Memoirs of A Wannabe Missionary: November Newsletter

Memoirs of A Wannabe Missionary: November Newsletter: "Hi , Another month has passed here in Cape Town, and while some things have gotten a little easier other things have gotten mor..."

A South African Favourite: the chocolate crunchie

We made these with the ladies at our baking workshop and they were an absolute hit..they are kind of like the English flapjack,but with a kick :)

Ingredients                                                                    

2 cups cake flour                                 
2Tbl spoons cocoa
2 Tsp bp                                          
3 cups of oats
1 cup of coconut
1cup of sugar
350g margarine(melted)


Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Sift together the flour,cocoa and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.Add the oats,coconut and sugar and mix.
Add the melted margarine and mix until dry ingredients are well moistened.
Press the mixture into sprayed baking tray,spreading it evenly.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until baked through and slightly crisp.


Icing
2 cups icing sugar
2 Tbl cocoa                                                  
2 Tsp melted margarine
1/5 cup warm water

While crunchies are in the oven,prepare the icing

Sift together the icing sugar and cocoa.Add the margarine and water and mix to form a stiff paste.Spread over the crunchies while still hot.Cut crunchies while still warm ( no kidding because if you don't you will need about three people to get them out of the pan). Enjoy!!

                                                             

Release....the future is filled wth colour

Soooo last two weeks have been pretty good,I did a prophetic art workshop...it was actually called a " freedom in creativity workshop" and freedom there was.

God is Just ( worshiping through colour)

I think it was the first time that I actually sat and played around with paint without feeling the pressure to have it come out just right...normally I could spend hours "painting from my heart" and at the end I would never be satisfied with what I had done but at this workshop it was just about me worshiping God through art and allowing Him to speak through colour and images.  At one  point we focused specifically on just worshiping through colour,no form  just colour  and  learnt how certain colours reflect certain themes and even characteristics of God. After that I felt like going home and emptying entire buckets of paint on a convas...he he he
 

The next exercise we had was to kind of paint what we felt God was wanting to emphasize in this season of our lives..we had a list of phrase/scriptures to choose from....I don't remember the one I chose exactly but it had something to with being sealed and establish and this <- is what I painted.

Its funny all this talk about colour,once I was insatiably drawn to yellows and oranges,I would probably have left the house looking a sunflower  if I could have. But now I feel more drawn to blue...a pale tourqouise blue ->

I can't get enough of it,it really its the strangest thing to me,I  don't even know when I started liking the colour...but it is the official colour of this season I'm in.

November Newsletter

Hi , Another month has passed here in Cape Town, and while some things have gotten a little easier other things have gotten more challenging. For one thing the weather is really improving, I have actually had the privilege of being hot once or twice in the past month and the days are getting longer as South Africa  moves into their summer. On the upside and downside, Christmas is coming. This is usually  my favourite time of year, unfortunately  listening to Christmas carols is particularly painful when you’re missing home but  I am looking forward to having a South African Christmas and just might get to spend  some of  my holidays at the home of one of my South African friends. Right now my longing for home. and all things Barbadian is one of my greatest struggles. Last month I also struggled a lot health wise but I am happy to report my persistent cough is now gone and I am now back to being 100%.        Justice Bakes This month we are not only discipling but baking!! We have just started baking once a week with two women from our community who will be part of our Adopt-A-Girl programme. For now we are hoping that the money earned will help our two ladies to provide for their children this Christmas. Clothed in Righteousness   “    I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,       My soul shall be joyful in my God;       For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,                     He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,       As a bridegroom decks himself  with ornaments,                                                    And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”                                                          Isaiah 61:10 (NKJV)  In our Women’s Bible Study we have been focusing a lot  on our identity in Christ, as a continuation of that we used Isaiah  61:10 to talk about how God clothes us in a new identity  and views each of us as His bride or bridegroom. We usually start each session with a fun activity and this week we started with a bridal shower game where the aim was to create a bridal gown using toilet paper, we had a great time as a group and in my teaching I was then able to relate our activity with how God clothes  us with a new identity and through Jesus we are made pure in His sight. Last time I wrote we were in the process of choosing a location for our safe house to be opened early next year, well we have found a house and now all or our attention will now be on furnishing/decorating and creating an official safe house programme. Things are starting to slow down as we move into the holiday season but I am sure I will have lots to share about my first South African Christmas and all the preparations we at Justice ACTs are making for  the opening of our safe house.    Faith

Memoirs of A Wannabe Missionary: A strange thing happened to me today

Memoirs of A Wannabe Missionary: A strange thing happened to me today: "Ok so today was just one of those days where I experienced such a wide variety of emotions,ooo when I was up I was soaring on the wings of..."

A strange thing happened to me today

Ok so today was just one of those days  where  I experienced such a wide variety of emotions,ooo when I was up I was soaring on the wings of eagles and then  an hour later I was like a deer caught in the headlights.

It all started with my prophetic check-up...yes you read correctly. On our base you can  arrange to have an individual  prayer time with  members of the prayer and worship department where they wait on God to see what's on His heart for the person they're praying for..so they pretty much prophesy to you for 40 minutes. For me this time brought some much needed encouragement and confirmation for what I feel God is doing my life right now....which is kind of scary because I have to rethink some things.God is up to something,I had a feeling South Africa would be a training ground for other things but I don't think I quite understood the importance of this time here,before I also felt like God was calling me to the nations, not just one specific country...believe me in the last couple of weeks I've been trying to pull a " Jonah", telling myself I'm ready to settle down,I was in some serious denial. Anyway this leaves me with a lot to think about...in an exciting way I think.

Then I had a deer in the headlights moment...I will not go in to details.

In the evening I grabbed my jacket( honestly I did!!!) and headed off to base worhsip,about  a 10 minute walk on a chilly Cape Townia afternoon. On the way I had to stop to buy electricity..you can buy electricity like you  buy airtime,you get a slip and you enter the number in the electricity box( I don't know what its called).So I stopped to buy electricity and met a lady who has visited our community Bible Study,I'm assuming she lives on the streets,I chatted with her,gave her some money for food,prayed with her and was about to leave  a when she offered me a jacket,I quickly responded with a no thank you I already have a jaaacket?Looked down and realised that I no longer had a jacket...it must have dropped somewhere along the way...I just thought it funny,some can call it coincidence but I choose to believe God was in it,just the irony of  me thinking she's the one in so much need,meeting her need and in the process me having an  unexpected need met...the vicious cycle of giving,everyone gets taken care of.

I just thought it was funny...oo I 'm thinking of doing a post about foods from the mission field so look forward to that,and a recipe for chocolate crunchies.

Till next time!

Faith and absolute certainty don't go hand in hand

It just occurred to me that last week was one of those weeks where God spoke and came through big time!! He always does  but this time He really got me.

Some people may think that because I got to South Africa I have this faith thing under control...not so my friend. The call to walk by faith and not by sight is such a perfect expression because it really is an ongoing walk,one minute you have the faith to move mountains and 30 minutes later you're sick with worry about  a particular situation.You are CONSTANTLY challenged to live by faith! I like to believe I have faith and a pretty decent amount of it...oy that sounds a bit vain,but the truth is I do think that a good set of the time.But then I noticed how I would get anxious in situations where I know or rather believe God has spoken to me specifically and my excuse would always be " well I'm  not really sure it was God "...!?!? I can't believe that I really used that excuse because the requirement to have faith  is because we are never certain about anything. If  I was always sure about the end result of anything I wouldn't need faith to continue,if God spoke to me in a big booming voice about everything I wouldn't need as much faith as when He speaks in  a..still..small...voice shhh.


All of that was to say this,my phone was stolen about two weeks ago and I frankly did not want to buy another phone so what did I do? I prayed about it  and I felt like God told me to wait...wait on God for another phone?! Maybe I was just hearing things,I'm wasn't really suuuure it was God.So rather than get a new phone I decided to wait..I waited and waited,I thought a new phone was going to come in one way and it didnt...I had not only asked God for a phone but I also told Him that I needed one by the next Friday because I was taking a team out and figured it would be the responsible thing to have a phone.So when I didn't get the phone the way I thought I was going to I started to have heart palpitations.

To make a long story less long ( I'm too far gone to make it short )  I didnt' need the phone by Friday because Friday we did not go out as planned ( another God thing) aaaaaand my ex-roommate was leaving SA and gave me her phone.


Now I have a phone and I am also reminded that fear does not go alongside faith and if I was sure about every single thing I wouldn't need to have faith :)

"Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat......"

..please put a penny in the old man's hat
if you haven't got a penny a half penny will do

and if you haven't got a penny,God bless you!!!

Well if you're still curious about what I'm on about,Christmas is coming!!!! Christmas is honestly my favourite time of year,I'm not as into it as I used to be ( gift buying just got too stressful,you can't buy  the same kind of gifts you bought when you were 13).But man there's something about those Christmas carols,the food and most of all family coming together....ooooo and lights,gotta have Christmas lights.

Unfortunately the anticipation of Christmas has brought little spasms of homesickness , I heard "lil drummer boy" playing in the supermarket and I nearly had a breakdown.This will be my second Christmas away in a row...and I have no idea what my holiday season will look like. The base is officially closed for Christmas and a lot of the staff are headed home  so I don't know who will be around and I don't know if I will have the money do do anything with the people who do stay around... sigh,Christmas.

But my housemate encouraged me that our house will have lights,and I may splurge on a santa claus  hat..maybe a piece of ham.That's  one of the many Christmas traditions back in Barbados,ham in bread with a little hot sauce. I've eaten it every Christmas morning for as long as I can remember.  We also make rum cake...I think the English call it a fruit pudding or something,either way the two are pretty similar.If  I'm feeling really adventurous I might write home for recipe. 

On the upside,I do get to enjoy a South African Christmas !

Well that's it,I just wanted to have a small rant about Christmas...hopefully we will be having a Christmas party for the women who have been coming to our weekly community Bible Study, pictures and news will follow..I think.

Ciao!!

The Highs and Lows Part 1

Ok its been waaay too long since I've posted something..so here goes.
 
Last week was a very interesting  week,I was bouncing off the walls for the first couple of days and by the time Wednesday came around I was just about ready to zone out...I definitely learned that it is not good experiences that can or will sustain us when thing get a little challenging or better yet,mundane.

Since I have been here I have met a couple of other women who are hoping to work with girls in the community and last Tuesday I had the opportunity to sit and talk with them about starting a ministry in a nearby  township.We prayed about it and  just felt like God was birthing something in us,it was truly an amazing time of prayer and I walked out of there on cloud nine,excited about what God was going to do through us.I mean I was just soooooooo excited I thought I was going to trip over myself :)

But that great experience on Tuesday could not keep me for the rest of the week and surely enough by Wednesday I had found something to be anxious about.Friday I was going to be leading some students in doing prostitution outreach on a nearby highway( for the first time !!!) and the more I thought about it the more nervous I got.I don't about you but when I entertain anxiety for long enough I start to feel sick to the stomach,just wishing that the day would come and go.

Looking back on it I really don't know what I was worrying about because its not about me at all,I always find that when  I put pressure on myself to make something happen in ministry I get very very anxious,to the point where I have no peace in my everyday life.And honestly I don't normally  realise how important that peace  is until I have lost it,I must confess that my head had gotten so full of plans and ideas that I really was not spending time with God like should have been and once that connection or flow is broken you're asking for stress...the Tuesday time with God had been great but after that I was running on my own fuel.
The more you pour out the more you need to be poured into my God...there's a song by Sara Groves that says it perfectly," I'll never be a light unless I turn my eyes to You" and that my friend was exactly what I needed to do.

Thank goodness God doesn't wait for us to get our acts together.Friday night's ministry went really well,there are some things I know I will have to change and adjust by this Friday's outreach but it was a great  start nonetheless.

Lata! 

 P.S......

Our prostitution outreach ministry is based on building relationships with women who are in prostituion, its not a formula and  we go out there knowing that it could take weeks before a relationship is started but its about pursuing these women with God's love the way God pursued us who are already believers.We usually ask the women their name,whether they have families or not,that kind of thing...trying to genuinely start a relationship with them.This one particular lady was really open to our questions,we prayed for her and she just responded in so much love and we were all hugging and she was crying it was such a special moment and afterwards she gave us her address so we could come visit her.Sooooo hopefully this week we will be doing a follow up visit and who knows what will happen from there.

Its hard to hear women's stories though,because  we talked to this woman and you realise that you can't fix her problem,that even after weeks of relationship building and praying she could still be in the same situation. But my hope is in Christ,what He did for me I know He can do for these women and its that hope and that light that we're offering these women when we go out.

A week of firsts

So I feel like I haven't posted anything awhile...a couple of days perhaps,a lot could happen in a couple of days.Anyways, I will try to do a recap of the last couple days as best I can and when I say  recap I mean the things that I remember as memorable.

Event #1: I caught the train by myself :)

I was heading out to the jewelry making workshop held in Mowbray ( its about a 40 minute train ride).I probably talked about this already but for anyone who didn't read that particular post or simply wasn't paying attention,here goes. Every Wedenesday and Tuesday there is a jewelry making workshop for refugee women,most of whom have converted from Islam.The workshop is an opportunity for them to fellowship with other women like themselves as well as earn some income from  the jewelry they make ( the necklaces they make are absolutely beautiful and are sold in shops locally and at churches overseas).This is a cool ministry because it is based on relationships and discipleship yet it offers something practical,a way to make money.

Right,back to the train ride,apparently I can pass for a South African so that definitely helped  me to  not feel  so conspicuous.But I think that was totally canceled out by the fact that I had no idea when and where my stop was, every time the train stopped I was practically breaking my neck off to see if  A.there was even a sign saying where we were and B.where we were... not very inconspicuous behaviour.But thank God I got where I was going in one piece..mininmal trauma.

Why is this a big deal you may ask? Well, South Africa has quite a crime problem...I don't feel unsafe,but at the same you have to be very cautious and in the back if my head I was thinking "o gosh someone is going to know I'm not from here and try to mug me".Another interesting thing about the train system here are  the divisions between first class and  second class carriages. From what I have gathered, under Apartheid the whites traveled first class and  everyone else on second, and from what I have observed its still very much like that today.I travel third class because it seems like the most normal thing for a person my complexion to do,plus its safer...there are always more people on third class,the class of the masses I suppose.

Event #2: I did a dance,woooo hoo

I don't think I ever stop being amazed at the freedom I've found in knowing Jesus,I mean there are still things I'm a bit skeptical of doing but for the most part I am no longer afraid of people,of their opinions and strange looks.

Last Wedenesday I was asked if I could do a dance for the women's Bible study the following day,my first response ( mentally at least) was nooooo way,you can't be serious.I like to dance but the thought of doing a solo piece at such short notice was downright terrifying.But it was put forward as a challenge,I generally don't like challenges but in the past I have found that there's no better way to see God move in your life than to accept a challenge, a challenge that you  know you can't complete in your own strength.So I accepted the challenge and prayed that God was use me to be a blessing,more importantly this dance was to be an act of worship.When you make something an act of worship the pressure and nervousness goes away,its not about you anymore,its about God..biggin Him up by any means available to you. So Thursday I did my dance, and I wasn't afraid...it may seem small but for me that was a majour God thing.Its funny because yesterday, a week later a lady who was there asked me if that was my ministry..all I could do is smile.

Event # 3: I visited an Sibongile

I confess  that I had heard of this orphanage but had made no attempt to go there in my first week and a half,I was scared,scared of what I would see,scared of how I would feel. Its not just an ordinary orphanage,its an orphanage for children suffering from Cerebral Palsy in a township called Kheylitsha (http://www.sibongile.org/en/). I just didn't know what to expect.Well by the second week I definitely felt this was somewhere God wanted me to go to,soooo I sucked it up and went. I'm not going to lie to you,it was hard...I'm not going to tell you that I went there and had warm fuzzy feelings,I went there and my heart just broke.To relate to those children was not something that I could do in my own strength,most of them can't speak or walk,some were fed through tubes in their stomachs.I felt so utterly powerless and started to question why God would allow children to live like that...the day went very slowly.But it was pretty in the endrewarding to realise that I could  put a smile on their faces,I sang Sunday School songs to this one girl and her face just lit up...or just smiling could get you a smile in return.It was challenging but I can't get those children out of my head.

I was telling my mum about this and she reassured me that  its not about us but its about the Holy Spirit being able to touch these children,so true because at the end of the day what are our physical bodies except something that will eventually deteriorate and shut down.The state of your body  does not dictate the state of your soul.

And on a more positive note,they will be receiving help from a physiotherapist.Some of the children should  be able to improve with the necessary therapy and attention.Our biggest trump card though  is this, we can pray for healing,God is still a God of miracles.

Those were some highlights from last week,this week has been a lot of meetings, missionaries are not exempt from meetings believe it or not.{ fellow YWAMers would relate to his).Some cool connections are coming out of them though and exciting things are on the horizon,so I'll keep you posted.

Till next time.

Musings

I just finished writing a fairly serious post about my week and  now I feel the need to vent on a couple more light hearted issues.

First,can you imagine what its like when you've just turned up in a cold unfamiliar place to be told or rather to have someone( you know who you are) suggest that you will be there,not for the 10 months you intend but for ten years!!!! I felt like I had just received a death sentence...you may wonder why I even took the comment on,its because  I honestly do have this fear or inkling that I could be here for longer than 10 months.Even though I want to follow God wherever He calls me there is still very much a part of me that just wants to take control of my life and do what I want to do,a part of me that wants to work so I can just buy whatever I want to buy...gasp!! Yes I said it. So there's always that battle going on inside of me,I would like to think that at the end of the next 10 months I will go home and settle down to something a bit more predictable but I honestly don't know that I will ( sorry mum )....trust God to put me in that position,guess I will just have to wait on Him.

Secondly,I don't know how many of you know this but missions and YWAM in particular is a breeding ground for couples and I my friend am 21 and very much single...no pressure. I  had the wonderful opportunity of living with 11 christian young woman and don't be fooled...its on our minds,will we get married?how will we know he's the right one? where will meet?...a serious question when you have no idea what continent you will be on in the next  6 months.So yeh,all of that to say that its been on my mind and apparently on the minds of the people who know me,once again...no pressure.

I would absolutely love the blueprint to my life,to tell me exactly what to do,when to do it,who I will marry etc etc.It would take all the risk out of life and relationships..perfect. I'm always trying to see if there are any God given clues that I can use to figure some of these things out but then  you know what the funny thing is,and this applies to the whole relationship issue.No matter what clues you get..or think you have gotten you will still get  feelings,feelings that sneak up on you when you aren't looking and before you know it you're not as interested in who God might have for you...you just want to do something with the feelings you have now,you want this person to be the "the" person. Its happened to be a couple times over the years, to the point now where I have a fairly clinical approach to emotions...this probably isn't the person for me just suck it up and wait it out,its just a crush and in a couple of months you'll be over.I don't know that this is the best approach...I actually just think its a kind of mechanism I use to prevent emotional hurt,I decide its nothing early a clock then I can ignore it and then there's no need to risk your heart...right?

Well I've decided to stop thinking about it so much( kind of),I've found,in my quest for clarity and in my curiosity that Christian literature can actually make the situation worse.Should you date or nooo its about courtship and building Godly friendships etc etc.I wish there was a formula,but no two stories are the same...you just have to trust God to guide you when those pesky emotions pop up.And after all they do provide a bit of excitement in our lives don' t they?


Now you know.

End of week one

So its the end of my first week in Muizenberg, Cape Town and I'm learning to like the place more and more.There's just this peace and joy in my heart that makes everyday a good day....don't get me wrong,as a Christian there are rough times ( for example my first two nights here ),times when you want to throw in the towel,times when you're dare I say, depressed.But one thing is for sure,the good times are gooood.

 

I think one of the hardest things has been people asking me "so what are you doing? " and having to explain what I'm going through over and over again ( hint hint please read this blog for answers to Frequently Asked Questions). Even though it feels like longer I have only been here for one week,no I have not led anyone to Christ,I have not rescued anyone from a lifestyle of desperation and poverty nor have I single handedly brought down any organised crime rings.But I will tell you about the things that I did get to do.

 

There is a ministry here called Justice Acts that does counter human-trafficking work (http://www.justiceacts.org/home/). I sat in on one of their training sessions and my eyes were really opened,opened to the magnitude of this industry that trades in human beings...fully understanding that it could honestly happen to anyone.Trying to understand why its so hard to get legislation passed that will make trafficking harder and most all of just sitting there and  getting a revelation of how much God loves these people,those who are trafficked and those who traffic.I also started to think of how many times ( sometimes just out of pure ignorance) signs are there that point us to something fishy but we just shrug our shoulders and ignore it or we simply think that it couldn't possibly happen in our country.It challenged me because now I'm thinking, its not ok for us to know where the prostitutes are,to here stories about women who are from Eastern Europe working in strip clubs and NOT care.I mean I won't tell you  a lie,in the past I kind of pretty much believed that  women in prostitution were there because they chose that lifestyle,I didn't understand the manipulation and treachery involved and if it was happening it wasn't happening in my country...sigh.

This training session was to prepare us for actually going onto the streets and talking to women who were in  prostitution. Initially I was anxious,well not just initially....I was anxious about it.What would I say? Would I really be able to cast aside all of my previous assumptions about these women and love them? or would I just stand there like a spectator at a zoo. Well one thing I learned is that just spending time in prayer changes a situation,its that important act of looking towards heaven for an example of what to do and when you do that you can't go wrong. We had a time of intercession before that night's outreach and by the time we hit the streets my heart was so tender I just wanted to hold these women in my arms I wanted to tell them they were beautiful and that Jesus loved them,my heart was just full with the love of God. These women are God's lost gemstones,each one precious and unique.

Many of them had come from other parts of South Africa looking for work,most of them had young children...most of them wanted to do something else.One girl told us she wanted to be a social worker,another..to work with people,her smile and personality could have lit up any room.The current recession affects us all,one of the women was a waitress back in her home city but like many people she couldn't get a job and and ended up in prostitution...she wants to be able to work as a waitress again. Another woman had come to Cape Town with a friend and somehow ended up in prostitution,she said it was a long story but from how she behaved and what she did say it she hadn't planned to be working the streets.

Wednesday I visited a discipleship house where refugee women were 'being discipled' but also had the chance to make jewelry to gain some form of income.Most of them were from Burundi.We spent the morning making jewelry,ate lunch together and then had a devotional time where a guest shared about the burdens that we as women take on in our lives. We're all the same,we all have the same concerns and desires and it was good to sit their as women,black,white,old and young praying for another and encouraging one another to keep on going.

Yesturday at a women's Bible study I met a girl my age who has had one of her children taken away,another one to take care of while having no job and yet is still able to tell me of the joy of being a Christian ( she'd been a Christian for six months) all I could think is wow.

The more I meet with people and hear their stories the more I'm realising  that there is no room for  a powerless,humanistic gospel.As Christians we need need need to offer the God who is an answer to the pain and brokenness in this world,the God who is alive and cares and is able to make impossible things happen,the God who can set free those who are in bondage,the God who heals people..inside and out.They are many of us who may be able to get through life without this God( or so we think),we have our degrees,comfortable homes,good families,good doctors to go to when we're sick...but what about those who have nothing,they need  a God who can be their everything,they need Jesus.

 Let's pray down the Kingdom of Heaven because they are too many who will not be able to make it in this earthly one.

Faith,food and facebook

I don't think I'm speaking prematurely and if I am, in Christian circles its often called faith.Believing that the impossible and unforeseeable will indeed happen.

A night or two ago I was praying,asking God to direct me because I was feeling like a fish out of water in a very chilly Cape Town.  I'm not afraid to tell you that I really have no plan but to follow God's plan,that may sound all Christiany and cliche but its true.I believe that four years ago God told me to go South Africa to help girls...I know it sounds vague but that's what I'm working with. So four years later on pure faith I'm in South Africa,God has fulfilled His word to me,He has brought me to South Africa. But what about the second part?


Which brings me back to " a night or two ago...",I felt like God was telling me the same faith it took to get here ( ie.my need for large sums of money I did not have) I will also now need to see the second part of the promise fulfilled. We need faith for more than money and healings,we should also use our faith in believing that God will use us mightily where ever He has placed us...do you believe that in your office job God  can use you mightily for His kingdom,do you believe that as a stay at home mom God can  use you to touch lives, I don't know about you but that takes faith. Just because some things  appear to have less "kingdom" points than others does not mean that they require less of a kingdom mindset and radical faith. Because I'm in South African with a missions organization  does not mean I can now bolt off and make things happen,I could fill my time with many good deeds and totally miss what God planned to do in and through me...scaaaaary!And yet its tempting when you want to write a fancy newsletter telling of all your missionary exploits...almost like the Facebook syndrome,only taking pictures that are Facebook worthy,wondering whether your next activity is worthy of a Facebook status,so many ulterior motives.


That was all to say that God opened some doors for me today, I met people who are working with women(some necklace making involved..( art+me=happiness),one woman in particular pretty much sounds like she wants a partner as she reaches out to girls in a particular township ( names to come later ie after I've seen them on paper and have written them a couple of times)so yaaaaaay, why is it so hard to just trust God?!

Yup so that was my big news.....and I might have a potential place to live off base,nice place too.I'll keep you updated on that one,I hope it works out because I would like to be able to cook for myself. That may sound trivial but  I have a serious complaint with wheat and dairy and what do we get a lot of...thats right,wheat and dairy my friend,wheat and dairy ( no I'm  not being some vain trendy eater... I really do have a problem with those two foods,for reasons I would rather not disclose on the world wide web).I'm tempted to branch off here and talk about food,gluttony and my experiences with both but  perhaps another day.

Ok back to my Coldplay..."nobody said it was eeeeeeaaaasy"

Girls are girls right?

Ok so I  really want to work with girls and teen girls and I've been thinking of what a girl's ministry programme would look like.I've realised you should never be to proud to take notes from what someone else has been doing in your area of interest...so I googled it,yes I googled "girls ministry".

What turned up was as  expected I suppose,lots of cute looking imagery..a line somewhere about teaching girls to incorporate fahsion trends into their dress etc etc Personally I love cutesy girly looking stuff and was at one point addicted to fashion magazines so I gladly welcome an attractively packaged Christian "voice" in guiding girls through their pre-teen and teen years. What I do question is how *girls ministry*  in our Western,North American context could apply to girls in a South African township...ouch.

I know girls are girls but  I'm just wondering how or what is the best approach to take when reaching  out to young women who live in the poverty embodied by a slum/shanty town  and resources are low.


  I don't know,it just made me think of how the gospel needs to be  life saving to all who hear it,no matter how we package it.And whatever programme or strategy I hope to carry out,  it has to contain truth and life and most importantly it has to point to The Way...yes I love graphics and excuses to put on nail polish but those are just secondary and props to the real star of the show.

 I mean honestly,right now I have a mandate to touch lives and all I have is the markers in my suitcase and the belief that God can use me.


These are my post dinner ramblings.


P.S I'm pretty sure Jesus could multiply markers like He multiplied fish...he he he jus saying

First Impressions

So I've officially been in Cape Town for two whole days...and I'm still adjusting to the cold (probably will be for a long time). I think the fact that its cold makes the transition so much  harder,everything is already so unfamiliar without having to constantly think about how cold I am. ( for those of you who are wondering I'm from Barbados where the temperature is pretty much thirty degrees Celsius all  year round  and the temperature in Cape Town is around seventeen degrees Celsius...eee).

At 21 I'm not that familiar with big life changes but this is for sure the biggest transition I've ever gone through.When I did my Discipleship Training School in 2009 I was twenty,and I remember nearly having a nervous breakdown  in Venezuela...why? I realised that I was an adult. No one can fully prepare you  for your big  launching out,in your head it seems like a wonderful idea and you're consumed with the excitement of going to some new exotic place for the sake of the gospel ( as was my case,for others it may be for college or work) but when you actually get to that place the reality of what you've left behind sets in.

That's pretty much where I'm at now,taking in the beauty of Muizenberg,the beach,the shells,the mountains,the people ( South Africa is  truly the Rainbow Nation) and at the same time trying to keep it together emotionally. Its times like these that I realise how much I need God,I  have agreed to go on this journey with  Him but there is noooo way I can go it alone.The next couple days will require God's strength and grace as well as share determination to see His plan for my life fulfilled.

So until next time Ciao!!