We've Moved....Again!!

Due to some technical difficulties and errors on our end with our internet access, I haven’t been able to post any updates this past month, but all is resolved now and we know what NOT to do in the future.  Currently we are living on the Footprints base in Lammermoor, South Africa.  This became our new home on Friday, October 10^th after the Lord spoke to both Josh and I on separate occasions that this should be the next step for our family.  Mama Yolanda and other members of the Footprints family gladly welcomed us and have continually helped us to get situated into our new home.  I don’t have an exact count of how many missionaries and African children live on the base here, but right now we are the only “foreign” missionary family with young children that live and serve here.

Prior to moving on base, we were traveling back and forth daily from Pretoria to Lammermoor (45 minutes each way) for about two weeks because we were asked to prepare lunch and dinner for the Iris Harvest School (250+ people).  Josh was the main one cooking or coordinating meals, and it was a lot of fun to watch him in action in the kitchen.  Three Mozambican ladies came to help, and occasionally our kids or other students would help cook, serve and/or clean up.  We moved on base right as Harvest School was concluding, and it has been such a blessing for our family to have a home here on base now.  The kids are making lots of great friends, and Jade even got to have a sleepover with some of the girls last Friday night.  We’re encouraging Jade to connect more with the girls on the base that are around her age, and in time, I think it will become easier and more natural for her as she branches out more.  The boys have had no problem making new friends, and often times Gracie will join them in whatever they’re doing.  Each of our kids has at least one person their age that they can become close friends with, and that is such a blessing for us and the kids.  We live in a very safe place that is gated, and for the most part, we’ve all stayed healthy (aside from congestion and a slight fever that lasted only 1 ½ days).

For those that like details, we are now staying in a one-room bunkhouse.  At first the girls shared a bunk bed, as well as the boys.  Josh and I put 2 bunk beds together for a few nights so we could be close to each other, but then we were blessed with a queen-sized bed which has been wonderful, and the kids all have single beds now.  To give me and Josh some privacy, we strung rope across the room and hung up sheets as a divider between “our room” and the kids’.  This week we brought in a table and some chairs for homeschooling.  It’s community living here so we share a common bathroom area and kitchen (detached from where we live) with others on the base.  Right now lunch and dinner is provided for us, but we are responsible for our own breakfast.  Long-term missionaries have access to a washing machine, so that has come in very handy for me (and Jade who’s been doing her own laundry for close to a year now).  We have clotheslines for us to hang our clothes on to dry, which I think is so awesome.  This is something I’ve always wanted to build in our yard even when we lived back in the States.

Currently, we homeschool our children Monday through Thursday, usually from about 8:30am-12:30pm.  I love starting off our days with worship and then Bible.  Our iTunes is having troubles to where we currently can’t obtain most of our music, so we’re hoping to get that resolved soon.  Prayers appreciated for that, as we love to worship through song and dance together as a family.  Josh teaches all of the kids Geography and Science, and then I have taken on the role of teaching Language Arts, Math and Reading to Christian (2^nd grade) and Gracie (Kindergarten), in addition to planning some simple activities for Josiah to learn.  Jade (7^th grade) works independently on her Math/Language Arts that is CD based, although we still have involvement with assisting her in those subjects as needed.  She just started a big science project that Josh put together for her.  Our kids enjoy being homeschooled, and Mom and Dad love being their teachers!

Fred and Renee, the couple whom we first lived with, have blessed us with the use of one of their vehicles – a Land Rover – that seats our entire family plus an additional 8 kids if needed.  How incredibly awesome is that!!  We have a bigger vehicle now than we’ve ever had.  We don’t own it, of course, but the vehicle primarily stays with us at Footprints and we can use it whenever needed and simply pay for the gas to drive it.  Gas is a little more expensive here than back in Idaho, but we don’t find ourselves needing to drive it much right now….and besides, the Lord is our provider and He knows our needs.  Just as His word says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  IF you do this, you will experience God’s peace.”  Philippians 4:6-7.  Notice how this verse is conditional.  “IF” means it requires something of us.  What does it require?  SURRENDER AND TRUST!  You can’t worry (hold on to something you shouldn’t) and trust God (experience His peace) at the same time.  You must let go (make your request known to Him) and then trust (receive peace) that God will come through for you.

Don’t panic about your needs no matter how big or small.  Either you trust God or you don’t.  It’s not a gray matter but rather black and white.  The Lord knows your needs and He will provide.  That doesn’t mean God is handing over a credit card and saying, “Here, spend my resources as you wish.”  Just because I’m a daughter of God doesn’t mean I’ll get everything I want or “think I need”.  He knows what a person truly needs and He knows the position of one’s heart.  As I think about this, I’m reminded of when we lived in the States.  For years we talked about needing a bigger vehicle so that our entire family could fit in one vehicle when we went places, but we never felt released by the Lord to buy a bigger vehicle so…..we either crammed into one or drove two cars.  We chose to be obedient over what seemed logical, and in hindsight we know why.  We are thankful we didn’t try to purchase something that we thought we needed, when in reality we did just fine without it.  If you think about it, there truly is a lot in life that you CAN live without – you just might not want to.  The only time a want or perceived need becomes a roadway to destruction is when you start believing that you can’t live without it.  The only thing we can’t live without, person in this case, is JESUS!  What it comes down to is – what are you willing to live without so God’s Kingdom can be furthered through you?  What are your priorities?  Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.  Don’t misunderstand me.  God likes to bless His children with good gifts.  He likes to give us things we want, which is not a bad thing, because He’s the best Daddy ever.  BUT we show honor to God by being obedient, thankful and good stewards (wise) with the blessings He has given us, even if He doesn’t provide or bless us in the way we originally wanted or expected.  Someone shared a testimony with us a couple of years back and I feel prompted to share it in this blog post.  I hope I don’t butcher the details.  A couple had been saving up to purchase a home and wanted enough cash for a down payment.  It’s definitely not a bad thing to want your own home.  One day when they prayed again about what to do with the savings they had, God led them to give it away to a family who needed money to attend Iris Harvest School.  This couple had a reasonable want, but they sought God for direction and were obedient to His leading.  As much as they wanted to purchase a home, I find this to be such a beautiful picture of obedience even when logic and personal desires would say to use the money for their down payment.  I don’t know how the entire story unfolded with this couple purchasing a home, but I do know that God is faithful and when you choose obedience above all else, the reward is eternal.  Sometimes we can want something so badly that when we pray about it we receive false peace that God wants us to have the same thing, so we find ourselves making decisions based on false peace.  Things may appear good for a while, but without realizing it, we are detouring God’s original plan and blessings for us.  That is why it’s so important to know the voice of the Lord and how He speaks to you so you can discern the difference between His plans and your own - His voice, the enemy’s and your own.

We had a wonderful time speaking with Mama Yolanda on Tuesday about her vision for Footprints and the vision God has placed on our hearts.  We believe this time with her brought more clarity for us and why we’re here instead of in Pemba right now.  We will share more details after we have some time to process things as a family and with the Lord.  This weekend our family is going to Fred and Renee’s farm to spend time getting to know each other more, have some fun fishing and exploring (wish you could be with us Ethan!), and spend some time praying with each other over how the Lord might want us to partner together in ministry.  Their farm is about 2 ½ hours away.  We will leave Friday morning for Pretoria to pick them up, leave later that afternoon for the farm, then return to Footprints Sunday evening.  We’ve been looking forward to this time for over a month now.  Prayers over the weekend would be greatly appreciated as we seek the Lord for our next steps.  If the Lord gives you a word for our family, shows you a picture, gives you a dream, anything at all, please feel free to e-mail us at any time with what you believe He is saying on behalf of our family.

We’d like to tell you what the next chapter in the Mason Family life might look like, but you’ll have to keep following along for the next few weeks to find out…..because we don’t even know ourselves, haha!  Oh the suspense!!  Thank you for joining us on the journey!  Love, peace and joy to you all!