Friday, April 28, 2017

Kano's Story

During our outreach at the beginning of April, our team leader, Wikus did a TPM (Transformation Prayer Ministry) session with this young man, Kano. 


Kano lives in the furthest part of the refugee camp. Wikus was delighted to find a garden in the courtyard, with the most beautiful flowers and plants. He realized that this is the only garden that he has seen so far in the refugee camp. 
During the counseling session, it came out that when Kano was only 14 years old, he saw how the Mai Mai (community-based militia group in DRC) killed both of his parents, and then fled to the refugee camp. He is now 24 and has thus been in the camp for ten years already!
Every time a bus would come to the camp with new refugees, he would go to see if there was someone he knew, a family member or perhaps a friend, as he was alone when he arrived at the camp. Then one day, nine years from when he first arrived - there was his sister! 
What a joyful day that was for him - to be re-united with his sister!
From chatting to Kano Wikus could see that this is a young man with great potential, but unless he gets an opportunity, he would be stuck in this place forever...
Kano is one of many refugees. Dzaleka Refugee camp is also one of many refugee camps (and it is one of the smaller ones). But we need to start somewhere. We have chosen to start here at Dzaleka, one refugee at a time. 
You can help to make a difference in these young people's lives by sponsoring a refugee for only 700 USD to obtain an education AND freedom, or you can make a monthly contribution towards Operation Refugee which we will use to mobilize these people. 
Blessings!
Banking details:
Operation Refugee Africa NPC,
FNB, cheque acc
Acc nr: 62626450720
Branch code: 240438
Ref: Refugee Ops - Mich



How you can help too:-)

Dear friends,

Today I write with a request for you to consider making a contribution towards our cause: Operation Refugee.

Our vision for Operation Refugee is to extract refugees from the camps, enable them to do the Discipleship Training School (DTS) through YWAM which will in turn bring them emotional and spiritual healing and equip them to have a future in the ministry if they wish to do so. They can also choose to further their studies through the University of the Nations (where they can do one of seven degrees) or at the Nasor College in Ottosdal (N-level short courses) who have agreed to give a 50% discount to the refugees who apply.

They will also have the opportunity to go back to Lilongwe where they will be assisted in having their own small business, empowering them to make a life for themselves.

We go on regular outreaches to the refugee camp and through doing revival meetings, we connect with various churches and pastors. We then open the applications for refugees to join the DTS. In the short time we have spent at the Dzaleka camp, we have received over 50 applications already!

We have the resources to educate and mobilize these people who have unquestionable potential to become great, however, they need sponsors!

For 700 USD (R10,000) one refugee can leave the refugee camp and do the DTS (a five month training program). This amount will cover their food, accommodation, travel expenses and also their visas and passports as well as pay for the DTS program in full.

We have already had three young men do the DTS through sponsorship and they are all on their way to serving in the ministry in Malawi, Congo and South Africa.

As I have mentioned in my blog - these people are people with great potential and ambition - but they are stuck in what seems to be a human dustbin. With funding we can mobilize these people to have a future, and to let Africa heal itself by sending these people back into Africa once they are able to assist in healing and growth.

You can either donate a once-off amount or make a pledge to make a monthly contribution towards Operation Refugee. Every little bit helps a lot!

If you would like to see our full presentation then please email me and I will send it to you. Here are all of our details:

Email: refugee.ops@me-time.co.za
Facebook page: Operation Refugee - YWAM Potch

Banking details: 

South Africa:
Banking details:
Operation Refugee Africa NPC,
FNB, cheque acc
Acc nr: 62626450720
Branch code: 240438
Ref: Steven - Mich

International: 

Saturday, April 15, 2017

Dzaleka Refugee Camp - Malawi


The YWAM team spent four days ministering in the refugee camp. The DTS students had already done quite a bit of preaching the previous week so they were well informed and used to the very unique and interesting ways of the Africans. 

For me, it was a first time experience! 

"Mosungu" - I keep hearing the small children calling out this word. They tell me that it means "white person". If you respond to them then they will eagerly say "How are you?" and giggle a lot if you tell them you're fine thanks. 

The church service is about five hours long, with a very long and intense praise and worship session of about two hours straight. They have a "choir" of children of all ages and young women - all looking very beautiful in their Sunday best traditional coloured head wraps and dresses. African worship is nothing like our worship - here they all sing very loudly and every song is accompanied by a massive home made drum that is beaten with a large stick. They jump and sing and clap and bang on the drum and it's crazy but the presence of God cannot be missed. He is there with us - making a joyful noise!


Our team leader, Wikus eventually gets his turn to preach and he does a short teaching about provision and trusting God. Whenever we talk to the people there is a translator as all the people speak either Swahili or French. Very few are able to speak and understand English. 



On the Monday straight after our church service for the morning I decide to take the young women who sang and danced so beautifully during the service for a worship dance session. I teach them my very Western way of dance and then I also dance for them to their drum beating. They join me very enthusiastically and once we are done I ask if they would do me the honour of wrapping one of their colourful head scarves around my head. They laugh as they give me a few "styles" but their eyes sparkle to realize that they are teaching me something. Humbling. I wished that they could see the beauty that I saw in them that day... 





For the first few days I am unable to write anything - I just have to observe and take in everything that's happening around me. It's a culture shock but it doesn't shock me. I expected to wash out of a bucket and not to have electricity. I expected to be met with a people living in poverty. I expected dust and traumatized people. What shocks me is something I did not at all expect... 

As we spend time with the people I quickly learn that I am quite safe walking around our village (Dowa) as well as in the refugee camp. There is peace. I don't have to clutch my handbag like I do when I walk around in a city in South Africa. I also learn that the children and teenagers are all exceptionally clever and talented. We hosted an art workshop with the smaller kids and older youth and we were all rather surprised at how well-disciplined and intelligent the children are. The older youth showed a great sense of ambition and hope for their futures (even though they are pretty much stuck in the refugee camp indefinitely). Some of them want to be lawyers, others want to preach the gospel in all of Africa and others want to be evangelists. Big dreams!

I taught the middle group of children some worship dance and they all followed me with ease, giggling a little as the soft and graceful movements were very foreign to them. I took along a few "veils" which is a large sheet of chiffon to dance with. To my amazement, the girls and the boys enjoyed dancing with them!


 






 We met a man called Henry - he is a tall, twenty-something-year-old Congolese man who used to be a performing arts teacher in the Congo. He has taken it upon himself to manage a recreational center for children aged 3 to 18 and also young women who are widows, orphans and single mothers. He has about five young men helping him as volunteers. At the center he takes the children in groups, according to their age, teaching them art, poetry, dance and English. For the ladies he gives them a bit of wool to start off with so they can learn how to embroider and crochet. He tells me that this keeps them busy during the day, then when they get home they are tired and then he gives them some homework to do as well. This keeps them away from sexual endeavors which are not good for them. 



Henry with one of his volunteers
                                                                     

I ask Henry what he gets paid to do this every single day... I get tears in my eyes as he tells me with a chuckle - as if I'm a little stupid for even asking such a question - that what he and his team do is voluntary. He does this for the love of it. And he has just about nothing with which to do all these activities... a little paper, a few pencils. I immediately wonder how I can try to get a whole container with art supplies duped in front of his door. 

As we are saying our goodbyes I ask Henry if he always dresses so smartly or if it is only because we came to visit today. With a twinkle in his eye he says: "I do not only teach the children art and poetry, to stand before them each day I teach them about life." Just. Wow. 

There is another man we meet who is doing an amazing service within the refugee camp - Alain, also from the Congo. He is the director of the Dzaleka Youth Congress. On Wednesday we are guests of honour at the Dzaleka's Got Talent show. With front row seats we are entertained with very well trained youngsters who do a few dance numbers and also a beauty pageant. I can see that the young ladies are very self-conscious and even though they try to express some confidence, in their eyes there is brokenness. The entire show is very well choreographed with music and outfits. I am impressed. Indeed, Dzaleka has got talent. But where will it ever go? Who will ever get too see it?


The youth's "Trainer" - a very strict
but also very proud French-speaking
Congolese man.




Dance and fashion show youth with Alain on the far right. 


After the show I chat briefly to Alain and he tells me he will send me his project proposal for the Miss Dowa and hair salon. A week later I am reading these proposals and I am deeply moved. His intention for doing the beauty pageant is to give the young women motivation to become something as arranged marriages is a big problem in the culture. The young girls drop out of school and later have nothing to offer for the development of the community. The hairdressing school's purpose is to give young men and women a skill which can be used to earn some money within the refugee camp, teach them responsibility and develop who they are. 


The girls of the fashion show.

I stare at my laptop screen as tears roll down my cheeks - because I see a plan, a hope, an attitude of want and desire to build - but there is no funding for these hopes and dreams. 

I decide that I want to help these people in some way - any way. On our second day in the refugee camp I start to write as much info as I can about the life here. 

These are some of the facts I collected during my visit: 
  • The camp is about 5 kilometers squared in size. 
  • At the moment there are about 28,000 refugees in the Dzaleka Refugee camp. 
  • There are people mostly from DRC (Congo), Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia and Ethiopia. 
  • Once a month each person gets rations as follows:  
  1. 12 kg's of maize
  2. 3 kg's of beans
  3. 1 kg porridge flour
  4. 0.5 liter of oil
  5. One cup of Sugar
  6. Half a cup of salt
  7. 1 cake of soap
  • Only Malawians are allowed to have jobs within the refugee camp. 
  • Refugees may work for a donation on a voluntary basis - there are not many of these "jobs" and therefore very few actually have "jobs".
  • Some of the them have small businesses such as restaurants or hair salons or selling their rations in the market place. 
  • Malawian people are allowed to sell fresh vegetables and meat like chicken, beef and goat meat in the camp. 
  • There are 64 churches in the camp - from all denominations.
  • Upon arrival at the camp, you are on your own and have to find your own way. Some churches make provision for accommodation until you are able to buy your own house or build. 
  • Refugees are given land for free but housing and electricity must be paid for. 
  • Most refugees depend on the money that gets sent to them by their families who have been lucky enough to be "resettled". 
  • Families may apply to get "resettled" but this is only granted to very few of the people. There is an application process to be followed and not all applicants always get chosen for resettlement. 
  • Due to the lack of facilities, teachers and the various languages spoken, less than half of the children are able to go to school.
There is a small part of me that feels a little ashamed and sad for my own people. I feel like we are so spoiled - we have so much - and yet we love to complain. Oh how we love to complain about the little we don't have! Last year the university students burned down their own universities, with a demand for free education. Children throw tantrums when they cannot have the latest cellphone or tablet. We complain when our steaks are slightly overdone. 



I notice that the children ALWAYS wore shoes, no matter what condition they are in!

Suddenly I feel ashamed. I am just as guilty of being spoiled and ungrateful. We spent Wednesday afternoon with another group of youngsters, just playing games with them. I notice that the guys playing soccer are using some kind of plastic bag filled with something as a ball. They don't even have proper soccer balls, but they are not complaining. They are playing soccer, with what they have. And they are laughing and smiling. 



Playing "Vrot-eier" with the kids and youth.

It is not so much their state of poverty and brokenness that touches me. It is the attitude of these people. Regardless of their poverty and brokenness, they appreciate, they have respect, they have discipline, they have big dreams, they have ambition, they are positive, they are busy doing something! 

Overall my trip to Dzaleka Refugee Camp and Malawi changes me a little. I have now seen another side of life. It is a life I slightly envy - a life of simplicity and appreciation. The people whom I met who serve the Almighty God serve Him with wild abandon, without shame or inhibition. They hunger for more of Him and they are eager to learn more and more. They are humble. They have taught me so much!

Returning home, I also feel thankful. I am thankful for the life that I have. I am thankful that in my country war has not yet broken out and I am not forced to flee. I am thankful that I have the privilege to have a steak and go to dance classes and sleep in a very warm bed and take long, hot baths. But whatever did these people do to deserve the hand they have been dealt? I struggle to make sense of this.  



Riette doing an art project with the little children - "Fruit of the Spirit"


Monday, April 10, 2017

Welcome to Malawi!

The day finally arrived for the team to board our flight to Lilongwe, Malawi!

Without really knowing what to expect, I had a great sense of excitement and expectation within me. One thing that I was certain of, was that I would return blessed and a little changed.

Before our departure we were briefed on what to pack. The women may only wear skirts and tops that covered our shoulders in the refugee camp, we had to take torches as there wasn't always electricity and we were to be prepared to bath in a bucket as there was also not always running water. Sounded like fun!

Our team consisted of Wikus, the YWAM Potch leader, Andrea, his daughter, Riette, a pre-school teacher and Steven, a Congolese man who had lived inside the refugee camp for 6 years. Steven had done his Discipleship Training through YWAM Potch and he was now a free man, with a vision to minister to refugees and assist in getting them to be free as well. He was also to be our guide and translator inside the camp.

Our team was to meet up with a DTS group who were on their final week of their DTS outreach phase - in Malawi. They'd already been there for a week when we joined them. The group consisted of five amazing young people who's eyes shone with the love of Jesus. As I got to know each of them during that week I felt a bit jealous that I had made such abysmal life-choices instead of living a life fully committed to serving our King.


Before going to our "guesthouse" we were taken to the Dzaleka Refugee camp just to greet our correspondent there. Tresor, a young man - also from the Congo, and who had also done the DTS program in Malawi - came to meet us on his bicycle. Tresor was excited to meet us and we were shown around the camp with much enthusiasm and a very warm welcome. We took a short rest at a Somalian "restaurant" to have a cold drink. The restaurant was simply a small building with a few plastic chairs and a few tables set out on the concrete floor. It offered a choice of soft drinks, tea or coffee and a few basic meals, such as rice or "pap" with chicken or beef in sauce. What caught my attention is that even though it was very basic and very "township-like", it was extremely neat and clean. The Somalian owner could speak to us in English and served us with great warmth.

Once our drinks were done we headed back to our car and continued to our guest house which was situated in the small village of Dowa, about a 15 minute drive from Dzaleka.


The vegetation in Malawi is beautiful, very green and lush - a lot like the Eastern Transvaal in South Africa. Entering Dowa we drove through the main street which is a broken tar road with a market place on either side of the road. There the local people sell whatever they can - some of them sell goods which are delivered by truck such as plastic shoes, plastic containers and other odds and ends. Some of them sell fresh produce which they can grow in their own backyards like tomatoes, bananas, avos, onions, beans and guavas. To my surprise they also had plenty of plastic containers with samoosa's and "vetkoek" for sale - something which I didn't expect to find anywhere but home. Maize grows in abundance in Malawi so there are also mats with maize for sale. There are also some stands where they make fried potato chips which they drown in salt when you buy a packet - my kind of snack!

As it was already late afternoon we stopped at the market to have some dinner. Again we went to a "restaurant" which offered pretty much the same as in the refugee camp. I ordered a chicken and rice dish which was not bad but a little dodgy as there were a lot bits which felt like glass as I chewed. When mentioning this one of the students explained that seeing as the people don't have the correct tools to slaughter the animals they make use of whatever they have - like a machete - to chop the animals up and the bones often shatter, which explains the bits in the food. I had to make the decision to not let that put me off and tried my best to enjoy the meal.











Walking through the market-place I was extremely fascinated at how neat and beautifully arranged every stall was - tomatoes are stacked in little formations and beans and maize are placed in baskets. It appeared that these people took great pride in what they do. I also noticed that were no ugly smells, only aromatic smells of food and wood fire.



From the main street we turned right to go down a small dirt road towards our guesthouse. On the corner of the street there is signboard which indicates that under the trees is the local taxi service center. The taxi's are old motorbikes which are used to transport people around the village and to the airport etc. I actually spotted one or two with up to three people and a bag of luggage on it! Some of the bikes are so old that they looked as though they are held together with duct tape.


The moment eventually arrived when we parked at our guesthouse - Dowa Inn, owned by an elderly, pitch black Malawian man with a snow white smile called Elisha. Again we were extremely warmly welcomed and shown around our home for the week. There is a building with single rooms along a long passage - the rooms are big enough for a single bed and a small space beside the bed to put your bag and feet when stepping out of the room:-)  At the end of the long passage there is a communal "bathroom". This is an open-air room with a few toilets (real toilets that can flush, in their own cubicle thank goodness!) and a few large drums filled with water. Seeing as the running water only works at random times, they fill the drums so that there is always water available to wash with. In the mornings Elisha's managers make a fire and cook a massive pot of water so that we can ad some warm water to our bucket bath. There is also a shower but then you'd have to be ok with taking a cool shower as the running taps don't ever have hot water.



Andrea and then decided to opt for sharing a double room. These were much bigger with their own bathroom on-suite. Elisha was gracious enough to let us pay what we would have paid for the single room. 
That first night we didn't have electricity, but the DTS team were already so used to the African ways of life that they quickly whipped up some coffee with their gas stove. So the day wound down as we all sat around on the stairs in the dark with a nice hot cup of coffee, chatting about the days' events. 

I went to sleep that night feeling exhausted, content and excited about our week of ministry ahead.



Sunday, April 9, 2017

My Provider

My introduction to being part of Missions was to learn how to live by faith. Wikus (YWAM's base leader in Potch) explained to me that I was not expected to pay for my trip out of my pocket, but that I could raise funds by getting sponsors.

So I set off on the first part of my mission by typing a motivational letter, giving my personal testimony and the reason I would like to go on this mission. I sent this letter to every church, organisation and friend whom I thought might want to contribute to this mission. I also created the Facebook Page - Operation Refugee - YWAM Potch - to get the community informed and aware of the refugee crises. 

Within the first week of my fundraising I was blessed with R3200! My goal was R7200 which included the flights, accommodation and food. But then things slowed down. 

I started out being very excited at how fast God was providing the funds but with only two weeks till departure I still didn't have enough to buy my plane ticket. One night I couldn't sleep, worrying about how I would get more sponsors so I got up and went to my laptop and sent out another twenty letters to churches. The next day I also sent individual messages to some of my friends on Facebook. 

Then the real panic set in... the money I had already collected had gone missing!!! Thinking I was being very clever, I transferred all the sponsorship money into my Virginmoney credit card, thinking that it would be safe there. I had not used this credit card in literally years, so I was quite surprised to receive a statement via email. I clicked on it very excited to see what the balance was and to my horror, the balance was nowhere near what it should have been!

I immediately called Virginmoney online to find out where my money was and all they could confirm that there had been no transactions on the dates I mentioned. The transfers had been done about ten days before so it HAD to show by now!

So I jump in my car and race off to my bank, FNB, praying that they would know what happened to my transfers. This as at about 10am... I sit patiently in a line for about an hour as the entire Klerksdorp seems to want to do their banking at this very same moment. The lady at the bank tells me that the only way they can do a reversal is if I email online banking and request a reversal and that each reversal would cost me R265 (I had THREE!). Also, they could not guarantee that I would get all my money back. Well, just great! Back in the car I decide to call online banking and they advise me to go to Absa (which Virginmoney is affiliated to) and ask them to allocate the funds as it's possible that the money was simply not allocated. 

Off I go to Absa. Sit in a line. Wait. Wait some more. Finally I get to a teller and the lady informs me that they are unable to allocate funds that they technically do not have, only my bank is able to help me. At a total loss I go back to FNB. Sit in line again. Wait again. Keep thanking God that my money is still somewhere even if we couldn't quite find it. 

I finally get to another teller and she takes a good look at my account and asks a bunch of questions. She looks up and tells me that the only mistake I made was to put MALAWI as my reference number instead of the credit card number, therefore the money has not been allocated. I feel like banging my head on the counter because I honestly did not know that one had to use the credit card number as a reference!

The woman gives me a copy of the transactions I made and tells me to email them to Virginmoney's online service to ask them to please allocate the money. I race home (it is now past 3pm already) and I do just that. It's Friday. 

During my quiet time God tells me to be still, not to tell anyone about what has happened and to also stop sending out emails and requests for funding. He tells me that I have done my bit and now it was time to trust Him. So with some difficulty I manage to do that for the whole weekend. Monday morning I receive an email from Virginmoney which advises that all my funds have been allocated into the credit card! Praise God! 

The following Friday (exactly a week before departure) my team leader asks me for my passport number. For a split second I experience confusion and a beat later I turn ice cold... A passport!!! For some crazy reason I had not even considered a passport. In a brand new kind of panic I phone Home Affairs to find out how fast I can get a passport and how much it would cost. A very friendly woman tells that they no longer issue emergency passports but that I should come to Home Affairs right now and they will see what they can do. Oh and that will be R400. Great! This had not been in my budget but oh well. Off I go to Home Affairs and set aside my entire afternoon as I know how long the lines are on any given day. 

I walk into the building and stop for a moment, wondering if I'd walked into the wrong place. There was no one in sight, besides the yawning staff members sitting at their stations. I breeze through reception and go straight to the photo-booth. At the counter I explain my dilemma and tell the man that I need to have my passport before next Thursday. Very unceremoniously he tells me that it should be ready next Wednesday. Praise God again. And again. And again!

The Monday, four days before departure I get another sponsor so I rush to the office to book my plane ticket, thinking that I will have enough. Tears just silently roll down my cheeks as I realize that I do not in fact have enough money yet AND the flight prices have increased dramatically. My husband is sitting next to me at his desk and he simply asks me how much money I still need. I tell him that in total I still need R1400 and he immediately does a transfer of R1500! Wow. I am dumbstruck and elated at the same time! With a great big kiss and a hug I run out the door to go to Checkers to buy my ticket. Some of the money I got in cash so I couldn't book the ticket with only my credit card. 

Another long story short, Checkers' flights were more expensive than I'd seen online, so I try to book it online from my phone, then I see upon check out there is a R500 service fee so Checkers tries to do the booking anyway and the flight is suddenly gone! I race off to the nearest Flight Center where the friendly consultant eventually gives me coffee seeing as all of a sudden my credit card keeps declining, I am unable to draw the cash, get told by the Virginmoney consultant on the phone that because I put R400 into the card this morning I am unable to swipe it the whole day and EVENTUALLY after I call Virginmoney for the third time that day, about to scream at them for being the most awful credit card company on earth, the woman tells me that I have a limit which I can swipe and upon checking my calculations I realize that I had included the cash amount and had been trying to swipe that entire amount. Blonde. Blonde. Blonde. 

The Flight Centre consultant must have thought I am insane. I was eventually laughing so hard at all these small little things which seemed to try and stop me from going to Malawi... because I walked out of there with my ticket securely in my handbag! Take that enemy! 

On the day just before I left I got another three sponsors and when I checked what I'd received in total, it amounted to over R8000, which means that God has provided EXACTLY what I needed as there were a few things which had not been included in my goal, like the passport, the chiffon veils I had made to leave as gift, the flight's cost which had gone up and the malaria tablets.

Up to the moment I finally departed on the trip to Malawi, God had been teaching me about trusting Him completely. He knows our needs better than we do and He is faithful and good. Jehova Jira - My Provider!

Friday, April 7, 2017

Introduction

We serve a most amazing God! 

Last year May was a great turning point in my life as I finally surrendered myself to God - for real this time;-) I have been "saved" since I was 10 years old but being honest - I had never been truly willing to give Him my LIFE... 

I always wanted  to serve Jesus and I always intended to, but when it came to the things of the flesh, I blindly kept choosing myself above my King. 

As it turned out, He had a bigger plan and after making some seriously bad decisions I found myself - yet again - on my knees on my bedroom floor last May. 

I cried out for help and for the first time I was really ready to sacrifice everything for God. I was given some instructions on a few things I had to change in my life and as hard as it was, I followed them. 

Then slowly.... things began to change! At the age of 35 God could finally lead my down the path which He had planned for me (possibly) ages ago!

Somewhere near the end of last year I took myself and my little girl to therapy. The therapist did the usual play therapy as well as horse therapy with my daughter and she offered to do something different with me - this therapy is called TPM (Transformation Prayer Ministry).

I found this form of "counseling" to have the most astonishing results and knew immediately that this was what I wanted to do for other people as well. My therapist gave me the details of YWAM (Youth With a Mission) in Potchefstroom who offer this TPM as a ten week course. I was beyond excited!

Long story short, the YWAM team agreed to come to Klerksdorp to host a training course and I managed to gather about 10 people. During the course of getting to know more about YWAM and what they do I was immediately drawn to their outreach programs. And when they mentioned one day that they plan to go to a refugee camp in Malawi, I jumped at the opportunity. 

In the mean time, God had been speaking to me about something else as well. I have danced my entire life - you name it, I've danced it - and in the past two years I have been doing belly dancing as well as cabaret dancing. About three months ago, while I was driving and listening to my worship music, I suddenly had this vision of doing a dance to this particular song. I excitedly shared the song with my dance trainer and told her about my vision and she said that the previous night she had had the EXACT SAME VISION with the EXACT SAME SONG!!! (How awesome is God?!)

About two weeks afterwards I was driving and another worship song played when I got another vision of doing a dance to that song. Slightly frustrated I asked the Lord - "How Father? When? How can I do these dances when my life is already so busy?" 

The answer came very clearly: "Start a class!" 

Well I was beyond excited! The rest of that day I was flooded with ideas and visions and Father God even gave me the idea to take this worship dancing to the refugee outreach! 

Once our yearly showcase was done and dusted, I sat down with my trainer and we agreed that I could begin a worship class one night a week for whomever was interested! Praise the Lord! 

And so - in short - the Lord has been so good and so faithful and it's been the most adventurous and exciting journey to follow His voice and calling. But I need to stress this one thing - it took OBEDIENCE before my purpose started to manifest. And ever since I have started to make a daily decision to stay obedient, He is leading my path according to His purpose and I have never been happier!