What a day! I actually just finished "relocating" a seemingly lost lizzard! For some odd reason, he (or she) seemed to think that the Holiday's bathtub was it's new home. I disagreed with the lizzard and kindly removed it to it's proper location - outside! Don't worry... the lizzard was not hurt in the relocating proccess. ;)

Today I went to Dhlamini to do the first Bible study, and well... it didn't happen. I picked up Promise (Nomthandaso) on the way. She is a young lady that came to the Holiday Bible Clubs and helped us translate and lead the kids. She was such a blessing! Well, we got to Zandile's house (where the study was supposed to be), and some man told us that she was on holiday! GEEZ! So much for that! Promise said that she wanted to see where I lived, so off we drove to my apartment. Promise likes to talk as much as I like to listen, so the drive worked out very well. She told me some great things that God has been doing in her life, and she said she truely belives that we met for a reason. How awesome if that!? On the drive back to her house, we had a random conversation, which seemed to come out of nowhere! Here's how it went...
(we were both singing along with a CD that I had recently been given by one of the last team members...)
Promise: (insert African accent, if you know what that sounds like) Bonnie, when you get married I want you to call me so I can attend.
Bonnie: Oh, really? You think I'm gonna get married, eh?
Promise: Oh yes, I know it.
Bonnie: Well, am I going to marry an American or a South African?
Promise: You will marry a South African.
Bonnie: Ha! Well, he's gonna have to make a move soon ... I only have 4 months left here!
Promise: God will make it happen. I know it. You will get married here.
... I think from there I just quietly laughed to myself and we went on singing as before! How funny is that!? Wonder if she has the gift of prophecy! hehe Only time will tell I suppose!!

You know, I'm being so spoiled here with this DSL. I have become addicted to the world of BLOGS! It's like they're all connected somehow is this strange internet world. You read one, and it somehow leads you to another one. I don't know what I'm going to do when I go back to my flat tomorrow and don't have DSL. Sad day in the life of Bonnie! I guess high speed internet is something I can be looking forward to going back to the States for. I've got to find something to be excited about (beside seeing my family!!!).

Well... hopefully the Bible studies will start next week. I'll call Zandile tomorrow and see what's up. Schools start back next week too. Some of the girls from Emadlelweni want to be in a Bible study, so I'm going to get that started as soon as I can in one of the girls' homes. That'll be fun! Wow... 4 months left here and the Bible studies are just starting. God's got funny timing, doesn't He? Guess He wants me to finish strong!!

I'm going to get back to reading random people's blogs now. Hooray! ;)
Thanks for checking in on me!
in Him,
Bonnie
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

I'm on holiday! Ok... not really, but I'm pretending to be on holiday (vacation)! I am house-sitting for the Holidays (the family) while they are away. I'm enjoying their DSL and DSTV... luxuries I don't usually have! I've taken the time to update my photo album online, so please check it out when you've got time. You'd think that since I have all this time to be online, I'd have a ton to write about, but really, I'm having writer's block! The team from Mississippi has gotten home safely. I have been trying my hardest to relax as much as possible before school starts back next week. Tomorrow (Wednesday) I go to my first Bible study in Dhlamini!! I pray that people will remember to come and that some of the people we met at the Holiday Bible Clubs will be there too. I'll admit, I'm kind of nervous - this being my first adult Bible study to lead and all. It's exciting though!

Well, I've been loving the DSL here and I've been reading a lot... here's a good article I stumbled upon... have a look! Hopefully I'll have more to write about tomorrow! :)

in Him,
Bonnie

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

Happy 4th of July!!

Now that that's out of the way... I'm moving on, since I don't get to celebrate that here! ;) ... You know, I think I've come a long way since I've been here. One of the ladies on the team knows a family who is from the States and is working here in Jo'burg as missionaries. There is a daughter my age, and the lady was just SO excited to get us to meet each other. Well, I met her today at the mall. She's a nice girl, and really I didn't get much chance to talk to her one on one, but I realized that I don't get all excited about meeting other Americans who work here anymore. Now that I have some great South African friends, I don't feel so dependent on Americans anymore. And I think that's a good thing! Now... maybe the reason I didn't really click with this girl is because I know that she's here with her mom and dad, and therefore she will never understand all that I have been through (and continue to go through). If my Mom and Dad were here I'd stay for life! She has no clue what it's like to be alone every night in your home. She has no clue what it's like to hear about family vacations back home, or to be here by yourself when all your friends and co-workers go on vacation (or 'holiday') with their families. I'm not bitter... just a little sad. (Mom, don't worry!! :)) I do miss family and family outings and get-togethers. There's just something amazing to be said about being part of a group that knows everything (or almost everything) about you and loves you to the core anyway. Now, don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE being here. A friend of mine recently commented that there are always sacrifices to be made with every decision we make. And that's never fun, but it's almost always worth it in some way. :) So... everyone enjoy your red, white and blue decorations, have fun with the sparklers (please don't burn your fingers... that was always my fear as a kid!) and savour every one of the amazing and beautiful fireworks tonight... enjoy them for me please!! :)

Love you all!!
Bonnie

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

Ok, so by random chance I stumbled upon this little test to find out which "Alice in Wonderland" character I am. Man... I'm not deluded? (or am I!? hehe) And I don't know about you, but whenever I escape into a different world, I am quite happy! ;) Anyway... it's a good thing these things are all in fun! Feel free to take the little 5 question test and let me know what your results are. Horray for good clean fun! hehe

Take the test!

Wow... I don't think I ever knew that I shared my birthday with Canada day! *sniff sniff* I'm feeling a bit... patriotic... oh wait... I'm not Canadian, just my name is! :) You'd be surprised how many times I get asked if I am Canadian though, especially with a French last name!

I have had SUCH a great birthday this year! Today some of my teammates sent me birthday SMSes (text-messages), lots of awesome friends remembered and also sent me messages, my best friend from the States called me (which is VERY rare!!) to sing happy birthday, and my Dad called me and also sang to me! I got a cool e-card from my big brother (and family) and a few other e-cards from people back home too. I have also heard that my post-box is full of b-day cards, so I need to go check that out tomorrow morning. It's so nice to be remembered... both by people across an ocean as well as people just a short drive away.

Well, the team from Mississippi arrived today. There are 18 of them!! YIKES! I'm glad they're staying at the Days Inn. I like 'em... but that's just a lot of people... they make me go on American-overload. :) I think I'll have a little more free time with this team... as in I might actually be able to maintain some semblance of normality while they're here. I'll try anyway. :)

Thanks for checking in on me... and Happy Canada Day! ;)

Bonnie

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

A Very Merry Unbirthday to ME!

(if anyone can tell me what movie that's from, you get major points...)

Today I was planning on going to a "ladies's lunch" with Angie and Janna Kay. So I arrived at Angie's house at 1:00 and was surprised with a day-early birthday party with the team!! :) I LOVE my team!!! Tomorrow some more volunteers come in in the morning, so we couldn't do anything then, so they wanted to celebrate a day early. I am such a lucky girl to have this wonderful "family." God is good!

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

Tonight I turned the heaters on in my bedroom, cuddled up in my strawberry shortcake blanket (yes, I have a strawberry shortcake blanket - don't laugh!), and watched some Shirley Temple movies that my family sent me for my birthday. Man, that took me back! It felt so good to feel 6 years old again. I remember once when I was little, a bee stung me on the foot, and the only thing that would make me feel better was putting on the movie, "The Little Princess" (a Shirley Temple movie). :) Sometimes I miss being a little kid. Being a kid means trusting and believing everything you're told by anyone older than you. Being a kid means not really having to think for yourself. But, as I approach another birthday on Friday, I come to the realization that I am not a little kid anymore. And that means I do have to think for myself. I know I've not been a little kid for a while now, but I'm kind of "re-realizing" (if that's a word. :) Not being a kid means that I have the responsibility to think. (ugh) God created me with a very capable mind and the ability to use it. And as great as that is, lately it's been more of a burden. At times I just want to go back to believing everything I've been taught and told. That's so much easier! It's almost as if I'm afraid to think- to question what I've been taught. I'm a missionary ... I'm supposed to have everything figured out, right!? Obviously, I don't have everything figured out... and if that makes me an inadequate missionary... well, I'm done in 5 months, so just let me finish, ok? ;) Now, if you're reading this and thinking I've gone off the deep end, or I'm doubting my faith, that's NOT the case!! I promise you! In fact, lately I have so much of a desire to really know Christ... to know what He'd really do today... to know what He really wants me to do today. I've started reading through the Gospels recently with a new agenda... Get this... I'm just reading them! No notebook. No highlighter. No commentaries. I'm just reading them. I'm trying to get a good picture of who my Saviour is and what He's like. And I'm trying to do that without the opinions of theologians. (I'm not saying theologians are wrong! I just want to read for myself!) Anyway... well, this has been a different blog post... as opposed to my typical "this is what I did today" post. Hope you don't mind. So... if you want to do something for me for my bday on Friday, please pray for wisdom and guidance that only God can give! This is gonna be a great year - I can feel it. Now... strawberry shortcake is calling my name!
Thanks for checking in on me!
in Him,
Bonnie

I love this picture of the work at Rand Leases. The two kids here are Moo-moo (the girl) and Mpho. These two need a little encouragement to dance and sing along with the rest of the kids, but once they get going, they're the cutest!! I just LOVE these kids!!!

Heather and I at Carnivour

Kelly and I at Wilro Park

Nathan preaching at Wilro Park Sunday night

Todd and I at Carnivour!

This was so cute... at the end of the ope-air, some people were being prayed for. These two kids were standing amongst the adults and following right along! We start 'em young in South Africa. ;)

Here's a picture of us singing at Braamfischerville. Do we look choreographed or what!? 'Twas much fun... :)

Oh yeah, Friday night we went to a Lion's rugby match. It was quiet cold! This is me, Nathan and Todd. The Lions won... I don't remember the score exactly, but we won by like 40 points or some rediculously large number like that. go Lions!!

Here's the Summit team with the folks from Good News Baptist Church, the church in Braamfischerville. Tumi is the guy in the middle and his wife, Hilda is in front of him with the white shirt on. The open-air service was in front of their house.

Yesterday was a fun day. In the morning we went to Braamfischerville to take part in an "Open Air" which is like an outdoor evangelical service. We had told people a couple days before that it was from 9:30-12:00. Well... we got there and then were told that we had to wait until the funeral that was going on next door was over. They said it would be over at about 10:30. I left at about 10:15 to take the ladies from the house we had the service at to the gorcery store. They decided they wanted to have a braai for us. We left the shops at about 11:00 and I was thinking that I would have already missed some of the service. Oh no... it hadn't started yet. We had to wait for the funeral to be over and for the people to leave. The big bus (to take them to the grave-side) rolled up at about 12:00, and once they left we finally started. Talk about working on African time!! I've been here 17 months now and I really think that this was my most "african" experience so far! I think the service officially started at about 12:30 and we finished around 3:00. We also had to sing in the service! It was so funny... on the fliers that we passed out on Thursday morning, the flier said, "music by Gospel USA singers and local singers." It didn't take us long to realized that "Gospel USA singers" was referring to us!! Yikes! So, Friday night we stayed up late and worked out some music to sing for them. On top of that, at the begining of the service Pastor Aaron asked us to come and do an "item," which means some kind of music. So Todd, Kelly and I sang a song.. but apparently we didn't sing
long enough, because we had to sing more! I think we ended up singing 3 songs before the actual service started! Crazy, I tell ya...Some of the girls and I had prepared a program for the kids too, so we took the little kids behind the house and had some good ole-fashion Sunday School fun. :) Apparently lots happened while we were gone! Nathan preached, some more of the team people gave their testimonies, the local guys sang again, and at some point during all that 4 ladies prayed to give their lives to Christ! Talk about exciting! All of them live near Tumi and Hilda (they live in the house where we had the open air), so it looks like we'll get some good discipleship going on there too, which in my opinion, is neccessary after something like that. Anyway... so, at 3:00 the finished and we had the braai. Thankfully, the ladies had been cooking the whole time, and everything was ready by the time we finished. So we had some mealie pap, chakalaka, rice, chicken, vors, and some other kind of meat that looked kind of scary to me! It was all good, but we were trying not to eat too much because we knew that we were going to Carnivor later that night. We weren't planning on going to Carnivor, but one of the guys on the team decided to pay the extra for everyone. (The team leader had enough money to go out to a regular restaurant, and this guy forked out the rest for everyone!!) So, that was nice. I enjoy going now more than I used to because I know what I like and what I can pass up, so I don't leave feeling like I just ate everything in sight! Well, after that, the girls staying with me and I went to Heather's birthday party! We were pretty late, but Heather was nice enough to let us come anyway. :) And oh my word! The house it was at is literally the biggest house I've ever been inside! It's her Aunt and Uncle's house and she's housesitting while they're away. They even had their own tennis courts! I don't think I need to say anymore! The girls were shocked to see a house that huge after working in townships and squatter camps all week. Anyway, it was really cool to hang out with some friends and chill out for a while. I think the girls enjoyed seeing a bit of my "real life" here and meeting white South Africans (we've only really worked with the black culture). All in all, yesterday was an amazing day. So many great things happened!
Today 2 of the girls (Joy and Melissa) went with me to Rand Leases and Braamfischerville for Sunday School. Joy wanted to steal the kids and take them home to clean them up. :) I assured her that it was a natural response, but that if I'd taken home every kid I wanted to, I'd have a house full!! The girls really enjoyed spending more time with the kids. The other group went to Jabavu Baptist Church in Jabulani, Soweto. I don't think they did all that much, except Nathan preached. I think Joy and Melissa got to experience and do more! Of course, I'm partial to my kids. ;)
Well, now we're all just hanging out that the Holiday's house before going to church later tonight at a white church... Wilro Park I think. I personally don't think that's a great note to end their trip on, but I don't make the plans! I'd better get going... I'm sure more people want to use the internet. Thanks for checking in on me!!
in Him,

Bonnie B


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

Shopping day! Today we took the team to Bruma Market, a pretty nice souvenir-type market on the other side of town. It was such a great day to shop. It was cold, and in the middle of the week, so people were eager to make a deal and we were able to bargain quite a lot!!! Usually when I take teams there I'm not doing much shopping, but this time I was. :) I am sending a suticase of stuff home so that I won't have to bring it back with me in November, so I was finally buying a lot of the things that I've wanted to buy for a while. Shopping is fun when you're actually buying things!! :)

Tonight the team met with some of the people from Ridgecrest Family church and we had a discussion about all of our favourite Christian books. Very insightful! Now, if only books weren't so dang expensive here!!!

Yesterday went very well as well. We went to Emadlelweni Combined School and did an assembly for the kids. We divided the kids up this time so that we could use a translator for the little kids and it went very well!! After that, we went to Vlekfontein and prayer walked. We found 2 places that want to host a weekly Bible study in their homes - hooray! Such an answer to prayer. :)

Well, I'm at the Holiday's house and someone else needs to use the computer. Thanks for checking in on me!!
in Him,
Bonnie

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

Today was really cool... this morning the team went to Lake View to do an assembly. We actually beat the principal AND the deputy principal there! (go figure...) Anyway, the kids seemed to enjoy it. We taught them a song geared more for the little kids and then Todd gave a talk about purpose and God having a plan for their lives. The little kids didn't really understand, but they still seemed to enjoy the novelty of 11 white people (and Americans to boot) being at their school. After the assembly 4 of the team members (Todd, Cheryl, Heather and Kelly) came to class with me. Todd brought Angie's guitar and we taught them a song (Lord, I Lift Your Name on High) and basically had a question/answer time. They tried to work in little "lessons" into their answers, and fun was had by all. ;) The team members learned a lot too by asking the kids questions!! While we were teaching, the rest of the team went prayer walking Dhlamini and they met a lady who wants to have a Bible study in her home!!!! WOOHOO!! We have been praying for this for so long, and I am so excited to finally have the chance. After that we went to the mall so they could exchange money. It became a little crazy when my friend Craig learned that we had US dollars to exchange and he wanted to exchange over 6000 Rand... since it's easier to exchange dollars for Uzbek currency. It was madness... to say the least!! But in the end we were able to help him, and we got a better exchange rate with him than we would have with the exchange people! (But we didn't jip him, I promise!!) After that I took Nathan to the college I study at so that he could meet Dr. Gregory, an American missionary who teaches there. Nathan wants to teach somewhere like that someday, so it was cool for him to get to see what goes on there and what he'll need to do to be able to teach at a place like that someday. After that I came back to the Holiday's house and everyone was taking a nap!! So... I took a nap too ... kind of... I watched the movie, Spirit, with Joshuwa and we tried to sleep.... but sleeping with a 3 year old is no easy task. It's all fun though. :) And NOW... it's dinner time! Hooray for Janna Kay's cooking! Later!
Bonnie

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

PS- Pray for Craig today... he and the team he is on leave for Uzbekistan sometime this evening!!

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

I'm feeling like a Mom this morning. I got up before everyone, turned the heaters on, took a shower, got ready, made coffee and put clothes in the washing machine... all by 6AM! Craziness... Today the team is going to Lake View Primary, my regular school, to do an assembly and then some of them are teaching with me. Todd (one of the guys) is using Angie Lechner's guitar and is gonna teach the kids some songs. I think they'll love it. :) After that is some prayer walking in Dhlamini. Then it's off to the mall to exchange their US dollars for SA Rand! Well, this "mom" has to have some QT before really starting the day, so I'll be off. But check back fpr regular updates of the Summit team! :)
in Him,
Bonnie

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

The team is here! Hooray! The team from The Summit is here and everyone arrived safely with all their luggae. That is quite an achievement in itself. :) They're all pretty sleepy right now, so we're probably going to be going to bed pretty early tonight!! Oh, AND I got a whole suitcase full of wonderful birthday presents! (Thanks, Mom and Dad! ;)) They also brought me lots of great American goodies like splenda, Lipton green tea and real chocolate chips! Yay! I'll have to make some cookies sometime... ;) Fun times! Alrighty, I'm turning in.
Love ya!
Bonnie

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

Anyone know how to write a CV? I really don't know how... I'm in the process of trying to find out online... we'll see how far I get. Thank the Lord for the Holiday family having DSL - I can take as long as I want to to find out. :)

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

Hello my faithful readers! I'm sorry that I haven't been very good at keeping up to date recently. Not too much has been going on though... nothing all that new anyway. I've been feeling kind of tired the past few days. I don't know why, and I don't have any other symptoms of being sick, so who knows! Last weekend I watched a lot of movies and kinda vegged out. It felt really nice. :) Yesterday the Lechner family was finally all well enough for me to hang out with them, and I pretty much stayed there all day. Angie and I played scrabble and then she said, "what are we doing? We should be singing!!" So, after dinner she got out her guitar and we spent a good while singing together. I have really missed that! I love singing with Angie. :) This week Nurse and I played games with out students. They've been writing (taking) exams, Nurse is writing exams, I'm studying for one this week.... everyone's stressed, so we had fun with them. I know Nurse and I enjoyed the break, and I'm pretty sure the kids liked it too. Well... this Sunday the team from my home church get here! Hooray! I am so exicted about them coming, even though I only know 2 out of 9 of the team members. That's what happens when you leave and the church continues to grow. :) So I have that to look forward to - yay! Thanks for checking in on me!
in Him,
Bonnie B.

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

So... who can tell me what's different about me in this picture?? If anyone besides my Mom figures it out you'll get major cool points in my book. It's pretty obivous to me, but others are slower than me. ;) I don't have very much to update on this week... nothing very new has happened. I am about to start writing my last Biblical Counselling paper for this term. I canNOT believe that this term is almost over already! Time is flying WAY to quickly for me lately and I don't like it one bit. :( I guess I can't do anything about it though... I'll enjoy every minute of the time I have left!! :)

Alright… here’s the long awaited update. ;) Today there were 56 kids at the Sunday School at Braamfischerville Baptist Church!! Wow… it continues to grow each week. I don’t know what we’re going to do when we have even more kids – we’re running out of space in the classroom they gave us to use! (The church meets in a primary school.) Today two women from the church sat in and helped with the Sunday school, which was SO nice! One lady looked like she’s gonna need a little practice with kids, but she has a willing attitude and that is all we need! The other lady was great – she got right in there amongst the children and was singing and dancing right along with them! Now THAT is what we like to see!! :) I hoping that eventually we can split the kids into two groups by age. There are a lot of 10-12 year old kids coming, and they’re totally different than a 5 year old. Once the new ladies have a grasp for what’s going on we hope to split and then I’ll kind of go between classes and make sure we’re all on the same page. I really like this role as a missionary… being more of a trainer or facilitator. This way I know that when I leave I am not leaving an empty space. Instead I hope to be leaving a strong, flourishing ministry!!! We did have a bit of a mess this morning though… there’s another church that also meets at the school and today one of the ladies very rudely confronted Nurse and said that our kids are not disciplined and that she needed to do something about that. Now mind you, most of the kids coming have never been in church and have no idea what they’re “supposed” to act like. Does anyone besides me hear a familiar bell ringing of our Saviour saying that we should come to Him like these little children? No rules, no presuppositions, no ‘proper’ dress… just a love of Jesus! Oh to be like these little ones!! Anyway… most of the kids get to the school before Nurse and I can get there, so they just play outside. Imagine that… kids playing… what a concept. ;) We did tell the kids today to play on the other side of the classrooms until we get there from now on so they don’t disturb the other church. I wouldn’t have been so upset by this lady’s actions if she’d been kind about it. But she was so rude. It makes me sad to see they way Christians are letting Satan get a foothold. How are we (Christians) ever going to make it if we bicker with each other about petty matters. One would think that the other church would be happy that someone is reaching out to the kids in the neighbourhood, but I guess that’s too much to ask of them. Sad, isn’t it? I absolutely hate this type of division among so-called Christians. I have such a vision to see people working together for a common goal. Call me optimistic… We could just do so much more is we’d just put aside the dumb things that divide us. *sigh*

That brings me to a different topic, and one with a little more hope and happiness. :) Like I said, I have a vision to see Christians working together. Lately I’ve randomly met other missionaries (mostly American but a couple others), and it seems most of us are going in totally different directions. I asked my team tonight if there had ever been anything planned for the different missionaries in our area to get together and meet each other. They said no, but that someone should organize something! Well… I may be just one person, but I am going to try my hardest to get something going! I just think that if we all met each other and shared about our different ministries, we may see some areas where we can help each other. Or in the very least, we will meet other people with common goals and desires and we’ll be able to pray for and support one another in our efforts. My first step is just to ask around to the people I know and see if the others are even interested in this… Please be praying for this endeavour! It seems pretty daunting to me at this point, but I must remember… “one step at a time.” I’m pretty excited about it!!

Alright folks… I’m exhausted! (That seems to be a common thing in these blog updates…) I must go get my beauty sleep. ;)

in Him,
Bonnie
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

All I have the energy to write is this... It's about 2:30am right now and I just got home from playing an almost 6 hour game of Risk! Yikes! No, I didn't win, but I was the last girl to hang on to my territories. :) I am way too tired to write much more than that though... so I'll just say goodnight, and I'll do a real update tomorrow sometime.
Cheers,
Bonnie

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

I did it! I broke my gym-streak! Today marked 15 days straight of going to the gym. Oh yeah... tomorrow I'll be going for 16. Now's not time to stop. ;) Hooray for the gym! :)

Bonnie


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

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! Yeah… if I were home right now, I’d have the day off, but alas, I am not! So… just a typical day for me. Well… kind of…

Today I was supposed to start a Bible study at Nurse’s house. She had invited some of her friends to come and they said they’d come. BUT… they didn’t. I wasn’t too surprised by that, so I just suggested that she and I meet every week and go through a Bible study called “The Disciple’s Cross.” She liked the idea, so that’s the plan! While we were there she said, “I want to show you some other books.” It seems the Watchtower has been making their rounds again in Braamfischerville. Nurse said, “I agree with some of what they say, but some of it is just wrong – it doesn’t make sense.” To which I replied, “you are absolutely correct… it IS wrong, and it doesn’t make sense because it’s wrong!” But she said they come by often and give out different books and always want to come in and talk (which I am not surprised by). Have you ever been just really made at Satan? I mean, my heart breaks for people such at Jehovah’s Witnesses because they are blinded. They are going after what they believe to be truth, but they’re seeking it in the wrong place! Sitting there, reading the books they’d given to Nurse I just got more and more angry at Satan. But I also started getting irritated with myself. Why don’t I know more about this cult? Why don’t I have the right answers to all of Nurse’s questions? I’m sure they have ‘answers’ and have done their homework, so why haven’t I!? So, when I left Nurse’s house I went to CUM (Christian bookstore) and bought some books on Jehovah’s Witnesses and I’m starting to do my homework. I’m tired of being confused! Some of the stuff I’m reading now blows my mind. How have people been blinded by this? My heart truly breaks for them…

On a completely different note, I almost didn’t get to go to the gym tonight! I planned all day on going to the Power Boxing class, but when I drove into the parking lot at 6:55, all the lights were out! And I mean ALL the lights! The traffic lights, the lights in the parking lot and all the shop lights. I was so sad! I decided though, since there were still lots of cars there, that they must not have been out long, and that they’d come back on. So, I sat in my car and waited. About 10 minutes later, sure enough, the power came back! And I went to my power boxing class. Hooray! I could tell it had been a while!! It was a nice break from the weights… I’ll get back to those tomorrow. Ugh… I mean, YAY! hehe :)

Now I really need to go to bed… it’s been a long day!!

in Him,
Bonnie

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

Yet another GREAT day!! Today there were 46... FORTY SIX kids at Braamfischerville Baptist!! Wow and Praise be to GOD for doing such an amazing work. It's only the 3rd week there and this many kids are already coming. I am so blown away by how quickly this has taken off. :)

After church today Nurse came home with me to help me clean my flat (her idea, not mine!). So we spent the entire afternoon cleaning every nook and crannie of the kitchen and living room today. And yes, I did find time to quickly go to the gym and jog a couple miles today, so the streak is not broken - hooray!

Wow... I'm tired. So a short update will have to do for tonight. :) Goodnight!!
Love ya,
Bonnie

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

Sad day in the life of Bonnie... A few of you know that I was looking into the possibility of working as a preschool teacher in a homeless shelter when I get home. The Durham Rescue Mission (Durham is the town I hope to live in) will be opening up a new preschool/day care soon, and I was really hoping I’d at least have a chance of applying to work there! Anyway, after waiting about a month to hear back from them, I just got an email saying that they’ve hired someone with a Master’s Degree in Special Education to train the mothers at the shelter to be the teachers. I know that’s a great idea, but I’m still sad that I won’t be able to work there! *sigh* I know there’s a plan for me somewhere… I just wish I had SOME kind of clue what that was. Man… now I really don’t want to go home. :(

Good thing I saw some ‘old’ friends tonight… at least there’s something to be happy about! :)

Goodnight…

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

Hey there! Today I'm not in as much pain as I was last time I wrote. :) But I AM still sore! I've been to the gym twice since then, so in part, I feel better because I've worked out some of the tension, but I've also lifted again since then, so my muscles are still sore from that. I wonder how long this will last!? I'm sure eventually it must become a little easier, right?? I hope! So... I'm still working on my gym-challenge. I've been now for 11 days straight. :) Hooray! I also took another step towards a new me this last week. On Tuesday I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting. Now, some of you may be saying, "why is she telling me this!?" But, I want everyone to know so that I have even more accountability. :) It's time to get my physical self sorted out, and now with being faithful about going to the gym and retraining myself to eat right, I feel like I am finally on the right track! And man, that feels good. :)

Not too much has happened this past week... but let me think... Tuesday evening I went to London Rd. Church to go to a Worship event featuring Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin and Louis Giglio!! THAT was awesome!! It was so cool to hear Chris Tomlin and Louis Giglio (known for the Passion movement in the States) in South Africa! One of them (I think it was Chris) tried to say something in a South African accent and totally sounded Australian. He made us look bad!! It was actually rather funny though. :) Wednesday morning I had coffee with Heather and we got to catch up on what we've missed in each other's lives for the past few months. It was so nice to just sit and chat for a couple hours!! Hopefully I'll see her again soon. I think we're supposed to get together this weekend to watch Star Wars III, so that'll be fun. :)

Well, I need to get some things ready for Durban Deep tomorrow morning. Thanks for checking in on me!

in Him,
Bonnie

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

I'M IN PAIN!!!!! Ok... it's worth it, but I'm still in pain! Today I went to the gym and my "advisor" guy showed me my program. You know, I'm cool with the cardio machines and all that jazz, but he only had me on that for 12 minutes just to get warmed up, and then he had me do all sorts of exercises with the free weights. I was at the gym for almost TWO hours today... usually I won't do all the exercises in one day, but today was my orientation. Part of the time I felt really cool because I was learning how to lift weights, and that's just cool to me, but part of the time I also wanted to cry... no, I'm not kidding! Good thing my advisor guy is really cool and funny (and kinda cute, so that helps - hehe). But man, I'm sore now!! I guess it's a good sore though... it better be!

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

This picture was just way too cute not to share with people. I still can't believe my brother is a DAD!! Wow... crazy things happen when you leave the country for 2 years!

For those of you who are keeping tabs on me and my gym-challenge, I DID go today… so that makes 7 days in a row. hehe Go me. I jogged 2 miles and then walk/jogged 3 more miles. Yeah, I was at the gym for a while! You know what’s funny? I’ve been here for 16 months and have been going to the gym almost the whole time, but on the treadmill, my mind still doesn’t function with kilometres. I know that 1.6k = 1 mile, so I always have to go in increments of 1.6 so that I know how many miles I’ve gone. I know… I don’t make much sense. I’m used to that by now. ;) There’s a slight (very slight) chance that I may have to break the challenge this weekend though. Some of my friends are going down to Cape Town for the weekend and I REALLY want to go, but I think the only way I can go is if I go down with my friend Craig (by plane) and meet the others there. I don’t think I’m allowed to do that… because then I’d have to be alone with Craig and some point, and you know us missionaries, you just can’t trust us. (*hint of slight bitterness about stinkin’ rules*) I also don’t know exactly who’s going yet… Plus I have commitments to ministry on the weekends, and I can’t just up and leave it at less than a week’s notice. Gotta be responsible. *sigh* I hope something, ANYthing fun happens this weekend so I don’t feel so down about not going to Cape Town… which is something I’ve really wanted to do while I’m here. Oh well, maybe another opportunity will present itself! Maybe something better. ;) You never know…

Until next time...

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

Today was another long but great day. It started out at 9am at Rand Leases for Sunday School. Vusi (a guy from Braamfisherville Baptist) came again this week and he had prepared to teach the lesson! It’s so great for him to be a part of the teaching group now. He and Nurse are so good at teaching, and between then two of them, they can teach in any African language that the kids speak! So, we finished at Rand Leases at about 10:45am and went straight to Braamfisherville at 11:00. We did the same thing there (minus Craig) and finished at about 1:00. After properly speaking with all the members of the church (I’ve learned that if I don’t, they think I’m rude), I finally left at about 1:30. By the time I got home I was finished! But, I convinced myself to go to the gym! I am trying to beat my record of going to the gym 14 days in a row without fail. Right now I’m only on my 6th day… yesterday (Saturday) I actually woke up at 6:30AM to go to the gym because I knew I probably wouldn’t get to go if I waited till after Durban Deep (and I was right). You know, as crazy as it sounds, there’s something about waking up early and going to the gym that just makes you feel really good! I’d do it more often, but during the week it is full of crazed business world people who wake up before the sun to go to the gym before going to work… and the gym’s just not as much fun for me when it’s crammed full of people. Anyway… so yeah, I’m on day 6 right now. Keep checking back to see how I’m doing. ;) I've realized something lately… I realized that God doesn’t simply want me to be “disciplined” by reading my Bible, praying and going to church. Those are great things, but I’ve realized that if I truly believe that I am a temple of God and that His Spirit dwells in me (1Co 3:16-Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? ), then who the heck am I to NOT take care of GOD’S temple!? Shame that it took me 23 (almost 24) years to figure out that simple truth, but better late than never, right? It’s sad that many people in the church never even think about that. We’re (and I say ‘we’ b/c I’m including myself here) are quick to point out other areas where we (or others) need to “grow into maturity” but we don’t think about something so obvious as our own bodies – GOD’S OWN TEMPLE! Crazy if you ask me… someone should have ingrained that into my head along with all the other stuff I was being taught in Sunday School as a kid. Anyway… I could go on, but this is entirely too long already, so I’ll bring this section to a close. :)

Yesterday (Saturday) was yet another fun and random day. It started out with me going to the gym at 7am in the morning, which is a new thing for me. Then went to Durban Deep for the kids stuff and then all the teachers had a planning meeting (that’s not the fun and random part). While I was there, I got invited to go to a worship event on the other side of town. So, even though I’d been at Durban Deep that morning, and was dressed for the occasion, I decided to go anyway (who cares if there was a little dirt and who knows what else on me! hehe). We first went to East Gate mall to hang out with some people. I got to know a girl named Lindsay, who might be one of my new favourite people! She is the silliest, giggliest girl I’ve ever met in my life, and though she is quite silly, she is also very wise at times for someone her age. I really enjoy hanging out with people like her. Though I am usually a quiet, fairly reserved person, when I am with the right people, I can actually show a somewhat silly side myself! And with Craig thrown into the mixture as well, I was surrounded by crazy people! My quiet side didn’t stand a chance! It was quite fun, to say the least. :) After hanging out at the mall a bit, we went to the church. The worship event was really nice. I never know how to explain worship events to people… I mean, it was cool, but is worship ever not cool? I’ll just say, I had lots of fun. I hope that doesn’t sound blasphemous or anything… I mean, heaven forbid that my friends and I have fun at a worship service! I personally don’t see anything wrong with that, but I also know of some people who would read that and think less of me. Well, if you think less of me, feel free to email me, and we’ll chat. ;) Otherwise, just know that I had an awesome and FUN time last night. To make the night even better, I saw two friends, Roger and Heather, that I hadn’t seen since February! Heather was actually singing in the worship team, so that was cool. It was so nice to see them again! I haven’t really seen any of my old friends in about 3 months. (Is it possible to have “old friends” when you haven’t even been in a country for 2 years yet??) Anywho… this year I’ve been hanging out with pretty much a completely new circle of friends, and though that has cool parts, I do miss the people I used to hang out with. Don’t really know what happened… oh well... I hope I don’t have to wait another 3 months to see them again. ;) Heather and I actually have a coffee date set for this week so we can get together and catch up a bit. I’m very much looking forward to it. :) After the worship event, we went back to East Gate mall to hang out a bit more, and we met up with some folks from Northcliff. Later in the evening, just our car load stayed to chat a little more, and we realized something… sitting at the table was an American missionary, 2 missionaries-in-training (Lindsay and Craig), a Canadian missionary (Ruth) and an English missionary (Rob). How cool was that? For once, the “foreigners” outnumbers the locals! Hooray!

So… basically I had a rockin’ weekend! Now I am spent though, and am hoping I’ll have some really rejuvenating sleep tonight!! On that note, thanks for checking in on me!!
in Him,
Bonnie

PS – My newfound friend, Lindsay, is trying to convince me to dye my hair “dark brown” (aka… almost black!). HA! Imagine that… I’d do it if I knew it’d wash out in 24 hours or LESS!! So, any opinions?? :)


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

Lauryn sleeping

Isn't she absolutely beautiful!! She really does look like baby pictures of Brad when he was born. yay - she looks like a Boisvert!! Good thing... since she is one. :)

Brad (my brother) looking at his daughter, Lauryn

BABY LAURYN HAS ARRIVED!!!

Hopefully soon I'll have pictures, but my newest neice, Lauryn Michelle Boisvert was born this morning at 8:03am (North Carolina time)! Hooray!! I am so sad that I can't be home for this amazing day, but I know that Lauryn is being loved by many people back home. I can't wait to hold her in my arms in 6 months! Mom says that my brother Brad (Lauryn's dad) is just beaming... well, what guy wouldn't be? He has waited so long to be a dad. I know he's going to be a great one!

Well, I'll put a picture here as soon as I see one myself! Until then... goodnight from SA!
In Him,
Bonnie

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

Wow… I feel like I have so much to update about! I really should get better about updating this page more often. So let me think… where do I start? Last week started out fairly normal… then Wednesday afternoon I got invited to go to the Blues Room to hear a friend’s band, Grounded, play. We got on the guest list, so we didn’t have to pay to get in, which is always cool. :) That’s my second time going to the Blues Room, and once again, it was packed full of people… I’m starting to get better at handling big crowds, but it’s still not the easiest thing in the world for me! I much prefer small groups where I can actually hear the person next to me speaking to me. :) But all was good. Thursday, quite randomly, I got to go BACK to the Blues Room. The Finkelstiens were playing, ad a friend of mine kinda knows them so I got to go for free again. Hooray! Now, let me give you some background here. Last year when I first heard a Finks song on the radio, I really liked them. They’re a local punk band… Anyway, they’re the first South African band I liked. They’ve been in Joburg before and I’ve always wanted to go to a show, but I’ve always been busy. So I was pretty psyched to be going to hear them finally! So Thursday night on the way there I was trying to psych myself up and get ready to deal with big crowds of people again. Well… to my surprise (and delight!) there are a lot less people there on Thursday nights!! So my friends and I sat at a table right down front. Sitting at a table with people I know was much more enjoyable for me than standing around pretending to be comfortable with the fact that people I don’t know are squished beside me! The whole time I was trying to act cool, all the while trying NOT to let people know that I was really feeling like a 13 year old at some boy-band concert. I sat there acting all chill… when my insides were screamin’ like a school girl. heehee I was so excited to finally get to see them up close and personal. I even got to meet them afterwards and chatted with one of the guys while he put his guitar stuff away. A 13 (or *cough cough* 23) year old’s dream come true. haha All in all, it was an awesome night!

Friday night I went with some friends from Northcliff Union Church to an Uzbekistan dinner/fund raiser for the mission trip Craig is going on in June. That was quite fun! It was awesome to be introduced to another culture and experience it as best as we can from this far away!

Saturday was also an awesome day… after going to Durban Deep and playing with the kids, Nurse came home with me to spend the night! She insisted on cooking for me, so we went to the grocery store and got the necessary ingredients. Everything she made was vegetable stuff… we had rice with a tomato-green pepper-onion gravy/sauce, mashed potatoes/green beans, sweet carrots, potato salad, butternut squash and cabbage. It was all really good, but everything she cooked was soaking in oil… if I could learn to make the dishes without all the oil, I’d try to make them myself… maybe I’ll have to try that sometime. :) She wouldn’t even let me help cook – she wanted to do everything herself. We also watched The Lord of the Rings. She’d never seen any of them and wanted to see it, so I watched it for the 4th or 5th time! It was really fun to hang out with her outside of just teaching.

Sunday was ANOTHER great day! After Sunday school at Rand Leases, we finally went to Braamfisherville to do Sunday school for the first time! 24 kids came!! Praise the Lord! I was so excited that the kids came. Being that this was the first week, I was prepared for a small number of kids, but God surpassed my expectations. Man, isn’t He amazing? I just love Him. :) After that exciting (but somewhat tiring!) morning, I went to Joshuwa’s 3 year old birthday party and a local mini-train place. It was nice to hang out with the whole team for a while and celebrate with Joshy! I gave him a Little Bill (a black cartoon in the States) doll from America and he just went crazy. I did good. haha Today when I was at the Holidays’ house, Josh woke up from his nap, and out he walked with Little Bill under his arm. I felt so proud. :)

TODAY! NEWSFLASH!!! There’s a SUBWAY at Westgate mall!!! WOOHOO!!! I was at the mall today with the Holiday family, and all of a sudden, there it was… the all too famous green Subway sign. We almost passed out. Of course, we just had to get Subway and take it home for dinner. No, it wasn’t exactly the same as in the States. Some flavours were different, but just the idea of eating a Subway sub – ahh… it was nice. :) We took them home and ate them while watching the first Star Wars… we have to catch up and review since the 3rd one is coming out this week!

Well, that’s about all I’ve got to say for now… See, I really should have written more about this stuff as it happened so that I wouldn’t have to write one long update, but oh well! Thanks for sticking with me, and for checking in on me!!

In Him,
Bonnie

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

the kids on the train at Joshuwa's birthday party

some of the kids from Bramfisherville... This is only about half of them! Praise God!!

Sunday we told the kids the Parable of the Weeds. So instead of sitting under our typical tree, we took a walk to a garden near by and let them sit amonst the garden rows and see plants and weeds growing alongside each other first hand! Cool, huh?

Gareth and Craig may be tough guys... but catch them on Sunday mornings, and you'll see a much softer side. ;) Cute, hey?!

The wonderful meal that Nurse prepared!!

this is the group I saw Thursday night (as well as another great band, Evolver)

the Finkelstiens!

the band we saw on Wednesday night

My new endeavour...

You know, I've learned a lot in South Africa... much being"spiritual" stuff... but I write enough about that. ;) On to something new! Just recently I had a strange desire to make a video. Now mind you, I am armed with a regular little video camera, and my 3.2 mega-pixel digital camera which also takes really cruddy videos (but hey, they're still good for making memoies!). Well, one random Sunday afternoon I went to town on my video. It's kinda cheesy, but I had fun, and that was the intended goal. Being pretty excited about my little video, I sent an incredibly low scale version of it to my video-editing guru friend in the States. And low and behold, he says I'm not bad! He says it "looks like he might have a new video editing assistant in the next few months!" Wow... definitely not the reaction I expected, and let me say, this friend is not one to just dish out compliments to make someone feel good about themselves! He says when I come home, he'll have to put a real camera in my hands and see what I can do! Interesting, hey? Who knew I even had an ounce of talent in this area!? Not me... that's for sure! Since then I've made another (also cheesy) video... and now I'm out of footage. Too bad! Oh, this couple also came from the States just last week to get some video footage of our area as well as other areas in Southern African because they're making a prayer DVD. That guy took a look at my video and said, "just get yourself a good camera and a good editing program and you'll be ready to go!" I said, "yeah... with what money?!" And he replied, "well, mine only cost me $5000.00" HA! Must be nice to be rich! I wouldn't know... and don't plan to ever know for that matter. Anyway... that's my new endeavour as of late. Who knows where it may take me...

Until next time...
Bonnie B.
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Happy Mother's Day!! This is a picture from when Mom and Dad were here with me back in February. Mom braided my hair for me... just like old times. :) Hooray for MOM!!

Happy Mother’s Day! This is my second year away from my mother, which is sad, but we are both excited that next year we’ll be together, and I plan to spoil her richly (well, “richly” in the non-monetary way – haha)!! To all you mothers out there, thanks for putting up with snotty nosed kids and temper tantrums. I’m sure my glad my Mom didn’t give up on me when I had a tantrum… I’d have been a goner a long time ago. ;)

Nothing all too exciting is going on today for me… it’s been a quiet afternoon of studying with the cats at my side. :) It’s surprisingly warm today… and quite frankly I’m ready for the cold to come and stay! I love winter time… warm sweaters, fuzzy scarves and cozy hats – I’m all about it. =)

Today Rand Leases went really well. We had a cool skit about temptation where Craig literally tempted the kids to do something I had told them not to do while I went to my car. They actually didn’t take the sweets! I was quite impressed. Sadly, however, after the lesson was over I gave out the sweets and at least one kid lied about having received one already… I think we need a lesson on stealing and lying!! They were cute though, and I know the leaders had fun taking part in the lesson too. Nurse continues to be an excellent teacher. Today she said, “ooh, I just LOVE teaching… even when I am sleeping I think about teaching.” Wow… she is SUCH a God send!! She makes teaching lifeskills more fun for me too, and much less stressful. She’s excited that we go back to teaching tomorrow, after taking a break last week. Please pray for Nurse – God is teaching her and using her in mighty ways!!

In a few minutes I am going to Braamfisherville to meet with Kurt and Pastor Aaron, the pastor of Braamfisherville Baptist Church. We are trying to partner with the church and begin a children’s ministry there on Sunday mornings. A lot of the kids that we see on Saturdays at Durban Deep are actually coming from Braamfisherville, so it will work out well if we can start meeting there. I think it will help the church to grow as well. Be in prayer for this partnership – that it will be successful and will contribute to bringing God’s glory! Nurse went to the church this week and last week on her own and really enjoyed it. It is only about 10 minutes from her house. For a while now she has been teaching the kids on Sunday mornings and has not had a chance to take part in a church service. She’s loved worshipping at BBC, and she’s making some friends!! Hooray!

Well, I’d better go get ready… thanks for checking up on me!!
In Him,
Bonnie

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

When You Call My Name

There's a hunger in this wilderness
For Your revelation
To hear the words of life that strengthen me
Come and show what you've prepared for me
Speak your confirmation
Show me how I fit into Your plan

For when you call my name, I can see again
Who You are, and who I'm meant to be
And as You beckon me, I am free to see
Who You are, and who I'm sent to be

I am seeking true identity
In the light of Your presence
I am longing to know how You see me
In the time that You have given me
Release the strength the follow
And the grace to be who You say I am

I just recently heard this song, and it immediately became my new favourite. It speaks so clearly of the cry of my heart at this very moment. I've had a lot of "God, what do You want!?" moments lately... The reality that I've only got 6 short months left here has really begun to set in, and truth is, I don't want to leave. For a brief while I thought there was a chance I could stay another year, but that door has recently closed, leaving me somewhat confused and quite grieved that I really will have to leave this awesome place. Cool thing is, I am convinced, beyond the shadow of a doubt that God has a great plan in store for me. I do wish I knew what it was, but part of the excitment of following Christ and His plan is discovering that plan one step at a time... knowing all the while that it's never a surprise to Him! I might be confused, but my loving Father is not confused at all!! And in that I find ultimate comfort. :) He's so good and faithful, isn't He? He is!

Goodnight and love to all...
Bonnie





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

This past Sunday we gave out warm clothes to the kids. People from Northcliff Union Church donated them. Some of the sweaters the kids got were brand new and knitted by hand! The kids really felt special (which the should have, because they ARE). They were so cute, strutting around in their fancy new clothes. Praise God for each person who donated clothes for these precious children!! This is one of my girls, Samquel. Isn't she adorable!? :)

Hooray for holidays! Monday was a public holiday... I don't even know what it was, but I know I got a break from teaching. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids and I love teaching, but it's always nice to get a break and have a chance to unwind a little bit. Both yesterday and today (Tuesday) I have off from teaching, so I am taking a chance to relax! Tomorrow I get back into the swing of things, and I'll be going to Rand Leases to work with the little ones there. I just love those little guys!! I guess I don't really have a ton to write about, since not too much has happened. Oh... I went to a new church Sunday morning after Rand Leases. I went to Braamfisherville Baptist. Kurt has been working with this little church, and there is also a chance that the group I work with might start coming and joining them to help start a children's church for the kids. It's definintely my dream to get us all working together for the common goal, and this is one step in that direction. The church service was lots of fun... it's been a while since I've gotten to participate in an actual African church service. :) Northcliff is great, but it's definitely Westernized (and I'm not complaining about that!). Nurse also really enjoyed Braamfisherville Baptist. She lives in Braamfisherville, but is new to the area and doesn't know any Christians her age. I hope that through this church she will make some new friends! I know that having Christian peers is so important at our age. (and any age really!)
Well... I do have some reading to get done for my counseling class on Thursday, so I'd better get to work. :) Thanks for checking in on me!
In Him,
Bonnie
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

This is one of my favourite pictures lately. This was taken a few weeks ago at Rand Leases. I just love these kids!!

Hmm... not too much has happened to write about, but I thought I should at least write something so you'd know I'm still alive and kickin'! :) Today I went to college... then I came home and chilled for a while... did a little cleaning. After that I went to the gym, but I didn't stay all that long because I'm not feeling 100%, and after 30 minutes I was pretty tired. At least I went, right? :) I came home then and got comfy. Soon after that my Mom called me and we talked for 2 1/2 hours! We had an awesome conversation, which is pretty typical. :) My Mom understands me better than anyone (except Jesus), so I love chatting with her about everything... little things and big things! She also gave me some homework (writing something for her), so after we talked I got to work on that. And now I'm updating my weblog. That's about all I've done today! I don't have any plans for this weekend... which is nice for a change. Tomorrow I plan on taking it easy. I've started to get a cold, but I refuse to get sick! So I'm going to rest and relax tomorrow. Saturday I go to Durban Deep to play with some kids. Hooray! I hope everyone out there is having a great week - and have a great weekend!
In Him,
Bonnie

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

Here is a picture of Nurse teaching True Love waits. Today we talked about the differences between love and lust. Nurse did basically ALL the teaching today, which was so awesome! Please continue to pray for her!

Here's Gareth and Craig and Rand Leases. Gareth helps teach the Sunday School. Well, they both do usually, but Craig preached today, so Gareth picked up the slack.

Here's Craig and Nurse... seemingly deep in conversation. Craig preached today a Rand Leases... hense the tie. :)

We wanted to take a picture separate from the girls, so here's our boys picture. Oh, and by the way, we live in Durban Deep (not Rand Leases!). Bonnie just started coming and teaching/playing with us last week.

Today we talked about Abraham and how God promised to give him as many children as there are stars in the sky. Then we made our own "starry skies" and were told to think about how WE are children of the promise every time we look up at the sky and see the stars!! Please pray for us to remember that we are God's children and to live in ways that will make Him happy!

Gal 4:27 For it is written: Rejoice, O barren woman who does not give birth. Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor, for the children of the desolate are many, more numerous than those of the woman who has a husband.

Today (Saturday) I went to another soccer day at Rand Leases. They didn't have volleyball this time, but I wasn't too sad about that. That meant that I got to play with my kids the whole time! I absolutely love these kids. I'd venture to say that this is one of my favorite ministries I've been a part of since I've been here. I really think God has been teaching me a lot lately. I ALWAYS seem to be thinking about who I'm gonna marry or when, or why I seem to be nowhere even near marriage!! Last Sunday I randomly saw a verse... "Gal 4:27 For it is written: Rejoice, O barren woman who does not give birth. Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor, for the children of the desolate are many, more numerous than those of the woman who has a husband." That verse really made me think about all of the children that have come into my life since I have been here... children that have needed love. If I were married, I might not even BE here right now! And if I were married and on the field, my husband (and possibly children) would be my first priority. I wouldn't be able to do whatever I feel like doing, whenever I want to do it! God really has made my children "numerous" during my time here, and I wouldn't change one thing. Also, I just looked at a bunch of pictures that are online from Chris Height's (a friend I grew up with) wedding. Now, usually when I look at things like that, I think "man, why am I not married yet!? This isn't fair!" Well, when I was looking at them, I started thinking about things that have changed since I've been here... Shannon has a baby, Chris Height is married, Candace is dating someone she'll probably marry, Sarah's still dating Aaron and talking about marriage, another friend had a baby, another is getting married... And I thought, "man, if we were to have a class reunion when I get home, everyone BUT me would have someone at their side!" But this time I wasn't sad about that. I followed that thought with, "but I would have the best stories, the best memories, things that no one will ever understand, and no one can outdo. I'd take this over a man ANY day!" How awesome is that? God's changing my heart more and more everyday, and I'm loving every minute of it!!

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

What a great night! I must be quick, since it is already 3am, and I must be getting to bed. But I just wanted to quickly write about my evening. Today was a fairl quiet day... I slept in (hooray!), went to the gym, and baked brownies with peanut butter frosting to take to a meeting tonight. The meeting was at Ursula and Louis' house about the ministries at the informal settlements (Rand Leases and Durban Deep). It was such a great meeting! We all bounced ideas off of each other and really got some good feedback about what's going well and what we can do to improve the ministry. It was also nice to just sit around and chat with the people who do this ministry. I've just met some of the people at Durban Deep, since I have only been going to Rand Leases, and it was nice to connect faces with names! God has really put together a great team for this ministry, and I'm so excited to be a part of it! After that a few of us went over to Craig's house to watch a movie and hang out. We ended up staying pretty late and having some awesome conversations about things God has been teaching us. I am really seeing lately that I seem to learn more about God through simple conversations with people than I do in a sermon on Sundays. God rocks my world, and it's cool to talk to others about how He's been rocking their world too!! I am so thankful that God has given me these new friends lately. Having friends is not a common thing for journeymen, but I guess God knew that I would do much better in a place where I can still fellowship with people who have hearts so similar to my own. So much has happened in the past few months to bring me to this point where I know these people and am involved in the ministries I am a part of, and though not all of it was rosy, I am thankful for every moment. I've seen so much this year that struggles bring about the best of times eventually. God is so faithful!

And on that note... I am going to bed! :) Goodnight...
In Him,
Bonnie

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

Have you ever been in such a wonderful season of life that you don't even know how to put it into words?? That's how I've been feeling lately... I'm SO excited about life, and what God is doing in and through me, but I have a hard time explaining that to other people! I guess as long as I know how I feel, it's all good. :) This week had been great so far. Last weekend I went to a Sunday School teacher's conference. It was ok, but definitely geered more for upscale (white) churches, so it didn't help us very much (I went with a group from Rand Leases). Parts of it were good though, so it wasn't a complete waste. I spent a lot of time with the Holiday family last weekend. Friday night I went to Ruth Anne's 12th birthday party... man, those kids are crazy! Sometimes I think I forget what it's like to be 12!! I also went to their house Saturday night to pick up my TV and ended up staying for dinner. Sunday afternoon I went to dinner with them to celebrate Ruth Anne's actual birthday, and then she wanted me to come over and hang out, so I did. She also went to church with me Sunday night which was very cool. Monday afternoon I went over to their house to show Janna Kay my scrapbook page, and then we ended up going to a scrapping store... and then I ended up staying for dinner again! So yeah, I've seen the Holidays a lot lately. :) Sunday morning at Rand Leases was awesome. There were ~46 adults there!!! The church is growing like crazy - God is so good! There were also more kids than usual... enough that next week we're going to take the little kids further away from the big kids because there were so many little ones last week that they distracted the big kids.
Monday was a great day... I picked up Nurse (the teacher from Rand Leases) because she is going to start teaching with me on Mondays and Tuesdays. But when we got to the school, they were about to have a program, so we couldn't teach! It was ok though because we then went and met some of her friends (who are not Christians). Then we went to McDonalds (she had never been before) to look over some of the teaching materials. She was so excited to go toMcDonald's! Can you imagine being 20 and having never been to McDonald's?? On Tuesday we actually did get to teach, and it was so cool to have someone with me who speaks the kids' language! When they didn't quite understand something, she would explain in Zulu... I finally can know that the kids are understanding now!
Today has been a great day too. :) I went to Rand Leases today to play with the kids who have been coming with their parents to the adult Bible study. I had 6 kids today... and I expect more will come next week. They're little kids (who aren't in school yet), so there's a language barrier, but we still had a great time singing some songs they know, dancing to songs they don't know, making a craft, having snack and playing ball. Basically, I am trying to pull out some of the tricks I learned in college about developmental issues and how to work with kids who are way under-developed. It's a challenge for me, but it's a fun one! I am loving these kids more and more every time I see them!!
Well, tomorrow I start back at the Bible College. I'm only taking one class this term, and that is Intro to Biblical Counseling. It should be interesting...
Thanks for checking in on me... I'd love to hear from you too, so send me an email and let me know what you're up to!!
In Him,
Bonnie B.

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

Howzit!? Sorry it’s been a few days since I last updated this thing! I’ve been having an absolutely wonderful week. On Monday I started teaching True Love Waits, and besides a few unruly boys, it went very well!! I absolutely love teaching this material because it’s something I feel very strongly/passionate about. I so want these kids to hear and truly believe this message. The presentation will either finish up next week or the next. I definitely have been able to see some students reactions to some of the info they’re learning, and I’m liking what I’m seeing. If you want more detail, email me, I’d be happy to elaborate (but right now I’m tired and going to bed soon!). I also taught TLW in my Tuesday school and it also went well. Girls Club didn’t happen this week… I went, but when I got there the kids were gone! Apparently they’d been let out early so the teachers could have a meeting… welcome to South Africa. :) Wednesday I went to the Lechner’s house to watch the kids… and then I ended up spending the night. This morning I went to a scrap-booking shop to look at stuff (Angie and Janna Kay both scrap book and I was interested). I ended up staying there for 2 hours learning some very basic “how-to.” I was then so excited that I went back to Angie’s to show her my page, and then ended up staying with them the rest of the afternoon and into the evening! I’m sure they were glad to get rid of me tonight! haha Well, now I’m home, hanging out with my kitties and going through my South Africa photos to find good ones for my scrap-book… I’ve heard this is an addicting hobby… uh oh! :) Good night from South Africa!!
:)
Bonnie
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

I’m back in Jo’burg after an AMAZING trip to Durban. Durban is absolutely gorgeous. It’s so much more peaceful and relaxed than big-city Joburg. I don’t realize how stressful Joburg is until I get out of it for a while!! I stayed with the Hesches, an IMB family who work in Durban. Their 24 year old daughter is here visiting for a while (she was also my roommate at AMTM), so we were roomies again for a few days! She has lived in Durban before and knew about places to go and things to do. I arrived in Durban around 4:30 Thursday evening. I went to watch Roger (the Dad) play basketball, and then Sarah and I stayed and ran the table for the next game. I got to be the person who pushed stop and start on the timer - how exciting! Haha The next day Sarah and I went to a couple shopping places, Victoria Street Market and uShaka marine world. I didn’t buy all that much, but it was cool to see the differences. Victoria Street Market had a lot more Indian shops (as in people from India) than Joburg, as Durban is much more populated by Indians than Joburg is. Later that afternoon Roger, Sarah, Jared (Sarah’s brother), and I went to the Pavillion (a huge mall) and went bowling. I finally learned how to coordinate steps with releasing the ball! I still scored pretty low, but I was doing better than I used to. Why has no one ever shown me this before?? :) Friday night we went out to dinner with a missionary family who happened to be down from Zimbabwe, and they paid for dinner! (very nice!) Then Sarah, Jared, Jonathan (a journeyman who works in Durban) and I went to the beach for a little while just to hang out. It was a nice night to walk around the beach front! Saturday I went with Meg (the Mom) to watch a True Love Waits demonstration. Afterward Meg taught me how to do the presentation, and I’m going to start teaching True Love Waits in my schools!! I’m SO excited about this new opportunity! After that, we all went to the beach to basically hang out and do a lot of nothing. Man, that was NICE! I love doing nothing, especially in Durban. :) Later we went home and made pizza. After that Jonathan came over and we all played cards for a while. We were all being QUITE silly, and I have to admit that it’s been a while since I’ve really been silly. It’s so nice to hang out with people who actually understand you!! I didn’t want to come back to Joburg today. I mean, I like it here, but vacationing is so nice. I know it’s time to get back to work though. God didn’t put me here to vacation! My cat, Oreo, hasn’t left my side since I got home (she’s sleeping on my lap now). I think that between being gone for AMTM and then leaving again for Durban, she thinks I’ve abandoned her. But no more abandoning. I’m settling in Joburg for a while now. :) Well, it’s almost time for me to be going to team prayer. I’m so tired from driving today!! Thanks so much for checking in on me!
Love ya,
Bonnie
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

New pictures online from the Summit team's visit! Check em out!!

In other news, I'm heading down to Durban, SA tomorrow morning. Hooray for getting out of Jo'burg! I love it here, but it IS nice to get out every once in a while. I'm going to visit with the Hesch family. Their 24 yr old daughter is in town and we were roommates at the conference last week. I'm also going with Meg (Mrs. Hesch) to a True Love Waits demonstration so I can learn how to teach it in my schools in Soweto. Very exciting! Well, I still haven't finished packing, so I'd better get to that... Please do check out my new photos... I don't put them online for my own pleasure! :)
Love,
Bonnie

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

Go Tarheels!!! I’m sure most of you know already, but UNC’s basketball team won the National Championship last night (or for me, this morning at about 5:30am!). I spent the night at the Lechners’ house last night and woke up at 3am to watch the game. I usually am not that concerned with the games, but this one was too important to miss. :) Yesterday I finally had a chance to spend most of the day alone and just relax! I really enjoyed having the team here, but I have to admit that it was nice to have some peace and quiet for a change! But life isn’t really slowing down… rather, it’s picking up a bit! Today I think I’m going to BIMS to spend some time with another journeygirl who’s in from Zambia. Tomorrow I’m going out to Rand Leases in the afternoon to play with some kids – fun fun fun! :) Then sometime on Thursday I’m leaving to go to Durban for the weekend! I’m going to learn how to teach/train True Love Waits, and hang out some with a missionary family down there and see beautiful Durban! Then next week I start teaching again (probably True Love Waits since that’s what I’m learning about!) So, life is pretty exciting here lately! Praise God for good times! :)
Thanks for checking in on me…
Cheers,
Bonnie


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

Hey Everybody! I don't have much time to write right now because I'm about to take the team to Bruma (the local market) to buy souvenirs. I'm so sad that they're leaving tonight! It's going to be hard to say good-bye to all of them. It has been so very cool to see them all again, and get to know some of the people I didn't know very well (or at all) before I left the States 14 months ago. It will make my transition back to life in the US a little bit easier for me now that know people better!
The AMTM was quite nice. I always enjoy spending time with other missionaries and hearing their stories or just hanging out with them while playing games. It's all good. But life is going to get slow and back to normal pretty soon. Well, I can't say it's going to be slow. I get to go back to ministry - hooray!
Ok, time to go shopping.. yee haw...
Bonnie B.

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