Farming God's Way

“Farming God’s way” is a process where one uses more natural ways to grow fruits and vegetables while also decreasing water consumption.  We were introduced to it by Josh’s dad years ago and felt it was time to implement it here on the farm.  The Lord spoke clearly to Josh and I roughly 9 months ago about having land and a garden – that those were the first two steps He was leading us to focus on.  Currently we do not own the land we are on, but in due time we will as the Lord provides, so we are unable to start a large scale garden at this point.  However, we have begun taking steps into developing a smaller garden to feed our families with and others that may come to visit.  Here is our progress thus far….

Day #1 (Wednesday, September 2, 2015) – ain’t no garden like a poopy garden!  Without a bakkie and tools, Josh and Matt made multiple trips by foot from the lower fields to the higher fields to collect the black soil and horse manure needed for a great compost pile.  It was very labor intensive.  Fortunately, they found a shovel and wheelbarrow that was left behind from the previous tenant when he moved out.

Day #2 (Thursday, September 3, 2015) – The hard work continues as the little ones willingly join us to help serve in the garden without being asked!  Early this AM we started off with one shovel to dig out the sod for our garden space.  The wheelbarrow was filled and many trips taken to dump the sod in a pile.  Later this morning we were blessed by our friend and missionary from the States, Josh Davis, with a bakkie and some shovels that he picked up for us from the second-hand store.  They were able to load up the back of the bakkie with much fertile soil from the lower fields and then scoop it out with the shovels into a pile near the garden.  This saved many hours of time and strain off the men’s shoulders.  It would be great to have a bakkie for the farm and work that needs done, but we are learning to get by and be content until the Lord provides a way!

Day #3 (Friday, September 4, 2015) – The horses, ponies and donkey decided to help….by eating the compost pile!  Josh and I woke up at 5:30am to Fiona, the donkey, on our back porch right by our bedroom.  We discovered that the horses can get through the main front gate to our house if it’s not double-locked.  Lesson learned.  Double-lock the gate at night!  Earlier in the week Josh and the Gagers made a trip to the store so everyone would have some boots to wear on the farm for working in and walking in when it’s pouring rain and muddy outside.  These have definitely come in handy!  Josh and I also found a little $5 sign at the second-hand store that reads, “LIFE IS MADE OF CHOICES…REMOVE YOUR SHOES OR SCRUB THE FLOOR!!

Day #4 (Saturday, September 5, 2015) – The garden space increases and the digging up of sod is almost complete.  The guys began laying rows of “God’s carpet” for planting.  Between the rows they laid a natural layer of thatch and composted material.

Day #5 (Sunday, September 6, 2015) – Day off from work.  The Lord rested too!

Day #6 (Monday, September 7, 2015) – The digging of sod has been completed.  Josh and I went to the second-hand store to buy a machete, pick ax and pitchfork.  These tools made a huge difference when turning the hard soil and rocks that were immersed underneath.  More of “God’s carpet” was added.

Day #7 (Tuesday, September 8, 2015) – Our friend, Josh Davis, stopped by with his family for “Taco Tuesday” dinner night.  He brought his bakkie again so more trips to the lower fields could be made.  He also blessed us with his old lawnmower, which was a great need of ours.  Many people use a weed whacker to “mow” their lawn, but we knew that wouldn’t be feasible for the enormity of our property.  Josh Davis no longer needed his and said we could have it for free.  It needed some work done but it was ours for the taking!  Thank you, Lord, for continually meeting our needs.  Thank you Davis family for pouring into the Lord’s work here and for your generosity and friendship.

Day #8 (Wednesday, September 9, 2015) – The guys got the lawnmower working!  Now we just need a gas can and petrol (aka “gas”).  The snakes hide in the grass so we don’t want it getting too long.  We are headed to town on Saturday to visit Sonshine Valley.  We’d like to get petrol then, but with all of us in our little Opel, that won’t leave room for a gas can.  What to do, what to do.  Still praying for another vehicle.  God will provide! The rest of the gardening has been placed on hold until the horses on our property are relocated.  That is supposed to happen today.

The hand blisters and bruises have been well worth the hard work!  We look forward to being more self-sufficient and eating the produce from all of this hard work and being able to bless others as well.  We’ll continue to provide pictures and updates as things progress, but you can also check out our Facebook page Mason Family Missions or www.four18.org for lots more pictures to be loaded in the near future.  We hope you have enjoyed the “fruits” of our journey.

If the Lord is leading you to help provide financial support in what He’s doing through us in South Africa, you can submit a tax-deductible donation on our Web site at www.four18.org.  Thank you for your continued support in finances, prayers, encouragement and love.  We are blessed!

Farm Life

The cleaning crew!

It’s official – we’ve moved onto the farm!  On Saturday, August 29th we loaded everything up, cleaned house and said goodbye to our first home in South Africa.  We are thankful to neighbors that so graciously hooked up trailers to their vehicles and drove our stuff out to our new home on the farm, and to our friend that also helped load/unload and provide dinner for us.

The Lord gave Josh the name “Joyful Valley” for our property.  The area we live in is called Ruiterbos.  There are 3 living quarters on the property that is almost 50 acres – a full house, flat and servant’s quarters.  Our family lives in the full house, with Abby sharing a room with Gracie.  It consists of 3 bedrooms, 1 office and 2 bathrooms.  The office is perfect for homeschooling.  Matt and Bree live in the flat, and Eric will be staying in the servant’s quarters once it is ready.  The homes are beautiful and beyond what we ever expected to stay in while here in Africa.  I remember the Lord speaking to me when we lived in Pretoria back in January, and He said He was going to restore in greater measures all that we had given up (house, garden, finances, etc.) to come to Africa.  An entry from my journal dated December 20, 2014, talks about how I had been skyping with a dear friend back in the States.  While sharing with my friend the house plans I had drawn up to build a home on the Footprints base near Johannesburg, she heard the Holy Spirit say “think bigger.”  Interestingly, not long after we moved onto the Footprints base (which would have been in October 2014), I kept hearing the words “dream bigger.”  It was around the time Josh and I were making decisions about him being the head master of the school there.  As you know, a series of promptings from the Holy Spirit and confirmation through counsel, we left the Footprints base on New Year’s Day of this year.  On January 17, 2015, my journal entry talks about mine and Josh’s visit to Mossel Bay before we ever decided to move there.  The entry reads, “We went on a hike from The Point along a trail that led us to a beautiful view overlooking the ocean.  No buildings were in sight.  Josh and I found a place to sit and pray/worship together.  We were bold in our requests, dreaming big with God and asking specifically for land that is fertile and large enough for a huge garden, a house and room to build.  We want the place to be a sanctuary people can come to meet the Father there.”  This is when the Lord confirmed to me that we were to move to Mossel Bay – that He was giving us Mossel Bay.  God has answered our prayers, protected us from “settling” and faithfully provided us with a sanctuary that has fertile soil and lots of land for gardening.  We can garden year round and hope to start preparing the garden within the next week or two.  We are in complete awe of His hand at work!  Originally we were told that we couldn’t move onto the property unless we purchased it.  With that said, we continued to pray for the land if it be God’s will but started to look at other rentals because we didn’t have the funds to purchase.  Those other rentals, although nice, didn’t sit well with me in my spirit.  As we all pressed into God’s heart and what He wanted, Josh asked me what I felt we should do.  I told him, “Either we heard God say the farmland was ours or we heard wrong.”  I suggested we contact the agent to see if the owner of the farm would be willing to lease the property to us until we have the funds to purchase it.  If God wanted to close the door, now was the time for Him to do that.  But God!  The owner had a change of heart and said YES!  Only God!!  So…here we are, on the farm, trusting that God will provide the finances to eventually purchase it so that we can continue to move forward with His plans for this land of milk and honey!

Roscoe (male pup), Daisy (female pup)

In our last blog, we wrote about some needs we had.  We are thankful that 3 out of the 4 needs have been met.  The person that moved out of the farmhouse had 2 sets of bunk beds, a fridge/freezer and a few other miscellaneous items available for us to purchase at a great price.  We also visited the SPCA (aka humane society) and were able to adopt 1 dog and 2 puppies.  It is a thorough process where they even inspect your property before approving the adoption to make sure it’s a good fit for animals.  We brought the 3 new additions to our family home on Friday, August 28, the day prior to moving.  The oldest dog was a recent stray but is incredible with kids and does her job of protecting us on the land.  We believe she’s a German shepherd and possibly collie mix.  While walking alongside the kennels praying over which dog(s) to pick, I knew she was the one for us the moment I laid eyes on her.  We do not know the breed of the puppies yet.

Rosey (female)

Matt and Josh took the kids for a walk on the land.  As they walked through the lower field, Josh noticed there were mole mounds and the soil was very dark.  He started kicking the mounds over to discover that all the soil in the lower field is dark and black.  For a farmer, this is great news!  Black soil can mean it is full of nutrients, especially nitrogen.  While on this walk, Josiah came to a river and said, “Wow, Dad.  Is that our river?!”  Yes, my son, yes it is!!

As of today the river on our property is now 4x the size it was 24 hours ago after a heavy rain fall.  It also created another new fork off the river.  We discovered some leaks in our house and the flat where Matt and Bree Gager sleep.  Matt and Bree had gone to their flat to retire for the night when they discovered water leaking heavily into their flat.  Bree sent Josh a picture to his phone of the leakage so he went down to help Matt.  It was pouring outside.  Matt had discovered one source of the leak – a missing door to the attic outside.  While climbing down from the ladder to get supplies, the ladder broke and folded in half.  Thankfully he landed safely on the ground without injury.  After gathering some supplies, including plastic trash bags, rope and a headlamp, they were able to temporarily stop that leakage.  Then Matt and Bree rolled up some towels and blocked the water from coming under the door and pooling around their beds.  Josh came in the house soaking wet and numb.  Not long after, he received some comical messages from Matt on his phone:

“We have worms coming into the house to escape the flood.  We are moving everything to higher ground.”

“All this work has made me hungry.  We need to order carry out.”

A message from Bree read, “Matt’s whole butt is numb!”

The farm life, haha!

Josh, Matt and Bree found their first snake on the property today.  It was a small house snake.  It was hiding in between some concrete blocks they were moving to make a shelter for the dogs.

The previous tenant on the farm stopped by today to fix the geyser (aka water heater) because Josh and I have been without hot water in our bathroom and kitchen.  He informed us that the main access road to the highway was washed out.  This is the main road we use to get to town.  We also found out that a bridge on the secondary access road is under water.  Right now it is impossible for us to get into town without a 4-wheel drive vehicle because of all the rain we’ve been getting these past couple of days.  Our little Opel just won’t cut it.  However, it’s supposed to clear up by the weekend.  Thankfully we went grocery shopping on Monday for the week, otherwise we’d be using leaves for TP and eating grass and monkeys for meals!  That was an adventure in itself to drive to the grocery store, as our tires spun and slid while Josh gunned it in order to make it through our muddy “driveway.”

We are still in need of a vehicle, as the one we currently have is on loan and won’t cut it out on the farm for very long.  Someone has generously offered to donate $5,000 towards the purchase of a vehicle.  We are truly grateful!  We’re estimating that the cost of a used 4x4 that would seat us all and be able to pull a trailer is $20,000 US.  It would be nice to have one vehicle that covers both needs.

In a little over one week, our family will be celebrating 1 year of living in South Africa!!  Man how time flies.  We hope you have enjoyed following along on our journey thus far and that you continue to enjoy the adventure!  If the Lord is leading you to help provide financial support in what He’s doing through us in South Africa, you can submit a tax-deductible donation on our Web site at www.four18.org.

We will be posting pictures of the farmland and house soon once we get unpacked and the rain clears up!  Until then, much love and blessings to you!

Moving to the Promised Land!!!

About a month ago I wrote about some land we were seeking to purchase.  A quote from my last post, “If the owner agrees to our terms, we will be required to make a 10% down payment by August 31^st to secure the land, which we believe will be roughly $40,000 (including some tax).”  Well, it is quite the extensive process to get funds from the US to South Africa, so even if we had the full amount of the funds available in the US, realistically we still wouldn’t have been able to make the August 31^st deadline.  We approached the agent for the property in complete transparency and told him we wouldn’t have the funds by August 31^st.  Keep in mind, we hadn’t signed any type of contract at this point.  When it seemed like the door might be closing on this particular piece of land, we all continued to pray and seek the Lord for direction.  Frustratingly, we were getting nothing new from the Lord.  Thoughts of did we hear you right, we just want what you want, we’ll give up this land if you want us in the townships, whatever you want Lord began to enter our minds.  In all honesty, my heart has been torn between living on this piece of land and living in the townships.  Yes, the Lord showed us a vision of having land, but my heart is to live simply and “live in the dirt” so-to-speak, clinging on to nothing – not even comforts.  In talking with a dear friend about this, she said, “There is a purity and a freedom in living simply and loving extravagantly.  You know that God has transformed your heart when that is your desire.  Although, it may be that heart attitude that He is after with you and not the specific living conditions.”  Such wisdom and truth.  I’ll come back to this……

Last Sunday we attended a church in the township, Sonskyn Valley.  The pastor shared a beautiful message IN ENGLISH and I felt at peace, especially without all the “bells and whistles” that a lot of churches have.  It was simple, raw and heartfelt.  Afterwards we spoke with the pastor, and he shared how he was nervous about speaking the message in English because it’s his second language, but he chose to do so in honor of us……in honor of us!  How blessed we felt by this humble man of God.  I look forward to the continued relationships the Lord is going to build within Sonskyn Valley.

This past Saturday we were also at Sonskyn Valley.  We prepared 150+ tin foil meals and took them to Sonskyn Valley to share a meal with the children.  We sang songs, danced and the guys even played a little rugby with the boys.

 

While there we met a young man who asked Josh, “What can you teach me about God?”  Ding!  Ding!  It turns out this young man attends an advantage “at-risk” high school here in the area.  In fact, I met his admin teacher while attending the women’s conference in Cape Town the weekend prior.  She rode in the same vehicle with us on the way home.  In speaking with her, I found out she teaches at an advantage high school, just like Josh has done in the past.  Some of the stuff she shared with me breaks my heart, but at the same time, my spirit leaped at the possibility that this was another door God was opening for us.  We hear of teen pregnancies where babies are placed in garbage bags because they can’t take care of them.  Or gang initiations that require the most gruesome acts of obedience to take place to be a “part of the family.”  IT NEEDS TO STOP!  STOP FOR LOVE!  STOP FOR THE ONE IN FRONT OF YOU!!  Our new friend recently spoke with her principal and we have an OPEN INVITATION to come to the school and speak to the learners (aka students)!  We will be meeting with one of the teachers hopefully this Friday to talk about what this might look like and then go from there.  We’re excited for this opportunity!  As I watch my husband interactive with troubled teens, something in my spirit stirs.  He has a gift and I’m excited to see it take flight for His glory!

Last week we also invited a guy over for dinner.  His girlfriend came with.  He is one of the parolees we had been meeting with prior to our 2-month leave for the States back in April.  It was great to reconnect with him.  It turns out that the Freedom Walkers we had been meeting with still meet once a month on Tuesday evenings.  Their next gathering is on August 25^th.  Josh is attempting to make contact with the Department of Corrections office to see if he and I can come on the 25^th to say hello to everyone.  Please cover this in prayer, as we’ve really been wanting to reconnect with these guys.  They have never left our hearts!

So………back to the beauty of simple living.  I’m in a place where I want to give everything away so that I have MORE to give…..the “more” being of God!  Now understand, I’m not exclusively talking about materialistic things.  I want to give away or get rid of anything that’s trying to take the place of God.  This could be anything from comforts to money to possessions to fears and insecurities.  I told God that I’d be willing to “give up” the land we had been seeking to purchase if He wants us to be in the township and live in a 400 square-foot home.  I don’t want to settle.  I don’t want an ordinary life.  I want to live out my life in radical faith, love and obedience to the Lord, whatever that looks like.  I don’t want anything to get in the way of that.  Today we heard back from the agent for the land, and although the owner’s disappointed that we can’t purchase the land right now, he’s agreed to lease the property to us and place the purchase “on hold” until the funds become available!  A door we thought the Lord may be closing has still remained open.  We are moving to the farm!!!!  I’m thankful to the Lord but still find myself asking Him, “But what about the township?”  Josh and I know that both families are not ready for the living conditions in the township, and because of that, we’ve had to lay those desires aside for the time being.  BUT, the Lord is saying, “I’m still giving you the township of Sonskyn Valley!”  He may not be directing us to live there right now, but He’s opening up the doors in the area to bring His love.

We don’t have an exact move-in date yet, but it will definitely be by the 31^st of August.  The current tenant has already moved out.  We should be getting a lease agreement written up within the next day or two.  We do have some more immediate needs once we move and would appreciate your prayer covering over these items.

1. Beds (for Christian, Josiah and Eric) – currently Eric sleeps on a couch and our boys sleep on the carpet floor.  The new house has concrete flooring.
2. Fridge/freezer (for the 2^nd house).
3. Vehicle (ours is on loan but will need returned soon; that leaves us with no vehicle).
4. Dogs (for protection).

Thank you for following along on our journey and for your continued prayers and support.  If the Lord is leading you to help provide financial support in what He’s doing through us in South Africa, you can submit a tax-deductible donation on our Web site at www.four18.org.

Four18 – 1 John 4:18 – let His perfect love cast out all fears in your life!  Then you will soar with Him on wings like eagles [Isaiah 40:31].

Son Shine Valley

“I am pleased when you spend yourself on Me.”  Those are lyrics to a song.  I’ve been thinking a lot about how I spend my time and how we spend time together as a family.  On the mission field overseas, we know it’s just as important to ministry to our own kids as it is to go out and share Jesus with others.  I am passionate about teaching my kids how to live a life of love and freedom fully surrendered to the Lord, and the best way to do this isn’t through “preaching” – it’s through example.  So, for the past 2 weeks we’ve changed how we spend our family time together to make it less “us” focused and more “others” focused.

On Tuesday, July 14^th, we planned a surprise day for the kids.  However, rather than the primary focus being on how we can entertain ourselves, we first chose to focus on how we can love on others and give away what we have – LIFE IN JESUS!  So, we took the kids to the grocery store to buy some candy.

Then we drove them to a township called Sonskyn Village (translation “Son Shine Village”) so they could give away their candy to the children that lived there.  At first Christian was a bit nervous of the idea to approach people he didn’t know, but we told him we’d be right by his side and that it will be fun and easy.  Once we started, it didn’t take him long to warm up and start walking up to kids on his own. 

Even though I prayed that the candy would multiply, we ran out towards the end as kids started spreading the word that free candy was being handed out! ;-)  We are so proud of Christian, Gracelyn and Josiah, as none of them complained about there being no candy left for them.  When they saw how happy the other children were to get candy, it put smiles on their own faces, which melted my mama’s heart!  At the end they said they had a blast and wanted to do it again.  We were able to talk to them about the condition of homes that most of these children live in and how sometimes they can go without eating meals or have very little.  We pray that their hearts were opened to those less fortunate and that their hearts become more thankful for just how blessed they are.  We also want them to learn that they don’t need all this “stuff” to be happy and full of joy in the Lord.

Our family hopes to visit this village on a weekly basis to start building relationships with the people there.  We were going to visit again this week (Tuesday is our family day) and bring some sidewalk chalk to draw pictures with the children, but it rained most of the morning and was terrible weather into the afternoon which prevented us from doing so.  So, instead we spent our family time making cards for the Gagers….because we love them too!

After walking through the township, we surprised them with a spontaneous trip out to the land that we’re hoping to purchase.  The lady that cares for all of the animals on the farm was there to guide us and teach us about the animals.  Christian befriended a dog named Nikita and is hoping that we can keep her when we move onto the farm!  This was a big deal for Christian in conquering his fears because sometimes he gets nervous around dogs.  He also suggested that we get a German shepherd because that’s what Jade would want.  They miss their big sister!  We toured one of the houses and the kids began telling us which room they’d like and which beds they want.  We explained that the furniture wouldn’t be staying with the house, although the current tenant is willing to offer us some good deals for some of his furniture because he is downsizing and doesn’t want to move it all.  Wouldn’t you know – we’re in need of at least one more bed because our boys have been sleeping on the floor.  We could also use another fridge/freezer.

We then ended our family day with lunch out and a movie.  Although it’s fun to eat out on occasion and watch movies, the greatest memories I want to build with my children and husband are times where we can have fun together spreading love to others!  Those are the moments that will build strong character and conviction in living a selfless life and loving the Lord with all their heart, mind, soul and strength!  So, the next time you think about entertaining yourself or your kids (if you have any), ask yourself how you/they can bless someone else in the midst of it!  It is better to give than to receive [Acts 20:35]!

The Promised Land

Earlier this morning I was reading through my journal and came across an entry dated February 6, 2015.  Matt Gager had been visiting us in Pretoria just days before we were getting ready to move to Mossel Bay.  At this time, he was praying and seeking the Lord as to whether or not his family should move to South Africa.  During his morning time with the Lord the day prior, he said the Lord told him He was going to give us land.  Well, here we are today in the middle of negotiating the purchase of a large piece of land in an area called “8 Bells”.  As you may have read in my previous post, we have been praying that the owner would agree to a lease-to-own contract because we don’t have the funds to purchase it right now.  The owner is fine with this and allowing his lawyer and the agency to work out the details as they see fit.  To give you a little background to the story………

When we were sent back to the States to obtain our visas, we still honored our rental agreement even though we weren’t going to be living in the house for 2 months.  We had paid through the end of May but needed to make another payment by June 1^st.  Through many roadblocks, I was finally able to successfully get the funds from the US to South Africa.  However, long story short, the agency had troubles withdrawing the funds so the agency owner, Stevie, came to our house shortly after our return to try and sort things out.  At this point, our landlord even wanted us to be forced to vacate the premises because he thought we were in breach of our contract, but the agency backed us up and said we paid our rent on time and that the problem was on their end.  It took almost 3 weeks for them to finally secure the funds.  During that time, Josh so happened to mention that we were in search of some land.  It turns out that Stevie knew of someone that owned a large piece of land and would be interested in selling it if offered the full amount of R3.5 million (rand).  This is the equivalent of roughly $288,000 (excluding tax of 14%).  He left our home and then brought back some pictures on a thumb drive so we could see the place.  Based on the pictures, our interest was definitely peaked.  A few days later we were at the property and blown away by its beauty and the layout.  We all had peace about pursuing the land, and Matt sensed the Lord saying, “It is ours.”  The catch was someone currently lived in the house and hadn’t given their notice.  We continued to voice our interest to Stevie, and Josh even met with the current tenant to see what his plans were.  It turns out he had given his notice to leave by the end of August.  How timely for us, as our current lease ends August 31^st.  What’s incredible is that the property was NEVER on the market to sell!  Stevie just so happens to be good friends with the owner of the property, believes in the Lord and sees our heart in all of this.  God took the situation with our struggles to make our rent payment and used it for good by connecting us with Stevie ‘cause that’s just what He does!!  If the owner agrees to our terms, we will be required to make a 10% down payment by August 31^st to secure the land, which we believe will be roughly $40,000 (including some tax).

The owner of the property is also willing to sell his truck to us, but as of now we’re holding off because the asking price is too high – roughly $28,000.  We think we might be able to obtain a used truck and larger vehicle to transport all of us for hopefully around that same price.  God has been good to us with our current vehicle, as we’ve been able to keep it for longer than expected, but it definitely won’t make it on the farm.  This is another need we are in prayer for – a truck for working on the farm and transporting things such as equipment, fertilizer, etc., and a vehicle that can seat all of us or more children as needed.

Josh and Matt met with the property owner’s lawyer on Monday to discuss details, and that is when we found out someone else is interested in purchasing the property.  In fact, this person originally owned the property and then sold it and now wants to buy it back.  Stevie has clearly communicated to the lawyer that he wants us to have first dibs.  Favor!!  Today Josh and Matt met with an accountant to discuss tax laws and figure out the best way to funnel the funds, etc.  It turns out that the accountant goes to the church we’ve been attending.

Now, you may wonder….  Where are a bunch of unemployed missionaries going to get this kind of money?  That’s a good question.  Our answer….  We have the best employer one could ask for – God!!  Josh and I know that He sent us here.  We know that He told us to pursue land and start a garden to feed people.  We know He has promised us land.  We know He is a faithful Daddy that will provide in impossible situations.  If He wants us to have this land, He will provide all that we need for it as we continue to follow His lead.

We would appreciate your prayers and covering that no spirit of doubt or fear would steal from our peace and joy as we step out in faith and pursue His heart.  If the Lord is leading you to help provide financial support in what He’s doing through us in South Africa, you can submit a tax-deductible donation on our Web site at www.four18.org.

We have been told that a contract should be drawn up by the end of this week so we will keep you all updated as things transpire.  Thank you for joining us in prayer and believing with us for this land!  The Lord has declared it will be a place of hope and restoration!

One House - One Vehicle - One Heart

TRANSITION BACK TO SOUTH AFRICA

Our sweet, little Gracie announced beautifully in a video (check it out on Facebook – Mason Family Missions) that, yes, the Gager and Mason family live in Africa together in a WHOLE house, ONE house.  There are 9 of us living in one 3-bedroom + loft house, driving one vehicle, united in one heart…..and it’s a beautiful thing!  The church we currently attend, Joshua Generation, is about 12 minutes from our home.  Here is a picture of us cramming into one 2-door vehicle so we could attend a church service last Sunday.  Christian, Gracie and I were in the trunk, yes, the trunk!  Josiah sat on Josh’s lap in the front while Matt drove and the rest sat in the middle.  We joked around about how we probably looked like one of those cars where clowns kept coming out! J  We are able to borrow this vehicle until mid-July, so we will be in need of another vehicle soon.

Some of you might think this is a “sacrifice”, but I have heard of greater sacrifices – like people walking for days to attend church.  Aren’t we supposed to count it all as joy?!?!  Americans have no idea just how good they have it.  I truly have a thankful heart for the things we do have, even if others have the perspective that we lack because of our choice to live a simple life.  I have never felt more blessed and rich as I have let go of materialistic possessions and “conveniences” and grown in my walk with Him.  He has captured my heart!  The toilet in our family’s bathroom had been taking about 10 minutes for the tank to fill all the way up so that it could be flushed again, which typically means that if someone else has to use the toilet they’d need to wait.  The other day I was flushing the toilet and found myself THANKING God for a toilet that flushes and has water because Josh and I experienced times in Mozambique where we had to fill up the tanks with water bottles just so we could flush them, and then there were times where we had to conserve water and not flush for a period of time or even go to the bathroom in a community latrine (a hole in the ground).  I speak to Americans because I am an American, but I encourage you to change your perspective and wake up to just how good you have it compared to much of the world.  When you find yourself complaining about what you don’t have, inconveniences or finding yourself asking for “more”, stop for a moment and thank the Lord for what you do have.  The Lord gives and He takes away, and we must learn to let our petitions be known to the Lord and then be content in our given situation no matter how He chooses to provide (Philippians 4:11-12).  We must also take a stance to fight off any attacks of the enemy to kill, steal and destroy what the Lord intended for us through steadfast prayer, but thankfully the Lord uses every situation for good to those that love Him and seek Him in all situations.

I’ve heard it said that, as children of God, we are entitled to the best of the best.  While this is true and the Father likes to give His children good gifts, in my heart I’ve been pondering a lot about what this personally means to me.  When I think of living an abundant life (John 10:10), there is nothing more I’d rather have than an overflow of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) so that I can give it away to others.  To me, becoming more like His character is one of the greatest gifts He could give me.  Did you know that when you pray for peace, God will allow you to be in positions that “test” your peace and how much you are turning to Him for strength?  When you pray for love, God will allow you to be in positions that “test” just how much you love your enemies?  He doesn’t just automatically give us the fruits of His spirit.  The only way to have these is to choose to be connected to Him, the vine (John 15).  If you are feeling empty of these things or frustrated with a certain person or situation, might it be that you have chosen to disconnect from the Lord and take your focus off Him?

Community living requires adjustment and laying down one’s life for another – something the Lord has been speaking to me about this past month.  Last Sunday he spoke to me about “giving up my right to be right for the sake of others.”  This is something I am continually growing in, especially through the transition of community living.  To me, laying down one’s life is really all about living a selfless life and honoring others.  It doesn’t mean you don’t have a voice or opinion.  It just means you seek wisdom on when it’s important to voice it or not.  I am one who likes efficiency, and this is not a bad thing, but not everyone is efficient or has experienced the same things I have.  Rather than allow pride to drop a seed in my heart, telling me my way is the only way, He is teaching me more about what His love and grace looks like as I continue to lay down my life for others (John 15:13).  I want to be a leader that empowers others and gives them an opportunity to grow.  There must be a balance between wisdom and grace, however.  The Lord told me I’d be walking into a season that would require greater grace, and I have definitely been placed in positions where I can choose to walk in grace or not.  It is my choice and sometimes I falter but continue to surrender my weaknesses to Him so that my heart can remain pure and free.

LIVING QUARTERS

Our lease for this home is up at the end of August.  We are seeking the Lord for where He would have us go next.  We have been looking for land to begin our vision of growing a garden and constructing transition homes and/or homes for children, in addition to paying parolees to help prepare the land, assist with construction, and mentor them on other levels.  Today we looked at a piece of land about 15 miles outside of town.  It is approximately 20 hectares (50 acres) and is selling for R3.5 million ($300,000 US).  This is an incredible deal for the amount of land and beauty that surrounds the property.  It has a stream that runs through the property that would provide for 11 hectares of irrigation for farming/gardening, and there is a great amount of fertile soil and level land that already exists on the property.  Currently, the house water is provided by one of the neighbors with the agreement that he can utilize the dirt road that runs through the property for driving on.  One full functioning house already exists on the premises.  There is another structure that can be portioned into 2 bedrooms and has a bathroom and kitchen (minus a stove).  There is also another small living quarter for workers.  Someone currently leases the property but is ready to move out.  They still must give their 2-month notice…..we have almost exactly 2 months left on our lease.  We’ve also been told that the owner may include the sale of his truck as part of the negotiation.  Come on Lord!  As we don’t currently have the funds to pay full cash for this property or any vehicle, we are praying for wisdom and favor on how to negotiate a lease-to-own contract.  Your prayers over this land and vehicle would be greatly appreciate.

FREEDOM WALKERS (parolees)

We were very excited to reunite with the Freedom Walkers (the parolees we had been meeting with prior to our departure to the States), but unfortunately the process has changed and now we must be approved by the government to be Service Providers for the Department of Corrections before we continue meeting with them.  Our hearts were saddened by this news.  We will be meeting with the Development & Care coordinator in the near future to present our vision.  Once a date is set, we will send out an update so you all can be praying.  In the meantime, as we develop our presentation, please pray for wisdom, creativity and passion to overflow - that the Lord’s heart for these guys would shine brightly and that no eyes would be blind to it.

WORSHIP & PRAYER

We have enjoyed spending time in worship and prayer together.  My heart is that we would all go deeper in this area.  Please pray against any distractions that would come to steal this time and place people in a state of complacency or dryness.  The Lord feeds the hungry and quenches the thirsty!  Pray that ears and hearts would be more open to His leading and that both families, especially us parents, would remain in a place of unity, peace and honor – that hearts would be transparent with the Lord and each other.  We are all in transition and it may take longer for some, so that is a great opportunity to put His power in our lives to practice.

FOUR18.ORG

If the Lord is leading you to help provide financial support in what He’s doing through us in South Africa, you can submit a tax-deductible donation on our Web site at www.four18.org.  We know that it will take an army of kingdom believers to further the vision He has given us.  What seems impossible, He makes possible as we trust in Him and walk out our faith and love for Him!  We encourage you to browse our Web site to see what other ways you can become involved.  We thank you, in advance, for following along on our journey, encouraging us and providing support in whatever way you feel led.  We’d love to hear from any of you, so feel free to send us an e-mail so we can keep up-to-date on what’s going on in your life.  From all of us, we love you and are thankful for you!

Our Time in the States

This post contains much joy and much sadness, as I write to you about our 2-month experience in the States.  From the moment we arrived back in April, we were showered with love and generosity, as many reached out to us and offered a place for us to stay and a vehicle to drive.  We spent the first 2 weeks helping our friends, the Gager Family, get moved out of their house and prepare them for the transition to come to South Africa with their two children: Eric (17) and Abby (14).  Aside from that, our highest priority was submitting our visa applications, but we ran into some roadblocks with that from day one of arriving to the States.  Clearly, the Lord worked it all out, as we are on our way back to South Africa with visas intact.  However, it is not without much sadness in leaving our oldest daughter, Jade, behind.

Within weeks of being back, we were served court papers.  Jade’s birth mom wanted full custody of Jade and was backing out of her original agreement for Jade to live in Africa for 2 years.  As you can imagine, this was very frustrating and a complete shock for us, although the Lord had already been preparing me for this battle in my own heart before we even came back to the States.  To stay in a place of honor towards those involved, I won’t go into details of the events that took place regarding the court case or spiritual attacks that Jade came under, but in the end I will say that Jade made the personal choice to stay with her birth mom instead of returning with us to South Africa.  It’s hard to watch your children battle with discerning God’s voice vs. setting aside their emotions to make wise decisions, but we have chosen to honor Jade’s heart in this matter and pray that her desire to get to know her birth mom better will be far better than she ever expected.  Even when the enemy tries to have his way and thinks he has won, we know that all things work together for His good to those that know and love Him!  Even though it is heart breaking, Josh was finally given peace to surrender Jade into the Lord’s care.  We said our “see you laters” with much tears and look forward to when Jade visits us again in South Africa next summer.  Through this storm, mine and Josh’s hearts remained pure and we walked in integrity when others did not.  It could have been so easy for us to manipulate, lie, guilt, buy Jade’s love and get our way in this situation, but we chose to take the highroad and not seek vengeance.  In our hearts, we won and are victorious in the Lord’s sight!  We ask for and appreciate your prayers as we all adjust to Jade not being with us.  In all her life (almost 13 years), she’s never been apart from us for more than 2 weeks, and that’s only when Josh and I went to Micronesia.  She’s got a tough transition and journey ahead of her, but we pray it’s one of beauty, peace, joy and love and that her identity continues to be strengthened in the Lord.  Many have reached out to us in this situation and offered to keep in touch with Jade and take her to church and youth group, and for that we are grateful!  We pray that the Lord continues to surround her with people that walk a life with Him and can pour godly wisdom into her life while we continue to do so from a distance.

During our time here, we were able to meet with a couple that was preparing to head to Mozambique for Iris Harvest School of Missions.  We didn’t know them much personally, but it’s like our hearts were already knit together.  We were able to help pave a “realistic” path for them of what to expect based off our experience in Mozambique back in 2012.  They blessed us in return with encouragement, love and support.  We enjoyed much eating, fellowship, prayer and worship with many of our old friends and new friends.  Pastors, church staff and prayer teams from various different churches met with us and released encouragement over our family.  The Lord expanded our pastoral covering, which had been the desire of our hearts for some time now.  God worked wonders in building the foundational structure for the ministry He has called us to in South Africa.  We were given opportunities to speak and share our hearts for what is to come, and many have shown interest in wanting to support us through prayer and finances.  We’ve even spoken to people whom are praying into serving in South Africa with us for short-term and long-term missions.  How exciting!  We were gifted with a great amount of funding during our 2-month visit, which helped us with court costs, visas, living expenses, return flights and other necessities.  The Lord has been so good to us as we continue to step out in faith and obedience no matter the cost!  Some might say it cost us our daughter.  Some might say we’re crazy and foolish.  In the Lord’s eyes, we have chosen Him and KNOW that God will restore everything that has been taken from us in His perfect timing.

My glasses broke almost 2 years ago, and God laid it on someone’s heart to buy me 2 new pairs of glasses while we were in the States.  Josh and I were also gifted with an overnight stay at the Anniversary Inn, which included $50 towards dinner.  When ordering homeschool curriculum, some friends gave us material for free, which was a huge blessing!  We also received a gift card to a restaurant, personal cards and warmer clothing/shoes for our children to take back with us, as we’ll be entering the winter season (50-60’s).  It’s definitely not like winter in Idaho, but the homes have no insulation and heating, so it will be a whole new experience for us.  Our family, along with the Gagers, were blessed with free accommodations at a beautiful home in McCall for 3 nights.  It was a great time for our families to have fun together and get away from all the busyness.  While there some people from a local church body, along with our amazing friends, prayed over us and spent time in worship together.  We were also able to spend time with my family in Eastern Idaho, along with 2 visits with my brother in jail, and help my mom do some restoration work on her home in Wendell to prepare to sell it.

Matt and Josh were able to complete what was needed to setup our non-profit organization: Four18 Ministries.  We have 3 great board members and mighty men of God that are taking this responsibility full on.  You can check out the Web site at www.four18.org.  We are not about “starting our own ministry.”  This is primarily an avenue for those that have shown interest in wanting to support us financially and through prayer.  Donations can be submitted online and go directly into our joint ministry account.  Key prayer points will also be listed on this site.  It is a work-in-progress as the Lord continues to show us what He wants done.

Days before us and the Gagers were scheduled to fly out, we still didn’t have visas.  On Tuesday, June 2 Josh said he was going to make a phone call to the SA consulate.  Matt happened to suggest that, in his experience, no one typically answers until 1:30pm.  It was around 10am and I encouraged Josh to try calling anyway.  Sure enough, someone answered on the first try.  At first the lady was a bit short with Josh and asked why we were going to South Africa.  After he shared with her our hearts, her tone and demeanor took a 180 and she said that she wants to partner with what we’re doing and connect us to others within the government that can help.  This person with whom he was speaking turned out to be the VICE consulate – 2^nd in command at the US consulate for South Africa.  God completely set us up with this divine phone call, of which we are completely in awe of His mighty work!  We will be in touch with the vice consulate in December, as she will be traveling to SA around that time.  For those that may not understand the significance of this phone call, in order for us to purchase land, we must have sponsors within the government.  Well, the Lord has connected us with 2 people now within the government.  He knows our needs and walks before us every step of the way!!

For months the Lord has been speaking to me about entering into a greater season of faith and trust for our family.  That season has begun.  This journey has not been without mountains to climb, but we have climbed the mountains with our hearts wide open for the Lord to use us and minister to us in whatever way He wanted.  We continue to trust in Him and look forward to learning more about the depths of His love in greater measure!!