Howdy folks! We just returned from Margate, SOuth Africa Saturday. Margate is a little town near Durban, right in the beach. It is soo cute! This place reminded us so much of being in the States, it was almost unreal! There were malls (some better than any I've ever been to in the U.S.....sorry) , restaurants ( can't touch the restaurants in U.S....oh YEA), and hm....there were a lot of ice cream parlours. lol. The beach was beautiful and our hotel was very nice. It even had air conditioning and cable TV...now THAT'S new!!
We went deep sea fishing, swimming with dolphins, hiking, shopping, and to a snake farm which had southern U.S. alligators. I just assumed they were from Louisiana, so I spent a lot of my time by their cage to talk Southern to 'em, maybe make 'em feel a little more at home. Oh yeah! We also ate a lot of ice cream, not as good as Baskin Robins, but it was good.
We are out of school for a month! Yayyy. But I already have a daily schedule for the whole break. I can't live without schedules, I just can't. That's normal right........guys??.....guys?!? No, its fine, I know I'm weird already. haha. Most of the Childrens Cup team is in Mozambique right now with the Elevate team. I really wish I could go and hang out with them, but I can't. I have soccer and an orthadontist appointment in South Africa wednesay and then a church camp this weekend. So sad.
I am reading "more than a carpenter" by Josh Mcdowel. It is really helping me with situations at school and now I can see for myself why the Bible is true and how it all came about and the evidence for Jesus being the One, and the resurection and other things. I like it a lot. I really am into apologetics and learning about the history of Christianity and the Bible. It is very interesting. Anyways...That is all that's going on at the moment. I'll write more soon.
gabby
Monday, April 23, 2007
Monday, April 09, 2007
Government Hospital Visit
Today my family celebrated Easter together. A day late, but we were in Tabenkhulu(sp?) yesterday, so we decided to do it today. We colored Easter eggs and then ate them and then made cookies. Very interesting I know. Don't worry I'm not just blogging to say that, what I wanted to talk about is my experience at the Mbabane government hospital this evening. We went to Spar and got some lolly-pops and chocolates to bring to the kids in the hospital. I had never been there before, so I didn't know what to expect. Oh..... my..... goodness.
The first two rooms were occupied by at least 15 kids each and their mothers or whoever was sent to take care of them. Yeah....they have to make sure a family member or friend goes with them to the hospital, because if they don't the child probably won't get fed, bathed, or even taken care of, much less a check-up. There were kids from the age of just a few months, to 10....I'm guessing. With injuries such as : burns from hot pourage, broken legs, injuries caused by car accidents, pneumonia, HIV related illnesses, and some with the flu but dying from it. As soon as we started to hand out the sweets, the mothers all rushed up to ask for one for themselves, lol. We spoke to all of the children, wished them Happy Easter and took some pictures. My mom prayed with a lady and her son, who has pneumonia, the lady was very scared. There is a mentally retarded boy that has lived there all of his life, who was going around helping all of the children and talking to us, he is so sweet.
The third room is where the abandoned children stay. We spent the longest time in this one. I fell in love with a little boy, John, he is soo adorable. I had to hold the lolly pop for him to lick it because he is only a few months old and doesn't even have any teeth yet. He smiled at me the whole time. The abandoned children are soo desperate for love and they just want to be held. When we left, they cried. I almost cried. They are mostly all healthy, just don't have anyone to care for them. I wish I could take all of them! One of our friends, Robin Pratt, runs an orphanige here called Sandra Lee. She usually takes the children in the abandoned ward, but has no more space and has to wait for another home to be built. For now she has to refrain from going to the hospital, because she knows she will want to take them all home with her. I can't wait till these kids get to go with her. They just have to sit in their cribs all day long and most all of them were wet, dirty, and stinky from not being taken care of. Just sad. I hope to go back there soon and visit these kids. They are starving for love and attention and it is so good to know that God has a plan for each one of their little lives.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Sorry.
Hey, I'm really sorry my last blog turned out to be so long. I just realized how long it was when I didn't even feel like reading all of it. Please read it though. lol. I just got carried away!
My friend, Tabby, sent me this picture. They put together a soccer reunion party for me in Louisiana. It was really nice to hang out with these girls, they're some of the best friends I've ever had.
-> Val, Me, and Tabby.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Outside of my ...Bubble.
Were in Easter break now, we got out Thursday and wow, that day was the roughest day I've had yet. Spiritually, emotionally, just plain rough. I called my mom , in tears, before the day was over asking her to come get me because I was so confused and ashamed that I was broken inside, so easily. I felt like a failure. I had 3 conversations come up from 3 different religious backgrounds, all going against Christianity.
First, it was my history teacher who is …well I really don’t know. She is American, but HATES America, and she never really teaches us History, we usually end up talking about homosexuality, global warming, or how she hates Christianity. She goes to an Anglican church, but only because she 'likes the ritual thing and the smell of the incense . She says she believes in God but "not the whole Jesus thing". She basically was going on about how the Bible isn't accurate because the Catholic church picked and chose what should be in it many years ago, so of course nothing contradicts itself, everything that did they took out. She said," If there is a loving God, why would he make it so there is only one way to heaven , through Jesus. What about all the "good" people in the world. I sure don't want to believe in a God that condemns people to hell just because they were brought up in a different religion. What's the point?"
SECOND: After what happened in history class,Lizette and myself went to tutor period, enxious to be able to tell our tutor what happened and thinking that she also believed the same as us, she would be able to encourage us. Lizette and I were especially hurt/shocked by what happened here, because we thought she believed the same as us. Turned out, we were very wrong.
After we told her what our history teaches was saying, she asked us," Why are you getting so upset? You know what you believe , so don't worry about it"
SO then we said , " But it's hard not to worry about it because we don't want people to not go to heaven, isn't it our jobs , as Christians to witness?"
Then she said, "How can we judge where someone is going? That is Gods decision and I think He will decide justly."
I agree with that completely, and we weren't judging, we just assumed that since our history teacher does not believe in Jesus as her Lord and Saviour and doesn't the Bible say that "Jesus is the way, the truth , and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Him.", that right now, if that is what she truly believes, well.....you know.
So then our tutor ( she is Catholic) told us that she believes that there is no hell, hell in the bible represents earth and what we have to go through, so we all will end up in heaven one day no matter what religion you come from because when we see God face to face we will be able to ask for forgiveness and go into heaven. SO basically she said that, they in their Catholic faith, believe that God is loving and therefore would not condemn anyone to hell just because they didn't follow Jesus or accept Him as the only way. I was so sad, because I thought that she was a Christian. I know not all Catholics believe that because Lizette is Catholic and she is one of the most radical Christians I know who definitely knows Jesus is the only way. My heart felt like it dropped after hearing this, I called my mom and could not stop crying. Lizette remained strong, as usual, to encourage me and remind me of how much Jesus loves me. I love her.
AND THEN...to top off my wonderful day,one of my Hindu friends was telling us how she is alive to seek forgiveness for the sins of her past life and there is no real heaven or hell. Hell is here on earth. She was wearing this red necklace and said her grandma did a ritual and prayed over the necklace so that she won't receive anymore "evil stares from people at school". And she has a god for everything. etc. My friend Ziyanda was trying to ask questions that would make her think and open a door to be able to witness to her. She kept asking me to help, but I just felt like crying. I felt so horrible that I could say nothing and here Ziyanda was trying so hard and becoming more and more discouraged, I just felt like giving up right then and there.
Sometimes I wish I could go back to my little bubble in Hosanna, where I never was challenged for my beliefs and I never had to worry about whether my friends were saved or not because they had the chance every Wednesday in chapel. I know God has a plan for me here at Waterford, but what if I’m not helping? I feel like I’m not doing anything to help God’s kingdom , but at the same time, I’m slipping farther an farther into doubt. Its sad how people change what the Bible says to fit there own agenda. Like ….”why should God only accept you into heaven if you have a relationship with Jesus, lets make it so that if you’re a “good person” you get in.” Isn’t that like idolatry, creating your own God. ??
And it seems that they are happy with what they believe, so how can I help. I can show love, but so can they. Nothing I say will change their minds. My mom told me “ You are not superwoman, you can’t change the world by yourself.” I know that. I know that I need to just trust God and pray, but I just don’t want my friends to go to Hell. I want everyone to be in heaven with us. Someone asked me, “why do you even care so much?? If you know where you’re going , why worry about where everyone else is going?” For some reason, I just cannot think like that. It sure would be easier, but it doesn’t seem right. What do you do in a place where Christians are a joke and considered intolerant? I guess that's the world though. All we can do is pray that God would use us to change one person at at a time to bring glory to His name. I'm not even worthy enough to be in this position, but Jesus loves me and wants to use me. I just pray that I don't let Him down. I don't want to doubt like Thomas, I want to be so sure of my faith that NOTHING in the world could make me doubt.
I love rainbows, like Mrs. Susan, I absolutely love them. The past three days there have been such beautiful rainbows over Mbabane. I almost cried when I saw one on Thursday (but didn't have anymore tears left), God is so amazing. His love overwhelms me. I don't know why I ever doubt, when I feel His love so strongly in my life. He is continuously reminding me that He will never leave me, His promise remains true, I will never walk alone. Even at Waterford, even in this world. HE WILL NEVER LET YOU WALK ALONE! NEVER.
Don't you wish you knew all the answers to questions that non believers ask you? I know I do. But I don't and even though I can study and learn apologetics, I will NEVER have all the answers. This battle is one walked by faith. God, help me not to be like Thomas, but to have faith in every circumstance. John 20:26 - "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Give me the words to say, and quiet my spirit when I feel like exploding (e.g crying ). Direct my every conversation and my whole being. I am fully yours.
Ephesians 6: 10-20. My prayer.
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
First, it was my history teacher who is …well I really don’t know. She is American, but HATES America, and she never really teaches us History, we usually end up talking about homosexuality, global warming, or how she hates Christianity. She goes to an Anglican church, but only because she 'likes the ritual thing and the smell of the incense . She says she believes in God but "not the whole Jesus thing". She basically was going on about how the Bible isn't accurate because the Catholic church picked and chose what should be in it many years ago, so of course nothing contradicts itself, everything that did they took out. She said," If there is a loving God, why would he make it so there is only one way to heaven , through Jesus. What about all the "good" people in the world. I sure don't want to believe in a God that condemns people to hell just because they were brought up in a different religion. What's the point?"
SECOND: After what happened in history class,Lizette and myself went to tutor period, enxious to be able to tell our tutor what happened and thinking that she also believed the same as us, she would be able to encourage us. Lizette and I were especially hurt/shocked by what happened here, because we thought she believed the same as us. Turned out, we were very wrong.
After we told her what our history teaches was saying, she asked us," Why are you getting so upset? You know what you believe , so don't worry about it"
SO then we said , " But it's hard not to worry about it because we don't want people to not go to heaven, isn't it our jobs , as Christians to witness?"
Then she said, "How can we judge where someone is going? That is Gods decision and I think He will decide justly."
I agree with that completely, and we weren't judging, we just assumed that since our history teacher does not believe in Jesus as her Lord and Saviour and doesn't the Bible say that "Jesus is the way, the truth , and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Him.", that right now, if that is what she truly believes, well.....you know.
So then our tutor ( she is Catholic) told us that she believes that there is no hell, hell in the bible represents earth and what we have to go through, so we all will end up in heaven one day no matter what religion you come from because when we see God face to face we will be able to ask for forgiveness and go into heaven. SO basically she said that, they in their Catholic faith, believe that God is loving and therefore would not condemn anyone to hell just because they didn't follow Jesus or accept Him as the only way. I was so sad, because I thought that she was a Christian. I know not all Catholics believe that because Lizette is Catholic and she is one of the most radical Christians I know who definitely knows Jesus is the only way. My heart felt like it dropped after hearing this, I called my mom and could not stop crying. Lizette remained strong, as usual, to encourage me and remind me of how much Jesus loves me. I love her.
AND THEN...to top off my wonderful day,one of my Hindu friends was telling us how she is alive to seek forgiveness for the sins of her past life and there is no real heaven or hell. Hell is here on earth. She was wearing this red necklace and said her grandma did a ritual and prayed over the necklace so that she won't receive anymore "evil stares from people at school". And she has a god for everything. etc. My friend Ziyanda was trying to ask questions that would make her think and open a door to be able to witness to her. She kept asking me to help, but I just felt like crying. I felt so horrible that I could say nothing and here Ziyanda was trying so hard and becoming more and more discouraged, I just felt like giving up right then and there.
Sometimes I wish I could go back to my little bubble in Hosanna, where I never was challenged for my beliefs and I never had to worry about whether my friends were saved or not because they had the chance every Wednesday in chapel. I know God has a plan for me here at Waterford, but what if I’m not helping? I feel like I’m not doing anything to help God’s kingdom , but at the same time, I’m slipping farther an farther into doubt. Its sad how people change what the Bible says to fit there own agenda. Like ….”why should God only accept you into heaven if you have a relationship with Jesus, lets make it so that if you’re a “good person” you get in.” Isn’t that like idolatry, creating your own God. ??
And it seems that they are happy with what they believe, so how can I help. I can show love, but so can they. Nothing I say will change their minds. My mom told me “ You are not superwoman, you can’t change the world by yourself.” I know that. I know that I need to just trust God and pray, but I just don’t want my friends to go to Hell. I want everyone to be in heaven with us. Someone asked me, “why do you even care so much?? If you know where you’re going , why worry about where everyone else is going?” For some reason, I just cannot think like that. It sure would be easier, but it doesn’t seem right. What do you do in a place where Christians are a joke and considered intolerant? I guess that's the world though. All we can do is pray that God would use us to change one person at at a time to bring glory to His name. I'm not even worthy enough to be in this position, but Jesus loves me and wants to use me. I just pray that I don't let Him down. I don't want to doubt like Thomas, I want to be so sure of my faith that NOTHING in the world could make me doubt.
I love rainbows, like Mrs. Susan, I absolutely love them. The past three days there have been such beautiful rainbows over Mbabane. I almost cried when I saw one on Thursday (but didn't have anymore tears left), God is so amazing. His love overwhelms me. I don't know why I ever doubt, when I feel His love so strongly in my life. He is continuously reminding me that He will never leave me, His promise remains true, I will never walk alone. Even at Waterford, even in this world. HE WILL NEVER LET YOU WALK ALONE! NEVER.
Don't you wish you knew all the answers to questions that non believers ask you? I know I do. But I don't and even though I can study and learn apologetics, I will NEVER have all the answers. This battle is one walked by faith. God, help me not to be like Thomas, but to have faith in every circumstance. John 20:26 - "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Give me the words to say, and quiet my spirit when I feel like exploding (e.g crying ). Direct my every conversation and my whole being. I am fully yours.
Ephesians 6: 10-20. My prayer.
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
No more shortcuts for me.
So...It is wednesday again and honestly...not much has happened since last wednesday. School closes tomorrow for Easter Break , so that is exciting.
There are no words to describe the way I'm feeling right now, except for empty. Empty. That's perfect. I NEED to spend time with God, I NEED to get into the Word. I WANT to feel Him in my life like I used to....before school stated. And I know, that is NO excuse. I get so involved with my school work and stressing over tests, that I forget and procrastinate doing my Bible study. I dont know why I care so much about school......I guess it is not really a bad thing, but I need to set my priorities straight : GOD, School, and then soccer. If I want to be all that God wants me to be and if I want His plan for my life to happen, I need to do this. Starting now. Jesus please forgive me for not putting You first. I want more of You and less of me.
Yestersay i 'bout had a heart-attack!! I was walking along this short-cut, path thingy to get to the office from where the bus drops me in town, and I was listening to my music, so I wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around me. There was this guy , who looked high on drugs and drunk at the same time, um.....going to the bathroom in the bushes. Next thing I knew, he was jumping at me and HE WASNT EVEN DONE GOING TO THE BATHROOM!! OH MY GOSH! I have neverrrr run so fast in my life!! Thank God I jumped to the other side of the path just in time, phew. My heart was racing. It is kindof funny...in a weird way now that I think about it, I mean I almost got peed on by a drunk guy. WHEN DOES THAT HAPPEN?? Not often. DISCUSTING. eww. So...moral of this story is...DONT TAKE SCARRY SHORTCUTS, USE MAIN ROAD WHERE THERE ARE NORMAL PEOPLE (hopefully). wow. lol.
Anyways...That's all for now. I would upload some pictures but it isn't working for some reason. Later.
There are no words to describe the way I'm feeling right now, except for empty. Empty. That's perfect. I NEED to spend time with God, I NEED to get into the Word. I WANT to feel Him in my life like I used to....before school stated. And I know, that is NO excuse. I get so involved with my school work and stressing over tests, that I forget and procrastinate doing my Bible study. I dont know why I care so much about school......I guess it is not really a bad thing, but I need to set my priorities straight : GOD, School, and then soccer. If I want to be all that God wants me to be and if I want His plan for my life to happen, I need to do this. Starting now. Jesus please forgive me for not putting You first. I want more of You and less of me.
Yestersay i 'bout had a heart-attack!! I was walking along this short-cut, path thingy to get to the office from where the bus drops me in town, and I was listening to my music, so I wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around me. There was this guy , who looked high on drugs and drunk at the same time, um.....going to the bathroom in the bushes. Next thing I knew, he was jumping at me and HE WASNT EVEN DONE GOING TO THE BATHROOM!! OH MY GOSH! I have neverrrr run so fast in my life!! Thank God I jumped to the other side of the path just in time, phew. My heart was racing. It is kindof funny...in a weird way now that I think about it, I mean I almost got peed on by a drunk guy. WHEN DOES THAT HAPPEN?? Not often. DISCUSTING. eww. So...moral of this story is...DONT TAKE SCARRY SHORTCUTS, USE MAIN ROAD WHERE THERE ARE NORMAL PEOPLE (hopefully). wow. lol.
Anyways...That's all for now. I would upload some pictures but it isn't working for some reason. Later.
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