Happy July 4th

We had, including ourselves, 49 people at the house to celebrate Independence Day. The menu was Mexican food. Jody and I prepared beef chimichangas, chicken quesadillas, flour tortillas for soft tacos, mexican rice, pinto beans, pico de gallo and gaucamole. Everyone else brought the rest of the fixin's to complete meal. It was wonderul! It is always a great time when our other missionary friends are able to get together. It was not a typical 4th as many of you in the States were enjoying your 100 degree weather cooking out on the grill. It was cloudy, breezy, and about 55 degrees!

God has blessed us with an incredible missionary family that surrounds us. When we arrived on the field, I did not fully understand the term "missionary family". But during times like these, missing the American holidays that we do, it makes it a lot easier to endure and get through.

July Happenings

A wonderful warm greetings to everyone even though it is freezing over here. I know that some of you would probably want some of our weather. Well, I can guarantee you that I would love some of that Texas weather right now. It is cold here and it is not going to get warm for another month.

We want to share with you some stories demonstrating God’s might hand working around us.

From Jody: The Lord has been so gracious in the ministry He has given to me. It feels like each time I get a little discouraged about being here, He lets me have a glimpse of what He’s up to. About two weeks ago, I was out in Ext.39. When we arrived, the only one there was the lady in whose house we meet. I told her it was OK, that I would just share with her. We were talking about the portion in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus tells us to give in secret. Do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. She listened with great interest as I told her the story of Ananias and Sapphira. After I finished, she asked if she could ask a question. She has been going to a church where the pastor would call people up to the front to give a certain amount of money. All she had was a two-rand coin. (Worth about 25 cents) The pastor told them not to fill up his baskets with one, two, or five rands. He wanted people to give big amounts. She felt so ashamed that she only had two rands to give. Imagine my inexpressible joy as God brought to my mind the story of the widow and her two mites. Mma Salamane is a widow as well. It brings tears to my eyes just writing about this. She was so appreciative about me helping her understand this. She tells me that every time we come out there, they learn something. Only God can do this. He gives me strength. By the way, the pastor told them to give the “small” money to the beggars. I told her to do just that. “When you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto Me.”

From Dennis: God continues to show his faithfulness and answering prayers. I had been seeking to do some other things and occupy a little bit more of my time. I had been praying for God to show me where He was working. Several month ago, I had set up several preaching times with Ben Poo, pastor of United Baptist Church. There are several branches around Mmabatho and over the last several weeks I had been making my rounds. This last Sunday I went to a branch that I had never been to before. It was about an hour’s drive away. We arrived at 10:15 and started 10 minutes later with 3 people in the building. After some singing, praying, singing, testimonies, singing, offering, singing, special music, singing, I got into the pulpit at 12:45. Ben introduced me and shared briefly about my ministry in Mmabatho. I preached from 2 Timothy 2.2 and the 5 generations in that verse. I shared with them the importance telling others – someone told them and if each one reach one, well, then this village would be turned upside down. After church was over, several of the ladies approached Ben and asked when we were coming back to lead in teaching them how to witness and reach their village. What an incredible day that God set up weeks before hand to answer my prayers.

Someone emailed me and asked what Ext 39 is. Let me briefly explain. Extension 39 in a government subsidized subdivision. Back in 1994, with the fall of Apartheid and the new democratic government, the new gov’t promised the people that they would build 10 million homes for people that didn’t have proper housing. This is a result of that promise. In this area are about 2500, 450 sq ft houses with running water and electricity – they just got electricity a month ago after living there for 3 years. So in this area is about 10,000 people – a perfect place for a church. God put this area on mine and Jody’s hearts as we were leaving for the States and returning in 2007/08.

One more from Jody: Out in Moshawane, God continues to work there also. Several weeks I have had 13-14 women and about that many children. That next week, I was asking them to tell the story we had gone over the week before. The woman of the house, Maboka, usually tells the story back to me. She’s good at it, too! This time, however, she decided she wasn’t going to talk so that another one of the group could tell the story. Kelebogile and Maboka had been talking about the story the day before, so Maboka said that Kelebogile needed to tell it. Now, you may be asking what the big deal is. Well, for them to be willing to tell the story themselves is a major breakthrough. Usually, I have to ask them questions and coax the story out of them. Anyway, Kelebogile told the story and we were able to add on to that what we were studying that day. The other thing is that they were discussing the story WITHOUT Lorato and me being there! It just made my heart glad to hear it! Some of those who can read bring their Bibles and notebooks and take notes. God is just so awesome! To Him be the Glory!

The Lord is good – all the time – all the time – the Lord is good. Thanks for your continued prayers and support. Believe me, we feel your prayers and would not want to be here without them.

Vacation at Kaya Umdani

All I know is that God has blessed beyond anything I deserve -

what an incredible wife I have and these 5 blessings -

what a joy - I am wealthier than Bill Gates!

BFF's - Jody and Lisa Jones

For our vacation, we went to Kaya Umdani, which is a lodge outside of Kruger National Park. This was an wonderful opportunity for us just to relax with some friends. Outside the spacious, back porch they had a swimming area, fire pit, and braai area. The boys loved having a fire each night.

We saw some beautiful birds as we travel through Kruger. This is a Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill.

This is a Lilac-breasted Roller.

These giraffe walked around the area in which we stayed. On the website,it showed giraffe drinking at the water hold behind where we stay. I figured with all the noise the boys were making swimming we wouldn't have that photo opportunity ourselves!

We went to Kruger National Park on Tuesday afternoon and saw these hippos enjoying the water and the sun. We have seen most the animals that we would like to except for the big cats. Unfortunately we will have to wait for another time.

Well, we had to eat. This was some chicken and baked potatoes. Eventually, I took those potatoes off and put them back into the fire pit and covered them with hot coals. Um, um!

This is a bush-baby monkey looking out its little nest/house. This was hanging in a tree outside one of the bedrooms on the second floor.

This was Josiah's and Landon's bedroom. This was the sixth bedroom above the porch that really wasn't advertised. You can see the porch below through the wood slats and the walls are just screened in. Those are fur blankets on the bed. It was cool!!! I was a little envious, but more happy for their experience!

This is just a big giraffe that saw as we were entering a animal reserve. He was on the outside. There were some other giraffe that on the other side of the fence. I think he was telling them that the grass was greener on this side.

Swimming is always fun with your friends. The water was kind of cool, but they swam anyway. We knew that with them swimming the animals that normally walk through the area would be leary about coming around.

April Update

Hello Everyone – it is hard to believe how fast time has passed since the last update. Part of my dad’s philosophy was “No news in good news!” I would agree on the most part with that. We have had a lot of things happening and none of it seems to be bad or sad. Except for the occasional sniffle, we have remained incredibly healthy. As active the boys are in the back yard playing football and basketball and the girls on the trampoline, we have yet to have a serious injury. We praise the Lord for His watch-care over us.

FROM Jody - I am still going to Moshawane and Ext. 39 every week on Wednesdays. To be honest, I’m not sure where God is leading next. I see so many needs, and there are times I feel overwhelmed. The ladies in both places are doing well, and I want to continue to dig a bit deeper in the Word with them. Please pray for direction for me.
We had a great time at Mission meeting and on vacation. It was nice to get away for awhile. I’m sure we’ll be posting some pictures on the blog and Facebook soon. Melody sang at the Talent Show at Mission meeting. The crowd enjoyed it. She wanted to sing again the next day!
We’re still on break from school for one more week. Pray for the boys at home as they finish their year.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. We love you all very much.

FROM Dennis – I have been preaching regularly at Calvary Baptist Church where we are without a pastor. Calvary is where we attend as a family. The church is a block away and Jody and the kids can easily walk there when I am preaching in the village or at another church. Today, I was at United Baptist Church. Pastor Ben Poo (Poe) has been one of my best partners in ministry. He was involved in Campus Crusade for Christ, so he has a heart for evangelism. They have several branches, so I will be preaching in those churches in the next several weeks. I have been going almost every day with my friend Million out to Extension 39. It has been encouraging to see the spiritual growth in Goodwin, as he asked more questions about Scripture. Many times I just sit with him and talk about the things of the day. I use those topics to bridge to spiritual ideas and concepts. Million and I have gone next door and lead two other ladies to the Lord also. I was talking with one girl on Thursday before Easter and just asked her about Easter and Good Friday. She really didn’t have an answer. I asked her about Jesus and who He was and all she could give me was a general answer about someone that protects us and is around us. She didn’t have a whole lot of time, but I was able to give her a short, fast version of Creation to the Cross. For the last 2 weeks we have been on vacation and at a Mission meeting in Johannesburg. I am looking to start a group in Ext 39 this week when we get finished with holidays here in South Africa. From April 20 to May 1 – there are 5 public holidays. On the long weekends, I have noticed that people go away.
Since Jody didn’t share these stories, I will. One Wednesday, when Jody and Lorato were in Moshawane a man came in and listened to her story. Now, this was not just any man – this was a man whose wife attended Jody’s group. This was the man who threw kerosene on her and lit her on fire. She has since recovered. Needless to say, Jody was not too happy with this man’s presence. However, he sat through the story and continued to stay. Jody didn’t want to, but she started to talk to this man. He ended up giving his heart to Christ. He returned the next Wednesday to hear the story. God loves people!!! In Ext. 39, the lady of the house that Jody meets in has a son just graduating from high school. They do not have the finances for him to go to university. We have been praying for God to make a way – and He did. He is going to join the navy and they will pay for his education. He wants to become a doctor. This lady also gave up an opportunity to work because it would have meant for her to miss Jody’s group on Wednesday. With unemployment around 40%, she sacrificed a lot to not miss “church.”


VACATION - From April 15th to April 20th, we were in Johannesburg for our Annual Missionary Training Meeting. Missionaries from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Indian Oceans Islands gathered together. There were about 220 adults and 130 children and teens. It is always a good time to see our missionary family. On the morning of the 20th we traveled east about 400 kilometers to the southern part of Kruger National Park. We vacationed with our friends, the Jones, from Botswana. They joined us in language school in September 2004. At the time, our 3 boys and their 2 boys became fast friends. We have enjoyed our times together and look forward to the next time. We were able to stay at a house just 400 meters from Crocodile River which forms the border for Kruger. We had an incredible time. The “subdivision” we stayed in had warthog, giraffe, zebra, and many other animals just roaming around. We had kudu, impala, and warthog right around the house. We saw several giraffe just driving to and from the house.

PRAISES/PRAYER REQUEST – We praise the Lord for the doors that He continues to open and how He leads us. Please pray that in the next two weeks Million and Dennis can get a discipleship group started in Extension 39. Please pray for Jody and what she needs to teach the ladies in Moshawane and in 39. She has completed a study on the Beatitudes.

The Kenya Elephant

In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University.

On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away. Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Over twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over so it was close to where Peter and his son Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the ground, and then put it down. The elephant did that several times and then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing, and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs, and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

It probably wasn't the same elephant.

The Latest Happenings

It's hard to believe that almost 2 months are gone in 2009! God continues to show His faithfulness and we are so thankful for His grace and mercy toward us.

Our work here continues to be rewarding, even when it seems nothing is going on. God has promised that His Word does not return void and we are seeing Him prove Himself once again.

With the beginning of 2009, it seemed like both Jody and I were starting over and not sure where to start. God has confirmed to Jody that both places where she was last year, she was to continue. She has had good attendance in both places of ministry - the village of Moshawane and Extension 39. God confirmed this to her through the passage in Matthew 5 where Jesus teaches about Kingdom Life -- "Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him..." Jody has used the Beatitudes as her teaching platform. God has showed her some neat and deep truths and both of us have been surprised that they are 'getting' it. God is so good.

For myself, I have been really frustrated on my apparent 'lack of progress." Of all the work that I did last year in Extension 39, I did not see any fruit. In fact, I didn't see much of anything. My national friend, Kagiso, was not able to continue visiting that area, so I had to find another person to go with. The work that a volunteer group did in October hasn't seemed to be very profitable. I know that I cannot judge, but I would like to see something.

Since our arrival in South Africa in 2005, I have allowed a national pastor to take care of our yard - they call it a garden - not a vegetable garden - just a garden. His name is Million and he is worth that much. He has become a great friend and has been my most trusted and dependable partner in ministry. There have been times that I have gone to his house and picked him up to make a visit or just needed him. With him, he and I have been going almost daily to Ext. 39 and just have been witnessing. We were able to lead 33 year-old man to faith in Christ last week. I believe that God will open a door through him to enable us to start a group some kind of meeting group. While we have gone back to Goodwin, Milion has gone next door and has been having a "conversation" with several ladies. They have been most inquisitive and responsive. Million is a natural conversationalist - he doesn't meet a stranger. I am looking forward each afternoon to see what God is going to do. On a side note, after I lead Goodwin in a sinner's prayer, I asked him to say a prayer of thanksgiving for God saving him, Wow, what an honest, simple prayer of thankfulness from Goodwin - it brought tears to my eyes.

Josiah expressed his desire to be homeschooled this year, so in January we brought him home from ISSA - the International School of South Africa. He spent 3 years there and made some good friends. Caleb still attends there and we hear through him many of Josiah's friends are missing him. Jody is doing 5th grade with him until September when he will start 6th grade. We want to keep them on an American school schedule. Caleb is doing 3rd grade at ISSA this year and we will bring him home next year for homeschooling. Next year, Bethany will start Kindergarten at ISSA. Melody is just over 2 and is a total mess (angel). Bethany got some Dora the Explorer computer games for Christmas, and Melody spends more time playing them than she does. Melody can pretty much express herself to let us know what she wants. If she can't say anything, like "aluminum" she will say 'huh,huh,huh' -like you are steaming up your glasses to clean them!! It's so funny!

We are scheduling to be home from November 19, 2009, through January 30, 2010. If you would like for us to come and share at your church, SS class, missions group - please let us know of your interest.

Thanks for your continued prayers as they totally enable us to keep on doing what we are doing. God has been so good and He has blessed so much. We have been kept safe in all of our travels and our health has been unbelieveable. Except for seasonal allergies and colds, we have not experienced any major medical problems. We praise the Lord for His continued grace and mercy.

Last Post of 2008

It is hard to believe that we are 1 day away from the New Year. It has been so evident this year that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning. Our plans continue to change but we can rest assured that He who gives us each and every day does not change. Comfort secures our lives because of the sure foundation that we have built our lives upon. God’s love for us is ever-constant and never-changing. Even though circumstances may challenge our happiness, it cannot change our joy.

Zimbabwe Trip – Back in the middle of November, the boys and Dennis had the opportunity to go to Binga, Zimbabwe, for a food relief project. What a wonderful time that was – outside of the fact that people are starving, there is no food or fuel to buy, inflation is over 6 million percent (no, not a misprint!!), a cholera outbreak has taken the lives of over 1000 people into eternity and the country is months away from a total collapse.

It took us about an hour and a half to get past passport control to get into Zimbabwe. We had to fill out a form that they didn’t have. So, one of the guards told us what to write on a piece of paper and carbon paper – name, address, vehicle type, etc. We then took it back to the counter and they stamped it, gave us a copy and kept a copy. By the time we were finished, we had been to 4 different counters. We drove to the actual gate and parked. We needed Travel Insurance – filled out some more forms – let them see the forms we just had stamped and we were in. But I can tell you this, having all the correct forms and stamps helped as we travelled though the various police road-blocks they have throughout the country. We, 16 people traveling in 4 vehicles, had no harassment at all at any of the road blocks. This is definite prayer-cover from the many of you that were praying for our trip.

Our actual project was to distribute 500, 60 lb boxes of food and soap. The boxes were supplied through BGR – Baptist Global Relief. You can go to their website and see what the boxes contained and even donate to purchase a box or two. We left the house and traveled to Francistown, Botswana, - about 8 hours – on Saturday. We got up early Sunday morning, crossed into Zimbabwe, and travelled to Binga – another 8 hours. We arrived late afternoon and set up ‘camp.’ We met up with some other missy’s in Binga. Early Monday morning we loaded our trucks and went to our distribution point. Everything went as smooth as anything that I have been a part of here in Africa. By late Tuesday morning, we were finished. We were scheduled to finish on Wednesday. The boys did an incredible job. They worked hard and I did not hear one complaint from them. I was so proud of them!

Thanksgiving and Grandma’s 90^th Birthday – About 40 people gathered at the house to enjoy Thanksgiving the Saturday after Thanksgiving – got that?!? But during all this, Jody had the opportunity to go back to the States to celebrate her grandma’s 90^th birthday. God incredibly blessed us with the opportunity for her to fly back. She had an incredible time with her sister, family, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We were able to coordinate her return trip to fly with her parents who had longtime plans to come and see us.

Early Christmas – Jody’s parents spent the first two weeks of December here. The kids really enjoyed having them here – I did to! We were able to go to a resort-type area with water-slides and swimming pools. We had a fantastic time.

Baptism at Moshawane – While Jody’s parents were here, we had the opportunity to baptize 4 precious ladies at the village where Jody has been ministering for the past 3 years. As the picture shows, we took our luggage trailer, lined it with a tarp, bucketed 100 gallons of water into it and had a baptism out in the village. What a truly incredible moment. Both Jody and I are interested to see what will happen in the next couple months as a result of this baptism.

Christmas – One of the blessings of Jody being able to go home was she was able to bring back American stuff for Christmas. The boys got a Wii and they were very excited. Bethany got a bicycle and walked right by it on her way to the tree. We had to point it out to her! Melody loved opening all of her ‘pesents.’ For lunch, the other missionaries that live here in Mmabatho came over for a BBQ. With 90 degree weather, Christmas is not the time to cook a turkey in the oven – we do that at 4^th of July when it is 60 degrees in the house!

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering – the first week of December was the Week of Prayer for International Missions. Many thanks to you that prayed, continue to pray, and have given to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. As you know, this offering comprises 50% of the budget for the International Mission Board. Through this offering, you are supporting over 5000 missionaries around the world. Not only are you supporting them, but as you give, you are investing in eternity. This is not a bad investment and you don’t have to check to see if the Dow is up or down.

There are not enough adjectives that I could use to describe how thankful that I am of your prayers and support. Jody and I both know and realize that without our prayer partners – we could not and would not want to do this. Thanks to those that pray every day, couple days a week, once a week or whenever you think about us. Your prayers are vital and they are an incredible encouragement to us.

Blessings to you and have a wonderful God-centered New Years!!

Reflections from a Rhino

. . On Friday, we took the boys out of school, drove 2 hours to Rustenburg, ate at McDonalds and then we went to see High School Musical 3. It was just one of those 'just-because-events." There was no special reason. On the way out of town, we passed by the Mafikeng Game Reserve. Sometimes we see some animals, but most of the time we don't. We have seen giraffe several times, but that is about it other than some springbok or other deer-like animal. This day was different, however, As we were driving, we saw a rhino. Never had we seen a rhino in that area and he/she was really close to the fence which is right beside the road. We saw the rhino, but just kept on going. I soon asked Jody "If this happened 4 years ago, what would we have done?" She immediately replied, "You would have pulled over and stopped." We used to do that with whatever animals we would see.

. . Well, we continued on our journey - shopping, eating, and watching a movie. As we traveled back home, my mind came back to the rhino incident. I was thinking about not stopping to look at the rhino. I thought - have I become used to the things around me? Have I become complacent with the things God wants to do? What He wants to do through me? I remember a part of a Keith Green concert where he speaks about having 'baby-skin' on his heart. He wanted to have a tender heart to things of God. At that moment, that became the prayer of my heart. "God, I want 'baby-skin' on my heart so that I can instantly hear your voice - and not just hear - but to hear and obey."

. . You know what, probably next time, we'll stop and look at the rhinos.

Prayer Support

"Nothing is more important to God than prayer in dealing with mankind. But it is likewise all-important to man to pray. Failure to pray is failure along the whole line of life. It is failure of duty, service, and spiritual progress. God must help man by prayer. He who does not pray, therefore, robs himself of God's help and places God where he cannot help man. Man must pray to God if love for God is to exist. Faith and hope, and patience and the strong, beautiful, vital forces of piety are withered and dead in a prayerless life. The life of the individual believer, his personal salvation, and personal Christian graces have their being, bloom and fruitage in prayer. " (Bounds, E. M., The Complete Works of E.M Bounds on Prayer. Baker Book House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1993, pg. 369.)

If we have had any eternal success here in South Africa, I believe, it is because of the thousands of prayers that have been prayed for us these last four and a half years. I know that we have made it through every situation because of your intercession on our behalf. We have witnessed some incredible situations that we cannot explain any other way than that of God answering our prayers. Did He always answer according to our thoughts and ways - of course not. But God has remained faithful to His Word, which we have tried to allow to guide our paths. The photos below represent on part of our prayer journey to South Africa. Thanks for your remembrance of us in your prayers.

October 2008 - Mmabatho, South Africa

June 2007 - Longview, TX

Christmas 2006 - Mmabatho, South Africa

November 2005 - Mmabatho, South Africa

November 2004 - Longview, Texas

Happy 2nd Birthday, Melody

It is hard to believe that she is 2 years old, already!


Everybody wants to be a part of opening the presents.


Getting ready for some cake.


Just got my hair done and mom has to take some pictures