An unexpected visitor...

Pic...These are 2 patients from the Health Care Center... Marius, with the fish face, he just went home on Thursday after being inpatient since August. Then the other cutie is Munyaradzi, he's from Zimbabwe, pray that he will be able to leave the Health Care Center soon. They are both believers, but please pray for continued physical and spiritual healing for both. May they have a deep hunger for God and a strong desire to learn more of Him through His Word.

Last week Living Hope Community Ctr. had a visitor, and not just any visitor... On the day of his Cape Town concert, Micheal W. Smith (and his entourage) stopped by the Health Care Center for a short visit. I'm not sure how he came to know of Living Hope or any of those particulars, but he had his own personal tour of the place by John Thomas (the founder).
So, I am one of those Nashville dwellers that still gets excited when I see someone famous...yes, I'm one of those pitiful people. Ok, so don't laugh...I am who I am :)

Micheal W. Smith (or Smitty :) isn't really one of those people that would get me really excited...but I do have to admit that to see him here in Africa was pretty cool (Ok...let me just admit that I did grow up on his music and definitely screamed my lungs out when I went to see him at Murphy Center in 8th grade). It was especially exciting just to see people who are from Nashville...they were like a little piece of home to me (even though I don't know any of them and won't ever see them again in my life :). But anyway...it was exciting...

When he got there, all the staff members gathered in the reception area of the Health Care Center and just kind of watched him. He was very kind and humble. John Thomas introduced us and the girls from Nashville, and Smitty said, "Nashville, Tennessee???" I said, "Yeah, we're neighbors..."

Anyway, he went through and met some of the patients and staff members, then they asked him to sing. So, there in the reception area he pulled out his guitar and led us all in "Draw Me Close To You." Then one of the patients led a group in a song in Xhosa...as it always is when they sing, it was beautiful and lively!! (The words of the song they sang are "Be bright in the corner where you are..." Then you repeat it over and over!! I love the simple truth and exhortation in that song...yes I just used the work exhortation :) So after about 30 minutes and some pictures, Smitty left and went to visit one of the LHCC kids' clubs.

And so here are my thoughts...he is just a man...not really too different than anyone else. The patients that met him in the Health Care Ctr. don't know who he is and honestly don't care, so he's no more special than anyone else. However, God has given him a great and well respected platform in the "Christian world." I think we would all agree that he is pretty influential in that arena. So to me, it's exciting for him to have seen Living Hope, to have met the people whose lives are being positively effected through God's ministry. He can bring attention to what's happening here, the issues that are taking place, and the hope that God is bringing through Living Hope...that is exciting to me! I'm sure that he has a lot of ministries trying to get his attention, but I hope that his heart has been captured by one situated in the valley in Cape Town, and that his head rings with the voices singing, "Be bright in the corner where you are..." Maybe that's a positive thing about "celebrity," it gives opportunity to be a voice for things that matter, and others listen to celebrity's so much, which is a little ridiculous to me...but I gues there can be positives to it. I pray that Micheal W. Smith will use his "voice" to spread the word about what God is doing at Living Hope!!

Then, he gave the all the staff members free tickets to his show that night. Fortunately we had already gotten tickets due to my sweet roommie Zana's Nashville connections. We had great seats, and took about 10 friends with us. It was a great show...completely worshipful!! My only problem with the show was that he did not sing his early 90s hit "Place in this World." I mean, I'm not really sure what he was thinking, but that was pretty much the only reason I went to the show (I hope you are picking up on the sarcasm that I'm throwing at you :) But, he did redeem himself when he came out for his encore wearing a South Africa Springbok jersey (I'm sure you have no idea what I'm talking about, I'll explain...rugby is a religion here, and last Saturday night the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup...I mean this is MAJOR...All of SA stops for rugby...I even got excited about it!!) Anyway, picture this...Smitty in a Springbok jersey (yellow and green) singing "Friends are Friends Forever..." It brought a tear to my eye (the sarcasm again..) and took me back to middle school (or maybe high school...one of those...)

So that's the story of the unexpected visitor (Becca, I've now had my celebrity sighting :)

Pic...Me, Smitty, Zana, and Natalie...Nashvillians in South Africa!!

Rainbow...

(I wrote this last week…read it all, then see below for who the pics are ☺)

This has been a painfully long week…I’m not exactly sure why (well, actually I think I might be). It’s been an emotionally and physically draining week---not to mention insanely windy. Which I’m now realizing that I need to get used to…part of the Cape Town life I’m told. What is really funny to me is that if I comment on how windy it is (and I mean almost sweep you off your feet windy), then someone says…”It will get so much more windy than this.” It’s hard for me to imagine this. If you’re having a hard time visualizing this, just imagine yourself in a wind tunnel trying to walk…now you have a glimpse ☺So, if you see me in Nashville earlier than mid December, you’ll just know that I was blown home by the wind…

So, this morning I was kind of in need of a highlight for my week, or even my day…after I was told that my face is looking fat today, I was really in need of a highlight!! And, don’t they always say that God is right on time…

Well, I have been asked to do some community research for Living Hope, just to kind of explore the needs of children in their service area and the gaps in services that exist. It has been an interesting task and I’ve learned a lot. It’s been cool to learn about other organizations who are doing community work. Today I went to meet with the principal of a crèche (preschool) in an area called Capricorn…Wait, I’m going to have to back up…hold on...

I have spent a good bit of time in Capricorn and have gotten to work a lot with the LHCC Life Skills educators who work with a lot of kids in the area. One of the educators recently told me about a specific need. There is family with about 4 children who are living in very tough circumstances. The children are not supervised or cared for very well, and there is a lot of activity in and around their shanty home (things like drugs, fighting, abuse, prostitution, and who knows what else). He told me about one of the youngest children (there are 4 kids in the house all under the age of 6); he was looking for There are 4 children in the house under the age of 6, and he was looking for someone to sponsor one the 4 year little girl to go to crèche. She’s really smart, he said, and can count to 20 without missing a beat! He said when he heard her counting he just knew that he had to find a way to get her into school.

I knew immediately that this was an opportunity that God had placed in front of me to impact someone’s life. Several weeks after our conversation my aunt Jane brought some money that had been taken up by her Sunday School class. I think God perfectly planned for this opportunity for a group of believers in Murfreesburo, TN to be used by God in the life of a child thousands of miles away.

To put this into perspective for you…the registration fee for creche (that her family could not afford) is 20 rand, or less than $3. The weekly fee is 40 rand, or a little less than $6…

Robin my precious new 4 year old friend’s name, and last week I went to meet her and get her registered her for crèche. I have to tell you that I pretty much fell in love with her the moment I met her. She has such a bright and outgoing personality. And probably the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!!! I think I’m in love…

She was to start school the very next day…I went to visit her that day and heard that her mom had walked her to school! (Mom’s name is Rosalyn) Pray that mom continues to take that time each morning to walk with Robin to crèche.

So, that’s the background…my heart has been stolen by a 4 year old girl!!

Now back to the story…are you following me??

Today, I went back to Rainbow Educare (Robin’s crèche) to talk with the principal Faranaaz about my community research. Unfortunately it was naptime, so I didn’t get to see Robin. But I was so blessed by my time with Faranaaz. As I’ve noticed in so many people, her passion and love for her community just pours out of her. As she talked of the community’s needs and the children, her eyes filled with tears!

This is her story…in 1998 when she was working for a local community center, she saw a problem that she could not ignore. There were numbers of pre school aged children that were being left home alone with no supervision while their parents went to work. Instead of looking the other way or pointing her finger, she decided to take action. She had already been taking care of a lot of the kids in the community, so she decided to take it a step further and provide a safe environment for children to play and learn. So…she opened a crèche!

The crèche opened on April 1, 1998 in her mother’s home. On the first day she had 15 children!! And so it began…

Today, Rainbow Educare has 80 children on roll and 6 teachers. Her vision is to treat all children equally and to provide a holistic program that not only focuses on a child’s education, but also on their development as a productive South African citizen. Last year they had a waiting list of over 100 children.

Pray for Faranaaz as she looks to the future of Rainbow Educare. Pray for the children, teachers, staff members, and volunteers who are involved with the crèche. May it be a place filled with joy, laughter, and love and also a place where the children encounter the Jesus who loves all the little children of the world (Red and yellow, black, and white they are precious in His sight…☺)

Faranaaz was running around like crazy when I arrived because she had just found out that Rainbow had been chosen for a group of 10 volunteers to come and do a project for her…TOMORROW! She could have rescheduled our meeting, but I’m so glad that she didn’t cause I was so blessed by her heart, passion, and spunk!!

The project that the group will complete is to paint the whole crèche, inside and out!! As I was walking out she asked me to take some pictures of the outside and then come back next week and take the “after” shots. She asked me my thoughts on what color to paint the outside…that’s kind of scary, I think she’s going with purple!! As I left she said to come back anytime…”You’re part of the family now; part of the furniture!!” How fun is that!!

And by the way, I asked her how Robin has been doing! She’s doing great!! She is interacting well with all the other kids and teacher, behaving wonderfully, coming to school everyday, dressed neatly, and smiling all the time!! Praise God that He has provided an opportunity for her to learn and be in such a safe and loving environment. It’s so exciting to be a part of what God is doing in this little child’s life.

So this…in a very large nutshell is how God gave my a highlight for my day!!!

Pic 1- Faranaaz and me

Pic 2- Sweet little Robin and me (I mean really, I’ve seen a lot of cute kids in SA, but she is absolutely, hands down the cutest ever!!)

As they say in South Africa...

Cheers!!!

This is kind of a greeting that I've most often heard at the end of conversations, when you're saying goodbye or something like that...(I just thought I'd give you a little South African cultural lesson!!)

Just to give you a little insight into my life, this pic is of us at our dinner time!! Me and my wives (as we have come to refer to each other...that's right :) You'll usually find us here at about 6:30 most nights and if you look closely you'll see my laptop...I mean our tv!! We have become obsessed with watching "The Office," and have just finished watching all 3 seasons...yes all three!! I have my sweet sister to thank for introducing me to Micheal, Dwight, Jim, and Pam...I had to spread the "Office" love, so I've now conformed my wives to the club!!

We probably finished all 3 seasons in record time because once we watch one episode, we just can't stop and then we might actually end up watching 3 or 4 more. You know that you're obsessed when you can pretty much think of an "Office" quote for almost any situation (I never thought that that would ever happen again after Seinfeld and Saved by the Bell...yes, Saved by the Bell...ahh the memories!!)

We're kind of going through withdrawal now that our entertainment has run out...any ideas??

Cheers!!!

Mommy dearest...

Yesterday I took my sweet mom and aunt to the airport to go back to Tennessee after their 10-day trip here to Cape Town. It FLEW by, but I don’t think that the trip could have gone any better. They had a blast and it was so wonderful to introduce people from home to my world here in CT, and also for them to spend time with the people that I have become close to.

God gave us wonderful weather! The crazy tornado winds did actually stop and we had some beautiful, sunny days. We drove all over Cape Town and even took a couple of trips to some towns outside of CT. We saw a ton of whales in a little town called Hermanus, and drove throught some cute towns in the wine country of SA. We went non- stop while they were here and I'm beginning to feel the exhaustion (I'm not as young as I used to be :) We went to the Cape Point (google it!!) and almost got blown into the Atlantic Ocean...and saw an ostrich walking down the road (I pulled out all the stops for them :) I think one of my favorite days was on Friday when they came to work with me to Living Hope. Then they got to see what my day to day looks like and met some of the amazing men and women who work for this ministry!

I think that their life flashed before their eyes only a couple of times while I was driving ☺ . I decided that they should experience pulling out onto the wrong side of the road at least once, so I did that for them on the way to the airport ☺ I think I was actually more upset about that one than they were…they were so calm!!

I feel so blessed to have had the chance to share my little Cape Town life with mom and Jane!! Phone calls, e-mails, and blogs just don’t express things like seeing it first hand!! It’s crazy that I hadn’t seen mom in over 2 months and when she got here, it seemed like no time had past since I’d been with her. I know that it’s only through God’s graciousness to me that He allowed her and Jane to come. What a gift!! I’m so thankful!! There’s just nothing like being with your mama :)

I know that there have been so many prayers going up for mom and Jane on their trip over, while they are here, and even now as they are almost home!! How can I tell you thanks for the thoughtful prayers that have covered these past couple of weeks. Having them here and spending such wonderful, encouraging time with them has been a highlight for me. God made the way so straight and clear and easy, and I pray that this last leg of their trip has been easy as well!! They should be landing in DC about now…after their 18-hour flight (bless their hearts!!)

And by the way…if you are wondering…Mom’s back definitely behaved!! Praise the Lord!!

Now I’m sitting back here at Living Hope…my first day back in over a week. When I walked in I realized how much I missed this place and the people here. It’s good to be back!! I’m excited about what is ahead in the next couple of months.

The sisters have landed...

Look who's here!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Friday night, my mom and aunt arrived safely from the good ole US of A!! Thanks for all the prayers for safety and a "behaving" back!! They had a uneventful trip and looked great when they arrived! So far the jet lag isn't killing them, but the wind might...

We've had great weather and good days so far. I'm enjoying showing them all the sights of my 5 month Cape Town home. The wind has been crazy yesterday and today...I mean kind of like tornado winds in Nashville. They call it the Cape Doctor, and no one really seems to be alarmed that it feels like the wind will blow your head off. This morning we went out to Cape Point, and at the Cape of Good Hope the wind literally knocked me off my feet. Picture this...me blowing over on my butt...stunned and laughing my head off that I'm not sturdy enough to withstand the million mile an hour winds!!

Anyway, Ann and Jane are doing great...having a blast...loving the sights...and definitely loving my South African driving skills!! Thanks again for all the prayers to get them safely here...having them here is a highlight!!