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!

Home Sweet Home

As I reflect on the past 6 months, I’ve become more aware of just how much change our family has gone through.  Since the middle of August 2014 up until now, we’ve moved locations/housing 7 times.  Thankfully, we believe this last move to Mossel Bay, South Africa will be for a longer period of time.  We have been so blessed to have a place to stay, although for the last week our family has been split in ½: Josh, Matt and Christian staying in one home and me and the rest of the family staying in another home.  We made things work and spent most of our time together, but I’m happy to say we’re finally under one roof now!! Ever since Josh arrived in Mossel Bay on February 8^th, he’d been diligently looking for a place for our family to live.  He wasn’t having much luck, as most of the places he called on were already let (aka “rented” in America).  When I arrived on February 11^th, he still hadn’t found a place.  We had 2 appointments scheduled for the following day: one for a 3 bedroom apartment and one for a 2 bedroom + loft apartment.  Immediately upon walking into the first one, I knew it wasn’t the place for us.  Josh had seen the second one and wanted me to also look at it.  He thought it could possibly be the one.  It was very simple, close to town and well below what we hoped to pay for rent.  That evening we decided that we would return to the office the following morning to sign a rental agreement.  However, when I woke up the following morning I shared with Josh that I strongly felt like we were supposed to continue looking for a place and not settle – that the Lord has a house (not apartment) for us.  I even had a dream that we were looking at a house, but I don’t recall any of the details.  This isn’t the first dream I’ve had about finding a house either.  The first dream that the Lord gave me about a house, which I journaled about, happened a few weeks prior.  That same morning we shared with Thamar, the lady I was staying with, that we needed to keep looking.  She suggested getting the paper, as it was Friday and new listings come out Friday mornings.  We did as suggested and she helped call on a couple of places because the writing was in Afrikaans.  Long story short, we end up getting a call from an agent that is renting out a house.  The location was a bit further out than we had hoped, about 15 minutes from town, but we decided to have a look at it anyway.  On the drive there we even got into a scuffle about the distance, but I told Josh not to set any predetermined decisions since we hadn’t even seen the house yet.  The house is located in the foothills of Hartenbos, a suburb of Mossel Bay.  The moment we walked into the home, I knew that the door was being closed to the loft apartment, and at this point we hadn’t even looked at the home nor did we know the monthly asking price.

Here are a couple of pictures of the home, but if you’d like to view more, you can check it out on our Facebook page: Mason Family Missions.

The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, plus a yard for the kids to play on.  It was fully furnished when we viewed it, but the initial rent price excluded the furniture.  However, it turns out that the owner was hoping to sell all of the furniture.  Of course, the Lord sent people to the owner that just so happens don’t have ANY furniture.  In a dream I had previously, the amount R5900 seemed to stand out.  To our complete surprise, this home was renting for R5800!!  When we asked how long of a term they were willing to consider, the owner/agent said we could discuss 12 months and then go from there.  We asked if they’d consider 6 months and explained our situation – that there’s the potential to stay longer, but we have some friends from the States that plan on joining us in Africa and will need to re-evaluate living conditions once they arrive.  The owner was completely open to the idea and said we could also have the option to pay month-to-month after the 6 months were up.  We then explained our financial situation – that we’ve only lived in South Africa since September 2014 (Mossel Bay for 1 week), have no jobs/income and are here as missionaries from the United States.  We put them at ease and reassured them that we have $ in our bank account and would be willing to pay months in advance if needed.  We understood that they’d be taking a risk on our behalf.  They said it was NO PROBLEM and that they’d just need to see 3 months of bank statements.  With all of that said, and after jumping through hoops to get the funds readily available, we received the keys to our new home today!!  The Lord has blessed us financially to pay for 3 ½ months of rent (plus deposit) upfront, in addition to buying all of the furniture at a GREAT deal!  We have a limit on how much cash we can withdraw daily, so the owner allowed us to pay for ½ the furniture today and then the remaining will be paid tomorrow when we can withdraw more funds.  It would be much simpler to bank in South Africa, as we are occurring a lot of fees to use ATMs and our US debit card here, but we cannot set up an account here until we have temporary residential visas, which we will be applying for next week.  It has been a steep month for us financially, but the Lord is faithful to provide and we trust He’ll continue to do so.  We are continually grateful for those that support us through prayer and finances.  Your obedience is making this journey possible for our family!

We’ve been to the beach a few times already, and the kids absolutely love it, although they had a not-so-good experience the other day with bluebottle jellyfish. Christian’s shins were the first to be impacted.  He came out of the water screaming saying something had touched him.  After getting him to calm down somewhat, we continued talking about going to another beach.  Meanwhile, Gracie decides to get back into the water and minutes later comes out screaming hysterically.  Her body looked like it had hives all over from the toxin.  I ended up taking her and Josiah home to a warm bath with vinegar, which did the trick for the stinging.

Here is a picture of the car we’ve been gifted with for the next 5 months!  It gets incredible gas mileage and is a huge blessing to our family.

Thank you to those that have been praying over our visa situation.  We received the results to our fingerprints via e-mail in accelerated time!  We were praying they’d arrive before the 25^th, and in fact, they arrived on the 13^th.  We submitted some information online this evening and will be making a phone call in the morning to schedule an appointment to have all of our documentation reviewed and submitted to Home Affairs for our temporary residential visas.  Continued prayers that our documentation will be suffice are greatly appreciated!

Josh and Matt have been meeting with various people to find out more about Mossel Bay and the townships.  They met with the Director of YWAM, whom also said we will have no problem getting into the Juvenile Detention Center so that we can love on the children there.  They also met with a pastor in the townships that would love for us to serve with him so we shall see.  It is important to build relationships with the natives here and people whom have been around for a while, so that will be our primary focus right now.  We want to honor those that have come before us and also let the Lord lead us in how He wants us to serve the people of Mossel Bay.  As you may have heard us say before, we’re continually learning how to go low and slow and to let love be our motive because without love what we do means nothing!

Packing Up & Heading South

The wheels on the van go round and round, all through the town (or country)!  Josh, Christian and our friend, Matt, left at 5am this morning on a 12-hour drive to Mossel Bay.

 

There have been many blessings leading up to this morning’s departure.  Yesterday Josh picked up our rental, only to find out that the van we requested was not available so….  They upgraded us to a larger van for FREE!!  The Lord knew we were going to need a bigger van to fit all of our luggage in, and what’s amazing is that after everything was loaded, we had room to spare!  On top of that, this van gets better gas mileage than the one we originally requested.  Thanks for the extra savings, Lord!  Please pray for safe travels and attentiveness on the roads.  The adults had a bit of a late night last night, as we got together with a bunch of people and went to a place called The Barnyard which features live entertainment with singing/dancing to music from the 1920’s on up.  Again, blessed with FREE tickets!!

The rest of the kids and I are flying to Mossel Bay Wednesday afternoon and staying with a lady whom we met during our visit there a few weeks ago.  We will stay with her until we find a more permanent place to live.  I am praying that Josh will find a place within 3 days, so if you’d like to join me in prayer for that, that would be great.  Our friend, Matt, arrived in South Africa on February 5^th.  He didn’t sleep much on the plane, but the Lord sustained him to stay awake for the entire day so that he could go to sleep on a regular schedule.  We are excited he is with us!  He has a specific question that he is asking the Lord to answer during his time here with us, so that’s something else you can join us in prayer for.

Last Monday, February 2^nd, Josh and I had our fingerprints taken at the police station.  Yes, we’ve been found out!!  Just kidding!  This is one of the steps we needed to complete in order to apply for temporary residential visas.  We thought there was going to be a cost for the prints, but it turns out they were FREE because we’re not having them processed in Africa.  We sent our fingerprints and paperwork to a channeling company in the US that works for the FBI.  We paid a bit more to have this company process our request, but their turnaround time is 7 business days, whereas, directly through the FBI would have taken 14-16 weeks.  Well worth the extra payment since our current visas expire February 25^th.  Please join us in prayer that the process would be accelerated and that all needed documents would be returned safely to us in Mossel Bay.  Our family will be attending a meeting prior to February 25^th to apply for temporary residential visas, so we are praying that we will have sufficient documents to move forward with the process.  The total cost for visas, after all is said and done, will be around $1,300.  The cost to move to Mossel Bay is around $800.  The Lord is so faithful to provide for our every need!

Speaking of needs, we weren’t sure how we were going to get around Mossel Bay once we moved down there.  Right now we’re homeless, carless, jobless……..but rich in the sense that we are so fulfilled with living for Jesus and doing what the Lord’s asked us to do.  I think about the disciples and how they left their jobs, everything, to follow Jesus.  Our family has a lot of growing to do, in fact that will never end, and the Lord continues to teach us what’s important in this life and what things we can continue to let go of to follow Him.  A couple drove us to the police station, and on the way there they nonchalantly asked us if we needed a car once we go to Mossel Bay.  We told them yes.  Immediately the guy said we could have his car and use it however needed.  I honestly didn’t know if my ears had heard right or if he was serious….turns out he was!  He is leaving the country from March-July and said we can simply work out arrangements for when he needs it back after that time.  It’s a little car but big enough to squeeze our family into, and it gets around 45mpg and 600 miles per tank fill-up!!  And get this, he and a friend are driving to a conference which is located ½ way between Pretoria and Mossel Bay.  They leave on Wednesday and offered to drive the vehicle the rest of the way to Mossel Bay so that we could have it.  What?!?!  Our dilemma - how do we get the vehicle to Mossel Bay?  Problem solved!  They will arrive with the car next Sunday evening, and then we are taking care of their transportation back to Pretoria via the bus.  As I read in Acts about people selling their belongings to help others in need, I’ve seen that same generosity in this house we’ve been living in.  I am observing and learning a lot about giving without being stingy, and I’m not just talking about money here either.  You know the saying, “Me casa es su casa….”  Well, people here literally live that out.  They are so selfless and full of love for each other.  It’s not a sacrifice but a blessing for them to give to others with no reservation or hesitation.

Some of you may be wondering what we’ll be doing once we arrive in Mossel Bay….  Well, all we can say at this point is that the Lord has highlighted the following to us: land, a garden, townships and the youth prison.  We’re excited for what’s to come for our family, but most importantly, we love getting to know each other and the Lord more and more every day.  That’s what our journey is all about – loving God, loving people!

Mossel Bay

Our time here as a family in Pretoria has been very blessed and fruitful.  We’ve gotten to know each other better on different levels, and the Lord continues to grow us and meld our hearts stronger with His.  I mentioned in my last post that the Lord had put a place on Josh’s heart and that we were praying into the meaning of it.  We never did hear back on our inquiry by January 7^th, which is fine because we asked God to close that door if that’s not where He wanted us.  However, a series of events happened which led Josh and I to visit this said location.  To rewind a bit…

On December 11^th we spent time as a family in worship.  Jade received a word from the Lord during the song, “It is Well”.  She felt like God was saying that there will be changes for our family and we might not be ready for it but it will be well with us.  Josh received a picture from the Lord of a map of South Africa.  Jesus’ hands were underneath it cupping it.  The following words were impressed upon him, “It’s all yours!”  He received another picture of a sushi restaurant with a sushi boat bar.  On each of the boats was a name of a South African city/town.  God said, “Take your pick!”

A couple of days later the following words were impressed upon my heart, “Wipe the dust from your feet and go.”  Days later I woke up knowing I had a dream, but all I remember is the following – I was reading a letter in scroll form and in it read, “Go after your dreams and do not stop!”

At this point we didn’t know if we’d be staying in Pretoria long-term or if the Lord was leading us elsewhere.  However, about a week prior to leaving the Footprints base the Lord gave me a dream that seemed to indicate that we wouldn’t be in Pretoria for long.  Josh was also sensing the same thing.  Almost 2 months ago (around the beginning of December), during Josh’s quiet time with the Lord, the words “Mossel Bay” came to his mind.  He didn’t know what it was or if it was a place so he decided to Google it.  It turns out that Mossel Bay is a place located in South Africa.  Josh had never heard of it before, nor do we know anyone that lives there (or so we thought).  He shared this with me, and then we placed it aside not thinking much of it at the time, but the Lord was relentless and continued to stir Josh’s heart to pursue what this might mean a little further.  After moving back to Pretoria, we began talking and praying about Mossel Bay and why the Lord would highlight this place to us, a place we’d never heard of before.  We thought maybe the Lord wanted to up and move our family there.  Then one day the idea came to me that maybe Josh and I should visit the place before just moving our family there.  We got online and researched local churches in that area to see if there might be one we could attend during our visit.  The first search result that came up was a church called Joshua Generation.  After reading about them and listening to a sermon, we had peace that this would be a good place to start so we e-mailed all 4 of the eldership couples to ask for recommendations on where we might be able to stay.  One of the elders called Josh and suggested that we should visit before up and moving our family – the same idea I had so we received this as wisdom.  This man was very helpful and offered to help with accommodations if we decided to come visit.

Before I continue any further, one thing to note is that there’s a family from the States that God is bringing to Africa to partner with us in serving and loving on the people of South Africa.  Josh spoke with our friend, Matt, whom will be coming to visit us in February and asked him if the Lord had been showing him anything about Africa and if he specifically felt called to South Africa.  Matt told him that he has peace about South Africa and that all the Lord keeps showing him is the ocean along the Cape.  Prior to this, Matt didn’t know anything about the Lord speaking to Josh about Mossel Bay, which is along the Western Cape by the ocean.  This was confirmation to all of us that we were walking down the path the Lord wanted us to.  Thank you, Lord, for sending others to RUN/PLAY with us!!  Eventually Matt, Bree and their 2 children will be moving to South Africa, but for now Matt will be coming to stay with us for a month on February 5^th.  Please cover his finances and travels in prayer, as he’s never flown internationally and will be leaving his family behind for a month.

To continue on, after speaking with our kids, they were okay with us leaving to Mossel Bay so we asked a lady in the house if she’d be available to watch them.  Unfortunately, she wasn’t but she took it upon herself to ask someone else in the house if they could watch our kids.  This person approached us because they knew of our need and offered to watch our kids for as long as we needed!  What a blessing!  We booked our plane tickets at a great price and were about to book a rental car for our time there, but then I had this impression that we should wait because the Lord was going to provide for us in a different way.  The next day we informed this elder we had been in touch with that we booked 2 plane tickets into George (approx. 30 minutes from Mossel Bay) for January 16^th – January 19^th.  He ended up taking care of ALL of our accommodations and transportation.  We were truly blessed beyond measure!!  What blows our minds even further is that he tells Josh, “Ya, for the first 2 nights you’ll be staying with someone you know.”  Josh is thinking, “I don’t know anyone in Mossel Bay.”  It turns out that someone we went to Harvest School with in Mozambique 2 years ago lives in Mossel Bay (his hometown) and went to the church Joshua Generation.  In addition, Josh served with this guy every week at the Noviane Center where they taught English and hung out with the boys.  Only God knew of this divine connection!!

Our kids were counting down the days until we left.  I think they were excited for us to leave because they knew they were going to have a lot of fun while we were gone….AND that they did!  The generosity and outpouring of love and honor we experienced while in Mossel Bay was beyond what we ever imagined.  Someone even donated some money to us for our trip.  They said it wasn’t much but that the Lord placed it on their hearts to do.  The Lord is so good to us!  On this trip we were asking the Lord to make it clear to us whether or not He wanted us to move there.  We sensed this trip was going to be about connections and building relationships, and we definitely met a lot of wonderful people during our stay.  We also got to see most of Mossel Bay and drove through the townships (aka slums), as that is where our heart is leading us to serve.

On January 17^th, our first morning in Mossel Bay, our friend’s wife asked if we had any dreams last night.  Josh mentioned having a dream of himself looking over the ocean while standing on a cliff.  Jesus was walking towards him.  There was nothing else around, just cliffs.  Jesus walked up to him and they began having a conversation about something, but Josh didn’t know what it was about.  Then he woke up.  Later that day our friend took us on a hike along this trail called St. Blaize that led to a beautiful view overlooking the ocean.  He left us by ourselves so we could worship and pray together.  The view was almost exactly like what Josh saw in his dream the night prior.  As Josh was praying, the lyrics from an American song popped into my head, one I would never think about on my own – “This land is my land.  This land is your land….”  I felt like the Lord was saying, “This land, Mossel Bay, is mine but I’m giving it to you!”

The next morning we attended church at Joshua Generation.  We felt very welcomed and honored, and it reminded us a lot of the church we attended in the States – Vineyard Meridian.  After the service a couple came up to us and said the Lord prompted them to approach us.  They shared how they do street ministry to the townships – exactly our hearts – but they knew nothing about us.  Another divine connection from the Lord!  A lady also prayed over me and released encouragement!  It was spoken over us that the Lord will bless wherever our feet may lead.  I looked up some verses that speak of this truth – Deuteronomy 28, Deuteronomy 11:24, Joshua 1:3.  We enjoyed lunch with some new friends after the service, and God even connected us with someone whom is interested in attending Harvest School in Mozambique this June, so we were able to share our story with her.

Here are some pictures of Mossel Bay.  We had a lovely time with some beautifully amazing people!  We are grateful for everyone that played a part in our visit, and yes, that includes those covering us in prayer.

With all of that said, we have peace about MOVING TO MOSSEL BAY and will be doing so within the next couple of weeks, so long as the details line up and God opens the doors.  The kids are super-duper excited to move again, especially since it means we’ll be by the ocean.  It is a huge leap of faith for us, as currently we don’t know where we’ll be living, we have no vehicle to drive and no steady money coming in, but the Lord is good and we know He didn’t send us all the way across the world just to leave us high and dry.  He will provide!!  Thank you for covering this next step in prayer.  We are asking the Lord to visit our kids in their dreams and show them the house we’ll be staying in.

We are also in the process of applying for our temporary residential visas for South Africa.  This will allow us to stay in the country for up to 3 years without having to leave.  The Lord’s favor has already been upon this process, for which we are truly grateful.  Your prayers for continued finances, peace and wisdom are greatly appreciated!  We’ll keep you all updated as things progress.  Thank you for choosing to be a part of this journey!!  Many blessings to you!

Seasons Change

Some seasons in life are longer than others, and we don’t always know when one season will end and a new one will begin.  However, we have to be able to recognize and discern when something’s time has passed and be able to move into the next season, no matter how difficult moving on might be.  Each season prepares you for the next…  Each season serves its purpose…

We thought our season here at the Footprints base was going to last longer, but the Lord is leading our family to move off base.  In fact, we are moving tomorrow, January 1, 2015, back to Pretoria to stay at our friends’ house (Fred and Rene), whom we stayed with when we first moved to Africa.  We do not know how long we will be in Pretoria, but they have been so gracious to us and are letting us stay there as long as we need to until the Lord gives us clear direction for the next steps.

The reason for the move, you might ask…..  Well, sometime in October the Lord had been showing me some things, but we placed them on the back burner so-to-speak because we didn’t know the significance of those things at the time until now.  We thought we’d be leading the Footprints’ children’s school for another year.  We thought we’d be building a home on the base and bringing more children into our family – a few that were really highlighted to us already.  We thought many things were going to happen, but the internal checks continued to happen and the Lord began closing doors.  At this point, we knew we had to revisit the things the Lord had been speaking to me about and showing me.  This meant humbling ourselves before the Lord and the director at Footprints.  Our hearts meant well, but the Lord was telling us to slow down our steps so that we did not get ahead of Him and what He has planned for us.  We’ve learned many lessons here, for which we are grateful.  We’ve met some wonderful people, of which we hope we can stay connected with.  Our unity has been tested, but we have remained victorious over the enemy’s tactics!

One day as I was seeking the Lord for guidance, He spoke to my heart saying, “Ask your kids how they’re doing.  It will be key to your next step.”  We ask our kids often how they’re doing, but Holy Spirit gave me strategies to help me dive deeper into their hearts.  A common thing that was shared by all of them was, “We miss family time.”  We have enjoyed our time here at Footprints, but community living doesn’t come without its challenges.  I felt prompted to have some people pray for our family over a 2-day period (not sharing any details with them about certain situations) and to share anything with us that the Lord might be showing them on behalf of our family.  A friend of ours shared a couple of things with us, and one of those things was that she kept hearing the words, “Listen to the kids,” throughout her prayer time.  This lined up with what God had been speaking to me about, so I knew there was something more to it and God was trying to get my attention about something.  I am so thankful for friends that clearly hear the voice of the Lord and are an encouragement to us!  A love shout out to you all!  As I was typing out an e-mail to another one of my friends, the Lord spoke to me through my own writing confirming what our next step should be.

Through much conversation and prayer, Josh and I were led to make certain decisions on behalf of our family, but we wanted the blessing of leadership here at Footprints as that would be the honorable thing to do.  About 2 weeks ago we met with the director and received her full blessing to move forward with the direction the Lord was leading us, which is to move off base.  What’s really cool is that the night before we met with the director, the Lord gave her a dream about me and our kids.  I won’t share the details but it correlated with what was going on in my spirit for our family.  God’s so good!!  The Lord has made it very clear that this next season of ministry is all about our kids and strengthening our family unit.  We are called to make disciples, and that definitely starts in the home.  Don’t get us wrong, family is always ministry for us so this is nothing new, but the Lord is asking us to set aside all other “good” opportunities to go deeper into the Lord’s heart as a family during the month of January….no one being left behind.  We sense it is in preparation for us and what is to come for our family.  He wants to toughen up our army for the front line.  My heart is that as a family our intimacy with the Lord will become stronger and that a lifestyle of worship and prayer will become a greater focus for each of us individually and as a family unit.  So, if you don’t see us post much on Facebook or write any updates for a few weeks, it’s because we’re dedicating this next month to really focus on the Lord and grow more intimate with Him as a family.

In the meantime, God put a place on Josh’s heart, and right now we’re praying into the meaning of it and if it’s somewhere He wants us to visit.  Josh had never heard of this place before, nor do we know anyone that lives there or has been there.  We’ve taken the first step to inquire of this location, and now we’re just waiting to see if the door remains opened or closed.  Please join us in prayer that we would have an answer by January 7th.

I want to “sign-out” with this verse: Psalm 1:3

“They (the faithful) are like trees planted along the riverbank,

bearing fruit each season without fail.

Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper.”

For those that are faithfully following Jesus, this says there is NO season that doesn’t produce fruit.  If you are going through a season and questioning whether or not there is any fruit, ask the Lord to show you His perspective because He’s always at work growing something beautiful in you, BUT you must stay connected to Him for it to grow.  Let Him be your source of nourishment and the center of your heart!

With the new year upon us, we’re excited for what God has in store for the Mason Family in 2015, but we’re taking it one day at a time and choosing life today and not worrying about tomorrow.  We pray that all of you will experience freedom, love, hope and joy beyond measure during the year 2015.  Happy New Year from the Masons!

Merry Christmas from the Mason Family

Our family would like to take this time to wish you all a Merry Christmas!  We’re enjoying our first “hot” Christmas the non-traditional way.  No Christmas tree, no decorations, no stockings, no presents to open first thing in the morning.  I’ve been pondering in my heart what I want our family’s Christmas day to look like.  To be quite honest, I don’t completely understand why we celebrate Christmas and Easter in the first place (just one calendar day of the year).  EVERY DAY should be about the birth and resurrection of Jesus, right?!?!  I think that a lot of holidays have become worldly and commercialized, and in years past we’ve gotten caught up in all of that.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to give gifts on Christmas, but we have decided that our gifts to our children would not be the first thing they focus on Christmas morning, so we will not be setting out stockings or gifts until later on in the day when we feel led to.  We are choosing to celebrate in a different way this year, without all the distractions, although we do miss the fact that family isn’t near.

We have a tradition in our family that has been going on for many years now.  We write down everyone’s name on individual pieces of paper and then draw names out of a hat.  Whoever’s name we draw, we get to make them a gift for Christmas – a gift that comes from the heart.  The kids look forward to this time the most, so we have decided to give away our gifts to each other tonight on Christmas Eve.  We then plan to watch a family movie together and celebrate Jesus’ birth by having a “birthday” cake that Gracie made for Christian as his gift.

However, you choose to celebrate Jesus’ birth, let Him be the focus of your day…..and for those that have kids, really ponder about what you would want Christmas to look like if Jesus were joining in on your celebration because He should be the whole reason for the celebration and not just a small part of it!  Peace, love and joy from our family to yours!!

We asked our kids to share with you what’s been going on with them, so here are their thoughts….

CHRISTIAN (7) – Hello friends and family!  I hope you can come to Africa.  It’s been hot and raining here in Africa.  It’s really fun having new friends to play with here, and you will get new friends too if you come here.  Today is Christmas Eve, and I know you know that too.  Christmas is about Jesus’ birthday, and it’s not just about getting presents.  It’s about celebrating Jesus.  There are three termite mounds on this base.  Me and Josiah share a room.  I wish you could come and share a room with us too.  There’s this game called shegisha, and all of the Footprints kids like to play it and so do I.  I’ve seen millipedes, rabbits, snakes, biting ants and cockroaches here at Footprints.  God has given me pictures of places in the world like in Europe.  I saw flowers and lots of animals and people and it was really hot there.  There is a swimming pool here at Footprints.  Have a great Christmas!  Merry Christmas!  Bye!

JADE (12) – It is so hot here! It does get cold here. I can’t wait for winter, which is summer in the States. It’s like an extra-long summer because when we left the States it was summer. I’ve made lots of friends here at Footprints. My friends and I have sleepovers and we go swimming together in the pool. I love having a pool here because I can just hop in whenever I want to! First when we got here it was all dry and everything was dead (the plants). Now since it’s been raining it is all green and alive. I like the rain, especially when I’m going to bed. Our roofs are made out of metal so when the rain comes down hard it is loud and comforting. All the kids and adults here are amazing and I’m glad I met them. I always help in the kitchen. I love helping whoever is cooking. I can’t believe it’s already Christmas! This year for our family tradition I got Gracie and I think she’s going to like her present. I can’t wait to give it to her! God has really been speaking to me about intimacy with Him a lot. So I’ve been reading my Bible and really pressing into Him more. I hope all of you guys have a great Christmas and a happy New Year. Merry Christmas!

GRACIE (5) – It’s fun here in Africa.  I play with my new friends.  I jump on the trampoline, and I play on the monkey bars.  I can go all the way across all by myself now!  I play in the sandbox and make sandcastles.  I got 2 new pairs of glasses because mine broke when I was hugging my mommy.  My mommy always calls me a “little fish” because I like to swim in the pool.  I’m learning how to swim.  I jump into the water while plugging my nose.  I’m not afraid of the water.  Merry Christmas, bye!

JOSIAH (4) – I love you all!  I wish you could come here.  I play with friends on the trampoline.  We put balls on the trampoline and bounce them, but if they touch you then you’re out.  The only way to get saved and back into the game is if another person jumps over the ball that touched you.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Simon Says...

This morning I woke up pondering things in my heart.  The Lord brought the game “Simon Says” to mind and told me to blog about it.  You know, the childhood game where one person is Simon.  If Simon says, “Simon says to touch your nose,” then you must touch your nose.  However, if Simon says, “Touch your nose,” but doesn’t say, “Simon says” and you touch your nose anyway then you are out.  Well, this isn’t new revelation to me but the Lord was speaking to me through this game.  If you put God in place of Simon in the game and God says to do something, you should do it.  If God doesn’t say to do something, don’t do it.  As a child playing this game, I would almost always get out if I tuned out what Simon was saying and just watched the actions of others.

The Lord was speaking to me about this and how we must listen to His voice for direction and not allow others to influence our actions or decisions.  He absolutely can speak wisdom through others, but I have learned to always take what is spoken to me to the Lord to process it with Him and “throw out the chaff”.  In Psalm 1:4 it talks about the wicked being worthless chaff, but the Lord was applying this particular concept to some situations we’ve been experiencing.  For those that aren’t familiar, chaff is the outer shell (or husk) that must be removed to get at the valuable kernels of grain inside.  Chaff was removed by a process called threshing and winnowing.  After the plants were cut, they were crushed, and then the pieces were thrown into the air.  Chaff is very light and is carried away by even the slightest wind, while the good grain falls back to the earth.  Chaff is a symbol of a faithless life that drifts along without direction.  Good grain is a symbol of a faithful life that can be used by God.  Unlike grain, however, we can choose the direction we will take.

In the last few months, we’ve allowed ourselves to be “carried away” by good opportunities, choosing to set aside some internal checks we were having and going after what seemed like the logical path.  One day the Lord spoke to me clearly and said, “What seems like the logical answer is not MY answer.”  I am constantly pondering Proverbs 3:5 in my mind and heart, “Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”  Before any steps were taken I was sensing some things in my spirit about direction for our family.  In sharing those things with Josh, he heard me but didn’t take those things to heart or ask the Lord if He was in it or not.  Instead, he chose to follow what made logical sense to him.  In the end, I chose to submit to my husband because I wanted to honor him and be in unity.  We are aware of where we went wrong, and in hindsight Josh has learned that he shouldn’t have ignored the checks I was having.  I have also learned not to waiver or treat nonchalantly the wisdom the Lord imparts to me.  We continue to walk through this journey of life, continually being humbled by the Lord’s “teaching” opportunities.

When the Lord gives you a specific task, keep your gaze focused on Him and don’t be tossed to and fro by others’ opinions or exciting opportunities that come but aren’t doors you’re supposed to walk through.  There’s no need to question the “why’s” behind it – simply trust God because He sees the bigger picture.  When you begin to second guess the Lord, the spirit of doubt and confusion enters in and clouds your vision.  We know we have heard the Lord clearly on specific dreams and tasks He has given us, but it’s important that we get the timing right and not get ahead of Him.  Someone shared a testimony with me the other day, and I believe the Lord prompted him to share it with me at just the right time without him even knowing about our situation and challenges we were facing – and it all happened through casual conversation.  The Lord spoke to this couple a year ago that they needed to find a new house.  As they began looking, one would find a house that the other didn’t like and vice-versa.  Then they found a house that they both really liked.  That weekend (Saturday) they were going to purchase the house, but it turned out that someone else purchased it the day before they were supposed to.  At that point they gave up on searching and began wondering if maybe they heard the Lord wrong because it didn’t happen the way they expected or when they expected it.  A year later the word that the Lord gave them about finding a new house began manifesting and it’s happening with such ease and favor….all in His timing.

He has spoken to us (even our kids) through words and pictures/visions, confirming that we have done the right thing by slowing things down and staying true to the things He’s put on our hearts to do.  And, YES, that means saying no to other good opportunities that may come our way so that we will be available for God’s BEST opportunities to serve out His purposes through us.  One word of advice in the “waiting” is to keep your love on and protect your relationship with Him!  The enemy would love nothing more than to steal those things from you.  You can pursue dreams that God has given you, but if you turn off your love towards anyone during your journey when obstacles come, it means nothing [1 Corinthians13].

There is this incredible song by Kelanie Goeckler called, "Let Go Now."  I would highly recommend you take the time to listen to it right now as it carries a great anointing from the Holy Spirit.  The lyrics are extremely powerful and clearly convey what is going on in the hearts of me and Josh.  Here are some of the lyrics:

Holy Spirit overshadow me.  Take me by the corners of my soul and shake me.  Break me wide open to carry your heart.  All I want to do is lose myself in you.  Lean back in your arms and just let go.  Let it be, to me, according to your word.  Your ways are higher than mine.

I let go - your kingdom come.  In my life - your will be done.  Your ways are higher than mine.  I let go now!  Everything we were holding back before, we give it to you.  We won’t struggle against your hand – we just let go.  It feels so good to just let go!  I make my good plans, but you direct my steps.  I will trust in you at all times.  Your ways are higher than mine.

 

We are choosing to JUST LET GO and surrender daily to His ways because they are higher than ours!  What will you choose today?  Will you continue to hang on to the comforts of life, or will you choose to surrender your entire life to Him and let Him have His way in and through you……..?  I pray that God will have His way in you right now.  I pray that He is ministering to your heart this very second.  I pray that chains that have held you back are broken off right now.  I pray that all fear is broken off in your life and that Holy Spirit will reveal to you God’s purposes for your life and that you would be able to take a giant leap of faith to follow after His heart – even if it means letting go of something familiar to you.  It will be worth the risk!

Slowing down our steps because “Simon” aka God said to.  Letting go now……..