Jake the Big Boy

We have been discovering that since we've gotten here, Jake is growing up at an even faster pace than he was in the States! Please tell us that it slows down a little bit. Right?!

Well, you see there in the picture that Jake is now a little chef, making ice cream clowns with "Auntie Diane", one of the other missionaries here in Joburg. Of course, fine cuisine is only one of the many things that Jake has picked up on since he has been here. For instance, he rides a motorcycle, he plays basketball, and he even starts school tomorrow!

Yep, that's right, he starts school tomorrow, much to his parents' dismay. Not because we think that he won't like it, or that he'll even be away that long. We know he'll love it and he'll only be going half days, three days a week for starters. No, it's just the fact that he's quickly becoming a "big boy", and we wonder where these first 2 1/2 years have gone so fast!

Well, look next week for a full report on Jake's first week of school, but he's doing quite well in his new environment here. He's made lots of friends, is making lots of messes, and continues to make his parents laugh with the clever things he says. He's adjusted well to "Souf Acrifa", as he calls it. :)

We are always encouraged to hear that we have people back home that are praying for us, and we got word this week from several of you that follow the blog and are praying for us daily. We need it, please keep them coming! Some special needs that we are reminded of this week are:

-- Rev. Eugenio Duarte, as he officially takes the position of Regional Director of the Africa Region this Wednesday, that God will give him HIS vision for the Region
-- Safe travels for the Middendorfs and the Bustles, who will be traveling from the States for the inauguration ceremony
-- All of the missionaries travelling to, during, and from home assignment
-- The Church of the Nazarene in Africa
-- Jake, as he begins nursery school, and his parents, as they worry about him

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

New Wheels!

This has certainly been an eventful week! On Wednesday, we got our car, which is a Renault Clio. A small car, but a car! We are SO excited to have it, and we thank each and every one of you that made this possible for us with your deputation offerings. We also thank God for providing us the vehicle at a price we could afford.

This Saturday, our new car helped us get to Maropeng, which is a World Heritage Site that is just outside Johannesburg. Essentially, this site is a museum that displays and celebrates certain archaeological finds from southern Africa. It was interesting, but there was a lot of evolution speculation throughout the exhibit. I guess we will learn exactly how God did it all one day, huh?

The best parts about the day were the picnic that we had overlooking the South African countryside and also playing with Jake in the "kiddie cave". We had a blast, and it was wonderful to be able to see a little bit more of our new home. We hope to be able to see a little bit more every week now that we have our new car!

Work is going well, Jeremy is learning a little more everyday and trying to get things accomplished one at a time. There is a lot of learning to be done! Tricia will start training for her new job in about two weeks, when Jake starts nursery school. He'll be going half days, three days a week. Tricia is looking forward to starting her new job, but we are just having a hard time believing that our two-year-old is off to school already! We know that it will be a great experience for him to play with kids his own age though.

Please continue to remember the following needs in prayer:

-- The work of the Church of the Nazarene in Africa
-- Our continued adjustment to our new environment
-- Good health to be able to perform our jobs
-- Jake's upcoming adjustment to nursery school

As always, thanks for your prayers!

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

God At Work

Well, this has been a week of seeing God at work. We are always amazed to see the diverse ways that he reassures us that he is in control and that he guides and protects us if we let him. As it always is when you see god at work, it has been a time of praise!

Tricia is 100% better than she was last week, thanks for your prayers. She went to the doctor on Monday and found out that the upper respiratory virus that she had had led to a secondary infection in her throat and sinuses. She went on antibiotic on Monday night and was completely healed by Thursday morning. We definitely want to thank God for that!

We also had a bit of a scare this weekend, as some of our fellow missionaries was involved in a serious car accident. In taking some missionaries to the airport, one of our Regional Office counterparts was driving down the highway early Saturday morning. A vehicle came up behind her at almost 200km per hour and then went off the road slightly as he passed her. The other driver's tires went off the side of the road and he overcorrected, skidding across the entire highway and hitting our missionary's car. They started spinning as well and both cars hit the embankment on the other side of the road. The other car, since it was going so fast, went about 20 feet up the embankment and then flipped down it, ejecting the other driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt. He died at the scene. Although it is a terrible tragedy and our prayers go out to that family, we praise God that our missionaries were not seriously injured, just bruised a bit. Keep the prayers coming and heed this tragic reminder to always buckle up!

After over 5 weeks of being here, we think we'll finally be able to get a car this week. Thank you for your prayers on this subject as well. We have had the wonderful benefit of having other missionaries around to help us with transportation during this time, and that has been such a blessing.

Thanks again for all of the prayers coming our way. We received several e-mails this week, assuring us that we have people praying for us every day. What a blessing! Please remember the following needs in prayer:

-- Missionaries that are traveling
-- The continued growth of the Church of the Nazarene in Africa
-- Continued good health
-- Finalization of our car purchase

May God bless you as you work for his glory!

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

New Friends

This week was a little bit of a challenge, as Tricia was sick for the last half of it, but things are still going well here, and we are encountering new experiences everyday.

As you can see from the picture, Jake is making new friends. Clockwise from bottom right are Jake, Sam, Marshall, and Jordan. Sam is an MK, but the other two are South African boys from our neighborhood. Jake has also made another friend named Jordan (who is an MK), but he was not around for this picture. Jake loves to ride his new motorcycle with his friends either riding or chasing along. He has been LOVING how much he gets to play outside now, since there is always at least one of his friends out there during waking hours.

We visited another church today, this time with Linda Braaten, a fellow missionary. Incidentally, Linda is the sister of Dan Braaten, pastor of Lee's Summit New Beginnings Church, which is one of our LINKS churches that we visited during our pre-field training. Tricia couldn't make it due to illness, but Jake and I went with "Auntie Linda" and had a good time. We are trying to visit all of the area churches before finding a church home.

We're getting closer on the search for a car, but have not purchased one yet, so please keep praying. Just when we thought that we had our minds made up, another possibility popped up and we're checking it out. Hopefully we can make our decision this week though and get rolling on our own wheels!

Thank you for the e-mails of encouragement this week, they are greatly appreciated! We would also appreciate your continued prayer for the following needs:

-- The Church of the Nazarene in Africa (with the first African Regional Director, Rev. Eugenio Duarte, taking over March 1, it's going to be a year of exciting changes!)

-- Dr. Fred and Dinah Huff, the current Regional Director and his wife, as they travel back to the States for a new and exciting assignment themselves.

-- That Tricia would get well soon

-- For our search for the right car for our family.

-- For continued adjustment to our new environment

Thank you for your support, we are so glad to be a part of the Body of Christ!

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake