Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Hello friends! Rachel and I are currently sitting at the Mugg & Bean drinking bottomless coffee and eating banana muffins. Enjoy reading!!

This past Friday (June 26^th), Rachel and I went with Cornee (pronounced “corny”) to the Bruma Flea Market. Cornee is a 40 year old volunteer from Holland who is here for 6 weeks working in the small babies’ room. He shares the same schedule with Rachel and me, so we decided to go to the flea market on one of our days off. Bruma is located in the inner city of Johannesburg in Troyville- just about 30 minutes away. It is filled with lots of homemade crafts. When we first walked in, there were several aggressive salesmen trying to get us into their shop areas. We fought them off and walked around the whole flea market to see what was available before we began to make purchases. A lot of the people tried to overcharge us, but we successfully negotiated down the prices. Rachel and I were a little too slow in making decisions for Cornee, so Rachel and I plan on going back soon so we can finish our shopping.

After we left the flea market, we went to eat at a place at a nearby mall called Ninno’s. This was a time of good food, and more importantly, good conversation. Cornee is not a Christian. He has a really hard time believing that God is a personal God and just views him as “the man up in the sky”. We all shared what we were learning so far by being in South Africa and working at the Door of Hope. He also shared with us his story that was filled with heartbreak and disappointments. He came here to re-find himself and learn more about who he is as a person. Rachel and I shared how we were here to glorify God is all ways and serve Him by serving at the Door of Hope. After we shared what we had been learning, I asked him what his biggest drawback to Christianity and to God was. He shared with us that he desired to have his own identity and lead his own life. He couldn’t imagine finding his identity in Christ, because he wanted to be his own, unique self. Thankfully, that past Sunday at church we talked about the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 and Ephesians 4:1-6. I got to share with Cornee about the body of Christ and how we all have different and unique gifts that work together to point to Christ as the Redeemer. Isn’t it cool how God reminds us and teaches us things in preparation for the very near future?

“For the body does not consist of one member, but of many…But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there a many parts, yet one body…Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:14-26

He loved the picture that these verses painted. Please pray for Cornee as he is searching to find himself. Pray that he finds God and is made complete through Him. Pray that Rachel and I, and all the other people at Door of Hope, take every opportunity to share Christ and be a light for Cornee. Pray that we have a sense of urgency to share the gospel with him as he leaves next Thursday (July 9).

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:2-6

Well, we are officially moved into Uncle Colin’s house. This was the smoothest move so far because we knew it would be the last time! Uncle Colin’s house is very nice…it is really big. Rachel and I are sharing a room with a double bed and a connected bathroom. Uncle Colin stays in a room that is just down the hall. The kitchen is really nice and there is a dining area, living room, and a TV room. None of the houses here have heat. This past week, there has been a cold front. It got down to -1°C a couple nights. Every night, Rachel and I crank up our space heater, wear several layers of clothing, and sleep under 5 layers of blankets. We are staying warm, and hopefully it will start to warm up soon. We love having 2 big dogs to greet us and play with. They are so sweet! Here is a picture of me and Frankie!

This past Saturday, I had to help a lot in the isolation rooms with the sick babies. One of our little girls has been struggling to keep down any food. I was going in to feed her and as soon as I picked her up, she threw up all over me. It went all over my shirt, jacket, and even my shoes. Poor baby…Rachel captured my cool new look before I borrowed a shirt from Maria for the rest of the day.

Yesterday, we got to do the coolest thing. Russell (the volunteer coordinator), Sam (Russell’s friend that is visiting), Emily (a new volunteer that came Saturday), Cornee, Rachel, and I went to The Lion and Rhino Park! It was so amazing. We drove on rocky, dirt roads through huge fields and got to see so many cool animals! We saw kudu, rhinos, zebras, ostriches, hippos, monkeys, alligators, snakes, lions, tigers, cheetahs, flamingos, lots of weird-looking birds, water buffalo, white lions, warthogs, and lots of deer-like animals. The animals were just walking around and sometimes crossed the road right in front of our car! It was so cool to see them so close and in their natural environments. One area of the park, we got to get out and walk around. There were lion cubs and cages and we got to go in and play with them! They were so cute and very playful. It’s so hard to describe everything that we saw, so I've put in a lot of pictures!

After we saw all these animals, we went out to dinner at a place called Carnivores. It was a feast! We started out with honey bread and red bean soup. After that, they brought out a lazy susan that was filled with different kinds of salad. There was a lettuce salad, corn and pineapple salad, zucchini salad, bean salad…it was all so good. Then…the interesting part of the meal started. They started to bring out big skewers with meat on them. They shaved off slices on our plates if we wanted a taste. We were served chicken liver, chicken wings, pork sausages, rump steak of beef, and lamb. Then we were served the game meats. Before I tell you what we were served, I want to tell you that I tried ALL of these. I only like a few, but I had one or two tastes of all of these meats: venison meat balls, venison sausage, zebra, kudu, warthog, and crocodile. My favorite of the game meats was surprisingly the zebra…it was kind of like pot roast. Rachel’s favorite was the kudu…it was also kind of like roast beef. The servers kept coming and coming with the massive skewers until we lowered our flag that sat in the middle of the table letting them know that “we surrender”. After the table was cleared we were given dessert options. The options were chocolate mousse, fruit salad, ice cream, cheesecake, or malva pudding. Emily got malva pudding, Rachel got fruit salad, and I got chocolate mousse and we all shared. We were stuffed and I think I ate enough meat last night to last me the rest of the summer. The pictures are of me eating crocodile and Rachel eating her massive plate of meat!

Can you believe that today is the last day of June?! My time here has flown by, and I know that July won’t slow down! Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement. God is doing so much here- teaching me about myself and teaching me about His character and presence.

Praises!

- Our move to Uncle Colin’s went smoothly and we are happy and settled in!

- 10 of our 12 babies are better! Praise God that the yucky stomach thing is going away.

- Praise God that Rachel and I have the same schedule with Cornee and that he wants to spend time with us again before he leaves.

Prayer Needs:

- Pray for our 2 babies that are still sick.

- Pray for Cornee and Rachel and I as we spend time with him. Pray that we will not miss an opportunity to share the gospel with him.

- Continue to pray that the Door of Hope will find a social worker so we continue to do adoptions.

Love you all and I can't wait to see you in August!