My heart is so full and quite emotional looking back at what God has done over the past 9 months. Pete received his graduation certificate yesterday: A certificate that holds the entirety of this years experience: the tears, the laughter, the risks, the prayer, the battles and the victories. The best year of our lives.
BSSM 1st year done!
The BSSM first year curriculum has been very intense. Kind of like eating steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Along with attending school four days a week for six hours each day, the homework has involved reading and writing book reports on twenty books, reading three quarters of the Bible and doing other assignments. Pete has also attended a Church Leadership track (course) and a Union with God track this year. The first year groups also get involved in city service where they maintain and clean up various parks and public areas in Redding. Added to this was a Mission trip in March where Pete got to go with an amazing team to a town called Mammoth in California for five days where they ministered into two churches. That was certainly a highlight for Pete as he got to put into practice everything he had heard and learned.
I admire and respect this man hugely because through all of this he has been an incredible dad and husband. He has not dropped the ball once. I could spend the next page writing about how amazing he is … but I won’t. :)
Pete applied for a second year at BSSM and has been accepted. So we are in the process of extending our student Visa’s while we stay in America. All seems to be going smoothly and so we will brave a red hot 115 degree (40 degrees) summer in Redding California (we rough and tough Africans can do it no problem ha! grrr! oh and we have aircon).
Family news:
During the spring break I had the opportunity to attend the Bethel School of Creativity which is a five day intensive school run by Theresa Dedmon. It absolutely changed my life seeing and hearing so many people express their love for God and reaching the lost through so many creative avenues: music, dance, drama, art and writing. In the beginning God created…and He hasn’t stopped creating. I get to create with Him. What an honour.
I have also been increasing my Sozo training and have the opportunity to sit in on Bethel Sozo sessions once a month. Again…what an honour to see people walk into freedom with Jesus.
Our girls are blossoming everyday and they absolutely adore each other. Katie will be turning two in July (someone pinch me!) and Amy is “just over four and a half” as she puts it. Amy has almost completed Pre-K1 and we have decided to homeschool her during our second year stay. Amy is “super duper” excited to “do school with mommy” and so am I. It is such a precious thing to watch my baby girls grow into beautiful and strong young ladies. Amy is a leader of note and has wisdom beyond her years. She sees every detail in life and her ability to love is incredible. She has seen angels and things in the spirit realm that I long to see. I think this year I will be a student of my child :)
Katie is a wild and free little girl and her gentle and expressive heart is too cute. She has a love for shoes and dancing. She melts us all the time!
One of the highlights of the year was having my parents stay with us for a week. I was so excited to show them the little home Pete and I had created from yard sales, dumpster finds and blessings. We had an absolute blast together exploring the Redwood forests, doing late night Walmart shops, an entire day of garage sales and many laughs and deep chats. The week went far too quickly and the goodbye was heart aching.
We have made some deep and precious friends here in Redding and these friends have become our family. Some are leaving Redding and some are coming back for second year. Its hard to say goodbye to people who have forever changed your world, but you know just how small the world is and these connections are not by chance.
We miss South Africa dearly and we are in touch with all the happenings, both politically and personally. It feels strange to not be voting with all of you (we would’ve had to drive 10 hours to LA to make our mark). But we see the spotted thumbs are all over Facebook :)
Our friends and family are constantly in our thoughts and prayers. We love you guys!
Our friends and family are constantly in our thoughts and prayers. We love you guys!
We are so grateful to everyone for the support, prayers and Facebook messages. They mean more to us than you know. Keep 'em comin Ya’ll! (don’t worry my SA accent is still thick and I still greet everyone with a “howzit!”)
So that is us, stuffed into a nutshell. We sometimes still have to pinch ourselves as this life we are living feels surreal. We have never felt more alive, He is worthy of it all!
"Through it all, through it all my eyes are on Him."
