Finding our Feet

When we arrived in Worcester, lots of people told us how difficult it is to find houses for rent here.  Others said that we might find something, but only if we were willing to drive further out of town.  It appears that God has heard our cries.  :D

It has not been easy for us living on the base - our quarters are cramped and it's cold at the moment, so it's not always possible for the kids to play outside.  It has been GOOD for us to experience this - we are living in luxury compared to most of the world!  But we are very, very thankful to have received the news that we can move into a rental house on September 1st!  

When we went to the Estate Agent's during our first week here, there was only ONE 3-bedroom house within our budget that was available to rent (in a town of 120,000).  So we went to see it, decided we liked it, and that's the one we're moving to.  It's 10-15 minutes walk from the base (although not really safe to walk alone), and 2 minutes walk from the local shop.  

It's on a dead-end street, except for pedestrian traffic coming from the bridge that crosses the railway lines.  This is facing the other direction, towards town: 

 We will be turning the house into a 4-bedroom - just don't tell Ashani that her room is actually our walk-in closet...  All the kids are very excited to have their own space without sibling interference!

We all went to see the house again the other day, and mentioned to the lovely older couple who are moving out, that we are thinking about getting a dog.  (We have been strongly advised to get a dog, for security reasons.)  The lady said that they will be bringing 4 of their 5 dogs with them to the retirement home, but there's just no room there for the 5th dog, a 12-year-old Jack Russell named Timmy.  They were going to have him put down, as they didn't know what else to do with him and he's quite old already.  So of course we met him, and he's very sweet and surprisingly sprightly for an old guy.  He loved the kids and they loved him, and the rest is history:

  Thanks to all who have been praying for a house (and dog!) for us - we are very excited to move!  Having our own space as a family and being able to cook our own food will be huge factors in enabling us to stay here long-term.  Over the next few weeks we will be looking for furniture, appliances, curtains etc.  This might take some time as these things are harder to find than in the US, and more expensive (even second-hand!).

As many of you know, it was the prospect of staffing the Foundations in Counseling Ministries school that first drew us to YWAM Worcester.  But we were also aware that that particular school does not run every year.   So we have been thinking and praying about how we can serve in the meantime.  We know that we are in the right place, we're just not sure of the details yet.  

I have been reminded recently that our main focus is not to make a difference, disciple the nations or be world-changers.  Our main purpose is to love and serve God wherever we are, and whatever that looks like.  

At the moment there is a need for someone to manage the Transportation Department on the base:  YWAM Worcester has a fleet of vehicles that are used for many different local ministry projects.  These vehicles have to be scheduled and managed so that they are in the right places at the right times, and also overseen so that they are maintained and used properly.  It's one of those behind-the-scenes jobs that is crucial to the smooth-running of the base.  

We have offered to take on this responsibility until Christmas.  As well as being a great way to serve YWAM Worcester, it will be a good way for us to get to know the different people and ministries, and figure out how things work here.  We will begin our training next week. We plan on both of us working in the mornings, and just one of us in the afternoons when the children are out of school.  It seems like a good fit for us what with my (Rachel's) admin ability and Kevin's knowledge of cars.

I'll finish off with some photos of last weekend's trip:  We visited a crocodile farm, with our Brazilian neighbours.

Functioning

Veggie Tales aficionados like myself will be familiar with the Veggie Tales version of "Give Me Oil in my Lamp".  One of the verses goes "Give me umption in my gumption, help me function function function", and Larry interjects "I'm functioning!"

After today I finally feel that we might actually be functioning.  The first couple of days here at YWAM Worcester were a little rough. Turns out there had been a small miscommunication regarding our arrival, so our room was not ready, and of course we had no electricity on our first evening.  Add to that the logistics of trying to unpack our 5 very full suitcases plus all the hand-luggages into our 2 small rooms, and the realization that eating the cafeteria food was just not going to work for our family, and we had a rather chaotic environment.  

But after 1 trip to a hardware shop for planks (shelving), 3 trips to the mall for, well, everything, and a well-deserved 4th trip to the mall for Kevin and the kids to see the Minions movie so that I could scrub our rooms from top to toe, rearrange furniture, and unpack some more, we are finally in functioning mode.

Here are some pictures of our newly cleaned and organized living quarters:

The above 3 pictures are of the kids bedroom / kitchen / dining room / living area, all combined into a 12ft x 12ft room.  We ate dinner here this evening - cup-a-soups and grilled cheese sandwiches that Kevin whipped up in the communal kitchen. 

And this one is our bedroom.  That beautiful fireplace was hiding behind a chest of drawers so I did some rearranging and gave it a good scrub (sadly it is not a functioning fireplace).  

The kids have already started to make friends.  The base is very family-friendly and there are tons of kids around.  Our next-door neighbors are from Brazil, here on the English Learning School.  So communication is tricky but Daniel is already firm friends with their son Juda.  Here is a picture of them playing together on the soccer field this evening (you can just make out Daniel's red T-shirt):

....and one more of the beautiful view we enjoyed this evening:

It honestly does still feel like camping in many ways.  To get something from the refrigerator, it's like walking out of your house and to the end of your driveway, and back again.  It's the same for the bathroom and nearest sink. Hot showers are not always an option. Everything takes a lot more effort and time.  But we are reminded that we are currently living in more luxurious quarters than most of the world.  And it's good for us to get a taste of what it's like to live here on the base before - hopefully - moving into a small house within the next month or so.  We know we are in the right place, and we are very thankful.

We have arrived!

Here we are folks, it's our new home!!  We arrived in Worcester yesterday evening (having sprinted to make our connection in Johannesburg and JUST made it).  After picking up our vehicle, bought with BIG help from friends in Cape Town, we drove to Worcester on the beautiful N1 highway (right up there with Snoqualmie pass).  

We arrived at the YWAM base 30 minutes before a 2.5 hour scheduled rolling blackout.  These occur twice a week here, from 6pm til about 8:30.  The sun sets at 6:30, so unpacking in the dark was... interesting.

Thankfully we have some friendly neighbours who lent us some candles, so Zaden was able to carry on with his origami as usual.

Being winter-time here in South Africa, it is COLD here.  And there is no central heating.   Last night we all slept with our clothes and sweaters on, under duvets and fleece blankets.  Today I (Rachel), in a moment of weakness, bought a fleece pajama-onesie.  (That's an adult-sized baby-gro, for UK folks.)  Zaden told me I looked like a pink bunny with no ears, but I don't care - at least I'm warm. 

Our accommodation consists of 2 adjoining rooms - one for the kids with 3-tier bunkbeds, and one for us with a king-sized bed.  We share the bathroom down the hall with other families, and eat meals cafeteria-style.  We also have the option to buy our own food and cook in the shared kitchen, which is a tempting idea.

Today we spent a gruelling 6 hours at the shopping mall, getting blankets, bedding, towels, plates, food items, shampoo, and the list goes on.  It's kind of funny that here in Worcester there is better shopping than in Ellensburg!!  The kids did very well but were ready to be done:

We will need to go back tomorrow to get a few items we forgot, like cockroach traps and candles.  Yes, this is South Africa which contains many first-world areas, but we have been reminded very clearly since arriving that we are in AFRICA - and that comes with barbed-wire fences around the compound, cockroaches, blackouts, and hot water most of the time.

We have started to meet some people here on the base, and we are looking forward to figuring out what our days will look like.  The children start school on Monday, so that is definitely a prayer-point.  We would love for them to feel "at home" straight away and make friends easily.  Also for Ashani to transition smoothly into her new school and 5-hour school days 5 days a week, which she is not used to.

Another big prayer-point is for accommodation.  We would love to be able to move into a house here in Worcester soon, preferably at the beginning of September.  We have been told that there are very few rentals available here, and they are hard to find.  It may also be harder for us having just arrived here as we do not yet have a bank account or rental references.  We know we serve a big God and we would love a miracle in this area!

Transitions

I would like to thank all those who helped us transform our 5 bedroom house into 5 suitcases.  It was and is a season of letting go of what we have, and what we know, for the unknown.  It has not been easy, but I know it is only the first part of this new journey as we continue to follow Jesus as a family.  

Our enormous yard sale

Today I feel mostly sad and very tired.  But I am also very thankful that we have some time in England with family before flying South for winter in the southern hemisphere.  If we would have flown straight to South Africa from Ellensburg it would have been 20 hours on 2 planes, 9 times zones and 11,300 miles.  God knows I would have been an ugly mess, with bad breath and a short fuse.   

So in his wisdom and mercy he made a good plan for us, and let stop over on this lovely island.  We have so far stayed with Rachel's parents and her aunt, and we are currently staying in the house of some friends.  All have been really good times.  But we find that we are now starting to process some aspects of this huge transition we have undertaken, and it can be tough!

God has asked us to trust him.  To fully receive a gift sometimes you first have to let go of all you're holding onto. With heavy hearts we have said goodbye to Ellensburg, our home, friends and church family.

It is the right thing, even though it hurts. 

From "Beyond the Blue"

And wisdom will honor everyone who will learn
To listen, to love, and to pray and discern
And to do the right thing even when it burns
And to live in the light through treacherous turns
A man is weak, but the spirit yearns
To keep on course from the bow to the stern
And throw overboard every selfish concern
That tries to work for what can’t be earned
Sometimes the only way to return is to go,
Where the winds will take you
And to let go, of all you cannot hold onto
For the hope, beyond the blue

-Josh Garrels  (my new favorite artist- thanks Ryan, just kidding, Rachel B)

Kevin, on behalf of The Yangas Clan

Currrently in the UK

Farewell, Ellensburg

We are finally out of our house and ready to leave town and fly to the UK tomorrow.  We are exhausted but SO happy to be at this point at last.  And we are so thankful for all the wonderful people who helped us in so many ways, given of time and finances, and prayed for us - we have really felt those prayers!!  For example, we have been amazed at how well the kids have done - not a single incident of "Hey, they're taking away MY TOY!!" at the yard sale - and we have had such a sense of peace in the midst of the chaos, even when things didn't go the way we hoped!

We have loved living in Ellensburg for the past 8 years, and will miss this place tremendously.  But we are also ready for new horizons.  We will be in the UK for almost 4 weeks, before flying to South Africa at the end of July.  

Things are getting pretty crazy around here.

We move out of our house in 3 weeks.  We fly in exactly 24 days.

I'm at THAT point - you know the one - where you have been sorting, packing and cleaning for at least 63 years, and you are certain that there cannot be a SINGLE item left in the entire house, and then you turn around and realize that all your stuff has either been multiplying behind your back, or sneaking back into the house in the dead of night.

And then you find yourself staring at a half-used pack of mini post-it notes for about 10 minutes because you simply cannot decide whether to pitch it, yard sale it, bring it with you, store it in the attic, or give it to someone who might need it.

And then you just want to cry because your gorgeous, precious 5-year old digs her little heels in and simply refuses to go and spend the day with a dear friend who has kindly offered to take her for several HOURS so that you can actually get stuff done.  (And whom she has spent the day with before on several occasions, and had a great time, I might add.).  It seems that the transition craziness is getting to all of us.

Which brings me to the subject of trying to balance all the other aspects of life as well, ALL AT THE SAME TIME.  My kids still need to be hugged, read to, time spent with.  (Daniel said to Kevin last night, "Mum just seems to be really busy all the time at the moment."  Um, yes.  I do.  But apparently I need to try to pull it back a notch.)
And, these people want to eat!  I mean, EVERY day!  Plus, two of them had the nerve to have their birthdays last week.  Including cake.

I need to remind myself to KEEP relinquishing it to Him.  Giving it back to Him, over and over again.  He's got this.  God does actually know how to pack up a house.  And keep my children sane.  And in just over 3 weeks we will be stepping onto an airplane with nothing but our 5 suitcases (and 5 carry-ons, and a couple of backpacks, perhaps some jackets we weren't able to fit in.  And probably a stuffed animal or two), and looking at each other and saying, "we DID it!", and probably crying a little because, good grief, we will MISS this place and these people.

So, for the next three weeks I will try to hug my children and my husband more, be thankful for the GREAT house I'm packing up, this perfect house that has served us so well for 8 years.  I will enjoy the Ellensburg sunshine, I will relish being around people I have shared history with, people who know me for who I am.

Because, for better or for worse, this season is almost over.

The Wonderful Thing About Icebergs

"(The disciples had) all the people sit down in groups on the green grass....  and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.  The number of men who had eaten was five thousand."  - Mark 39, 44-45
Those verses are pretty compact, but it sounds like the disciples had to work pretty hard that day.

I have been thinking recently about how much work is involved in order for wonderful things to happen.  God moves and does amazing things, and sometimes those things just seem to come out of thin air and fall in front of us, and BAM! there it is.   But more often, I think, there is a lot of elbow grease involved.

This is definitely true of our moving preparations.  By golly, there is a LOT to do:
Deciding whether to bring, sell, store, give away, or throw away this sofa and this paper clip.
Figuring out immunizations, budgets, and health insurance.
Applying for FBI checks, travel visas and International Drivers Licenses.
Determining how to get money from the USA and the UK to South Africa without inadvertently donating a large percentage to the bank.
Scrubbing our house from top to toe to make it potential-renter-friendly.
Printing our prayer cards, school registration forms, and Green Card Renewal forms.

And of course there's the usual stuff:  handling meals (why do these people insist on eating every day?), homework, laundry, piano practice, soccer practice, lice (yikes), dog-walking, tear-wiping and game-playing.

But, I am so thankful.

We are definitely getting there:
We now have renters lined up - a family that checks all our boxes and that we feel comfortable entrusting with our lovely house.
Thanks to our tax return, our dog Perry will get to stay in our family by moving to England to be a companion to my parents.
And, this week we sold some furniture, after 5 years of use, for $125 profit.  (Insert smug grin.)

What I am thankful for most of all, though, is that we do not have to do this alone.  We will be representing a whole team of people behind us and beside us - not just in this preparation phase but also while we are in South Africa.
It can be humbling to admit sometimes, but we need help - practically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially.  I am gradually learning to ask for these things without feeling like I shouldn't.

We have an amazing church and some amazing friends.  I have been so struck by that in the past days and weeks - people who are willing to offer help and support in a myriad of different ways.

Kevin voiced this team-concept when he said that we are the tip of the iceberg - and without the rest of the iceberg we would melt.  As we were praying with some of our church-members this week, someone prayed, "Thank you, God, that we get to go to South Africa."
We are not alone.