Because of Your Love I Live

I'm Still In Africa!!!

Wow....I am obviously the best blogger in the world. I cannot believe almost a month has passed since I last updated. It is flying by….like really flying. I think it is less than 80 days before I fly home. Crazy!

Ok where to start? The first couple weeks here in the city were really hard. It was a constant struggle to find rest and joy in my ministry here. I know it sounds silly, but I had to work through feeling bad for being back in a city where everything I could possibly need or want was at my fingertips. I struggled with the fact that much of my daily life has been filled with building relationships by doing fun things and going out to eat, a lot. It was super humbling to be gently reminded of the Lord’s sovereign hand in my move to Jo’burg.
Philippians 2:13 became a constant place of surrender. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (deep sign of relief)

My God is soo good! I don’t think I can say that enough! It has been so sweet just doing daily life here with Him leading me. The Lord has been so faithful, and answering so many prayers in the lives of people I am building relationships with. I wish I could be more specific, but being in a huge city means that the majority of my friends have internet and I am probably friends with them on facebook. Just know He is working.
I will say that being in Jo’burg is a lot like being in Auburn with respect to lots of social time. I have my daily ministries, but most evenings and weekends are filled with spending time with an incredible group of friends from my church. This is such a blessing but as with anything good thing, it is also a place to become super comfortable and complacent. As I said earlier, I have less than 80 days here, and the last 30 days passed by in the blink of an eye. It really helps put things into perspective, knowing that the Lord has placed me here for a very short time, but with His very great purpose in mind. I am daily thankful for my amazing friends back in Auburn. Their current ministry and our past time together is an ever-present model of a group of friends striving to glorify the Lord with everything, including our sweet time together. It was always encouraging and challenging to spend time with them. The Lord has really been challenging me to go deeper with my friends here. To get deeper than surface level….I love it! God is at work, always! Pray that I will continue in everything with urgency!

Besides lots of hangout time, I am going through a Christian counseling program with Marlene, the head of the counseling center at my church. It is great getting to work along side here and learn from her. It is constant confirmation of what the Lord has called me to. I am getting more and more excited about starting my counseling classes in January.

I am still working with the group of HIV positive women on Fridays. They live in one of the townships called Tembisa. Some of the ladies from IMB have been working with the ladies, teaching them to make beads that are being sold in the states. It is always such an incredible time getting to work along side them making beads and then sharing Bible stories with them. Pray that the Lord would truly reveal himself to them. They have heard the gospel message many times, but the veil has not been removed. Pray for revelation and understanding that leads to sweet salvation.

(Some of the suppies to make the beads)

I am also working with the youth group at my church. Definitely not something I thought I would be doing, much less excited about it, but it has been so great getting to know and spend some time with the younger girls here. Our church has a Friday night event every week. It is such a great time to be intentional in the kid’s lives and a great substitute to anything else they might get into on any given Friday night. Pray that the Lord would use me in powerful ways with some of the girls. I would really like to start meeting with one of the girls one-on-one during the week. Pray that the Lord would make a way if this is His will, and pray that she would be willing and eager to meet with me.

This is documentaion of the night that Courtney tried to turn our apartment into a foam party! It has been so wonderful working along side Courtney and Dawn. I have been continually blessed to have such Godly women to work and live with. We have so much fun encouraging each other and praying with each other. We also do our fair share of dancing around the house to blaring music, and find excuses to laugh at most anything. It is immeasurably more than anything I could have asked for or imagined….praise God!

Oh how could I almost forget! My Dad is in South Africa!! It was so incredible picking him up at the airport earlier this week and getting to spend a little time with him. He is off in the province next door for the week doing some ground work for a future ministry opportunity with a friend, and then He will be back in Jo’burg on Friday. My South African friends want to have a proper Braai (grill out) for him and just hangout with him. It will be so good just to sit, talk, and just soak up his wisdom!

My Prayer:
"Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word."
Psalm 119:34-37


On one of our days off we went to a tiger reserve and played with three tigers all afternoon. It was absolutely a dream come true!

This is Alice, a Bengal tiger we walked about the park.


Meet Apollo, a massive Siberian tiger. I look nervous because we were told that he would be fine as long as he had his bottle, and then the guy goes and takes the bottle away from him!