J-life camp house…..

is complete and it is our ‘home’ for the time being.

We moved in on Friday, July 24th – minutes after returning from the coast with the 6-week interns.  Sorry for the delay!!  We feel blessed to have our own space, and have already enjoyed the times God has allowed people to be here with us. We all loved the silos but felt like 6 people living above a family of 3 wasn’t very fair (and we are a loud bunch).

We have already had two pizza party lunches for J-life.  It is so great to gather together as an organization and enjoy each others company, one more way to break down those cultural barriers.  We will continue to do this each month, in hopes that each time everyone will become more and more comfortable.  Our living room is also our dining room, which is perfect for big groups.  We found a table that can fit 12, (pictured below) so we are always prepared for guests, or whoever pops over.  We are thankful for our ‘home’ and pray that God uses every nook and cranny for His glory!!

our bedroom

Tate and Tanner’s room

Within the past month one of the year-long trainee teams were struggling  with where they were trying to minister, and after prayer and a clear understanding of what they were doing, we decided to move them in with us.  Dana is living in our extra bedroom.  She is from the US but has been with J-life since January 2015.   Karabo is sharing rooms with Austin and Hudson.  He is originally from Lesotho but has also been with J-life since January 2015.  Having all ages of kids/young adults has been rewarding and challenging all at the same time.

Rob and I are confident God has asked us to live life with people to grow, understand, and become more like Christ.  There has been awkwardness, and times when we are tired, but we look at these young adults as our own children.  When our boys are walking the path God has for them, and someone comes into their lives and builds into them, we will be more than grateful.

So, while we have them here with us – we love them, we ask the hard questions, and we watch God transform them.  We have seen tears, we have participated in a lot of laughter but most importantly we have felt God’s love over all of us….and each day we all wake up trying to grasp how incredibly big and overwhelming God’s grace and mercy is for us.

I don’t think you can see all of the shoes lined up in the picture above – but with the 2 young adults, Siyabonga and Thobile (on the weekends) we usually have 10 pair of shoes by our front door at any given time.  It warms our hearts to see all of those shoes.  Each pair represents a child of God, and we feel blessed that while we are here, we are able to minister to each of them, all in very different ways.

Heavenly Father – Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your story, we feel so blessed.