We spent most of our time this month in discipleship relationships. Cliff stays closely connected with men in Worcester, Wellington/ Paarl, and DeAar. He spends personal time with several guys weekly, and stays in touch by phone with some of the men who live farther away. The september DTS that Stephanie staffed with YWAM came back from outreach and they had a final week of debriefing and school graduation. The outreach teams ministered in Brazil, England, Angola, Mozambique, and South Africa. After graduation a girl in Stephanie's small group came and stayed with us for a week so we could spend more time together. Joni is continuing to grow in the Lord and is seeking His direction for her future.
We have some good friends that are going to be missionaries in Scotland, Anton and Melanie Erlank. During the interim between Anton quitting his job and when they are leaving, he has been teaching us Afrikaans three times a week. It helps so much to have regular classes to help us learn and we are now to the point where we can talk enough to "butcher the language." We will find another teacher after Anton and Melanie move overseas next month. God has given us an open door to disciple them into a deeper understanding of the body of Christ. They strongly desire to be a living example of the relational church in Scotland. We believe that through our relationship with Anton & Melanie we will be able to go to Scotland to strengthen the church there some day in the future.
Praise the Lord, we received several gifts that enabled us to buy a car. Thank you so much for praying with us for this need. We shopped a long time because car prices are generally 40% higher here than American car prices because of import taxes. God led us to a 1991, one-owner car in great condition with only 78,000 miles. Because of the older model we got an excellent price and had a little money left over to do a couple of repairs that were needed. We are so thankful for God's provision!
Camille and Wesley are thoroughly enjoying occupational therapy and we have already seen a dramatic improvement in Camille's school work. An additional bonus is her improved attitude in doing her school homework as well as OT worksheets and exercises. As a result, we have discovered that she is very clever in Maths. Previously she had a strong aversion to anything having to do with numbers!
Natalie won first place in the school swim meet for her age division and has been invited to swim freestyle in a regional competition. Also, she decided this month that rather than be involved in dance classes like Camille, she would like to work so she can make money! At 6 years old, we are encouraging her to start with a part-time position. Please pray that the Lord will provide the right job to help her have a good experience and mature in her desire to be responsible and entrepreneurial.
Wesley's favorite thing to do is swing. The only problem is the tree branch that held the swing broke this week, so we have to search and find the next best option. So far we haven't found a good branch that will serve this purpose. Stephanie is trying to take him horseback riding more to distract him from the missing swing.
Living on the farm brings new experiences that we have only read about or seen on TV. We were excited to learn that March is the month that the sheep deliver their lambs. One morning when the kids went outside to get into the combi to go to school we discovered that a lamb had just been born. His umbilical cord was still hanging from his tummy. It was so sweet to watch him struggle to stand and nurse. Since then we have seen several more births, including twins, and they are already starting to frolic and play a bit. We're becoming attached to the sheep and we watch them attentively to learn more about them and make sure they stay safe and healthy.
Pictures from Stephanie's YWAM Discipleship Training School
Stephanie with Terezinha and Maria, friends from Angola.
Rosalia and Gustavo from Brazil were the school leaders.
Several of the students on graduation night. They represent Nigeria, South
Korea, South Africa & America.
Mariama and Julles from Ivory Coast are good friends with Paul Aiyo whom
we have known since 1997.
Joni from South Africa spent a week with us after graduation. She and
Stephanie became good friends during the DTS.
Graduation night at the YWAM base in Worcester.
The Lord has blessed us with a horse right in our back yard! The kids love to ride.
Wesley turned 4 on February 8th! It is South African tradition to wear a crown on your birthday. Wesley made a great king!
Natalie has excelled in swimming. She will be representing her school in the under 6 year old freestyle event in a regional meet on March 9th.
It is lambing season on the farm. We now have 6 new lambs to enjoy in our back yard. This picture was taken only minutes after this lamb was born.
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