Our Beautiful African Princess!

My First Day

By Karli Elizabeth

 

Things were going great until Mom decided that it was time for me to come out.  I was perfectly happy in my warm and cozy home, but things quickly changed!  All of a sudden I was lying on the table and heard my Dad scream for the doctors and nurses to come quick.  The doctor rushed in and was a little concerned because the cord was around my neck.  He quickly cut it off and I began breathing on my own.  I got to see my Mom and Dad's faces for the 1st time!  I have heard their voices for several months now so it was great to get to meet them.  Lots of people came to visit me that said they were my parent's friends.  I was really sleepy so I decided to sleep from 8:30 p.m. to 4:45 a.m. my first night so Mom and Dad could get some good sleep.

I received a big surprise the next morning!  Two of the cutest little boys came into my room with great big smiles, hugs, and kisses and said they were my brothers!  It was great fun being held by them, and I can tell they will always protect me.

Mommy seems very excited and loves to change my clothes and put new things in my hair.  Daddy....well, let's just say I have him wrapped around my little finger!

Love,
Karli

Welcome to Joburg Taco Del!

We were out this past Saturday and noticed a new restaurant called Taco Del.  This is not be confused with Taco Bell!  This was very exciting to us because you cannot find many Mexican restaurants here.  We really hope that it goes over well because the prices are somewhat affordable.  It would be nice to know where they buy all of their food because you can't find tortilla chips or enchilada sauce around here like they serve.

Old man winter has definitely arrived in Joburg........it is COLD!  I think we are better prepared this winter though.  We bought a small new heater for the living room and a heated under blanket for our bed this past Saturday.  We got a heated under blanket for the boys last year and finally broke down and bought one for us.  The heated under blanket with the new fleece sheets from Uncle Jim, Aunt Lisa, and Grandma Lorene sure did feel good last night!  Saturday morning we woke up and it was 23 degrees outside and it may have been colder inside our house than out!  We sure do miss central heat and fireplaces.

It's hard to believe that in 3 months little miss Karli will make her grand entrance!  We are getting very excited.  A lady in our church gave us a Moses basket and a small baby seat this past Sunday.  With these items plus the baby shower gifts from the party that Kody's mom and sister threw last month, it is all beginning to feel real!   

It was exciting to see that the Soup Kitchen continued to go strong while we were in Zambia.  Around 50 men are still faithfully attending and listening very attentively.  One man 2 weeks ago stayed after the Bible study was over and told Kody he wanted to learn more about Jesus.  Kody spent quite a bit of time sharing with him and then had the privilege of leading him to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ!

Appreciate Your Prayers

Tomorrow morning we leave for a meeting that is close to the Zimbabwe border.  We will be driving so prayers for safe travels are appreciated.  We will be at this meeting until the 17th and then have one day to wash our clothes and repack to head for Zambia for one month!  It will be a busy time but we are excited to see what the Lord will show us during this time.  Kody then leaves for a one week course at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary on May 19th.  After this course he only has one left!!  I'm sure we will have lots to post about when we get back.

We were supposed to find out the sex of the new baby this past Tuesday but unfortunately the baby did not cooperate.  Our next appointent is now May 28th so hopefully we will find out then!

Hitting the Ground Running

It has been a joy and honor to have the 14 Broadway Baptist team members from Springfield, MO, join us in our ministry this past week.  They arrived Saturday evening, 17 March, with half of their luggage, tired, weary from travel and smiles from ear to ear!  They experienced ministry in a township as well as at our church and the surrounding community.  Northmead Baptist Church (our church here in SA) has also experienced ministry in a new and exciting way, too.  The church members joined forces with the Broadway team in prayer walking, revival, and an outreach event this past Friday.

The week produced a revived church and community through 13 professions of faith and a desire to see God change bad habits and save lost family members/friends.  What a week!  We can't wait to see how God continues to work in and through the church as a result of this past week!

Please pray for the Broadway team as they are traveling home.  They should be in the U.S. now, but still have several connecting flights.

Hearing the Baby's Heartbeat!

We had our 1st doctor's visit today for baby #3.  We didn't really know what to expect but was very suprised.  The doctor is great and very knowledgeable.  Erin is 10 weeks along and he said the baby is very healthy.  He performed an ultrasound and we got to see and hear the baby's heartbeat as well as see it moving it's arms around.  The doctor was very suprised to see the arms moving like they were because generally they are sleeping most of the time at this point.  Fortunately, Kaleb and Blake are both wrong as the doctor verified it is a baby and not a puppy and that there is only 1!!

They recorded the ultrasound on a DVD that they let you take and then bring back each time to record the next one.  It will be fun to watch the baby grow and develop on the DVD.  We go back again in 3 weeks for the next appointment.  Your prayers throughout the pregnancy and delivery are much appreciated. 

The Hand of God

This past Monday we set out for Kruger National Park with Mom and Dad.  It takes around 6 hours to drive there.  Everything was going great and we were about 4 kilometers away from entering the park when things turned for the worse. 

We were driving through a small village and noticed that something strange was going on.  The entire village was out beside the road and glass and debris were everywhere.  At first we thought that maybe a wreck had just happened.  We soon found out that was not the case.  The further we drove the worse it got.  They had ripped up the curbs on the side of the road and threw them all over the road to try and block the path.  We were able to find a path to get through, but then came to a road block of burning trees and tires. 

A group of people were motioning for us to come towards them to go down a side road to avoid the road block.  I made the mistake of going towards them.  In a matter of seconds a large group surrounded our vehicle and began shouting and hitting the vehicle and one guy jumped on the hood.  They started punching the windows trying to break them and rocks are hitting the vehicle on all sides.  I floored it to try and get away in hopes of getting the guy off the hood.  We thankfully made it through only to find a much worse road block about 1 kilometer away.  There was no way at all that we could get through this one.  We were all very scared and not sure what to do because we certainly did not want to go back through the mob we just encountered, but knew that was the only way out.  We stopped the car and decided to pray and ask God to deliver us from this situation. 

After driving just a few meters God placed a police car right in front of us!  I quickly drove over to him and asked what was going on in the village.  He said it was a riot over services they felt they should be getting.  We described what had just happened to us and asked if he could help us out.  He graciously agreed to escort us back out of the village.  We found out that 2 people died in the riot a few hours after we had left.  It was a frightening situation but incredible to see the hand of God deliver us from it.  We want to thank everyone for their continued prayer support, as we feel it daily.

Big News!

We just found out that the Lord has blessed us with a 3rd child!  Erin is due sometime in mid-late September.  Please pray that she will have a smooth pregnancy and safe delivery.  Blake thinks Mommy is going to have a puppy and Kaleb thinks Mommy is going to have boy and a girl!  We hope they are both wrong. :-)  She is about 8 weeks along now and we think they typically found out the gender here around 16 weeks.

Nana and Papa in Africa!

Kody's parents, affectionately referred to as Nana and Papa, arrived to Johannesburg, South Africa, last night!  While the boys were a little timid around them at first, they have more than made up for that now!

We have a full schedule planned, starting with Soup Kitchen and Youth Group today.  The Lion & Rhino Park and Kruger Game Park are on the list of fun activities!

We'll post pictures soon!

Update

We have gotten behind in keeping our blog updated like we had hoped.  Ministries have begun to pick up again now that the holiday is nearing an end.  It won't be in full swing again until the middle of January.


Today we started back at the Soup Kitchen.  I got there and I could tell the Pastor was surprised to see me.  He asked if we were having the Soup Kitchen today.  I said yes and he informed me that everyone forgot so there was no food.  I said that is fine and I'll just make some juice for the men.


Normally the men start coming around 12:15 but today no one was there at this time.  I went out to the street corner near the church and found a man sleeping on the ground.  I invited him to come to the Bible study and he said he would like that. 


He was the only one that came but it was incredible to see God work.  I gave him a Zulu Bible and showed him the passage I was going to be talking about and he immediately read it!  When he was finished he said, "I understand what this is saying."  I asked him if it was ok for me to explain the passage and he said he would really like that.  Then he asked if I could tell him in Afrikaans instead of English.  Oh, how I wish I knew Afrikaans and Zulu!  He said he could understand English but understands Afrikaans better. 


I began in John 3:16 and he was listening very attentively and repeating what I was saying so I knew he understood.  We talked for a long while and at the end he said he wanted ask Jesus to be his Lord and Savior!  It was indescribable to hear him pray to ask Jesus into his heart in Zulu.  I have no idea what he said but I know God does and I could see the change in that man's life. 


Please pray for Thomas as he begins his new walk with the Lord.


Deuteronomy 32:3-4
³ “For I proclaim the name of the LORD;
Ascribe greatness to our God!
⁴ “The Rock! His work is perfect,
For all His ways are just;
A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and upright is He.