Don't Wait Until You Die to Have That 'Estate Sale'

from Katherine
With all of our preparations to move in full swing, I have had so many good friends ask me how I am holding up physically but also emotionally. Elliott and I have been married for 26 years and collected lots of stuff in those years - some of it I have wondered why we have it! I also have most of my Mom's and Dad's things, most of which we have loved, but again I wonder why we still have it.

Since we are only taking six suitcases with us to South Africa, we have been in the process of going through all of our possessions and selling most of them and selecting some to store. The last few months of having Garage Sales and then an Estate Sale has been freeing for me. It is wonderful to not be so tied down with stuff. I know that is once again God's way of providing for me. I could get very sentimental and say I cannot part with this or that, but God has been helping me experience the joy of seeing others finding a 'treasure' to love in our Estate Sale.

God has given me the freedom to preserve in storage those limited number of things that are most special and be glad that others have found a new treasure that they will enjoy as much as I have for many years.

A Bit of a Detour

from Elliott
Going through China is a strange way to get to South Africa! Let me explain....

We are at language school now and while we are not learning the Xhosa language that we will use in South Africa, we are learning basics of language as well as techniques to learn any language with the use of a local coach.

We have spent days learning phonetics and the many sounds that we are not familiar with because they are not used in English. To teach us acquisition techniques we have been divided into small groups and assigned a native speaker representing many different countries. Mine is Mandarin Chinese and Katherine's is German.

The coaches guide us through a variety of drills, projects and role playing. Today, I learned hospitality conversation as if visiting a friend in China. We have also played games using drawings of places, forms of transportation and various pronouns and adjectives.

Seems strange to be learning Chinese but because I will never use it again, it allows me to focus on the methods that I will replicate once in South Africa. I think if my coach spoke Xhosa I would end up focusing on the language and not the methods.

I am fascinated to see how God will use what we have learned during this time once we get to South Africa!

You Can't Speak Xhosa Correctly With an "English Mouth"

from Elliott

We are at Language Acquisition School focusing on the tools to learn the Xhosa language once we arrive in South Africa in January. We are not learning the language itself but how language is formed and what techniques we can use with a native Xhosa speaker to acquire the language and build relationships at the same time.

The overall concept of the initial training is to 1.) improve our ability to hear other sounds and tones and 2.) gain control of our speech mechanism.

We have listened to all kinds of sounds, many of which are not used at all in English. Listened and repeated, listen and repeated, listen and repeated.

We have learned about the physiology of speech. Much of this is news to us! From the throat to the nasal passages, we are studying what parts are involved in producing the various consonant and vowels sounds using English and its 44 sounds as an example. Supposedly, we all have the physical ability to make any of the sounds in any of the languages in the world. I wonder, is there a sermon in that?

In order to make this real to us we were issued a mirror. OK, what for? You guessed it, we have spent the day making all possible sounds and examining in the mirror how we are doing it – lips, teeth, tongue, etc. It certainly felt a bit strange if not awkward!

I am learning that the key is humility and sense of humor. I just have to remind myself – my new friends in South Africa will be laughing with me as long as I am willing to laugh too!

JOY

from Katherine

Elliott has been asking me for weeks to write something for the blog. All I could say was, "I am empty."

Last Sunday while speaking with a friend he suggested, "Just pick a date and go. God will take care of everything else!" Everything else in our case is selling our house and raising the rest of our financial support.

Well we did it. We will board a plane for South Africa on January 12th!

I cannot begin to express the absolute JOY I feel! What an incredible feeling...God is so good! And then came more confirmation that we were heading in the right direction - encouragement from friends, additional support and promising showings on the house.

Good Morning, Cascade

from Katherine and Elliott

“Good Morning Cascade,” came the call. Again and again, the call. As the response rose louder and more enthusiastic you might have thought the call was “Good morning, Jesus” What an exhilarating way to begin the Lord’s Day!

We were invited to share God’s story for our lives in South Africa. At first we wondered, we don’t know anyone at that church so how did we get the invitation? Well, as we hear the faithful, especially missionaries say, it was a God thing. It was one of those friend of a friend of a friend conversations that started with “Do you know any missionaries who could speak at a Mission Celebration?” We are truly blessed by the people that God has placed in our path and appreciative of their obedience to God’s plan!

It was a blessing to be able to share God’s working in our lives. We were humbled by the enthusiastic response to the presentation and the conversations following. It was amazing the number of people we met that had personal stories to tell of their connections to Africa from business to friendships to poignant moments recalling their personal heritage to ‘the motherland,’ as some referred to Africa.

As we prepare to depart for South Africa soon it is very encouraging to have so many express interest in and enthusiasm for our calling.

You Can Go Home Again

from Elliott and Katherine

We were recently invited to speak at Peachtree City UMC, our former church. But it was not a ‘Missionary Talk’ like some other presentations. Instead, it was the kick off of their stewardship emphasis month. We were pleased with the invitation but we did not realize that it would provide us a chance to ponder deeply the question at hand as we prepared our remarks. We were asked to focus on the overarching importance of obedience rather than the specific act of pledging your time, talent and treasure.

As we prepared it became much clearer to us that if we fully give God our hearts all else falls into place and that doing so is truly an act of love and an act of worship. What else does God desire from us? When we give God our hearts His will and our plans become one.

The day of the presentation was exciting. After all, we had been members there for 12 years. As we looked around the Sanctuary we saw ‘family.’ Indeed, with the many people and experiences that God had placed in our path during our time at PTCUMC it would be easy to say that is where our journey began!

It is amazing the detail in, and duration of, God’s plan. Nothing is wasted; everything that happens in our lives gives our story its voice. It is a joyous experience simply to acknowledge His presence, provision and plan!

Bound For the Promised Land

from Elliott

The last month or so has been difficult. Children headed off to college in Florida and South Africa, home school starting again, and then, my elderly father was hospitalized with a significant head injury. It has made me wonder how many more challenges I can handle.

As I pondered the challenges, I was reminded of the passage in Joshua where the Israelites were tasked with the dangerous crossing of the river Jordan. With the river at flood stage I can imagine that they were filled with fear and uncertainty. What must they have thought when the voice of God told them they were to cross the mighty river Jordan?

God stopped the flow of water and they were granted safe passage. As they passed, they were commanded to pick up a stone from the river bottom. The stones would be used to create an altar as a reminder of God’s presence and provision in difficult times.

God made the way for the Israelites and he does for each of us also; He was and is faithful through all perils. But it isn’t just to get us through the ‘difficult times’ and challenges because he is all about getting us to a new place – our Promised Land.

I wonder, what does that land that He has promised my family look like? We know that He has called us to ministry in South Africa but what does He have planned for us there. What altar might we erect to remind us of His presence and provision? We still have many questions but we know one thing that the God of the Israelites will be with us each step of the way.