Dance of Freedom

You know how there are these strange, almost euphoric,
moments when you feel like your heart is going to burst with joy? Like the
moments when you feel, even for just second, that the world is good and life
isn’t as bad as we think. Or for a minute that all is well. Sometimes those moments happen when I am at a
parade, or gazing at our Christmas tree, or that night spent with friends
laughing until your back aches, or on that beautiful sunny day driving with the
windows down, or when that little child climbs into your lap and places their
hands on your face. There are so many of “those moments” that I could write for
days. I think those moments speak volumes about the character of God. It’s almost as if God is saying “Yes Amber I
take pleasure in you. All is well under my wing. I am forever your’s and you
are mine.” It’s like you breathe deep the very scent of God in those moments.

I believe that these moments mean so much to me because I
feel a sense of unspoken power of something so great….and such a sense of
freedom. I feel freedom from myself and from the shackles of my sins. I feel
free from other’s expectations and freedom to dance in the glory of my God.

I felt that freedom tonight. Some of the girls and I
attended a worship service at a church in one of the townships. As we sang, I
just felt so free. I have had such a heavy spirit this last week and I needed
to dance in the presence of the Lord tonight. I needed to be free. As we stood and sang praises to God, several
of the township children came inside and what joy they bring. They would grab
our hands and we would sing and dance together. They are so unashamed…something
that is new to me. We laughed and danced and sang to God and I felt so free. I
felt that I had breathed deep the breath of my Savior and I was exhaling His
joy.

In Song of Solomon, there is a phrase that I love to
proclaim. It says that “His banner over me is love.” His banner over me is love
when I am hurt, scared, excited, faithless, free, unforgiving…His banner over
me is love…forever and ever. What a good
God we serve! I am free to walk under His banner of love.

Jeffrey’s Bay Update

Today I built a floor! Woo hoo! I’m beginning to wonder if I
should look into the construction business! Just kidding! But I loved every
moment of it. I enjoy seeing the before and after. It’s a little discouraging
at times when working in the townships or with the children because you never
see immediate results from all your work. But today I worked with a ministry
called “Hands and Feet” and we laid a brick floor for a woman. It’s hard work,
but I really do enjoy it.

This week has been a challenge. I’ve felt very burdened and
I am still seeking out the reasoning for it, and also trying to lay down
exactly where I will be focusing for my ministry. Everyday I wake up and have no idea where I
am going and what I will be doing that day…this isn’t quite the way AIM has set
things up. But God has brought forth fruit in those days. I think He enjoys me
not knowing where I am going. He likes to lead me. So on Monday afternoon, a team of us were
suppose to go into the township and do some house visits. Well we had some
complications with that and my teammate, Jenny, and I were left with an empty
afternoon. I recently met a woman named Sandra at the internet café. She
mentioned that she would love to meet again one day and we exchanged numbers. I
felt that maybe that Monday afternoon was empty because God wanted Jenny and I
to be with Sandra. I gave her a call and we ended up spending the entire afternoon
together. We drank coffee and talked about life. It was a perfect afternoon.
The Lord blessed that time and instantly bonded all of us together. We visited
her house and met Sandra’s mom and son. This may not seem significant to you
but it was huge for me. See Sandra is a White African and to sit in her house
two miles away from the townships (where I normally do house visits) is
shocking to me. Her house was like a middle class American’s house. Her son sat
in their living room watching MTV while her mother sewed a pair of pants and
their dog waddle around my ankles. Their need for Christ’s love is just a great
as my house visits in the townships. There I sit on an old beaten up chair in
their cardboard walled house with a rusted tin roof that is kept from blowing
away by a wheelbarrow sitting on top and with their half naked baby crawling
around my ankles….understand the shocking difference? Yes these families live
worlds apart culturally but their need for Christ is the same…kinda sounds like
American to me…

Please be in prayer this week for my teammate, Cassie. We
have prayed over her for days to be healed from a stomach sickness. She has
been sick for weeks now and is unable to do ministry like we know the Lord has
for her. She has been incredibly strong through all of her doctors appointments
and laying in bed all day, but we know God has her here for more than that. The
doctors here and in the States cannot find what is wrong. She goes tomorrow to Port
Elizabeth to have more serious and extensive tests
run. Please pray for her. Pray that God would strengthen her body and her
spirit. You can check our her blog at www.cassieorr.myadventures.com.

Prayer needs:

Clarity for ministry internships

Patience in ministry opportunities

Strength to obey all that Lord asks of me

Forgiveness to extended to people in my life

Ocean View township family (I am not sure of their last name
but I will get this soon and let you know!)

Sandra and her family

JD and Michelle (tattoo artist who are very lost)

Team unity spiritually speaking