i have an incredible sister.

it's official! she's coming to see me in June and I can't WAIT!

she's going to work like crazy to make art work to sell in order to raise money to come here! who does that????

oh, wait, my amazing big sis.

i wouldn't be here if it were not for God placing such an amazing, God fearing sister to go before me and set such an incredible example of faith and love for me to look up to, be inspired by, and follow after...and, i know it's all the Lord's doing...that His work in her life would have such a powerful rippling effect...not just on me but on SO many others!...

Hopefully I'll get to join the team Pinelake is bringing here to Africa... So I'll get to serve alongside my church in ministry, along with my sis!

Ah. i'm so excited!

and to add to this awesome-ness...i think my mom is coming too!

i know it's such a big sacrifice...to give of your time and money to come to the other side of the world and see first hand what all God is doing here...so, thank you mom and michelle! I can't wait for ya'll to get here!!!

.................

i've been praying sense i have been here for opportunities to get involved....wrestling and struggling with which ministries to get involved in, how to make the most of this time given to me to serve God in the most glorifying way...

anyway.

so, i had an answer to prayer a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share...

one of the m's here, Elaine, has two daughters who go to a boarding school for all girls. Just from getting to spend a small amount of time with her recently, i have learned what an incredible wife and mom she is...and, i hope to be like her one day. It's so neat, because even though she's incredibly busy keeping up with being a wife and mother and wearing all the different hats that so many woman are wearing these days, every day for her is a missional opportunity....to reach out to those who need the love and hope of Christ in their lives.

Since her daughters go to this boarding school, she has gotten involved their, building relationships with the teachers and students and the students' parents. Through that, she is ministering daily the light of God to those who are living in darkness, prayer walking the campus each week, etc...

The school is quote a "Christian" school, but sadly, it is only that in name. There are only a few Christian teachers. I think the head mistress is a Christian, but the board of trustees are all non-believers. So, they have teachers of all religions...muslim, jewish, etc...and they'll constantly bring in different speakers for chapel and assemblies that do seminars and lectures on the "facts" of evolution...it's just really sad. and it's a really dark place.

Well, God laid on Elaine's heart to start a Bible study with some of the girls. She prayed for someone to help her, and God led her to me.

(which is really humbling...because there is nothing special about me...i think God is just blessing me with an opportunity like this that I have been longing and praying for...)

So, this past monday, we went to the school and had our first meeting. We weren't expecting many to come...maybe 2...4 at the most. but, about 12 girls came!!!!

We're walking through a book about inner beauty, identity in Christ, lies girls believe--and the importance of the truth of God's word to break such lies, relationships, etc....

the girls are absolutely beautiful! they were so welcoming, and...well, i'm just excited to partner with Elaine and love on them...

It's just heart breaking, because the school is really strict, and...well...they don't have mother figures in their lives to hold them when they cry, to hold their hair back when they're getting sick in the middle of the night, to share in their sorrows and joys of everyday...

so, hopefully through this Bible study, we'll be able to build strong relationships with them, pour His truth into their lives,...and...if nothing else....to love on them with the love of Christ that they are so hungry for...

anyway. sorry that was so long. but, i'm just really excited...

when i worked at camp, one of my favorite parts was getting to pour out truth and the love of God into the lives of the girls that came through and were in my cabin...it was stretching, challenging, hard, and completely above my ability....so much so, that God had to do it all through me...but, it was so rewarding....there are so many things i wish someone would have told me when i was their age...so, to have a chance to do that for these girls, well...i'm just excited. :)

anyway. just wanted to share with you guys...

thanks for caring enough to read this. :)

i know i am no expert on africa, and have been to very few places on the continent, but.... i think i can say with confidence that Madagascar is one of the most unique places throughout it all.

Antanarivo, the capitol of the island was our first stop. Driving on the crowded roads that seem like they should be one way....but, of course, being that it's africa, there is always room for many lanes...i was constantly amazed at the m's there as they drove along the winding, hilly streets, dodging chickens, goats, sheep, cows, people, and then other crazy drivers...one of the journey girls driving us around said, "oh, you just get used to it..." ha. and i thought driving in jo burg was bad.

all in all, it was a good trip. we spent a night in Antanarivo. The layout reminds me of italy, so from a distance it's so beautiful...but, up close, it is...well...a typical african city...

on tuesday, we flew to Tuliar to meet up with the couple we shadowed throughout the week. They are an amazing family, and God is using them in mighty ways in the work He is doing in that area...it's just inspiring to be around people who have one focus...single minded, undivided hearts to their God, and to telling others about Him...

I hope I can be like that one day...

Grant has done Bible storying with several of the villages in the area, particularly focusing on the Mahafaley people...so, on Wed, we drove out to those villages to meet the people and get video footage and photographs of the people. It was a 4 hour drive. One hour of it was on paved road, and the rest was on...well...ha....it's hard to even call it a road with all the mud, deep pot holes, and terrain that seemed to vary with every minute of our drive. Just driving down such a bumpy road was enough to make us exhausted by the time we arrived in the village. It had been raining a lot during our visit, so there were many times when we would drive through what seemed like deep, huge ponds, and i couldn't help but wonder how the water was NOT seeping into the truck...and even MORE to my amazement, that we did not get stuck...

it was quite a miracle. ha

TIA (this is africa).

anyway

Through Bible storying with the peoples a few months ago, Grant saw about a 100 men and women from 2 of the villages accept Christ! Knowing that many times, tribal villages will make decisions as a group, Grant stressed to them that it had to be an individual decision to follow Christ. So, one by one, the people stood up and said they wanted to make such a commitment.

So, during our trip down there, we got to witness Grant and a local pastor baptize some of those new believers! They did teaching on baptism...how the water doesn't save you, only God does...and they also had a discussion about the charms the people were wearing...telling them that since Christ was now their Lord, there was no need to carry on the superstitions the charms represent.

So, as we made our way down to the water, the believers took off their charms and were then baptized! It was so awesome to see the Spirit at work in their lives!

Now comes the hard part...discipling. And the workers are few. They need help training these new believers, teaching them the word so that they no longer have to depend on the white man...but can themselves be deeply rooted in the truth of His word, and then go forth and share this good news with their surrounding neighbors...it is amazing how a national can have a much greater influence on his/her own people than a foreigner....

We left the next morning to head back to Tuliar along the same, hard road, spent a day with Grant and his family, and then started our journey back to Jo burg.

I'm so thankful I got to go on this trip. Even though I know nothing about taking pictures with such expensive cameras, it was still fun to try and capture the moments, the people who are absolutely beautiful because they're made in the image of our God...and then to even get to photograph the baptism and capture such moments in time where the Spirit was at work, and God was claiming lives for His Kingdom...it was...well...just. incredible.

thank you for all your prayers!