Boxes Update

I know, I know! It’ s been a long time since you’ve heard from us!

A work team arrived from Detroit, Michigan on the 30^th of October. There are 11 of them here to help with the building project. They will be here a total of 2 weeks. It is a nice team, and they have been very helpful.  We begin the day with devotions, which Jason is leading on Wednesdays, and then they have breakfast before they head off for work. They arrive home sometime around 6:00 and then we have dinner and an end of the day wrap up. The people at the Malmesbury church are taking turns providing their lunch and doing the laundry.  Diane and I have been busy preparing their breakfast and dinners.  

The building is coming along well. The paint is on the interior walls and the doors are hung. The construction here at the camp should begin soon as well. There will be a lot going on once that starts!

More soon,

Stacy

Brittany turned 14 on Monday! (What a joy it has been watching her grow!) Her friends Elske and Anke invited her to the beach for a birthday celebration. Afterwards they took her to a very cool restaurant where they paint your face in some African design. She’s sure to never forget her 14^th birthday!  (This photo is Britt and Elske all painted up.)

Just one FYI: We are having troubles with our email again this week. We can get incoming mail, but can’t seem to send anything. That could change later today, or not until next week…it keeps us guessing ) Thank you so much to those who sent cards and packages this week! We did get them.

Can you believe that just 3 months remain in our time here?! We realized this week that we are going to be so sad to leave all of these beautiful people that we have made friends with.  We have truly fallen in love with this place and these people!  Each day we pray that we will live as abundantly as we can. We are reminded to live to the fullest, with the purpose of being an image bearer of Christ.

This has been an emotional week for us. We received word that Jason’s aunt Ruth had died. It has been hard to be so far from home at this difficult time. And yet, we know that we are right where we need to be. Our love and prayers go out to our family, and we thank you for your support in our decision to stay. Ruth lived life so fully and was such an inspiration to us! She will be deeply missed.  Please pray for the family as they mourn this huge loss. Ruth leaves behind a husband, Frank and 2 boys, Stuart and Peter.

I have recently have been listening to Jeremy Camp’s, Beyond Measure.  I thought these words were fitting this week.  It talks about seeing beyond our fears and giving God all control.

Beyond Measure

The fog has cleared for me to see the beautiful life You’ve given me…

Like a storybook with dreams that are meant to see

Every next step is an extraordinary scene

I know that I’ve been given more than beyond measure

I come alive when I see beyond my fears

I know that I’ve been given more than earthly treasures

I come alive when I’ve broken down and given You control

…I don’t know if I will ever understand the depth of what it is You’ve done inside

But I know I won’t find any worth apart from You!

Everything that I have has been given so unselfishly…

Even when I don’t deserve You, You always show the fullness of Your love

I know that I’ve been given more than beyond measure

I come alive when I see beyond my fears

I know that I’ve been given more than earthly treasures

I come alive when I’ve broken down and given You control

In His Love,

Stacy

Jason & Ted standing outside the Malmesbury church.

The church is coming along. The roof is on, the exterior plastering is complete, some of the concrete floor is poured, and the electrical and plumbing is in! We praise the Lord for the good work that has been accomplished.

It was nearly 90 today and we haven’t had any rain for days. We are so thankful for the warm, dry weather.

On Saturday, we were invited to the town of Hermanus to watch a rugby game. It was a great day with our friends Burry and Brenda (along with their 3 children.) This sweet little town is widely known for its whale population. So, after the game we went to the shore and whale watched. We spotted at least 10 whales while we were there. It was so cool!!

Sunday we were invited to share our testimony at a church in Durbanville. It was a lovely church and we had a nice time of fellowship. Of the churches that we have visited, this one was most similar to our home church.

We are so encouraged by the missionaries here. Their work is not easy, and yet they are so faithful to the Lord. They are a great joy to know, and a real testimony to a life of faith.

In Him,

The Boxes

Chandler has been staying in contact with his class via letters. It is a great way that he can feel involved, even though he is so far away. His class has asked some questions that I thought I would share with you.

Q-What is your house like? A- It is a small 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house. Our kitchen has a stove, microwave and refrigerator. Brittany and Chandler share a room. They each have their own bunk bed. We don’t have any heat or air conditioning and the people of South Africa don’t put screens on their windows. Our house sits on a hillside surrounded by mountains and vineyards. It’s a beautiful view to look out at! (We have access to a washer and dryer a short walk away.) There is no TV, so we are playing lots of games, and doing lots of hiking.

Q- Are the sharks dangerous?  Can you swim in the ocean? The A- is yes, the sharks are dangerous, yet people do swim in the ocean. Is it safe? Well, there are shark watchers that sit high up on a look out post and watch for them, so you decide if that defines “safe.” The jury is still out at our house.

Q- What kinds of foods are you eating?  Are your meals like ours? A- Fish and chips is one of the most popular dishes. Something called Malva Pudding is a very popular dessert. (They call all of the desserts “pudding.”) There is a lot of Dutch and British influence, making it similar to American food.

Q- What do you do for fun with the friends around you? A- We are out in the country, so there are no kids in the area of our house. However, they have made several friends from the churches that we have visited. They have been invited to: an air show, the aquarium, and to many dinners.  

Q-What is the church like that you are attending?  Is it similar in structure to the ones here in Eyota?  A- We have had the opportunity to speak at several different churches since we came. We have visited 3 churches so far, and will speak at a 4^th this weekend. Each church is very different from the other. Some meet in a school, others in a warehouse, while 1 church we visited was very much like the one at home. It’s the people that make up a church, and the people are very warm and welcoming!

Although there are many similarities, there are more differences. Some days we crave something familiar: Our friends and family, our own room, knowing our way around town, milk chocolate etc. And yet even on those days, God continues to remind us that He’s taking care of us and giving us just what we need. (Maybe not always what we want, but always what we need.) We have to pinch ourselves sometimes. Are we really here, seeing this, doing this? We give Him all the glory for what is being accomplished here. We serve an awesome God!

In His Service,

The Boxes

Surprise! I decided to grow my hair out. What do you think? Do you like it?

In all seriousness, we had a great day of fellowship with some fellow missionaries. They took us to the Aquarium in Cape Town. It was a great time. It is so neat to see the lives that the Lord is touching through the people that we have met. God is good…ALL THE TIME! God bless, Jason

The construcion of the new church in Malmesbury is getting done. It awesome to see the Lord’s hand in supplying all of the needs. The best part is meeting the people. I am waiting and praying for doors to open for some witnessing. It’s very hard to get to know them because we hardly understand each other. They speak Cosa and a little English. We plan on beginning at the Paardeburg Mountain Retreat in another week or so, weather depending. It is still raining quite a bit here, and we need it dry up before we can begin. Chandler has been coming to work with me once a week, and that has been a great encouragment to me and the guys on the job. Once we start at the PMR, I will be within sight of our house, so we will see each other a lot.

Please pray that we stay safe, and that we have wisdom in the decisions that need to be made. Jason

Look what we got to do while you were getting your beauty rest!

Our new friend Iva flew into camp and took Chandler, Brittany & Jason for a spin around the mountains!!!  We feel so richly blessed with this amazing opportunity. We had lunch with Iva and his wife Colleen a couple of weeks ago. While we were there, Iva mentioned to Chandler that one day he would swing by and take him for a ride. Well, today was the day. (Maybe I should back up. You are probably wondering where the helicopter fits in. Iva has a busniess that requires the use of a helicopter.) Chandler got to sit as co-pilot and actually flew the plane for awhile! Jason told Iva, “I don’t know how to thank you for this.” and he replied, “Give all the Glory to God, cause thats where all of this came from!”

It’s a beautiful day here.

We had a request for a picture of the kids. This was taken this morning on our deck.

This photo was taken at Dave and Hillary’s. In it is (L to R) Jason, Diane, Ted, Stacy, Francis, Dave and Hillary. Dave and Hillary are Doctors that are considering going to Togo for full time missions. Francis is also a Doctor here from Ghana to do some training with Dave.

Well, we have had another week of new adventures here in South Africa.

Jason & I have learned to drive on the wrong side of the road, and we have managed to find our way around without getting lost!

We have had loads of rain, so the building project has been delayed this week.  We took the opportunity to take one of the rain days as a field trip. We went to this amazing place called Butterfly World.  There were hundreds of butterflies flittering around, and many other animals to see as well. Chandler had a monkey come and sit on his lap! Seeing all of those creatures reminded us of the Lord’s many wonders. Afterwards we decided to find something familiar, so we wound up at McDonalds! It was the same, and yet so different.

We got off to a rocky start with homeschooling. This is a first for all of us, and we had our expectations set far too high.  Now that our expectations are down where they should be, we are doing much better. Thank goodness! Brittany has been taking Saxon Algebra ½ and loves it. She has been a great help to me.  Jason and Chandler have a deal worked out that if Chandler works hard at school, he gets to go work with Dad on Fridays. It has been a great experience both for Jason & Chandler, as well as the men working at the job site.

We have been busy getting together with friends for tea and lunch. (It is customary to have 10:00 tea each day.) Yesterday we went to an air/car show with Dave and Hillary. Dave is working on getting his commercial pilot’s license, and was hoping to take the boys for a spin. Unfortunately it was too windy and they couldn’t go… another time maybe. Instead we went back to their home for pizza and swimming.

We went to church in Malmesbury today and had the opportunity to give our testimony. It went well and we pray that it was an encouragement to them. We have been asked to give our testimony at a church in Paarl on the 28^th. We are thankful for the open doors and opportunities that the Lord has put before us.

Getting email has been very challenging. The wireless signal isn’t quite strong enough to make it to our place, and even sitting next to it, it’s weak. Not quite sure why, but we are trying our best. Please try to use our ABWE account to email us.

jbox@abwe.cc

It’s a great encouragement hearing from you, dankei. (That’s thank you in Afrikaans.)

In His Service,

The Boxes

Hello! I apologize for not updating sooner, but we have hit a bump in the road. Our computer has quit. It is being looked at by a man here at camp, and it will likely go to a shop here in South Africa if we can’t figure it out. In the meantime, we will periodically check out email through a friend’s computer.

We are enjoying our time here. We have had the opportunity to meet several people that I am sure we will remain friends with once we leave. This past Thursday we went to a Bible study in a home of an Africaaner. It was so very different and yet we were all there to worship the same God. The study was focused on being fully obedient. Not an easy assignment and a great encouragment! We are going to lunch today with some friends of the Weinberg’s. Tomorrow we are invited to another home for another lunch. The people have been so welcoming an gracious.

The church building is coming along nicely and  going up so quickly! Jason has truely been enjoying himself. We have been asked to give our testimony at church next weekend. Please pray that it will empty ourselves to be spirit filled and lead. After church, they are going to hold a tea in our honor, quite a big deal apparently. We are so humbled at all the attention.

The landscape here is beautiful. And yet, there is so much poverty in this beautiful land. On one corner there are men standing waiting for someone to stop an employ them for the day. On the other, there is a Mercedes dealership selling shiny expensive cars. What a contrast!

Thank you for your prayers… We feel them!

Sending much love  your way,

Jason, Stacy, Brittany & Chandler