Babies, babies everywhere!

Well, we just can't seem to get it right lately and do a post every week, but better late than never, right? Mostly, it's just business (busy-ness) that is keeping us from doing it, but that is never a good excuse. So here are a couple of highlights from the last couple of weeks:

You see in the first picture here (in order of age), Jake, Lindiwe, Tshepo, and little baby Nikita. You all know Jake, but Lindiwe is a two-year-old girl, Tshepo is a one-year-old boy, and Nikita is a one-month-old girl (who is smaller than Jake was at birth).

These babies stayed with us for a couple of days when Tsholofelo Baby Sanctuary was relocating to a different house. We decided to help them out a bit by taking this crew to stay with us while all of the workers were busy packing, moving, unpacking, and getting re-established in their new house. It was quite an experience going from one child to four overnight, but Jeremy and Tricia made it! It was a rewarding experience and we plan on doing it again sometime just for fun (maybe with one less). :)

Another highlight was the time we got to spend visiting with Blue Springs First Church of the Nazarene on July 1st. We were able to attend a portion of their service through the magic of Skype, which is a really cool application that allows you to talk over the internet for free, as well as doing things like webcams, conference calls, etc. You should check it out sometime, it's how we stay in touch with a lot of our friends and family. Anyway, we were interviewed by a couple of members of their local Nazarene Missions International council, and it was a lot of fun to be able to interact with them in this way. If you are interested in doing this with your congregation as well, just send us an e-mail!

Other than that, we have been plugging away at work, spending lots of time playing with Jake, and having a good time! Jeremy is preparing to preach this Sunday, but otherwise we are just planning for a nice, relaxing weekend. Hope yours is as well!

Jake's Quote of the Week

“Dear Jesus, thank you for my wonderful dad and that I am going to have a girlfriend some day. Also, thank you for the peace of the heart that you gave me. Amen.”

(And... it starts.)

Praises and Prayer Requests

Well, over the last couple of weeks we have all been sick (though Jeremy's was just for a few hours and probably food-related), but we are doing much better now. It's winter time in Joburg again, which means it's dry, dusty, smoky, and then 65-70 during the day and 30-40 at night... a perfect recipe for colds and upper respiratory infections. We make it, though! :)

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Jeremy will be preaching at Africa Trinity Church of the Nazarene this Sunday morning
-- Wisdom for creative ways to continue to build relationships with the South African community
-- Continued good health
-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Let it SNOW?!?

What? Snow in Africa? Yep, that's what we thought when we woke up yesterday morning. It had actually snowed in Johannesburg, for the first time since 1981 (Jeremy and Tricia were Jake's age then!). Our picture here doesn't show nearly as much snow as in other places throughout Johannesburg, but it was something! People were taking pictures, playing in the snow, and just overall enthralled by this little dusting of white stuff. It made these two Midwesterners laugh that this was actually considered "snow".

Jake was a bit under the weather with a cold this past week, but seems to be back to about 95% now. It has been a week of wild weather shifts, as you can imagine, and it has all of our sinuses working overtime. We're just glad we've had people bring us Advil! :)

Between our jobs, church, and volunteering at the baby home, our days have been pretty busy! This weekend, we will have three babies, ranging from two years to four weeks old, as the baby home moves to a different house. It should be interesting! By the way, for anyone interested, the baby home's website is http://www.tsholofelo.org. Jeremy is also substitute teaching a Sunday School class for the next couple of weeks, helping our pastor plan some outreach events, and preparing to preach a couple of times in July. So... we aren't bored! :)

Jake's Quote of the Week

“Can we watch my new ‘Flushed Down the Toilet’ movie tonight?”

[We recently picked up a used copy of "Flushed Away" (a little cartoon movie about an uptown mouse and his visit to the sewer), and Jake got the concept right, just not the words.]

Praises & Prayer Requests

We praise God for the snow! It was a nice little reminder of home. The last time we saw snow was in January 2006, so it did bring a little smile to our faces. God knows how to make us smile!

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Jeremy and Tricia this weekend, as they go from one kid to four (temporarily)!

-- Our health

-- The baby home's move this weekend

-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Happy Fathers' Day!!!

This weekend we celebrated Fathers Day, and Jeremy wanted to go to the Botanical Gardens to go hiking with Jake for their special Fathers' Day activity. Jake is now 4 and he loves to hike around and look at bugs and birds. They hiked for a couple of hours on the trails in the Botanical Gardens, and then we all enjoyed a nice lunch in the restaurant there. One of the points of interest at the Gardens is the huge waterfall. Jake enjoyed throwing rocks into the water with his daddy and they climbed around by the water a little bit. It was a wonderful day where we could let Jeremy know how much we appreciate him and love him.

This week was a good week at work. Jeremy is all moved into his new office and is trying to figure out all that he needs to do in his new position of Communications Coordinator. It will be a period of learning for now as to all the different areas he will be involved in. He is a little nervous but very excited for what God has in store for him in this new area of ministry.

Tricia is still hard at work with the Africans that are called to missions. She is trying to move them all forward in the training and assessment process in order for all of them to be able to find their places in missions. She is also going to be promoting missions on the region and shedding light on the types of “missions” that Africans are already doing here in Africa. Once that occurs, then she can encourage more people to get involved in things that are already occurring in their own area.

Jake's Quote of the Week

“Do you know what my favorite part of my body is? It is my wrist… and my muscles.”

(This was one of those moments where you just have no idea what is about to come out of your child's mouth... but we were relieved!)

Praises and Prayer Requests

We would like to thank you all for your prayers. We praise the Lord we have all been well so far this winter and Tricia seems to be a lot better with her allergies than she was last year.

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Jeremy's transition into his new ministry
-- The Africans that are called to missions, and Tricia as she helps them in the process
-- For continued health so that we can keep working hard for Him
-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Happy Birthday Jake!

Jake with his preschool class, and his pinata, which these South African kids had never seen before











Jake getting ready to blow out the candles at his preschool party












Jake opening his gifts













A Mexican wrestler even showed up at Jake's party! (okay, it's a Spiderman costume, those are big here)











Jake enjoying his birthday ice cream at Spur, his favorite restaurant!











Jake's Quote of the Week

As Tricia walks in his room, he stands up in his bed and flexes... "Look how big my muscles are, 'cause I'm four now!"



Thank you Lord for the privilege of four years with this wonderful boy. We love him more than life itself!

An Upcoming Birthday!

Well, Jake’s 4th birthday is coming up on June 6th, it’s hard to believe that these four years have gone by so fast. It is another time for us to reflect on how much God has blessed us to have this special little boy in our lives. It’s also a time for… Jake to get presents! This year, Jake decided that what he really wanted was a couple of goldfish. So, we decided to go ahead and take a trip to the pet shop this week because… well, because we just can’t wait for exciting things like that. So now we have two little goldfish, Tigger and Adarby (we have no idea where that one came from). Jake loves to sit and watch them, and especially loves to feed them. Looks like it was a success!

This past weekend, we have had two Point Loma Nazarene University students staying with us as part of a cultural anthropology class that they are taking (how come I never took any classes like that?). It has been a lot of fun getting to know them and some of the other members of the group. Jeremy even had three of them playing basketball with him on Sunday! We really enjoy when teams come through here and we can get to know people from all over the world.

Also this weekend, we took seven of the babies from the baby home to a park to play. They had a great time being out and about and getting out of the orphanage for a little while. A few of them even fell asleep on the ten minute ride back, they had played so hard!

Jake’s Quote of the Week

Jake: “Mom, something is telling me that I should have some more fruit snacks.”
Tricia: “What is telling you that?”
Jake: “My voice is.”

Praises and Prayer Requests

We praise God for giving us another year with Jake. He is the best thing that has ever happened to us!

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- The safety of the Point Loma group as they travel around South Africa for the next two weeks and then back home.
-- Jeremy’s transition to his new job next month.
-- Our family’s health during the winter months.
-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Time for an Update

We’re sure that most of you are thinking, “About time…”, and you’re right. It’s been two and a half weeks since our last blog entry, and there is some important news to share. However, before we do, take a look at Jake’s most recent masterpiece that he drew on his chalkboard. He got some new chalk, so it inspired him to write his name and draw a self-portrait. Not bad for a three-year-old, eh? :)

So, now to the news… first of all, Jeremy has gotten a new job! Starting on June 11th, he will be taking the position of Communications Coordinator for the Africa Region. It’s quite a bit more responsibility, as he will be coordinating the video, radio, internet and written communication for the Region, as well of thinking of new ways to tell the story of the Africa Region and work to better connect the African church with the rest of the global church. Jeremy is excited for the challenge and the opportunity!

Second, we got a little taste of home this past weekend when we had a telephone call with our home church! It was great to be able to share a little bit about what we are doing in Africa and to get to hear our pastor’s voice, as well as the voices of a few other congregation members! Jake sang a song and said a Bible verse for them, and everyone seemed to enjoy that. Unfortunately, we were on the call from our computer and the African internet was not cooperating too well, so it was hard to understand parts of the call. But at least we got to hear from them, and that was nice!

Finally, we want to wish a belated Happy Mothers’ Day to all of the mothers that follow along on our blog. Hope you had a very special day!

Jake’s Quote of the Week

“Dear Jesus, thank you for our lovely pizza and our lovely servillettes and please let it stay smelling “pizzaly” in our car, because we like it when it smells like pizza in our car. Amen.”

(It’s those little blessings that God bestows on us… like “pizzaly” cars.)

Praises and Prayer Requests

We praise God that he was looking after one of our friends, little eight-week-old Jonathan Kanenungo, as he underwent emergency surgery to fix an artery that had not closed properly after his birth (Jonathan’s parents, Naila and Simba, work at the Africa Regional Office). Jonathan came through the surgery very well and is now recovering.

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Jonathan's continued recovery

-- Jeremy's preparation for his new job

-- Our family's health this winter

-- God's blessing upon our ministry here in Africa

-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Winter on the Way

Well, now that we have entered May, we are reminded that winter is on the way. This past weekend has been VERY cold (for autumn in Joburg), with highs in the low 50s and very windy, and the temperatures at night getting into the low 40s. This forced us to get the space heaters out, since houses in South Africa do not have central heating. Today is much warmer, but we are hearing that a cold winter is on the way. Luckily, winters here don't last too long!

Last week, Jeremy finished teaching his first class at Nazarene Theological College, and it was a success! He taught church administration and basic budgeting to our future pastors that are going through the program there. Jeremy still has finals and course projects to grade, but he enjoyed it well enough to do it again when the college needs him!

We have had a few days to relax in the past week, as we celebrated Freedom Day and Laborer's Day here in South Africa. Freedom Day commemorates the birth of the "new" South Africa, when free democratic elections were held for the first time in this country on April 27, 1994. Laborer's Day is essentially the same as our Labor Day, and is celebrated today, May 1st. The time of relaxation has been nice!

Jake's Quote of the Week

“I really miss my cousins. I’m going to be sad for forty days and forty nights, because I really miss them.”

(We recently got some pictures of his cousins, so he is remembering them and has been talking about them a lot lately.)

Praises and Prayer Requests

It has been a good few weeks, and we are really thankful for that. Jake has battled with the change of the seasons and sickness, but nothing too major. We also praise God because the first test in the series of tests that Lindiwe has to go through turned out to be negative for the illness she was feared to have.

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Lindiwe's continued testing

-- Jake, as he fights off a cold

-- That Jeremy and Tricia can manage to stay healthy as the season changes

-- God's blessing on our work here in the Africa Regional Office

-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Happy (Belated) Easter!

Jake taking a pony ride at the Easter egg hunt at one of the big shopping centers












Jake with his basket on Easter morning













Jake and our friend Lindiwe, getting ready to do their own Easter egg hunt at our house












Jake with his Easter present, a magnifying glass













Jake and Lindiwe eating the candy they found

Giant Crickets, Lizards and Toes...Oh My!

Well, the biggest news by far this week is that Jake prayed for Jesus to take all of the sin out of his heart and for him to live there forever instead! He came up with this completely on his own (well, at least as far as the decision goes), so Daddy prayed with him and Jesus now lives in Jake's little heart! We are so proud of him!

The picture this week is Jake having an encounter with one of our "neighbors", one of the small lizards that find their way into our house from time to time. Daddy and Jake found this one on Saturday, and kindly showed it out of the house. We don't mind having them around though, as there are far fewer mosquitoes around here thanks to the little guys (and the altitude).

As for the giant crickets, our dog Jozi makes sure that none of those make it into the house. Her mission every night is to seek out, torture, and half-eat the three to four inch long crickets (the specific variety most often found in Joburg is called the "Parktown Prawn"). Jozi can be seen most night digging through the grass, jumping around, and flipping the crickets through the air. To see what Parktown Prawns look like, click here: http://home.intekom.com/intekom/parktown_prawns/

In other news, we had a minor scare this week when we thought Jake broke his big toe while clowning around with Daddy. After a trip to the doctor for x-rays (it was all swollen and purple the next morning), turns out it was only sprained. He's walking around fine on it now, so I guess it's true what they say, kids really are made out of rubber!

Jake's Quote of the Week

“No, my name is not Jacob, my name is Jake Africa Johnson. No, my name is Jake Africa Spirit Johnson, like the Spirit of the Lord God.”

(Seriously, where did this kid come from?!)

Praises & Prayer Requests

Of course, our big praise for the week is Jake's acceptance of Jesus into his life! We are happy that Jake can start on his Christian walk at an early age and that all of the prayers, Bible stories, etc. have paid off! Please pray for Jake as he starts on this lifelong journey.

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Tricia's sister's family, as they have recently had a traumatic experience that the whole family is dealing with

-- Jeremy, as he prepares to teach at NTC next month
-- Tricia, as she will be the only present member of the Missionary Personnel department her in Africa while the Cramers are on home assignment for the next 7 weeks

-- The upcoming worldwide Nazarene theology conference in Amsterdam during the first week of April
-- Lindiwe, the little girl that we play with at the orphanage, as she undergoes tests next week for a life-threatening illness
-- Unspoken requests

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

New Experiences

Over the past couple of weeks, we have had some new experiences, which we are glad to have, after being in Africa for over a year now. Sometimes, working in the regional office can feel like it gets a bit dull, since you are not in typical "mission work". There is not much front-line ministry that we do, other than what we find to do on our own.

Last Saturday, we attended the graduation ceremony at Nazarene Theological College here in Johannesburg. Since we go to the church located on the college campus, we have gotten to know many of the students, and it was nice to see them graduate. Now we will have friends pastoring in local churches in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe, with another friend that wants to teach at the college in Mozambique once he finishes more schooling. The picture this week is Jeremy and Jake standing with our friend from Mozambique, Arcenio Manjate. He has had a very interesting and difficult journey to graduating from NTC (where he took classes in English, his 4th best language), so it was especially meaningful to see him graduate. Jeremy will be teaching an Administration and Accounts class at the college next month, so we are getting more and more involved with the college as time goes by, which is nice. In 10 or 15 years, the students we knew from NTC will likely be our pastors and district superintendents throughout Africa, so it's very nice to start those relationships now.

The following day (last Sunday), Jeremy preached his first sermon in Africa. It was also just the seventh morning sermon at the newly formed Africa Trinity Church of the Nazarene, which made it a double honor for Jeremy. Like a good Nazarene preacher, Jeremy preached on holiness, and the Gauteng district superintendent and many others that had attended the graduation were also there. It was definitely a different experience than preaching in the US, or even preaching to a Spanish-speaking congregation, as there are some interesting nuances to being a guest preacher in Africa. However, all went well, and it ended up being a nice service!

Jake's Quote of the Week

"I'm a funky man." (while dancing his way across the living room)

["Funky" is not a word we use a lot in the Johnson house, and neither of his parents are known for their dancing prowess, so we really have no idea where Jake got this. Please keep this on the down low and do not report Jake to World Mission, we want to keep him here with us in Africa. :) ]

Praises and Prayer Requests

We praise God this week for new opportunities to minister to others in his name. He has really blessed us to be able to experience so much just in this short time that we have been in Africa.

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Jeremy, as he prepares to teach at NTC next month

-- Tricia, as she will be the only present member of the Missionary Personnel department her in Africa while the Cramers are on home assignment for the next 8 weeks

-- David & Patti Cramer and Linda Braaten as they travel around the US for the next few months on home assignment

-- The upcoming worldwide Nazarene theology conference in Amsterdam during the first week of April

-- Lindiwe, the little girl that we play with at the orphanage, as she undergoes tests next week for a life-threatening illness

-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Touchdown, Kan-sas City!

The picture you see here is Daddy and Jake playing tackle football in the common area of our townhouse complex. Over the past year, Jake has decided that he is a big Kansas City Chiefs fan (just like Daddy, coincidentally), and he wears Chiefs t-shirts, likes to play tackle football, loves anything with the Chiefs logo on it, and randomly yells things like, "Go Chiefs!" and recently "Touchdown, Kan-sas City!" (for those of your not familiar with Chiefs football, that is the Chiefs' radio announcer's signature phrase). Anyway, he is a Chief-aholic, so any LINKS churches that wonder what Jake would like, anything to do with the Chiefs would be a safe bet. :)

We missed writing last week because we were at a spiritual retreat for missionaries working in the Africa Regional Office. It was a nice time to take a step back from the pace and pressures of the office and just to refocus on why we are here and what God wants to do in our lives. The place we went to was a remote, peaceful location in the Drakensburg mountains, about a 5 hour drive from Johannesburg. It was a nice little break to do not much else but spend time in prayer and reflection on the Lord.

Work has been busy, but good. We both have felt like we have actually been accomplishing some things lately, which is always nice encouragement to keep going! Jake has been doing well in school, although we are looking for a different school right now, as the one we have him in is just not meeting his needs. On the home front, things are good and we cannot believe that in less than 3 months we will have a 4 year old in our midst! On that note...

Jake's Quote of the Week

"I am the king of nothing!"

(Jake had been running around earlier in the day saying, "I am the King of Peace", which he had heard at school. Mommy corrected him in the ensuing theological discussion, and you can see how it went.)

Praises and Prayer Requests

We praise God that he brought us closer to him this past week at the retreat. It was more fun and more beneficial than we expected it would be, and we didn't find ourselves as far behind as we had feared when we returned to the office.

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Lindiwe, the little girl that we play with at the orphanage, as she undergoes tests in a couple of weeks for a life-threatening illness

-- The search for a new school for Jake

--Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Our Church

We mentioned a couple of weeks ago that our church was in the process of changing from a preaching point to be a full-fledged church. It's something that we are really excited to be a part of, and a way that we feel that we can minister in the community, as opposed to our work in the Regional Office, where we are more in "support" ministry and less involved on the "front lines.

The picture you see is of our co-pastors, Madela and Meshack (they are twins). They will be sharing responsibilities, as there is huge potential for outreach with many informal settlements (a.k.a. squatter camps) near the college campus. Right now, there are about a dozen or so adults from the community that come regularly, in addition to about 30-40 kids. Then there are about ten missionaries (including kids), and probably around 15-20 students from the college. We really feel like there is a good core to build from and a lot of people that can and will get involved in active ministry. We are really excited for the potential!

Pastor Madela has asked Jeremy to meet with him tomorrow night to help prepare him to be a pastor from an administrative standpoint. It's really nice for him to feel like he can use his skills in ways other than just the Finance office!

Jakes' Quote of the Week

"You think I'm awesome because I have my shirt off, don't 'cha?"

Praises and Prayer Requests

We praise God for the opportunity that we have to really make a difference in establishing a church. We are all very excited to be a part of it!

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Jeremy's meeting with Pastor Madela

-- Our upcoming missionary retreat (this weekend), that it would be a time of refreshment and spiritual growth

-- Today's closing of the General Board meetings in KC and sending service for, among others, our missionary friends from Guatemala, the Armstrongs

-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Visitors!

Tricia's best friend Amber and her husband Luke flew in from Kansas City to visit us for the last two weeks, so we ended up being too busy showing them all around South Africa to post to the blog last week. We had a wonderful time in Johannesberg, Pilanesberg, and Cape Town while they were here. So now that they flew out this evening, we find ourselves left with the memories of their visit (cue sappy music)...


Jake welcoming Amber to South Africa














Amber and Luke hanging out with some of the "locals"













The Johnson family at Boulders Bay (yes, those are penguins in the background)













The best friends at Cape Point












Jake's Quote of the Week

"Dear Jesus, thank you for our bread, our vegetables and our chicken, and I don’t have any ketchup. Amen."

(Such a subtle little boy...)

Praises and Prayer Requests

Well, we really want to praise God for the time that we had with Amber and Luke, and especially the time that Amber and Tricia got to spend together. This past year has been the longest that Tricia and Amber have been apart in the last 20 years, so it has been hard on both of them. We are very thankful that they were able to make the 9,000 mile trip to see us.

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Amber & Luke's travel back to the U.S.
-- The floods currently affecting Mozambique
-- General Board meetings in Kansas City
-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Pizza Party!

This week was capped off by us teaching children's church at our church this morning. We had 32 kids and were able to treat them to a pizza party due to the generosity of a few donors that sent the funds for this to take place. The kids were able to sing and dance along to one of Jake's worship DVDs (which they loved), and also watched a Veggie Tales movie. A good time was had by all!

This coming week, Jeremy will be taking part in an audit of Financial Services by an outside accounting firm. The results of this audit will be used by Jeremy and the rest of the department to rewrite procedures, form a policy manual, and then make sure that they pass the "real" audit later this year. Exciting, huh?! :)

Next Sunday, Tricia's best friend Amber and her husband Luke will be coming to visit us for two weeks. We are all really looking forward to that! Hopefully we'll be able to write again next Sunday, but we can't guarantee anything, as it will be a busy day. We'll write soon though!

Jake's Quote of the Week

Mommy: “You’ll always be mommy’s baby.”
Jake: “Mommy, how about I always be your cool dude now?”

(We think he skipped straight from two to his teenage years)

Praises and Prayer Requests

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Our church becomes and actual church (right now, it is considered a "preaching point") on Feb. 4th. Please pray that the move to an actual church allows us to minister the community to a greater degree.
-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Back to School

Jake and his friend Benolo from the children's home at which we volunteer. Benolo is three, just like Jake, even though she looks a lot smaller.










Jake and some of his friends from our complex, Jordan and Sky. They are 6 and 7, but Jake follows them around everywhere.

Jake is back to school now, and unlike the beginning of last year, he really looks forward to going every day. He is in the "Doves" class this year, which is two years prior to "Grade Naught" (what they call kindergarten here). This year, they begin teaching the kids more intensely, doing more letters, numbers, etc., and having actual classroom time for a little bit each day. He loves it, and it's great, since there's a shortage of kids his age around our complex, it's a good place for him to make friends as well.

Well, other than that, it has been pretty normal around here. Jeremy is working on a lot of different projects in the Finance department, and Tricia is trying to figure out what her "new direction" means in a practical sense. Just another day at the office!

Jake's Quote of the Week

"Dear God, thank you for your hand. I would like to play in your hand and have lots of fun in your hand. I would even like to slide in your hand, just like Jesus. Amen."

Praises and Prayer Requests

It's hard to go through a day not feeling blessed for everything that has worked together to bring us to where we are. We have also recently been astounded by the love that has been shown to us throughout this holiday season in the form of cards, packages, e-mails, etc. We never knew that so many people were praying and caring for us! Thank you, everyone!

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Tricia's second cousin, Eric Carlson, is battling a heart condition and is trying to recover from his latest surgery.

-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

More Friends Visit...

Well, so far, so good for 2007! The year started off with a bang here in South Africa, with the Third Wave conference for youth leaders. Leaders from 55 different countries and 2 general superintendents were here at the Good News Conference Center for a week of seminars, networking, etc. From what we hear (we only stopped by a couple of times), it was a very good experience and everyone learned a lot. Our highlight of the conference (since we weren't really participants) was getting to see friends that we hadn't seen in a while. We saw a lot of friends that we hadn't seen in a while, including our missionary friend, David Webb!

We went through our missionary intern training with the Webb family in the fall of 2005, and now they are serving in Costa Rica, where David and Shelley are in charge of evangelism and youth for the MAC South (southern part of the Mexico and Central America Region). We, of course, got to know the Webbs very well during our internship and were glad to get the chance to see our dear friend David while he was here (that's him in the picture)!

In work news, Tricia had an exciting week, as she met with Marty Hoskins, the Director of World Mission Mobilization, who was here for the Third Wave Conference. Part of Marty's responsbilities includes overseeing the various 3D programs around the world. So during his visit here, Marty gave Tricia a new direction for her assignment. Now, she is essentially going to be trying to raise awareness of missions on the Africa Region by promoting what Africans are doing in missions. Programs that are "handed down" usually prove to be short-lived and do not make much impact. On other regions, this new approach has worked to create more of a sense of ownership within the region, and the results have been better.

Jake's Quote of the Week

“Dear Jesus, I love you very much and I need you to do everything that I want you to do. Amen.”

Praises and Prayer Requests

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

--The Webb family, as they adjust to their new envrionment in Costa Rica

--Tricia, as she learns her "new" assignment

--Jake, as he gets back to preschool

--Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Happy New Year!

Well, 2006 was quite a year! It was one year ago on the 5th that we arrived here in South Africa, and even though it seems like a long time ago, at the same time we still feel like newbies in some ways. We would say that now we are comfortable living in our new environment, that things feel more like "home" than they ever have, but in a lot of ways, still foreign as well. Yeah, that doesn't make much sense, but I guess it's kind of hard to describe in a lot of ways.

Of course, the one year mark also means that we are one third of the way through our internship. In a little under two years, we will be headed back to the US for our first "home assignment", which will be comprised of seeing family and friends, traveling to and speaking at churches all around the country, and also interviewing with the General Board of the Church of the Nazarene for consideration to be Global Missionaries (right now we are considered missionary interns). That will be an exciting and hectic time, but one we are looking forward to as well. After one year, we definitely can't wait to see our family and friends again. Just a side note, we are already trying to schedule deputation services for Jan 2009 - April 2009. If you would like to have us speak at your church during that time, please contact us and we will let you know when we will be in your neck of the woods.

The holidays have provided a nice time of rest for all of us. We didn't realize how tired we all were until we stopped to take a rest. Tricia and Jake ended up getting sick once they stopped moving for a while, but it was just the flu and only lasted for a few days. Jeremy is already back to work at the Regional Office, and Jake starts back to school this next week, which will allow Tricia to get back to work as well. We look forward to moving forward in our ministries in 2007!

By the way, the picture above is Jake at Gold Reef City, an amusement park here in Johannesburg. He and Tricia went with a missionary family from Zambia that came to stay in South Africa for the holidays. He had a blast! More pictures from Christmas, etc. later this week.

Jake's Quote of the Week

"Dear Jesus, thank you for my chicken and my yogurt. And thank you for my fork that picks up my chicken and my spoon that can scoop up my yogurt and thank you for this mouth that can open and eat my food. Amen."

Praises and Prayer Requests

We praise for giving us the strength to make it through our first year on the mission field. It hasn't been easy, but he has provided for our needs and carried us through. We are nothing without him! We also praise God for all of the support that you all lprovide to us in so many ways. We wouldn't be here without you either!

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Tricia and Jake's continued recovery from their flu bugs

-- A safe and productive year for us here in South Africa

-- The Third Wave (NYI) Conference currently taking place in South Africa

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Merry Christmas!

Here's a sampling of our pictures from our first Christmas in Africa:

Jake with a new game!



A Lego helicopter and ambulance!



Play-Doh!


His first bike!


Lindiwe, a baby from the children's home we volunteer at, modeling her new outfit and shoes that she received while celebrating Christmas with us!

More later....

Jeremy, Tricia and Jake

It's Not Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

It has been so strange for us to prepare for Christmas when it feels like summer. We have procrastinated on buying gifts and decorating because it just doesn’t feel right. It is funny to be singing Christmas carols about the snow when most people here have never seen snow. So the song “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” will just continue to be a dream for the people of Johannesburg, South Africa.

For the last few weeks we have enjoyed the company of Jeremy’s friends Nate and Roy (from high school). It was a lot of fun to have them here. It feels like we aren’t so far from home when we have visitors from the States. Jake really had a hard time seeing them go and asked if they could come back to stay with us again. His “uncles” spoiled him rotten while they were here. But with Christmas right around the corner we were able to get him to stop being so sad that they were gone and to focus on Christmas.

Sometimes, we think Jake understands the meaning of Christmas, but then he surprises us by adding his own twists to the story. He says things like, “God sent his Son, Jesus, to the earth so that He could love us, and then after that he had a Christmas party and ate fruitcake”. And then there was the other night, when Jake said, “But I don’t want Jesus to take my sins away, I want to keep them.” Obviously, we still have some work to do…

We wanted to thank all of you who have sent us card or packages. It is really hard to explain how much it means to us to know that we aren’t forgotten. Plus, getting fat on all of the goodies makes it easier to come up with a New Year’s resolution! :) But really, thank you so much, all of you. We hope all of our blog readers have a very merry Christmas and may God bless you!

Jake's Quote of the Week

November 2006: “I want to be a Chiefs football player when I get bigger.”

December 2006: “I want to be a pee-wee golf player when I get bigger.”

This change happened after going to a huge miniature golf course with Daddy, Mommy, and his uncles (pictured above). We tried to explain the financial ramifications to him, but he insists that he only plays for the love of the game. By the way, "pee-wee golf" seems to be a Chicago-area (Tricia) term for what the rest of the world (Jeremy) calls miniature golf or putt-putt.

Praises and Prayer Requests

Well, it's Christmas time, so we'll let you fill in the blank on the praise side of things. What greater reason could there be?

As far as the prayer requests go, please remember the following needs this week:

-- Our adjustment to a warm, sunny Christmas without our family

-- Safe travels for all of those traveling during the holiday season

-- Unspoken request

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Jake's "Uncles" are Here!

We have been on "holiday" since December 1st, when Jake's "Uncle Nate" (one of Jeremy's high school buddies) arrived from the US. Then on the 8th, Jake's "Uncle Roy" (another of Jeremy's high school buddies) arrived as well. Needless to say, Jake has been spoiled with all kinds of attention, candy, and mischief for over a week now... and he is loving it!

It has been a good time of getting reacquainted with friends and catching up on what has happened in the last year. We have done most of the typical Johannesburg touristy stuff, and now Nate and Roy are in Cape Town for a couple of days to take in the sights in one of the most beautiful areas on Earth. We will see them back here on Wednesday, and then they will spend a few more days in Joburg before leaving for the US on Friday.

It has been nice to take some time off and see some friends before the holidays. Christmas will be a bit strange this year, both for the fact that we won't be with our families and also that it will be about the hottest time of the year here in Joburg! Celebrating Christmas in temperatures in the mid-to-high 80's will be a new experience for us!

Jake's Quote of the Week

Jake's Sunday School teacher: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Jake: "I want to be four.”

Praises and Prayer Requests

We thank God for our friends and the joy that a visit brings. We also thank God for all of our friends and family that may not be able to visit, but support us in so many other ways. We love you all!

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Our family during this first Christmas away from home

-- Our safety during this time of increased crime rates in South Africa

-- Those travelling for the holidays

-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake