Returning Home

As we drove away from Shikwaru Lodge in the van I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever return. I know that I would love to go back and bring my family along to see and experience all that I have.  This will have to be something to pray about and see what God has to say.  He certainly provided clear direction via various sources for this last trip.  I will have to trust His leading to see what He has for the future.  For now I will have to continue to serve Him at home as there are many needs there as well.  It is just a different mission field!

So our three hour drive back to Johannesburg was uneventful.  I tried to snap a few pictures as we flew by several interesting sights that we had previously passed in the dark on our way out.  Once we arrived in Johannesburg we stopped at what they call a 'curio'.  This was possibly the hugest souvenir shop I have ever seen!  I think there was an African kitchen sink that I could have purchased to bring back if I wanted to.  They partner with Shikwaru to help support their children's ministries as well. We spent about an hour and a half shopping to pickup whatever we wished for our families or friends back home.  It was actually fun to try and find just the right treasures.  I guess if I got the wrong size shirts I would just have to return them, so no pressure!

After everyone had a chance to purchase their special gifts we headed to the airport via a taxidermist shop.  Isn't that the way that you should always go to the airport?  It was fun to see some of the animals that were ready to be shipped to John and Kevin from their previous trip here over a year ago.  For each of us it gave us a chance to see first hand some of the work that would be done on our animals over the next year.  Fins and Fur Taxidermy does a great job of bringing back to life those animals that we were able to take while on our trip.  Here again is a great example of the partnerships that Shikwaru Lodge has created to help fellow christian business'.

Once at the airport we said some of the good byes to those who drove us.  Thank you Peter and Bonnie for driving us not only to the airport but to all of our service days and special outings.  Your faithful service did not go unnoticed!  After we all checked in, got through security, and found our gates, we all ended up sitting down in a restaurant for a final meal together.  Even though most of us were going to be on the same flight it was good to have one last chance to review our time in Africa together.  Plus the flight is so big with so many people that it can be difficult to see everyone even getting on and off.

As we sped down the runway I soaked in my last moments on African soil and then felt saddened as we left the ground so quickly and the lights of Johannesburg and Africa faded away.  Now began the longest night of my life.  Not because it was bad or anything but just literally!  When you are speeding along in the same direction as the sun  it makes the darkness last a long time.  It was dark for a couple hours before we left and still dark for about an hour when we arrived in Atlanta.  So that made for about 19 straight hours of darkness....weird!  It did make it much easier to get some rest on the flight.  I'm guessing I must have got about 8 hours of sleep on and off.  I had intentions of watching a couple movies to relax, but I must have been too relaxed because I never did see a whole movie on the flight.  I did manage to finish reading another book...another amazing feat for me!

Once in Atlanta we did manage to say good bye to the team members who were on our flight as we headed through the various checkpoints.  Because of travelling with Bows we needed to stop in at two additional security checks.  The longest on was the agricultural checkpoint.  This one pushed us so far behind that despite running approximately a kilometre after checking our bags we still missed our flight to Minneapolis.  It was a little frustrating as we did make it to the gate with about 5 minutes to spare but they had already boarded the flight and the doors were locked.  All that running for nothing?  Well actually we think that it did still help us.  The Delta staff checked into the next flight that was leaving and found three spots on it for us.  The best part of this was that it would still arrive in Minneapolis in time for us to catch the flight we had been originally booked on to Regina.  Really it just changed our longer layover to Atlanta rather than Minneapolis.  Making our connection in Minneapolis was easy since we were already through all the security that we needed to do.

In no time we could see the flatlands of Saskatchewan and I started to get excited about seeing my family.  Of course as Ardon walked through security at the customs check point to see Glenda, Rick and I were both redirected to secondary inspection.  It seemed almost as long as the 16 hour flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta that we had just been on when you know your family is just on the other side of the wall.  Finally a big hug from Terrace, Jaelyn and then Crystelle!  Plus a few happy tears from them of course.  It was also really nice to see my parents and my sister and her family (3 of 5 of them) there to welcome me home.

So happy to be home safe and able to share time together telling some of the stories from my time in Africa and catch up on all that happened here while I was away!  Thank you Lord for the opportunity to go serve in a different part of the world and help me to use it to serve you better here at home now.

Final Day Success...In More Than One Way!

Our journey home is well over half way done now.  The last two days of our time at Shikwaru Lodge were busy ones. Seems that time slipped away and I was not able to get anything posted on Monday night.  So while flying over the USA I will try to catch up on my typing and post it as soon as we arrive home.

Monday afternoon continued with more hunting.  Jacques and the other staff along with John were trying to help all the hunters get out and find the animals of their African dreams. Despite a few delays and confusion over lunch everyone got out to do some hunting.  For me it was nice to spend some time with Kevin in a blind and discuss how the ministry part of our trip went as well as options and ways to try and jump start growth of Centershot closer to home in Canada.  We've had a special opportunity to travel so far to share Christ's love with kids using the tools God has given us through Centershot.  This has opened my eyes to new ways in which we can hopefully share the success of our local ministry with other nearby churches. Kevin suggested starting with other churches in our association and go from there. It's hard to picture how I might do this right away but as I look forward to getting our home ministry going again I will also look at ways in the future to share Centershot beyond the doors of our church.  It might be as simple as taking some of our equipment on the road to churches or schools in Saskatchewan to do special events and introduce church leadership and kids to the possibilities through Centershot.

So despite some quiet time and good discussion in the blind with Kevin our day ended without the nearby Impala coming close enough for a shot. It was looking like my African hunt was coming to an end when back at the Lodge there was talk that we would have to leave in the morning at 9 AM. I had hoped to still get out for one last morning, but it was looking doubtful that it would be a full morning.  Then during the prestigious "pink jacket" awards ceremony that evening Jacques said that we would be able to hunt until 11 AM on departure day. That was a relief to me as I looked forward to getting out one more time.  It wasn't so important to shoot something but it is in my nature to try to give it my maximum effort.

So before I go further I need to back up and fill you in on what the Pink Jacket is all about. Each time Shikwaru Lodge has a group of hunters the pink jacket is awarded to one hunter for scoring the most points in a group interview with Jacques being the judge.  This is like golf in that a low score is good. This is unlike golf, in that it is not a green jacket and the award is given to whoever has the highest score. It is basically a fun way for every hunter to review all his hunts and share interesting and funny stories that happened along the way. You just have to remember that after you are done others can fill in details, ask questions, and give their perspective of your hunts (you often have another hunter who was with you plus your PH). The best part of this is that Jacques has exclusive control of the scoring and will twist your story and give you points if he really wants you to win the award. So this time we are honored to be bringing this award to Canada for the first time. Because of a severe case of Ebola Buck Fever that Ardon had when he took his first shot at an Impala he won the award. Being the good sport that he is he wore his coat with pride until we left (it's the rules). It was a fun evening together to tell hunting stories and enjoy each other's company. It is amazing how far our friendships have come since the 13th when we all met.

I feel blessed to know each of the team a little better now and call them friends. I know that any one of us would do our best to help one another if the situation arose.

Morning came early for me and I was excited that Eugene, the head PH (guide) for the Lodge, was going to take me out early to get in a blind for our final sit. All week long he has been quizzing me about what I wanted to shoot and trying to get me to add a couple more species to the list. It certainly improves your odds!  High on his list was Waterbuck because they had a few nice ones that he had seen lately. So as we waited in the blind I continues to hope for a Kudu or and Impala but Waterbuck was on my mind. The spot we sat had a decent one that had come in a few times during the week so if it happened again I would have a decision on my hands with time fading fast.

As the morning progressed we had several different species come by. We began to laugh about it because every time Eugene would drift off to sleep I would spot more animals coming in. Someone please remind me what the PH's job is again. We saw Red Hartebeest, Wart Hogs, Blesbok, and then some Impalas were working their way closer. It was a great morning that every hunter dreams about where you seem to have constant action.




As we watched the Impala they continued to move in closer but absent from the group was a ram for me to shoot. Then just as the Impala were walking in a Waterbuck appeared from the other side and began to feed right in front of us.

The conversation between Eugene and I over the next five minutes was something that I've never experienced hunting before. Of course it was the quietest whispers as now we had six or seven Impala and the Waterbuck feeding at 20-25 yards away.  I was faced with a big decision.  Do I keep hoping for a Kudu or Impala ram to come in my last two hours or go ahead and shoot the Waterbuck?  Eugene informed me that it was a respectable trophy for size, but not huge. When I asked what he would do in my situation with time running out and the possibility of going home empty handed. He assured me he would shoot the Waterbuck if he was me. After a moment to think I said, "ok let's do it...for the children!"

So now we had to prepare for the shot and make it happen with all those eyes out there to bust us on any movement we make.  It was a terrific feeling to see that arrow fly true and know that I had just harvested my first African Trophy.  I'm so happy I could share that experience with Eugene and then the rest of the team when we arrived back at the Lodge. It was even better when I heard the news that Jan, our only other team member that had not shot anything during our time, was also successful on her hunt for a Nyala.  What a finish to an amazing trip!  Thank you Lord for that 'icing on the cake'.

I truly hope that what doesn't get lost in my retelling of the hunting stories is the ministry that took place with the children in the schools we served. They are the reason that we went all that way and I think I can say with confidence that minus the hunting all the same team members would have been there willing to serve.

Kevin said several times he felt that this trip was an experiment to see if we could effectively use a team to travel to South Africa to serve with RaG.  His thoughts nearing the end of the trip were that it was a huge success and will help set the stage for further trips to partner with Reaching a Generation and using archery to reach children for Christ together.  Jacques also felt the time was a positive experience and will have eternal value.  He emphasized to us the importance of developing long term partnerships with their ministry and this is another step along that path.  No doubt we will find additional ways that we can help and serve while we are there.  Hopefully each team that goes will see a more plentiful harvest!

As we all gathered together in front of Shikwaru Lodge to say our 'good byes' to the staff it was great to pray together and thank God for the work we could accomplish together for the Kingdom with His help and for the friendships that have been established that will last a lifetime.  We give all the glory to Him for what He has done!

Tomorrow I will sum up our trip home and some final thoughts. Over the next few days I will try to add some pictures as well.

Reflections From a Hunting Blind in Africa

 Our time here is starting to wind down. It is hard to believe how fast it has gone. I thank The Lord for the opportunity He has provided for me to come on this trip.  It had been special to serve with both Ardon and Rick. I'm thankful it worked for them to come too!  As a group we want to say "thanks" again. Your financial support as well as the prayers while we have been here are appreciated.  Some day in heaven we will meet a child who was saved because of this trip. We can only see the short term impact and that already seems to be worth it.  But only God knows how many people may be reached through the Centershot archery clubs in the schools that we introduced this special ministry to.

Today as I write this I am sitting with Zulu in a blind hoping for Impala or Kudu to come by. He has worked here since 2008. Please keep him in your prayers as he will be moving on from here to work somewhere else but he doesn't know quite yet where that will be. He is leaving on good terms and is thankful for all he has learned while working here but I'm sure it is difficult to be patient while looking for a job and knowing you have a family to support. To me he appears at peace and I certainly don't see any visible hints of worry.  I can't help but think of Psalm 37 as a prayer for Zulu and even more so for myself.  God's timing doesn't always fit ours but we need to trust Him and be patient (don't fret).  Verse 4 says He will give us the desires of our hearts if we delight in Him.  Perhaps in North America we don't understand how to delight in the Lord the same way they do here. We take things into our own hands too often to fulfill our own desires and short change ourselves of the blessing of letting God work.

While I'm in this hunting blind it is hard to be patient. My instinct is to go out and look for the animals but that isn't always the best. We have learned how spooky these African Plains game can be. Although I hope that something will come by I know that either way this trip had been a great  success.  Some hunting success would be the icing on the cake!  I know my heart is hard, but but God is working to soften it and change my desires to be more eternal.  So Kudu or not I will have no regrets about coming to serve here in South Africa!  I have learned that God does still take pleasure in blessing us and sometimes with the things that we want... so I will keep you posted on my hunt.  Just let me be clear that even if I don't get this Kudu, or someone I'm praying for doesn't get healed, or my vehicle breaks down and it isn't covered under warranty, or Zulu doesn't get a job, God is still God, and He is good! We need to learn to trust Him and patiently wait for the lessons He is teaching us.  My lesson may be a different one than yours but He promises to provide for us all. Matthew 6:25-34

Final note of the day:  I still did not see anything to shoot today. I will have most of the morning tomorrow as my final chance to hunt and then we leave the lodge to start our journey home. 

Sunday Celebration!

Our ministry time is done and it is hard to believe how quickly it went. The remainder of the trip is personal time that we can use just to relax, hunt, golf or possibly any other number of activities.  All of these choices are at our own expense.  As far as the hunting goes it is nice to know that any profits from it do go to support Shikwaru Lodge and the many programs for children across South Africa and soon Zambia.  As we hunt the PH's (professional hunters or guides) keep encouraging us to shoot more animals. The quote of the week by John Rickenbach, while he gives us a hard time about not shooting more animals has been,  "It's for the children!" 

I know that I am enjoying the hunting and hope to bring back something special for my wall but I also know that if they could have arranged for a couple more schools for us to be at that would have been even more fun!  The excitement that we all had driving home from the schools that carried over into our supper conversations was awesome. 

Our group is full of instructors who are passionate about serving God and using Centershot as the tool. They are also very passionate about hunting and that is what makes these days together so much fun in God's creation. It is like hunting with long lost friends. The words of encouragement and the joking around are nonstop. It has been a great time of refreshing and gathering ideas on preparation for our own ministires at home.  There are sure to be some lifelong bonds that have developed on this trip. 

We had a sweet moment last night as Casey from Texas, a very experienced archer, took an impala. Along with Casey's success was Joe from California, who had never shot anything with a bow, who shot a Kudu as his first bow kill.  To gather at camp after their successful hunts and congratulate them both was a special time.  It was fun to see the joy of both a new bowhunter right along side that of a experienced bowhunter and realize again that it never gets old!

This morning (Sunday) a large group of us headed to Mokopane to go to church. I have been looking forward to worshiping in Africa since soon after I committed to going on this trip.  We attended "The Church of the First Born". It was in a neighborhood that reminded me of some of the poorer neighborhoods of Mexico. There were many square small brick structures without paved roads and all kinds of people walking around rather than driving. I'm only guessing but I would think the church would have seated about 1500 on the plastic patio chairs that were set up.  We arrived at 10 AM and the worship had already begun and you could easily hear it from outside the church. There were probably only 200 people there but as the worship time progressed people continued to arrive. By the time the sermon started I would estimate there was a thousand people in attendance. One of the highlights of the service to me was the prayer time. The pastor would request prayer for a specific need and then everyone would pray out loud together at the same time.  Here prayer seemed 'urgent' for lack of a better term. If you looked around you saw people pacing back and forth pleading with God, some with hands raised, some praising Him, and everyone continued to pray throughout the whole time urgently on each need shared. It was truly a concert of prayer and a beautiful picture of how great God is to have the ability to hear all our prayers at once. 

Another highlight to me would be how enthusiastically the sermon was delivered and full of solid content to challenge me in my walk with the Lord. It was about Hannah and how Penninah was an irritant to her through her life, but it didn't keep her from seeking to over come this conflict and to pray to ask God to answer her prayer for a son. The preacher also emphasized that we should be living a life that causes those around us to question why we are so different. These are just a couple of the points that I picked up on as some of it was difficult to understand. He preached in English but it was translated to their African tongue, sentence by sentence, by a lady sitting in the front row. 

The final and most obvious difference in the service would be the style of worship. The best description for it would be found in 2 Samuel 6:14 where here it says David danced before The Lord with all his might. It certainly is different than my choice in style of worship but I can't help but think that their love for God is certainly more apparent than mine.  I assume they they looked at me and wondered if I even know God.  I am so glad that I could be a part of their Sunday and feel blessed that I could participate along with them in their worship service.  Heaven will be amazing to see how all of our worship comes together!

This afternoon we once again had the opportunity to hunt and although my day was very slow it was great to return to the lodge to discover that Ardon had made a great shot on an Impala. Earlier in the week he had missed a shot on one, so it was cool that he got another chance and made good on it. Seeing the video of him after the shot you might think he had a case of Ebola. I'm so happy he could have that exciting adventure today!

Walking with Lions

On Thursday night after we finished our school ministries and supper we gathered as a group of Centershot Leaders to discuss each of our local ministries. This was a special time together sharing how Centershot looks in each of our settings. We have instructors here from California, Minnesota, Texas, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Saskatchewan.

There are so many similarities in what we are doing and teaching but what was more interesting were the unique qualities that each ministry has.  I love that Kevin doesn't want to fit each ministry into a box, but really wants local leaders to take ownership of their ministry and suit it to their needs.

On our team there were very small Centershot groups all the way to quite large ones. Some of the ministries were just for kids and other larger groups tended to include the whole family.  There were also various patterns for how people used the curriculum and did their Bible studies. It was good to hear that at several of these locations kids as well as adults are giving their lives to the Lord for the first time.

Probably the most interesting story that came from this meeting was from Alex and Kevin Roupe. These guys are on fire about Centershot and want to see it continue to grow in the Pennsylvania area. There is no doubt that it is because of the commitment of these guys to their ministry that they are seeing it grow so much.

Alex tells a story of how his grandma was there one night and listening while the boys were presenting the gospel to the kids. At the point where they asked if anyone would want to ask Jesus into their heart to put up their hand, when their grandma put up her hand. Alex told her that she didn't have to raise her hand if she needed to excuse herself to the washroom, just get up and go. But it turns out their grandma said, "I don't have to go to the washroom. I need to ask Jesus into my life. I just thought you had to know who He was. I didn't know you actually had to ask Him into your heart."  All along the boys had always thought she was saved but they found out that night that she had never made a personal commitment. I'm sure they never thought when they started that the Centershot Ministry would save someone so close to them.  I think it was Alex who said he kinda got mad at her and said, "you could have died...your old...why didn't you do that way sooner?"

Overall that session together I think will help each of us tweak our own ministry and perhaps try something different that will reach more people for Christ at home.

Friday was our first day after completing our ministry in the schools. There were three activities planned for us.  You could choose to hunt all day or either half of the day. The other options were to go to "Walking with Lions" in the morning and in the afternoon there was a wildlife driving tour at Entabeni Game Reserve. Now I know you probably all think that we would naturally chose the hunting, but you are only partially right. Rick chose to hunt in the morning and Ardon and I went to "Walking with Lions". In the afternoon we all went on the game drive. Yes, I know, quite shocking that I didn't go hunting on every possible opportunity!

If any of you do ever get to South Africa I do highly recommend the Walking with Lions.  I never checked out any details about it before we went. I was just expecting it to be kinda like other zoo experiences. I was quite surprised to find out that we would actually do as it says and literally take three lions on a walk through a game preserve.  It was incredible and the handlers do everything possible to make sure you get all the great pictures you can imagine. If only I had brought the battery for my camera which was charging in the room. Arrrggg!!  As it turns out it wasn't so bad as I did have my phone along and since we were so close I got all kids of great pictures.

The game drive was also a great experience and a way to see several of the classic African animals that we all picture. We were missing a few from our list but we did see monkeys in the parking lot, wildebeest, warthogs, jackal, waterbuck, elephants, giraffes, impala, hippopotamus, and zebra.

It was a really fun day to experience together with several of our new friends and we will look forward to hunting on Saturday.

For Friday night after a fun hunting awards ceremony for the three guys that came before the missions trip started, Jacques shared how Reaching a Generation and Shakwaru Lodge came into existence.  What a testimony of faith and stepping out for God. It would be easy to assume that this whole place and ministry was started by someone whom in the worlds view we would call wealthy. How else could you possibly afford to purchase land and develop a facility such as this?  That is what human logic would tell you but Jacques shared of how his vision for reaching this lost generation of kids in South Africa grew from a business plan that he developed to present to Jackson's Reach, a mission that he was working for at the time.  That plan was rejected but Jacques and his wife Lizzy still felt it was God's call on their life to give this a try. This resulted in him resigning with the mission and slowly seeing over time how God has provided through very right times and even still to this day.  There are so many lessons that could be learned from their ministry here for how to create a mission that can financially sustain itself after being established.  It is not the typical way that we see a mission working but I would say that in a day and age where possibly 70% of charitable donations are expected to drop off according to some studies that Reaching a Generation will be in a place where they are continuing to expand their ministry rather than trying to figure out where to cut back.  In fact they are already working on a similar but larger ministry to Zambia that will hopefully be starting in the next year.  In the end it is wonderful to see a couple that continue to give all the glory to God for what is happening here and I'm pleased that I could play some small role in it!

Seize the Day

Seize the day is what we tried to do at Carpe Diem School! This was actually a medium sized Christian School in Mokopane that our half of the team went to.  Once again the day started out with our usual setup and preparing for their Assembly. Today's setup included having to find a spot where we could put up our net to stop arrows. This was the first place that we have needed to use a net as finding open space at the schools has not been a problem until now.

Each of the schools has been an unique experience as they all have had different features. This school had very interesting desks that were more like library cubicals around the outside of the space. The reason I say "space" is because it was kind of an open concept space with several classes in the same area and each class having a common activity table in the middle. Sorry I cannot get pictures to load to the blog at this point.  It would be so much easier to show you.

An overview of the day would include Ryan trying not to mention Kentucky in his introduction but Kevin quickly steping in to point it out to the kids so that they could enjoy the usual laugh.  From there we started with the oldest kids and worked our way down to the youngest.  There was basically two groups for every grade from seven grade on down to 00. 00 is preschool ages kids which made for a very interesting challenge.  Often kids below the age of seven have trouble pulling the bow so you can imagine the issues for 4-6 year olds.  We had to quickly adapt our plan and find a new safe way to help these kids shoot but to still give them a try for the first time.  That is kind of a theme here in Africa. You make a plan but need to be ready and willing to problem solve and change your plan in a moments notice because of some unforeseen change.  That also happened today with the Bible Study time.  I took the one group of the day that was the proper age for my lesson but then John Rickenbach noticed several girls in the next group that would relate well to the "Flat Pete" lesson that I had done and asked if I could repeat it for their age group.  So you just go with it and make the necessary changes on the fly.  That has been one of the best parts of working with this group.  Everyone had been very adaptable and work well together to change things up without any complaints.

There is one little girl that I have to mention as she was so different from all the rest I've met. We have come across several shy kids, especially if you don't say anything to them.  But most of them will come right out of their shell if you speak to them or show any interest in them.  This little girl was different. From the moment that she got to the front of the line to shoot she seemed overwelmed  with fear to come and shoot with me. She slowly walked forward but began to cry right away. She was sobbing by the time she actually got to me so I just gave her a hug and tried to calm her down. She oddly seemed more scared of the bows than she was of me. So after the hug she improved a bit and agreed to watch me shoot once. Of course at this age the language barrier was a bigger obstacle as well. Shooting once with her close seemed to help and now I was able to help her hold the bow and shoot two arrows at the target. Even though she was still crying she really did improve and I can only wonder why she has such fear. So please pray for her...I don't even know her name, but God does. Pray yet her confidence in life will grow and that she will become a brave young girl.  This is one of the treasons that I love working with Centershot so much. It truly helps build confidence in so many kids. We get to seethe difference from the first night when they use a now to when they are shooting confidently just weeks later. I only wish I could stick around to teach this girl more about archery and God and watch her confidence grow.  I'm so happy to know that this last school we were at was a Christian school that I believe will help her to get to that point.  Who knows perhaps it will be the Centershot archery that is the tool that will work to help her along.

So after all our school days are done we have visited a total of 9 schools and reached over 1300 students with the love of Christ, an opportunity to shoot a bow and arrow, and a chance to play with some crazy people from North America!  Thank you Lord for the opportunity!

Yesterday evening included some afternoon hunting, as a blessing from Jacques and his team, as well as a time of sharing about your own Centershot ministry after supper. I was able to enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen as well as watch about 30 wildebeest in front of our blind, plus a couple of warthogs.  God truly has blessed us with a beautiful world to live in and now I have seen another part of it firsthand!

I will share a little more tomorrow about our various Centershot Ministires as well as the events of Friday.

Last Full Day of Ministry....Hard to Believe!

Well I need to start today with a few more details about one of yesterday's highlights. First just a little background information. Ryan Coffey has been doing his Assembly object lesson with the balloons since our first day. While he introduces himself he mentions that he is from Kentucky. On day one he said, "home of horse racing, basketball, and fried chicken".  Well this made the kids roar with laughter as you can imagine most have heard of KFC!  The interesting thing is that most of the laughter comes from the kids interpreting this statement basically as Ryan saying he is from chicken. Each day he has introduced himself by saying he is from Kentucky, and without even mentioning the chicken any more the kids still laugh from the interpretation. One other funny fact is that one of our daily snacks that we have been bringing is fried chicken flavored bags of chips. Well yesterday when praying with his arms around the kids the wetness that Ryan felt on his hand while he was praying was actually one of the girls licking/tasting him. She not only did it once but decided to check a second time if he was "finger licking good".  Perhaps she did get a hint of fried chicken taste because of the chips.  Wow did we all have a great laugh about that situation. 

So today started with me having the opportunity to lead our team in devotions at breakfast. We looked at two main points. Firstly, that no matter how simple our message 'God is able' to use it to accomplish His purposes.  We looked at the simple eight word message that Jonah preached on his short term mission trip and saw that although He spoke, the people believed God. (Jonah 3:4,5) So He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine! See Ephesians 3:20. 
Secondly, I need to have the same attitude as Jesus Christ. That attitude is one of being a servant to all and humbling ourselves to put our own agendas aside. (Philippians 2:5-8) We need to serve in such away that the blessing we have, and the blessings we are to people gives glory to God and brings people to Christ. 

After devotions we once again loaded up and headed into Mokopane to three different schools. The smaller team took two smaller schools and worked with all the kids in the school to have a time of Bible Study as well as enjoying shooting bows and arrows with them.  It will be an adjustment for all of us coming back to work with our kids. The level of emotion is so high here in the kids!  They can hardly wait to try archery and seem so content to shoot just a few arrows. I think sometimes that our North American kids are far more difficult to impress due to all the technology and information overload they are bombarded with.  Here the kids are certainly from various social status', but even at the various levels the kids seem to have a better ability to be content and happy on their situation.  

I think I will end this entry for now as I can barely keep my eyes opened. It is midnight and we will be up no later than 5:30 AM again to be ready for our day. I will fill you in on some details from our school tomorrow.  Good night and God bless!