Wow March is almost over! Thank you all so much for your prayers! This past month has been incredible!

The end of February we had 2 boys from small babies graduate to big babies!!!So thats 14 babies we were caring for! It has been so fun getting to know their personalities and introducing them to new thing! At the beginning of the month, they changed it where there is no less that 3 workers so thats so nice. We always have wonderful day and volunteers often come and help out! Precious baby U has moved down to star fish but still needs many prayers so that he and and his brother can be adopted. One of my big babies was adopted the 16th! We are all so excited for him and his forever family! Since babies in children homes are slower to develop without the one on one mommy time we have started doing daily exercise with them. It really is so much fun and exciting to see them grow stronger. It amazing to see them all develop since i have been here! We have new teeth, crawlers and an almost walker! These children are incredible if I could take them home I would in a second! But I just have to remind myself God has a better home for them! Please pray for the courts, they are changing laws and going back and forth really slowing down the adoption processes for many of the children.

On one of my days not working were able to go to the Apartheid museum. So that was really cool to be able to do and we are hoping to be able to go to the craft market and line park! I got the chance to go to the church in the inner city that started the Door of Hope. They have the second baby house there with the baby bin. It was so fun to be able to meet the babies that are there.

  

They have The girls here are amazing and I have loved getting to know them and starting a great friendship! I come home the 5th of April and I have never had such mixed emotions!

I feel like it was just the other day I was landing in South Africa. I am so excited to come home and see everyone and see what God has in store for me in Oklahoma, but saying good-bye to my babies,    friends and this amazing country I have fallen in love with will be tough!

Door of Hope

These past 3 weeks have just flown by! I cannot believe February is almost over! We did move again! We are now staying at baby house 1, where we work. It is really much nicer to just wake up and go up stairs to my babies! At this house we have a pool to enjoy on our days off or just lunch time.

The babies have just taken my heart! In just 6 days, 7 new babies have came to the Door of Hope, 4 of which came to the baby house where I work. However, one ended up going to another house but we have the others, 3 boys. When the babies first come to Door of Hope they go to the isolation room just to make sure they are well and to give them extra love. So for a couple days I got to take care of a one month old and twin three month old boys. They were all picked up from the hospital. Sadly the twins had been there for 3 months and the hospital never got around to calling us to pick them up. The Door of Hope was just calling the hospital to check if they had any babies, and they did! One of the twins is healthy and got to move to the small babies room but baby U isn’t doing quite as well. He isn't sucking well and it seems he hasn't been held for three months, his whole life. So I have been able to take care of him and just show him love. It’s so sad to see him feel so uncomfortable in someone’s arms. We have seen improvements over the week but he has a long way to go. I got to kangaroo hold him (skin to skin) so that was really great to be able to give him that love that can hopefully help him become a normal little boy. When he is able to hold his food down, he and his brother will move to the Star Fish room for extra love!

The days can get really crazy at feeding time with taking care of 12+ babies (depending how many is in isolation) but it’s so worth it! We are hoping to see a few of my big babies go to their "forever family" in the next month! It’s such an exciting time right now and I'm loving every minute of it! I would have to say my favorite time of the day is when the younger babies are asleep, and we have the four older ones that are 8 and 9 months old up and we just get to cuddle with them and give them extra attention. They just have so much personality and energy! During our playtime, they normally get tired, and so do I. So we just relax on the couch together!

Thank you so much for all your prayers for the babies and me!

OM Graduation ~ Vacation in Cape Town ~ Door of Hope

Graduation was a lot of fun but saying good-bye to everyone was probably one of the hardest things! I miss my OM family so much, but its never good-bye forever and I can’t wait to see them again!

Cape Town was so much fun! There was a group of 6 of us that went and met up with other friends in Cape Town. We were staying in the heart of the city and oh my goodness, Cape Town is amazing! The whole atmosphere is different ~ it’s still "Africa" but different for sure. I really fell in love with it! The city was safe enough to take the taxis. It was really fun to be able to do that and go to the beautiful beaches! They were way too cold to really swim in, but we tried our hardest. One day we took a tour bus, we felt very touristy, but it was a great way to see the city and it was really enjoyable! We got together with everyone from the training team that was down there and climbed Table Mountain. It was an intense hike but it was so worth it! It was just beautiful up there over looking the whole city and ocean! There is nothing better than mountains and beaches. I just love it there. On Sunday night we went to Hillsong church and they were promoting a college age camp. It was the last night to sign up and we thought there would be no way we could go. We already had a beach house we were going to stay at, but the more they were telling us about it we realized, it was a better deal! A lot cheaper and they were so helpful getting us sleeping bags, free rides to the church and a weekend with God on the beach! What can be better?. So Thursday we headed out with Hillsong to summer camp! It was up higher in the mountains and on the beach, so it was just beautiful. It was only 3 days but we met some amazing friends, and it was so amazing to be just filled up with Gods love, all before we went off to our different ministries.

On the 31st, Lisa, Marianne, Rebecca (a new OM’er from Switzerland) and I arrived at Doors of Hope! We walked in and there were about 12 babies playing in the living room, and I just knew, this is where God wants me! Marianne and I are with the big babies that are about 3-10 months old. Lisa and Rebecca are with the Star Fish group - they are the babies that some said weren't adoptable for various reasons. Doors of Hope says they are adoptable children and are helping them get them to that point! Since I just started, I don't have any great stories to share yet, but I will soon. A normal day starts at 7am, getting all the babies up bathing, changing and feeding. Its the craziest part of the day for sure! After that is finished we play with them for a while and then get the younger babies down for their naps. We then play with the older ones (while taking turns for a 15 min break at this point) then get them their bottles and put them down around the same time the younger ones are waking up. Then more diaper changes and feedings and a lot of spit up. We learned to not wear nice clothes! About an hour later the babies go to bed, and we get lunch! Depending on how long they sleep we get like an hour or so break for lunch. So that’s nice! Then they wake up. There are more diapers and more feedings, then we just play with them until bed time! Its a crazy day but they are amazing kids and extremely happy! And we get a lot of days off to rest, so that’s nice!

We moved into the toddler house, that they are slowing making into a volunteer house but we still have some sweet, crazy kids around. By the end of the month it will be just us with 5 other girls. It’s so exciting to settle in a new place, and they have washing machines and a DRYER! We are excited that we get to do our own grocery shopping and cooking! I don't know how much I will get out of yogurt, granola, toast and peanut butter ~ but it will be fun challenge!

Inner city outreach

Inner city outreach was incredible!!! It was a long and tiring 2 weeks but God did so many amazing things! The first day we got to our accommodation, it needed a lot of cleaning!! It used to be a rehab center a long time ago, and we also think it was used as a brothel not too long ago. But now it's for sale so we just rented it out for the 2 weeks. It was for sure a gross mess. The first day was just a bunch of cleaning and killing cockroaches.
Thursday we started ministry and my team had ladies of the afternoon and prayer at night. Being with those girls was such an eye opener and just sad! They are so open to talk about it. They know its ruining there lives but they can't get out of it because the pimps hook them on to drugs. Almost all of them aren't from Pretoria and are basically tricked into coming and leaving their children at home. The first lady I talked to is 25 and has 5 children, her oldest is 10 years old. When she shared this with me she jumped up and ran inside her flat crying. It's just such a sad situation! After that we went into a brothel and talked to some girls in there. The whole situation is just so sad and shocking!
 Friday we had kids ministry and ladies of the night. We all dressed up as clowns and went to a park. Sadly it wasn't a children's park so there were only 8 kids but it was still a lot of fun. We just played games, did a drama, and painted their faces.That night was harder talking to the girls. The police kept coming by so they were running inside a lot and always on the look out for cops and clients and their pimps where close by so they didn't open up. To start the conversations we would give them a candy with a bible verse on it so even if we couldn't talk to them they had that seed planted. To end that night off a street boy stole all of our candy after I gave him 3 pieces. So that was really frustrating. Friday we had Coffee House ministry where we fed the homeless had a service and just had conversations! Saturday we went to the boys shelter and cleaned then we had a free night. The leaders gave us R10 (that is about $1.50) to go buy dinner and experience what a lot of people have to eat on. We actually got pretty good food from the grocery store. Sunday we went to church and had a free day and me and my roomies went out to dinner! It was so much fun!
Monday we had street evangelism and boys shelter. For the street we painted something on our eyes and wore black and white and did a mime in parks and then just started conversations. It was a good experience but it's definitely not my kind of ministry! Boys Shelter was a lot of fun! We had game night so we just played games and hung out with them.
Tuesday was Ladies of the afternoon and prayer again. That afternoon was pretty quiet. The cops were everywhere again! I talked to one lady who was 7 months pregnant. It's just so hard to see them so lost. They want out but don't know how to. While us girls talked to the ladies the boys were in the park building relationships with the pimps and drug dealers player soccer and just talking. It was really cool and a lot of the guys ended up coming to the Coffee House! There is no doubt God planted a seed in their hearts from the message and worship those nights. Prayer night was really great! We did a prayer walk to the Union building. It was gorgeous at night and you could see the whole city.
Wednesday was kids and ladies of the night. We went to a kids park this time and it was a lot of fun! The kids were so open and we really enjoyed playing with them. When we were with the ladies that night it was a very eventful! The girls were recognizing us and some would just walk away while others were pretty open. It might be that they just wanted candy but it was a good opportunity! I had the chance to pray with 2 girls which was just amazing! We met a girl who was only in the business for 4 days. She was homeless in Durban and a pimp picked her up and told her there were jobs in Pretoria. She was not on drugs yet which is  great and easier to get her out! She said she wanted to come back with us but had to pack her bag first. While she was in the flat we were praying for her and talking to a few other girls. It had been over 15 minutes when the police came by and we explained the situation to them and that we thought she was being held in the room by her pimp. They took us up in the flats and the door was locked. When they finally opened it there were like 3 guys in the room and she was sitting on a bed with a bag packed on the other side. She said she wasn't going to come with us tonight that she would when she was ready. Leaving her in that room with those men was the hardest thing. My heart was so heavy. Thankfully i got to see her again on Friday night! She was so happy ran up and gave me a big hug! She was with her sister and another girl and we were all going to pray when she asked if she could! It was so powerful! They said they were going to come on Monday so I pray they did! Her name is Vuyo please pray for her and all of these girls who are in this situation!
Thursday was Coffee House again and it was really great. Jeanne shared her testimony about how she was an alcoholic for over 20 years. It really encouraged the men and opened them up for great conversation! When one of the other teams were with the ladies that night they found a baby living in the flat. The mother had gone and left the 18 month baby girl to be taken care of by the pimps and other prostitutes. They got the cops who took the baby out and she is now at Doors of Hope!! They took her to the hospital and she is a healthy baby girl! Praise God for that! I will get to meet her soon!
Friday we had street and boys shelter. We just talked to people in the park instead of doing a drama and that was pretty good! At the boys shelter we just hung out and played games! Two of the guys lead worship and it was so great. Later that night we got to do a late night ministry and that is when I saw Vuyo again. All the girls were so open that night! The first one I saw pulled me aside and shared how she wanted to get out and she would come to the Coffee House on Saturday. We waited and sadly she didn't but God is definitely working on those streets. Then we slept on the streets! It was a really great time! I didn't get the best sleep of my life but it was a great experience.
Saturday we had an all game day with the boys shelter. We went to a park and had different games set up.  It was so much fun to play with them. After that they played soccer against MDT boys. It was a amazing outreach!
I'm sorry this blog is much longer than the others but I just wanted to share my stories with you! The Coffee House is an amazing ministry! They have a 48 hour room for the girls that get off the streets and they try to find rehab centers for them. It's hard because they don't have all the money that's required to help them. They do so many amazing things for God's kingdom! If your looking for an organization to sponsor look into it! alharvest.co.za

Graduation is on Wednesday! We are all so sad today that we have to bring everything to a close and have to clean tomorrow! On the 20th I am going with a group to Cape Town for a 10 day holiday before we start our ministry! I'm so excited for this but really dreading the goodbyes!

Thanking you so much for all your prayers for me during this training! God has worked in my life here in more ways than I have realized!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas!

Durban was so much fun! We took the bus and got a real African experience! It wasn’t a relaxing ride but we got some good memories with the us arriving on time, well, on Africa time (an hour late), music as loud as it can be all through out the night with only around 2a.m. an hour of quiet, seats the size for a 12 year old in rows of 5, and one bathroom break for a 9 hour bus ride (20 minutes with the line to the ladies room taking 10). But honestly, I enjoyed it!! We arrived in Durban around 6 a.m. We went to the beach for a little while before going to the house where we had a wonderful breakfast and then went back to the beach for the day! I've never had a Christmas Eve filled with waves and sun burns but it was a blast! That night we went Christmas caroling and had Jesus birthday cake! On Christmas we went to church and had an amazing lunch followed by a nice relaxing afternoon in hammocks and a night swim. I got to skype with the whole Campbell family and that was probably the best part of the day! On Sunday we went to church again and we were going to go to the lake for water skiing but it was raining so we went with the church to pass out Christmas presents to children at a safe home. It was so amazing watching the kids opening their gifts and playing with them! We left early Monday morning to get the bus. It was only 30 minuets late and headed back home! It really was an amazing, unforgettable Christmas with some great memories!
   
January 4th we leave for our Inner City outreach in Pretoria and come back the 16th (3 days before graduation)! I am extremely excited for this one! We will be working with the ladies of the afternoon and night just starting conversations with them.The boys will be close by but will not be able to talk to them so they will be our prayer warriors in the background. We will also be doing prison ministry with 13 to 18 year olds. We will have service for them, serve them food, and just hang out with them. We'll be working with homeless and drug attics, talking with them and serving them food, as well as working in a boys home, having a program with them and playing games! Our last night we will be sleeping on the streets. We are allowed either a sleeping bag or a pillow. Don’t worry mother. We will be safe. Since its illegal to sleep anywhere we are staying next to the Coffee House we will be working at but we will be sleeping alongside the homeless. Although they have mattresses and we have to find our own cardboard. I am so so excited about this experience! Im kind of sad its only one night.. you can't get the full effect from that,  but I'm really excited to see how God will use us!
My team is made up of Philippe H and Erika (leaders), Nathan, Marianna, Severine, Deborah, and Jeanne. Please pray for us on these coming weeks to allow God to lead us in our conversations, in all of the programs we will be planning, unite us as a team, and that we can make an impact in the city for Christ!