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.