My friend, Lara Mountfort, started a jewelery company in 2009 called Lasting Hope Creations. Lasting Hope Creations is in partnership with Sophumelela Centre and she employees HIV positive women in the art of making beaded jewelery and artwire. One of her employees was recently given the opportunity to finish school thanks to a generous donation from the states. She will earn the equivalent of a high school degree within the next two years.
I designed a website for Lasting Hope Creations (www.lastinghopecreations.com) and I pray that she finds great success in her new business venture.
Please keep Lara and Lasting Hope Creations in your prayers. The more successful it becomes, the more women she can employee, who then can begin to earn a sustainable income for themselves and their families and have hope for a future.
Last week there was a team from McKinney, Texas in East London. I had the opportunity to spend time with them for a couple of days and truly enjoyed being with them. I took several ladies from Texas to visit Sophumelela's, Hope Prep, which is a school for children who are infected or affected my HIV/AIDS. One woman, Claudia, has been sponsoring a child for sometime and was able to meet this child for the first time. The child's mom also came to the school to meet Claudia. The child's mother began crying and embraced Claudia the moment she met her and thanked her repeatedly for allowing her child to receive a quality, Christian education. It was such a blessing to see how a simple act of giving can change the live of a child half way across the world for eternity. Thank you, Claudia, for allowing me to see God work through you in changing the life of this amazing little man!
The past few days have been a time of reflection for me. I look over the past 4 ½ years of my life and see how God has greatly worked in my life because I made the decision to be obedient to His calling. My life has been a series of substantial life altering decisions that many have found unrealistic and absurd, but because I made the choice to follow through in faith and be obedient, God has provided for my every need and then some!
In college, I had the opportunity to participate in a 6 week summer term throughout Kenya and South Africa. I remember thinking that Africa was great, but I’ll never go back! I felt called to foreign missions, but also wanted nothing more than to live in New York City and finally made the move in 2006. While in New York City, God richly blessed me with The Journey Church and one year later, allowed me to be on staff there for almost 3 years. I had the opportunity to coordinate and lead 3 teams to South Africa during my time at The Journey and because of that; I’m living and working in East London today!
This past week, The Journey brought a team of 15 to help serve alongside Sophumelela and First City Baptist Church. How unique it was, a young gal from Burleson, Texas, to be waiting at the airport in South Africa to receive a team from my home church in New York City.
God has allowed me to have this amazing and adventurous life all because I said that one scary word, YES!!! Send me, use me! And looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing!
Last week, I had the opportunity to visit Addo National Park, which is an elephant park about 3 hours away from East London. I saw so many elephants and visited a giant pineapple, too! Here's a few pics and a video from my trip.
The other day I went to a village called, Potseam, which is right outside of East London. I met a woman named, Evelyn, who has 11 grandchildren. They all live with her in a two room shack. Her children left her and their own children to seek a different way of life and employment in bigger cities, such as Cape Town and Johannesburg. I don’t understand how a parent could leave a child, but I’m sure thankful for grandmothers like Evelyn, who show unconditional and sacrificial love day in and day out to these kids. Please keep Evelyn in your prayers.
