Home away from Home

I haven't blogged in awhile because I haven't really had much to say or thought anything was worth a post. The next week we will have our gateway camp, and I won't have internet and the following week we are headed to Johannesburg on outreach. I have no idea if we will have internet there either, so I will possibly MIA for two weeks. So I decided to write, just so you know that I am alive and well.

We have been working extremely hard the past 2 1/2 weeks preparing and planning Gateway. It is a 4 day came, filled with speakers, worship and breakouts. Most of them led by pastors from around South Africa, so I am excited to hear what is on their hearts to share about God and the Holy Spirit. It has been some of the most challenging 2 1/2 weeks I have ever had. First of all, at this moment, this is the longest I have ever been away from home. I have also never worked with people from a different culture. It has been hard at times, but the Lord has really shown me a whole lot about myself because of it, so through all the tears and frustrations, I am grateful. I know that I will look back on these difficult days and laugh realizing all of the ways the Lord revealed Himself to me, even when I cannot always see it right now. We have about 36 hours left until our camp kicks off....if we get everything done and this week goes as planned, I know it is ONLY because of Jesus. There is no way we should be able to get all of this done, but the Lord is gracious and His plans always prevail. I am excited for the week to come and to see how this will all come together.

During all this prep time, I have had the great privilege to meet Mary. She is probably one of the sweetest people I have ever met, besides my Mimi, who's name is also Mary, therefore you already know, without meeting her, that she is great! I've gotten to spend time with her, hearing her story and just joking around with her. She has really made me feel at home here. Being with her, in her home, has been such a blessing. It is my home away from home. She continually tells me how much she loves me and that I am her family. I cannot begin to express what a gift from the Lord she is. She keeps me sane, she makes me laugh, and she tells me what to do. I love her. Mary is the manager over the Bottlebrush project. So yet again, we have another connection. Since I got to go to Bottlebrush that one day, I have enjoyed talking with her about it and helping make the lunches for the children. Y'all would be so impressed with how the feeding happens. Every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, a group of people come over and pack hundreds of lunches for these kids. This isn't just a one time deal that you go and experience, this is their life. They do this because the truly believe this is one of the ways the Lord has called them to minister to these kids. This is how they show Kingdom life to kids who don't grow up learning this from their parents. I am so blessed to get to experience this and see what working for the Lord is like for them. I am excited for this friendship. I am excited that this isn't just a friendship I am making while I am here, but a friendship that will last me all my life and on into eternity. Even if I was never to see Mary again, I know that I will get to see her in heaven. She has such a servants heart and I know for a fact the Lord is so pleased with her and loves her more than I ever could, and I love this woman a whole lot.

Please be praying for rest. I am extremely tired! We will continue to go and go until I get on the plane to come home. Also, prayers for the Lord's joy to overwhelm my team and I.

Thank you so much for the prayers and for keeping up with me as this journey continues. If you would like to know how things are going in the next two weeks, I will be keeping up with my mom so you can get ahold of her. =)

With love,
Jodi

One Thing Remains

Today is the 4^th of July. Normally on this day I would be at home hanging out with my family grilling and swimming in the backyard, but this year I am in South Africa, where they do not celebrate my country’s independence.  I am going to be honest, even if I was at home, I wouldn’t really take the time to remember why I got the excuse to hang out with my family all day but this year is different. One reason would be because I am not at home and second and most important, is that earlier this weekend I got to talk to a good friend of mine who is serving in Iraq right now. This guy means a lot to me! I’ve always looked up to him and respected him and getting to chat with him was such a blessing. He got to share with me a few things about his experience there and I told him that I just wanted to cry for him. During that conversation the Lord reminded me about these past two weeks and how I’ve been growing and learning how to live in a place that is foreign to me and sometimes has been extremely hard. I was also reminded of how much I’ve complained about things and missed home. So while I was thinking about all of this and talking to my friend, the Lord showed me that even though this has been hard it still is nothing compared to what I could be doing. Thanks Jesus for the conviction! Gotta love it. =) It also reminded me how much I need to be praying for all of the soldiers fighting for our freedom and to not just think about them on days like today.

So last week I got to go to a slum called Bottlebrush. It was the most amazing and heartbreaking experience. I got to hear the main guy that helps pass out the food preach to the kids in Zulu and hear all the kids pray to Jesus in their own language. Most of these kids have AIDS and either don’t have parents that love them or their parents passed away already because of AIDS. As Connie and I passed out the food, I fell in love with all of the kids. I wish that I could have taken all of them with me! It was so hard to leave them, but thankfully we get to go back in a few weeks. As we were driving back to where we are staying, Connie and I began to discuss how we can help them. We started talking about orphanages and a way to meet their medical needs. Mary, the lady who is taking care of us and probably one of the coolest people I know, started telling us that that has been their prayer and vision for years now. Connie and I went crazy. We started talking about all the different ways we can raise money for them, to buy the property that the Good News Center and the "Icebox" is on with a few other buildings. It is huge land that could be used for such a wonderful purpose and it is now for sell. The land alone costs $2 million dollar, that doesn't include any of the renovations or buildings they will need. Connie and I, together and individually have now started praying about what we will do with the time we are back home and how we can raise the money. We believe that the Lord is big enough to use us and get this money raised by the time we, hopefully, bring our own team of Americans back to Durban to go to Bottlebrush. As I was thinking about this blog post and what I wanted to say, the Lord gave me the verse from Matthew 25:42-43.

"For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me." 

It isn't the happiest scripture but it continued to kindle the new passion I have for wanting to help with Bottlebrush. I do not want to be face to face with Jesus and tell him, "Oh, sorry, I saw the need and the hurt but I decided that it was for someone else." Not everyone gets to come to South Africa for 6 1/2 weeks and see this and feel it like I have, it just isn't reasonable for them or the Lord didn't call them to go. I know in my spirit that I was called, by God to come and serve these people and especially these children in Bottlebrush. 

I know how much fun it is to get to read about another person's experience. I've read a few blogs from people who have gone overseas and thought to myself that that wasn't for me or that there wasn't anything I could do to help out. Now I know that I can. I am called to go. I am called to be the hands and feet of Jesus to these kids. I believe with my whole heart that this money can be raised. I have hope that soon, not years from not, but very soon, Good News Center will be able to purchase this land and build an orphanage for these children and give them the care they so desperately need. I would ask that you be in prayer for the ways the Lord wants to move in this place and with the ways He wants to raise this money. I also ask that you really pray about how you can help too. 

So no matter where you serve, give, or go, one thing remains, all of us get the privilege and honor to show one another what it looks like to follow Jesus and be His hands and feet.