I forgot to say this before, but please check out my photo album! I've updated it with a new album called "Rand Leases." This shows the kids I work with on Sunday morning!!

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Well, this morning I'm off to the conference centre for the missionary meetings. I don't have the b est attitude about going, but I'll work on it! :) It's definitely not the most fun and exciting place to be in the world... lots of information and business matters. But there will be fun times too I'm sure; it's not ALL business! It'll be nice to see the other journeyman too. I can't believe there is only one other journeyman left in this region!! He serves down in Durban, South Africa. There are also times for praise and worship with music and Bible teaching, so I'm sure that will be nice! I'm on the praise and worship team, so keep the team in your prayers this week as we seek to glorify God alone when we make music!! Thanks. :) The conference centre is only about 20 minutes from my flat... exciting for me, eh? hehe I'll be fine though. At least people get to see my home town! I've really enjoyed having my friends here to hang out with. It's so nice to see so many familiar faces. I didn't realize that I knew so many people coming on this team, so that's been a nice surprise. :) Yesterday morning I left them and came back to the church I usually go to on Sunday mornings. Sunday mornings I work with the kids at Rand Leases, an informal settlement behind the dump named Marie Louise. I spoke with Ursulla, the lady who began the dump ministries/church plants, and she might be able to use me in some youth discipleship in one of the other areas! She asked me to pray about it first, and I'd appreciate it if you'd pray with me about that. It sounds exciting, but I've learned not to rush into any decisions quickly just because they seem exciting at the time! Please pray that God would lead me in making this decision as well as ALL decisions that come my way! Well, I should get going... time to pack the car and head out. Thanks for checking in on me. Have a great week!!
Love ya...
Bonnie

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

The team's here!! Actually, they got here yesterday (Friday) morning. Hooray! It's so cool to see them on "my" turf. :) We went to a Cats rugby match last night. We lost, but what's new? I came back to my place last night to finish doing the things I was going to Thursday night but didn't get to since the power was out. I took two Tylenol-PMs to help me sleep (Lauren brought them to me from the States!) and wow, I was knocked out! I'm having trouble waking up this morning, but I'm glad I slept well last night! Now I've got to wake up so I can go back to the East side of Jo'burg to give them team breakfast and then bring them back over to our side of town for shopping for supplies and things like that. Oh... I finally got my mini-ipod that I ordered a little while ago (Lauren brought that to me too - hehe). So I've been busy playing. ;) Alrighty, I'll try to keep you posted about happenings here, but with the team here, and our meetings starting on Monday, I'll be pretty busy. Thanks for checking in on me!
Cheers,
Bonnie

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Tonight I decided to attend Northcliff’s Tenebrae service. I’d never been to one of these services, so since I didn’t have anything else to do, I decided to go. I kind of knew what to expect, so I wasn’t surprised when I entered the sanctuary and the lights were all dimmed and everyone was fairly quiet. I am sad to say that there weren’t very many other young adults there. Not because I wanted to see them, but because I’ll bet most of them have no idea what they are missing out on. The service was different than anything I’d attended before, but it was quite moving. We sang a few old hymns which all reflected the common theme of the crucifixion. I must admit that it was nice to sing some of the old hymns. It gave me the feeling that some things never change, and for that I am grateful. Coming from one who at one time balked at ritual and tradition, I felt a sense of reverence as we all stood quietly, sang familiar hymns, and recited prayers of confession all in unison. Why has this all left the “modern church?” Must we completely abandon these acts of worship in a cheap attempt to draw a “new” crowd to Christ? (Somehow I don’t think He needs our new and exciting ideas in that matter.) Moving along… The service allowed a time for scripture reading, the Lord’s Supper, singing, a prayer of confession, and time for individual prayer and meditation. At the end of the service, one candle remained lit. One candle to represent the hope of the resurrection that was to come. We left in silence, one at a time, as we each concluded our own time of prayer. Little did I know that though I was walking out, my time of silence and meditation was not finished! As I drove home and got closer to my apartment complex, I noticed that the robots (stop lights) were out. It didn’t take me long to realise that a large space in the distance was completely black, and that space encompassed my apartment. I had all intentions of cleaning my apartment tonight as well as baking some cookies. (Some friends are arriving from the States tomorrow morning.) But with no electricity, it’s kind of difficult to get much done! So, I decided to take a chair outside on my patio. I took my Bible and a flashlight, but I never used them. I simply sat outside, wrapped in a blanket since it’s getting cold!, and sat in silence. Sometimes I prayed, but most of my time was simply spent listening. I listened as different animals made their common sounds around the neighbourhood. I listened as cars rushed around down below and was grateful that the power was off, forcing me to take some time to really stop. I stopped running around and took time to just be. I found it interesting to notice that though all the lights were out, the moon was full tonight, providing me with plenty of light to see everything I needed to see. God is so good and faithful. I am reminded tonight that I so often hurry around to get things done, and I so very rarely take time to be quiet in God’s presence. Tonight I planned to work and do things that were on my list. But God had other plans for me. And as I’ve so often been reminded before, His plans are always best.
Take time to rest in God’s presence this Easter, and always.
God bless,
Bonnie

And by the way, the power’s still not on. :)

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

I'm starting to get pretty excited about my friends coming in just a few days! As we say here in good-ole SA, only THREE more sleeps! Hooray! I can't wait for them to get here. I want them to see my HOME! heehee :) So far I'm having a wonderful break from school. Monday I spent ALL day over at the Lechner's house. Angie and I went grocery shopping. Then after lunch, Angie and I spent a good while singing together. I'm so blessed to be on a team with a guitar playing/singing diva like Angie Lechner!! Though I was sleepy all day (I'll say why in a minute), I had a lot of fun. Of course, we watched American Idol in the evening. :) Then the boys and I played a mean game of scrabble. I finally came home around 11pm and after some emailing, went to sleep! Sleep in in bold there because it is an amazing thing that I actually slept. For the past few weeks I've been having trouble sleeping and I really don't know why. I certainly not stressed at the moment. Anyway, I usually lie away for a few hours before sleeping, and even then I toss and turn. I am so glad I really slept last night though. I hope tonight I sleep well too!! I don't want to be all exhausted and tired when the Summit folks are here. Tonight I went to the movies with some of the young adults from Northcliff. I finally got to see Phantom of the Opera - good movie. Tomorrow night I'm hanging out with the Lechner kids while Charlie and Angie go out on a date. :-) Fun times...
Ok, I hope to be off to dream land now!!
Cheers,
Bonnie B.

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

I’m finished teaching now for a couple of weeks. I only have one of those weeks “off” though. Next week I have time to just chill and hang out with people, but the next week the southern Africa region missionaries have our annual meeting. This year it’s in Jo’burg – I’m oh-so-excited! (please hear the sarcasm…) The only good thing about it being in Jo’burg is that I get to show my friends my home town! This year a team from the Summit (my home-church in the States) is coming to lead the kids in VBS while the parents are in the meetings. I’m excited to be able to see some of my old friends!! They get here one week from today – hooray! What I’ll do until then… I have no idea. But I’m sure I’ll find something to keep me busy. :) Not much else has happened lately to write about. I’m afraid I don’t lead the most exciting life in the world! I had to take exams last week for college. It was so strange to actually study again. I hadn’t done that for a while! Alrighty… I’ll write again when there’s more to update you about. Thanks for checking in on me!
Cheers,
Bonnie

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Ok, so it’s been a few days since I’ve last updated… sorry! I was doing so well there for a while… what happened? So what’s new…? Not all that much, really. Last week was good. The weekend was fun. :) Oh! I finally started going back to power boxing again. Wow, I could tell it had been a while since I’d done it, but now that I’m back into the regular routine again, I’m doing fine.
School and girls club has been going very well lately. The schools continue to confuse me with changes in schedule and unexpected assemblies (so then I don’t get to teach) but I’ve learned to be flexible and just go with the flow! Girls club is different every week. Last week I had a ton of girls there, and they were quite unruly! But this past week baseball practice started, so a lot of them were there, and the numbers were back down to a reasonable size. I like having a lot of girls there, but at the same time, too many overwhelms me!! Yesterday was a great number. There were a lot of them, but not so many that I couldn’t control them. We learned some new songs, did some art, and had a lesson on how special they are and how God even knows their names. I love teaching them such simple, but truthful lessons! Yesterday I also gave a lift home to a couple of the girls. They each lived in pretty nice houses (compared to the others in their area). Here’s some exciting news! On Friday, I am picking one of the girls up from school and I’m going to her house to visit!! I’ve never been to my students’ homes before, so this will be a new experience for me. I’m excited to meet her family! The girl’s name is Ziphora, and she’s been one of my treasures since last year. Who knows where this will lead!
This past weekend I hung out with the missionary families. American Idol is on here if you have a satellite dish, so I went to the Lechners’ house to watch that on Friday night. :) Saturday afternoon I spent with Janna Kay and Joshuwa when Kurt and Ruth Anne went to a rugby match. What would I do without my missionary family?? Sunday morning I went to Rand Lisa’s again. It went pretty well… the kids were crazy, but hey… that’s what makes them fun and exciting! :) Sunday evening I went back to Northcliff and once again, I really enjoyed it. I also went back to the young adults Bible study on Tuesday night and for the first time in quite a while, I really felt like I fit in! It was so great to walk into a room full of people my age, and know at least half of them by name. I’ll definitely be making that a regular Tuesday event!
Now I am busy with preparing for my exams next week. It’s crazy to be studying for exams again! But after next week I’ll have about a month until the next term begins at the college. It’ll be nice to have the break, but I don’t know what I’m going to do with my extra time!! I’ve enjoyed having something to do and somewhere to go when I’m not teaching. I’m sure I’ll find something to keep me occupies though!
That’s about it for now… I’m strangely tired today, and I’m going to TRY to go to bed at a regular hour tonight. Usually when I try that though, I can’t sleep! Tonight I think will be different though. Having to get up early for college makes me sleepy by the end of the day!
Have a great week, and thanks for checking in on me!!!
Love to you all…
Bonnie B.

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81