Please forgive me. I didn't mean to not post yesterday "Monday prayer" but Daniel and I are sick and we slept for most of the day so we weren't on the computer much. But Tuesdays are a great day to pray, right? Right. So if you wanna pray with some really cool people here in the community of believers, please feel free to drop your Praise, Thanksgiving, request or anything else here and we will stand with you in your pursuit of the Cross. All are welcome.
in South Africa. Where are you?
We were visiting with some friends over the 4th and wouldn't you know it...they didn't have a clue or remember about the 4th of July. Why would they? Hello...it isn't their freedom. It is ours. But I guess what stunned me yesterday was my own behavior. I got into a little duel with a guy I met. He was talking about SA and America (probably for our benefit) and in the middle of the conversation we got into a heated discussion about how SA is being or has been being persecuted for their behavior or treatment of the natives. His thoughts on the subject was that Americans have done the exact same thing to "our" natives hundreds of years ago but nobody is persecuting them for their behavior; we are thriving because of it...so why is the rest of the world "coming down on South Africa" for the way they treated their natives? If we were a couple of hundred years in the past and the people here killed off the natives the way the British "took care of things" when America was founded then this whole Apartheid mess wouldn't be such an issue he said. "There wouldn't be any problems" he was saying. I came across the room, flying at him with accusations of genocide and fire in my bones. Apartheid and the natives, Americans and the natives. All of it. This actually wasn't the first time I have heard this conversation here. I think that a lot of the white Africans (Afrikaans) are broken and hurt just like the black Africans. They have been battered and used up in this whole great big machine. I don't know what life was like in SA before 1994. I was a sophomore in high school. I was selfish and blissfully ignorant to the ways of the "rest of the world". But I do know this: I am responsible for my behavior now. I am here to love these people and I failed that guy last night in that conversation. He may have been talking about the effects of apartheid, but I know deep down he was saying so much more. It was my responsibility to honor and love him. Even if I didn't agree with what he was saying.
*Car update: The truck is broken again...the battery we think. We are now breaking down daily with these cars of ours. Please keep praying for us. Dan will be working on it again tomorrow. We still haven't heard anything back about the beetle.
My Grandma,Leona Vicker (moms mom) turns 75 today. Yay Grandma!! But what
is super cool about her is that every 3rd of July we all go to Grandma's
house and celebrate Independence Day. Since the extended family is kinda big...each family buys a bunch of fireworks and then combine them to make a pretty impressive display. I heart Fourth of July. Grandma always decorates her house with all kinds of crazy lawn ornaments for holidays but even for the rest of the year, she has it pretty blinged out. Like she has 3 bicycles in her front yard that she spray painted; one red one white one blue...also has cement and plastic rabbits everywhere and a bed frame (like for a flower bed). I heart Grandma Vicker. Anyways one year she bought these shinny new lights for the fourth of July for the back porch and we all noticed and she said "Yeah, those are my fourth of July lights." We all started laughing because when she said it-it sounded funny and then we said it and it was fun to say and now it is a great and wonderful way to make fun of Grandma every year.
I was thinking the other day about "the struggle" of being here and why it is so hard some days and I felt really stupid actually. Like why is it so hard? Like are we the stupidest people on the planet that we can't figure out how to return something to the store here or why we (me more then Dan) can't deal with the emotional drama of the cars. Let alone the heartache of the sick and dying. But then out of praying and really thinking about the whole thing I came to the conclusion that growing up in the States (or wherever you are from) you learn something gradually. You learn what works and what doesn't. You learn or get advice from your parents or from those who have been down "that road" before. You see people doing things and you mimic the way they do it. Like shopping. You see what stores have the best prices and how to get things on sale and you look for good deals. Here, not so much. Even something as simple as buying milk. When we got here we had to discover that milk only lasts 2-4 days in the fridge. Why? Who knows why. But whatever. Bread, maybe 2 days. No preservatives. That is probably a good thing...but we had to learn that when we got here. We had to throw out a whole fridge full of food once because everything went bad...we didn't know. Those things may not seem like a big deal, but when you put everything together..milk, bread, meat, cars, no warranty, people taking advantage of us, the lady at the store saying our debit card doesn't work because it is from America (even though I have used it there 20 times), squatters living in our backyard, government stealing ARVs, kids going hungry with no end in site, power outages. All of it. When you put them all together it is really a lot to handle. There was no training manual when we got off the plane; we had to figure it all out. I guess nothing surprises me anymore. I hope I don't become calloused over it though. I want to stay sensitive because I feel myself becoming frustrated and bitter at times.
Okay. So here's the thing. I sent out this prayer request yesterday to our prayer peeps YESTERDAY. Yesterday. So then we get our beetle back from the mechanic a day and a half ago (getting the engine replaced). Yay...bla bla. So guess what happened on our drive today? The car started making a funky noise, then smoke, then we got out, then fire. Yup...fire. Lots of fire. Like the whole engine was engulfed in flames. So now we are out of a beetle and of course now the truck is broke again too. Coincidence? Please, pretty please pray for us because I seriously don't know how much more we can handle these stupid car situations. Seriously.
*To our Prayer Peeps-
Hey there. So we have been here over a year now and have had more
problems with the cars then both of us have had with all of our cars
combined in the States. Our personal car is a 1971 Beetle, but we got
a "good deal" on it (because cars are expensive here and had a VW
mechanic check it our before we bought it) and then drive an Isuzu
truck for the Oceans vehicle. Since we bought the beetle we have had
to have these things done to it: 2 new (used) engines, 2 new mufflers,
transmission replaced, clutch, breaks, electrical, steering column,
speedometer, battery and door (a lady crashed into it). So now that we
just got it back again from the mechanic (a different one because we
thought that was the problem) it broke down again in Motherwell today
only to have something simple to have gone wrong...a wire or pump or
something. A guy stopped to help (with it full of me and the Community
Care Workers) and saved the day. Yay. Thanks God. The truck...we
bought it a couple months ago (with a clean bill of health from yet a
different mechanic from the first) and the very first trip to the
Transkei the radiator dropped out. Like on the ground as we were
driving. Since then we have had to replace: the power steering pump,
radiator fan, transmission,windshield wiper motor, and most recently
(Friday) the alternator. Why? Our theory is that (since almost every
time something breaks is on our way to do ministry stuff) is that we
are being targeted for spiritual warfare. I hate crap like this.
Seriously. So the plan of action is to actually sell the beetle (to
get a new one with a warranty is our thought process) and then I don't
know...pray and pray and pray about the truck and whatever new vehicle
we buy for our personal car. Will you please join us because we are
hemorrhaging money over here on the stupid cars and this is freaking
ridiculous. Thanks.
Kristi for us both.
Noxolo is a lady that we have only known for 3 months. She is in our hospice program and passed away yesterday. I didn't get a chance to meet her because the day I went to her house she was at the hospital to begin the ARV treatment. If you remember I posted about her mom. She was the lady who I bought that bag of metal and bone from for 50 cents. When she died she orphaned her two kids. A 12 year old boy and a 9 year old girl.
Side note: A normal CD4 count of a HIV negative person is between 500-1500. When a HIV positive person drops below 200 here in SA they are elegible to recieve the ARVs (anti-retro viral drugs). This of course doesn't make sense because when they are that low they are already so so so sick. When we met Noxolo she was already at a 24 count and the government was just then giving them to her. They do this because somebody that sick won't be on them for long (close to passing away) and so isn't a long term investment on their part. In our hospice care program we have discovered (by trial and error) that 1 daily vitamin dose raises HIV positive people and makes life better for them. I can't expain this other then we partner that with our weekly visits, our support group and building strong, lasting, loving relationships...all things that "studies show" prove to bring health back to people who have lost so much.
So you know...there I was, getting ready to start a new post this morning and just before I did that I checked my email and there were several emails...SEVERAL emails desiring prayer. Not just la la prayers (which are great too) but "Pour your heart out to God and lets get to the Cross together prayers because if I have to take one more step alone I am going to crumble under the weight of the burden"-prayers. My life is like that. I have realized that none of us can do this journey alone. I know it may seem like we can and we can certainly fake it for a while, but it is a lie to everyone to say we can. How ridiculous to say that my biggest prayer right now is for protection over my mind? Maybe it is our literal safety as we battle everyday here of the dangers of this African Nation, and the unknowns that come with it...but the other night when I slept here alone my imagination led me to believe that I was going to be slaughtered in the night. I slept with the lights on and sobbed for what seemed like hours. Out loud, screams even out to the LORD. But He met me there. He met me there. Daniel (my protector) is here now and we both slept through the night last night...but the fear isn't any less real. So please pray for us. I will not disclose the other emails that were scattered in my inbox this morning. But I am committing to prayer today (all week for those who left Monday prayer as well) and so we together can stand in the gap as God so intended. As always all are welcome and the Alter is ready.
Animal: Kudu
Hunting Area:
Range of Shot: 200 meters (649 feet)
Animal’s Position: Running diagonally away from hunter left to right
Field Weight: 140kg (308 pounds)
Dressed Weight: 70kg (154 pounds) (15 pounds steak, 100 pounds hamburger. 40 pounds biltong (South African Beef Jerky))
Horn length: 95cm (37.4 inches)
Hunting Method: Aimed and Prayed
Hey Party People...
If you got one leave it, if you want to come back and pray...all are welcome. Praise, thanksgiving, worship...the alter is ready.
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