Realignment to Move Forward

Ever since we returned from the States back in June, Josh and I had been sensing that some things needed to change.  We’ve spent a lot of time in prayer and discussion these past few months seeking the Lord for direction and wisdom in how to align things so that we would be able to continue moving forward with the Lord’s plans here in peace and unity.  On October 5th during our family worship time, the Lord told me to revisit 2 checks I had in my spirit while in the States this past April-June.  I knew exactly what He was referring to and shared with Josh what the Lord was showing me.

As all of you know, a non-profit organization [Four18] was created to provide an avenue for those that have felt led to make tax-deductible donations to our mission here in South Africa.  Josh and I have never wanted to or felt led to have a “ministry name” for what we are doing here in South Africa.  With that said, in trying to connect our vision to Four18, we realized that it was starting to become our umbrella so-to-speak; a name by which people were starting to know us by.  This was never our heart or the intent for setting up this non-profit organization.  Therefore, we recognize where we should have done things differently and are wanting to let everyone know that some changes will be coming to the Web site: www.Four18.org. We want to be in line with God’s leading so this realignment is necessary.  That is the word the Lord gave Josh, “Realignment is needed to move forward,” so we want to be obedient to His voice and no other, yes, even if that means humbly admitting our faults and acknowledging that we’re not perfect leaders!

One thing the Lord continually reminds me of is to pay attention to those little checks in my spirit and to not move forward with anything until I have 100% peace.  He’s reminding me to have the courage to speak up when I sense something is off.  He’s reminding me that it’s okay to get it wrong – at least fear of getting it wrong no longer paralyzes me like it used to!  That spirit of perfectionism is ugly, and I’m thankful it broke off me when I was freed of religion.  Either way, He works all things out for good, and we continue to grow as sons and daughters through this journey.  We are thankful to have Matt and Bree Gager serving the Lord with us here in South Africa.  They are a great joy and bring much goofiness and fun, which is so important to not lose sight of in ministry.  Ministry without joy…..well, it’s just not God’s way!

We’ve been greatly blessed these past few weeks with new friendships and generosity.  Some new friends of ours, James and Marlize, donated a bunch of furniture, a gas heater for next winter, lumber and miscellaneous items to us.  In this included curtains for our bedrooms, of which we had been going without.  It’s nice to have some more privacy now, wink-wink!  They felt led to sow into what the Lord is doing here through us, and we are extremely grateful that the Lord has connected us with like-minded people who understand our hunger and passion to be fully surrendered to the Lord.  We recognize that they aren’t just sowing into physical needs but spiritual ones as well.  We’ve enjoyed chatting with them on a couple of occasions.  During my first time visiting with them, I sensed a strong prompting to ask them to pray over me and Josh.  James had been turning the car and trailer around, but when he got out and we asked him if they’d be willing to pray over us he said that while in the car the Lord told him to do that very same thing for all of us! Their prayers and prophetic words were very timely and encouraging and gave me and Josh confidence and confirmation to move forward with a realignment we were sensing needed to happen. They didn't know anything about what was going on in our hearts, but the Lord did!  They are a strong couple that is living by faith, power and radical love.  Please keep them in your prayers as they seek direction for the Lord’s next steps in their lives.

We continue to move forward with expanding our garden space and were recently blessed with 25 FREE chicks from our missionary friends, Josh and Abby, to raise in preparation for food when it’s time. 

These are the rocks we've encountered with our shovels and pick axe while clearing the garden space!

Our heart is to become as self-sustainable as possible so that we can live off the land and put more of the Lord’s money towards helping others.  It's been a lot of intensive work clearing the land with only shovels and a pick axe.  A tractor or plower and chain saw would come in real handy.  We have these beautiful "trees" that are apparently weeds.  We have to cut them down with an axe, which takes a great amount of time as they are all over the farm.  Having a chain saw would be a huge blessing.  Our desire is still to own this land/farm once the finances are available, and we are holding onto the promise that the Lord has spoken to us – that He would give us land!  We are also still in great need of a vehicle.  If you feel led to help contribute in any way, you can make a tax-deductible donation online at www.Four18.org.

Something exciting is happening this November….Josh’s parents, Renn and Marita, are coming to visit us for TWO months!!  They will be here just in time to celebrate Josiah’s 5th birthday on November 22nd.  Renn will also be celebrating a birthday in South Africa on November 27th.  Their passports have arrived and plane tickets have been booked!  We’re all very excited to spend some time with them, and our desire is that they get some much needed relaxation and refreshing while here.  Please pray over all of the preparations that need to take place prior to their departure.  Also, please pray over their health and that they would remain strong and in a place of peace as they get ready to travel internationally.

This past Monday Josh had a meeting with a teacher at an at-risk high school.  He asked how we might be able to get involved with the students there, and a door has opened for us to go and counsel kids during their break times as often as we’d like!  Josh will be going this Friday (tomorrow) to introduce himself to some students and then he’ll go with the flow from there.  We’ve also asked about holding a camp at the farm, possibly during the students’ holiday break, so the teacher is going to look into that with the Vice Principal.  Please cover this opportunity in prayer that the Lord’s plans would be made clear to us.  We want to stay in line with His leading and not get ahead. 

Some people have shown interest about coming to serve with us here and possibly bring teams.  We are praying about the timing of this.  If you could join us in prayer over this, it would be greatly appreciated.  As exciting as it is when people show interest in what we’re doing for the Lord here, we also want to make sure His voice is the one leading us in our decisions.  And I’ll end this post on that note with Hebrews 12:25, “See to it that you obey God, the one who is speaking to you…..”

Fire 101

Several months ago the Lord spoke to me, "If you build it, they will come." Without knowing this, a friend of ours spoke these very same words over us within the last couple of months. This has different meanings for our family, but to start, during our family morning worship time this past Monday, my mind was focused on nothing but the Lord. Immediately a picture came to mind of a fire pit in our yard and many were gathered around it worshiping. I saw many cars making the trip down to our farm, and local neighbors even joined us for a time of worship. In my spirit I sensed the Lord saying it is time to build a fire pit at the farm and to invite the lost and broken to join us. In reality, we don't even have a vehicle that lawfully seats both of our families, so how we're going to help transport people from town to the farm is beyond my current understanding, but we serve a mighty God that knows our needs and sees our hearts.

After sharing with Josh what the Lord had shown me, he decided to get on it that very day (with the help of others) and build a fire pit with benches!

So blessed by such hard working men that also heard my heart and found value and purpose in what the Lord had shown me.

So, we now have a fire pit and plenty of firewood and have already enjoyed our first night of worship around it! Plus, we have company coming over this Saturday for a braai and hopefully some worship time.

Thank you for joining us in prayer that "the people will come", we will have a proper vehicle to move forward with the things on our hearts, and that our faith will remain strong as we trust the Lord for finances.

Here's to many worship nights, great conversations, relationships built, roasted hot dogs and s'mores for South African's that have never experienced this delicacy before!

Who is He??

Who am I?  The question we ask ourselves often….  Who or what do you let define you?

Today Josh went to Sonshine Valley while I stayed home with the kids.  He shared with me his experience about walking down the streets and simply saying hi to people.  Not much activity was going on and he began to ask Holy Spirit why they were there.  The answer became clear when a man began walking down the street looking tipsy with blood dripping down his face from cuts and his nose was bleeding.  Right away they realized the guy was drunk and upset.  Some kids had run into him while sliding on their make-shift skateboards down the streets, and he had fallen to the ground.  They had the opportunity to walk this guy to his home, pray over him and then encourage him to get some rest before he tried to kill one of the children.  Those were his “threats”.  They got to love on a man that felt no respect, didn’t know or had forgotten who he was, and just needed a little “Jesus” love that day.

What’s the point of my story?  As I sat pondering about this man, whom I haven’t even met, how many of you would have taken one look at the man or smelled one whiff of his breath and immediately called him a drunkard?  Be honest now.  Yes, he was drinking.  Yes, he had a little too much to drink.  However, is drunkard or alcoholic who he really is??  I think of him as a man who doesn’t know or has forgotten who he really is – a child of God!  If your first thought was, poor drunkard, stay away from me drunkard, it’s your own fault, you sinful person, you stupid fool, something along those lines, you should think about having a little heart-to-heart time with the Lord and get rid of your critical spirit.  

People turn to things such as drugs, alcohol, sex or other things because they want to bury pain.  When Jesus caught the woman in adultery, He didn’t call her out or label her by her actions because that’s not who she really was.  Yes, she had a lapse of poor judgment, but that doesn’t define who she is, her true identity.  The #1 area Satan will try to kill, steal and destroy from you is in your identity.

As followers of Jesus, our first response to someone who has forgotten who they are or hasn’t realized who they are yet should be – how can I show love and release God to you today?  It will look different every time, but love and the truth of Jesus’s love is what sets people free, and that’s what we should be releasing to the lost, broken and hurting.  Well, to everyone really.  Release the gold and not the garbage!

This is Hans.

I pray this man wakes up realizing he just had an encounter with the Lord through His faithful disciples.  I pray this man comes to know the Lord in a real way and begins to walk it out.  Won’t you join me in prayer?!  This is why we are here – to love God and love others to Him.  Who is he?  His name is David!

Here is a picture of Josh with another man in the township who had a few too many drinks as well.  They worshiped together.  His name is Hans!

  

Needs on the Farm - Being Content With Little or Much

It’s unbelievable to think that we’ve been living in South Africa for 1 year now.  On September 5^th, 2014, our family left everything behind in the States to follow God’s leading for our family to move to Africa.  We never knew where we’d end up, and now look, God has planted us in Mossel Bay, South Africa, on a beautiful farm!

I think back to when we first arrived in Pretoria, South Africa, to a beautiful 10+ bedroom home with a swimming pool.  At first I struggled with being content in such an enormous house because I wanted “less”.  I gave up everything in America with the mindset that eventually we’d be landing in Pemba, Mozambique in a home with molding walls, extreme temperatures, lack of power/water, and lots of rice and beans to eat!  In my heart I was ready for that, ready for less to receive “THE more”.  So, when we ended up in what looked like a mansion to me, I thought, “God, this isn’t right.  This is too much.  I want to be living in the dirt right now.”  That is when He reminded me of some profound truth.  The conditions under which I serve don’t matter.  What matters is the condition of my heart, simple as that!  He told me that I don’t need to be living in the dirt for Him to use me to further His Kingdom.  So there you have it!  It doesn’t matter where you are living or what those conditions are like.  He simply wants to use you as a vessel….He simply wants YOU!  Let’s put off the armor of false humility and instead simply be obedient to what the Lord’s asking us to do.  There’s no comparison.  Whether He sends you across the world or simply across the street, be available for Him!

When we moved to the children’s base at Footprints and shared one room with our 4 children and had a community bathroom and kitchen, I actually enjoyed it.  In Philippians 4:10-14 Paul talks about being content and learning to live on almost nothing or with everything.  Whether his stomach was full of food or empty, whether he had much or little, he was happy.  No matter what his conditions were, he learned to have a happy heart and not become too comfortable in his conditions because God gives and takes away.  I’m thankful to be in a place of contentment no matter what my circumstances or conditions are.  If I have little, I celebrate God’s goodness.  If I have much, I celebrate God’s goodness.  If God gives me more than I asked for or expected, I celebrate God’s goodness without feeling guilty!

Now, this doesn’t mean we just sit back, live a passive life and then expect God to “magically” provide for our every needs.  God tells us to let our needs be known, to trust Him to provide what we need when we need it and then be content in the waiting.  The Gager family would like to have a table and chairs in their living quarters so that, when desired, their family can gather around the table and eat meals together or do devotions just as a family from time to time, but we did not feel we were supposed to go and buy one right away.  They are learning to be content with what they have and only try to purchase things when God says to or gives peace about it.  Well, yesterday Josh received a phone call from a guy that is clearing out a prayer room and said that there’s a table available (plus other furniture and lumber) and it’s ours for the taking (FOR FREE) if we want it.  It seats 10-12 people.  Praise God!  Not everyone has storage space to put their clothes away in so they’re using suitcases and learning to be content until the Lord provides.  We are living on complete faith when it comes to finances.  We didn’t “fundraise” prior to moving to Africa because we didn’t feel the Lord’s leading on that.  God has placed it on people’s hearts to help support us on the mission field, and for that we are extremely grateful.  If one week we have tacos for dinner but the next week we’re eating potatoes and vegetables for every meal because that’s all we can afford to buy, then we’re content and celebrate His goodness for providing food on the table.

God knows the difference between our needs and our wants.  He promises to provide for our needs, and there are times when He gifts us with our wants too because He’s a daddy that knows how to give His children gifts.  The question to ask yourself is what is your attitude or appetite like when you don’t get what you want or are always wanting more or bigger and better?  Do you have great needs, or are you discontented because you don’t have what you want?  If you always want more, ask God to remove that desire and teach you contentment in every circumstance.  He will supply all your needs, but in a way that He knows is best for you.  Be content whether you have plenty or are in need by relying on God’s promises and Jesus’ power to help you.

Some of you have been asking what our current needs are on the mission field.  Other than general funds needed to live simply as missionary families overseas, below are some items we have been praying over collectively as a team. 

Vehicle: We have been generously blessed with this beauty for over 7 months now, much longer than expected, but the owner of the vehicle needs it to be returned.  They don’t want to leave our families high and dry without a vehicle and are letting us continue to use it until we have a vehicle of our own.  This is one of our more immediate needs.

Own Land: We believe God placed us on this farm to begin the next steps of our vision in providing a safe place for children, especially troubled teens, to come to and know what the Father’s love looks like.  This is to be a place of healing and restoration for the abandoned, rejected, lost and broken.  In order for us to move forward with more permanent decisions and steps in our vision, we must first obtain the funds to purchase the land.

Water: We continue to experience blockage in our water line which leaves us without water supply on occasion.  The previous tenant also took the pipe leading into the servant’s quarters so we are in need of a new one for water.  There is also a lot of sediment in the bottom of the tanks which leaves our water looking quite brown.  We're looking into various ways to solve this problem with new pipes/pumps/tanks, but if all else fails, we may need to look into digging a well for long-term use...but only if we own the property.

Outreach Items: We would like to be a blessing as we go into the townships.  We never know from week to week what the Lord is going to have us do, but some things He has laid on our hearts is to provide food as needed, worship with the children, build relationships through fun activities (i.e. sidewalk chalk, face painting, rugby) and show the Jesus film.  We are in need of a generator and screen/projector to show the film, a portable sound system and some djembes for worship.

If you feel led to help contribute in any way, you can make a tax-deductible donation online at www.Four18.org.  We also list our current needs with greater details and costs on our non-profit organization site: http://four18.org/get-involved/current-needs/.  Thank you for taking the time to read and pray over these items.  Last night I was reminded of the verse in Acts 3:6, “Silver and gold have I none, but I’ll give you what I do have….”  Even when we don’t have as much funding as we’d like or are unable to give tangible gifts to those we minister to, we are never in lack because we still have the best gift to offer….Jesus!  He is what everyone needs!

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].