Hello from South Africa: Blog Times...

Well, well, well…Where to even begin. This may not be too long because I am in a little bit of a hurry, plus I am writing this on the last day we are in Mossel Bay, so it may not be too detailed… This last week in Mossel Bay has been pretty awesome. We have done a lot of afternoon work with kids. Not too much book distribution, but more of interacting with them, playing games with them, loving on them and just spending time with them. Mossel Bay is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It rivals Hawaii for me. It’s a little cold right now, but we are staying on the beach. Grandma, I know you would love it here and we should come back sometime☺ So we have had a pretty amazing experience here and in a way, I don’t really want to leave this place. But we have to move on and move forward in ministry…
I have been incredibly stretched and tested these last few weeks, God has really been stretching me. I must say that God has been showing me things about myself that I never thought he would. He has been truly showing me the things I need to lay down at his alter, but me being human, I run back to pick them up… Don’t we all do that sometimes? God has been moving and it’s been a struggle, but I am believing and hoping that God will move and have his way with me.
I attached some fun pictures of Knysna, Mossel Bay, our girls, me making pasta for the team, and a few of just me…. Oh, don’t forget Sean, he is the only guy on the team besides Ryan… Bless him, the poor guy has to endure 6 girls ALL THE TIME!! One thing I can say for this trip is the team is really cool. We are literally a family. We have grown close, and we bicker and we laugh and we spend every moment together. I don’t even do that at home with my own family, so to do it here with people I have never met has been quite an experience. But it has been a lot of fun and I feel like we were strategically placed together. Such a God thing.
We leave tomorrow morning for “Lasootoo”… That’s not how you spell it I can guarantee you that, but its how it sounds☺ While we are there we will be doing research with kids to see how the Book of Hope has really impacted their lives, and what we can do differently to have a better impact. We won’t be doing any schools or book distributions throughout that time, because a lot of the schools are taking their final exams… So we are heading there tomorrow morning and the drive is about 8-10 hours from Mossel Bay. We will be there for about a week or so, and then we had planned to go to Richards Bay, but those plans fell through. I’m not worried about it though, I know God will figure something out for us to do. So, I will keep you guys posted on where we will go after that.
This trip has been pretty crazy so far. It’s not at all what I though it would be. I thought huts, crazy food, and tribal churches. But every place we have stayed has been nice, especially here. My gosh - it is AMAZING!! I am sad to leave Mossel Bay, but I am looking forward to moving around, because I know it makes the time go by faster… which I hope the next two months will. I was just thinking how crazy it has been that I have been here for a month already. We are in our fifth week! I remember sitting with my parents thinking… THREE MONTHS IS TOO LONG!!! And now look, we are almost half way done. I am just hoping the next few months go by as quickly as this first one did. And I still can’t believe I am here. God has really given me strength and courage to actually go through with this journey. I never thought it possible!
I just want to say thank you… to all of you that have been praying for me, supporting me and encouraging me. Your words have meant SO MUCH to me and I truly value everything you all have done. I miss you all so very much and I can’t wait to see you and tell you about the journey I have been on. There is so much more to come too! I can’t believe it! I hope things are great in all of your lives. I pray for you, and think about you all so often…
Some shouts out… To my girls, Becca, Katie, Mette, Cimmanon, Christine, Rachel P, Ashley, Jessica, Tina, Candice, and Loni… I love you girls and miss you so much. I can’t wait to get home and spend time with you. I hope you are all doing well and I pray for you and think about you all the time!!
My family- all of you, I miss you and love you so very, very much. I think about you and look at your pictures all the time and hope you are doing well… Keep me in your prayers and I will keep you in mine… Can’t wait to talk to you soon!

I am the only one who has gotten in!!