Our trip to South Africa was awesome, wonderful, great, and fantastic. The Lord was with us every step of the way. I thank the Lord for honoring His word and doing what He said He would do.

A few days after my wife Cindy passed, I began thinking/praying about a vacation for the family. We had not been on a vacation in a while and I wanted to do something to bring our family together. Everywhere I would think about going in the States seemed to fall flat. I couldn't see doing rides all day, eating out, and then going to a hotel room. I thought about going overseas and the only place I could think of was South Africa. Any other place we would have to make all the arrangements ourselves. I knew if I showed up in Cape Town, Alfie Fabe would set everything up for us. He would arrange a place for us to minister on as many nights as we wanted. Also, the host pastor would provide us transportation to and from the services. Cindy and I went to Cape Town for a week in September of 1999. We fell in love with the country, especially the people! Ever since then, we had a vision to bring our kids to Africa.

I called about plane tickets, which did not seem to be a problem at first. The travel agency said they would work on getting tickets and let me know. When a couple of weeks passed without hearing back from the agents, I began to get concerned. I wanted to leave July 23^rd and return August 7^th so we could get back at 8AM on the 8^th and the kids could register for school that day. I decided to search for myself. I could find one airline that had seats to get us there, but no seats on the return. Another airline could get us back, but did not have any tickets going. I could not find anyone that would sell us tickets for separate airlines going each direction. I could see that I could easily spend all day and night looking for tickets. Then I remembered what God had been telling me over and over, 'Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord....' So I called back the travel agency I had first called and felt lead to tell her why we were traveling. The lady said she would seriously look for tickets and this time took down the name and ages of all going. The very last thing she said was that she would see if she could work a miracle for us. I knew it was not her, but God saying what He was going to do. After that, I just left it in God's hands.

When I first told Caroline about going, she couldn't believe what I was saying. She had just talked to her best friend Jenny about the 2 of them going to South Africa. She liked the idea and wanted Jenny to go too. I said sure.

When Cindy passed, I was stunned since I had been trusting God to heal her. The Lord had given words like 'Cindy is going to live and not die'. God meant that she would live in heaven and the bible does say in John you will not die but be with the Lord. So I could accept that part, however, I could not understand about Mary. It looked like to me that she would have to go live with her father. That would be contrary to what God had been telling me about all my kids. One day a while back, I was praying and felt like Solomon in the presence of the Lord and that whatever I asked would be granted. I asked for all of my kids to be on the same platform together and minister out the love and power of God to the people. I am not talking about either singing or preaching, but moving mightily in the power and flow of God. The reaction from God was like that was something really pleasing. He said he would do that and bless me more than I could imagine. A lot of times when I would pray, the Lord would start talking to me about the kids. One day Cindy asked why the Lord always talked about the kids and never mentioned her. I said O you are included since you are the mother. She was smart and would notice things like that. I knew Mary was included. Also if she did go with her dad, it would not be a good environment for her Christian growth. So not only would she not be a part of this family, but she would also go the way of the world. I just could not see that being something from God. When I prayed to the Lord about this He just said, 'Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord....' Mary's dad started asking her when she was going to move in with him. He wanted her to move in during the summer so that she could start the new High School. She told me that she wanted to stay with me and that she knew it would be the right thing to do spiritually speaking. However, she cares for her dad a lot and could not bring herself to tell him that she did not want to move in with him. She was afraid he would get mad at her and leave out of her life. I talked with her about this and told her she had to tell him. Finally one Saturday he asked her if she wanted to move in and then fell asleep. She called me and asked, what do I do? I said to go ahead and tell him. So she hung up and he woke back up and asked again and so she told him. He was prepared and told her that she could stay in the same school and he would take her to see her friends anytime she wanted. Mary had to tell she would not move in with him because she thought that would be the best for her life at this time. I am very proud of her for that. Her dad said well I see you have your mind made up and even though I don't like it, I know that if I force you to move in, you would be miserable. So I am not going to make you move in with me. God did just what He said, 'Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord....' Her dad was going to a family reunion in Ohio the end of July and Mary had already told him she would go. I really wanted her to go with us to South Africa and thought that would be good for her to go. She was concerned that if she told her dad no 2 times in a row that he would get mad at her and leave. So she decided to go with her dad while the rest of us went to South Africa. When I prayed about this, the Lord said He had Mary in his hand and that it was all right for her to go with her dad. I know that it pleased her dad for her go with him. If someone he did not know were to tell him about Jesus, he would just blow them off, however, when Mary speaks to him, he will at least take in what she has to say since he knows that she cares for him.

We had a lot to do to get ready. The 4 oldest ones went to the Bahamas for 10 days the last part of June on a mission trip with our church and that really set the stage for going to SA. They did a 'HE IS' drama with 33 kids that give a short description of every book of the Bible. My family wanted to do that with only 4 people. That took a lot of work and is one reason we could not leave any earlier. We wanted to spend as much time as possible in SA, but had a deadline of school starting on Monday August 12^th. The travel agency called and said we had confirmed seats going, but only standby for the return. She thought seats would open up and so did I since that was the Airline, which had seats on the return, but none, going when I had checked earlier. About a week before we were to leave, I grabbed Caroline and Jon and said lets pray together about tickets. When we finished praying, I could tell by the look on Caroline's face that she had something to say. I asked and she said that all she could think of was a scripture she had just read and it was Ex. 14:13, 'Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord....' A few days later, Caroline asked how we were going to get to the airport. We had 7 people with 8 bags to check and a piece of carry on luggage for everyone. I didn't want to leave a car at the airport and even then I didn't know if our car would carry all of our luggage and us. My brother who is a schoolteacher and drives a charter bus during the summer called from Kansas City. He had a bus trip leaving on July 20^th to North Georgia and wanted to know if he could stay with us for a week till his group returned. I said sure, but we would be leaving on Tuesday for South Africa and needed a ride to the airport. He said sure, a charter bus would be more than enough room. PTL! Then Caroline asked where would he park his bus. I called a neighbor and asked if she would know whom to call about parking a bus in our neighborhood. She said, I know the answer to that. When our neighbor's parents come to visit with their big RV, they park it on the cul-de-sac right behind our house. Then she went on to ask for an itinerary in South Africa so that some of our neighbors could pray for us while we are gone. That just so blessed me. The day before we left I was getting money at the bank. A teller said she had seen me at the Christian bookstore and asked how things were going. I told her about South Africa and she said she would pray for us. God is so good. People were telling me that they would pray for our trip without me having to ask. God really means 'Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord....' He told me to watch and see what He would do.

By Friday, July 19^th everything else was coming together, but still did not have tickets. The Lord had told me that He had already ordained the day we would leave and the day we would come back. I called on Friday morning and she had 2 confirmed return tickets, and said we still had some time. I asked are you sure since we were supposed to leave next Tuesday? She looked at her calendar and said, O my goodness, I have to issue these tickets today so they can be sent overnight and you get them on Monday to leave Tuesday morning. If they do not get done by 5pm today, then you won't be going. She said she would work on it and call me back. That afternoon, she called and asked if I had to come back on August 7^th. She would try different dates to find seats. Her problem was trying to find 7 seats on the same flight. I told her I was somewhat flexible and to see what she could come up with. She called back and said the only seats to be found were leaving Sunday August 11^th and getting back to Atlanta at 8AM on August 12^th. I said sure. So at 4pm she worked up our tickets and just finished them by the 5pm deadline. We arrived back on the first day of school and I took the older kids to school a little late.

The Lord told me that our steps would be ordered of Him from the time we left until the time we got back. The flight over was about 14.5 hours and the twins did well. Pastor Alfie met us at the airport. Pastor Ricardo of Available Outreach Ministries picked us up in a van that held all of our luggage and us. He took us around and it was a real blessing. Joshua liked him a lot and would go places with just the 2 of them. We had asked to stay at a Christian guesthouse so we could be together as a family. However, we also wanted to get to know the people and culture so we asked to stay in homes as well. We stayed at Kosie's Place the 1^st week. It was real nice and located in Muizengberg on the Indian Ocean. However, it was a little drive away from Mitchells Plain where Alfie lived and most of the Churches and activities we would be doing. The people that ran the place were real nice. It was a good way to start our trip. The weather was cold to us since it is their winter. We had brought warm clothes, but they don't have heat in the homes since it does not get below freezing. It took some getting used to wearing coats in the house to stay warm. We incorporated P & R (prayer & reflection) from the kids Bahamas mission trip. It was a time every day to reflect on the events and how things went during ministry, both positive and negative. It gave everyone a chance to voice their thoughts and was insightful to hear the things that stood out to others. Also it gave a chance to hear what God was saying to/through them. It was so cool to see & hear God confirm His word right in front of our eyes on a regular basis. The 2^nd and 3^rd week we stayed in homes. The dad, Sarah, Joshua and Rebekah stayed with Pastor Alfie. Caroline & Jenny stayed at Alfie's daughter Ruth and her husband Ashley's house about 5 min. away. They really liked Ruth & Ashley. It was set up special just for them. Jon stayed at Pastor Ricardo's house that had a son his age. The people in South Africa are some of the nicest people we have met. Not only the ones we stayed with, but also out and about even in the stores they are friendly and pleasant to be around. I really liked staying with Alfie and got to know a side of him that I did not know and respect him more now than ever. He has a policy in his house that no one is turned away for food. Every day 10-20 or more people knock on his door for food. Unemployment in South Africa is over 40% and they have a large homeless population as a result. Also his emphasis on relationships in ministry is important to him and I now realize that his point is valid and very powerful. His daughter and son and their families are very special and I enjoyed being with them a lot. Alfie is a true pillar in the ministry and in Cape Town.

On Thursday evening was our first scheduled ministry opportunity. Pastor Llewellyn showed up to pick us up. He was only told to pick up Pastor Steve and very surprised to see a whole family with 6 kids. So we all piled into his small car and he said that there were probably more of us than would be at the meeting. It turned out to be one of the more awesome meetings that we had. We did our 'He Is' drama and that just set the stage for God to show up powerfully. The pastor had told the Lord earlier that he was going to pray all night until he heard from God. The Lord had been speaking to his heart about a big vision and so far he had not seen anything happening before his eyes to let him know he was on the right track. So the kids and I shared what was on our heart and he really got excited. We repeated exactly what God had been telling him and encouraged him with scriptures. He then said he did not have to stay up all night since God had spoken. I was so pleased since it was confirmation for our hearts also. God is so good! Afterwards, we had tea and found out Pastor Llewellyn is also a teacher a local high school. He asked the kids if they would come and do the drama at school. They said sure and were excited to have the opportunity to go into the local schools. He set it up for them have an assembly for all 900+ students next Wednesday. PR (Pastor Ricardo) took us down to Cape Point where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. That was real nice and we got to walk almost all the way down to the very tip. We also stopped to see the African Penguin's. Rebekah liked that very much and wanted to go back and see them again.

On Sunday we went to Emmanuel Mission Church. It was the biggest and the only church we went to that had a real church building. We did not do our drama and I preached and shared my testimony about Cindy passing. I noticed that almost all of the people were nodding their head in agreement and really taking in what I was saying. After the altar call, a lady in line shook my hand and said that Rebekah looked just like her mother. Then I realized that I had been in that church before. In 1999 Cindy and I came to this church and she preached that Sunday. So the people knew exactly who I was talking about and it was very real to them. After the service the pastor invited us over to his house for tea. While talking, we found out that he is the Principle at a local High School. He liked the idea about our drama and asked if the older kids could go to his school on Monday. They were excited about that and said sure. I like culture of having tea. If we had just gone home after church we would not have known anything about the pastor or him about us. They asked us over for tea since that is what they do all the time and the rest just worked out for us. The kids went to his school and loved it. They were treated like kings with their own table to eat and everything. The students liked the drama as well. On Thursday we went to Pastor Llewellyn's school. When we got there, they had a high-ranking visitor and did not want an assembly at that time, so they brought the kids in 2 classes at a time. They did their drama all day long and then talked about differences in schools and would share their testimony when asked. Pastor Llewellyn is also the girl's soccer coach and Caroline & Jenny liked that. This man has a really powerful vision for the area and long-term success of the young people. You can contact me for more info about his ministry.

On Saturday while we were in Muizengberg, we took the train down to Fish Hoek. The train goes right next to the ocean and it is very beautiful. We arrived a little after 1pm and most of the stores closed at 1:00 on Saturday. We did some window-shopping and then took the train back past Muizengberg a couple of stops north and went shopping at a mall. While at the mall, it started raining. By that time, it was getting late and we were told that the trains would stop running soon. I called PJ (Pastor Ricardo) who was glad to come and pick us up. It was so nice to be able to go with the flow knowing God was with us and not being worried about getting stuck somewhere. During the last week we wanted to go to Century Mall and look for a specific CD. Our normal driver could not take us and we did not have a way to go. We tried several ideas and then called Pastor Allen, who said sure, I will take you. We had been in his church, but the service lasted so late that we did not have any time to spend with him. It was so awesome when we started talking with him about all the things that God had done for him and is doing for him. He shared with us the details about being struck by lightening and so much more. It was just one of the many God ordained visits with His people. God is so good to order our steps all the time.

The 1^st 2 weeks it rained and was cold. The last week the weather turned nice and we were able to do some outside activities. We (Caroline, Jenny, Jon & me) went Abseiling (going down a cliff on a rope) on Table Mountain. That was really a lot of fun. Jon & I went skydiving and he really liked that a lot. We got to go on a small plane ride around Cape Point just before we left. That was good and really something to see how big the mountains were right by the sea. We were at 3,000 feet over the water and below the tops of the mountains.

On Wednesday after a cable car ride a down Table Mountain, we took a taxi into town. We had wanted to eat in town, but most of the shops close downtown at 5pm and it was after 5. The taxi lady suggested we eat at the waterfront. Eating out was very enjoyable since a steak dinner would cost 2-3 US dollars. My whole family could eat a big meal for a little over $20.00. The food seemed to taste better as well. The driver asked what hotel we were staying in and when we said Mitchells Plain she said O my goodness that is where I live. Then she found out we were Christians and was very excited. When we were dropped off, she said if we needed a ride home to just let her know and gave us her cell number. We were supposed to be picked up by PR and we knew that since it was a Wednesday that he had church that night and would have to pick us up before then. We called and sure enough, he was on his way to pick us up. We told him that we would just take a taxi instead. That way we could take our time and eat our meal and not be rushed. After we finished, I called the taxi lady and she said sure she would pick us up. Now Mitchells Plain is a good 20-30 minute drive from town and I had no idea how much she would charge us. I noticed that she did not turn on her meter when we left. She took us for free and was glad to get home early since a couple of her children were home and she wanted to spend time with them. When we got close, she asked if we wanted to stop by her house and have tea. We said sure and so at 10pm we had tea and it was nice. She had a nice cozy house that was very homey. It was just so great to have our steps ordered by God and just flow and go with what was in front of us to do. The lady was so nice and friendly. She was so typical of many people in South Africa. Even the people that waited on us were just extra nice and friendly. There is something about the African culture that is very good and pleasant and enjoyable to be around. They just enjoy life to a fuller extent than I have seen other places.

We went to several home churches. A home church in Africa consists of a home with a garage that is 2 car lengths long and they can set up chairs for +/-30 people or more. It is awesome and usually in the home of the pastor. We ministered with Pastor Ricardo (PR), Pastor Jonathan (PJ), and Pastor Llewellyn in home churches. It was awesome. God is so good.

At the time I told Caroline that I could not image what that would be. God was going to do something that the nations had not seen before. The kids did their drama and the power of God was very strong. It was one of those times where I didn't really have to preach since it did not matter what words I said that much. The service was a little long according to my watch and the kids, even though it did not seem long to me. The altar call went well and it is a real pleasure and nice for all my kids to help pray for the people. I asked for our family to pray for the pastor and his family, which has a music ministry. After that he just stood there and said wow, wow, wow. He turned to the people and said that they had had individuals, couples, and young people come and minister, but never had a family come and minister. Our actions spoke so loud that night. He then said he felt that every family should come up and get prayed for by our family. Now you have to understand that it was already getting late and I looked and there were maybe 80-100 people out there. So we said sure and agreed that we would rotate and one person would pray for each family so we would not be there all night. Many families came up and then the line thinned out and no one was standing waiting for prayer, however, when we finished with one family, another family would standup and come up for prayer. They had figured out they did not want to stand up all that time waiting. We prayed for every family there. It was really awesome. The next day at the pastors meeting, Pastor Alan told me the rest of the story. He had a family that he had been trying for 2 years to get to come to church. They had been on fire for the Lord and then something happened and they split one parent and child on one side and the other parent and child on the other side. They would not go to church at all. That Sunday night, both parents not knowing about the other decided to go to church on there own. They showed up and we were there. When the pastor asked for families to go down for prayer, they were going to go down separately, but at the last minute decided to go down together. When we prayed for them, their heart melted. Afterwards, they asked the pastor if they could see him Monday night about getting back together as a family and they had a glow on there faces. PTL! PTL! PTL! Also more than one family asked him if he had said anything to us about them. The way my kids prayed was exactly what they needed prayer for. God did before the nations what had not been seen before just as He said!!! God is so good and awesome!!!!!

The flight back was 18 hours and the kids got some sleep since we left at 8pm at night SA time. Before we left the Lord had told me that things were only going to increase and not decrease or be flat and stay the same. This trip was just the beginning and things would not "get back to normal (whatever that is) after that". We were invited over to visit Steve & Liz the day after we got back. Liz is Greg's (Cindy's late husband) sister and they have 2 small children. Both quit good jobs and are selling everything and moving up north in just a few days. It was a big step for Liz to quit her job since she had worked for so many years. She was really liberated and so excited. They are going with YWAM full time and will be working with families and are real excited about that. We did our drama for them and then prayed with them. It was real awesome and really ministered to me since it was the first time that all 7 kids got to pray and minister together. Later Liz sent a card and said the evening was so good and that it really ministered to them a lot. Our family has been an encouragement for them to do what they are doing. That really blessed me so much. God is good and awesome!!!

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