my highway to zion

Last week I got the chance to go on my first safari!! It was so cool, and sooooo cold!  We were wrapped up in blankets and hats and gloves and hot water bottles.   Thanks BBC for treating us to a special day we may not have treated ourselves to otherwise :) xx

On Friday we graduated another batch of clients from Living grace! I was sad to see these people go. Each one has touched our lives in a special way. One in particular has overcome the most unlikely odds.  Diagnosed with a host of mental impairments, we as staff met often to discuss if we were finding middle ground between empowering him and maintaining our standards. I praise God He came through for this guy and I trust he will continue to do so. Living Grace runs an amazing and essential program in Cape Town.  So proud to be part of it!

The last few weeks of life in South Africa have been very hard.  The grief has come in like a tsunami that bit me out of nowhere and left a mess behind. It started rather obviously, actually.  Early one Monday morning while driving to work I saw an amazing sunrise over the Helderberg mountains.  I had one of this deeply profound moment of knowing God loves me and others with the most perfect love.  It was such an overwhelming feeling that I phoned Simon when I got to work to tell him about it. As I hung up the phone, a message came into my Living Grace whatsapp group, marking the first of many tragedies: --one of our dear clients had hung himself the day before, leaving his newlywed wife and their 2 month ok'd baby behind. --another client, due to become a proud father over the weekend prior had watched as his beloved gave birth to baby, blue and brain dead from malpractice at the government maternity ward they were delivering in.  The baby, Caleb, died that nex...

Today, Penny passed the exam for her Learners Permit! Penny continues to defy the odds she comes out of. The first one in her family to reach the 11th grade. The first to get a learner drivers permit. The first to stay on a path that will open up door of life and possibility and joy. I am proud of this girl. This young woman (18 in March). Today she is my hero!

😉I love when God smashes into a moment and shows His amazingness! I have such a cool story to share with you all, and it happened last Friday night. Simon, Penny and I were driving about an hour outside of Cape Town, to a little French mountain town called Franschhoek. This is where Simon's aunt and uncle (Jo and Gary) live, and where I would live too if I could find a justifiable reason to do so…it's such a lovely place! We arrived at their house in time for dinner, but as soon as we walked in, Jo grabbed Simon's attention and convinced him to come into her music studio and listen to some new worship music she has discovered. Penny and I settled in for the long haul, cause we both know that Jo and Simon love being together and worshipping God. She typically plays the keyboard, and Simon will sing along with her while playing guitar.  They are both such gifted musicians, but both are busy with other endeavors and only get a chance to lead worship on occasion.  Jo herse...

Penny and Simon took their Saturday morning going to sign up Penny to write her learners license exam on 7 June! I'm so proud of her/them. What a team they are!! Watch out Cape Town, penny's behind the wheel soon ;-)

Today I taught our phase 2 clients about the "BUDD concept" of recovery..."building up to drink or drug". Part of this concept explains that we must have at least one person in our lives whom we trust emphatically, someone who we know will never come at us out of spite or jealousy or ill will. This person is then given permission to warn us when we are "BUDD-Ing", aka heading toward a relapse. BUDD has symptoms that must be present over the course of weeks, as we believe relapse is not an event but a process. We want our clients to understand that they cannot stand still and expect to remain clean and sober. Any rest they take must be IN CHRIST, who is the source of life and growth. Christ enables us to humbly hear when we are behaving in dangerous ways we can't recognize on our own. Oh, how humility truly is the key to so many of life's lessons! And yet so painful at times. All of this teaching left me grateful. You see, the majority of our...