Dear Friends,

It's hard to believe how the months are flying by. April 3rd will mark three months for us here in South Africa! In some ways it seems as though we have been here much longer than that. The Lord has continued to give us such a sense of well being here. We are more sure than ever that this is where the Lord wants us to be.

The kids enjoy school and are making friends. Both the girls have a special friend who they play with after school from time to time. It is fun for the girls to be making connections with new friends. It is just like in America. One of the kids in class will have a birthday party and all the kids will go over after school. Camille has swimming at school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and they both have dance lessons (ballet) on Mondays and Wednesdays. People also drop by regularly to visit. It makes for busy afternoons. Jennifer is serving at the Kibbutz in the day care facility on Tuesday and Thursday mornings so this is great time for Stephanie and me to have some "alone" time. It is really nice to have total peace and quiet for 5 hours those two mornings!

God has really been moving in some neat ways to connect us to several new people. It has been so exciting to see how He is bringing us into relationship with people with like mindedness and vision for the body here in Worcester and South Africa. It has been a confirmation for all the things we have in our heart from the Lord. We are convinced more than ever that God is bringing forth a clear understanding of the church in the hearts and minds of His people all over the world. We know that God is wanting to establish us on the firm foundation of Jesus as the Head and the whole body functioning in a healthy way without tradition and religion. We are seeing more and more clearly that this is really going to happen and it is going to be different than anything we have ever walked in before. We will keep you posted on what happens as God unfolds it here. We are just blessed to be here and to be a part.

Robert and Georgia Sheppard are one example of how the Lord is bringing people into our lives. We had met a young couple a few weeks back who live in another nearby city. She is Robert's daughter and she grew up in Worcester where we live. They mentioned to us that we should meet her dad. She gave us his numbers but Cliff never called him. Cliff felt led to make contact with him on a Tuesday night to schedule a time just to get together and fellowship. He suggested "right now." Cliff had actually prayed earlier for the Lord to provide some fellowship that night, so we were available and welcomed them to come over. When they arrived, he shared that they had wanted to meet us for quite some time, but were waiting on God's timing. Cliff had prophecied over another of Robert's daughters in a bible school over a year ago and she had brought the cassette tape home for them to hear. They have wanted to meet Cliff since that time - before we even lived here. Then their other daughter had mentioned us to them a couple of weeks ago. Robert shared that Tuesday afternoon the Lord had finally told him to call us and come over that night to meet us and fellowship for a while. It was then that Cliff phoned him to see when we could get together! Totally a God thing. Kind of like Peter and Cornelius! We really connected and we know that we are going to have a very special and effective relationship together. He has a huge heart for the body as well as prayer and the word. He is actually very instrumental in the spirit in what God is doing here in Worcester.

So we are seeing God move on our behalf in many ways. It is just so exciting to know that God will actually do so much if we will rest and let Him lead! He is protecting us from the busyness of ministry and making our efforts more effective and fruitful to bring about His purposes through us. This brings so much freedom and release to us. We feel so confident that He is working.

We are also taking Afrikaans classes every week on Tuesday and Friday. It is a fairly easy language except for some of the pronounciations, which are super difficult. We think in about a year we'll have a pretty good grip on the language. It is not necessary for survival, but it will allow us to connect with people on a deeper level.

Miriam Todd, Cliff's mom, is arriving on March 25th and we have an exciting three weeks planned for her. The Last Days Family fellowship is giving her a welcome party on the 26th. Then we’re taking her on the Garden Route to Knysna for 4 days of fun. It’s about 3 hours away and the whole trip is a fabulous view of some of the beauty of South Africa. The kids are out of school for fall break so it’s perfect timing for Miriam’s trip. On April 2nd we leave for Hermanus where Cliff is speaking at a conference on the 3rd. Miriam will be ministering in a women’s conference on April 4th and 5th back in Worcester. The next week she will be busy speaking in several school assemblies in the community and conducting training sessions at the Kibbutz with the teachers of the “at-risk children.” She will be returning to the states on April 14th.

Cliff has also begun to do some writing. Everything is in rough form right now, but it has been good for him to have the time to put some thoughts down. The website is almost finished as well and we should have the final touches done by the end of April. Be sure you visit the site at www.equippersinternational.org. Feel free to give input at any time as well.

Thank you all so much for your continued love and support. Look forward to talking to you in the April update!

Cliff, Stephanie, Camille, Natalie and Wesley

Harvest Time
March and April are the time to harvest grapes in the Boland. The vineyards are beautiful and the grapes are delicious. We never thought we would eat so many grapes! Pray for the spiritual harvest in this wonderful valley as well.