Friday morning at our weekly communion service, the message was on hearing the voice of God. With a topic like that, we were all ears! I so appreciated the way the teaching ended – we sat simply in the presence of our Father, listening. I had a very clear picture – a stream of water with shimmering rocks where the flow rippled, splashed, played in the midst of a grassy slightly woodsy area. Peace was the word that came to mind; no further explanation was given. You know that inward smile at those types of moments? That definitely happened.
David and I have had the privilege of serving on the team here at Ellel Ministries, Pierrepont since August of 2014. Full-time in the ministry office, David has spent countless hours praying with people, walking alongside others, administrating appointments, overseeing workshops and ministry, computing and programming (IT needs never cease to exist, do they??), mentoring, training, teaching, etc. I have been home-schooling in the mornings and working part-time in the afternoons.
Ok, I’m going to TRY and summarize a wonderful mission trip to South Africa! Ready? Here we go!
We left Pierrepont on Monday, May 26th and arrived in Johannesburg on Tuesday. There were 16 of us from here and we joined up with Ronel, who was our fearless leader for the next 15 days! She is a bundle of energy and such an encourager! We went to the Ellel South Africa base in Pretoria called Shere House for a lovely lunch and to settle in for the night. They were so hospitable and welcoming! We went to a place called Farm Inn for a little mini-safari type thing and saw a bunch of BIG cats who thankfully were behind fencing. We were allowed to drive through the herbivores though and that was fun. Wednesday morning, we were prayed over and sent out by the team. After a quick stop at the Parliament buildings in Pretoria and a viewing of a 10 meter tall statue of Nelson Mandela (school kids were there on a field trip and they were dancing around the statue singing…it was very cute! Not at all “shrine-ish” just honoring a national hero. We heard lots of stories about life under apartheid and WOW…such a different South Africa just 20 years ago!) We headed south to an area called Bergville in the Southern Drakensburg Mountains. We stayed at the YWAM (Youth with a Mission) base there for 4 nights. I was a bit giddy to be able to be on a YWAM base again!
Pictured above is the historic Main House of Ellel Pierrepont in Surrey, England where much of the NETS teaching takes place.
If you’re interested in learning a little about the NETS program we’re attending, click “Play Video” above to watch a cute promotional video. For more detailed information, visit the NETS page at the Ellel Ministries website by clicking the link below:
Click “Play Video” above to watch a slideshow I put together of our “smile” moments from the past seven months. Enjoy!
My alarm goes off at 6:40. I roll over and crack open my curtains; the sun is coming up and the pale blue sky is streaked with gold. What a perfect morning to start things off. As I get up, I hear my parent’s alarm going off and their sleep-cracked voices murmuring gently. The coffee pot is turned on, and mugs clink in the kitchen as I slip my sneakers on and slip out the door to go running. I breathe deeply in the chill English air and I know what it means when the morning sings to you.
Mourning to Dancing
Bad to Pure
Broken to Restored
Un-Worthy to Worthy
Insecure to Princess
It’s hard for me to write just about the events of life in this blog, when what really matters is what God has been teaching us as individuals and as a family. God called us to Ellel, not only to learn from the classes but to heal and grow in him. I can’t begin to describe the amazing things he has been teaching me, my parents, and my whole family since we’ve been here. It’s not easy. My mom pinpointed the simile that describes NETS, “It’s like going through open-heart surgery with God.”
Sorry this is so late, guys!
For this blog post, Rachael and I just wanted to retell some of the funny moments of life that need to be shared.
Well, Christmas break has come and gone. Stage 2 classes have already started for my parents and school for us is in full swing again. Back to the normal hustle and bustle of life. We were ready though, ready to meet new people, ready to learn new things, ready to jump back into Ellel life as a family. The break gave us the rest and reunifying we needed, as well as a whole bunch of fun. Thank you Lord.