When you have old bananas-make banana bread

So, today in South Africa is Women's Day. It's to commemorate the some 20,000 women who stood up against apartheid in 1956. There were lots of gatherings of women today at state buildings and such, but this woman, she slept til 10am. Oh, I woke up several times and kept rolling over to go back to sleep. Most days, school days, we are up at 5:30 and out the door at 6:30am...did you catch that...AM. And my people, we don't do mornings very well. No one really speaks unless it's in grunts or nods. 

So today, we had about 5-6 old bananas and Grace and I decided we would make banana almond bread. My husband loves any fruit bread with nuts in it. So we did the womanly thing and baked. I know, I know, Matthew and many many can cook and bake, but today we, the women of the house, baked. We used our tried and true Betty Crocker cookbook from like 1950. In any move, it will be in my suitcase. It has served us well. 

Lately, life seems to be serving me old bananas, and I am trying to make banana bread. I am depending on the Lord more and more in these days, just like I depend on Betty Crocker to help me with the recipe. The Lord has opened up one door with a blogging group called Daughters of the Deep. It is going to launch in October, but we are already writing. I wrote my first one this week. It is to encourage and inspire women into a deeper walk with Christ. And in writing, it's doing that for me also. There will be more details as launch date approaches. Humbled to be chosen and humbled as I study and write about what God lays on my heart. 

With a confused heart

Hello my friends and supporters of all kinds.  The last couple of weeks have been difficult at the school I "volunteer" at.  The deal was I volunteer and the kids get scholarships. Well, last week I was called in and told there had been changes to SARS (South African Revenue Service) ie...tax man. And it's no longer legal for me to volunteer and my kids still remain getting scholarships. So we waited and waited and waited.

Today, I met with on the head HR guys at our school corporation and our head bursar. And, tomorrow is my last day at Waterstone College. It is with a heavy heart because I will miss all the relationships I have built over the last 4.5 years and miss the kids. One the other side, I am quite excited to see what the Lord has planned for the next stage of my missionary life.  The kids will continue to get scholarships this year and Matthew was offered one for his final year next year. Grace will need to apply or we are considering homeschooling.  Please be in prayer as we transition.

Romans 6:33-34 What you should want most is God's kingdom and doing what He wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need. So don't worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 

Love 

EIGHT YEARS!!!

8 Years!! 

Can you believe? We can't! We had no idea when we started this journey with you that we would still be serving Jesus with J-Life after 8 years!! Lots has happened in 8 years! 

1. J-LIfe grew from 6 to 25 countries in Africa
2. Our family grew by one amazing Daughter in Law
3. Moved 3 times 
4. 3 different schools
5. 1 dog

All these are just things I can think of off the top of my head. The most amazing thing is that God has grown J-Life and is continuing to work into countries that were once on a dream list. We continue to thank Jesus and His leading. We are so blessed as a family and an organization. All the glory goes only to Jesus Christ! We are simply vessels being used by Him. I would challenge each of us to continue to look for ways in our daily lives to be intentional about living our live FOR Him!

We love each of you and are continually in awe of our prayer and financial partners.
WE COULD NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!!

serving together, david, liz, matthew and grace

Sewing

I sew, but only things that require straight lines. My mom made us take sewing lessons one year and it kinda stuck with me. So curtains, blankets, bedding. etc...those are the things I am good at.
This is a blanket I made for myself. It's a throw size. It's 2 layers of fleece so it's extra warm on my feet. The winter here in South Africa is quite cold. I know that comes as a surprise to some of you, but we are quite far from the equator so we get all four seasons. It would be better if our houses were equipped for winter with central heat, but it's only cold for about 12 weeks so I would rather have central air, if we were given a choice, but people don't put central air in their homes here, so when it's hot outside, it is hot inside and when it's cold outside, it's cold inside. Just the way it is. But anyway, this post was not about the weather. It's about sewing. Last week, I sewed a "Cars" comforter for our friend's little boy. I am not the best seamstress in the world, but am so glad my mom made me take lessons. I think everyone should know how to sew, at least a little. So, I am teaching Grace on the machine and Matthew knows how to sew a button and we even attempted to darn a sock the other day. I was feeling like a real Martha Stewart :). Sewing has come in super handy being a missionary and either helping someone by making a blanket or curtains or tablecloths or just being able to make curtains for my house. Love being able to minister in a maybe non-traditional way, but sharing God's love through sewing.

Missionary Monday 6

This is Palgrave. He is the country leader in Ghana, Ghana is in West Africa. This is his family. His wife Irene and children, Ruth-Janelle and Steve. I believe Palgrave went through the J-Life training in 2007. So, he has been around longer than we have. He has a great team around him to help him in the disciple making movement in Ghana. This year, Palgrave has been instrumental in growing disciples outside of Ghana. He has helped Nelson from Sierra Leone come to J-Life and continues to meet with him now that they are both back in west Africa. 

• Pray for Palgrave and Irene and their children, That the Lord would grant them wisdom to raise their beautiful children and to make time for their marriage.
• Pray for Ghana as they continue to grow the work being done there
• Pray for the outreach past Ghana's borders that is happening. 
• Pray for Palgrave as he continues to help Nelson through his first year in J-Life.

New Adventures

Well, we've come to the end of an era...my passport was full. And I mean full. No space for any stamps. I couldn't even leave the country if I had needed to. So, off the the US Consulate to apply for a new one.  

In many ways, it kinda makes me sad to give up my old passport. My whole African life is in that thing. from the first trip until now. Every border crossing, mission trip, family trip, everything is in that little blue book. I think of the lifetime of experiences held in that book. Faces of people met along the way and many I won't see again this side of heaven, but thanks to the grace of Jesus, we will see again. 

On the other hand, I think of the great adventures that await me! Just to think of filling up a brand new passport. I was a little smarter this time and got the 52 page book. My old passport was due to expire until next August.  I think of all the things my old book holds, all the adventures and things I have gotten to experience and I get so excited to see where the Lord is going to take me in those 52 pages! What a story I'll be telling 10 years from now. Who knew 10 years ago that we would even be living in South Africa as missionaries.  Who knew that our children who get to experience life in another country and have their eyes opened to a world bigger than themselves. 

I pray over this passport and that I will always go where the Lord will lead, share the things the Lord wants me share in those places and meet the exact right people He has placed before me. Big adventures await! 

Missionary Monday 5

Today we have 2 exciting things happening....First a guest writer....David Even. YES folks, you got it right. My husband wrote this blog about the second exciting thing....GOD THINGS happening in Burundi. 

Burundi? you ask...where the heck is Burundi and what is God doing there....Well first a geography lesson. Burundi is in East Africa just south of Rwanda and west of Tanzania and east of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  Who is in Burundi? you ask....Bosco. His picture and story are below.

Bosco in Burundi Mar 2015 through Mar 2016

His name is Jean Bosco Mutebutsi, he likes to be called Bosco. Until about two months ago he lived in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Bujumbura, the capital city of Burundi. Burundi held its national elections early in 2015. Following the results of that election – total chaos…! Rioting and killings were the order of the day – every day.

While Bosco was with us for our annual Summit he was hearing from his friends back in Burundi. A great number of his friends were leaving the country. They were all telling him “do not come back here, it’s not safe”. One of his friends even managed to secure a flight for Bosco so he could leave directly from the airport to Rwanda.

But after much prayer Bosco was sure the Lord was telling him to stay. So he stayed. The rioting and killing continued all around him. But he was able to make more progress than he had before! He has added good, committed people to his team and they have gone into new regions to train the church leaders in disciplemaking. In short, he has seen a great increase in fruit because he was obedient and stayed where the Lord put him.

We have since been able to help him move to a somewhat safer location and the rioting and shootings have diminished.

Please pray for Bosco and his team to continue seeing fruitfulness in the work of the Kingdom to which they’ve been called.

Moz Part 2

The water....oh the water

We spent most of our time in Moz (Mozambique) at the beach. The water was so amazing. It was clear as far out as we walked which was up to our shoulders. I could see my toes at that height. We took an ocean safari in which we had a chance to see whale sharks, turtles, mantas,and dolphins. We saw dolphins and also got to snorkel in 2 different places. There are no water or boat pictures because your not allowed to take your camera unless it's waterproof, which mine is not. Just getting on the boat was a feat in itself. We had to push the boat from the shore out to the ocean then climb in boat. We found Liquid Dive Adventures (www.liquiddiveadventures.com) Picture below of the boat is from their website. 

Tofo is one of the major diving places in Mozambique and in all of Africa. We went snorkeling and it was amazing. Our friends have their diving certificate so they spent one morning on a dive. Liquid Dive also has a vegetarian restaurant,but more on that in Part 3. The kids also spent one morning taking surfing lessons. 

The kids had a blast! I loved taking pictures of them and watching them. This was their second try at surfing. They surfed in Cape Town, South Africa in December of 2008. They both got up on their boards several times. Success! 

As you can see above, the beach and ocean look like a magazine picture. It was an amazing way to spend the holiday....at the beach. 

Mozambique Part One

Typical village "town"

Google maps says it should take 12 hours from Johannesburg (the white star) to Tofo, Mozambique (the middle town labeled in Moz), but it took 15 hours going and 16 hours coming back. Lucky for us we love road trips. Especially adventures across any border. Just getting our visas for Moz (short for Mozambique) was quite a task. Three hours at the Moz consulate and there might have been tears. Without realizing it, I didn't have 3 empty visa pages left in my passport. In fact, I had only one empty page period. Thus the appointment this Thursday to get my passport renewed. But the consulate had compassion and granted grace for this mama traveling. He said kids couldn't go without their mama. Which I thought was interesting that it wasn't ok to just go with dad...but that's another subject and blog.

So, the main point of this vacay was to rest. And we went from the beach to lunch to the beach to dinner and some afternoons swam in a local pool. We went with our friends, the Stoniers, who now work in Zambia. So, they flew from Zambia to South Africa and then we all drove together in a van. David slept most of the way there because of his encephalitis. He rested a lot during the week. The kids and I were in the water so much. It was super clear and you could see your feet from shoulder level.

We loved our time away together. Lots and Lots of family time. Our drive home was eventful in that we had a blow out of one tire which makes 4 flat tires in the last 30 days for me. I was driving, but grateful I was not going too fast and could get to the side of the road quickly. We then had to find a spare tire in one of these villages we went through and to find one that wasn't 10 times the price because they saw an American and an Englishman get out of the van. Three stops and 3 villages later we had a spare tire. One thing for sure is that you don't want to be caught in the middle of Moz with no spare tire. There is lots of open space and very small villages in between "towns".

Next installment coming soon....

Part 2: the water
Part \3: the food

Missionary Monday 4

This week's Missionary Monday is about a new country to J-Life, Sierra Leone. We are so excited to have Nelson Coulson from Sierra Leone come and train with us for the first 6 weeks of this year. We are so thankful for the Lord who puts connections and people together for the furthering of His kingdom. 

Nelson's story of how he came to know about J-life is only one that God can orchestrate. He was walking along the road one day feeling very down and despondent. His walk with the Lord was not where he wanted it to be.  A big wind came up and this flyer flew into his body. So he grabbed it and put it in his pocket. Later that evening, he reached in his pocket to find this flyer that spoke of youth ministry and discipleship. The flyer was about GYI (Global Youth Initiative) which J-Life is a part of this organization. So he contacted the name on the flyer and they said there is a man in Ghana that you can speak to about discipleship and youth ministry in Africa. This was Palgrave, our country leader. Because of the ebola break out, they were delayed in meeting, But the Lord used this flyer about GYI to connect Nelson to J-Life. I think of all the testimony flyers we have handed out over the years on mission trips with Grant and think that God uses those pieces of paper. 

• Pray for Nelson and his wife Juliana
• Pray for the ministry to spread throughout Sierra Leone 
• Pray for Nelson to implement what he learned in the 6 weeks in South Africa
• Pray for Palgrave as he continues to journey with Nelson

Missionary Monday 3

This week Missionary Monday is about Florence and Leo Fokoua. Florence is the country leader of Cameroon. They have been with J-Life since 2008.  Cameroon was one of our first northern French speaking African countries to come to J-Life. Florence and I became fast friends at summit in 2009. She is joy to be around. She exudes the love of the Lord. I affectionately refer to her as the queen and Leo the king. I don't know where it came from, but as you can maybe see from their picture, they are royal members of Christ's family.  Florence and Leo have 3 daughters, Gladys (20), Ariel (14) and Jodie (10). Gladys is an adopted member of their family. If you are in youth work long, you know that eventually you have adopted sons and daughters. We have many from over the years. Florence has a vibrant ministry that reaches beyond the borders of Cameroon. She is a champion for J-Life and our French speaking countries.

• Pray for Florence and Leo and the girls 
• Pray for the new ministry center being built
• Pray that Florence would continue to reach the youth of Cameroon and beyond

Missionary Monday 2

This week I am going to feature Zoe and Adam Zogar. Zoe is the country leader of Liberia. They just celebrated their 1st year marriage anniversary. They had to put off their marriage because of the ebola epidemic in 2014/2015.  We are blessed to have such a young vibrate couple in Liberia.Despite the ebola epidemic, ministry continued to happen, just on a smaller scale. Liberia was one of the worst hit countries and many things shut down during this time. There was very limited travel, even between towns and villages.  Adam is on Zoe's team and helps a lot with the financial side of things because he is an accountant. We look forward to see what the Lord has planned in 2016 now that ministry can be back into "full swing".

• Pray for opportunities to have GC2 groups (discipleship groups)
• Pray for their young marriage to be blessed and not strained under ministry demands
• Pray for expanded outreach and new connections

Whatcha doing end of September?

The trip is for ladies only (sorry gents) and it's a regular sort of mission trip. Here are some of the things we are thinking of doing. Visiting an orphanage, helping with a feeding scheme, doing holiday club (since it's the holidays here), visit a women's health clinic, maybe light painting or other such things. We will be in and around Heidelberg/ South Johannesburg area. We are hoping to nail down dates this week and start working on the cost. I would imagine somewhere around $2000. Don't let the money stop you. We can have fundraisers and ask some of those who can't go but want to be a  part to give. If God is leading you....there is no question about money. We will stay at the beautiful Camp Eden (international home of J-Life) or 'the farm' as we lovingly refer to it pictured above. These are some of the details I know of at this point. OH, the dates are end of Sept/beginning of Oct. Please email me at evenfamily5@gmail.com if you're interested or want more info.

Serving together, Liz

Missionary Monday

ok, so the new series is here and i am going to feature one of our J-Life Country leaders or a Regional director. I am going to start with a Regional Director and then the countries surrounding him and then move on to another region.

 

This is Mgliwe (mmm-glee-way) Simdinatome from Togo. Which is located in West Africa. You can see it's a very small country located between Ghana and Benin. It is a French speaking country.

Mgliwe's wife's name is Rhoder. His kids name's are Fidele (6), Hilaire (4) and Percee (2). Mgliwe came to know about J-Life at a Lausanne Conference held in Cape Town. Miah and Michelle Collins were working with J-Life at the time and they were in attendance. Michelle was assigned to the interpretation for the French speaking people. They needed another interpreter or something to that effect and Michelle met Mgliwe. They began to talk about what they did and Mgliwe shared his passion to to make youth disciples in French speaking Africa. This, of course, is what J-Life does. This is our mission. So the next January, Mgliwe came to be apart of our training. He then began to build a team in Togo and teach them what he had learned. Mgliwe works very hard and is passionate about the gospel being made known and making Christ-following disciples who will make disciples and so forth. Many of our team members from the French speaking countries in that region have come to work with us through Mgliwe and his influence. Mgliwe has now trained Ben, who will one day transition into being Togo Country Leader. Mgliwe is the Regional director for French speaking West Africa. 

• Please pray for Mgliwe to have wisdom and strength to manage his time with his work and family. As you can see, he has 3 wonderful little ones who need his attention. 
• Pray for his ministry and his leadership in the ministry.   
• Pray for his wife as she helps with the ministry.
• Pray for continued favor in the expansion of the ministry.

Say what?!?!

I know, I know....your flabbergasted I am writing, but one of my New Years resolutions is to blog at least 6 times this year...for all you bloggers who blog everyday, well I know it seems like little, but for me it's big.  Been gone for a year.  And honestly I don't know what happened. Just stopped.

Anywho....

J-Life Summit 2016

Summit is where all 20+ Country leaders and some team members get together for a week of training, mentoring, sharing, learning, worshipping, and encouraging one another. The leadership team shares vision for the next 4 years. Its a hectic week for everyone with all the traveling and meetings, but well worth all the effort for us all to be together. I am only there a little bit because I am at school with the kids, but love visiting with all of our people when I can. They are such amazing people who share the love of Jesus and want to share His life with others.

It's amazing some of their stories, of which I will be sharing over the next few weeks on "Missionary Mondays". I know typing this now commits me to doing it on Mondays. Eeeks. I can and will do it. People keep me accountable. If you don't see a story....get onto me.

In case this video doesn't work....here is a Facebook Link to Video

So, this is the week of faces except for the final celebration dinner which I will put up pics tomorrow.  The internet has been super slow. It's taken me ten tries and all afternoon to get this video loaded.  

love serving together....

liz