Tim's Visa Update

After months of prayer we are proud to report that Tim has been issued 10 year American Visa! This was such a burden on our shoulders for months, and the Lord has lifted that burden and blessed us more than we could have imagined!

Moedvil

In a school just outside of Rustenburg live 300-400 children from the ages of 6-18. During the week the children are in school, but on weekends they are unsupervised. Although the teachers live on the grounds the children are left with one adult supervisor each weekend. The school does provide them with hostel like lodging and 3 meals a day. Some of them are from very rural areas and most are abandoned. Because of the lack of supervision, and guidance many of these children lack basic life skills. Most don't know how to use a toilet or clean themselves.

When we first heard about this, it grieved our hearts here at Jackson's Ridge and we knew we needed to help. We have been attending this school about 2-3 times a month on Sunday's to put on a children's church service for these children. We sing songs, do magic tricks, perform with puppets and have a great time sharing the love of Jesus to these children. It is amazing to drive on property on a Sunday morning and have hundreds of children start running for the church doors. They love to sing and jump and praise Jesus!

We have such a wide range of age groups with these children, but even the basics of children's ministry excite the teenagers in the room! They are just as in awe of the puppets and memory verses as the 6 year olds in the audience are. Try singing "Hey! Jesus Loves Me!" with a group of youth in the US and they will stare blindly at you and think you are making a joke! But here they sing, and shout and jump!

It is truly amazing to see the Lord work in their lives already! Leaving them every week is hard, but we know we are making a lasting impression on their hearts!

Update on Caleb

We have had little Caleb for almost a month now, and he is getting so much better. The jaundice has disappeared and the bruising on his face is almost gone. He only has some bruising around the eyes. Praise the Lord!

As for his mother, she signed over her rights and has about 60 days to change her mind, after the 60 days, if she does not change her mind, Caleb will be adopted to a family here is South Africa!

Please continue to pray for Caleb's situation.

Holiday in Durban

Here are a few pics of my holiday in Durban where I was able to spend some time with Tim, see the Indian Ocean, Valley of a Thousand Hills, watch some Zulu dancing, and eat lunch in a crocodile pen.

Our Newest Bush Baby

Meet Caleb, he is the newest addition to the Jackson's Ridge Shelter, and our second white baby to enter our doors. Caleb was born 8 weeks early to a mother who was only 15. Being as young as she was she wasn't very cooperative during the birth, which caused severe bruising to his face. Not only was he bruised, but he was also very jaundiced. The Dr. has suggested that we keep him under UV lighting until the yellowness goes away.

The mother does not want to keep Caleb, but the grandmother has shown some interest, however, according to the Dr., she was clearly intoxicated during the child's birth and isn't fit to take care of the child. We hope that this statement will have some standing in court and that Caleb will be able to be adopted.

Please keep Caleb in your prayers, as things progress I will keep you updated.

Cape Town - Puppet Regional

Part of the ministry here at Jackson's Ridge is to train children's workers to minister through puppetry. One of the ways we do this is through our Puppet Regionals where a church hosts the training and we travel to that area to train anyone who wants to become even more effective in ministry through the art of puppetry.

On June 26 we packed up all of our supplies and headed off for a 17 hour trip to Cape Town. The training started on the evening of the 27th and ended the evening of the 28th. We had over 115 delegates, which makes this our largest Puppet Regional yet! The people were so hungry and excited to learn. It was such a blessing to see people so passionate about ministering to children. Not only were they excited learn, but they were also eager to purchase supplies so they could get puppet ministries started in their own churches. I took down 4 trunks full of supplies and only came home with less than half a trunk! How amazing!

As I said, the conference ended on Saturday evening, then on Sunday morning we were back at the church to minister to their children in Children's Church. Tom and I lead the children in a couple of praise songs, then Charmaine ministered to the children. I was reminded of how much I love leading children into the presence of the Lord. What a great honor that is.

On Monday we needed to head home, but before we did we decide to drive down to the beach to see Table Mountain. Our first stop was Table View, and what a view it was. Tom and I were the only ones brave enough to put our feet into the ice cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Right as we put our feet in a wave came up and hit us both right behind or knees. Tom screamed like a little girl! After being in the water we needed a cup of hot coffee before heading down to the waterfront, for some shopping and walking around. After we finished at the waterfront we headed for home.

The drive is quite long that we stopped off at a B&B to stay the night then finished the rest of our trip on Tuesday. Or so we thought. On Tuesday afternoon we noticed that the car was acting a bit weird, so we stopped off in Bloemfontein (the only large city between Cape Town and home) to have the car looked at. We were then told that car could not make the trip home due to needing a new gear box. It was already 5pm and all other shops were closed, so we rented a room at a B&B that night and stayed in Bloemfontein. It wasn't until Wednesday morning that we found out that it would take 2 weeks to get the car fixed! So, we rented a car in order to make it back home. To this day the car is still in Bloemfontein waiting for us to come and retrieve it.

We finally arrived back home late Wednesday July 2. The trip home was very tiring, but all in all the Lord had his hand on us the entire way.

When God Writes Your Love Story

I have always been a huge advocate for girls guarding their hearts, and have always said that it is more important to give your heart to God and to let him define who are you are instead of trying to find self worth in dating some guy. It is truly amazing to see what all God can do when first you give HIM your heart.

In April I was introduced to the most amazing man I have ever met, Timothy Meek. We started off as friends, but things progressed very fast. I was cautious of this at first because I did not want to get involved with a man unless I first new that it was part of God's plan for my life. So, after much prayer we decided to take things slow and date. He is a very kind, humble, caring, compassionate, and Godly man. I am truly blessed to have him in my life.