A Graduation Trip

"And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while."
Mark 6:31

Jason and Andre (above) are 2 of our Bible club teachers-in-training. During April, I prepared these teachers to continue teaching the children during my absence at 5 weeks of club. Some of the ladies from work in Northpine and the work in Delft met together for a third study on Biblical womanhood on April 17. Then on Tuesday, 21 April, Tony saw me off to the USA to spend a week with my mother in North Carolina. During that week, I enjoyed taking my mother to make visits to shut-in church members and afterwards we had lunch with others who also went out visiting that day. I was able to help my mother with painting, gardening, doctor's visits and banking before

Tony and I were reunited. On May 1, he arrived at Raleigh-Durham Airport to visit our relatives in NC for a weekend before we traveled to see our children and our grandson, Jake, in Greenville, SC. That first Sunday, Tony preached at one supporting church and gave a brief report at another.During our first evening with our children, we received the exciting news from Rob and Amy that Jake is to become a big brother in late December.

On May 9, our youngest daughter, Emily, completed her degree in Biblical counseling and graduated from Bob Jones University. We thank the Lord for allowing our children to study at our alma mater. Emily plans to begin work on a masters degree in Cross-cultural studies at Northland International University, Lord willing, in the fall after a summer of nannying in Greenville. Lord willing, Clare (on right above with Emily) will complete a BS in Nursing at BJU in May 2010. During the 11 days in Greenville, Tony and I made as many memories as possible with 22 month old Jake and his parents and aunties! While in Greenville, I taught a Sunday school class to future pastor's and missionary's wives.

Today Tony arrived safely in South Africa after our brief visit with our relatives in Georgia. During his 20 days in the States, we were able to visit 4 of our supporting churches. Victory Baptist Church in Roanoke Rapids, NC graciously provided a vehicle for us to use for our travels to South Carolina and Georgia.

While away, we received very encouraging emails from Jason. He and Jeremy preached in Eindhoven and Cedric and Pastor Kevin preached in Northpine in Tony's absence. Pray for Tony as he plunges into the work again and for me as I prepare to return on June 1. Pray for my mother (shown above holding my niece's new baby, Ava) as we evaluate her needs, since she fell today.