The Desert - by Rachel

You know when God leads you somewhere and you step out in obedience, convinced that you are going there in order to do this certain thing or serve Him in this or that way, and when you get there you realize that actually His purpose in bringing you to that place was completely different from what you had thought? 

Well, that's pretty much where we've been at for the past 3 months since we arrived in South Africa.  We had a fairly clear idea of why we came:  We had plans to staff some of the various Counseling Schools that are run here at the YWAM base.  We had a vision to "equip the nations" and disciple young people through their personal journeys as they went through these schools.  
It looks as though - at least for now - God had other ideas.  

Our experience here so far has been very different from how we imagined it would be.  (Apparently God is God, and we are not.)  Don't get me wrong - the YWAM base here is an amazing place filled with dedicated and Godly people, and we have nothing but respect and admiration for all that happens on the base.  Okay, so perhaps we had not expected to spend our first 3 months here working in Transport, although we are happy to help in that area for now.  But that's not what this post is about.  

I will spare you the boring details, but practically speaking a couple of the things that we've been dealing with are: 
1) Because of the way the YWAM School calendar has unfolded, we would not be eligible to staff any of the Schools until 2017 (although we could take a couple as students), and 
2) The kids' school is very different from anticipated.

After grappling with these and other issues over the past couple of months, plus feeling confused, out of our comfort zones, homesick for friends and family, vulnerable, and completely stripped of all our defense mechanisms and our illusions of control, we are both coming to the conclusion that the reason God has us here - at least for this present season - has much less to do with what we can do and how we can serve and the difference that we can make, and much more to do with what He wants to do in our hearts during this time.  

In other words, God actually has us right where He wants us.

A key verse for me during this time has been Deuteronomy 8:2:  "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart..."  



This feels like a desert.  I am definitely feeling both humbled and tested.  And I don't much like the look of what's in my heart.  

God is especially challenging me in the following areas: 
- trust 
- surrender of control
- surrendering my kids to Him.  (Do I really trust God with my children, their welfare, their education?  Apparently not.)
- living with tension
- taking my thoughts captive
- living in the present
- patience
- choosing joy and contentment in the midst of it all.

So, this has been a not particularly easy season, but it's definitely a GOOD one.  We know that God has some things He wants to teach us, so we are doing our best to "show up to class" by engaging with Him and allowing Him to do what He wants to do in us.  

I am also immensely thankful.  Thankful that God loves me enough to want to challenge me and change me.  Thankful for this opportunity I am given to allow Him to do that.  Thankful for the adventure of living and working here in South Africa.   And especially thankful that even though this is a tough season for Kevin and me, the children are for the most part happy and doing really well. 

We're not sure what next year will look like for us, although it is likely that Kevin and I will continue in this time of training by taking the Couples and Families Counseling School from January to April. We know that God currently has us in a time of preparation for whatever might lie ahead.  But rather than try to figure out the future, we know that we need to be fully present in the here and now, no matter how messy it seems.

Meat South Africa - by Kevin

We have enjoyed our first South African braais, courtesy of fellow Mercy Ships alumni the Myers and De La Rue families, and yesterday by our base leaders Bruno and Judy.  The braai is a big deal to the South Africans.  It focuses on hospitality, fellowship and meat.  I've never seen so much meat!  When I inquired about the lack of veggies I was informed that chicken was a vegetable ;-) Like I said, they are serious about their meat.  They are also serious about their rugby and supporting the national team the Springboks.  They beat Wales 23-18 to earn a place in the Rugby World cup semi-finals.  Go Boks!

I still don't understand all the rules, but I think trying to pull your opponent's head off must be wrong. 

We think we may finally have a handle on the transportation department.  The transportation billing system was rather complicated, very difficult for us to learn, and ate up 60 hours each month.  This week I created and proposed a revamped system to the Base Administration Team.  The changes were approved and we will be implemented starting Nov 1st.  Billing should now hopefully take about 10 hours a month.   I do enjoy fixing things, restoring or making things work better.  My grandfather was a time engineer and spend his life making factories work more efficient.  It's funny the things we inherit.

 "Excuse me sir, you have a Pterygium in your eye."
 My eye doctor told me I really need to wear sunglasses.  
Causes of Pterygium:

Most experts believe that significant risk factors include:

• Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light
• Dry eye
• Irritants such as dust and wind

But I can't see well unless the sunglasses have prescription lenses which cost about $400 for curved lenses.  So this week I bought sunglasses, then took the lenses from my reserve glasses and glued them to my new shades, BAM! saved $375.  They look normal on the outside.  That's all that counts right?

I also discovered a way to harness solar and wind energy to dry our clothes... what?  Rachel's trying to tell me this was discovered already.  Whatever.

Last post we showed you our toilet brush tree, now here's our hair brush tree!

Thank you for your prayers and support as we try to digest  this new culture.  (get it- meat South Africa :-)

The Yangi

Spring to life - by Kevin

It is spring time in Worcester.  It is season of change and new beginnings, and so it goes for the Yangi.  We've been through a lot of changes, and it seems that outward change forces you to change on the inside as well.  Change is one of the most constant things in life, resistance is futile.  Our choice is to embrace change, trusting God to guide and care for us, or we can shrink back.  

This has been a difficult season for us, our transition to South Africa has been tough in many ways.  But if we can survive the difficult days of winter, the flowers will eventually come.  

In the midst of some of my difficult days I have only been able to say one thing, "I trust you Jesus, please help me today".   I don't know much, but I do know that God is faithful.  For me flowers are such a gift from God, the colors and smells, they infuse joy and life into me.  Outside our house we discovered a Bottle Brush tree.  The flowers are in the shape of a bottle brush, or a toilet brush if you prefer.  When you look close, they are amazing.

So with God's help we have survived our first month as Transportation Managers.  The base has 5 Toyota Avanzas (carry 7 people) and 2 Toyota Quantums (carry 12-14).  These vehicles are utilized to help the base to perform its practical ministries in the community.  If available they can also be used for personal use by staff and students.   

One of our best customers is Dandeline.  She checks out a vehicle for use for ministry several times a day every day, including Saturdays.  She is from South Africa, met her Zambian Husband doing her Discipleship Training School (YWAM's entry-level course) and has worked on the base since 2002.  Dandeline runs the soup kitchen ministry that feeds families in the Roodewal township two times a week during the winter.  She also works with the youth after school helping them understand God's love and teaching practical life skills.  This area has had a great deal of trauma related to gangsters and gang violence.  She is trying to address some of the root causes and encouraging fathers stay with their families.  She also uses the vehicles to pick her son up from school.  I'm praying God will provide her with her own car some day (she would like a white one).

Our main job is to keep the vehicles running, and to get the car keys to the right person at the right time.  Rachel has taken on the mind-numbing job of tracking the financial side of things, keeping track of who owes what.  To perform our task we have been given a lovely office that used to be a toilet...

...and we also spend some time hands-on with the vehicles - filling them up with fuel, making sure they're clean and maintained, and picking up the base's mail from the post office.

Spot the dipstick.

We would still really like to take the "Couples and Families Counseling School" that will run here from January to April next year. ( ywamworcester.com/training/cfc)

It has been a while since either of has had any training, and we feel that it would be a good tool for us to have, no matter what we end up doing after that.

Zaden is asking to be home-schooled, which would make it difficult (but maybe just about do-able?) for us both to take this course.  Rachel is very open to home-schooling if that is the best thing for the kids, but it would then make it much harder for her to be involved on the base - which of course is the reason we came.  

We would really appreciate prayers for wisdom in finding the best solution for our family.