That’s right yall, we’re having a Fish Fry! My dad and few of his close friends have gone over and above to help me raise the necessary funds to live and work here in South Africa. If you’re around Lowesville tomorrow night, please stop by and have a bite to eat! (That applies to all you Gaston, Catawba, and Mecklenburg people as well!) I can guarantee you that the food is going to be out of this world delicious! Thanks to all who are helping make this possible! I’m really humbled at the amount of people who are doing this on my behalf. What a blessing!

The Scoop!

When? Saturday, 14 April

Time? 5pm – until all the fishies are gone

 How much? $8.50 a plate, with all proceeds going towards yours truly

Where? Lowesville Cafe ->
1610 S. Hwy 16 in Lowesville, right over the Lincoln/Gaston county line (aka, my stomping grounds)

Here are some photos that I’ve taken over the last couple of months of Skype conversations with friends in the States. I’ve chatted with several others, but these are the ones that I’ve been able to snag a photo of. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to Skype (or FaceTime) with me. Never underestimate what a simple Skype conversation can do for those of us serving overseas.

Thank you friends.

@zachmmullis, @jason_wright, & @kinglouie3

@annemaroo

FaceTime with @jwmoss & @chrisljohnston.

Finally reunited with @crwingo!

@jenneiman

@jbr0die

Happy April to you, my three faithful blog readers. April is one of my favorite months. Why, you may be asking? It’s my birthday month! That’s right, this Sunday, 8 April I’ll be 26!

But most importantly, it’s the month that we as Christ followers celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ! For me this week leading up to Easter Sunday is a time to reflect on just how much Jesus loves us. Good Friday is a day to remember that Christ was crucified on the cross for our sins. Christ died for us. I am so humbled each time I remember what Christ did for me on the cross. For me he died. For you he died. The Saviour of the world died on a cross for us. I know I’ve said it a billion times already, but it’s not something that ever get old. You see death didn’t win, as three days later he overcame death and arose from the grave and is now sitting at the right hand of God! How exciting is that?!

If you’re in Raleigh and don’t have a church home, may I suggest you check out Vintage 21? V21 is my home church and I am so thankful for their love of the city of Raleigh! Each year V21 hosts the biggest and best Easter egg hunt in all of the world! (I might have taken that too far, but whatever.) Word on the street is that there is going to be something like 60,000 eggs at Raleigh: Easter this year. That’s right. 60,000. Ridiculous, right? The event will be on Saturday at Halifax Mall from 10-2. Take your chillrens out thurr and join V21 in loving the city well. Then on Sunday, join them at Memorial Auditorium at 11am to celebrate the risen Saviour!

In other news, all is well here in Polokwane. Between work with SM and everyday life, I am staying busy and loving it. (I’ve never been one to sit around and twiddle my thumbs.) We at SM are entering into our busiest season filled with teams from the States and all over South Africa who are coming to join us on short-term outreach into Mozambique. As a staff, we are also all actively involved in learning Xitsonga. I have throughly enjoyed learning another language and it really is true what they say! Once you’ve learned one language (other than your native tongue), it really is easier to keep adding more! I will include more in my newsletter next week, but I will be joining the guys for this month’s leadership training in Mozambique. Debbie and I will be at the training hub in Xicumbane and will begin walking with the ladies through The Firm Foundations material from New Tribes Mission. This material is awesome. If you’ve never read it, please look it up. For those in a tribal, two-thirds world setting it is perfect for chronological Bible storying. Can someone please tell me why more churches in the States don’t use Creation-to-Christ (C2C) curriculum?

I’ve opted to just cover the highlights in the latest edition of “this week(s) in photos”. After all, that’s what people really want to see anyway right? There are a few things that I’ve got in the works for this little ditty that we call a blog, but we’ll see how those things pan out in the warsh. (Yes, I spelled it like that purposely… that’s how we say things in the South yall.)

read more

Joseph, one of the lecturers at Christ Seminary, and his wife Welheminah live next door and they have a little one named Tikfah (with a little girl due in June). Tikfah will often come on over and make himself at home with the neon letter on my fridge. He’s too cute for his own good I tell you. (19 March)

Together with Nikki’s best friend Kea, I co-hosted a baby shower for Nikki here at the farm. I’m not sure if you can tell from the photo, but there were streamers everywhere. Now, I grew up with streamers for birthdays and such, but they were always inside or nicely hung from one corner of the house to a tree or whatnot. As I began decorating Saturday morning (24 March) for the shower, Sharyn and Kea just said to throw them into the tree. Yall, I felt like I was back in high school rolling someone’s yard with toilet paper!

And there’s the mother-to-be with her mother. What a cute pregnant lady hey? (24 March)

Last weekend we had a lot of rain. I took this photo last Friday (30 March) in front of the church. It was a downpour that actually began flooding the front parking lot! The rain was a welcome addition to the weekend as it cooled things down a bit… and plus, who doesn’t love a good rain shower?

Saturday, 31 March, we at Samaria Mission hosted our 5th annual Golf Day Fundraiser. This annual event raises awareness of SM within the community and raises funds for the general running of the Mission, especially since all who serve are self-funded. We really enjoy building relationships with those who participate. We’re blessed with a great community of businesses in and around Polokwane who participate each year.

Member, along with a few volunteers from Christ Baptist, were put in charge of the braai. I overheard several of the golfers remarking just how delicious the boerewors tasted, and I must agree, they were some of the best that I’ve ever had! (31 March)

The Golf Day Fundraiser was played at the University of Limpopo‘s campus in Mankweng, which is about twenty miles outside of Polokwane. We had to hike up a mountain (literally) to get to Hole #1. Hello, how awesome is this view? (31 March)

After returning from the Golf Day Fundraiser I had the opportunity to go to a football match. Tickets were only R40 ($5)! I tagged along with the Vaughan boys to game, which was held at Peter Mokaba Stadium. The Kaizer Chiefs were playing a local club called the Black Leopards, which are from Venda, but you wouldn’t have known that there was a local club playing because everyone was cheering for the Chiefs. The Chiefs won 4-0. (31 March)

Sunday, 1 April, Nikki invited me over to meet baby Noah. He was sleeping, so I got to visit with Gabriel and Nikki, which is always refreshing. I’m so thankful for such great friends here in Polokwane. Check out this latte that Gabriel made. I almost didn’t want to drink it because it was so pretty.

Monday, 2 April, after our weekly team meeting I hung out with my friend Kea. She and her husband Mike own Capricorn Taxidermy here in Polokwane. It was really cool to finally tour their facility and see all the great they do. (I want that giraffe!) Also, my mother doesn’t know this yet, but with Kea’s help I finally dyed my hair a couple of shades darker! I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, but finally decided to follow Nike’s advice and just do it. I really like the outcome too! I’ll post photos at some point.

Until next time yall!

Driving home on Wednesday night, 14 March.

Thursday night, 15 March, the Vaughans were so gracious to allow me to tag along and join them for dinner. We went to a friend’s house for dinner with another couple in the church who were moving this weekend. Sharyn cooked Oxtail Stew for the special occasion. I’m not sure about you, but I had never heard of Oxtail Stew, much less tasted it. Honestly, I didn’t even know that people ate the thing, but ya learn something new everyday I guess. The stew was delicious and I now understand why it’s considered a delicacy.

Xitsonga vocab with coffee of course (16 March).

A better look into our language lessons. Member graduated from Christ Seminary and is also on staff here at SM. He is Shangaan, thus Xitsonga is his heart language. Not only is he teaching all of the staff Xitsonga, but he is translating the teaching materials from English to Xitsonga for our work in Mozambique. Needless to say he’s a busy guy. We’re so thankful to be able to serve alongside him.

That’s right, the prize for first letter goes to my dear friends Andrew and Jody! These two love birds are getting married in May and were kind enough to include me on their invite list even though they know I won’t be able to attend. I’m thankful for friends who still include me in their lives although I’m on the other side of the world.

Friday, 16 March a few of us got together to celebrate Nikki’s birthday. We’ve been friends since I was 7 and she was 8, but her family moved to South Africa a few years later and we’ve kept in touch ever since. Doesn’t that pizza look amazing? Well, I’m happy to report that it was just as tasty as you’re thinking.

Saw this at a friend’s house today! Any guesses as to what it is? It’s a samovar of course!

This was the view from the house where I ate lunch today. Isn’t that just fabulous? Nothing better than a Carolina Blue sky.