In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. John 17:18
Friday, December 22, 2006
What I'm Thinking......
Others have been asking when I'm heading back to South Africa... and that's where some of my mind spinning is coming from.. This is what I do know... that God broke my heart all over again when I was in South Africa this past trip for His people. I know He told me that He wants me to go back for 2 years. It's wierd to think I was telling God that I wanted some stablitity in my life and stay somewhere for a couple years, assuming it would be here in the states, but God had other plans.. Don't you love His sense of humor?!?!?! I do!
I've been offered three different jobs within YFC-South Africa. Two are in Cape Town, where I have been the past two trips and one is in East London, South Africa.. which is about 12 hours east of Cape Town. I would receive some sort of income, but would still have to raise support to return. The positions are brand-new, so the job descriptions/job prospals are to be written next month by the directors. But in all honesty, I'm not sure it what way God wants me to be going back to South Africa. That's where some of the spinning comes from too. I know that He is control and that He's in the middle of telling me what's going on.. but right now I need to focus and lean on Him. So, that's all I can tell you for now.
Thank you for your support and prayers.. keep those prayers coming...
Have a wonderful and blessed Holiday Season!!!
Love Ya
Monday, December 04, 2006
Thank you, God!
God is continue His work in my life. It's been a hard week staying good-bye to so many people. People that have encouraged, inspired, stretched and blessed my life these past four months. I'm leaving a part of my heart behind, but it's encouraging knowning that I will be returning.
This morning God opened my eyes to see through His. Monday, is trash day at the house, and so the bin was set out for pick-up. Typically, local homeless people in the area, will dig through the trash looking for anything they can recycle or even eat. At times, I feared that I became numb to the site, but today God moved on my heart to bless them. So, I went to my room and grabbed the fruit I had bought the day before and walked across the street, handed them the food and told them God bless you. The two people thanked me in Afrikiaans. And I smiled back. My heart is heavy and yearning for the people here. I never understood how people could live overseas away from their family, but it's been evident that this is my family and God desires for me to see His children through His eyes.
Thank you God for these past four months. For opening my eyes, my heart, my soul and my ears to what you are teaching me. Thank you for molding my heart more into yours with each passing day. I pray that would our desire.
See you all soon.
Love ya!
Friday, December 01, 2006
I hope to maybe get one more entry before things get too hectic for me. But I wanted to share a few more pics with you. :P I hope you enjoy them. The top left pic: is my group (all the yfc volunteers for the past three months). The middle pic: a group pic of me with my GR-R class from Ysterplaat Primary School. I miss the kids terribly. It was so hard to say good-bye to them. The top right pic: is Lion's head, the 12 apostles and part of Table Mountain.. a view from Signal hill. One of the many reasons I love this country and love this city.. it's absolutely beautiful here. The next two pics: As you may know my sister, Stephanie, sent about 30 caps with me to South Africa. The kids in the pic are the farm kids that some of the volunteers spend time with. Most of the kids attend one of the schools that some of the volunteers teach at, Visserhoek. This past Tuesday, I had the privilege of blessing the kids with a hat. It was so cool and so much fun. I wanted you to see where they live and realize they had little or nothing, but they have the best manners of all the kids that I work with. They simply impress me. They were swapping hats back and forth after this pic and posing for more pics. It was so cute. I loved every minute of it! Today, when we went to Visserhoek to pick up the volunteers I saw a lot of the kids and they came running and gave me a big hug and one of them was even wearing a cap. The way they love you is breath-taking. It really makes you think was is truly important and loving these kids is. :) So, thank you Stephanie for all your hard work. I know I was blessed and so were the kids!!!!
Lastly, my days are winding down and I would ask that you would continue to keep me in your prayers that I find the time to get everything done that I need to complete. Also, I've been in a lot of pain from the car accident and stress lately, pray for healing, so I can make the long flight home without pain. Pray for a safe flight and a great last days. Thank you!
Love ya!!!
Monday, November 27, 2006
I thought I would add some pics... it's been a great four months. God has done some awesome things in my life. I look forward to seeing all of you once I get home... the top pic is my GR-R class and me from Yzterplaat. I'll so miss my kids.. the next pic is four teens from SOS Children's Village, Denzel; my leader, Lucky, Birgit; another volunteer from Germany and me. We went out to the movies and celebrated the end of the school year. We had a great time. The last pic is from the wedding I attended this past weekend. A good friend of mine, Elridge got married.
I will be arriving home on December 7 at 6:10pm in Appleton, assuming all my flights go smooth.. Please continue to keep me in your prayers at my time ends.. For my long flight home.. and for the pain that I'm still suffering from the car accident almost three weeks ago. Thank you!
Friday, November 24, 2006
Less Than Two Weeks
I can't believe that my four months here is coming to an end. It's been a great four months. I've learned so much about myself, and God's plan for my life within South Africa. I don't know all the details yet, but I do know that I am coming back and when I do it will be for about 2 years. Which is a little hard for me, when I told myself that I would never live overseas, but I've learned when you tell God never, He changes it to happening..lol :P But in all honesty this is home.. and I believe that for this season in my life, THIS is where I'm suppose to be.
God has been showering me with His love in mighty ways lately. And I can't help but smile from ear to ear!
Thank you for your prayers and support. I know that because of you, that I can head home knowning God completed what He set aside for this time.
Love Ya!!
Friday, November 17, 2006
It's my first chance to actually update you since I arrived in Jo'burg last week Monday. A lot has occurred since my last update. The flight here was a little rough, but it's been good being here and spending time with Lucky. On Tuesday and Thursday last week, I went to the prison with Lucky and his crew and had a good time, doing lifeskills and team building with the juvenile boys that are awaiting trial. I'm going to miss going to the prison.. Tuesday was my last day there. On Wednesday, I went to Amakahya, which is an YFC orphanage for street children, with the other volunteers here and helped sort donated clothes all day. On Friday, I hung out at the YFC training center and then Friday night i hung out with my friend, Joke'. It was going to be a girl's night... But on our way home from getting the pizza and movie we were waiting to turn right and as the light was red and we were proceeding through.. a drunken driver ran through the red light and hit the rear wheel on the passenger's side of the car. We spun twice before we stopped. I suffered severe whip-lash, but I didn't go to the hospital. I"m doing better by today, but still in pain. Joke' was fine. Because he hit my side, I was hurt the most. It was so scary.. Pls let everyone who has been praying for me that I'm grateful for their prayers. The car was considered totaled.. and Joke' is driving a rental at the moment. On Saturday, the Jo'burg office had a benefit breakfast to raise support for Amakayha, is was very nice. Then in the afternoon we, the Jo'burg international volunteers and Lucky, went to Soweto, which is the biggest township in South Africa and where Lucky and his family lives. He took us to one of Nelson Mandela's houses and the Hector Pieterson Museum, which tells about Soweto's history... Then we went and met his grandparents, friends, and brother. I got to see where he lives too. His friends were very sweet and embraced me with open arms when they found out that I'm Lucky's woman.. and his brother is happy for both of us, which put a smile on my face. I really didn't get to talk with his family because we were with the volunteers, plus that was suppose to happen on Sunday, but it didn't. On of Lucky's friends aunt passed away and the funeral was on Sunday, so I attended the funeral with him in Soweto and then hung out with him and his friends after the funeral till about 5pm. It was a good time in Soweto. It's not a place that typically white will go, actually they will avoid it because they are afraid, but I felt safe during my time there. Actually, Lucky's friends didn't want me to leave Soweto, it was sweet. They want me to come back... and I just might. :P So, that's my time here in a nutshell. Things are still going well between Lucky and me. On Wednesday we went to the Constitution Hill Museum, which was an active prison for males and females, white and non-white until 1983. It is also where all Constitutional matters are conducted. Yesterday, I arrived back home in Cape Town. I'm happy to be back. I've missed the ocean, my girls and everyone else. I hope this msg finds everyone doing well.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Time in East London
These past two weeks have been a great experience for me. On Monday, I leave for Johannesburg, where I'll be spending 10 days there with Lucky. I'll be meeting his family and probably be going back into the prisons where they do team building and lifeskills with the juvenile boys. Please continue to keep me in your prayers. Thank you!
So, what is God saying to you? I'd love to hear. Take Care! Love Ya!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to present the new children on the SOS Children's Village with hats that my sister, Stephanie, made and sent with me to share with the children here in South Africa. The hats are beautiful and it's was awesome to see the smiles on the kids faces when they received them. Within most of the hats there is a cross that was placed inside, to remind the kids how much God loves them. :P
Thanks for blessing them, Stephanie!
Friday, October 13, 2006
Lastest Update.... are you sitting down for this one... ?!?!
His name is Lucky and he's Zulu. Black and ery good looking, hence the pic...He has been working for YFC for the past 4 years in there prison ministry, where him and his group head into two different prison and teach lifeskills to the juvenile boys. He's extremely passionate about the ministry that he is involved with. He's 26 and will be 27 in Jan. But here's the part that has put your daughter/sister thinking...
Lucky's story.... Lucky grew up in a squater's camp the first 20 years of his life.. that means no running water, no electricity and many times he didn't have food to eat, while living in a shack made of metal and newspaper on the walls for insulation. He would wake up very early in the morning to walk 45 minutes to an hour in all conditions to school. For him, education was key and he was determined to finish. At times, food was so little, that he would get something to eat, but his parents would go hungry... He's real dad was never a part of his life, but his step-dad was everything a father is meant to be. He encouraged Lucky in everything he did and always reminded him how important God and family are. His step-dad passed away about 6 years ago, but has forever left footprints in his life... Though, God had other plans for Lucky's life.. He was prophesied over at a young age and was told he would do great things for God's kingdom, but would have to overcome many battles in his life. At the age of 20, his family moved out of the squater's camp and to Soweto, which is a big city south of Jo'berg. The city ranges from nice houses to shacks. It was a huge move for his family, but one they needed to make.. Lucky took me to the squater camp that he grew up in this past Tuesday.. while we were there he talked about how suicide is a weekly thing there and while we were at the conference a lady had hung herself. After school, he had a few side jobs assisting with physical therapy for the elderly people. Then one of his best friends encouraged him to join him in taking a computer class that YFC was offering in their job creation program. It was the door opener for Lucky.. He liked what he saw and decided to apply for a position within YFC. His friend assisted him in writing his CV/resume'. After turning it in, he called to set up an interview but found out that he had already been accepted for the position. He has been with YFC ever since. Our lives are so different, but yet.. I fell a sense of connection to him.
We spent a lot of time together at the conference getting to know each other.. During the conference, twice Lucky and I woke up to go hiking by 5:30am. We would hike the mountain for about 30 minutes and then we would spend time in God's presence and talking about scripture... I loved those mornings, it was so beautiful up there.
Back to my updates....
After the conference... I spent Friday- Sunday with Joke'.. we spent time at her parents place and did some sight-seeing on Saturday... then Mon-Tues.. I spent with Lucky/yfc-Jo'berg... I met Lucky Monday morning and we grabbed a taxi (a big van that the local blacks/colored people use, those taxi drivers can be scary drivers.. and it's something that white people don't use). Then we went to downtown Jo'berg and then caught another taxi to head to the training center where I would be spending the evening, so I could go with him to the prisons on Tuesday. After the second taxi, we arrived at another mall and then walked from there to training center, going through the squater's camp that he lived in. It was hard for me to be in there and see how he lived for most of his life.. I met his nephew, who's about 2 while I was there and several other people. Of course, I felt very white there, but I felt safe with Lucky. Then in the afternoon on Monday, we went to Amakaya, which is an orphanage for street children. In all honesty, I think it's not the best place. Then we just hung out the rest of Monday.. Tuesday we left the training center at 5:45am to walk 30 minutes back to the taxis. From there the taxi took us back to downtown Jo'berg and then we met up with the rest of the group and grabbed another taxi that would take us near the prison. Once we were dropped off, we walked about 30 minutes before we arrived at the prison.. The taxis didn't come any closer to the prison. The prison is huge and it's an all male prison. We went through 10 check points before we got to the area where the boys were. Then we had about a group of 20-30 of them join us in a room where we taught lifeskills.. On Tuesday, we read motivation/thinking stmts and then expanded on the meaning of them.. Lucky pretty much leads the group and had me be a part of teaching too, even though I didn't know that was going to happen until we had already started.. :) I really enjoyed my time there.. and according to Lucky on Thursday when they went back, the boys were asking where I was. The funny part was that some of the boys wanted me just to do the talking, because they liked listening to my accent. :) Then in the afternoon, we went to the international office, so he could take care of some paper work.. Joke' picked me up afterwards.. Joke' and I spent Wednesday doing some sight-seeing in the morning (african museum and market theater) and then I spent the afternoon with Lucky. And then that evening Joke' and I went to the movies and saw The Devil wears Prada, which was a good movie.. Then Thursday I flew back to Cape Town..
I hope to be making a trip back to Jo'berg and have shorten my time in East London to two weeks very three.. plus Lucky is talking about coming to Cape Town for five days the end of Nov.
So, that's my life in the past few weeks... lol I know a lot...
Love Natalie :P
Friday, September 29, 2006
Update
The picture is Mavis, a volunteer with Options, and me at U-Buntu. U-Buntu is a house where adoptive babies stay during the 60-day wait period, where mother's can change their mind during this time period. There was about 15 infants the day we went. Most were 5 months old or younger. I wanted to take them all home with me. :P
Things have been going pretty crazy the past week or so. I realized this week that there was a problem with my visa.. but it seems according to home affairs that everything is taken care of. I just need to confirm with a guy from home affairs, who is almost impossible to tract down.
Last weekend one of our vehicles was stolen, luckily we have a tracking device on it and located it within the biggest township within CT in about an hour after it was reported stolen. It took us until Wednesday to get it back.. And then my visa mishap was enough for this week.
I leave for the conference on Sunday and then spend some time in Johannesburg after the conference.. Then I'm back in Cape Town for nine days and then I leave for East London, which is along the east coast about 12 hours from here and will work there for three weeks in YFC doing their peer pressure education within the schools. It will be an exciting time and I know probably a stretching time too. Then when I come back the 12th of November. I have about three weeks left and then I head home.. Craziness..ah... my life is always busy...
Hope to hear from you soon... Love ya!!
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Prayer Request
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Be Encouraged.....
I had the wonderful opportunity to pray for three people today within the YFC family this morning.. and it was good to be used by God to not only bless within the projects/programs, but to bless those around me. I know that God has blessed me with a heart of prayer and it was evident today that I need to get back into putting that gift to use. God is revealing Himself in a mighty way today! Praise be to His Name!
I pray that you will be blessed and encouraged. Thank you for everything. I love you!
Monday, September 11, 2006
Top Left : Me at Yzerplaat Primary School, playing with the kids outside (pre-school age)
Top Right: Having fun at the house with the other volunteers
Next Pic: Rota and Me from the primary school
Next Pic: Part of Khayelshia, the biggest town-ship within Cape Town (about a million people live in this township)
Last Pic: Look closely and you might see the whale. :P Whale-watching in Hermanus.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Extremes of Cape Town
I'm constantly in awe of the beauty that surrounds me. Above is a pic that I took at Cape Point quite a few weeks ago, but I just started looking through my pics today. The picture is a view of the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Point as I was hiking down from the lighthouse.
Here's a pic of my new class (GR-R) that I have been assisting at Yzerplaat Primary School. Gr-R refers to kids that are between the ages of 4-6. I have been assisting with doing craft projects with them, playing with them during recess and more importantly love on them. Many of the kids come from the Congo, Nigeria and other surrounding African countries. There are about 18 kids in my class. Though this past week I found out that not all will be returning to class, because their parents can't afford to pay for their schooling. It will cost on the average about $250 for the whole year or R1500 (South Africa currency). That was hard for me, because school is important to their future.
I look forward to hearing how everyone is doing.. Take care of yourself and I'll work on updating this again soon. I will be coming forth with a prayer request/support opportunity in the very near future so stay posted. love ya!
Friday, September 01, 2006
One Month Down... three to go...
Today, I got a new roommate, Isabell from Germany.. yep, another German.. so that makes me the only non-german in the group, of 10. So, who knows I may be learning/speaking German by the time I come home in addition to understanding Xhosa and Afrikians better.
On Sunday, I have the wonderful opportunity to sing along with a worship team at my director's church. Rolf, my director, is in charge of the worship team at his church. On Sunday, me and two of the german girls (Bettina and Caroline) are joining a guy from Brazil, one from Scotland and a few from South Africa. If you've ever heard me talk about the how much I enjoy the worship over here, you'll understand why I'm so excited and nervous about Sunday.. It's like a glimpse of heaven.. people from different nations getting together and praising God!
Please keep Bettina in your prayers as her throat is bothering her and yesterday she couldn't speak. Pray for healing. Thank you!
I miss you all, but I will see you all soon... Love Ya.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Programs in Cape Town
It's another beautiful day here in Cape Town. :P It's been almost a week since rain and for me that is a very good thing. I was getting tired of rain and the cold. Yep it gets cold even in Africa.
In the pic on the top of the page is me and the kids from Yzerplaat primary school where I am a teacher's aide for grade 2. I assist with working with the kids that need extra attention. It's been great getting to know the kids. Most of the kids within the school are from all over Africa, many of them are refugees to the country from the Congo, Nigeria, etc. There are 38 kids currently in the class I assist.
If you remember anything about my stories when I got back home, I'm sure you'll remember Naispha and Robert. They stole my heart when I was here last time and it's been great spending time with them. When Naispha saw me for the first time, I picked her up and she hugged me so tight that I thought she would never let me go. Here w are fashioning the hats that Stephanie knitted for them. It's been a huge blessing in my life to come back to Cape Town and spend time with the kids and see them again.
Thank you for your support and prayers. I couldn't be doing this without them.
Friday, August 18, 2006
HUGE PRAYER REQUEST
Thank you! Love, Natalie
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
You’re part of an intricate plan
You’re a precious and perfect unique design
Called God’s special woman or man
You look like you look for a reason
Our God made no mistake
He knit you together within the womb
You’re just what he wanted to make
No matter how you feel
We’re custom-designed with God’s plan in mind
And they bear the Master’s seal
Know, that trauma you faced was not easy
And God wept that it hurt you so;
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into his likeness you’d grow
You are who you are for a reason
You’ve been formed by the master’s rod
You are who are, beloved,
Because there is God!
We have this poem on the door of the woman’s bathroom within the office. I find myself reading it and having the words go over and go in my mind throughout the day as we go from program to program. The poem speaks so much truth into why we are here but more than that it talks about how God is present within every step we take and with every person that we encounter. Do we truly stop to look at people the way God does and see them through His eyes?
As servants and followers of Christ that is the calling that He has placed on our life. Are we taking the time to that.. I pray we are.
God has been speaking to me a lot since I’ve been here about His love and compassion for His people. We are here to serve.. and serve I will.