One Year...

It has officially been a year since I arrived in Johannesburg South Africa. I will be the first to say that working in a ministry isn’t easy. It’s THE hardest job. Satan hates when Christians pull together and bring glory to Jesus. So naturally he likes to bring chaos, destruction, negativity and disorder in. I’ve had to learn lots of new things in my personal walk with the Lord. He’s been teaching me lots and I haven’t been the most responsive BUT I have learned the hard way that I cannot live for Him, without Him.

My Job

For those of you who don’t know exactly what I do at Door of Hope I’ll explain. I am the Liaison Officer (secretary) and one of the Volunteer Coordinators. As a Liaison Officer, I answer the main email address for Door of Hope, coordinate visitor appointments,  greet visitors and give them a tour of our main baby home, answer the phone, collect the food/milk the staff order for the week for three homes, organize and count stock, keep up with all stock and inventory and run errands. As the Volunteer Coordinator I transport the volunteers to and from the airport, prepare their rooms, orientate them before they start work, assist with transporting to stores and organize their Appreciation Party before they depart. To break up my day of sitting at the computer or organizing I bring a toddler in the office with me. It’s always so refreshing to have a little one in the office. It’s a good reminder of why I’m here and of course having a child around defuses the tension or negative feelings that might have been triggered. I love spending time with the babies and toddlers when I’m able to.

Adoptions for 2016

What a wonderful year it has been. Door of Hope had 41 adoptions, 17 reunited with family and 2 other (relocated to other children’s home). It’s been amazing to see and be a part of so many babies/toddlers adoptions. Out of all the things in this world, adoption is definitely one of my favorites. To see these little ones united with their forever family is the most beautiful thing. I love knowing these babies have now been chosen, accepted and loved by a family who have been waiting months/years for them. Some have prayed, cried and rejoiced in the fact that they will now have a new member of their family. When the unwanted, abandoned and neglected become wanted, chosen and loved it’s such a stunning picture.

Thank You

I want to say thank you all for your support, encouragement, prayers, love and kind wishes to me during my time here. It’s hard to believe I have been here a year. Sometimes it feels as if I’ve been here forever and then other days it feels like I have just arrived. At the moment the plan is to return home the beginning of October. If anything changes, I will keep you updated. 

Refiner's Fire...

The month of May has been a very difficult one. The newness has set in and the “honeymoon” is over. Now my committed feet are completely planted. In that, of course, comes the big wrecking ball of insecurity, loneliness, worry and negativity. We all know the enemy doesn’t like it when followers of Jesus follow Jesus and do His work. He seeks to destroy it and create chaos. I don’t like sharing personal struggles publicly but in order to receive Godly consul, encouragement and prayer we need to be transparent with each other. So here is my transparency.

Here lately I have felt exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It’s been going on for a while and is getting much better. Without the encouragement of my Jesus family, I know I wouldn’t be doing as well. I’ve had so many Godly people send me scripture, words of wisdom and prayers. I’ve been so thankful for it. I am very blessed by this amazing community the Lord has given me.

Staying focused isn’t a strong point of mine. I tend to be very forgetful and in that, when I plan to do something I usually forget what that is within a couple of minutes. I have notes all over my desk at work that help me remember things. In saying that, I get very distracted during my quiet time and I also forget to do it sometimes. Just being honest people. No one freak out. I’ll be even more honest and say people who act like they have everything together and they live this perfect Christian life are usually my least favorite people to be around. So there’s that.

So here are a few little nuggets I’ve learned this month or should I say relearned. Spending time with Jesus is vital to our walk with Him. I can’t have a relationship with someone I don’t talk to and don’t spend time with. Second nugget is I can’t properly function as a follower of Jesus without community. It’s knitted into my being and that’s how I’m wired. Without community I’m a wreck. I thrive being around people who love the Lord. Just like sushi needs rice, I need community.

I’ve named this blog Refiner’s Fire because I want to include a devotion that spoke to me recently. Being in the mission field is super hard people. I now have so much more respect for our missionaries. They are on the front lines of the battle field and need so much of our encouragement. I would urge you to adopt a missionary family to consistently pray for. I’m sure a lot of you already do this. You could even have a picture of them in your house somewhere to remind you of them. I’m realizing more and more the missionaries are our true heroes.

Below is my devotion, I hope it inspires you as much as it did me.

Revelation 3:19 says those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.

Rarely do we view the difficult circumstances of life as statements of Jesus’ love for us. We more likely interpret them as interruptions in our walk with God. In our best moments, we may interpret these interruptions as tools God will use to stretch our faith; in our worst moments, we may even see them as His disfavor. But we still tend to view them as distractions from the course he would have us pursue.

But God’s hand is in even the most difficult circumstances, letting affliction have its deepest results. This is His chosen path for us, not a diversion from it. Whether He is letting hardship strengthen our faith, or disciplining us for some sin, as in this verse, He is always Lord of our situation. The superficial source of our hardship may be easier to discern; we see Satan, other people, chance, our own sin, or a variety of other causes as the root of our affliction. But God is sovereign over all of them, and He is specific in His purposes. If we are in pain, He knows it and He allowed it to happen.

We can take comfort in the fact that God id behind our trials. He does not train those whom He does not intend to use in wonderful ways. Though we may suffer at times, we suffer with a purpose. He has a plan for us that only this type of hardship will prepare us for. He will develop our character to prepare us for His purposes, and His method is like a refiner’s fire.

Many times we pray to know Christ better, to have deeper fellowship with Him, and to be more fruitful in His work. We must learn that this prayer will likely result in more of the refiner’s fire, more time in the training camp of His kingdom. Should we stop praying? Of course not. No one who has been used mightily by God has avoided the difficult developing of their character and faith. They have been through the fiery trials and would willingly go through them again. 

Community is essential...

When I knew I was coming back to South Africa I was excited for so many reasons. One of the reasons was community. I knew that I would be part of a Jesus loving community in the church of Riverside and through Door of Hope. Being an extrovert I crave time with people. I love being around people. However, the older I get the more I realize I do enjoy being alone as well but that’s not the topic of this blog. Can I just be honest? Real honest with you? Are you sure? Even if you might get your feelings hurt? Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

When I was in college I was actively involved in a Gospel driven, mission minded, non-believer reaching church. A church that made me excited to go to. A church I would be able to worship freely, hear a convicting message that would make me think and prompt me to change. This was a church that I enjoyed being a part of. When I returned home from college, I couldn’t find that anywhere. I couldn’t find a church that welcomed older singles, worshiped freely and taught convicting Gospel centered messages. I craved community. I craved to be a part of the body of Christ. I went to a church 30 minutes from my home but with it being in another town it was hard to get connected with people. For THREE years I’ve been listening to podcasts (Matt Chandler, David Platt, Francis Chan, Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton). Did you read that? THREE years I’ve been church hunting and coming up empty handed, broken and alone. During this time I would pray “Jesus, I know it’s not about me but I can’t go to a church just to take up another seat on a pew. I want to be involved and active and serve.” And even in that I still sound selfish.

Now that I’m back, I have that. I have a community, a place to serve, a church that convicts and prompts to go and be the hands and feet of Jesus. I am so thankful I am apart of bible studies and small groups. As a believer, being a part of community is essential to your walk and allows you to be sharpened and grow. Jesus brings people in your life at different times to show you new things. I’m sure there is a reason why I was in a church rut for three years. It did teach me how important community is and to be thankful when you have it. It taught me how much I crave to be a part of a church that preaches “meat” instead of “milk”. This is only my opinion, so don’t get too upset. Jesus is the reason of life and community is essential to that life.

April showers...

 Hello sweet friends! I hope you are well and enjoying spring! I know my friends and family in the south don’t know what spring is. We leave winter and the next day it’s in the 90's. It is getting colder here. Currently the weather is in the mid 40's and low 70's. I’m finding South Africa fall very nice.

April was a fun and stressful month. We had a fundraiser for Door of Hope and I helped with coordinating it. I had lots of documents and paper work to have approved and signed before we held the event. Then the day of the Superhero Fun Run came. I was in charge of coordinating games for the kids to play. We had lots of volunteers come and help which was great. We had a wonderful time.

We have had so much trouble with technology lately. The office phone didn’t work for 6 weeks and then the internet was down. Guess what guys, my job is to answer the phone and emails. Even though I found other things that needed to be done around the office, it was a bit slow at work for a while. Which was nice with the stress of the Fun Run behind us, we were able relax in the quiet a bit. The phones are down again so we are just praying they are fixed soon. Things take time to be fixed here. We can’t just call someone and they be here in 15 minutes and fix it immediately. Different country, different people, different way of life.

The May newsletter was sent out yesterday. If you would like to receive it, you can go online to www.doorofhope.co.za and sign up for it. Hannah and I had an introduction feature in it.

I moved out of Baby House 1 and moved into Don and Cheryl’s home for 6 weeks as they are in the states promoting Door of Hope and Arise Ministries. The flat that I will be staying in for the time I’m here is being renovated. We just moved back to Baby House 1 because Don and Cheryl return from the States this week. Hannah and I were talking about moving back to the Baby House. We felt like we were on vacation, it was nice while it lasted but we were ready to come home. This morning when I went to have breakfast the aunties kept saying welcome home. I didn’t realize how much I missed the aunties, babies and toddlers. I didn’t get to see them very often because I work at another baby home. It was nice to be back.

I want to open the floor up for you to ask questions and I answer them in my next blog. I don’t really know what you guys want to read about. Writing isn’t my strong suit and I forget everything so I need some help from you. If you would like to know something, anything, please send me a Facebook message or email at aredden87@yahoo.com and I will answer it on the next blog. I’m thankful for each of you. You, my sweet friends, are my favorite people.  

March Musings...

Hello friends!! I’ve been busy working on a fundraising event we are having the 23^rd of April. The month of March was great. I was able to settle into my job and learn new things. I’ve enjoyed it so far and I’m excited to continue to learn and grow. 

We have had so much fun at the baby house. The toddlers are becoming their own little person more and more every day. Speaking of more and more, that’s one of their favorite words currently. Any food they are given, they love to say “more, more, more!” It’s so funny because we know they just enjoy saying it because they’ve learned something new. We have had a few small babies a bit under the weather. With the seasons changing this is always the prime time for our little ones to suffer from some form of cold. What’s so sad is if their noses are congested then that effects their feeding time. No one likes for their feeding time to be effected. J The big babies are learning to sit nicely and interacting more. We had two of our toddlers relocate to another baby home to be exposed to the other toddlers, aunties and uncles. They will most likely be among the first to go to the Village.  

We as a staff enjoy loving them and teaching them how to be caring, kind and good friends to each other. We have a big responsibility to make sure we are making a positive impact on these children. They are the next generation and our world needs more selfless, caring, compassionate, strong leaders. We have received 17 babies, had 7 adoptions, 1 relocated to another home and 1 reunited with family so far this year. We always pray that these babies are given the very best in their situation and trust the Lord to work everything out for them. He has always done so and we believe He will continue to do so.

Can you believe...

Can you believe I’ve been here for a little over a month? Me either. The time is already flying by. Since I’ve been here we have had three adoptions, started a new job, taken babies to the hospital, had two driving lessons, went to a woman’s luncheon, gone to three bible studies, went to a place called Bounce that is nothing but a room full of trampolines, visited the Door of Hope Village, made new friends, built on old friendships and settled in fast and easy. So the month of February has been busy and exciting.

I’ve learned that being uncomfortable is a good place for the Lord to stretch me. Being away from home gets me out of my comfort zone and have to put myself out there to meet new people and create a new life. I know I’ve said it many times but I will say it again, guys, I’m living the dream. I am serving in the area the Lord wants me and can use me. I know He is growing and stretching me as I am sometimes out of my comfort zone, yet when that happens I’ve learned to get excited instead of nervous.

I had the opportunity to share about Door of Hope and my heart for it at two school assemblies. The first one was a high school and the second a middle school. Of course they pay attention because I have an accent. Anytime we hear someone from overseas speak, we listen carefully not to miss anything, plus it’s also interesting and different.

I work at Baby House 3 in the office. I am being trained by Marcelle who had the position before me and learning a lot. I’m not only learning about my job but also more about Jesus, as she is a very wise, patient, lovely lady who always pushes me to Jesus. My days consist of answering the phone, emails, taking notes, eating lunch with the toddlers and currently learning new things and how to do my job more effectively. 

Jesus has continuously paved the way and even in the bumps, He’s taught me humility. I yearn to grow and be stretched so that I can become more like Him. Seeking Him in the darkness when I’m clueless of what’s going on or how to handle a situation. Leaning into Him when times of loneliness or unworthiness come. Praising Him when He teaches me new things or I finally understand something. Thankful for Him and how He has been so patient with me.

I hope to keep you updated as much as possible. Thank you for trekking with me along this journey and being so supportive. 

New Season...

I arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa on Friday February 5th. Since then I have jumped head first into life here. As most of you know, this is where I consider home as well. I have been given the opportunity to help Door of Hope in lots of areas. It’s amazing to me to see how the Lord's hand has been in and through everything leading up to where I am now. Let's go back in time and remember where I was a few months ago.

I started praying about returning to Africa in March of 2015. I asked a core group of intercessors to pray with me. We prayed that the Lord would clearly speak to me if this was His plan and not just my own. I got a lot of confirmation that month. That spring boarded me into FUGE camps for my fifth and last summer working with them. When I returned from camp I started in October fundraising and started off well. There were a few bumps along the way of fundraising but I knew the Lord would finish what He started and even if I did not receive the full amount needed, I am trusting He will provide for however long I am here.

In January, Hannah and I planned our trip to Washington, D.C. It was my first time in our nation’s capital. I was more nervous going there than I ever have been going to another country. Have you seen all the political movies of things being blown up there? Yeah, not where I wanted to go even though I know it's not real. We rode a Megabus 15 hours to Washington, D.C. overnight. We arrived around 10:30 and we needed to ride the Metro and walk a few blocks to get to the Embassy by closing time which was 12:30. Long story short, we made it. We made it to the Embassy in time, we got an FBI background check (which takes up to 6 weeks or longer) done in one day and emailed to us the next day. It was the most I've ever been stretched in my life. I was completely out of my comfort zone the whole way there and the entire time I was there. It was emotionally, physically and spiritually draining. I was pooped. But guys, I'm here to tell you that pushing through hard things and running the race even when you're completely spent is worth it. Worth it. You hear me? WORTH IT. 

After returning from D.C. Hannah and I waited for our visas. We anticipated the length of time they would give us. We were praying for at least a year. Jesus gave us two. I've learned that when it's His will, He sometimes exceeds your expectations and wows you in the biggest way possible. He wowed us. 

Since I arrived the beginning of February, I've had the greatest welcoming anyone could receive.

I can't begin to tell you what it feels like to be doing what the Lord has called me to do. I've known for a very long time this is exactly what the Lord wants me to do. Not only to do what we are called to do as Christians, but as an individual, what I'm doing in the very place I'm doing it is the best thing I’ve ever been a part of.