I’m a bad blogger.. :(

Hello Friends! I am sorry I haven’t been very faithful at updating my blog this last month. This month has been one of the craziest months I’ve had while in South Africa. I had the greatest experience ever two weeks ago when my mom and dad came to visit in Jeffrey’s Bay! We had such a great time and I can’t tell you what it meant to have my parents walking through the townships and meeting the people I see and love so much. It was perfect. I could hardly sit still when we visited my families, especially Marta’s. It felt great to have so many people I love all together. My parents brought a team with them and I was able to minister along side of them all over the Jeffrey’s Bay area. It was a good time and the team was super sweet and very good in all the ministries. My favorite part of the week was when we did an eye glass clinic at Ithemba. The team collected hundreds of reading glasses and were trained in eye exams. We handed out flyers to the community to tell them about the clinic, and all Saturday afternoon we fitted people for glasses and told them about Christ. My team also came and helped and performed dramas all afternoon. There were some decisions that day and even two weeks later, I have people coming up to me and telling me how much they love their new glasses! A man stood up in church last week and told his story of how he really needed glasses, but he was unable to buy them or pay for the exams. He came to Ithemba that Saturday and got a free pair of glasses! He told the whole church how great it was that God answered his prayers! It was a sweet week, but it was hard to say goodbye to my folks!

In the middle of all the excitement of my family being here, the team had a great upset. My sweet friend Raelynn has been sick a good bit this semester. The doctors and her parents advised her to go home for more medical attention. So as sad as it was, we said goodbye to Raelynn! It’s very rough to see her go. Her departure left a huge hole on our team. The house is still too quiet without my buddy. Please pray for her.  She has been treated and diagnosed and will get better, but now she is still not feeling very well.

Soon after my parents boarded the plane for America, I had another huge upset. My ministry partner, Cassie, decided that it was best for her to also return home. Cassie is a fighter and one of the most amazing people I have ever met, but over the last month she has been exhausting herself fighting to stay in Jeffrey’s. Cassie’s sweet mother died two years ago. That loss is tremendous and has had an understandable impact on Cassie.  Although Cassie’s passion for Jeffrey’s never subsided, her heart needed to be at home and through many tears we said goodbye.  Cassie’s leaving is a huge deal for my team and especially me. Cassie is my “go-to” person, my friend, my ministry partner, and so many other things, but she was my sister. I care for Cassie so much and she has had such a vital role in my time in Jeffrey’s. It’s hard to even think about the days ahead because Cassie was so much so apart of my day-to-day life at the house but also in ministry. I miss her so much and I feel a little lost without her. I sometimes even get a little overwhelmed because I feel like I can’t do anything without her. But that’s silly and Cassie would kick my bum for not continuing and pushing through…even without her. Although Cassie has had such a huge impact on Jeffrey’s, her leaving doesn’t stop what God wants to do here. My time is quickly diminishing, but God is still at work. He still is using us here and desires to do more in me and through me. It’s silly for me to even feel like I can’t do anything without Cass, but in truth, I can’t really do anything on my own. I just ask God to, in the very least, let me be apart of  His moving in Jeffrey’s. And He is!

Things with the tavern have slowed again due to Joel’s impending trial. He has been accused of murder in another city. Joel is innocent, but he has to go before a judge. His trial is TODAY! So please pray that his innocence will shine like the noon day sun! I stopped by the tavern two days ago to check on Peela. She is a diabetic and had some type of episode over Easter. She was lying on the couch and said that she was very weak and needed to rest. She was thrilled to see me though and we prayed together. I really want to see Peela walk in light instead of darkness. I want her to believe and trust in Christ. Please pray!

We have seen a lot of fruit come from Goodness (the Ocean View family) and also with Beauty. Both of these women are so thirsty for the Word of God. We’ve had some really cool conversations recently and I can see such growth in the both of them.

I am doing well. Thank you for praying. Please continue to do so. I am coming out of a pretty dry spell spiritually. It’s good to have God’s forgiveness and let Him restore me. I’m a mess without Him. I’ve also been exhausted to a point that I’ve never been before or knew I could ever be. An exhaustion in every area of my life. I feel better now and I’m trying to rest more (emphasis on trying!). Last weekend, we spent Easter in Alice, South Africa. I will blog more about Alice later (it was the craziest thing we’ve done so far) but I really was moved by the Lord while we were there. Even though I didn’t rest or sleep enough to overcome my exhaustion, I felt rest and peace. I really needed that weekend in Alice. I returned to Jeffrey’s rested and ready for more ministry.

Next week I am going to Cape Town!!! I am very excited! This is my team’s spring break (SA is on holiday for three weeks so most of our ministry sites are closed…so we get a break too!) and some of us are traveling to Cape Town. After Cape Town, the team will go to Lesotho (a small country surrounded by South Africa) for two weeks. This will be a challenge because we will have no running water or electricity. We are working with a church and orphanage there. I’m super excited to “rough it” and to spend some time remembering how much I really do have and how comfortable I have become. We won’t shower, we’ll sleep on the floor of a church, we’ll eat pb&j and rice, and use the hole in the ground for our toilet! woo hoo! I’m very excited! It will be a super “mish” time! 🙂

One more thing, I am praying about the next phase in life for me. It’s March and May is around the corner so my thoughts have been about life after FYM. I’ve been praying a whole lot and some opportunities have come up. Please pray for me as I seek wisdom and the Lord about what I am to do. I will keep you updated on all of this as I know more! Thanks for your prayers. I love you all and I am so grateful for you. I pray blessings over you today! LOVE YOU!

HE Provides,

Amber