Be My Everything

 Where to begin... This past week has been an amazing week of so many different events happening. Last night was probably my best night here thus far, as we all went to a Sharks Rugby game here in Durban, South Africa. We painted our faces and everything to support a team we had never seen play to support a game we had never seen played in a foreign country. When in South Africa, do as the South Africans do? By the end of the night, however, we had all fallen in love with the game of Rugby and the people who play it. I was planning on meeting my husband there, but I guess God had other plans. Haha. We still enjoyed the game, however, regardless of failing to find a husband and by the end of the game, I think we all began to understand the concept of the game. The Sharks won, 24 to 9 and we all had an amazing time.

A few of the lil children that stole my heart at clinical at the family center :)

 Last Saturday, we went on a hike to go see the Bushman Paintings up in some caves in Durban. We weren’t nearly as impressed by the historical paintings as we were by God’s creation, the drive on the way there and back, and the hike to the paintings itself. On the drive there, my camera’s battery light began to start blinking because it was low, simply because I couldn’t help myself and I kept taking pictures. Whenever we go anywhere, I cannot help but look out the window in amazement at God’s creation and the beauty of it here in South Africa. We never really get to sleep in here because our schedule begins so early in the morning and we always seem to go to bed rather late, so we are always so very tired, but sleeping in the car never seems to happen because it is so beautiful outside.

One of the beautiful pictures I took out the window of the bus :)

 Before clinical one of the days this week, a plethora of monkeys visited Kara and I right outside our bedroom window. As I was curling my hair, one of them walked up to our window and stared right into my soul. It must have been one of the cutest things I have ever seen. I was talking to him through the glass and he was just staring at me, cleaning his face. Haha. The little guys are so very deceiving. They are adorable through the glass window, but if I were to be right next to him outside, I’m pretty sure I would of been screaming. Haha.

The adorable monkey who came to visit Kara and I :)

The girls in my chalet and I and the addition to our lil family, John Wilson at our Valentine's Dinner.  Our chalet is named after a John Wilson, and this young gentleman from our school just so happens to have the same name. Haha.

 Last Sunday, we had a Valentine’s Day dinner where we all got dolled up, ate dinner in a different place, and had a little dance party. We all had so much fun! Great Valentine's Day! <3

Alison and I and our teaching project posters on alcohol abuse :)

  On Tuesday, we had a teaching project in place of going out to the clinics. We each taught on a different topic including drug abuse, tobacco abuse, alcohol abuse, menstruation, exercise, and dental hygiene. We went to a local high school and each spoke on our own topic. My good friend Alison and I spoke on alcohol abuse, since her and I both have had family members who have been affected by alcohol rather heavily and we feel so passionate about it. As we began talking about it, I wasn’t planning on making it personal, but I got choked up just talking about it to them. I began to picture the effect alcohol may have already had or may possibly have on their lives and it just crushed me. I honestly do not see any good that ever comes out of alcohol. All I have seen is the damaging effects it has had on people’s social lives with their families and personal effects it has had on the bodies of those who do not have the self-control to put the alcohol down.

Reading books to a few kids at the family center at clinical :)

The Indian Ocean.... Durban, South Africa :)

LG and I at Ushaka Sea World here in Durban, South Africa at the Dolphin Show....  It was so weird being at a Sea World here!

 On Thursday, I had the best clinical experience thus far. I had the chance to go Ethembeni in Mpophomeni, South Africa. The center is a Christian ministry that has a hospice center, where they care for those who are dying, and a family center, where they care for children during the day. At the hospice center, my good friends, Kara and Alison, and I, had the chance to pray for a 29 year old woman who really touched our little hearts. She was sick with cancer and her doctor had sent her home to die in peace about a month ago, but she had only gotten better from that point. She said she was getting better because she was praying that she would so that she may be with her 18-month-old son. I asked her if I could pray for her and when she said yes, I asked her if she would like me to pray in Zulu or English, since she spoke both languages. She did not care either way, but I really wanted to use my Zulu prayer, so I prayed in Zulu first and then more elaborately in English. It was the coolest experience ever. In my little mind, God speaks English, but I was praying in Zulu because my God is a God who understands ALL languages. Such a cool experience! After I prayed that God would give her the strength and courage to press on and that God would put His arms around her and comfort her, I asked her if she could understand my Zulu prayer and she told me exactly what I prayed for. It was amazing! God is good! 
Then we split up into teams and went out into the community. The way the ministry works is that the people go to the homes of people who are sick and they bring them food and provide spiritual care. Part of the deal, however, is that they have to sign a contract that says that they will learn some kind of trade from them. A couple of the options they are given are the following: sewing, gardening, or basket making. My team delivered food to four different houses and a message in two places. The first time, the volunteer I was with spoke fluent Zulu and did not really translate any of it for me until she was completely done, so it was hard for me to follow what was going on. The second message, however, the volunteer told one of the little children to come sit with me. The little girl had to be about three years old or maybe even younger. She sat on my lap the entire time and absolutely stole my heart. She played with my hair and touched my face in wonder the entire time. Then at the end of the message, she asked me if I would like to pray for the people there. She said that the man was a Christian who had a bad cough, most likely Tuberculosis, one of the woman was a Christian who was trying to find a job, and the final woman was not a Christian and she had been hearing voices telling her to drink the blood. Totally a spiritual warfare scenario. As I prayed, I prayed for Satan to be bound from the woman’s life and that the only voice she would hear would be Jesus’ voice. I prayed that she would feel His love for her and not allow the evil spirits to have any sort of influence over her. I prayed that the Lord would reveal Himself to her and that she would find Him. Please keep her in your prayers if you think of it. After the home visits, Kara, Alison, and I met up at the family center, where we simply played with all the kids there. The children were all under four years old and they were absolutely adorable. They stole our hearts and I want more than anything to maybe adopt a baby from Africa or Haiti one day when I'm married with a family of my own.

A couple of my girlfriends and I at Sea World :)

My buddy Amanda and I before the Sharks game :)

LG, Alison, and I at the Rugby game :)

My future hubby, Patrick Lambie, the Sharks' kicker :)

The Rugby stadium!!! I think Rugby may be my new favorite sport! :)  It may have something to do with being in South Africa... or maybe the men who play it. Haha.

I’m not sure what God has in store for me, but recently, my prayer has been that God would align the desires of my heart with His will for my life. I know that God gives us the desires of our hearts, but if our desires are not what He would have for us, then I do not want my desires. I want my desires to be in alignment with His desires for me and His plan for my life. His plan for my life is big and it is great and it is what is best because Christ knows what is best. Recently one of my favorite worship songs is "Be My Everything." I truly desire that Christ becomes my everything and remains my everything throughout all the days of my life. 

God in my living, there in my breathing
God in my waking, God in my sleeping
God in my resting, there in my working
God in my thinking, God in my speaking

Be my everything, be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything

God in my hoping, there in my dreaming
God in my watching, God in my waiting
God in my laughing, there in my weeping
God in my hurting, God in my healing

Be my everything, be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything

Christ in me, Christ in me
Christ in me, the hope of glory
You are everything

For those of you who do not already know, my Grandpa is good friends with someone from South Africa, Malcolm Graham. They have been golfing together for the last eight years or so in San Dimas and before I came here, my Grandpa brought up that I was coming here with APU and Malcolm revealed that he helped start this program for APU. Malcolm then emailed all the staff here and told them to look out for me. As a result, I have received so many hugs from the staff here and so much love. I seriously feel so welcome here. Today, one of Malcolm's friends, Sandra Pillay, took my friend LG and I to her church and the pastor, Pastor Chris, had us over for lunch after. So very welcoming. We had a great day at her church and all the sweet fellowship was amazing. After we had lunch, we went to help out with this ministry called the WaySide ministry. Basically, they rotate through who gets to cook for all the people and they feed the children of a poorer area and sing worship songs with them. It was such an amazing experience! God is so good and it is so cool seeing Him work in a different country.