Going to McDonalds doesn't make you a hamburger...but having a relationship with Christ saves your life...

Earlier today I found myself praying and asking the Lord to provide me with an opportunity to truly share my heart with someone and to let my faith shine through. Dont get me wrong, I absolutely adore working with my kids everyday but sometimes I wonder if I am really making a difference. Do they really see my heart for Christ and understand my faith...or am I just someone who jumps around with them and gives them lots of love. This had been weighing on my heart and I was just so eager for the opportunity to share my faith and testimony with someone who was thirsty for the spirit. And all I have to say is that the Lord provides in mysterious ways...

So I was just laying in my bed and watching Felicity on my computer, when Anna knocks on the door and was like "Hey you want to come to McDonalds with me? I heard you wanted a McFlurry". Obviously I wasn't going to turn down the opportunity for a McFlurry so I jump out of bed, throw on a jacket and we walked out the door. We get to McDonalds and for some reason decide to go in rather than just go through the drive through. Now remember I just jumped out of bed and clearly had no intentions of seeing anyone so I would like you to picture me at my finest...my madusa hair, a poofy flannel lined jacket, my grateful dead shirt, leggings and furry balet house slippers. Clearly I am lookin real good.

We go up to the counter and order and there are 2 ladies behind the counter as well as the manager. Im standing there talking to a random man about hunting (typical) and I over hear the manager, Ricardo, talking to Anna because he had just asked her if we were missionaries. So I drop my hunting conversation and go over to Ricardo and start talking. He then says something that sent chills up my spine, "If you were to convert these women to Christianity, what would you tell them?". I think my heart skipped a beat because I wasn't sure if this was a trick or if he really did want to know what we would say. He then said that he was a Christian, so I knew it wasn't any kind of trick. The next thing I know I am sharing my testimony with the lady behind the counter, Mandesa. I told about how I had grown up a Christian and always going to church, but that I didn't feel like I started living the life of a Christian until High School. At least I don't think I truly understood what it meant to lead the life of a Christian until I got older. I had simply been proclaiming the words of Christ with my mouth, but often times denying what I said simply through my actions. And also more simply the fact that I am NOTHING without Christ in my life, and that he is the reason why I wake up every morning with hope for the day. That he is always by my side and with that I am comforted and not scared for the future. She found this interesting. I also went into talking about how being Christian does not have anything to do with perfection. We are not perfect and will never be, we live in a sinful world so therefore we are filled with sin. But with the Lord in our hearts, we can become clean, and our pasts will no longer weigh us down and we will have hope for the future. Its not about "if" trials will come but its about "when" and when they do come, the only way we can stand strong is if the Lord is right there beside us pulling us through. Just as Isaiah 43:2 says, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." I just continued to speak to Ricardo and Mandesa about my faith and the craziest part was that I felt like I had no control of my words and that it was the Holy Spirit speaking through me. Ricardo told me how much of a blessing we were for simply coming in, and how my words blessed him. How my comments on perfection touched his life and that he was going to share my "wisdom". Never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined this happening...I mean its not the easiest thing to just share your testimony with someone and for some reason tonight it just seemed so natural to share. I could see the hunger for the spirt in Mandesa's eyes and while I was talking she continued to ooh and ahh, so I knew the words were going to her heart. There were smiles on both of our faces at this point, and before we started talking there was nothing close to a smile on her face. That in itself was simply amazing. I finished talking and told her that I would be praying for her, and next thing I know, she gives me a piece of paper with her name and phone number on it. I know have a new friend at the McDonalds and I promised her that I would be back to visit and talk with her...not only because I want to come back and visit and pour into her, but also because she asked me to come back.

The Lord works in mysterious and amazing ways. So many times I think we try to run from the Lord, but in reality we cant ever get away because he is right behind us chasing us...So call on the lord, he is ALWAYS there and he ALWAYS provides.

xoxo
H

Please pray for Mandesa and her heart, that it may be softened and opened to the Lord. Also pray for Ricardo and his heart and that he may continue to serve the Lord through his willingness to talk about Christianity in McDonalds.

Crazy Business

The past few days have been quite busy and let me tell you…I am worn out and tired…

FRIDAY we had our second day of the “fusion festival” and overall it went really well. I was stationed at the balloon making table, at first I was a little uncertain of why I was doing that because frankly I have no expertise in that area. But with a smile on my face I made balloon animals and the kids loved it…that is, until the pump broke…So with the broken pump came a change of plans and I started doing face painting. I absolutely loved painting the kids faces because you could just see their eyes light up with excitement. Its amazing how a little bit of paint can bring smiles to faces. So then it was my turn to get my face painted, so I let one of the girls, Zimkita, paint my face. I thought she was painting something “normal” on my face like a flower or something…but little did I know, Zimkita was turning me into a pirate. I looked like a freak! But hey, the kids got a kick out of it, so I was fine with it. I also played some soccer with the boys…and those boys are crazy! I was the goalie so that was interesting. But it was so much fun running around with them and playing with them because they are so passionate about the sport. All in all it was a very long day because we were constantly going, but it was absolutely amazing to see the community come together for the festival and we were able to build relationships with the older people of Red Hill as well as strengthen our relationships with the kids.

SATURDAY was quite a day. Me, Stu, Carley, Brock, Ethan and Rachael loaded up and headed to Cape Town for a little adventure. A little adventure that entailed some Free Fallin’…We arrived at this sketchy looking airplane hanger and walked in to be greeted by some excited young men and then I signed my life away to go Sky Diving…(I had known that I was going to do this for a few weeks but I kept it a secret to everyone except for my 2 best friends-my brother John and my dear Meredith…sorry mom and dad). I knew I had to wait until after to tell mom because she would have had a heart attack if she had known! Next thing I know, I was getting all strapped into my harness thing and then boarding the plane. It was basically just an airplane shell and 6 of us piled in. Since I was going 1st I had to sit next to the “door”, and then about 5 minutes before I was to jump I got all hooked up to my instructor who I was jumping with, and then we sat at the edge of the plane. I tucked my legs under the plane, put my head back….and then Geronimo…we did a front flip out of the plane and were free fallin from 9000 feet!! We were free falling for 5000 feet (about 40 seconds) and then we opened the parachute and parachuted our way down for about 5 minutes. It was amazing! Here I am literally flying over Cape Town…Robben Island is to my left and Table Mountain to my right…and it was one of the greatest feelings in the world. It was simply amazing to see Cape Town from a totally different perspective and it just reminded me at how small I really am. And again I was marveled by the idea of creation and Gods power.

SUNDAY we went to church and just had a really chill day. They had a very sweet fathers day service, and honestly it really made me miss my dad. It just reminded me of how blessed I am to have the dad that I do because often times I take that for granted. Not everyone has a dad that supports them and shows them the right ways, so I am so thankful that I have had such and incredible dad and I admire him so much. I would not be the same person I am today if it wasn't for my dad.

MONDAY AND TUESDAY we had our 2nd week of holiday club. This week is all about the "Armour of God" and how he protects us. If you remember from a few posts ago, I told you that we were cutting out cardboard, in which we are now using for the Armour. So each day the kids make a different piece of Armour...so far we have made the belt of "truth" and breastplate of "righteousness". The kids are loving it and it makes my heart so happy to see that the kids are finding comfort in the lord and they are calling on him for protection!

I am sorry that the internet has been out so I have not been up to date with my blogging. So Carley and I are at the internet cafe having some nice hot cocoa and taking time to relax. I love you all and miss you all very much...but I am so happy here and loving absolutely every second i have here! Life just doesn't get much better than this!

Well today was a busy day...it was our last day of holiday club for the week and then this afternoon we had the fusion festival. I know most of yall are wondering what holiday club is as well as fusion festival...so I am going to attempt to give you a little spark notes version of what is going on.

Holiday Club is M-Th from 10-12:30 and it will be going on for 4 weeks. We start out with some songs and then go into the bible story (today it was about Gideon)...after that we play some games, have a memory verse, make a craft (today we made Vuvuzelas...) and then we finish up by feeding all of the kids lunch. On Monday we told the story of Jonah and the whale, and we made a huge whale out of cardboard that we used as a prop...the kids thought that it was the coolest thing in the world! It is amazing how much the kids remember...yesterday Mona Lisa plopped down on my lap and proceeded to tell me "Leave all your worries with him because he cares for you 1Peter 5:7". That was the memory verse from tuesday, and it put the biggest smile on my face to hear her recite those words because it just reminded me of the differences we are making in these kids lives. But today after club we had fusion festival...which is basically a carnival type thing. These people from "fusion" came into Red Hill to run it and we basically just helped them out. There were games going on the whole time and then we had face painting, balloon animals, and circus tricks...the kids loved it!!

Tomorrow we will be playing soccer with the kids in the morning and then have another afternoon of fusion festival, so it should be quite eventful! I have loved every second that I have been here, my eyes have been opened to so many new things and things that I could have never imagined seeing. Everyday I go into Red Hill, I just cant help but think about how blessed I am...I have been so blinded by the materialistic world back home and here you see kids who live in shacks yet they are so happy. Its amazing how happy they can be with so little. I know that I take so much for granted everyday and I am so thankful that the Lord has given me this opportunity simply so that I can reflect on my own life and realize how abundantly blessed I am. It is also so humbling for me to see how eager these kids are for Jesus...their hearts are opened and they are so hungry for us to pour into them. Its the greatest feeling in the world!

xoxo
H

Ole Ole Oleeee

As you all know the World Cup kicked off Friday night at Soccer City in JoBurg...so in lieu of the celebrations, we went down to the Fifa Fan Fest in Cape Town to watch the game. Talk about crazy business. Everybody had their Vuvuzela's and used them all night long...it was quite noisy to say the least. They even have little baby size Vuvuzela's. We took the train to and from the city, and that was just an experience in itself. Me, Stu, Chelsea and Andy pushed our way to the front of the stage where the DJ was and had ourselves a little dance party, along with the rest of the city. I even convinced some people that I was from England...On the way back we were all crammed in the "3rd class" car, some had seats and the rest of us stood. The best part was definatley when everyone started chanting "ole ole ole ole...ole ole" and banging on the sides of the car. It was mental.

Saturday morning we slept in a bit and then went to Table Mountain. Me, Stu, Josh and Justine set out to go hiking...it was like a stair master on steroids. My hip did not allow me to finish so I just ended up meeting them at the top. It was extremely cold and cloudy so it gave the mountain a very eerie feeling. We were practically covered in clouds so the visibility was not the best. But simply being up there was amazing in itself.

Im sorry for not blogging in while, it has been extremely busy down here. We have been planning for our 4 weeks of "Holiday Club" that start tomorrow. So I have not been able to spend time with the kiddos for the past week, but starting tomorrow I will be with them all day everyday!

Divine Creation

Today was a different day...it is the weekend so that calls for adventure...

This morning began quite early, my alarm was set for 4:45 and at 5:30 I would be on my way to go cage diving with the sharks. Yes, GREAT WHITE SHARKS. I knew that I was in for a treat, but I had no idea that today was going to be so amazing. 5 of us piled in the car: Ronnie, Stewart, Brock, Ethan and Myself...and we were headed 2.5 hours south east of Cape Town. I really wasn't sure what to expect for this car ride, but I can assure you that many funny stories and laughs were shared. I actually laughed more today than I have in a while. And as most of yall know, i LOVE to laugh. We instantly bonded, which was a huge blessing in itself. We finally get to the "Shark Lady" and hop on the boat and go out to sea...the ride out there was great, but once we anchored things started going down hill. I mean down hill in a sea sick way. The shark lady got the best of our stomachs. But once we got in the cage, it was a totally different story...

In my lovely wetsuit, I anxiously jumped in the cage and was a wee bit shocked by the frigid 40 degree water. 4 of us were in the cage together and patiently we waited for the sharks to come. I go under and in front of me I see this massive fish. A great white to be exact. It was huge. But beautiful and calm. Here I am staring Jaws in the face but for some reason it was so peaceful. Truly amazing creatures. While in the water we were with 3 great whites, and for some reason they all liked my side of the cage...but secretly I was okay with that. I have always been fascinated with sharks and so it was a dream for me to be in the water with them...kind of crazy, i know.

The whole time that this was going on, there was not an ounce of fear in my body. I was at peace. At peace with the fact that these incredible animals are just another one of God's amazing creations. I mean what in the world was going through his head when he decided to put great whites in the oceans? Let alone what was he thinking when he created oceans? But I could go on an on with those thoughts. God is amazing and all knowing and powerful, and I think often times we forget about creation. Through creation we see so many things, like as Romans 1:20 says we see "invisible qualities" and "divine nature". Obviously I wasn't going to jump out of the cage and begin to swim freely with these sharks, but I did watch them with awe and with a smile on my face, because I knew that they are one of God's amazing creations and one that he wants us to enjoy. It just baffles me how God is truly everywhere, and when you truly have him in your heart and in your life, it is hard not to see him in all that you do. I know that God is always in my heart, and I am so comforted by the fact that I can feel him and see him simply through "divine nature". Pretty amazing. So Im not saying that you have to go cage diving to feel this, simply just walk outside and and set your eyes on his amazing creations...I know he wont let you down. He is everywhere. You can feel him everywhere...In Dallas,TX as well as in Cape Town, South Africa...

xoxo
H

Today was amazing. South Africa has officially stolen my heart. It was my first day on the job and I really could not have asked for a better day. We spent the morning at the Living Hope headquarters doing some grunt work...cutting out cardboard to make "armor of god" for the kids to wear. While cutting cardboard is a little rough on the hands, it did however provide us with some supreme bonding time. Later in the afternoon we all went our separate ways to our different communities for "club"...this is when the day gets really good.

We had not been in Red Hill (the community where I work)for a solid minute and in comes Mona Lisa jumping through the car window and into the car...needless to say she was excited for club. And then doors opened and kids just started piling in, jumping right in my lap and trying to call "dibbs" on me. But there was not near enough room for us all, so Stewart and I got all the kids out told them we were going to race to the top of the hill (it is a mean and rocky hill...). I start running and I looked behind me and kids appeared out of nowhere and our "pack" was increasing by the minute.They were running behind me and singing their little "African" songs...I don't think life could have been any better at that moment. But at that moment I just felt free. I didnt know any of the kids but for some reason they entrusted me as their leader, so by golly I was going to steer them in the right direction.

Next thing I know they start calling me "Mom" and told me that they wished I was their mom...and oh how I wish I could be. We got up to the top of the hill where we had "club" and started off by singing a few songs and then Zor told the story of "Hannah" in the bible, and just talking about how important it is to pray. Simply the idea of talking to Jesus so that we may be forgiven for all of our daily sins and accepting him as our Lord and savior.

But something about these kids is just so beautiful. They might have dirty clothes, smell bad and have endless amounts of boogers...but ultimately they are just full of love. As I looked them in the eyes, they seemed empty at first...but then I could see into the depths of their hearts and realized that all they wanted to do was give love and in return seek love. I think that so many times we often forget to love on each other or the other hand we seem to take it for granted. Love is beautiful. Not everyone gets love, so I would encourage you to love on one another because love never ends...

Barf Bags and Altatooties

Hello from Cape Town!

Well I am happy to say that Carley and I made it here safely last night around 9:45pm (3:45 dallas time)...taking us a full 24 hours to get here. Our first flight was 9 hours to Amsterdam...and that was all honkey dorey until the airplane food didnt settle too well and i found myself throwing up. But on the flight we met this awesome little kid named Annosh, he was three, but he quickly became Carley and I's best friend. We finally landed in Amsterdam and had a 2 hour lay over, and the first thing i did was buy a new tshirt because needless to say my original one was not in the best shape. We were both exhausted because neither of us slept on the flight...but needless to say I passed out on the floor in the airport, and as Carley would say, I looked like a homeless person (im not sure how I feel about that). We then boarded the plane for Cape Town, and the throw up struck again as we were boarding (there was a cute boy next to me in line, but I guess I ruined that one...). We took our seats and found ourselves sitting next to a 17 year old boy, Jodie, who was on the plane with his whole soccer team and they had just been playing in Amsterdam in a tournament. Jodie was the man. I quickly fell asleep on the plane and slept most of the time, until nature would strike on me. We were picked up at the airport and brought back to our beautiful "lodge" where we are staying. Carley and I are sharing a room and we have decided that we are going to have to rearrange...that should be interesting.

This morning we woke up at 7 because we had to go have our orientation and devotional at 8, so needless to say we are a bit jet-lagged. We met the rest of the people who we are living with this morning, and they all seem wonderful. One of the girls went to Hoover High School, so for all of you MTV fans out there that means "Two-a-Days". And then there is Stewart, he is from England, and awesome...turns out we will be working in the same community of Red Hill together. We took an extensive tour of Living Hope this morning and I am already so impressed by what all they do. They have 4 different branches of things they do and really an amazing organization. We also took a brief tour of the clinic...I dont really know what to say other than "wow"...I just dont think that words can really describe it. After that we took a tour through 2 of the communities, Ocean View and Masiphumelele...they are only communities meant for 750 people to live there, but people rent out their land and build shacks all over the properties and so around 3000 people end up living in these places. It was definitely nothing that I had ever seen before and you dont know shacks until you see these places.

This is by far the most beautiful place I have ever been to. There are views from everywhere you look and it is simply breathtaking. The beach is gorgeous and we watched a bunch of people surfing while we were driving around, and if you look closely you will see the shark spotters who are strategically located above the beach to watch the ocean. Today the temperature is about 75 degrees and sunny, so life doesn't get much better than this. I am so beyond excited to finally be here and my heart already truly feels at home.