly have no idea how I'm going to leave here in just a few weeks.
I missed my kiddos after being gone for just a week; how am I going to leave them long term? Not to mention leaving the Klaasen family and Laura. It's going to be hard. :-(
~Health. I'm still getting over broncitis, and it seems like everyone in Joburg has it now, including Laura, Kaylin, Jachin, and John Jerome. Please pray that God heals our bodies.
~For wisdom and guidance in the future
~For strength as I say goodbye to my kiddos over the next two weeks
~For safety and provision
~For understanding

Slowing down

This week has been fairly uneventful, which is a nice change from last week.

As usual, I rolled out in the schools this week, helped with after classes, and helped with Legends stuff. I've also enjoyed time with the Klaasen crew. They've decided that I am not leaving, so they are either going to adopt me or marry me off to Lee Lai (Nikki's brother) so that I don't have visa issues. Bahahahaha! Even Oma told me that I wasn't allowed to leave. Tehe. Oh, I love them all so much!

Laura and I have finally finished moving in. Though our new house has its quirks, it's home. :-)

Part of the reason that this week has been so low key is because I've been sick. I think I have bronchitis, so I've been resting a lot in hopes of getting better asap. Wednesday I woke up feeling so sick that I didn't go to the schools. :-( Thankfully, I'm starting to feel better. Laura and Nikki have been taking good care of me. Tehe.


Praise the LORD!:
~For a roof over my head
~For three daily meals
~For fresh water
~For Laura
~For the Klaasen and Lai families
~For His Word
~For wisdom
~For technology
~For heaters
~For laughter
~For opportunity
~For using me
~For protecting me
~For growing me
~For the incredible support that He's provided me

Please pray:
~For health. I'm told that bronchis lasts 2-3 weeks, which is the majority of my time here. Pray that God heals me quickly so that I can get back to my old self.
~For continued safety
~For smooth transition. I really don't know how I'm going to leave my family here.
~That He provides a way for the Klaasens to visit in December
~For direction; pray that He guides our every step

Rejected, Illegal, Imprisionment, Deportation

This week has been crazy stressful!

On the Cynergy side of things, I've been taking on a lot more responsibility. Over the past few weeks, I have been teaching classes by myself as well as training Dezzi and Elano. I've also taken on Legends training at RSS and overseeing roll out at RPP. As I get more and more involved in Cynergy, I become more and more involved in the lives of my kids. No longer are they "Cynergy's kids" but my kids; I've been feeling a lot more responsibility for them. This week was also spent planning and presenting the Legends' Communication Workshop, including preparing the tuck shop (snack shop). Laura and I took on the tuck shop on our own.

This week has also been moving week. Though I'm excited to be living with Laura and having more space, including our own kitchen, it's time and energy consuming as well as yet another transition. We've also had several unexpected surprises in our new house, including an electrifying shower complete with exploding shower head, as well as uninvited little visitors. Thankfully, we're all settled in now (mostly anyway), Reagan took care of the mice problem, and one of Laura's friends is going to come fix the shower sometime this week.

The most stressful part of this week has been trying to sort out my visa. I recieved a phone call Wednesday morning asking that I return to home affairs once more (this was my ninth time). I was praying that this would be my last time at home affairs. It was, but not at all how I had hoped. I had hoped that I would meet with the home affairs director, explain that I already had a ticket home and ask that he dismiss the repetuation fee (the last time that I was at home affairs I was told that I had to pay this in order to get my visa and that only the director had power to write off the fee in special circumstances), receive the precious little stamp, and finally be done with it all. Sadly, this isn't at all what happened.

When I entered home affairs, the director was very cross with me. He asked me how I had the audacity to try to have my application approved without including all of the proper documentation, including a police clearance form. I was then presented with a paper that I had to sign stating that I had been informed that I was now an illigal immigrant, and that I had the choice of leaving the country or being imprisoned. He told me that he would graciously allow me seven days to leave; if I was found in the country after seven days I would be arrested. Needless to say, all of this talk of being illigal and imprisioned and deported freaked me out. Praise the LORD Reagan was there! He began speaking to the director in Afrikaans, knowing that the man was more comfortable with this language and that it would remind him that he was dealing with a local (the director admited that he did not like foreigners and thought that they only reason that they came to South Africa was to murder their people, rape their women, and steal their jobs. He said he particularly did not like Americans because they thought that they were too good for the system and do as they please). In hindsight, I'm glad that Reagan did this, but at the time it only freaked me out further. I had no idea what was going on, only that I had been presented with imprisionment and deportation. During their lengthly conversation, I fought the tears that filled my eyes. Eventually, the director noticed this and asked if I was crying. I simply responded, "yes", the first word that I had spoken to him the entire time we were there. Later, I discovered that this worked in my favor.

After much conversation, the director told Reagan and I that I could either leave the country within seven days or write an appeal to have my application looked at again, though there wasn't much chance in that since my application did not contain the proper documentation. Thankfully, Reagan had anticipated something like this and had brought his laptop. We immidiately began writting the appeal, explaining what I've been doing in South Africa, that I planning on leaving in a month, etc. After we finished, Reagan took the appeal to the director's office to wait until he was ready to see us again while I sat trying to compose myself (we wrote the letter in an office connected to the director's office).

Shortly after, Reagan spoke with the director again in Afrikaans (which he latter explained to me). The director asked Reagan if I cried easily, and Reagan responded that I was tender hearted, that I loved being in South Africa, loved my school kids, and that I wasn't like the other foreigners who wanted distruction for the country; I was here to help without seeking self-gain. This along with Reagan's calm, respectful demeanor, began to soften the director. He looked over our appeal, even adding a few things to help our case, then Reagan called me in to sign it. He read through the appeal again, and told me that he still could not approve my visa because I still did not have the proper documentation. He could, however, sign a paper that said that I was an illegal in the country but had permission to be in South Africa until June 30. However, I would only be allowed to be in the area where I work and the area where I stay; if I'm found outside of these two areas, I will be arrested.

Although these conditions are not ideal, I'm thankful that I am able to complete my mission in coming to South Africa. Yes, I'm disappointed that I can't do some of the touristy stuff, but that wasn't my intention in coming here. I can still finish that which I set out to do. I'm thankful that I am still in South Africa working with my kids rather than on a plane or in prison right now. I'm thankful that Reagan was there to explain my heart, my story, and my passion. If he hadn't been there, I would probably be in one of the above places. I'm thankful that the director softened and was willing to let me stay for the last month.

Lastly, all of this visa stuff and moving and transition has really made me aware of how little time I have left in SA. Where has the time gone? I can't believe that I only have a month here! It's going to be so hard to leave! God's provided me with a family here, a purpose, and thousands of kiddos to love and be loved by. Leaving isn't going to be easy.

Praise the LORD!:
~For Reagan and how he's taken care of me
~For my South African family
~For humor
~For warmth
~For sunshine
~For coffee
~For chocolate
~For kiddos
~For opportunity
~For using me
~For my time here
~For love
~For encouragement
~For truth
~For hope
~For a roof over my head
~For a warm bed to sleep in
~For my heater
~For reassurance
~For growth and learning
~For forgiveness
~For all that He's done in my life, all that He's brought me through
~For music
~For laughter
~For Laura and Jerome
~For support
~For life
~For my daily bread

Please pray:
~For rest
~For health- bronchitis is no fun!
~For safety
~For wisdom
~For committed volunteers in Cynergy
~For smooth transition
~For energy
~That God speaks His truth into my life
~That I learn to discern my voice from His
~For discernment and direction in my future
~For quick recovery for my mom's knee
~For friends and family who are struggling
~For understanding
~That Jerome's finances come in