Hi all!
So we just thought we'd update you a little with what we've been doing these past few days. Both today and Monday we have been able to spend some time with the elderly here at Ebenezer. We've taken them on walks around the soccer field, read the Bible to them, and just helped them get to and from the dinning hall and stuff like that. It's been interesting, but good so far! :) We are also still helping out a little at the Preschool in the mornings. Right now the schools are on break for 3 weeks, so we don't have nearly as many kids at preschool as we did before. This has certainly helped to cut down on the chaos!
The rest of this week we will continue to focus on the elderly and the preschool. Next week we are planning to do some different programs with the school kids that are on break and we will also be preparing for when Amanda and Shirley come the following week. Then we'll be headed home! It's amazing how fast time flies by!
Something that you can be praying for is our continued physical health. One of the little girls here at Ebenezer has worms, so please pray for her to get better and also that we would not get infected with the worms! Thanks so much for your continued prayer support, I know we've said this a million times, but it really does mean so much to us!
Love and miss you all so much!
Abby & Shelly
The experiences and adventures of two girls serving the Lord in South Africa for seven weeks of their summer.
6/28/11
6/26/11
A few photos
Here are a few photos we thought you might enjoy.
Bill teaching at youth group on Friday night...
And here are a few of the precious children we get to love on everyday!
6/25/11
Week #4 Prayer Update
Well, we are officially halfway through our trip already! God has taught us so much and we are both excited to take what we have learned and apply it to our lives at home.
Here's this weeks praise and prayer update!
Praises...
Shelly & Abby
Here's this weeks praise and prayer update!
Praises...
- That we got through another week without getting sick or hurt.
- For all the lessons that God has been teaching us so far. There are too many to list here on the blog, but we can't wait to come home and share them with you all!
- That the Bible Studies and youth group are going well and that the people here are responding with open hearts and minds. It's so cool to see them begin to have a hunger and thirst for the Word of God.
- That the workers have begun to build a bathroom and shower onto our house! We are very excited and hope that it will be finished before we leave! :)
- Please pray for Amanda & Shirley, 2 women from our church who are coming to serve here in South Africa for a week. They will be here from July 8 until July 17. Pray for safety as they travel and adjust and that they would be blessed and be a blessing while they are here. Also pray for us as we help Bill & Susan prepare for their coming.
- Continued health & strength
- Hot showers and warmer weather. :)
- This coming week we will be focusing on spending some time ministering to the elderly here at Ebenezer. Please pray that we would be able to be a blessing to these precious men and women and that through us God would touch their hearts with His love.
Shelly & Abby
6/18/11
Pictures!!!
Here are some photos from this past week. We'll start off with Preschool. Notice in the picture below how we both are holding babies while trying to round up all the kids. This is how it is all day long. :)
The children eat lunch and then are supposed to have "rest time". After repeating "lay down NOW!" what seemed like one hundred times, and rubbing 15 little backs, all of our 3 year olds fell asleep. They slept for over an hour the first day, so that was really nice!
Two of our absolutely adorable babies!!! Aren't they precious???
Playing games outside with the teacher...
The adult's Bible Study with Bill & Susan on Friday afternoon...
And here's a little sneak peak of our house! Like we said before, it's not quite finished yet, but when it is we will post lots of before and after pictures for you!
Hope you all have a great week-end!
Love,
Abby & Shelly
Week #3 Prayer Update
It's hard to believe it's already time for another weekly prayer update! Time is flying by!
Prayers...
Abby & Shelly
Prayers...
- Bible Studies - Continue to pray for our weekly Wednesday night Bible Study and also the small group studies that we have on Fridays.
- Health & Strength
- Patience & Flexibility
- Preschool went very well this week. The teachers seem to be catching on really quick, so that's good!
- Bible Studies - We were able to start up a weekly Wednesday night Bible Study for everyone here at Ebenezer. Then on Fridays we have small group studies with all the different age groups. (adults, youth, and primary age) The youth study went very well and we really felt like we were able to get to know them all better.
- The house is almost finished!! And the builders started working on adding a bathroom to our house!!!! YAY!!! We are very excited about that! :)
Abby & Shelly
6/14/11
Preschool
Hi all!
So today was our second morning working in the preschool here at Ebenezer, and we're pretty much exhausted! :) In our class we have fifteen 3 year olds, 3 babies, and one other teacher. So yeah, it's a lot of work! We're gonna have some pretty sick arm muscles when we get home from holding babies all day. :) You should hear us, we both sound like old ladies, groaning and complaing constanly about our aching backs. :) No, but really, we're doing fine! :)
So far the teachers have been very receptive to the schedules that we have brought in. Before they really had no structure at all, so this is a huge step for them! Keep praying that they will catch on quickly and that after we leave they will continue with what we're teaching them. Also pray for us that we would have the strength and energy that we need to get through each day.
We will post some pictures of preschool at the end of the week, so check back for that! Love and miss you all!
Shelly & Abby
So today was our second morning working in the preschool here at Ebenezer, and we're pretty much exhausted! :) In our class we have fifteen 3 year olds, 3 babies, and one other teacher. So yeah, it's a lot of work! We're gonna have some pretty sick arm muscles when we get home from holding babies all day. :) You should hear us, we both sound like old ladies, groaning and complaing constanly about our aching backs. :) No, but really, we're doing fine! :)
So far the teachers have been very receptive to the schedules that we have brought in. Before they really had no structure at all, so this is a huge step for them! Keep praying that they will catch on quickly and that after we leave they will continue with what we're teaching them. Also pray for us that we would have the strength and energy that we need to get through each day.
We will post some pictures of preschool at the end of the week, so check back for that! Love and miss you all!
Shelly & Abby
6/11/11
Week #2 Prayer Update
Wow! In a way it's hard to believe that we've already been here in South Africa for 2 weeks! We are having an amazing time so far and God has already taught us so much! Here's some things you can be praying for us about this week...
Shelly & Abby
- Preschool - On Monday, Lord willing, we will start working in the Preschool here at Ebenezer,and let me just say, we've got our work cut out for us! :) Right now the kids just kind of run wild and the teachers really don't do anything. So we are going to be training the teachers how to follow a schedual, and just try to bring some order to the classes. Pray for patience as it will be challenging in many ways!
- Bible Study - This coming week we will be starting up some weekly Bible Studies for all the different age groups here at Ebenezer. Please pray that the people here would have open hearts to hear the Word and that they would each desire to know Jesus on a personal level.
- Patience & Flexibility - Pray that we would continue to have open hearts and that we would be willing to give up our own agenda for whatever God's plans are for us here.
- Health & Strength - Continue to pray that we would remain healthy and strong so that we can better serve the Lord here in South Africa.
- That the weather warmed up! It was beautiful and sunny today!
- That we are both over our colds and are feeling good. I think we are pretty well adjusted to the food and stuff now, so that is good!
Shelly & Abby
6/9/11
Some more pictures
Here's some photos from the last couple of days that we thought you might enjoy!
Playing our nightly game of uno with the youth. By the time this trip is over, we won't ever want to see an uno card again! :)
Playing our nightly game of uno with the youth. By the time this trip is over, we won't ever want to see an uno card again! :)
This is the view from our bedroom window, beautiful, huh?!
You know it's cold when.....
......1) you wake up in the morning and you can see your breath
2) when the butter is softer in the fridge then it is on the table
3) you are wearing 4, maybe five layers of clothing and you are still cold
4) you get used to the fact the you just can't feel your toes anymore
5) you walk around the house holding mugs of hot water just to keep your hands warm
So, as you can tell from above, we are cold. But it's all just part of the adventure right? :)
Tuesday night we went to bed to the sound of rain pounding on the tin roof. We woke up in the morning to the same sound. It's been raining off and on ever since. Hopefully it will clear up soon.
Oh, and one more thing. Over the past couple days of working with the children, we've had some unexpected little surprises. :) They have included: Shelly being peed on, Abby getting thrown up on, and both of us constantly being used as a tissue. :)
In the midst of all this, we're having a great time and God is definitely teaching us a lot.
Love,
Abby and Shelly
2) when the butter is softer in the fridge then it is on the table
3) you are wearing 4, maybe five layers of clothing and you are still cold
4) you get used to the fact the you just can't feel your toes anymore
5) you walk around the house holding mugs of hot water just to keep your hands warm
So, as you can tell from above, we are cold. But it's all just part of the adventure right? :)
Tuesday night we went to bed to the sound of rain pounding on the tin roof. We woke up in the morning to the same sound. It's been raining off and on ever since. Hopefully it will clear up soon.
Oh, and one more thing. Over the past couple days of working with the children, we've had some unexpected little surprises. :) They have included: Shelly being peed on, Abby getting thrown up on, and both of us constantly being used as a tissue. :)
In the midst of all this, we're having a great time and God is definitely teaching us a lot.
Love,
Abby and Shelly
Can you tell we're cold??? :)
6/7/11
Our Latest Adventure!
SHOWERS!!! :)
So today we took our first showers here on the Ebenezer property and well let's just say it was quite interesting! :) We arrived at the showers to find that there were no curtains. Upon inspecting the showers closer Abby discovered some spiders living in hers, a broken, half-working shower head, and COLD water. Meanwhile Shelly couldn't fiugre out how to close the wide open window in hers. Once we overcame these hurdles we mustered up all our courage, counted to 3, and turned on the water. Let me just say, it was COLD!!! After getting our hair all sudzed up we turned on the water to begin rinsing it and to our horror only a couple of drips came out. So we stood there, shivering, trying to figure out what to do. Meanwhile there's a man pounding on the door, rattling off something to us in Zulu. We both yelled "occupied!" and thankfully he went away. :) So yes, it was quite the experience! Although we didn't get very clean, may not have gotten all of the shampoo out of our hair, and were freezing cold the entire time, we walked back to the house with more memories made, and yet another adventure to tell! :)
So today we took our first showers here on the Ebenezer property and well let's just say it was quite interesting! :) We arrived at the showers to find that there were no curtains. Upon inspecting the showers closer Abby discovered some spiders living in hers, a broken, half-working shower head, and COLD water. Meanwhile Shelly couldn't fiugre out how to close the wide open window in hers. Once we overcame these hurdles we mustered up all our courage, counted to 3, and turned on the water. Let me just say, it was COLD!!! After getting our hair all sudzed up we turned on the water to begin rinsing it and to our horror only a couple of drips came out. So we stood there, shivering, trying to figure out what to do. Meanwhile there's a man pounding on the door, rattling off something to us in Zulu. We both yelled "occupied!" and thankfully he went away. :) So yes, it was quite the experience! Although we didn't get very clean, may not have gotten all of the shampoo out of our hair, and were freezing cold the entire time, we walked back to the house with more memories made, and yet another adventure to tell! :)
6/6/11
We moved in!
So we officially moved into our house at Ebenezer yesterday! It feels good to be getting more settled in here! This week we'll finish up the main room in our house (we'll post pictures when it's all finished!), and just continue to get to know everyone here better. Next week we'll start working in the preschool and doing weekly Bible Studies for all the different age groups. So please us in your prayers as we prepare for both of those things!
This morning we we did a little Bible lesson and some games with a small group of kids here that have not been able to get into school yet. (Either they came too late in the year to start or the schools are just too full) So that was a lot of fun! We are planning to keep working with them this week before we get involved in the preschool and stuff.
The rest of our day was spent cleaning out the preschool storage room, which is...ahem...well let's just say it's quite the job! :) We also helped some of the kids with their studies when they got home from school. Their exams are coming up this week and they are all a little nervous, so keep them in your prayers! And just now we got back from playing a super fun game of Uno with some of the youth in the dining hall. It's a lot of fun getting to know everyone better!
We're both feeling better today which is a praise! Continue to pray that we would stay healthy and strong so that we can better serve the Lord and His precious people here in South Africa!
Much love to you all!
Shelly & Abby
P.S.
We just wanted to say thank you so much for all of your sweet and encouraging comments that you leave on this blog for us! What a blessing it is to have such a wonderful, loving group of people supporting us! May God bless each one of you!
This morning we we did a little Bible lesson and some games with a small group of kids here that have not been able to get into school yet. (Either they came too late in the year to start or the schools are just too full) So that was a lot of fun! We are planning to keep working with them this week before we get involved in the preschool and stuff.
The rest of our day was spent cleaning out the preschool storage room, which is...ahem...well let's just say it's quite the job! :) We also helped some of the kids with their studies when they got home from school. Their exams are coming up this week and they are all a little nervous, so keep them in your prayers! And just now we got back from playing a super fun game of Uno with some of the youth in the dining hall. It's a lot of fun getting to know everyone better!
We're both feeling better today which is a praise! Continue to pray that we would stay healthy and strong so that we can better serve the Lord and His precious people here in South Africa!
Much love to you all!
Shelly & Abby
P.S.
We just wanted to say thank you so much for all of your sweet and encouraging comments that you leave on this blog for us! What a blessing it is to have such a wonderful, loving group of people supporting us! May God bless each one of you!
6/4/11
Week #1 Prayer Update
Hi everyone!
So we decided to try to do like a weekly prayer update post for you all, so you know some specific things you can be praying for us about, k! So here's this weeks:
Please pray for...
We are so blessed to be able to serve here in South Africa. We are so thankful for all your prayers and support.
Love,
Abby & Shelly
So we decided to try to do like a weekly prayer update post for you all, so you know some specific things you can be praying for us about, k! So here's this weeks:
Please pray for...
- Our health. We're both battling colds and our systems are just trying to adjust to the water and food and stuff.
- Flexibility and patience. We're learning that both of those things are SO important! Pray that we would just be able to be open to whatever God has for us and that we wouldn't hold onto our agenda too tightly.
- Our move to Ebenezer. We're planning to move into our house there tomorrow, so pray that everything would go smoothly with that!
- The people at Ebenezer. Bill and Susan (the missionary couple we are serving with) have been put in charge of all the children's homes at Ebenezer. So we will be kind of enforcing the rules and overseeing stuff. Just pray that the people would have open hearts and minds and that we would have patience and be understanding of cultural differences.
- Shelly and I both adjusted to the time change very well!
- The house at Ebenezer got finished!
We are so blessed to be able to serve here in South Africa. We are so thankful for all your prayers and support.
Love,
Abby & Shelly
6/2/11
More Pictures!
Here's some more pictures of us with the kids at Ebenezer!
This is Shelly's special little baby friend that she cuddles with every day at preschool! Isn't she precious???
This is typically how it is when we play with the kids. They all fight over who gets to sit on your lap, hold your hand, or play with your hair. They are full of energy to say the least!
This is Shelly's special little baby friend that she cuddles with every day at preschool! Isn't she precious???
This is typically how it is when we play with the kids. They all fight over who gets to sit on your lap, hold your hand, or play with your hair. They are full of energy to say the least!
6/1/11
Pictures!!!
Here's some pictures for you all finally!
This is the view when you drive into Ebenezer. Straight ahead is the dinning hall/kitchen/church. Over to the right is our house. To the left is the preschool.
We'll post more photos when our house is finished, so keep checking back!
Love you all!
Shelly & Abby
This is the view when you drive into Ebenezer. Straight ahead is the dinning hall/kitchen/church. Over to the right is our house. To the left is the preschool.
We'll post more photos when our house is finished, so keep checking back!
Love you all!
Shelly & Abby
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)