Asia to Africa

From cheap markets everywhere with crazy Asian clothes, a huge language barrier, and ministry starting at 9 o clock at night to malls with more normal clothes, an English speaking community, and ministry starting at 8 am, the transition from Thailand to South Africa has been weird. We all had a picture for “Africa” in our heads that definitely does not match up with the part of Africa we are in. We are staying in nice guesthouses near a mall, grocery store, and coin laundry, 10 minutes from ministry, and decently close to different areas of Cape Town. We are very blessed with our living situations, which is kind of a challenge for all of us. There are so many distractions.

Our last month in Thailand was filled with crazy nights out on Bangla road making friends and being led by the Spirit, so coming here to Africa and being put in preschools to work has been way different. We don’t necessarily always have to walk each step concerned with what the Spirit is trying to do for ministry. Of course, we need to do that in daily lives everywhere, but that isn’t exactly what this particular ministry is about. Because we have schedules. We have order and organization. I am working with a temporary teacher who teaches fifteen two year olds. In the past when I worked at a preschool or in the nursery at church I was always with the two and three year olds so it’s been nice to have a little experience of being in classrooms with this age group. We work from 8 am to 3 pm, so of course it is a long day. At the end of the month, we will begin doing a weekly youth program each Friday. This ministry is sooooo different from what we have been doing the past six months. In Honduras we rotated ministries. In Thailand, we had a crazy schedule that differed daily, and now here we will be doing this until May. Honestly, it’s been hard to process that this is it. And there is nothing more. We go home after this. And then it will be time to start working toward getting back to Honduras again in the summer. But this is what God has given us.

Today I was watching my two year olds try to put together puzzles. They sat down, looked at the pieces quickly, and tried force the picture together. They didn’t actually look and see what was on each puzzle piece. They just looked at the outline and the shape. Almost all of them ended up with either giving up or a messed up. Because they weren’t trying to look at the “big picture” to see how the pieces fit together. So often we say “live each day to it’s fullest” or “live in the moment” which I completely agree with. But if we do this and only this, we end up missing the “big picture”. God gives us each a piece of our lives everyday. He has given us this ministry. And now it just looks like “oh this is just like work, God can’t use us much here”. When in reality the “ministry” that He has given us is just a title and He has so much more for us! Even daily! We just have to recognize His works! That is a HUGE lesson I have learned on this journey. (I’ve also written a few blogs about it….oops..) God is working. Even if it’s not as evident as it was last month in Thailand when we were seeing angels, gold dust, healings, etc. He has divine appointments set up each day. We have to recognize and be so in tune with God that we realize his work and what He wants us to do even if it is early in the morning and we are tired. We have to look at the details of everyday. Not in an obsessive way. But just noticing. Small things even. So we can THANK Him. For His blessings. And his plans. 

Okay sorry that was kind of a blabbering blog but I have access to Internet more often than I have had before so I WILL be blogging more. Stories of the children here in Cape Town and stories of what God is doing daily in our lives here!