Tomorrow is my last day :(

I am very sadden that I have to leave this beautiful place.  I leave from here, Mokopane, Limpopo at 12:00 pm to be at the airport three hours early.  I am excited to see my family.  I can't wait to share all the wonderful stories with everyone.  I want to make a video or a power point of my trip.  It may take me a while cuz I have so many pictures.  Yesterday, we went on a game farm in Shakaru. We saw lots of animals!  We drove up the mountian and got to see the sun set.  BEAUTIFUL!!! God is really amazing and magnificent!!!!  Today, we went to Ebentni Game Farm.  I saw Lions, giraffee, waterbuck, zebras, wildabeast, enlayla, ostriage, and cheetahs!!!!  Very beautiful!  We were in the dark surrounded by Lions!!! oh my!!  Fun fun!! I love the adventure!  Got to go.  I am going to play Rummicube with Beth....I am going to miss that....Love you all.  See you soon!!

My time is almost up. :(::

I am going to really miss this place. It has really been an amazing experience. I wonder what God has in store for me? Where does He want me to go now? I must be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Right now my team and I are in Vryburg, North West Province in SOuth Africa. We are in the middle of no where. THe scenery is so beautiful. I keep taking it all in along the many drives we take. Every time we go to a new school it just breaks my heart when I see so many hurting children. I have passed by grave yards and there are so many fresh graves. At least my grandmother did not have to die so young. She was blessed with a long life. I miss her so. I wish I could share my stories with her. I only have ten minutes left....oh no...I have not even begun writing! This school district has had major communication problems. When we were in the Freestate, the Department of Education was very good. They were so good to us. THe Dept. of this area was suppose to have accomadations ready for us. Well...we had no where to rest our heads. Finally, we were taken to Castello Guesthouse. It is a dirty place. Lisa and I were moved to a different room. But it could have been worse. I have been so blessed!!! So many children are blessing my heart. I am so very thankful for everything God has given me. Everyone is well here! Praise God! We leave Vryburg this Friday and head for Limpopo. It is going to be a LOOOONNNGGGG ride! But much fun! I can't wait to share all my pictures. I have almost 500. Are you ready for stories? I can't wait to share. I might need naps in between to rejuvenate my energy. Got to go! Love you all very much! God bless!

Car Crash

There has just been a car crash right outside of my window.  I am surprised I have not seen one sooner.  It does not look like anyone is hurt. Praise God!!

Overwhelmed with compassion

Today was a wonderful day. The tears keep coming. If only you could see what I have been seeing. We will continue to stay in Bolenfentain till Friday. On Monday, we went to Ladybrand. It was an hour and a half away from Bolenfentain. The mountains and the scenery are just gorgeous!!! Along the way we passed by grave yards that are so full that the tombstones are right next to each other. There is so much dying. I have only seen two older Africans. That's it! They were probably in there 50s or 60s. Near the grave yards is a settlement. Thousands of people live in these settlements. If anyone saw the size of my bed room in Pastor Bob's house, many of their homes are smaller than that!! About 5-10 people live in one shanty. Can you imagine? That means these people practically sleep on top of one another. Rape is so common. I can understand why. The children learn all about sex at such a young age. They are so curious, they will go out and experiment themselves. Many of the rapping's are from family members such as mothers, fathers, step parents, uncles, and aunts. Drugs is another thing that is common. The children get bored and don't know what to do with themselves so they go and experiment. The government used to fund the schools to give the learners food, but now the government can not afford it. Majority of the learners are not getting any food. Blessman Ministries asked that the children we were seeing get a package of food. I feel so guilty eating in front of them. But the thing is, I do not have enough food to give to the hundreds of children around me. It is so sad. In town, they have a mall and some nice buildings. I wish the government would use more money for the poor than build such fancy buildings. There is no money for the schools because it is going towards the WORLD CUP!!! Lots of people here are looking forward to that. I just don't get it. This government is really corrupt. Doc just found out yesterday that the health government funding are going bankrupt. Now if someone has two children HIV+, the parent must only pick one child to go on antireteral medication. The medication is supposed to help delay terrible symptoms. How terrible is that? In Ladybrand, it was a challenge to minister because of the language barrier. So many of the students are behind in their education. They are supposed to start to learn English in the fourth grade. But many 17 year old I could not communicate well with. I had a translator but sometimes I wonder if they are correctly translating everything I am saying. It was a very stretching experience!! It was good for me! The Zion Christian Church is very deceived. It is the fastest growing church in South Africa. These people are open to believe just about anything. In this case, that is not a good thing! Lord, break down the walls of deception. Let them see the truth!! Some of the translators are apart of this church. That is why this concerns me so. Tuesday, we went to Thaba-Nchu. That was about an hour drive from Bolenfatain. We were completely surrounded by a settlement of shanties. This venue was a college that is no longer used at a college. It is a beautiful place, if only they could put it to good use. The need is great!! Compared to Monday at Landbrand, I greatly enjoyed Thaba-Nchu. I think it was because there were slightly more English speaking learners. Not only that but we could hear each other fairly well. Some of the venues or classrooms we use are small and get very loud with lots of people. I pulled out on of the learners that knew English to help us interpret. Her name is more original than the others, Abigail. She specifically wanted me to pray for her mother because her mother drinks too much alcohol. Olebogeng is twelve and her prayer was to pass school and be a social worker and some day own her own business. I told her she would have to work hard but I believed that she could do it. Lerato just wants a friend. Many others don't even have a mommy or daddy. I saw a down syndrome boy and took a picture of him for Julie. He looks like Scoob but with dark skin. He was so cute!! Today, we did not have to travel far for our venue. I can not remember where it was at though. Again, the primary school was right in the center of a squatter camp or shanty settlement. Pop, means doll, told us that there is much thievery and it is really hard to keep the school nice. There were lots of broken windows. Bob, one of my fellow missionaries, took a couple Book of Hope to cover the broken windows. It was very cold today. I thought that was pretty clever! They believe that we are to get some snow. YES, you heard me right. I wore five layers of clothes today. Today I experienced challenges with learners who are supposed to be of age to read but can not. They thought it was an eye problem but it is actually a reading problem. The schools in this area are not teaching the learners well. It seems they are just passing the learners through even if they can not read. I gave many elementary versions of Book of Hope out today. There are three different versions: Elementary, pre-teen, and teen. Xola is 14 and in the fourth grade. He can not read at all. He was one of the one who thought he needed glasses but did not. He told me he was a Jehovah Witness. I just kept telling him about Jesus and the Book of Hope tells about the truth of Jesus. One thing I love to do is pray for the learners even if they can not understand me. I pray against deception and disease. It is wonderful! The Department of Education gave us all gifts. One of the Educators said she learned so much from us. She mentioned that we not only help them with their physical eyes but their spiritual eyes. YES, she is getting it!! Praise the Lord! The gifts were extra special because they were made by Mentally Challenged Learners of Pholoho School. It is a coffee mug that you can use chalk to right on. Inside of the mug is coffee and brown sugar. Attached to the handle is a beaded bracelet. It is very special indeed! I am very blessed! Tonight, we are meeting with another Department of education to go to more schools and reach more children. We are handing out hundreds of glasses. God has been so good! Thank you for all your prayers. I hope you can read all of this. I know it is a lot but it is not nearly enough!!

Swine Flu

Please pray against the Swine Flu.  WE have just recently got a report from the department of Education here in Bolufintain that there has been two deaths because of it!!! 

Pastor's Conference

THe Pastor's Conference that Missionary Terry Richardson led had a great turn out.  There were more than 12 different denominations that attended.  About 30 pastors there.  It was so neat.  THey were so excited for the conference and very blessed. Pastor Bud spoke a few times as well as other African pastors.  THey are trying to unite the pastor's church as one church working for one purpose!! Praise the Lord!!  Pastor Bud was praying for one man and he was so filled with the spirit that he was slain in the Spirit.  Many went up for prayer and healing.  God did amazing things!!  The Pastors kept saying they dont want anymore hand me downs but fresh vision.  THey want to experience the Holy Spirit and an intimate relationship themselves.  The conference lasted until Friday.  Friday we had a bon fire talking about the happenings there and sang songs.  It gets sooooo dark here.  I have to use my torch (flashlight) every night I walk from the Blessman house to my Rondolve.  I get kinda nervous being in the wild.  At least there are no meat eatters to get me.  The stars are so beautiful.  They shine so bright at night.  Well, I have to get up bright an early for outreach.  I better get some sleep.  Thanks for your prayers.  Holy Spirit move!!!  GLORY!!

Monkeys, Ostriage, Lions, wildabest, giraffes and more!

While we were in Limpopo, we went on a game drive (safari) in Entabente.  This game farm was over 60,000 km.  A lot of land.  I saw baboons.  I saw monkeys right out side my room at the Rondolves where the Blessman's live.  THey are nothing knew.  We have to be careful because they like to get in the house and take things.  Hmmmm....maybe my lil brother is a MONKEY!  he he I love him and miss him so.  Maybe I should try and catch one and bring it home with me to give him.  HA!  THat would be impossible.  They are skiddish to humans but You can get pretty close to them.  So, I saw baboons. Lots of them in a tree and abroad.  THe zebras and giraffe are so beautiful!!  I saw wildabeast and enyala (gorgeous deer like animal).  From a distance, we saw a lioneus.  She just made her kill.  We tried getting closer but the rocks were in the way.  :( I will get another chance to go on another game drive and I am excited!!!!  Doc said that was probably the worst safari ride he had been on.  Not because of the safari man but because the animals did not want to make much of an appearance.  So I am so glad I have another opportunity!!!  I see enyala outside my window practically every day.  THey are so beautiful.  They are getting used to the humans.  Plus there is a lonely ostrich that hangs around a lot where I am staying.  Poor thing.