5 months (…… and 2 days) of overwhelming love and joy
Hope all of you experienced a blessed weekend as we remembered what Christ did for us through His crucifixion and resurrection. (Praying that God will bring a new, deeper meaning to this weekend; praying that God will break through all those religious stuff we have been taught …… and hoping that this remembrance will be an everyday occurrence; not just this past weekend.)
5 months (and 2 days) ago God gave us the most precious gift; our sweet Clara. Thought we would share a couple of ministry and personal highlights with you from the last 5 months. Let’s start with Clara!
She is just so stinking cute and we are amazed by the overwhelming love we have for her! We could never imagine that it would be possible to love somebody as much as we love her! We can truly NOT imagine our lives without her! She is growing way too fast and my (Kriek’s) heart is hurting that so many of you will only get to meet her when she is 6 months old …… My heart is also hurting that we don’t get to see so many of you on a more regular basis and that you are not part of our daily lives. But we are also thankful for the people God has surrounded us with and is serving with us. We know that Clara is one loved little girl! (And I am sure she knows it too!) She has the most adoring cheeks and smile; sometimes she even has this little mischievous smile! She LOVES eating her cereal; and don’t you dare clean her little face before she is done eating! We think she is teething; lots of drooling and chewing going on! Oh, she discovered her feet last week and these days she will often just stare at them in awe as she moves them. She also enjoys her little jumper thing; not sure if we have the height wrong, but in stead of jumping up and down, she keeps kicking with her one leg and then she spins in circles. (But spinning in circles does not bother her at all!) She loves music and she doesn’t mind when her mommy sings off key to her! But she also discovered that she has a voice, and she is not scared to use it ….. sometimes a little bit too high pitched for mommy and daddy’s taste! She doesn’t mind being handed from one person to the next and hanging out with team members, while being dragged from carepoint to carepoint; or from the one social event or staff event to the next.
In the beginning of March we took a little break and we went to visit dear ministry friends in Jeffreys Bay, SA. We attended part of their training and one evening we got to sit under some prophetic prayers. It was powerful. The guy also prayed over Clara. He prayed that she was going to be a discipler of many; many tribe, tongue and nation! Wow! ‘Give us wisdom, Lord, to raise this child in your Word, in your service. ‘
Also during our time in Jeffreys God spoke to Jumbo and I about ‘repairing our life line’. To us this means: 1) We have to slow down, 2) rest at His feet, 3) create community, 4) stop taking responsibility for things that are out of our hands; this is God’s ministry. We have been saying that we need to spend more time with God, but now it is really time to start acting upon it! So one of the things we are doing: a prayer and fellowship night at our house each Tuesday. So a couple of us get together, have dinner, sing a few songs, pray, share, or listen to a message … whatever we feel the Lord leads us to do. We have really been enjoying this.
Ministry is doing well, we are doing well, and we keep seeing God’s faithfulness here in Swaziland. We have already had 2 teams (a slow start to the year), but we are preparing for a busy summer with lots of teams. But we now have more staff and some extra help and we are looking forward to see what God is going to do.
I absolutely love the update and the pictures! I definitely wish I could be there with y’all on a daily basis sooner rather than later. You are always in my prayers and I miss serving along side you!
Yes, Jumbo. Repair your life line! Glad to hear about Tuesday evenings. Those things are good for the soul. We pray for and think of you guys daily. So good to see and know you guys are well. Blessings to the family.
Oh my what a beautiful beautiful family!! It’s great to see you all. Clara does look very happy and loved. What a gift you have. Missing you guys!
Omg!!!! What a blessing you are in my life!!!
Great update – great pics. Thanks for sharing!
Great update…..since I have just returned from our mission trip and had the privilege of meeting Clara…I have to agree: she is so stinking cute! I am so thankful for the help that the Lord has provided for you. Mark and Allison and Steve and Amy and families are such a blessing both to you and those who get to meet them. Continue feeding your souls…Tuesdays are great and we loved our experience with you. Can’t wait until next time. Much love Brenda
It is so wonderful to see how happy you two are! There is nothing more joyous than a child, your own child! I am sure she lights up your life everyday. I’m so happy for you guys!!!
Oh, what beautiful pictures. We are so excited that in just a few short weeks we will be on our way to see ya’ll and Clara and all of the precious children. We thank God daily for the work ya’ll are doing in Swaziland and that God will continue to bless you. I can’t wait to be able to hold Clara and love on her. Sending our love!!!
Hi Jumbo & Kriek,
I am one of the “Swazi 6” that came to Swazi on the vision trip from Harrisburg, PA. Clara is absolutely adorable! It was good to read about the word from the Lord spoken over her. I am also glad to hear you are taking some time to “repair your lifeline”. That’s critical. As you may know, we are bringing another team over in July. I will not be joining them this time, but hope to be back again one day. God bless!
Hallo
Sjoe, maar sy is oulik en ek kan hoor hoe lief julle haar het en hoe sy julle lewe kom verryk het. Baie sterkte met julle ministrie, julle is ‘n ware inspirasie.
Groete! Sumari
SO excited to have met your precious little Clara! I agree with Brenda as well…she is SO stinkin’ cute! The joy she brings to your life is very evident! I pray God will continue to fill you up with His spirit, His love, His power, which then can be passed on to the people you encounter. Many blessings to you & Kriek, as you raise Clara to be a disciple of our Lord, Jesus Christ! Thank you for my time spent with you 3! Miss you! 😉
BEAUTIFUL!
Oh, how good the Lord is!!! You are all beautiful!!! I heard once while praying for a mission team leaving shortly thereafter, ” Lord please don’t let me get in your way.” I’ll always remember this. Glad you are taking some time for yourselves, after all, Who brought you together? And just as a note: When you want to have another baby, let us know here at Westwood and we’ll pray for it!!!
Everyday you are in my prayers..
Kriek,
This is precious, and so wonderful! Clara is getting cuter and cuter, and those pictures are awesome-had to be a professional. So happy to hear about the Tuesday night fellowship too – I know this is a long-awaited answer to prayer. We love you guys and look forward to seeing you when we visit you in Swaziland-Emi’s homeland. :] Yes and amen to all you shared from your time in J-bay, and may the Lord continue to unfold His plans in your lives.
love you lots,
jodi d.
I am so glad to hear that you are taking more time for yourselves. May God continue to overflow your lives with LOVE and JOY!