Mozambique

We are off to Mozambique tomorrow! I'll let you know when I get Internet again! Please keep us in your prayers

Wild Animals!!!!

SAFARI!!!! We had the opportunity to spend the entire day on Wednesday at Kruger National Park. It was AMAZING! WOW God was SO creative in creating animals! It was a surreal and majestic experience having giant rhinos, elephants, and giraffes walk out of the jungle and cross the road right in front of your car!!! So cool! African safari is not checked off the bucket list! I highly recommend it.

Brokenness

Monday was our last day at Clau Clau. This is the village with the precious little boy I wrote about earlier. I was praying that God would bring my little boy there because he had not been there when we went last Friday. All I wanted was to hold him, love him, bring him joy, and pray over him. Arriving at the feeding I jumped out of the car and began searching for him. My heart sank when I realized he was not there. Other friends I had made met me with smiles and hugs but I kept my eyes open. After a half hour past I saw three little boys walking through the field towards us. I ran to see if one was my boy. As I walked around the corner, we saw each other, but my heart broke. When he saw me he crumbled into tears. Not tears of fear, but tears of being able to finally break down when you get to a safe place. I bend down an scooped up my sobbing precious baby. I teared up. He was hysterical. I sat down on an old tire, cradled him in my arms, and bathed him in prayer. Then I sang worship songs over him and he finally began to settle. As his breathing slowed, he drifted off to sleep. While he slept, I showed him to one of the long term workers, Kasi, and she promised to keep her eye out for him. As he slept we acted out the story of Jesus and the little children. I got to share the gospel with them and lead about 30 of them in a pray to ask Jesus into their hearts then we prayed for all of them who wanted prayer! After an amazing time of pray the started to line up the kids for food and they asked us to start heading to the cars. I set my little guy down and got him a plate of food. I held and kissed him, prayed over him, and told him I loved him very very much. Then my heart tore out as I walked away. His eyes were locked on me until I went around the corner. I climbed into the car and just cried. Why was he so sad? What did that little boy have to live through every day? These questions raced through my head. For the past year I have been asking for God to break my heart for what breaks His. And when I prayed I felt that He said "this, this is what breaks my heart".
Please continue to lift this little boy up in your prayers.

Kings Kids Camp

This past Saturday we had a day camp for the kids of Mbonisweni and Dwaleni. Jeremy, the founder of Ten Thousand Homes, had a dream about busing the kids to the property where we are staying and showering them with love and joy. When he woke up he asked us if we would be willing to help make it happen! He was giddy with excitement. He told us that most of these kids had never been out of their small village. Praying about the camp Jeremy, felt that this day would be one that the kids would never forget. So all last week we went to work. Jesus made it clear to us that the theme of the camp was to be royalty. We were to teach them about how they are all sons and daughters of the King of Kings! Camp day was going to be magical! We hand made 500 crowns decorated with paper gems and glitter, and we created many different activity stations: dancing, sing-a-long, dunk tank, soccer, dancing, face painting, crafts, princess room for painting nails, and a prince room for making shields.
Huge buses were rented to pick up the kids from the two villages. On each bus to greet the kids, were two of us dressed up like a Prince and a Princess. AND I got to be one of the Princesses!!! As soon as I stepped off the bus I was in character the whole time! I greeted them as Prince and Princess and then their name. Then I would bow to them. At first they thought I was weird then they would line up to get greeted by "the Princess" Then I welcomed them onto the bus to go the the Kingdom! We cheered and sang the whole way to the base. Everyone met us with cheers and smiles. The day was WONDERFUL! 450 kids came to the camp and 80 asked Jesus into their hearts. The day was a success! The kids had a magical day where they learned about. How God sees and loves each of them, it increased the number of kids that come to the feeding programs, and parents have come out of their way to come to the feedings and thank the workers for the camp ( which they have never done before!)

And...I learned a lot of African dancing!

SOCCER!

On Monday night we had an awesome team bonding evening. We got to go to an Africa Cup soccer game! It was in the World Cup arena! We saw a game between Ethiopia and Zambia and one between Gambia and Burkina Faso! WHAT AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE!!! We had a blast and the tickets were only $6.00! It was so much fun cheering for Ethiopia!

This week we have been working on the rain catchment tank a lot. Outside walls are up. I have been pretty hard core!

Busy Week of Ministry

We have has a lot of opportunities this week for ministry!  Construction continues for our rain catchment tank.  Rain has posponed us some but we have steadly moved forward.  This past week we have also begun going into the communities.  Ten Thousand Homes works in 3 communities:  Clau-Clau, Mbonswani, and Dwalini.  In each community, volunteers run childens feeding programs.  We have been going to them and helping with cooking, service, bible lessonss, and teaching about hand washing.  Also, we just love on the children.  In Dwalini, we spent a day clearing out the over grown lawn with machettes!  There is so much more rrom now for the kids to play.  We also built an awning off of the house for shade and covering in the rain for the women cooking.  I had a blast here!  In this feeding the children are a little older and have more experience with English.  I love the 10-13 year old boys because they try to act so tough and cool but they are still longing for love and security.  I enjoy breaking through the tough exterior till they grow to trust me.  In the end I usually pull out the smiles and pull them in for a big hug!  There was one little girl probably about 10 years old.  She slowly moved closer and closer to me.  I smiled at her and she came all the way next to me.  I told her she was beautiful and she reached up for me to pick her up.  As I scooped her up she wrapped herself around me and would not let go.  It was as if she had never been held before.  Tucking her face into my neck she asked me why we are here.  I answered " to spend time with you".  She looked confused and asked me the same question again.  I this time said, "we came all the way here because we love you and want to be here with you."  She lit up and burried her face in my neck again and began kissing me over and over again.  When I had to go she didn't walk to let go.
The feeding at Clau-Clau absolutely broke my heart.  There are a greater percentege of children with physical handicaps and burns.  We were told that witchcraft is practiced in this community and the children are sometimes torchered in ceremonies.  The first day we were there I scanned the sea of children for the one least likely to be noticed.  God has challenged me over and over again not to play with the child everyone wants to play with but look for the dirty, quiet, broken child...scoop them up in my arms and love them as He does.  That day I found a little boy, he was very small and he would not smile.  Brokenness and hopelessness were all over him.  I tried every trick in my book to get him to smile and nothing worked.  Then I picked him up.  At first he was as stiff as a board.  I do not think he has ever experienced love before.  I looked him straight in the eye and smiled at him.  He did not respond or talk like all of the other kids.  Slowly his tiny body relaxed then he carefully lowered his head onto my shoulder looking me in the eyes as if he were seeing if I was a safe person to let his guard down around.  I rubbed his check with my hand and he instantly fell asleep.  He was out cold the whole time we were there.  I held and rocked him gentle, praying over him.  What does this little boy have to live through?  If he is this exhausted, he probably does not have a safe place to sleep at night.  Is he an orphan?  Is he being abused?  These questions raced through me heart....and it broke me.  Oh Jesus let me care for children like this.  Let me love these broken, unloved little ones.  When we left my heart felt like it was being wripped from my chest.  I set him down in the food line and he didn't want to let go of me.
A few days later we went back to Clau-Clau.  I was Praying that I would see my little boy again.  We got there and my eyes fell on him immidiately!  He was standing in the middle of kids playing, but he was not playing.  His sad eyes met mine.  I could tell he recognized me but there was still no smile.  His body just seemed to relax when he saw me.  I scooped him up in my arms and in less then a minute he was fast asleep again.  I went over to the steps and sat down with him on my lap.  I prayed over him as I looked into his sweet face.  He was sweaty and even dirtier than the last time I saw him.  I felt like I was supposed to clean him.  That is what God does to us.  It may not be physical dirt, but he scoops us up in his arms and he gingerly wipes off the dirt.  So I got my baby wipes out and began wiping his dirty little face with baby wipes as I sang over him. When he was clean I just rocked him and kissed him.  After about a half hour he woke up and just sat there looking at me.  I continued kissing him and telling him that I loved him and jesus  loved him.   I know he didn't understand but speaking truth over someone gives life even it they don't understand.   Then I wiped his hands clean since it was getting close to dinner time.  As dinner was called, I tried to set him down to get in line but he wouldn't move.  So I carried him over and got him a plate.  Sitting back down I put him on my lap and the plate in his lap.  He wouldn't eat.  He was so sluggish.  He wouldn't even pick up his arms.  So I began feeding him.  He quickly ate it food.  As food went into his little body he begain moving more.  He became less sluggish and looked more awake.  I held him up and kissed his check over and over again.  His eyes brightened....still no smile but I am getting closer.  Then as I was dreading we had to leave again.  I set him down, hugged and kissed him again.   I turned back around as I walked away and he had not even moved from where I left him.  Jesus why is this little boy so broken.  I wish I could do more, but I will continue with what I can do. 
PLEASE pray for this little boy.   I have no name for him.  No one knows who he is and he will not speak.  Pray protection over him.  Pray that the oppression, saddness, brokenness, and possible abuse that is over him is BROKEN OFF!  Pray that he experiences the love of Jesus through me even with a language barrier. 

Getting Settled

Over the past few days we have been getting settled and recovering from major jet lag! We have also been doing work where we are staying. We are with a the YWAM Kruger base. They are the founders of an organization called Ten Thousand Homes. You should look them up online. They are an amazing ministry. They build houses for orphans but they don't stop there. They make them homes- a place of safety, rest, comfort, and love. We will be working with them on a home. As I have told you on previous emails we are bring water solutions. In Africa the water supply is a huge problem. We have started working on a rain catchment tank where we are staying. This tank will be an 8 foot tall circular cement tank that catches rain water from a roof top. When it is full it can supply water for 150 people for a week. It will help supplement the water sources they have. We hope to build one in the community as well.
Yesterday morning we had our first experience at an African church! It was INCREDIBLE! It was for two and a half hours. We danced and sang, stomped and clapped. You could feel the Holy Spirit's presence so strongly. I am learning much from the way they worship. It is not structured at all. People from the congregation will start any song they want and everyone joins in!
Tomorrow we will start our official ministry. We will be helping with feeding programs in the communities. It will be awesome to care for and love the children and orphans of the villages near us.

Below are a few pictures of where we re staying! I'll try to keep you all updated as we begin ministry.