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Talitha Kumi:  Little girl, I say to you, Get Up! Mark 5.41  This is the scripture given to Sylvia when we were considering a name for our school and these words have become a cornerstone to our ministry in Namibia.   We quickly realized that God’s intent was not just for the physical child but for the emotional and spiritual child in all of us.  He was not just talking about the children who are young in age but He was speaking to the child in all of us!  Get up! Take a stand!  Live an intentional life for Jesus! God counts on us to reach outside our comfort zone and to rise up to declare His power, love and glory. God has the power in Him to give life! It is this life giving power that is at the heart of all our lives – the power of new life, new hope, and new being.   All of us have said yes to God’s call to His children in Namibia.  We have said yes in prayer, finances and manpower.  We have listened to His heart in this ministry and responded by “taking a stand”.  Thank you!  Thank you!  As we are standing together through 2012 may God receive the glory! Read the rest of this entry

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Happy New Year ! May your year be one full of God’s blessings!  2012 means the beginning of year 13 for me in Namibia Africa.  As I have reflected on pictures and long past newsletters I am reminded how close God has been through all!  My family is growing up.  This year may be the last year that we are all able to travel to the USA together.  It is my heart’s desire to see as many folks as possible while we are here.  God alone knows the plan.  The children and I have been with my Mom in Florida since our arrival and we will remain with her another month.  A real purpose of our journey was to serve her this year.  Eventually though we will move on as I will also take an extended period of time with my friend, Cheryl, in NJ who is fighting pancreatic cancer.  I am so grateful for devoted friends who are willing to help with my children!  God provided for us financially this year through a need for a “new” used car, Toivo’s tuition and this trip to the USA.  I remain humbled and grateful that there is always just enough.  We just about broke even at the end of 2011 and I thank you for your generous and faithful heart.  My opportunity to serve in Namibia is dependent on your “yes” as a partner in prayer and finances.  May God bless you! Read the rest of this entry

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Many greetings from all of my family!  By the time you receive this Janis, Stefanus, Hailey and I will be in Florida.   By God’s grace we will be able to spend five months in the USA most of it with my mother and visiting other friends and family.  As the children get older we will not be able to make as many journey’s to the USA  so I am taking advantage this year of the opportunity to still spend time with family and friends.  For December and January we will be at my mother’s home: c/o Alice Johnston, 670 Biscayne Drive, Orange City, Florida 32763.  I will use the same cell phone as last year: 856-7455855.  Though this trip is about serving family and friends who need help we will be greeting our church homes and other sponsors as God allows.  My entire family praises God each day for all those He has brought together to allow us to serve Him through His children in Namibia.  I pray that your Thanksgiving was full of yearlong miracles to be thankful for and that your Christmas holiday will be full of Christ’s love. Read the rest of this entry

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Praise God for His never ending provision through His people.  Thank you for another year of faithful support.  The Lord has burdened my heart with a trip to the USA again in the next couple of months.  I am trusting God to make a way for the children and I to return to the USA for an extended period of time.  A suggestion was to request for frequent flier miles on UA or DL so that possibly one or more of us could travel that way.  Thanks for letting me know if you have ideas!  My family and I are so  blessed to have so many folks who cover us with prayer, time and finances.  Even recently as I asked the Lord is this really the end of the journey for me (meaning Namibia). I laughed at myself and said “possibly” and certainly I have been blessed greatly by this piece of the journey.  Someone recently shared Psalm 91.4 with me and it is my heart that I claim it and trust it! Read the rest of this entry

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Hailey asked me the other day, “ouma why do you read your Bible so much?” Her observation and question made me think, though of course, I answered her right away with “ouma needs to know what God wants her to do and she hears God through His word”.  What hit me the most about this is that, as a parent, we are observed 24/7 whether we think our children are watching or not.  With my children there is nothing I want more than for them to know their Savior.  Do I reflect His Spirit and Light in our everyday living – not always!  I am so grateful for Grace and God’s merciful way of distributing it!  Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support!  God uses you mightily in my life!   Look how my children have grown! Read the rest of this entry

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The quickest way to bring my mind back to God is to whisper his name!  This is so true!  I realize that on a daily basis, I quietly begin to pray when the disturbances of the world begin to take control.  What a blessing.  I do not always think about it in the midst of the trouble but when I reflect back that whispering of God’s name does take the fear and trepidation away.   God is our constant companion even when we are having sleet storms in the middle of the desert in August! Life is difficult no matter where we are…and our peace can only be an eternal peace found in the presence of the God who loves us – unconditionally!  Some days I am so overwhelmed with my life in this foreign land. And I realize that difficult times are pervasive everywhere.  Humbled and in trust we  manage each day.  With thanks and praise, I give God honor for His love and faithfulness demonstrated by your love and faithfulness to me and my family! Read the rest of this entry

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Hope is a golden cord that connects you with heaven!  Praise God for that visual as I too often allow myself to get caught up in the trials!  Though I never have second thoughts about God’s calling on my life, I sometimes do lose sight of my source!  Thank God, He does not lose sight of me!  This newsletter comes with greetings and love from my entire family here in Namibia.  On a daily basis we are aware that God uses you to sustain us! Thank you and may your blessings be more that you can imagine! Read the rest of this entry

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Thank you!  This year seems to be much tougher on my friends and family.  Taking its toll are health issues, job issues, relationship issues!  And yet, God continues to use all those who have been called to this ministry through prayer, finances and time to remain faithful.  I can never express enough how much I appreciate you! As God calls on us to serve His children may He remain our center, our Savior and our light! Read the rest of this entry

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As I face the challenges of each day I am always reminded that it is by grace that we walk from one day to the next.  I look at my children and then at me and wonder how can it be that God has entrusted them to me?  With my follow up question being, and now how can I best help them!  Being blessed to have so many who share in my challenge is a gift from God.  I cannot do it alone!  I lose my peace, power, protection and provision when I allow my focus to move from He who brought me here. He uses you to encourage me and to remind me that it is through Him that I am here.  News from the USA as it relates to the recession and the very hard economic times highlights God’s hand in my life and in that of the ministry.  Month by month all of our needs are met – you continue to give sacrificially.  “Your gifts are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Phillipians 4.18-19. Thank you! Read the rest of this entry

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HE IS RISEN!

We celebrated a wonderful Easter in God’s beautiful creation by the Khan River not far from Arandis.  Ute’s family, Uncle Mike, Ms. Nan’s family and my family prayed and played together as we camped, explored and relaxed in a part of our desert that has come alive with the unending rain! No matter where we live in this world we worship, adore and love the same creator! I read something recently that said if I continue to look at my circumstances, I become confused and dizzy – the example used was a ballerina!  Thus, the command of God many times over to keep our eyes focused on Him.  Something so simple that I have heard and said a thousand times became a truth seen from a completely different perspective.  We are so blessed to live in the family of our creator who uses each of us, each day….we are unique and have a purpose which God continues to perfect on his potters wheel.  I remain grateful to God for you and your continued sacrificial giving of your love, prayers and finances! Read the rest of this entry