Divine Appointments

Complete visas….check!  February 23rd came and went.  We approached the visa office with all of our documents in hand, only to find out that we applied for the wrong visa type, even after speaking to several people confirming that we were doing it right.  In order for us to submit our documents, the man serving us told us that we had to go online and fill out the visa application forms again.  We had driven 30 minutes to this office and did not want to keep making trips back and forth.  The man willingly told us that, upon completing our forms online, we could come back and he would print them off for us in the office.  He wasn’t going to make us reschedule our appointments.  What a blessing!  We got back in the car and drove to a park so the kids could play while Josh and I filled out the forms again online using our phones.  Well, we were able to fill out some of the fields on the first page, but the most important field (the name) was blocked for security purposes while using our mobile device (phone).  So, we packed up the kids and drove to an internet café where we paid to use a computer.  We were successfully able to complete our online applications and then drove back to the visa office.  The man whom originally helped us was not excited about processing 6 visa applications, and at times he was frustrated because we didn’t have everything the way he wanted (even though the Web site didn’t mention certain things he was requesting).  On the bright side, we are blessed that he was willing to help us anyway and submit all of our documents for processing with the Home Affairs office, only 3 1/2 hours later.  So thankful to have that process completed.  The only documents we were missing was a marriage certificate and chest x-rays for Jade (because we were told it was only needed for 18-years and older).  We are praying for and believing that everything will go smoothly and that we’ll have 3-year visas in our possession come the end of April!

Parole officer, Matt, social worker, Ethan (intern), Josh, Mindy

On February 25 our friend, Thamar, scheduled an appointment for us to meet with a parole office and social worker for the Juvenile Detention Center.  We met at a place called The Nursery Coffee Shop.  We are called to love everyone that the Lord puts in our path, but for those that know us, we have a special place in our hearts for troubled teens/youth.  These amazing women love the Lord and want His will to be done here in Mossel Bay.  After getting to know them a little bit and spending some time sharing our hearts, we all grew very excited for the Lord’s plans with the youth here.  The parole officer is allowing us to meet with approximately 10 parolees next week, just to get to know them and build trust and relationships with them.  Yay Lord!  Doing life with and loving on the broken – isn’t that what Jesus has asked us all to do?!?  In addition to that, the social worker is checking with the head of the Juvenile Detention Center to see if we can visit there and serve the inmates on a regular basis. The age range for inmates there is 16-25.

Matt, Josh (from Virginia), Josh (from Idaho), Mindy

After our meeting, we decided to take advantage of our “kid-less” time and head to a coffee shop to talk about how we all felt the meeting went.  We arrived at “The Blue Shed” and ordered some drinks and delicious chocolate brownies.  As we walked in, we noticed a guy sitting by himself at a table with his Bible open.  We were talking about how cool it was that the parole office and social worker were believers, when the guy at the table approached Josh and asked him, “Where are you guys from?”  He must have picked up on our American accent!  Josh went on to explain that we’re from the States, in Idaho.  It turns out that he was also from the States, in Virginia.  He asked what we were doing in South Africa, and we told him we are missionaries.  It turns out he is also in South Africa as a missionary, along with his wife, Abbigail, and 3 boys.  They have been living here for 8 years now.  We joined him at his table and had amazing conversation with him.  He was telling us about the ministry they are involved with called Growing Hope.  It’s where they teach others how to be self-sufficient when it comes to food by growing their own vegetables, etc.  This was all ringing a bell to me.  Then the lightbulb went off!!  Before we even visited Mossel Bay in January, Josh’s mom, Marita, had done some research online and came across this blog site from a missionary family whom lived in Mossel Bay.  She knew we were praying about visiting and decided to forward their link to me, and I had spent some time reading their blogs.  Complete strangers to me – but I even signed up for their newsletters.  It turns out that the guy sitting across from us at the table was the very guy whom I had been reading about!  No way!!!  I wondered if we’d ever cross paths with this family, but the Lord was already 10 steps ahead of us preparing the way.  I love how the Lord orchestrates divine appointments!  This guy, also named Josh, ministers to the townships (also our hearts) and so if he has time before Matt leaves he’s going to take us to the townships so we can walk around and get to know people.  He shared with us a lot of invaluable wisdom and insight into the culture and strongholds we may encounter (which we’ve already begun to witness).  It turns out that Josh, from Virginia, is also good friends with the head of the Juvenile Detention Center…..say what?!?!  We encouraged and prayed over each other and then parted ways after contact information was exchanged.  We’re excited to see what the Lord does with this connection and how we can join together to love on the people of Mossel Bay!