Hello Everyone – I figured it was about time to let everyone know the latest news – so here it goes.
First of all, we just have to rejoice in the watch-care that the Lord has provided for us. It has simply been incredible. Everyone remains healthy without any major incidents. All of our travels have been without any dire situations. We are incredibly thankful for all the safely travelled miles in the States (7000+) and now over 3000 kilometers while back in South Africa. We just have to praise the Lord. God has been incredibly gracious to us in those aspects.
We continue to receive good news from Jody’s dad’s situation. There should be a meeting in mid-May that should reveal how the last months of treatment have gone and what kind of treatment regimen should begin. We pray that whatever happens, he will be able to get the needed treatment in Longview and not have to travel to Little Rock every week and-a-half or so. Don’t stop praying for supernatural healing, though!
One week after arriving back in South Africa and traveling to our house on March 18th , we packed our bags for a week-long meeting in Tshipese, South Africa. While it was nice to see all of our friends, it wasn’t necessarily that nice to pack up again and travel some 850 kilometers in two days. But God is good and our travels were without incident. The weather was beautiful, and it was good to be back in that area of the country. It was our first meeting there since 2006.
After arriving back home, we pulled out the measuring stick and measured everyone. All the kids had grown at least one inch while in the States. We figured so since clothes that we bought at the beginning of our time in the States were not fitting as well when we returned. Andy is in the middle of his 9th grade year. I told him when we were getting on the plane for our return flight that this was the last time he would be returning to South Africa with us. We were both stunned at the comment. When we go back to the States, in 1177 days, part of our plans will be to put him in college somewhere. Wow!!!! Josiah will finish 6th grade by the end of July. He is doing his typically excellent work. Caleb wanted to be homeschooled, so when we returned, he did not go back to the International School of South Africa. They won’t be without a Janz for long, however, as Bethany will start 1st grade in January 2011. She and Melody continue to be best of friends. They play so well together. As Jody and I are busy teaching the boys in the morning, they are relegated to keeping themselves busy. They do a pretty good job playing together, playing a game or watching some TV – usually Dora, Wonder Pets or the BBC children’s channel called Cbeebees.(CBB’s).
You may or may not know that we, the IMB, have been going through a massive reorganization these last 8-10 months. With the reorganization have come a lot of changes. With those changes have come a lot of new forms and procedures. Getting back on the field when we did, we got back in the middle of when all these forms, goals, budgets, and meetings were due. So needless to say, I have been on the computer for what seems like forever. Fortunately, I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and now we can get back to the main things. Jody has returned to Moshawane a couple of times and is reconnecting with her ladies. It is her goal to finish work in that area by the end of the year and see what else God has for her – wherever that will be.
I was asked to preach at the Easter Conference here in Mafikeng the Saturday night before Easter Sunday. I had a great time re-establishing some relationships with pastors that I had not seen in some time. Easter is bigger than Christmas here in South Africa. Each year they have a 3-day conference on Easter weekend – it’s their biggest gathering of the year. I have been out to Extension 39 a couple of times to kind of see what happened, if anything , while we were away. I tried to make contact with Pastor Michael this morning by driving to his church. At 10:30 this morning, there was no one there, so I was unable to see him.
We have a volunteer team coming in June to do some work during the FIFA Soccer World Cup. South Africa is the host country and people are abuzz and have been for the last couple of years. It is like a month-long Super Bowl-type atmosphere. It is going to be crazy. Team USA plays England two hours away from us, in Rustenburg. Unfortunately, we don’t have tickets.
We would ask you to continue to pray for Jody’s dad as that is on our hearts every day. Pray for both of our ministries that God would simply lay before us where He wants us to be. Pray that we would see what He is doing and hear what He is saying. Pray for spiritual understanding and discernment in our lives. Thank Him for our health and well-being. Pray that our hearts would remain tender toward the Tswana people and that we understand their ways of life and how to bridge the Gospel to them.
We are thankful for your prayers, emails, and mailings.
