PTL!!!!

Thank you to all who have been praying not only for my dearest Assi, but for my grandmother as well!!! Yesterday Gma was able to come "home" from the hospital to stay with my aunt for a while.:) Thank you Lord!

Assi is doing incredibly well- considering the circumstances. He was up moving around the hospital with no oxygen help earlier this week--- PTL!!! They are hoping that he will be able to return home, to the Village of Hope, sometime next week! Please keep praying for healing and restoration for this precious child.

I found this video for Thembalitsha, the organization that I have worked with on my trips to SA. You should check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXByLkZXUoc

As for me....

School has kept me VERY busy. I also have had something going on everyday after school since the school year has started. Please pray for my endurance, strength, and most importantly SLEEP!! I've had a difficult time getting a good night's sleep. Pray that I can rest in my Father's arms, but that if He wishes to speak to me in the middle of the night again that He will do so accordingly.

Satan has been at work trying to tear Cindy and I both down in many different venues, but God has blessed us with each other. We have talked to each other in some way almost everyday since returning from the trip. I'm SOOO THANKFUL that God placed her in my life!!! Pray for strength against the evil one. Our God is stronger!!!

I have also been missing Africa- my babies, my friends, the people- a great deal lately. Pray that I can be open to God's voice in my life and direction.

At the Jr. High Youth group that I help teach at on Wed. two girls accepted Christ in my small group. Please pray that God will move in their hearts and minds and that if needed He will use me to help them.

Exciting news: I've found a loophole to adopting from South Africa. I want to dance with JOY every time I think about it!!! I'm not saying I'm bringing home a baby tomorrow (but I TOTALLY WOULD if I could!!) but to have this knowledge after thinking all these years that it was impossible is just such an incredible feeling!!!! ahhhhhh!!!! :) :) :) :) To top this news off, twin girls that come to the Bible Study that I lead at my house on Tuesday nights are adopted from Russia. I have been talking a great deal with their mother about the adoption process and she has been such an encouragement!! She is full of knowledge and compassion- it's so cool that God has brought together two women who have a heart for orphans!! :)

I'm going to continue to post on here as much as I can, so please continue to check!!! :)

Much LOVE sent to ALL!!!! :)

Big Prayers Needed!!!

Hello all- Sorry about the time that has passed since I have posted. I have tried to put up the videos, but for some strange reason they won't load. I will continue to try though!

Prayers are needed as I just received this report from The Village of Hope (the kids clinic we worked at) : "Please be praying for Assi, one of the kids from the clinic in Grabouw, South Africa. He was taken to the hospital and is not doing well at all. He is an HIV/Aids patient and is now suffering from renal failure. They are trying to exhaust all possible options and treatments. If there is nothing left to do then they... are looking at bringing him back to the clinic where he can be around friends and familiar faces. He is such a blessing and a joy, so full of life. Please join with me and others and pray for God's will to be done. Pray for peace and comfort in Assi's life that he would be feel the warmth of God's love all around him."



Keep fighting my big boy!!!!


Praise: Cindy, the girl who was on my team this year, came to stay the weekend with me!!! It was such an incredible blessing for the both of us, and all who were able to meet her!! We were able to spend some quality time together at the World's Fair aka El Paso CornFest! :) Thank you Lord for such a blessing---- Pics to come!!!! :)

New Pics to share!

Here is a gorgeous picture of my beloved Abigail. She rarely smiled, but stay tuned!



Here she is smiling her beautiful smile. It took lots of effort and didn't happen often, but it was worth it!



Here's a pic of all the kiddies (minus the babes) riding their bikes! :)




Here is my Shannon. She is so beautiful. I just want to squeeze her!



Zizi- the "go-go" or grandma of the group of kids. She was the oldest girly there.

Blessings and Prayers

Blessings:

This video is precious of one of my dearest little kiddes, Nici. She has such a contagious laugh!!




This is a video of the kids praying before they eat. What precious angels they are.

I miss them all very much.

Prayers:
~ Please pray for Asi, the eldest boy @ VOH. He is in the hospital with a lung infection. They think the problem may be more serious. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors and that he can be miraculously healed.

~ Please pray for me. I am very frustrated with some situations that relate directly to the trip. I know it is satan trying to find a way to put out the fire that this trip lit inside me. Pray that smoothly and calmly I can deal with these situations.

More pictures and videos to come!!!

Sweet memories...

Thanks again to all who have been following this incredible journey that I have been on these past 3 weeks. I can hardly believe that I have been home for almost a week now. I think I may have left my heart there. I feel myself thinking about the kiddies alot. :( But there are amazing stories to share!

I'm not sure why I didn't post this on my first blog, but God has had His hand on this trip from the VERY start. When we arrived at O'Hare airport to leave for SA we had 19 bags for 6 people. Each person is only allowed 2 checked bags, and so we were way over our limit. We knew this and had talked to our travel agents about it and they told us it would be $55 for each extra bag. Not so bad right?

Well, when we got to the counter the lady told us that each extra bag was going to cost $200 dollars, which would make our total $1,400. Not cool. So a couple of us started praying, while the others talked with the woman. After a few minutes she suddenly said "This is what we're gonna do. You each take an extra checked bag and Tim you take the leftover one as your carry on."

AND WE DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING FOR ANY OF THE EXTRA LUGGAGE!!!!!! GOD IS SOOOOOO GOOD!!!!

On the way home, Cindy and I had to sit for 9 hours behind a couple who was very rude and kept their seats back the entire time, even though they weren't sleeping. We wanted to complain, but we knew it would do no good. So we just endured it. God blessed us by switching us to first class seats on the plane ride from NY to Chicago! Thanks God!!

I will be putting up videos and pictures soon. But for now here are some of the pics that I have so far. You don't have to have Facebook to view these photos just click on the link.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2452150&id=22918975&l=516d4d06d0

Again thank you so much for the love and the support... you have all truly been a blessing to me!

Me and all of the VOH kids, not all are looking and not all are smiling, but they are with me in my last moments there! :( Missing you babies!!!

Greater things are yet to come

Hello from the states! We are all back safe and sound. This post will probably not be very long, but greater things are yet to come! I will be getting on here and putting up more stories, pictures and even some video (if I can figure it out!).

I want to thank all of you who supported me on this trip, whether that was through prayers, finances or simply following my incredible God journey on my blog. I hope to see everyone soon so that I may share with you the fantabulous things my God is doing in person!

Please continue to pray for our team. Adjusting back to life in the states is one of the hardest parts of missionary work I think. We are so blessed and so spoiled and so wasteful. I know that I am personally suffering from "my baby withdrawal". I miss all of my kids and I wish that I could just step out the back door of my house and run to them and hug them and love on them like I have the past 3 weeks. I know Cindy feels the same. We also all have to return to work which is a hard adjustment. I am heading over to PC for a meeting for school stuff and I'm feeling overwhelmed. I don't think I'm quite ready to process school information yet, but I have to do it. Pray my brain will be open to all of the new information.

Two babies in the clinic: Noli and Zanu- I REALLY wanted to bring them home with me!

PTL:

~ We made it home safely and we even got to fly first class on the way from NY to Chicago. This is a story which I will share more about at a later time!! Look for it! God is good!

~ All of our bags made it back in one piece as well, with all of our African goodies. :)

~I have gone on a heart wrenching journey, but I have made an everlasting friend in my liefy Cindy Ellis. I am so blessed to have met this incredible young woman, whom I am sure was my twin separated from me at birth. We are so alike in so many ways that God's humor in it is just fantabulous!

~ Steve, one of the guys on the trip, gave his life to Christ on this trip. This was his third trip with his brother Tim, the leader of our pack, and he finally realized what was missing. It was so awesome to watch, knowing that Tim has been praying for this moment for 10 years. I can't wait to see what God is going to do with Steve. He is an incredible guy!

I hope to be on more this weekend with pics and stories. Continue to comment please! I don't think I can explain to you how very important that was to me. When I was able to get on the blog and read all of the encouraging things you all wrote I felt so much love from the states. I know that God used this blog to help me explain what I was seeing and experiencing to all of you, but He also used it as a tool to encourage me on my journey. What a blessing!! Thanks Daddy!!!

Team America: Me, Chris, Steve, Tim, Aaron and Cindy - On top of Paarl Mountain

Last Post from Africa

So LOTS of things have happened in the last week, but I don't have much time to post everything- we are only @ the internet cafe for a limited time. Sorry that the last posting was cut short. The loading of the pics took a long time and I ended up being the last person in the shop as it closed while I was still typing! I didn't realize it though because I was so engrossed in my blog!!

PTL's:

We finished all of the physical labor projects for us at Village of Hope and ThembaCare. We were most excited to finish pouring the concrete for the bike track at VOH for the kids. I wish we could be there to see their faces when it is finally dry and they can take their bikes out for the first ride! :)

On Tuesday of this week Cindy and I were able to go to the Agape 2 school, a Christian school in the township of Grabouw. They are building their 5th school as we speak. It's an amazing Creshe (like cresh0), sort of like our preschool/ Kindergarten in the states because they don't start school until Grade 1. I was able to spend the day in Asi's class of children with Special Needs. I absolutely loved it. I felt so at home and my mind was racing the entire time of ways that I could help improve it. They do the best with what they have, but most of the teachers have no training from a university. One of the teachers was a mother of one of the students. I fell in love with all of the students, but didn't take too many pictures, just a few at the end because I knew it would be such a distraction. It broke my heart though because most of the students were severely handicapped and were only learning letters, numbers, colors, and shapes, my favorite ability level, but this class was meant for kids 3 -6 years of age, and some of the kids my class were 13 years old. They don't have anywhere else to go. It was hard to accept, but I absolutely loved it!!

On Saturday we were able to meet up with Derek, Teresa, Adrian and Gerrida. We climbed Spaar Mountain and then enjoyed an evening with them. I love Teresa so much and I have missed her these past three years. She was such a blessing and it was so wonderful to catch up with her!! Thank you Lord!

On Sunday we went to church with them and it was amazing!!! I went up front to pray with Teresa at the end of the service for guidance and a content heart and it was such a blessing to have her pray over me, but then a complete stranger in the church came and prayed over me and spoke things about my life that have happened already. She also told me that God had given me a gift and I was to use it. It was so powerful, you could really feel the hand of God moving.


Prayer Requests:

Being with each other for this long does cause stress. Cindy and I at times feel useless because generally we don't get to help with the physical projects or we are left places and forgotten for hours. It is clearly Satan attacking us and trying to put a wedge in between us.

We are trying to do some tourist-y things and we are going to be doing a lot of driving. Most of the time, Cindy and I are stuck in the backseat and it is small and very uncomfortable. Please pray for a fun and peaceful experience for this weekend as we relax after all our hard work, and then return to VOH to say our final goodbyes.


I will post more when I return home as this is the last time we will have internet access.

I am so sad to leave this place, but I am very happy to see my family and friends. Why don't you all just move here with me so I can have the best of both worlds?

Hot and Cold

Hello all!!!

Thank you so much for the support you have given me! The prayers are appreciatated!

My heart is so HOT here! I am in love with every child I get to spend time with! It is COLD here though. My typical clothing is a t-shirt, a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt, a hoodie, and a jacket. I'm perpetually cold. Yet I'm sad that so many are without clothes and blankets and other warm things. God is showing us how truly blessed we are.

On Sunday we attended a church service of white South Africans. It was good, but I can't wait for township church. It will be incredible! We also drove down into Cape Town to experience the madness of the final game of the World Cup. We stood for 8 hours and watched the game on big screens in the street. It was loud with all the vuvuzuelas (horns) but it was fun. It did my back in, but God is good and I was able to work on Monday with no problems! PTL!

Cindy and I at the World Cup Final Game Celebration!!

On Monday this week Steve and I took a walk with nurses from ThembaCare doing home visits throughout Grabouw. Thankfully, it didn't rain while we were out and it wasn't so bad when the sun was shining. We met with some incredible families and we were able to pray with them in their homes. It was a little challenging since I speak no Afrikaans or Klosa, but it still was a blessing. I was able to hop into teacher mode for awhile and help a couple of the older children @ Village of Hope (VOH) to practice their letters, colors, numbers and shapes. It was so much fun!! They don't have much for supplies to do school things, but they have asked for my help for one of the children named Asi. He has special needs and is age 9 but accomplishing things for a 3 or 4 year old. He has a hard time communicating so I am brainstorming to see what I can come up with here. I wish I would have none before I came, but God is in control.

On Tuesday we made playdough with the kids @ the Village of Hope (VOH) where we are staying. They had fun, but I'm not for sure if it worked out so well!!

Marcell helping make playdough! :)

On Wednesday, we were had lots of rain and it was hard to do any projects outside, but we did some hospital runs with patients from ThembaCare (the adult HIV/AIDS clinic in Grabouw). We then did some repairs around the TC clinic. We had a church service there and it was amazing- these women know how to worship the God they serve!! :)

Today Cindy and I went to the school for special needs children. WHAT A BLESSING!!!! I loved every minute of being there and hearing the stories of some of the children and meeting the wonderful women who love on them and care for them. I was brainstorming of all sorts of ways that I could help them. Cindy and I didn't want to leave. :(

Here are some pictures of the kiddies at Village of Hope:

This is Asi. He is hilarious! We can't understand him, he communication is little, but he loves to clap along to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"!!!

This is my little Shannon. When I am at the clinic she hardly leaves my side. She wants to be with me always and is a smart girl. She is trying hard to learn English words and loves to read with me, do "work"pages (letters and numbers) and do my hair!!!! :)

My little Abigail! She is Shannon's little sister. She doesn't smile much, but she loves to be held and to cuddle- so we cuddle A LOT!!!!!!!!!! :)

Here are some of the kiddies from the Agape School for Special Needs Children- Asiphe!!

Clayton! :)

all my love!! :)

Home in Africa

'Ello All!! :)
PTL'S:
~We are here safe! The plane ride was a little hard- although I think regardless of my back-- sitting for 20 hours was a long ride, but Cindy and I were able to sit next to each other and were able to bond quickly. I was worried about not meeting her until the day we left, but God had His hand in it. She is FANTABULOUS!! We are almost like twins and have blended and clicked insanely well!! :) PTL!
~ The people/ organization we are working with is amazing! :) They are all so wonderful!
~ The children at the clinic, which so happens to be right outside our backdoor :), are so wonderful!

PRAYERS:
~One of our team members has been feeling a little sick. His name is Chris.
~Cindy and I went with Lees (one of the workers for Village of Hope, a part of Thembalitsha) into the community yesterday. It was incredible but heartbreaking at the same time. We experienced and learned so much.
She took us to an Agape Christian School for children with Special Needs. It was heartbreaking. Although they have good Christian people to watch over them and some very nice equipment (much better than what I was expecting!), it was heartbreaking to learn that here in SA they typically put babies born with any disabilities or if they are premature, into a room in the hospital and let them die. Because they were born different, they are sentenced to death. It broke my heart being there thinking about all of the babies that are dying everyday and of how many little lives that I love who are "special" in the states that would not be around if they were born here.
On the bright side, we have been invited to come work at the school-- aka LOVE ON BABIES-- whenever we want. Next week we are going to go work there. :) My heart went crazy while I was there. I came back to the house and cried for awhile, but I'm excited to go back.

~~ Pray for a little boy named Michael. We were able to bless him with school clothes so that he could return to school on Monday with his peers. He has a very rough home life with a mother who is an alcoholic and siblings who are addicted to "Tick", a drug like meth.

** I asked God to speak to me about the things happening around me and in my head. At 3am last night I woke up suddenly compltetely awake and the children at the special needs home on my mind. I asked God what was happening and He put a verse in my head. I didn't want to look it up for fear of waking Cindy so I laid there for an hour thinking about it and fell back asleep.

The verse was Romans 12:1. Read it. It spoke directly to me and brought me to tears this morning when I read it.

God is doing some amazing things here! The ministry is awesome. The people are awesome.

I'M IN LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN!!!

I will try to get on sometime next week and put of pics of the babies! :)

All my love!

Last Day Here!!!

So today is my last day here in the states!! Yeah!!

Thanks for all the prayers that have been sent up for me, especially this past weekend with my back! As of this morning, my back is not hurting near as bad as what is was this morning. In fact, it is quite tolerable!

Please pray for complete healing so that by tomorrow when we load the plane this will be a distant memory that won't reoccur!!

I don't mean to complain to you all, but I know that God's hands are the only ones that can heal me completely!

So as for details, our flights are again different than I orginally thought:

Tomorrow: (7/6/10) We will fly from Chicago to Amsterdam, then from there down to Cape Town, arriving in Cape Town on the 7th.

Then on 7/26/10 we leave Cape Town, fly to Amsterdam, to New York (JFK International) and them to Chicago.

I will be back home very late on the 27th of July.

Please pray for our entire team today as we make finals preparations and plans to be gone.

Please also pray for our luggage that we will be able to get it all to fit in our bags so we can bless those babies socks off!!


~~~** When you leave comments on my blog, please be sure that when you use the Anonymous that you sign your name in the comment. It is so encouraging to see comments- especially while I'm over there!!


PTL!!!! This will probably be the last post for awhile. I don't know when I will be able to get to a computer again. Hopefully the next time I post I will have pics to add with it!! :)

My love is sent out to all of you!!!

Prayer Warriors

Hey Everyone!!

We leave in 3 days!! YEAH!!! :)


I'm in my friends Heather and Skott's wedding this weekend and before I left to come down here my back "went out" REALLY bad. I'm in a lot of pain and can hardly stand straight. I went to Dr. Luban and he said this is worst my back has been and that there is a lot of swelling in my lower back. Medicine does nothing, so I'm using ice and trying to just suck it up.

Needless to say, I need some serious prayer. Not only that I can heal quickly for the wedding this afternoon, but because we leave in 3 days and I need for my back to be completely healed.

Sitting on a plane for 20 hours will not be fun and neither will building and loving babies. :(

Satan is a jerk, but my God is bigger.

I LEAVE IN A WEEK!!! :]

I LEAVE IN ONE WEEK!!!! I can hardly believe it!!! One week from today I will be on a plane heading back to my babies!!! :)


Some updates:

- So I know I told some of you about the flight details and I mispoke. We aren't actually going to Europe this time. Our change will happen in Washington, then to Jo-Burg and then down to Capetown.

- We received our schedules and I'm really excited! We are going to meet up with old friends from 3 years ago and I can't wait to see them! And we are staying in a new location- much closer to the babies!! :)

- --- Prayer Requests:

* Our team will not be meeting until the day we get on the plane together. That being said, we need God's hand to just unite us and bind us together. This will be a hard trip, but a rewarding and joyful one too. We need each other.

* Luggage - still. We are going to just shove it in our bags. Pray that God stretches our bags in miraculous ways!

* Travel mercies- it's a long flight in a small space- but so worth it! Pray that we can evangelize with our neighbors on the planes and in the airports as well- they are part of our mission as well.

* Prepare the hearts of those that we will encounter. We can do nothing without Christ leading the way.

* Prepare the ears of those we will encounter. We don't speak the same language, but we can all be loved and with Christ's help we can shower that on my babies.

* Strength: Now as the final week of preparation is upon us Satan is attacking me big time, as I am sure that he is to the rest of the team. Please pray for protection and strength now, during the trip, and when we return :(

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN ME! I AM SO BLESSED TO HAVE FAMILY AND FRIENDS THAT MAKE ME FEEL SO LOVED! I CAN'T WAIT TO PASS THAT LOVE ON!!!

10 DAYS!!!!!!!

A few things as the fly-out day quickly approaches!!! :)

~ I'm going on a short road trip w/ my youngest sister, Rachel, this weekend. Please pray for our safety and a fun relaxing time for the both of us.

~ I need some prayer. Satan is on full combat mode. I am really feeling the attacks getting stronger as the departure day comes close.

~ Please continue to pray for the luggage situation. We are going to just squeeze it all in our bags- so God is going to have a huge hand in that!

~ Team Unity: We will not meet until the day we leave- I'm a little bummed, but I think God will use this in some way- I'm just not sure how.

I can't wait to see my babies and to see how God is going to use us this time!! :)

14 Days...and counting!!

I'm so EXCITED about the trip!!!! I've had many discussions with several awesome people about the trip ( Kyra, Teresa, and Gwen :) ) and the more I get to talking about it the more excited I become!!

Along with these discussions come some stress as well. The bag situation- rather the fact that there was an overwhelming response of donated clothes- we are trying to work out the details in how we will get ALL of it over there.

With God's help it will get there- Satan is using minor details to stress detail- lady (Me!) out!

Continued prayers for team unity- we still have not met yet. So we really may all be "Strangers on a Plane". :)

Also I'm not really fearful of any specifics of the trip in Africa but I am worried about the health of my grandmother here. I am VERY close with her and I know if something happens while I am gone I will not deal well with it and it will impact me greatly on the trip. Please pray for her health and for my peace of mind. :) <3 Love you Gma!!! <3


Thank you all for your prayers, for your encouragement, for your wisdom, and most of all for your love. Many of you have greatly impacted me and have made this trip possible.


14 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) PTL

20 Days and an AMAZING Revelation..

So we leave in 20 days, well almost 19, because this day is coming to a close.

Last night as I was doing my devotions and getting some things organized for the trip, God placed some VERY encouraging and direct verses in front of me that I know I have read before, but that struck me deep and lifted me so much. God knew that I needed these words and they will be my fuel throughout my trip...

Proverbs 16:1 "We can gather our thoughts, but the Lord gives the right answer."

Proverbs 16:3 "Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed."

Proverbs 3:6 " Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths."


These really hit the spot for me last night. Thank you Lord for placing encouraging scripture in front of me so clearly!! :)

Pray please that my other teams members are able to raise full support for the trip.

Also please pray for team unity as we still haven't met...as of right now I AM going with total strangers.

Why am I going???

So our leader for this trip, Tim, asked us to write him a letter explaining why we were going, what our expectations are, what our fears are, and what our strengths and weaknesses are. As I was writing this, I thought this may be something that everyone should see. Although it is terribly personal, it explains my motives, the process that brought me to this awesome opportunity and it reveals many ways in which you can lift me up in prayer.

I am going to take a deep breath and post this- I trust that my open heart will be safe in your reading.

"I knew the moment we boarded the plane back to the US that I had left a big piece of my heart in South Africa. I have had this incredible and overwhelming desire to go back, but I wanted to be sure that I went back on God’s timing. I went to Romania the following summer, thinking that the hype of Africa might have just been the thrill of overseas missions. But things were very different. I loved the kids we ministered to and our team was great, but I couldn’t help thinking the whole time about “my babies” in Africa. I was constantly thinking about how it would be if I were there. I knew by the end of that trip that I had found my heart’s song- South Africa. I was discouraged that nothing came about the following summer, but I trusted that the Lord knew when I was supposed to go.
In October of this past year Africa was on my heart a lot. I prayed that God would open doors and guide me to where He wanted me. I sent out five messages to people and organizations, which had ties to Africa, to see what opportunities were available. A month went by and I heard nothing. I was confused. God had given me such a strong desire to follow His call for our life to GO but yet all I could see was darkness.
On Christmas Eve I was cleaning, but had a lot on my mind. I ended up on my knees crying out to God and asking for Him to either open a door or damper my strong desire. That night, I got a response. Tim Berger, the man who led my last trip, sent me an email telling me of an opportunity to return. I was astounded, and Satan came to attack and give way to doubt. Was I really supposed to go? How could I ever raise enough support? Would I be able to leave my babies again to come back to the states?
Shortly after the email a guest speaker, who was a missionary in Africa, spoke at my church about how single young women should be in the mission field. “OK God,” I thought. “I see your pointing and direction, but I’m still just not 100% sure.”
At a conference with the junior high students that I help lead, a few weeks later, their final call to the students was to go out and do big things for God even if you are young. Win people for the Lord. I knew then that even thought this message was aimed at the kids, but God had designed for me to hear “Megan, GO!!!” With my decision to go came lots of attacks from Satan about finances. A group from my church returned from India on a missions trip, and before I had left for church that morning I had asked God for confirmation, because even after all He to show His will to me, I still had doubts. One of the ladies had struggled too about finances and staying strong while in India. She referenced a passage from Matthew 5:3 about God blessing those who realize their need for Him and that the only thing to do is to trust God’s plans.
That being said, my motivation for going is simply to follow God’s very clear direction to go back to love on “my babies”. I am fearful aobut how I may react. I’ve seen it before, but sickness in children is hard to accept. I so desperately want to see some of the kids from three years ago, but especially Leeolo. I don’t even know if he is still at the clinic but I think about him everyday. I think about how different his life here in the states could be. The special needs services available to him in the states could change the outcome of his life. I’m fearful that he might have passed away and how that will effect me. I know that I am going to fall in love with these kids all over again, but my first little loves will always be there. I fear that my expectations and comparisons to the first trip may change how I look at the second trip. I was a very different person in South Africa in 2007 than what I normally am. I am normally loud, bubbly, crazy, and outgoing, yet on that trip I was quiet, reserved, and hardly spoke to anyone. I found myself distancing myself from the others. Although I grew so close to God and saw how much I rely on others for comfort, I wish I could have made some lasting friendships with the other girls on the team.
My expectations for myself on this trip is that I put fear and trust issues aside and just be real and be my fun God loving self. I expect God to move in me and through me doing what I do best- simply loving. I am a little fearful aobut how God will change me on this trip. I came back so changed from the last trip that I don’t know where God will move in me. I feel that my strengths are my ability to love quickly, especially with children. I have genuine love and work hard at just letting Christ radiate through that love. I am a hard worker which comes from growing up on a farm and being my dad’s right had woman. I like to do the job right- some may call it a little bit of “perfectionism” . I love to capture moments on film, so that on a hard day back in the states I can look at my babies and remember how blessed I am and how much I love them.
I do struggle with trusting others. I build walls and put on a happy face. I am working on remembering that even though I have been hurt in the past that doesn’t mean people now will hurt me purposefully- especially other Christians. I struggle with confidence- another trait I’m still working on. At times, Satan is really able to take my focus off of what it should all be about and place it elsewhere. I ams working with God on that one too. I am also very emotional and sensitive at times. This characteristic can be a good quality, but at times can also be a bad one. "

22 DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE!!!!!! I have lots of clothes, but we are still collect them too. Hopefully I will be getting an email from Tim with more details in the next couple of days.

I'm so excited I think I'm going to go dance around my living room!!!

Thank you Lord for such awesome opportunities to serve you!!! :) PTL!!

30 DAYS!!!!!!!!!

WE LEAVE IN 30 DAYS!!!! I'M SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!! :)

Thank you so much to those that have already responded and given me clothes!! I can't wait to bless their socks off at the AIDS clinics with clothes and of course the love of my Jesus...He is awesome!!

Please pray for me as I am getting a little stressed with all of life's current demands. I want my focus to be on Him and not on the crazy happenings of this world. I need my attentions to be on this trip.

Also pray for the heart's of those that we encounter everywhere. The airport. Resturants. But most importantly in the townships and clinics.


Ooooooo I'm so ready to go!!!





Here's another little girl at The Moses Preschool- She didn't smile but she is still such a beautiful child of God. I hope that I get to see her again, although she is probably much too old for preschool 3 years later....





This little girl broke my heart. She was so cold and distant at age 3 because of physical and sexual abuse. After the first day of meeting her I wanted so badly to remove her from her situation and just love on her. I'm sure we will have these type of encounters again. Pray that our hearts will be ready to love on these precious babies even though it is hard to imagine or understand why things are so hard for such precious angels.

Call for Help

Do you have clothes just sitting around that you never wear? Clothes that your children have outgrown? Well then I have a deal for you, because we would gladly like to take that pile of burden off your hands!!

We are hoping to collect gently used clothes to take with us to leave at the AIDS clinics.

If you are interested in donating clothes, please let me know and I will come gladly take the clothes off your hands!!!

I've made it!!!

PTL!!!! I have raised all of my support for SA!!! God is so good! I was most worried about the financial side of this trip, but God has provided me with an awesome family, church family and friends that care and love me so much!!!

PTL!!! I just want to jump up and down!!!

I am trying to update the blog more often and make some changes. :)

I'm going to attempt to put up a few pics of some of my kiddos from the last time so here is goes!!




This little girl sang Happy Birthday to me the last time that I was there. She was adorable!!







This is me with my baby Leeolo. I REALLY hope that I get to see him this time around. I loved him so much and wanted to bring him back with me. He has special needs but was full of the most beautiful smiles you have ever seen.




Here I am with the kids that were going to be using the Preschool we were working on while we were there last time. They loved our hair- they had never seen anything quite like it! They also tried to scratch our freckles off because they thought they were dirt!!!

Looking through pictures has made my heart skip a beat thinking that I will be with them soon!!! :) Thank you Lord for allowing me to return to my babies!!

Newest Update!

Thanks for all of the encouraging words from everyone!! I'm close to full support financially and hopefully I will meet my goal this next week. :) PTL

I'm getting really excited about this trip...I just need to get through to the end of the school year first, which is this Friday.

Prayer requests: I'm am completely stressed and definately feel under satan's attack. Also pray for team unity. I haven't met anyone yet except for Tim, the guy that lead us last time. I'm excited to meet the others, but I don't know when or how long before the trip this will occur. Pray that God can unite us in our love for Africa and our love for Him, so that we can do awesome things there.

Again thanks so much for all of the awesome support from family, friends, church family and coworkers!! :)

Feel free to comment and/ or ask questions. Hopefully once school is over I will be able to post some pics from my last trip or my link to the website they are stored on.

a little information change...

So God is still rocking my socks off, but the percentage on my last update is not correct, because on my account online, the total amount we need to raise is incorrect. So please continue prayers for the trip and for financial support. I'm still close, but not quite there!!

Details for round 2 to SA!

Hello all~
Just a quick update and details for everyone.

~ Official dates are July 6- July 27= exactly 3 weeks! Won't seem long enough!

~ I will be working with the same organization, Thembalitsha (http://www.thembalitsha.org.za/) while we are there. We are still working on set details of the projects, but we will be spending time at the AIDS Clinics for adults and children, will have some sort of building projects and will probably hand out care packages along with prayers and of course of lots of loving with Jesus as the reason.

~ Spreadtruth is our organization here in the states. They are so great!!!! I have raised 90% of my needed financial support- PTL!!!! :) Thank you to all who have already supported me!!!

~~ Most importantly, thank you for the prayers! I have definately felt them lately! Satan saw the good that was coming from me following God's will for this trip and quickly started the assault.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!!! :)

Breaking my heart for what breaks His,
Megan

I'm going back to Africa!!!!

So....I decided the second time around, going halfway across the world, it would be easier to keep a blog than try to email everyone and that way you can check up on it whenever you want!

I am hoping to keep it updated as much as I can before I leave, while I am there and when I return.

GOD IS SOOOOO GOOD!!!!! Satan has been attacking me, especially about getting the financial support for the trip, but God has provided me with almost all of the support!! :) PTL!!!! (Praise the Lord!!!)

Please continue to pray for me! I'm so excited to return to my babies, but I have lots of school work to get done first!!!

Breaking my heart for what breaks His,

Megan