Anya's Summer Birthday

It was beautiful summer weekend to celebrate Anya's 3rd Birthday!  It may be the only summer birthday she'll ever have in February (plus, we just love celebrating her), so we lived it up!  Friday night Welgemoed Primary School hosted a "Fun Day", which was kind of a mini Fair.  There were a couple of rides for little ones...airplane swings and a horse ride (like the ones at King Soopers that cost a penny only it goes around a whole sort of track).  The girls had a blast!  Though it was quite a different experience with these fair workers than the States.  I was looking to see which plane swing to put Anya in, and before I know it the worker took her out of my arms and carried her to the plane.  She didn't fuss.  She loved the ride (though she was a little tense because she was afraid her paper wrist band was going to fall off.  We got it on a little too loose, and she held it with her other hand the whole time).  I don't really know what we thought was going to happen when the ride was over...but in fact, the same worker picked her up out of the airplane and awkwardly carried her to the exit!  We were both laughed awkwardly, and from then on assertively allowed ourselves into the ring and lifted her into the ride ourselves.:)  They got to ride those rides over and over again because there was NO line!  And while waiting for one of the rides, I got to meet a couple of Afrikaans women whose sons are in the Grade R (Afrikaans class) at Lily's school.  They were so friendly and we swapped numbers.  I'm finding the people here to be very inclusive and friendly!
After the Fair we went to a wonderful family restaurant called "Spur"...I think I mentioned the one called "Mexico Spur" in a past blog because we thought it was a Mexican Restaurant.  We went to that one again for Valentines Day with the kids and they had free face painting!  Anyway, this one is called "Silver Spur", and the play place is like a dream.  They always have "child minders" so the kids can just play while we visit (we can see in the play place).  And there was a full size enclosed trampoline in there!  There's normally a bouncy castle and movie like "Cars" playing too.  We had a wonderful time with the Bests while the kids all played happily!

Saturday I made pancakes.  I thought all pancakes here were crepes, because that was the pre made mix I had been getting...labeled "pancake mix".  BUT, the other day I saw a mix for "flapjacks", and sure enough it's like American pancakes!  You just have to let it sit for 1/2 an hour after mixing it up.  Tasted great and Anya blew out her 3 candles from a pancake.  Then we headed to our favorite beach with the Williams.  We arrived around 10:30am and walked onto what felt like our own private beach....we were the only ones there!  It was awesome!  Beautiful weather and out of the way of the wind...perfect!  Everything went smoothly according to my vow from the previous time to this beach (when I had to hike a few blocks in bare feet on pavement to get to the bathroom with Anya, and then the only place I could find for lunch was this fancy restaurant where I entered in my swim suit, ordered fish and chips to go and declined their offer to sit and wait in their fancy leather couches)...I had vowed 1. Always to wear my flip flops when going to find the bathroom and 2. Bring a lunch!  It worked marvelously!  After the beach, we walked a block and paid to see the penguins on Boulders Beach.  Actually, we did see one penguin nesting  in some bushes up by the beach we were at.  That was neat!  Then we made sure we got some gelato at the quaint little patin stand this retired couple have set up in their back yard patio.  What a great way to retire! Anya had a wonderful day!  It's fun to have some new options of toys to play with too!

Today was the awaited birthday party at Stodel's (the place I wrote about a few weeks ago).  One thing against us was the heat (it was about 92 degrees here today)...but luckily most everything is in the shade, including our little birthday hut!   Stodel's decorated, provided food, slushes, ice cream and goodie bags for all the kids, as well as bags of food to feed the animals!  Everyone had a blast!  Instead of trying to find all the ingredients I need and bake in our little hot apartment, I opted for ordering cupcakes from a woman I met at the market who is just starting up a cupcake business. I basically just had to show up for the party, which was a PARTY!
Anya is 3! It's hard to believe! She brings so much joy and laughter to our lives! One prayer request is for her eye. She's had what we think is a stye on her eyelid for over a couple of weeks now. It started looking better, but then came back. Please pray that she'll allow us to put a warm compress on it a few times a day (she really doesn't like that), and that it will heal. Pray for wisdom if we need to go to a doctor or what to do. Thank you!

Lily's Spiritual Birthday

I ask Lily every day "What did you do at school today?".  Sometimes she'll tell me who she played with, but most of the time it remains a mystery.  Today was no different.  However, tonight at dinner she exclaimed "Guess what I did at school today?".  We eagerly responded...and she said "I asked Jesus into my heart!".  Wow!  Christian and I had been talking just before that about what God is doing on campus, so we asked her some probing questions to make sure she was telling the truth.  She told us she got finished with her "project" early, so she got to go outside before the other kids.  So it was then that she prayed.  Hmmm...well that's exciting!  Again, after dinner Christian talked to her more about what happened, and asked again if she was telling the truth.  She said yes!  And as I was giving her a bath, I asked about it again.  This time she said a "friend" from another class was outside too.  She's not much into talking to kids she doesn't know, let alone pray with them, so I asked if she was telling the truth.  This time she said "I'm sorry Mom, I'm lying."  Lying about the friend, or asking Jesus into your heart?  She said "Asking Jesus into my heart".  We had just talked about lying yesterday when she took some candy from her backpack, ate it, and still tried to hide it in her mouth when I asked her if she ate the candy without asking.  So, I referred back to why we don't lie.  She was sorry.  It was a bummer to lie about such an important decision!
So tonight before bed we read the kids version of the 4 Spiritual Laws booklet.  It really explains the gospel well and has neat little pictures to go along with it.  She's seen it before.  1. God Loves You!  2. Sin keeps us from God  3.  Jesus is God's only solution and 4. You must say YES to Jesus!  This time she seemed really engaged, as her lie was fresh in her mind.  She wanted to pray the prayer..."Lord Jesus, I need you and I want to have a relationship with you.  Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins.  I open the door of my life and accept you as my Savior and King.  Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me the gift of you being my perfect Friend her and in Heaven.  Please take control of my life and help me be the kind of person you want me to be.  Amen"  We talked more about what it means to have our sins "washed" away and Christian illustrated our sin by putting honey in her hand and then washing it away.
Tonight her prayer before bed was short and sweet...music to our ears and hearts.  She said "Thank you God for all the ways you saved us by your Son".  Praising God for His love- a gift offered to be accepted, opened and enjoyed...and the new life Lily has in Him!

"I don't have a category for this!"

Yesterday, we joined up with all the Staff in the Western Cape to do a special outreach to the "Bo Kaap"( a suburb of Cape Town, known for being a predominantly Muslim area)  We started our day in prayer for the people of the Bo Kaap, and for God to use us to show them how much He loves them.  We then were briefed on what to do if someone would confront us, yell at us, or destroy the materials we were handing out.  It was at that moment I thought, "I don't have a category for this in my head!"  We have done hundreds of outreaches, but never have we put ourselves into a position like this.   We would be handing out a DVD of the movie "Magdalena"to every home in the area.  This movie is very powerful as it is depicting Mary Magdalene from the Bible, her encounter with Jesus, and subsequently how He released her from shame.

We all drove into the city, praying as we went.  I (Christian) was in a group of four, and we all were from different backgrounds. Rose - an african american woman from Washington D.C. who works for CCC, Elise - an Affrikaans woman in her 50's, and Charles - a man in his 40's that was in maximum security prison here in South Africa and met Jesus 12 years ago, and has never been the same.

Our group began walking up the steep streets of the Bo Kaap. Things were going along well. We had a few conversations, and just when we thought we were getting the hang of how this is to work the road turned.  We checked our map and it said to follow it up the hill, so we did.  Before long there were no houses along this road. It is really hard to go "door to door," when there are no doors.  We asked someone if we were in the right area, and they said no but you could get there by just walking through this open area. We would call it a greenbelt in the USA.  As we are walking through this area we see a "squatters camp," basically a ramshackle camp for homeless people that they have put together from whatever they could find.

Rose, then says let's talk to them. So we walk into their camp and begin talking to them, and then Charles begins telling this small group of 3 men what Jesus did in his life.  The men go from being rowdy to somber, and you can see that his story is resonating with them.  He told them, "you can know this Jesus too and He loves you."  He then says something in Afrikaans, and the next thing I know they are praying asking Jesus to come into their lives and to make them the people that He wants them to be.  I am shocked and begin talking to one of the men about what just happened in his life.  I find out that he can read and so we look at a booklet that we have, "The Four Spiritual Laws." I am reading aloud the verses about God's love, who we are, and how we need Jesus to come to God. He is understanding and they look at us with warm smiles and many "thank you's."

At the same time, Elise, was praying for an older woman in this group.  Elise, tells this woman about Jesus and she gives her life to Him...and then immediately says my friend needs to know about this and then they share it with her.  The "squatters camp," was an amazing chance to watch God bring His love to people that were forgotten. They don't have a lot by material standards, but they do have new life.  Altogether, there were 6 people that began a relationship with Jesus in the "squatters camp."  We got back on the main road, and then began to hand out DVD's.  I was so amazed and shocked by this that I said to the group, "I don't have any category in my head for what just happened." Then Rose said, "God showed up!"

I don't have a category for God!  He is so much better and bigger than what I want to think.  He brings people from all walks of life together so that all the world would know that He loves them. One of the verses that I read to the men was Romans 5:8, " but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Altogether 13 people began a relationship with Jesus yesterday, and there are people with the CCC here that will follow up on their decisions and help them grow in Jesus. Thanks for all your prayers!

University of Western Cape

Last weekend we had our team briefing, and we hit the ground running this week on campus!  Christian's main university will be the University of Western Cape.  The team went on their campus on Tuesday (the 2nd day of school) and they got to meet some student leaders and share their faith.  Christian said the campus is the most "lively" campus he's ever been on...one of the most popular things is to play dominos.  They throw the dominos down on the table as if they were cards!  And one of the student organizations were rioting.  Anyway, Tyler and Erik got into a conversation with a guy just by saying "Have you ever heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?" and after sharing them with them, the guy ended up inviting Christ into his life!   Praise the Lord!  And Christian was so excited about the 3 student leaders that are there- they are SO on fire for the Lord!  And they came today to our "New Life Training Curriculum" training day today! It is a basic training course on evangelism and the Holy Spirit that we are doing today and tomorrow.  Our Port Elizabeth Stint team, Cape Town associate staff and stint team, and 5 student leaders were in attendance.  Christian taught on how to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, and I trained on how to share the four spiritual laws.  Honestly, it was a little stressful to prepare our lessons, as the curriculum is new to us (old to Crusade), and because we were both needing the computer, and we don't have a printer.  BUT, God showed up and it turned out to be an encouraging time.
However, the stress continued as I GOT LOST driving myself home!  It was supposed to be an easy route...but somehow I missed my turn and ended up in an unfamiliar area, which led me to the highway!  I still haven't driven on the highway...and not knowing where I was wasn't a good way to start!  I had the GPS, but it wasn't finding where I was either, and then it lost reception.  So of course I was praying...and on the verge of tears.  Finally, the GPS got itself together, and led me home...praise the Lord!  Seriously!  I thought it was ironic how we'd just been talking in our training about our need to depend on the Holy Spirit...just as I was completely dependent on the GPS for guidance.  Now, the analogy breaks down in many ways...because the Holy Spirit will always work!:)
We had a wonderful weekend at the beach at "The Lord's Team House" for our briefing!  We all got to sleep in bunk beds...took me back to the days in the sleeping dorm in the sorority and camp at Kanakuk:).  Highlights:  view of the beach, AMAZING food (bought the chef's cook book), the beach, encouraging time in the Word and with the Eastern Cape Stint team, vision and direction, and beautiful weather!  I'm still confused on the month...it feels like it should be August since school is starting and it's warm.  Normally, Lily's birthday is right after school starts in the fall...but here, Anya's birthday is after school starts...almost in fall.  Crazy!  But fun!
Please pray for us on Saturday.  We are doing an outreach to Muslims in the Western Cape.  Pray for the Spirit's discernment and leading, and that many will see Jesus in dreams and visions and be open to receiving the DVD's we are giving.
So thankful for your prayers!  I'll bet they are how I found my way home today!

Stodels

Today we met our friend Louise at Stodels...what I'd consider to be the best play place EVER!  It's a beautiful greenhouse/ garden center store that has an outdoor restaurant/coffee shop right next to an amazing play ground complete with a bouncy castle, trampoline, pretend train, wooden jungle gym, a swing, and a rocking horse.   But that's not all!  There is a mini petting zoo where you can feed the goats, horses, roosters, bunnies, parrots, ducks and monkeys (though after we fed the monkeys we read the sign that said "please do not feed the monkeys".  Oops!)  And it's all FREE!!!  So while Shannon, Louise and I were enjoying our coffee (which we didn't mind paying for:)) at the cafe, the kids were happily playing in their  dream play ground...with the shade of trees above and soft sand below. After my delightful cup of coffee, I inquired about having Anya's birthday party there.  For $7/child they provide party favors, juice, soft serve ice-cream, food to feed the animals, a hot-dog, french fry, and chicken nugget platter, and the table set up and decorated with balloons!   All I have to bring are the cupcakes!  Sign me up! (and they did!) It was such a wonderful time...can you tell I was excited?:)  I meant to buy some flowers for our patio, but we spent the whole time at the cafe/play ground.  Guess we'll have to go back!  Soon!
Each Sunday we've been trying different churches around town.  We haven't found our fit yet, but have enjoyed elements of all three that we've been to.  Last week we went to Hillsong, which is an Australian church plant.  This week we went to another "mega"church called "His People".  The first three worship songs were in the Xhosa language, which was really neat to hear.  But after the third one we were beginning to wonder if the service was going to be in English...and it was!  It gave me more of a desire to learn at least a little bit of the Xhosa and Africaans languages while we're here.  The people are so friendly and welcoming everywhere we've been.
Tonight I started going to Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)!  After an 8 year hiatus, it's good to be back!  We are studying the book of Acts and following the American BSF schedule.  I'm looking forward to having some structure and direction in my times with the Lord.
Driving is still an adventure, but it's becoming more comfortable.  Today I drove myself (though it was only a few blocks away) to the store.  I ran an errand!  Success!  Our parking garage might be the scariest part.  It's like climbing a mountain to get out of it, and weaving through a really tight maze of poles to get into our spot.  But I am thankful we have a garage to park in!
It's feeling more and more like home.  Lily is really liking school now.  It seems like she is making new friends every day and will start a pottery class next week that's offered before school on Tuesdays.  I think she'll really like that!  Anya is begging for a "class" to go to, so I'm looking for a dance or gymnastics class to put her in.  It seems like ballet is a big thing here, so I'm sure I'll find something.
We'll be meeting for briefing and planning every morning for the next 10 days when school starts.  Please pray for teachable hearts, team bonding,  and God's leading.  We're excited!

"Chicken What?"

It's hard to remember how it started, but for quite awhile now Lily has jokingly been calling people she's comfortable with "chicken burrito". Now she and Anya throw it around randomly in prayers, comments, etc. Lacy (the Williams' 4 year old) has started using the phrase "chicken burrito" as well! All last year we were telling Lily that people in South Africa might be confused if she jokes with them in this way. So today we went swimming at our friend's house again (which was so great because I've been sweating for the past few days wondering how we will survive the heat). They are our friends who we met at the cafe one day...they just moved back from England. When we were leaving Lily said to Louise (the mom) "Bye chicken burrito!" and Louise (in her sweet English accent) says "chicken what?" I explained about Lily's humor, and Loise laughed and said "bye egg's nest!" We all laughed at the humor of the whole situation...I'm glad she was so understanding:). And I'm glad that Lily is feeling comfortable! She doesn't even like chicken burritos...can't figure it out:).
Lily scraped her knee today at school because she was "playing ball with the boys and she tripped". I was happy to hear a couple of things in that sentence. 1. She was playing with other kids 2. She was kicking a ball. She said she made a new friend today, but couldn't remember his name. She said "Mom, he's from Cape Town, and he talks like Ariela (Louise's daughter)...I can't understand anything he says!" I guess she's still getting used to the accent here. Maybe that's why she's not remembering anyone's names at school? She had a "plaster" on her knee for her scrape, and I could see this bright red stuff underneath. I thought "Wow! That looks bad!" But then I looked closer and the teacher must have sprayed some sort of red antibiotic on it...made it look worse than it was!
It sounds like the past few days have been atypically warm here. We've been kicking ourselves for getting a car without AC. The apartment hasn't been too bad...but we sweat most of the day. Sounds like it's really hot in February and then it starts to cool down. We will prioritize parking in the shade until then.
I'm getting used to washing the dishes by hand. But I'm not used to the stores closing at 7pm and not getting to do my grocery shopping in the evening. I haven't been cooking much because 1. It's been SO HOT (have I mentioned that?) and 2. I never seem to have the right ingredients for meals I normally make. So maybe I haven't minded the dishes because we've been eating out more?:) I was able to find some protein powder and organic peanut butter, so I made some peanut butter balls. They taste just like home! I'm so glad there is peanut butter here! But we haven't found any chicken burritos. We went to a restaurant called "Mexico Spur" fully expecting some sort of Mexican food...only to be disappointed. The only thing it had on the menu that was Mexican was a "cheese quesadilla with a chicken filling". And nachos with "sticky cheese" and "chunky cottage cheese"...no thank you. The cheeseburger was good though!
The chocolate and dried fruit varieties are my favorite treats so far. Oh...and the Magnum ice cream bars. The food is all really good, actually...we aren't going hungry!
We have some praises! The Stint guys found an apartment and it's close to the Stint girls' house! They are all going to share a car, so that will be perfect! The Stint girls have had a rough start in their apartment, as it seems to have a cockroach and spider problem...as well as a few other issues. Lauren hasn't been sleeping more than a few hours every night for the past week because she is deathly afraid of bugs. We've been praying for her (and helping them clean, paint, and shop for things to make it home) and 2 nights ago... she slept! Praise God! Continue to pray for them and the guys in their adjustment. That they would feel settled and comfortable.
A family praise is that we are officially a diaper free household thanks to Anya keeping dry at night!  Yay for reallotting the diaper fund in the budget!:)
And one final praise is that I drove by myself to pick Lily up from school!  And then Shannon successfully drove the kids and I to our friend's house to swim!  Two successful driving ventures in one day!  We are getting more confident...which is good, since the guys will be starting work next week.
We've been wrestling a little bit with the idea of leaving the kids with a babysitter (everyone feels like a stranger right now) so we can be a part of staff meetings next week. So we've opted out of a couple of things. But the Best's (the family who has been here for a couple of years) have had this high school girl at their church babysit quite often for their kids, and she comes highly recommended. So we are going to go to the Tuesday staff meeting next week. Just pray for peace of mind, protection, and a great experience for all.
Pray also that God will lead us and prepare our hearts as we learn more about the history, culture, and spiritual dynamics on campus and meet to plan for the year! We met with Leon (campus director) and his wife Melanie today, and we are really excited for all the Lord has in store this year! We are loving Cape Town and our team...should be a great year!
Thank you for your prayers!

My first blooper in South Africa

Today at our first CCC prayer meeting, I was telling my South African friend, Pravani, about how I figured out what "plasters" were for Lily's school supply list.  I thought I was sharing it in context, as we were saying we should have name tags ("plasters") for our next prayer meeting. She looked very confused.  I said, "That's what plasters are right?  Nametags?"  She said "No, for a child's school supply list, they are asking for bandaids!" Lol!  When I picked Lily up from school I explained to her teacher why there was a pack of name tags in her school supply bag...it gave us a good laugh!  She showed me a box of bandaids, and sure enough it said "plasters"!:)
I've been missing my flip flop that broke last week when I was at the Waterfront (maybe that was my first blooper?).  BUT, I was able to sew it back together and I have my favorite flip flops back!  It kind of made me feel like I can fix anything! :)
The rest of our Stinters arrived Wednesday night, and have been adjusting ever since.  Stephanie's bags were lost...until they miraculously came in on the flight that arrived last night!  Praise the Lord!  Besides the Stint girls adjusting to cockroaches and spiders in their new house...all is well!
Lily didn't cry when I left her at school today.  She says she made some friends.  Yesterday I met another mom who has a daughter in Lily's class and is new to Cape Town.  Both her daughter and Lily had asked girls to be their friend on the first day, and both the girls said no!  Sad!  So we introduced our daughters and hope to get together to play soon.
I've been driving more the past couple of days, and am getting more confident!  I'll still be dependent on the GPS though.
Thanks for your prayers and encouragement!