firey friday (that was all i could think of)
Hey folks…I hope this reaches you all well! I just wanted to tell you all that I’m missing you very much and thinking and praying for you all the time. You’re constantly on my mind.
It sure is getting nice around here. Weather wise I mean. The past couple days have been hot and absolutely wonderful. Yesterday, a guy from church who has also been helping with the transportation issues we’ve been having called me and said that a few guys were going to play some volleyball down at the beach and wanted to know if I would like to join them. Of course I said yes and it was awesome. I got my first sunburn of the season and came back with sand caked in my ears. I’ll probably be cleaning that out for a month or so.
If you guys could be praying for Mama I think she would really appreciate it. She’s been kind of down this week not feeling so good physically and emotionally. From what I understood she’s been frustrated with how hard her life is. She was telling me that it’s very hard to have to depend on people all the time, she’s still dealing with being neglected when she was younger, and there are so many things she wants and wants to do but can’t and she hates that. For example, she’s been praying for a vehicle for herself for quite a while now. She wants so desperately to learn how to drive and not have to depend on others to take her everywhere she needs and wants to go. But she just doesn’t have the money to get one. A friend of hers who is a pastor was here with his wife and kids for a couple days this weekend. Their kids stayed here and the pastor and his wife came by during the day. He has his own vehicle and recently someone gave him another one. So he has two cars and here’s Mama praying fervently for one but it seems like God isn’t giving it to her.
She also went to the doctor today because she’s not feeling very well. You can tell that she’s just not on her “game” lately. She’s kind of like a zombie just walking around, really quietly.
Please be praying for her. That she is comforted and that she is able to look to her faith to overcome these struggles she has had to endure her whole life. Because she has kind of been out of it, we won’t be doing the feeding in Markman tomorrow. We just weren’t able to get it done this month. There’s a bunch of things that have to be done to where we can even do it. We can’t just go and give people food. We now have to inform the counselor of the community and let him know what we are doing and we couldn’t even do that.
We’ve got some new prospects for a new car. The pastor at the Vineyard church here is selling a car that would work out well and our mechanic friend has also spotted another vehicle that might be good for us. We’re going to be looking into those more this weekend so please pray that God gives us some discernment on what to do with that whole situation. Obviously which ever vehicle is bought needs to last a long time and be able to handle all the work we put on it.
Thanks guys! I truly do hope you are having a wonderful day and enjoying it.
Love you guys!
Daniel
Gloomy Tuesday!
well…i’m a little frustrated right now. i typed a whole thing on here to post and when i went to publish it, nothing came up, i tried to go back and push the button again but everything i typed was gone. YIPPEE!
so this time it will probably be a little short.
Ronnie and Sybil are getting back on Thursday. they went to see some family up in Johannesburg and are seeing Ronnie’s mom now just a few hours away before they come back. apparently his mom isn’t doing so well. she lives in an old aged home and is quite old. they asked to have everyone praying for her. they told me that it looks like her body is just shutting down. i’m sure this is hard for them both. Sybil is quite close to her as well and so they’re both spending as much time as they can with her. please be praying for them.
i wanted to say thank you to all of you who gave money for the feeding in Markman. i got word that $140 came in from you here mentioned you wanted to help. THANK YOU ALL FOR THAT! it truly will go along ways. last month you’ll remember that we had approximately 100 peolpe and i’m sure we’ll have more this time. there have been folks from the Vineyard church that mentioned they want to be involved in the feeding day also. so on Saturday we will be joined with them and it should be a great day! thanks for your support guys!
well i hope you all enjoy your day! just remember there won’t ever be another one like it!
daniel
hey guys
howdy ya’ll! how’s everyone doing? things have been quite slow around here. i haven’t been able to get on the internet at the house the past few days. our phone line went out and they fixed it today but they said the internet won’t be fixed for a little bit longer. i’m at an internet shop right now so i could do an update on here.
we got some news about the car. the insurance ended up paying us the majority of what we paid for the car which is really good. now we’re going to have to start looking for another vehicle large enough to transport large groups of people around in. so please be praying for something to come up. God has been good to us. he’s been providing for us like he says he would. no reason to doubt or worry cause God will always provide. the pastor of the vineyard church that we go to here lent me his 4 door jetta till the end of october if we needed it that long.
funny story…yesterday, i was watching some show in ron and sybil’s room, just sitting there nice and quietly, my favorite scene was coming up and i was expecting one of the kids to come running in and interrupt that part of the movie. the scene started playing and i was so excited cause so far no one had come in. then, all of a sudden, the power went out. not only did i miss that scene, i missed the rest of the movie! that’s africa! i just started laughing totally not surprised that that happened…it’s just my luck. when i stepped out side, cause the room was dark with no lights, i saw some smoke coming from the side of our property. apparently, one of the power lines had a piece break and that’s why the power went out. when the piece broke though it shot sparks everywhere catching the ground on fire. the grass was high there so it started spreading really fast. because i was completely clueless about what to do, i started peeing on it. it wasn’t that bad so i thought that maybe it would work. needless to say, it didn’t. i went inside, looked to see if there was even a fire department in Port Elizabeth, fortunately it was, and they ended coming out and putting it out before it got to big. i was just afraid that it would burn our fence down. we have an electrical fence around the property with wooden poles that hold the strands off the ground and i didn’t want those to burn up. nothing happened fortunately and everything was alright. i decided not to tell the fireman about how i tried to pee the fire out. i didn’t know what they would think of americans after they heard something like that.
well i hope your weeks are going well and that you all enjoy the weekend. i heard the weather wasn’t so nice so maybe that will change and brighten up a little bit!
love you guys!
daniel
Dependence
To start off, no news about the car. Tomorrow I’m going to the insurance offices to drop off some paper work that they need. The frustrating thing is I have to call someone and ask them to take me across town to do that. There have been a few people that have been very helpful though. This morning we had four cars show up at the house around 8:30 ready to take all of us to church. It was really cool. That was the first time I’ve been in a car since Tuesday. It feels weird not driving every day. Saturday was the laziest day ever. Everyone, including Brooke, a couple of the older girls, Phumlani, and myself slept in. I didn’t wake up till 11:30, stayed in my pajamas till 4, walked to the local convenience store, and by the time I got back dinner was ready, then it was time for bed again. It’s been a long time since I’ve had one of those days. Even though I didn’t have anything to do or could do, I feel like I should be up doing something else.
Mama is the sweetest person ever though. Today, I was sitting in Ronnie and Sybil’s room, half asleep about to take my Sunday afternoon nap, and she comes in to talk to me. She said she was about to dish supper but wanted to talk to me first. I was a little nervous, for some reason I thought I was in trouble, not that I have any reason to be in trouble, but I was wondering what she could possibly want to talk about so seriously. She told me that she wanted to make sure I was ok. She said she’s been watching me the past few days and has seen a difference in my attitude or behavior. I told her I’m doing great, nothing out of the ordinary going on with me. A little while before I got here in March, she tried to drive the car, even though she doesn’t have a license, and accidentally drove the car into the gate. We have a gate that, with a push of a button, will open up for. She lost control of the clutch, like most beginners do, and flew right into the metal gate. She damaged the car and bent the gate to where it would open automatically but instead you had to get out and open it by hand. She felt awful. She felt so guilty and was disappointed in herself for doing it. She told me this story cause she thought that I was feeling the same way about having the car stolen. She said she “wanted to make sure you weren’t blaming yourself or giving yourself a hard time for what happened. If God had wanted us to have that car he would have kept it safe, scared the thieves away, or something else. Don’t lower your head and feel guilty about what happened. It’s over, learn from it, and move on.” That was so great to hear that from her. I actually was feeling pretty bad the first couple days. Now, though, I’m seeing that God does work good things through every situation.
Music is a big thing for me. It’s something that I turn to when I want to give myself some energy, a way in which I worship and praise God, it just makes me happy. When the car was stolen, I didn’t just lose my CD player, I lost EVERY CD of mine, and then I also lost my djembe. My absolute favorite djembe, the best one I’ve ever had, the one I was using to play with the worship team here at Vineyard, and the CD player was bought for me just before I came here, again, the best one I’ve ever had. It’s like God was stripping me of EVERYTHING so I could see ALL of him. Instead of worshipping him with music and song (not that those aren’t great) he wants me to worship him with my heart, the only thing I am left with. Every day, at least once, I would turn my CD player on, saddle up my djembe, and just do what I love to do. I can’t do that anymore.
God is stripping me of lots of things I love. I was talking to a friend last night and was telling her that it seems like God is doing all the work for me, guiding me down the right path, to where I am completely depending on him. When you’re here, you have to do that. Without him, I wouldn’t have made it this long.
In the states, everything is easy, it’s handed to you on a silver platter. If you want to do something, you do it. If you want something from the store, you go get it. If you’re hungry, you go 5 miles in any direction to McDonald’s and you eat. People think that they can do everything on their own instead of depending on God for strength, for food, and for the things you want. You can only make it so long until you can’t do it on your own anymore.
Anyways, going to the insurance offices tomorrow to continue the process of the stolen car, we’re still praying that something will happen with the car, whether it shows up or another one is provided. We really need your prayer and support during this time. It’s unfortunate that we have to rely so greatly on something as simple as a vehicle. I kind of wish we were back in the old days where everyone road horses. I mean, you don’t even have to worry about gas, horses just eat grass. Grass is everywhere.
Love you guys!
Daniel
Never Normal!
Hey guys. I swear there is never a normal day here. I was telling my Dad the same thing today. I have lots of news for you all today.
On Monday we did the parcels for the Child Sponsorship Program (CSP). It went really well. We tried something new this month. Instead of us delivering the parcels to the people’s homes, we asked them to come to the store and pick them up themselves. I was really nervous about that because for some of them that is a lot to ask. One man that has a daughter sponsored is handicap, he doesn’t have a job, and spends most of him time at stores begging for food. On Monday, he was the first one there. He was there before we were. That was so great. That showed me that if he can get there, first, then I can expect everyone else to do the same. We got there at 10 o’clock in the morning and were supposed to be there till 12. By 12 o’clock half the people had come and gone already. We had a problem with the other half because they didn’t receive the letters requesting them to come there. Mama was able to get a hold of them and they all showed up, late, but at least they showed up. We did have to deliver one. It was to a grandma and when we went to her house to drop the food off, the boy that is sponsored was there. He was supposed to be in school so Mama got kind of frustrated. He told us that he didn’t have any nice shoes to wear to school and that his grandma was up all night drinking. She doesn’t work and besides the parcel she gets from us each month, she lives off a government pension, but she has been spending all of it on alcohol. That was a warning to us. Next time, if she doesn’t come to the store, if she’s been out drinking and the boy not going to school, we’ll unfortunately have to take the sponsorship away from them. We don’t want to be rewarding that kind of behavior.
Overall though, Mama and I were very encouraged by the whole day. As long as every knows about it, they will all be there. We had 15 kids sponsored this month and I’ve asked Schaun and Traci to double that number for next month. I think it went so well that for the first time, I think we’re ready to start expanding.
So that’s the good news! Now it’s time for the bad news.
Yesterday was a rather normal day. I went to the Vineyard church in the early evening; afterwards I went to watch a friend of Ronnie and Sybil’s play at a restaurant. I’ve gone to see him before and this time I took a friend from the church with me. We got there about 7:30 and for the next hour and a half ate some food, watched the guy play, enjoyed our time. At 9 o’clock Phumlani was supposed to get off work so we left then to go pick him up. As I was walking out the door and halfway across the parking lot, I realized that somebody was parked in my spot. Our car was stolen.
We’ve spent the entire day making phone calls trying to figure out what to do and what we can do. Unfortunately I had my djembe drum in there, my cd player, all of my cd’s, the girl I was with had her guitar, her mom’s digital camera, and her school bag with books, house keys, and her prescription glasses in there. All the doors were locked and the windows were up. There were two emblems, one on each side, which said “Oceans of Mercy” and had our address on there too. So that vehicle is gone, and the other car we had, you might remember, broke down a few weeks ago and we had to scrap it for whatever it was worth because it was that damaged. Ronnie and Sybil were supposed to leave for 2 weeks to head up to
Johannesburg but they had to stay and help today. They’re leaving tomorrow morning though which means that for the next 2 weeks, we’re kind of stranded without a vehicle and helpless. We have some people that are going to help get the kids to school and back. I’m working on announcing it to the church on Sunday and seeing if anyone can help, Ronnie met the general manager for Toyota here in South Africa today and told him about our situation, he said he would see what he can do, whatever that means, we went to the radio station and they have been talking about it all day. I’ve had people calling me and neighbors coming over to check on us because they heard it on there.
Guys, we really need your prayer right now. None of us know why God has allowed so many problems with vehicles lately but we do know that he has promised to work good through every situation. PLEASE be praying, none stop!
I love you guys!
daniel
weekend
well, it’s been a few days. hope your all’s weekend is going well. not too much to report on here.
Mama just got back in town tonight. she spent the past few days in Transkye which is her hometown that’s 5 hours away. she is building a home there for when she retires. she’s been trying to get it built for a while now and how to go see some builders to get them working on it. she said they think it could be finished by December. she won’t be retiring then though. until she does, the home will be a place for her to get away on a weekend or something. when she needs some rest, peace and quietness, she can go there to her own home and do that. it sure is good to have her back though. you can always tell when she is gone. it’s like an empty feeling in the house when she’s not here.
tomorrow we are doing the food parcels for this month. i’m really excited about it because, again, we are trying something new. last week Mama and I delivered some letters that i typed in English and Mama typed in Xhosa asking the people if they would be willing to come and pick the parcels up at the shoprite (the store the food parcels come from). i initially didn’t like that idea because i thought it would be difficult for some to make it there. we’ll see i guess. i’m excited because if this works out than we’ve got a chance to start getting a lot more children sponsored right away. the only thing that has been delaying that is the delivery of the parcels. we hadn’t found a sure fire way to do that and we’re hoping this will. God willing of course. it’s all up to him.
the funny thing is, before i came to south africa back in march, the first discussions we had about setting this program up involved the sponsored families to come and pick the parcels up at the store. then smart guy here, thought it would be a better idea to change it and try and come up with a better idea. i’m only hoping that God makes a fool out of me tomorrow. if all the people show up to get the parcels i will feel quite useless but at the same time humble that God, inspite of my pour decisions, still made everything work out for good. just like he has promised to do so.
please be praying for a safe day tomorrow, that all the families will come to get their parcels that have been sponsored to them, that the taxi drivers they are hiring to get there and back will drive safely, and that God’s will, will be done.
i really do hope you all have a wonderful weekend! i look forward to hearing your comments and how you all are doing!
daniel
August Update!
Hello my fellow missionaries. That’s what all of you are when you joined me in this journey.
Things are going great here. Another month has gone by and we are now into September. I can’t believe that since the month of March, I have been gone now for 6 months. Half of a year is gone by now and it went so fast. Lots of wonderful memories and some great stories. A lot has been done and lots achieved!
Some things that happened this month:
1. I spent the first week with my dad, Schaun Colin, and Joel Houser in Uganda and Johannesburg . We were in Uganda on a separate mission’s trip. We saw so much in the short time we were there. I got to spend my 21st birthday with my dad which was the best gift I could have gotten.
2. We had a good month with the Child Sponsorship Program (CSP). We delivered 14 parcels on August 16th and made some changes to the future plans of the CSP. I am now very confident that we are getting close, probably only a month, maybe two, which it will take to have the program stable.
3. On August 26th we went to Markman and fed approximately 100 people. We met some people that donated a bunch of food that we could give away at this monthly event. We will be doing it again on September 30. We know that there will be more people also at this next one.
4. We made some breakthroughs with a few government officials that were making things difficult for us. The city counselor misunderstood what we were trying to do here and thought we were only trying to make money off the people instead of truly wanting to help. We are now on good terms, working together, and doing more for the community because of it.
5. The children in the home have been a blessing. We have gotten along much better. Atto (Aphiwe to many of you that have been here) has opened up to me. That’s a big deal. She seems to close herself up to all us Americans that come here because she knows how she can get real close with us and then we leave, and it feels as if we’re leaving them. There has been a lot of laughter coming out of everyone lately. Khanyisa has even started coming to me for advice on a boy she likes. It’s really cute! She sees me sort of as a father. She has been asking my permission to talk to this boy. All the children are wonderful. School is going great, some have been able to go to birthday parties, Xolelwa has lately been getting involved in a worship team at the Vineyard church we attend, and so much more.
6. We received some unfortunate news on Phumlani. He was diagnosed on the 29th with a disease called Neurofibromatosis (NF). It’s a disease that causes tumors to arise wherever there is a nerve in your body. It can also be the cause of a learning disability that we think he most likely already has.
7. I spent a period of a time this month really struggling spiritually and emotionally. God really has stretched me to fulfill his plan for me here. My faith and my dependence in God was tested and questioned a lot. So far I’ve passed the test and I’m very excited about the next few months.
I don’t know if that looks like a lot or not but it really was. Much of the month was non-stop moving and working.
There are lots of benefits for me being here at this point in my life. The one I see as the most important benefit is that God is showing me so much. I’m not the same person anymore. At least not spiritually. Some scriptures that really encouraged and motivated me this month were from Matthew.
16:25 “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”
A man that I have come to respect by the name of Brad Brisco gave me some great encouragement in a comment on my blog: “My God, you are always close to me. In obedience I must now apply myself to outward things. Yet as I do, I pray that you will give me the grace of your presence. And to this end I ask that you will assist my work, receive its fruits as an offering to you, and all the while direct my affections to you.”
I’m going to end with that. It’s very appropriate, I think to all of us. Maybe you can do what I did. I printed it out in big letters so it filled the whole page and hung it on my wall so every morning I get up I can read it and start the day off right, right with God.
Thank you all for your continuous support. You are all heroes to me!
Umhlobo Wako (Your Friend)
Daniel
pictures from wfc trip…
Here are some pictures from when WFC folks Pastor Dave, Schaun Colin and Joel Houser went to Uganda & South Africa last month (and visited a little with Daniel).
