http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org Living Passionate Faith in God's Character - en-us Sun, 6 Jul 2008 14:53:07 GMT 30 http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=a-man-of-passion-and-of-power http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=a-man-of-passion-and-of-power   This is a blog for my husband about my husband. We celebrated his 35th birthday on May 23rd and I want to honor him by dedicating this (yet again long over due) blog to him. I want to tell you about the things he likes (and doesnt like) and his dreams and wishes so that you can get a better picture of this godly man. A man whose life has been in danger a few times, but whom God protected miraculously every time. He is a man of passion and of power. One of his favorite Scriptures is Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=our-swazi-discipleship-team http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=our-swazi-discipleship-team   Yesterday I spend a few hours with our Swazi discipleship team at one of the care points. It was amazing to see the interaction between the team and the children; and the relationships that were formed. I could see that they were excited to see the team again. And I could see that a relationship of trust was formed. The attitudes and behaviors of the children have changed so much.   The children came with pride to show the team their new school uniforms, their new back packs Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=it-happens http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=it-happens   We just wanted to let you know that somebody broke into our 2 cars at our house last night. The thief got away with about R3500. I, Jumbo, forgot my wallet in the car last night for the first time! Luckily the thief took out the money and left all my bank cards and driver's license in my wallet and left the wallet for me on my porch. So praise the Lord for that.   We also think that they tried to poison Max and they kicked him in the side, but luckily afte Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=when-was-the-last-time http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=when-was-the-last-time When was the last time you blessed a complete stranger?   About a week ago Jumbo and I had dinner at a restaurant in South Africa. Our waiter was an older African man. I could sense that he had a gentle spirit, but he also appeared uncertain of himself. He or God or something touched my heart. I asked Jumbo if we could bless him by leaving him an extra large tip. We put the money in the bill folder and started walking out. Jumbo just told him to keep the change'. As we walked out the door Tue, 8 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=update-on-baby http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=update-on-baby Update on my friend's baby who is in the hospital: Early this morning she phoned and all that she said was, "My baby is dead, please come and take me home." Please pray for this mother and her family as they grieve the lost of a baby boy.  Please pray that God will show them that He is still God and that they will be comforted by Him. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=have-you-been-surrounded-by http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=have-you-been-surrounded-by Have you ever been surrounded by hopelessness, sadness, despair and death?   My friend's baby is in the hospital, AGAIN. He has been in and out of the hospital for quite a while now without any doctors being able to tell us what is really wrong with him or how to treat whatever is wrong with him. They just keep telling us that "he is too weak". His mother, my friend, is HIV positive and we think that the baby might be too; we are still waiting for his test results to come back.   I Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=the-baby http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=the-baby There was a few requests for a photo of the baby that the World Race team and Pastor Gift found. I got the photo from Aaron Bruner's blog. He is a World Racer down here in Swaziland. The Mother is realy not doing well and is in a desperate state, the baby is also not doing to well. Please pray with us for the baby and the mother. - this is the baby that I wrote about in the previous blog. Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=swazi-trials http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=swazi-trials I, Jumbo, am a pretty slow processor when it comes to feelings and emotions. Gary always wants to know, "Why do you never look excited?" I always say, "Bro, I just don't show it".   Yesterday the Black family and I went down to Nsoko for some meetings. As always I try to get meetings done as soon as possible. We went out to the sight where G42 is planning to build their first Children's Village to determine where the community center must be build. I am very excited on the one side about Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=the-prowling-lion http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=the-prowling-lion "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are  undergoing the same kind of sufferings."                                       Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=tomorrow-is-the-day http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=tomorrow-is-the-day Tomorrow is the day!! I think me and Kriek are feeling like parties after this past few weeks. We had eight Birthday parties and we will end the year with the big Christmas Party tomorrow.   700 to 900 kids can show up. We can not say before tomorrow, but we are preparing for a 2 day celebration. The Discipleship team and Kriek were making little Candy bags yesterday and today we need to get fire wood, 2 Cows - that still needs to be slaughtered, pots, food, transportation and decoration Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=birthday-parties-in-color http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=birthday-parties-in-color We have done 7 of the 8 birthday parties. We have 1 left as well as the big Christmas party. Here are some pictures.                                                                &n Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=birthdays http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=birthdays Just a quick update of what we are doing: We are in the middle of birthday parties for 8 of our care points. We have done 4 and we have 4 left. It has been a lot of fun!   At each care point we are celebrating the birthdays of all the children throughout the whole year. We have a jumping castle, balloons, face paint, a gift for each child, lots of candy (sweets), a cake with candles (which the children blow out) and cup cakes. It is awesome to see the amazement and excitement on the chil Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=silent-tears http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=silent-tears   These past two weeks we had some visitors from the States here and as I was taking them around, I could spend some time again with the children I love.   At one of the care points there is this little girl. Her name is Nomvuyo and she doesn't show much emotion or talk. And she does not really allow me near her. She was kind of filthy looking the other day and I lovingly wiped her face and arms. When I was done and I looked at her face, silent tears were running down her cheeks. I Tue, 6 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=we-are-back http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=we-are-back We arrived safely back in Swaziland just more than two weeks ago after a good and blessed time in the States! Above is a silly picture (sorry Scott) of us during our going away / saying good bye cook out at a park with friends.   It was good to see some of you and spent time with you. Thank you for all your hospitality, for opening up your houses to us and thank you for being a blessing to us. And we are sorry that we didn't get to see some of you! We realized that 3 wee Mon, 5 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=a-specila-day http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=a-specila-day   Today, three years ago, my father gave me away to the godly husband God had planned for me. Yes, today, 3 years ago, Jumbo and I got married right on the beach. And today we were surrounded by the beautiful Rocky Mountains here in Colorado. What a privilege to be here! (I have always wanted to see the Rocky Mountain!)   It is amazing to see where God has taken us these past three years; how He has guided us, how He blessed us, provided for us and how He has been faithful. &nbs Wed, 3 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=camp-report http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=camp-report Hallo friends!   Yet again this blog update is way past its deadline. Camp was almost 3 weekends ago and it was great! The children had so much fun and the discipleship team did an awesome job. There were so much laughing, singing, dancing, eating and playing involved!   Camp was at a real house, so different than the previous camps. A tent was also put up in the garden as a place to meet. The children enjoyed every moment of it. They were ama Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=my-reed-dance http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=my-reed-dance Here I am with my Swazi friends: Cynthia, Ncobile, Londiwe and Phendulile on our way to Umhlanga. I was the only white person at the Reed Dance dressed in the traditional Swazi attire and I was really proud of it. Never once did I feel uncomfortable; I really liked it and I will definitely wear my attire more often. There were other white people too who came to look, but none of them were dressed in the traditional way. Some of the women were even really dis Thu, 6 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=something-exciting http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=something-exciting Something exciting is happening this weekend! We are having our first organized camp for the children! (Our previous camps were organized too, but it was still a lot of chaos with as many kids as possible spending the night at one of the care points and having fun.) This weekend it is different. It will be like a real camp with a program and theme and there will be a smaller amount of children. We are rewarding the children that have been faithfully attending the lessons of the disciplesh Thu, 30 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=umhlanga-reed-dance http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=umhlanga-reed-dance Okay, I think if you want to understand people, you have to understand their culture. And if you want to understand the culture, I guess you have to learn about it and embrace it.   This weekend it is time for the Swazi Reed Dance (or the Umhlanga). Let me tell you more about it. This ceremony takes place yearly in late August or early September. (The dates are announced over radio and on television.) The ceremony attracts young maidens from all over Swazila Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=the-little-people-who-stole-my-heart-part-1 http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=the-little-people-who-stole-my-heart-part-1   Yes, my heart belongs to Jesus and to my husband, but it was also stolen by 4 of the cutest little Swazi's. Let me introduce them to you! They all go to the same care point, Thulwane, one of my favorite care points.     The first little guy who stole my heart was Sakhile Mamba, or just Mr. Mamba! The first time I went to the care point, he ran up to me with his arms in the air, wanting me to pick him up. As I picked him up, his grandmother ca Sat, 4 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=a-ladies-retreat http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=a-ladies-retreat I cannot believe another week has gone by so fast. Last weekend Julie Anderson, one of our AIM staff members here in Swaziland, held a camp for the precious ladies volunteering at the care points. I have been wanting to tell you about it the whole week, but suddenly it is Friday again. So here goes   The ladies attending the weekend are the ladies cooking and teaching at the care points. But this is not all the do; they are also making bags / purses which ar Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=seeing-fruit http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=seeing-fruit What in the world do I write after the month we just had? What do I tell? Where do I start? There were so many highs and lows; tears and laughter; frustration and fun; seeing God's goodness and begging Him for His presence I don't know, maybe I will just share a few of our favorites with you.   Our family had a few additions! We now have 2 dogs! One is an orphan dog, Junior, that was sitting at our gate one day. We took him in and fed him, but after a while he lef Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=oranges-juicy-and-sticky http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=oranges-juicy-and-sticky With the smell of oranges in my car and dust in my nose, I was driving to deliver oranges at some of the care points last week. What a privilege!   At my favorite care point we handed the oranges out and my favorite boy came up to me, asking me to peel his orange. Okay, so I hate peeling oranges, because I hate getting all sticky because of the juice (and these guys were juicy!), but I couldn't say no to this little boy. I peeled his orange and watch him eating (and enjoy Mon, 21 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=the-joys-of-serving-in-swaziland http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=the-joys-of-serving-in-swaziland   I don't want to say too much; I want to let the pictures do the talking. But we do want to share some of the joys of serving God here in Swaziland.   "You do what you have promised" said by a gogo when we take food to her care point   Shy little ones coming to you wanting you to pick them up because they are finally getting used to you and starting to trust you   Thu, 10 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=something-for-those-with-servant-hearts http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=something-for-those-with-servant-hearts I received this little revelation on Easter Sunday, so this blog update is way late. Sorry. But here it is! We were reading from Luke 24:1-12 and the pastor was talking about Easter's empty promises. An empty cross, an empty tomb and empty burial linen. But I wasn't paying much attention to him, because something else caught my attention. It was the women who got up early in the morning to go to Jesus' grave to anoint His body. They were the servants, ju Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=why-am-i-here http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=why-am-i-here It is Easter weekend and everything is kind of closed down here in Swaziland. So we are forced to take a break a much needed break. A break to enjoy our new home, to relax and to get my thoughts together again. It has been a busy 3 months since the start of this year and suddenly I feel tired. I feel like I have been too busy working and running around and there has been no time to sit down with my husband or with God. And I long to spend time with both. I feel like shouting ou Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=what-to-do http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=what-to-do It is heartbreaking to live here in Swaziland!!! One of our friends that are HIV positive was just here in my office and he was literally crying like a baby. He is starting to loose control of some of his bodily functions and he nearly can not walk anymore. He is one of the "lucky ones" because he is on ARV's, but there is no ARV's available in any of the hospitals. He went from one hospital to another the whole day in search of the medication that is suppose to increase his live exp Wed, 21 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=march-madness http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=march-madness Wow! What a month! We have been so busy and we have so much to tell you.    We just finished a vision trip in Swaziland with a group from Childrens Hope Chest. We visited most of the care points where we are working at. We showed the group what we do and were and how they can help and get involved. Tuesday morning we went to my favorite care point, Thulwane. There were hardly any children and no cooking going on. When we asked the one girl that cooks t Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=the-end-of-long-month http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=the-end-of-long-month Ola me Amigos!                  I have come to the end of my stay in the States and to the end of a long month without my loving husband. In a few hours I will be reunited with him!   As I look back on the month I know that God has been faithful and that it has been a blessed month. I got to spend time with dear friends in the States; I was privileged to lead an awesome team o Wed, 14 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=my-roller-coaster-ride http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=my-roller-coaster-ride Hallo dear friends!   Youve all been on roller coasters before, right? You get on, you fasten your seat belt, and then you wait you know its coming, but you dont exactly know when. And then the next moment your head lashes back as you start to go at the speed of light; and of course your tummy feels like it has been left behind. Remember? Well, I feel like I am on a roller coaster ride! One moment I am in South Africa; the next moment I am on a plane on my Fri, 19 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT