AMTM 2006

This last week we went to Tshipise, South Africa, for our Annual Missionary Training Meeting. As part of the meeting, a volunteer group from Oakland Heights Baptist Church in Longview, Texas, came to provide ministry and activities for our children and youth. This is Jody’s dad’s church. While we were in meetings all day, the volunteers did VBS material with the children and youth. We are so thankful for this team that gave of their time to invest in the lives of our children. The missionaries that grew up on the field are so thankful for groups like this because they remember when they were children the incredible times the volunteers provided for them. Part of our meeting time was worship and Bible study in the morning and some in the evening. Matt Roberson did an incredible joy leading worship with all age groups. Tom Roberson did an equally incredible job sharing with the Word and applying it through very transparent, personal application.

After the meeting, we and the volunteers drove to Pilanesburg National Park and spent the night. We all took part in a night game drive and some followed that up with a drive in the early morning as the sun was rising. At night, we saw the last half of a leopard walking into high grass. We were able to see his head look up a couple times. We also experienced a dominant bull elephant stare us down, take a charge at us, and then leave. The morning group got to see a male and female lion at about 25 feet in the grass. The pictures are incredible – unfortunately I was not a part of that morning drive. Matt, Josiah, Andy, and I spent the night in a safari tent. The temperature outside the tent was about 45 degrees and the temperature inside the tent was about 46 degrees – but that is a part of camping, I guess.

Jody’s parents came home with us for a couple of days while the rest of the team returned to Johannesburg to fly to Capetown for a couple of day. Matt flew back home.

(The pictures are Caleb in a Baobob Tree, a picture of the team at Pilanesburg, the boys and Matt in front of our tent, the children's program at AMTM and the elephant that wasn't to happy.)