God is Sovereign

Hello friends and family! I hope that you all are doing great and have had a great week. I am so excited for all those who are involved in “Reach Rowan” which starts today. I will be praying for you as you share the gospel and love others. “Reach Rowan” is a community outreach in the city of Salisbury where many youth and adults will be going door-to-door trying to share the gospel and sharing information about local churches, leading back yard bible schools to reach the children and their families in Jesus’s name, and many will be leading a basketball camp to reach youth….all pray for open hearts and opportunities for the gospel to be shared. I am so excited to hear how God is going to work this week at Reach Rowan.

Isn’t it amazing how God is here with me in South Africa living in me and through me and he also in Davie County, living in and working through his children there? Isn’t it amazing how God is also in you and living through you each day, wherever you are? Isn’t God amazing!! He truly is SO BIG! (I have been singing that song with the children-the one that says… “My God is so big, so strong, and so mighty there’s nothing my God cannot do...” I do the hand motions with their little arms and they think this is so funny).

Last Friday, K and I went out to eat with Auntie Veronica and her daughter named Nikki. This was a very special time. Auntie V was dressed up and she looked very pretty. We let Auntie V pick out where we were going to go eat and she picked a restaurant called the “Ocean Basket.” She had never eaten here and was excited about eating it...I could tell that she wanted to get a more expensive plate than what K and I were eating (just fish and chips) and when it came her turn to order she also ordered fish and chips but I knew she wanted to prawn plate and I told the waiter to bring this. Prawn look like big shrimp and the whole thing came on her plate. She had to break away the eyes and tail and shell just to eat the meat. So much work! She laughed at me when I was so surprised that there was a mini family of prawns on her plate. Auntie V’s daughter was very quiet and shy and is a beautiful girl. We all had fun talking and then we went to get ice-cream…we had so much fun! So they would not have to try to find a taxi to get home, K and I offered to take them home. Once again, I was struck with the poverty here and my heart broke once more.

Saturday and Sunday K and I worked and it was so much fun! I love the children so much and enjoy all the time to spend with them. Heather and Maria (our friends from Viriginia who live at the baby house) will come upstairs to be with us and play with the children sometimes. Heather plays the guitar and we had the idea of having a praise and worship time with the children. We put several of them in the “bumbo” chairs, a couple in the swings, and held some. We were all together singing and praising God when we noticed a little boy who was raising his hands, just looking at Heather while she sang. She said, “Look, Sibonelo is worshipping.” Oh my goodness, I just laughed and laughed and laughed…you know that feeling when you laugh so much that your stomach hurts and tears come out of your eyes…well, I found this hilarious. I bet you are laughing right now-but if you are not, I am sorry, I guess you just had to be there. You see, Sibonelo is our fussiest child and he is rarely happy and just to see him in awe of the music and raising his hands( I like to think that he was worshipping) just made me laugh so much.
Sunday was an absolutely exhausting day! The children were so fussy…I feel like K and I had three or four babies in our laps all day or our arms just to keep them happy…but that is okay, we tried our best to love on each one-we don’t like when they cry!

On Monday night we worked night shift with Auntie Betty, who I love very much. We had wanted to do this with her for a while and this was the best opportunity. Oh my goodness, I have a new respect for all those who work third shift! K and I worked from 7-7 and there were a couple of times where I thought I was going to fall asleep standing up. But I did not thank goodness! We fed babies, comforted crying babies, folded laundry, cleaned toys, washed bottles, made milk and put the right amount into each bottle…this takes awhile because different babies are on different formula and drink different amounts and different babies need different number of bottles for the day time and during the next night. Some of our newest babies need 8 bottles made. K counted and we made 144 bottles of formula! My goodness! But we were so busy that the time flew by, but I was very tired the next day and it took me a couple of days to catch up on my sleep. Auntie Betty said that she finds strength in singing to the Lord and remembering that she is working for the Lord. This is so true! I enjoyed seeing our babies at night time when they are sleeping-so cute and precious.

I want to tell you about Auntie Loyce-she is our housekeeper at Door of Hope and she has become a very close friend. Every morning we have so much laundry and if one person hangs it, it takes about two hours. But with two people hanging laundry on the clotheslines, it only takes about one hour! I have been trying to go help her in the mornings when I am working if the children are fed and okay and Auntie Veroinca is there helping Katherine. Auntie and I have been able to just talk and talk and talk about our lives. She knows all about Justin and my family, how I came to know the Lord, dreams I have for my life. Let me tell you a little bit about Auntie Loyce. She is from Zimbabwe. She came here to South Africa to find work so she can support her two twin daughters who are turning 8 years old soon. The father of her twin daughters is not involved in their lives and she is trying to support them on her own. One of her daughters is named Celine and the other is Diana (she says she named them after Princess Diana and Celine Dion-she is so funny). But Diana has special needs-she can not feed herself and can not talk. So one year ago, Auntie Loyce came to South Africa to live with her sister here and make money to send back to her younger sister who is taking care of her children for her while she raises enough money to pay for a specialist to help her daughter. She thinks that soon she will be able to go back to her daughters. She misses them greatly but says that she is trusting God... What faith!
The other day I was reading my bible before we had staff devotions and Auntie Loyce asked to see my bible. She had never seen a study bible before and was in awe of the study notes. She said, “It tells you what is happening and explains the verses…this is amazing.” So K and I went to the mall and bought Auntie a study bible-we are so excited about giving this to her before we come home.


This picture was taken right after staff devotions. From left over, it is Auntie Veronica, Katherine, Auntie Loyce, me, and Auntie Bebe.


Uncle Brice has also been working at Door of Hope for one year. He is from the Congo and came here to work. He left his wife in Congo until he could raise money to bring her here to Johannesburg. He is so sweet and is funny! He truly loves the children so much. When the children were so sick with that stomach bug a couple of weeks ago, he told me that he could not sleep because he was worried about the children. On the weekends when he is not working, he calls Door of Hope just to make sure that all the children are okay. His wife has now been here for two months! Uncle Brice told me that he was just walking down the street one day when he heard a lot of babies crying. He went and knocked on the door of Door of Hope and began volunteering at Door of Hope and soon he was offered a job. He said that God has provided for him and his wife in great ways.

Today is the 18th of July and I have 18 more days here until I come home. I am feeling many different emotions and am so thankful for my time here. God has taught me so much(this will probably be a whole other blog entry in the next couple of weeks) and I have felt so much love and had so much love shared with me…I have seen God’s love and provision and majesty in a new light.
1 John 4:9 “This is how God showed his love among us; He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him…He sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…”
Jeremiah 31:3 “I have loved you with an everlasting love; with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”

Much love to you,
Rachel