A lasting memory from today...

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

Looking back on my year in South Africa there are many memories that fill my mind and touch deep places in my heart. Sitting here in Texas, most of me aches to go back to those memories and re-live them. Now having been back in the States for several months, I realize these memories and lessons will forever be part of who I am.

One memory that is fresh within me is actually not of the past year...it's from another place and time in southern Africa.

It was July 2008 when a sweet friend, Whitney, and I visited our missionary friends (Jako and Amber Joubert, Mission of Love Orphanage) living deep in the bush of Africa. It was late at night, and Jako was swerving back and forth through branches and tall grass in the bush, driving the truck back "home" to Mukamba. The only thing you could see in the darkness was wherever the headlights flashed. To say the ride was bumpy is an understatment, in fact; Jako was probably making his own road since there was not one. Leaving a place in the middle of nowhere, we were now returning to Jako and Amber's home, ironically also in the middle of nowhere! We had showed the Jesus Film in the local Tonga language to people in another village, which was most likely their first and only movie they ever saw and perhaps we were the first and only white people they encountered.

We were tired. The physical exhaustion from setting up the projector and meeting new people combined with the emotional exhaustion from praying together throughout the movie for people's response was overwhelming. I climbed into the backseat of the truck in a vegetable-like state where my mind was simply...blank. Somehow a guy from a visiting team had energy to talk to Jako about his life as a cross cultural missionary. My mind and ears drifted in and out of the conversation, but I heard something Jako said that I'll never forget. When asked if he had plans to leave that part of Zambia and the ministry there, Jako plainly stated, he planned on living in Mukamba forever, if it was God's will.

These words sank down in me and are still sinking years later. What struck me most about Jako's comment and attitude was a selfless obedience and an enduring passion for what God was doing and yet to do where he believed he was called--a tiny village in southern Zambia with many needy orphans. It is this memory that I think of today and its lesson I remember as I think back on my past experiences in southern Africa. Where is it and what is it that God has called me to today? Am I serving Him with obedience and passion? Can I honestly answer like Jako said, "I'm going to serve God where He has called me in selfless obedience and enduring passion forever"? Period.

Thanksgiving Update

You do not delight in burnt offering, but rather in obedience to Your Voice. Spirit help me make that choice. To choose to obey. I look at my life and see what I still so tightly grip, I seem to be better with obeying You with just my lips…

I know a woman who has a small shop in the city. It’s really more like a small closet where she sells candies, cool drinks, and cigarettes. Lots of cigarettes…you can even buy them individually…which probably keeps her business open. The shop is basically on the street and spills out onto the sidewalk, displaying wrapped candies and sweeties. She is a beautiful woman from northern Sudan and dresses in bright fabrics and floral prints. She is there every day unless her husband runs the shop or she is at another shop she owns in the city. There is just enough room for her to do business and also have a chair to sit in. I had first known her two young daughters from the school where I volunteer and then a mutual friend introduced us. She has several brothers and sisters, some live in Sudan, some in Egypt and other parts of the Middle East. She is a great example of the mix of people you meet in the city bowl of Cape Town. There is a crazy statistic that 1 in 4 people in the city are foreigners. I think of this woman and am excited befriending people like her…who can take the good news to their own family spread across the globe.

God has blessed me in my new friendships and for sure I see His providence. Though I am not giving English lessons anymore to one of the refugees I mentioned, she bravely sought out an English school on her own near to where she lives. I hope she can quickly learn English, opening opportunities of employment for her. Orders for the necklaces from the Jireh Handcrafts jewelry workshop are streaming in, as many people we know are going to the States or Europe for the holidays and want to take back necklaces to sell. Awesome! And soon I will say goodbye to little children at the school I volunteer at on Thursdays...their faces and them greeting me with hugs as they chime, “Auntie Kalen,” I will miss.

The days are hot now and the southeastern wind is, for the most part, constant. Grapes are here and finally starting to get cheaper in the store. My laundry seems to dry within minutes outside on the line. And Monday as I traveled and discovered new places with sweet friends along the bay, the water of the sea still looked an indescribable deep blue. Life continues to be filled with much work and much blessing.

“When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” Psalm 94:18-19

Praise reports!

Lord, open my mind to the many ways you think I can serve you. –Gina Bridgeman

Thank you for your prayers. Your prayers are definitely effective!
I wrote in the last update about the different conferences that happened in October in Cape Town and across South Africa. Great news to report.

In amazing ways God answered us concerning the Lausanne Congress and the 4,000 delegates that came to Cape Town from almost 200 countries. After hearing several different reports, the Congress went smoothly and was a great success of the Church coming together in one place for His glory. According to the police of Cape Town, there was an unusual large dip in crime during the 10 days of the Congress that is unexplainable…explainable only through the power of prayer. Also, we sold our jewelry (Jireh Handcrafts) from the workshop with the refugee women in the African Market that the Congress put together at the conference center. After hard work in getting the necklaces and earrings ready to sell, all the necklaces sold except 3 and in total of almost 10,000 Rand (over 1,000USD) was made for Jireh Handcrafts! Praise the Lord!

My time in Pretoria for OM’s staff conference at the end of October also was refreshing time of reconnecting with OMer’s from across South Africa, old friends, and meeting new people too. Hearing the reports of what God is doing in South Africa and across Africa was exciting…our God is on the move and we are blessed to be part of it! Thanks be to God for you praying for my safety and my time in Pretoria, the trip was a welcomed change and a time to reflect on God’s vision within OM South Africa and even here in Cape Town.

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what the Lord requires of you: to act justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

The Global Church coming to Cape Town

God is moving in Cape Town this October in new ways. The nations are once again coming together in South Africa...The third Lausanne Congress is taking place in Cape Town.

Please go to www.capetown2010.org and www.lausanne.org to read more about this amazing event of Christ's church coming together in His name to see His kingdom come! It's exciting to be here in Cape Town during this major global event that is history in the making.