got back from Zimbabwe Monday...it was an interesting trip and i'm glad i got to go.

we had some major car trouble on the way there. ha... went through 2 cars, before finally renting a truck. we were supposed to leave at 4am. but the car wouldn't start. so we left at 6am. drove a couple of hours. then the engine overheated, so we stopped. then the battery died. they replaced the battery and we started going again. then it overheated again. so we had to drive all the way back to jo-burg with the heater running to keep the engine cool.

unloaded all our stuff and repacked it in another truck. prayed and got in. and guess what? this second truck wouldn't start either. ha this was at 4pm. so 12 hours later we were still in jo burg!. ha.

so we finally rented a 4 wheel drive diesel truck and it was amazing! :)

i want a truck like that when i grow up. ha.

then we finally got on the road again, and made it. third time's a charm i guess. ha

we went to 3 diff. places while there. camped in the bush for the first few days and got to watch about 74 people get baptized in an animal traugh....within the last year, about 600-700 people have accepted Christ, and about 6-7 churches have been planted...mind you, this place is like in the middle of no where...the gospel is just spreading like wildfire...it was really cool to see....

after the baptism, we went to Sanyati to a hospital compound where there is a m couple and the husband is the only doctor in the ENTIRE hospital! ..which, that means he is literally on call 24/7. They almost never have electricity, and a lot of times there's no water either....how this hospital is functioning with sparse electricity, such little money, broken equipment, etc...i mean it seems impossible....but, it's functioning. miraculously. nothing is impossible with our God...It's amazing how they have really taken care of what they have, and lives are being saved and needs are being met both physically, as well as spiritually....it really is a place of hope admist a lot of turmoil. ...and for this doc to be spread so thin, he and his wife both were so joyful despite the hard circumstances....it was really neat to see and hear all that is going on...

then, we went to the capitol and visited a church that is doing some awesome ministry within the city. doing lots of human needs projects while penetrating lives with the hope of the gospel...

my job while there was to do sketches of the people of Zim and all that we saw and experienced...it was super hard, because i wanted to be able to draw as fast as you can take a picture. and that's just impossible. i would see really cool things and want to draw them, but the people would move before i could capture them, or we'd have to leave...i got so frustrated at first....but, eventually got used to it and just tried to do my best...

hopefully some of them turned out ok. :)

i'll post pics and sketches soon.

now, i'm in Cape Town! Just arrived today and will be working with Hope2Africa teaching an art class for one of the camps they're doing for some youth.

I'm already falling in love with this city even though i've only been here a few hours. it's really beautiful! you turn one way and see mountains, and another way you see the beach....so the best of both worlds. :). basically, no matter where you look, the scenery is beautiful.

Anyway. that's life in a nutshell. a long nutshell. ha.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, Son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with the ability and intelligence, with the knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft...According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do."
Exodus 31:1-11

God, fill me with your Spirit that I may accomplish the task you have called me to. You called the Israelites to construct the ark, the tabernacle, the bronze altar, etc. and then you set your Spirit upon the people, equipping them with the skills they needed to accomplish what you had called them to do.
"...I have filled him with the Spirit of God...."

the reason Bezalel was skilled for craftsmanship was because of You. because you filled Him with your Spirit. His ability came from you. and it was to be offered back to you. in praise. worship. in serving your people. to bring you glory.

"...for FROM Him and THROUGH Him and TO Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:36

...this gift of art You have given me comes from You, is done through You, and it is to You....may You be glorified through it....


recently finished projects from the past few weeks:

just finished a series of African cards to sell for Lottie Moon.
did 3 sets...one set for Christmas, and then one set of portraits, and one set of scenes.

here's the Christmas ones: :)





African portraits:



African scenes:

...did portraits of some of the people in Sudan for our forward team in Nairobi:







paintings for a Baptist Press Article on countries in turmoil (can view article on africastories.org):

Tunisia

Women harvesting in Nigeria
Ivory Coast

Egypt
cowboy of Sudan


paintings for Flavors of Africa project (putting together recipe book of African dishes...the point of the project is to expand our audience and help people who don't know much about Africa know more about what God is doing in this part of the world...something like that...ha...) so I'm in the process of doing pieces depicting Africans cooking, harvesting, etc. to be used in the project :








scenes from Madagascar:

women worshiping in the Congo:

"...for FROM Him and THROUGH Him and TO Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:36

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!