breather

Because I keep this as a personal blog, I don’t write much about ministry stuff. Of course over the past 3 weeks in the States, there has been lots of ministry stuff going on. Our schedule is jam-packed with meetings, church services, and “lunch dates” as we reconnect with partners, meet new pastors, and seek to raise ministry funds. We've also gotten to see some friends along the way! In fact, I grabbed breakfast this morning with a friend I hadn't seen in over 6 years! Bethany and I had a great time catching up over Denny's breakfast!

During this “divide and conquer” time, I’ve had to meet with a few pastors on my own. I was feeling a little unsure of myself in all this until last night. I had a wonderful dinner meeting with a pastor and his wife. They were so open and receptive to hearing about our ministry and vision, and they got excited about it with me! It was very easy to talk with them, to share my heart, and to answer their questions.

At one point the pastor asked me, “What can I do for you?” Now I knew what I WANTED to say, but it seemed awkward and uncomfortable to actually say it. So I kind of beat around the bush a bit and didn’t really say much of anything. The conversation detoured for about 30 seconds, during which I just felt convicted. I felt God saying that the pastor was sincere in his question, and I needed to be sincere in my answer. When the pastor looked back at me with a look that said, “I’m still waiting for the real answer to my question”, I pushed myself past what is comfortable and said, “You can pray about how you and your church can strategically get involved with what God is doing through us in Africa.” His face lit up. That’s what he wanted to hear. (Even though my mind was telling me that ISN’T what he would want to hear!)

We talked for quite a long time more. Towards the end, the pastor told me that he is committed to praying about how the church will get involved. We’ve had a lot of people say similar things to us over the years, but this pastor struck me as genuine. He wasn’t just telling me that, but he was speaking from his heart. I was overwhelmed by his sincerity and his like-heartedness, but also deeply encouraged that he was responding as he was when I was the only one there sharing. Niel is the visionary and is so great at casting the "big picture vision" that God has given us. But God used me--without Niel--to tie this pastor's heart in to our vision! Overwhelming!

I walked away feeling totally pumped and blessed. So while I normally don’t post about ministry things, I felt the need to this time! Good stuff is happening!!

As of tomorrow, I am taking a week off from my ministry travels and schedule. My mom is flying in to Seattle to meet up with me. (I haven’t seen her yet, so I am so excited to meet her at the airport tomorrow night!) She and I are leaving on Friday on a cruise to Alaska! Having lived in Africa my entire adult life (I moved there when I was 19!), I’ve never had the opportunity to do anything like this with my mom. I am so looking forward to the time we are going to have together!

Ironically, my mom and I are going to Alaska for my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary! (That story will have to wait for now!) I cannot wait to see my mom, enjoy God’s creation in Alaska, relax on the ship, and take a week-long hiatus from ministry! It’s going to be a great breather!

more than one way to eat a fizzer

Last summer we hosted a team of interns from a church in the Seattle area. They were young and lively, and with us for three weeks -- we had a great time with them. The team leader, now a friend of mine, planned a get-together while I'm in town. So I spent 3 hours tonight hanging out with the whole gang (minus one guy who moved to Texas...). It was a lot of fun! They were all so bummed, though, that Niel wasn't with me.

There were lots of laughs and funny stories. I was reminded of things I had completely forgotten about. Dan now eats the core along with the rest of the apple, just as Niel showed him. Justin recalled the nasty way Niel eats his mealie pap -- with cheese and ketchup! All the guys concurred that Niel is their hero because of how fast he can down liquids (he won the juice-chugging contest the guys initiated last year)!

This team practically lived on the sweets sold in our coffee bar on the base. They consumed vast amounts of Choc-kits and Fizzers. So I brought some of each from South Africa for them. The Choc-kits (cookies) were saved, to be opened on another day, but the pack of Fizzers were immediately opened as they recounted (with many laughs) about the 101 different ways they used to eat them. Fizzers are like taffy, and better when they are soft and pliable. These guys would put them by the fire, in front of the space heaters, or in their pockets to warm them up before they ate them. The guys (this time referring to the gender-group) described some other pretty funny (and gross!) ways they accomplished this task.

It was great to reconnect with all of them and hear updates on their lives. God continues to use them in a variety of ways, which is exciting. Their goofiness and vibrancy was fun to be around tonight -- a reminder that it truly does take all kinds.

divide and conquer

Yesterday, when I flew to Seattle, Niel stayed behind in Michigan. Before I see him again, he will have also been in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Texas. As seemingly long as our time in the USA is, it's not enough time to get everywhere and see everyone, so we need to "divide and conquer".

I'm having a wonderful time staying with friends while meeting with pastors and reconnecting with supporters in the area. My friends have graciously taken me around between meetings to experience some of the beauty of this area. I have always loved Seattle, and now I do even more. This is a beautiful time of year here--clear skies, warm days, and lots of green. It is absolutely gorgeous!

Today I met with a girl who is coming out to Thrive for a two-month staff trial in just a few weeks. (And by girl, I mean 31-year-old woman, but "woman" seems to imply older than that in my head...) I had never met Jennifer before, but have communicated with her a lot over email and phone for many months now. I am so excited to have met her, and we already feel a connection with each other from all our correspondence. I know she is going to be a great asset to our team and I cannot wait to have her on board with us! I'm so grateful for the team God has given us and continues to expand with just the right people!

starbucks in the airport

My alarm went off at 3:50 this morning. It reaffirmed that I am definitely NOT a morning person. But my 6:20 AM departure for Seattle forced me to wake up at such an ungodly hour. I had a layover in Atlanta. When I got to my gate, there was a sign that said the flight was delayed, but it didn't offer any information on how long the wait might be. I milled around a bit to see if there was anyone to ask. There wasn't. So I decided to visit the Starbucks kiosk across the hall.

After being in the States for a few weeks now, I finally have my Starbucks ordering down pat. I used to roll my eyes at some of my friends' drink orders---with all their complicated Starbucks lingo---but really I just had beverage-order-envy. So now I'm feeling good about knowing exactly what I like and exactly how to order it.

The line at Starbucks was pretty long. The woman taking the orders seemed rather impatient with anyone who didn't order with politically correct terminology. I kept repeating my drink order in my head, determined to not be one of "them".

I'm next in line. She shouts, "What can I get you?" And I freeze for half a second before telling her my order. "Grande non-fat, no water, no foam, 180 chai... please!" Phew. The Starbucks pressure is, at times, overwhelming.

I get my drink, take one sip, and start walking back to my gate just as they open it up for boarding. WHA?! Yep. And with the new FAA regulations barring all liquids on board, I had to pitch my completely full chai. Shame!

queen

We spent some time with my "little brother" yesterday. I put "little brother" in quotes because Andrew's really not all that little anymore. In fact, he turned 21 last week! But seeing as he's 7 years younger than me, he'll always be my little brother.

For Christmas, my parents gave him my mom's old car. It's a Saturn, Homecoming Edition, and my mom always called it the Homecoming Queen. Yesterday Andrew mentioned that he still calls it that--affectionately referring to it as "The Queen"--even though some of his friends make fun of him.

I suggested that he now call it The Car Formerly Known as Queen.

like the back of my hand

We have been in the USA for 15 days now. As I'd expected, I keep finding myself using South-Africanisms. I caught myself just yesterday ordering coffee "for take away" instead of "to go"! The lady knew what I meant, but looked at me kinda funny. I quickly corrected myself and thought, "Busted!"

We have been in Michigan since we arrived. We really enjoy it here. It's a beautiful state--and so nice to see it non-snow-covered. As we have so many friends and partners throughout the state, there are always people to see! There are also lots of great coffee shops and restaurants (and you know we love good food!). Plus, in what other state can you use a body part as a map????

A dear friend (who was the first reason we ever even came to Michigan) has been back in town visiting her family--in the same area we've been in for the past few days. Every spare minute we could steal to spend with her, we did--sometimes just 45 minutes at the outlet mall between meetings! Because I live so far from most of my close friends, it's been nice to be able to pick up the phone and just say, "Hey, Nat, we have an hour -- want to meet us somewhere?!" I normally don't have that luxury...

Niel and I both truly find joy in the little things. We savored every moment of our first Starbucks beverage, closed our eyes as we ate our first slice of pizza, and breathed deeply as we walked the aisles of Target. As rigorous as our ministry schedule has been, we are glad to be in America (or as my friend Christen calls it, "God's country").

summertime & sonshine

This is the first time Niel has experienced an American summer. Granted, it's the tail-end of it, but it's still summer. He cannot get over the fact that it stays so light out till after 9:00 at night. At the peak of our summer in South Africa, it only stays light until about 7. He's heard me tell him for years about the wonderfully long days in the States during summertime, and now he's experiencing it for the first time.

As much as I love living in South Africa, there are times when it "gets old" to be living in my husband's country. I don't mean that as negatively as it sounds, so let me try to explain. Although I felt (and still feel) very called to South Africa, and had even moved there before Niel and I were a "Niel and I", sometimes I wish Niel could have a better understanding of life in my home country. He's visited the USA a lot and greatly enjoys and appreciates many aspects of our traditions and lives. (I'll always remember Niel's first American Christmas when my mom bought him a Christmas stocking to hang up with all of ours--he kept asking when he could look in his "Christmas sock"!) But because we come in for just "visits", and always for ministry reasons, he's not experienced much of just life here. While there is much that is wrong with American culture these days, there is still much to be appreciated about it. One of those things is families enjoying the long summer days with relaxed barbecues in the backyard.

Anyway, for Niel to finally be here to experience even a glimpse of an American summer has brought joy to my heart. The SON is indeed shining!

gentle spirit

I finally got to dump my pictures from our week at Torch Lake onto my computer. This is the house that we stayed in (can you even call it a house?!)...

The front:

The back:

Unfortunately our interior pictures didn't turn out so great, so I don't have any of those to post... I'm sure you can tell from seeing just the exterior that the inside of the house was exquisite!

The blessings just kept coming. Words cannot even begin to describe how blessed--and humbled--we were! God is good!

beyond belief

After traveling for 45 hours straight (by plane and by car), we arrived at our final destination (at Torch Lake, Michigan) late Sunday night. Relieved to finally stop traveling (yet still feeling as though we were moving), we collapsed into bed...in the most gorgeous room I have ever seen. The first week of our USA trip is a "Partner Conference". A church here in Michigan flew in all their partners from around the world for this event. They are treating us to a week of sheer luxury, and it has been so wonderful thus far!

We are staying in a mansion (literally), and somehow Niel and I were blessed with the largest, most extravagant bedroom suite of them all. Seeing as we arrived over a week late for the event, and everyone else had already moved into the mansion, we provided no assistance in the room-placement-process. Yet it's been interesting to hear some of the remarks from other missionaries that are here. (Apparently, the whole group had done a tour of the 3 mansions we are all staying in prior to our late arrival -- so everyone has seen our bedroom suite.) "Your room is so big -- don't you feel guilty to stay in there?" "Shame, my room can fit into your closet!" "Are you doing okay? I know you're really suffering with your small room..." We are just grateful for God's favor -- and that's what we say in reply...

The mansion is located right on Torch Lake, which is the most beautiful lake I've ever seen. It looks like the Caribbean with its amazing hues of greens and blues. The house is "stocked" with a boat, pair of jet skis (3-seaters!), ATVs, and a hot tub. Amazing.

We've been having times of worship and sharing with the other partners and the church team who is here serving us and making it all happen. We are humbled by their generous spirits... We women were treated to a day in Traverse City, which included a one-hour full-body massage. I've had massages in Africa before, but never in America -- let me tell you, it is a completely different experience here. SO GOOD! We spent today canoeing down Platt River and visiting huge sand dunes on the edge of Lake Michigan. It was a fun day, although busier than we all would have liked. We are exhausted!

With a hectic traveling, preaching, visiting, and fundraising schedule up ahead (starting Sunday night, in fact), it has been wonderful to have this week to unwind a bit. I think my favorite part has been the fact that I haven't had to make one decision that affects someone else or the "greater good" -- basically, I haven't had to lead. I just show up and participate. I couldn't do that forever, but it's just what I needed right now!

coming to america...today!

After living in South Africa for over 8 years, I have picked up many South African expressions. With us leaving for the States tomorrow, I've been thinking about how many of them I'll probably inadvertently use while I'm there. It makes me chuckle because I know that asking someone, "Can I use your toilet?" will certainly invoke a humorous response!

I often use the Afrikaans word "lus" (pronounced liss). We don't have a one-word English equivalent, but "lus" basically means "in the mood for". I'm lus for a Starbucks chai latte!

I've picked up the South African habit of saying "shame" a lot. Now you need to understand that "shame" can be either positive or negative. Basically it's an expression that conveys sympathetic feeling, but it carries many different meanings based on the context in which it's used.

When being told of something horrible that happened, my reply will probably begin with "Shame!" (meaning: Oh my goodness, that's terrible!) When a friend biffs it (making a fool of herself, but not getting hurt): "Shame!" (meaning: Ok, that was funny!) When someone tells me about a cute baby they saw: "Shame!" (meaning: Aww, how sweet!) When I bump into something, injuring myself: "Shame!" (meaning: Dang, that hurt!) When I see someone with a screaming toddler: "Shame!" (meaning: What a bummer!) Anyway, I definitely overuse "Shame!" and if you see me in the States, you're bound to hear me say it!

For a while, I'm most likely going to climb into the wrong side of the car, since our steering wheels (in South Africa) sit on the opposite side. Let's hope that I don't accidentally drive on the wrong side of the road as well!

It will take a while for my mind and mouth to readjust to America. But I'm ready - and excited - for the challenge!

(Mom - the title of my post is for you... anytime I think of Neil Diamond's song, I picture you singing along!)