Fields of Providence

Yes, We Made it Back Alive!!!

2011-02-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

Finally!!! A blogpost after all these months! I am pleased to announce that Andrew and I are back in South Africa, and settling in well!!! Praise the Lord for His kindness to us!!!

We are just so happy here in Pretoria, South Africa! As we speak, Andrew is busy teaching a "Fundamentals of the Faith" session on the Attributes of God for 30 new people at the church. We pretty much have hit the ground running here at Grace Fellowship, which is part of the reason I have not written sooner.

Here's what you need to know!

We are settled in our new house, have painted some walls and are pretty much furnished now, through people generously giving their unneeded furniture, or gifts of money to buy what we need. The home we rent is magnificent, and so super spacious! We continually have guests in our home because we have an extra two bedrooms to host people in. Of the four weeks we've been in the house, we've had guests for two of them. The only downside to living where we are is that there is no way to get ADSL as the telephone co. has not yet installed lines to our area, which is a few minutes out of town. This means we only have internet using cellphone towers which makes it slow and expensive to do anything substantial on the Net. Please bear with us as we work on the best solution for this!
We have a car! Andrew posted a picture on Facebook, but it's a Honda Civic 2002 sedan, white, and comfortable! We are very happy with it!
Andrew has already preached twice, and is already growing in it at a rapid pace, thanks to all the feedback from friends and of course, Joel James! He also runs the Young Adults ministry where we have about 20-30 people each week, which has just started meeting at our home on Friday nights. Andrew has begun a series on Evangelism, and will then move on to prayer... Talk about convicting topics! But his messages are being well received, and the group is growing well.
I have joined the music team, playing guitar and singing, once every second week! This is such a blessing to me and I've been getting a whole lot better now that I'm playing more regularly. The musicians here are very gifted and I am enjoying learning all the new songs!
I just photographed my Brother-in-law's wedding last weekend and can't wait to post some pictures! You'll just have to be patient until we get a more reliable internet connection etc!
Lord Willing, my mom and little brother will be coming up to visit me next weekend and I will begin to do something I've never done in my life before! Reupholster some couches! The ones we have been given require a more permanent covering to a white sheet! So with my mom's help we will document the adventure and let you know how it goes!
I now have a blackberry which at least allows me to check facebook, new messages and receive emails all the time, so I will be more prompt in my replies!
I just finished my first week of Counseling course with Wayne Mack here at Grace Fellowship! He spent the week teaching on "Christian Life Issues from Pilgrim's Progress". What a great class!!!

Anyway, that's all for now! I'll try to upload pics as soon as possible!

Thanks for Looking!

A Day Trip to Sacramento, and then off to Napa for Halloween

2010-10-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

So this is mainly a photography and history post! Sacramento is such a beautiful city, and Andrew and I had such a great time exploring it! The first stop was the State Capitol Building.

Andrew and I spotted this gorgeous Catholic Church and decided to see if we could go inside. It is beautifully detailed and so luxurious!

First, Andrew and I picked up a Starbucks and then went to check out the outside of the Governor's Mansion on H street. Below is the mansion which is now a museum. It was built in 1877, with 30 rooms, and the last Governor to live in it was Ronald Reagan! It is quite exquisite, so much detail...

Ahh, beautiful Historic Old Downtown Sacramento! I LOVE this place!!! Andrew and I spent the afternoon wandering in and out of stores and exploring these georgeous buildings dating all the way back to the 1850's!

Then we made the 1 hour drive to Napa Valley to spend our last weekend with the Van Straatens. Anton took the whole lot of us to various great photography spots at some of the wineries where we were all having a go at some pictures. It was a really great outing!

Thanks for looking!!!

A Halloween Weekend in Napa

2010-10-30T23:06:00.000-07:00

Oh, the beauty of Napa Valley in Northern California! This was our last trip to visit the Van Straaten Family, and we got to stay with them for a few days. We also got to visit our friends the Whitlocks and have lunch with them on Sunday after church. And, of course, we drove a round a lot to soak in the scenery for the last time! We will sorely miss our friends!!! Farewell!!!

Thanks for looking!

Fall is falling!

2010-10-17T23:55:00.000-07:00

Jer 5:24 They do not say in their hearts, 'Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.'

My favorite season of the year has begun! With cooler weather, darker mornings and of course the Fall colors on all the trees! I am so excited!

The Woman's Fall Event

2010-10-16T23:35:00.000-07:00

Stephanie Niednagel doing announcements

Grace Community Church really knows how to do Woman's events!!! The highlight of the fall event is definitely the woman's Gospel choir and some of the solos that get done, absolutely world class! But far more than all of this is the focus on the Word of God. A large group of women come for a whole day to sit under the teaching for the Bible and to fellowship with one another. What a privilege to be able to attend! The events are always beautifully orchestrated and so efficient. I have learned so much from just watching the excellence with which things are done here at Grace. It is sad to know that this is my last conference, but I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had to be here and join in!

Rosie Martinez - Guest speaker

The Gospel Choir with Logan Carr as director

The speaker this year was on of the Grace Church Missionaries - Rosie Martinez. she spoke on the Book of Habakkuk and really opened our eyes to understand this book which very few people take the time to read! She has such a sweet manner about her and I really enjoyed learning in the sessions.

This is the basic outline of the book: Habakkuk, the prophet cry's out to God for justice - the people of Judah are so rebellious and sinful that he calls on God to put a stop to their wickedness. God replies and lets Habakkuk in on His plan for justice - God is going to use the Chaldeans (an evil and fearful pagan nation) as a tool of judgement against Judah's rebellion. Instead of being comforted, Habakkuk is horrified that God would use an even worse nation to bring judgement on them. He struggles with this in his heart and cries out to God asking why He would do such a thing. God replies by saying that the Chaldeans too will will receive their judgement for rising up against Judah. Habakkuk then has to struggle through his understanding of who God is and comes to realise that even when God's holy nation is devastated by this horrendous attack, God's people are to worship Him for who He is, despite Him removing all earthly blessings.

Habakkuk finishes his prayer to God with this beautiful statement: "I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. (Hab 3:16-19)

My "fake" 25th Birthday!

2010-10-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, Andrew went all out this year to make this a day that was so special! My actual birthday is booked up by conferences and Andrew's work, so we moved it a day early so we could spend some one on one time together and celebrate this good OLD milestone!

Andrew's head wound! He hit his head on the bed side table in the night...

The Grove - an outdoor "upper class" shopping centre for rich people

Our first stop was the Los Angeles Farmer's Market (yes, there is such a thing!) where we spent the morning walking around the stalls and exploring the local stores! What a fun place for a day trip!

Next, we drove around the area and went for a nice long walk to explore! We went to this extremely fancy antique store and got an amazing history lesson from the guy who worked there! There was even a bust of a Roman emperor from the time of Christ there! So cool!

From there, we headed off to get some snacks and then waited for a really cool historical building to open and we walked around and took a bunch of pictures... For those of you who don't already know, I'm a huge fan of modern architecture so this was a real treat! Good job to Andrew for choosing this spot all on his own!

Finally, it was off to Bible Study, where I got embarrassed by the whole group singing happy birthday to me! I also have had the privilege of choosing two songs each week for bible study, Andrew introduces the worship time and then I lead the singing with my guitar. This has been wonderful because I so miss playing on a music team, and being able to worship in this way. Those that play guitar know that playing while you sing helps with concentration on the songs and their words, and thus worship is that much more sweet!

We made some of our sweetest memories together today and I hope I can match this when his birthday rolls around!

Thanks for looking!

A new CAMERA!!!

2010-10-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

I had been keeping an eye on Craigslist for a while now, because the lens that I am getting for my birthday cannot autofocus on the body that I have, and came across a D80 for really cheap! We went to pick it up this morning and I am it's new proud owner!!! Now, to sell my old body!

The Grand Canyon Trip - Day 2

2010-10-05T20:45:00.001-07:00

We packed up as soon as we woke up, and then jumped in the car to give us as much time at the Grand Canyon as possible. However, there was one stop before that!

We took the road that goes towards Hoover Dam so we could at least say we had seen it, but on the way we noticed a sign for helicopter rides really cheap! So we stopped to check it out and Andrew was absolutely desperate to do it! So we got to have a 2 minute ride that shows you Lake Mead and then goes down again! What a fun experience, and now we can both say we've been in a helicopter!

And then we headed out for the last pat of our journey - to the Grand canyon - you could see this "big ditch" from 45 minutes away! I'll let the pictures tell the story...

When the sun started to set, we headed back to the campsite to set up our home away from home! That evening was just wonderful, so mild and peaceful! we enjoyed a BBQ, campfire and some smores! what a great idea!

The Grand Canyon Trip - Day 1

2010-09-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

With only three months left in America, Andrew and I decided to make a weekend trip out to the one and only Grand Canyon in Arizona! We left at middayand drove to Las Vegas where we stayed the night before making the second leg of the trip.

When we checked in to the hotel Andrew booked on Expedia, we got to our room and it was soooo nasty! It was a dingy space with super old bubbly carpet, hair all over the bathroom and even in the bed when we did further investigation! Needless to say I was not feeling it, so we went downstairs again to ask for a new room... We were moved to a new one with two double beds, and a slightly nicer space, but I was just a little scarred from the previous room so I wasn't taking any chances! Off came the bedding and we used our own stuff, and decided to head out rather than be inside any more than we had to! The place did have a pool and a hot tub, which we got to use a little, but I was mainly excited to hit the strip and try out some long exposures on the camera.

Lukas VanDyke's Underwater Shoot

2010-09-23T23:06:00.000-07:00

So I had the great opportunity to go and see how Lukas and Suzy do their underwater shoots for their wedding package. I had contacted Suzy, asking if I could tag along for any of her shoots sometime to see how she interacts with clients, see the sorts of poses etc. she goes for and some lighting pointers etc, but everything that had come up for her had been last minute. But this shoot has been a long time coming for Lukas and Suzy, as they had run a competition giving away a free shoot to a deserving couple (Well done Brent and Hayley!!!). So that is how I ended up there! Anyway, here is the finished product by Lukas!

I also got to bring my camera along to document a little of what goes on behind the scenes... Enjoy!

Jen Crawford did the underwater makeup for the shoot

Thanks for looking!

A Church Plant in London!

2010-09-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

For all my Central London Readers - here is a link to information on a church plant by some Master's seminary graduates! Very exciting!!! www.gracelifelondon.org

What you've been missing!!!

2010-05-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

So her is a long list of all the posts I'm going to try to catch up on over the next few weeks (months?)

05/01 - TMS Graduation Tea

05/01 - Michelle and Josh's Wedding

05/02 - STM Sendoff at Grace Church

05/06 - A BBQ with the Birds

05/15 - TMS Class Date Night

05/16 - Meeting Adriaan Taljaard

05/21 - Date Night Picnic in the Park

05/22 - Woman's Spring event at Grace Church

05/25 - Camping with the Birds

This is only a fraction, but its my bed time so I'll continue tomorrow!!!

What else you've been missing!!!

2010-05-29T17:37:00.000-07:00


05/31 - Cornerstone SOS BBQ

06/03 - Dinner with the Taljaards


06/04-11 - Trip to Canada

06/12 - The "Acts" Play at the Master's College

06/14 - Farewell to the Bird Family

06/16 - Fun Day in Pasadena with Sam

06/20 - Farewell to the Alberts Family

06/21 - We got a Piano!

06/24 - The Resolved Conference 2010!

07/02 - Weekend up in Napa Valley

07/13 - An STM Meeting

07/16 - Our new Air Conditioner

08/14 - Santa Monica with The Bakkes' Family

08/16 - A Play Date with Calista

08/21 - A Trip to Pasadena with the Bakkes'

08/22 - The Grace church Missions Weekend

09/02 - The First Week Back at Seminary

09/03 - Letting Go of Earthly Possessions

09/04 - My First Wedding as a Photographer

09/11 - My First Function as a Photographer!

Anna Taljaard's Baby Shower

2010-04-25T23:01:00.000-07:00

I had the distinct privilege of organizing and putting on my first baby shower for a dear friend of mine, Anna Taljaard. We are so excited for the Taljaards and the arrival of little Adriaan (pronounced Aah-dri-aah-n) in a few weeks! Anna has been on bed rest so we held it at her home after morning church and had some of her closest friends to come and celebrate with her.

Here are some of the decorations I made for the special day...

And here is what the Dining Room looked like when I was done.

I did not work alone!!! Anna's wonderful mom helped with flower arranging and preparing the food for lunch, and each of the ladies that attended brought something sweet for dessert.

Lynette Botes was a huge blessing in that she supplied all of the utensils and things for the shower...

First on the agenda after lunch was gift opening. I organized a group gift with a few of the ladies so we gifted her a pack and play, a thermometer and a baby food spoon.

Then it was time for dessert and tea which was absolutely delicious!!!

We had Anna participate in a few games - like matching the sock with the person who brought it, and a baby trivia game where I had asked Lonngren a series of questions which I video-taped and then got Anna to guess what his answers would have been.

All in all we had a great time of fellowship and fun together for the afternoon!!!

Forest Lawn

2010-04-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful Memorial Park this is! If I actually wanted to be buried, I would want a spot somewhere here, amongst the beautiful architecture... But I don't... Anyway!

Andrew took me to the Master's Chorale performance of "Handel's Messiah" which was held in Forest Lawn's "Cathedral" which houses the largest painting in the world - The Crucifixion. It was such an amazing experience!

After the concert we bumped into some friends of ours, the Birds.

We took a walk around the building and admired the view of the city at night. Thanks hubby for a wonderful date!!! Here are some of the pictures I took during the evening...

Thanks for looking!!!

Boys Will Be Boys...

2010-03-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

Today I went to visit Melissa Pidal and spent a few minutes outside with the boys playing in the courtyard...

Thanks for looking!!!

Dinner with our Favorite Birds...

2010-03-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

Andrew and I love the Birds!!! They have become such dear friends to us and I love spending time with Amy and the boys. They really are the sweetest little guys ever! Yet, despite our friendship we had never had them all over for dinner so we got right to it and had them over this evening. It was a great time of fellowship and fun, which ended with the boys each taking a turn on the guitar...

Thanks for looking!!!

Lyle Comes to Town!

2010-03-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

Lyle Wetherston and I are from the same home church in South Africa and both served in the high school ministry there. Liz and Lyle are dear friends of mine, but now live in Australia and have a little daughter. Liz asked me to go shopping to buy some clothes for little Emma as prices over here are way more reasonable. I had so much fun choosing out little girls outfits for them!!! Here are a few of my favorites:

Lyle is in town to catch up on sleep after his long flight before heading off to Mark Dever's church for a Weekender there. We invited Lyle over for breakfast one morning where I fed the boys a real three course breakfast!!! Fruit Salad, Scones and cheese and then Bacon, Eggs and mushrooms on toast. They, needless to say, polished off just about everything with great ease!!!

It was great to see Lyle again and catch up on all the news. After breakfast Andrew and I dropped him off at the Grace To You building so he could meet Phil Johnson for lunch.

Thanks for looking!!!

Walnut Street

2010-03-07T23:55:00.000-08:00

Today I walked home after driving the Mitchells around as they do not have their driver's licenses yet. I thought that on my walk back home it would be fun to snap a few shots of "Seminary Lane" or "Walnut Street". Here are my photo's!

Thanks for looking!!!

A South African Get-together in Honor of the Viljoens

2010-03-07T23:50:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows and loves the Viljoens! So naturally, since they're in town for the Shepherd's Conference, all the South Africans got together at the Botes' home for a good old Braai (BBQ). Here are a few of the highlights...

Rebecca De Villiers brought her newborn along...

All the children just loved playing together for the afternoon...

And then there were the adults too! All catching up on years of being apart! It was such a blessed afternoon of fellowship! Thanks to Lynette for being a wonderful host and babysitter! ;)

Thanks for looking!!!

Shepherd's Conference 2010

2010-03-03T23:59:00.000-08:00

The Shepherd's Conference here at Grace Community Church is a BIG DEAL!!! I have never experienced anything quite like this before. What an amazing opportunity for those who come to Grace to serve and encourage pastors from all over the world, while being encouraged by them at the same time! There were something like 3200 pastors that attended this year!

The campus is always at it's absolute best for the Shepherd's Conference... Even down to polishing the door handles of each room!

There is a vast abundance of food ALL OVER the campus! The men are truly spoiled when they come here!

Then there are the volunteers. Hundreds of them!!!

I volunteered to work in the Shepherd's Shoppe which sells all sorts of gifts for the men to take home with them. Here's what the store was like:

These are some of the wonderful people I served with in the store. It was a long, tiring week but I just loved every minute of it!!! Andrew and I would get to Church before the sun was up and leave around midnight every night because he was the Coordinator of the three Bookstores on campus. If you would like to take a look at the Conference Photographer's beautiful work, here is his link:

http://www.lukasvandyke.com/?p=3276

Here are some pics I took of the campus at night:

All in all, the Shepherd's Conference was a huge success!!!

Thanks for looking!!!

Marianna's Last Day in LA

2010-03-01T23:09:00.000-08:00

This marks the end of a wonderful week with Andrew's little sister in LA...

After we dropped Andrew off at work we went over to the Albert's home to visit and hang out with the Viljoens for the afternoon. It was a great, quiet end to a busy few days and we got to spend time with some old SA friends!

That evening we went by church to pick up Andrew and also had a look at the setup for the Shepherd's conference which started in the morning...

Then it was off to get some dinner, so on our way to the airport we stopped at a mall and grabbed some delicious Panda Express.

Finally the time had arrived... I never like to say goodbye... We'll miss you little sister!!!

Santa Monica with Marianna!

2010-02-28T23:46:00.000-08:00

Today, after church, Andrew had an Short Term Missions Leaders meeting in preparation for the team he will be leading to Durban in August, so Marianna and I took a drive to Santa Monica so she could stick her feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time! We had a great time together, then picked Andrew up and went to the evening service where we sat under John MacArthur's teaching! What a privilege!

Hollywood with Marianna!

2010-02-26T14:53:00.000-08:00

After spending a good hour plotting out the route we were going to take for the day, including Hollywood, Beverly Hills and UCLA; we climbed on the 14 at about 9 in the morning, having missed the peak traffic time... It was a sad thing that Andrew couldn't come along, but he had school and work to do so the girls were on their own! Armed with cameras and cereal bars we made our way to Hollywood Boulevard! I was really nervous because I wasn't sure I would be able to navigate my way around OK, since Andrew was always the designated driver and I was photographer! But we did really well! We parked in the Kodak Theatre lot and then ventured out onto the pavement to see what we could see!

Next, we headed along through Beverly Hills to see what (or who) we could see... I saw a few great Art-Deco and modern buildings (those are my favorites if you haven't noticed yet!), some really nice cars, and then took Rodeo Drive to see where the other half shop!

And there, nestled next to one of the stores, was the first Bugatti Veyron that I ever saw with my own two eyes! An exciting moment for both Marianna and I! In fact, I think Marianna took more pictures of cars today than anything else!

Our last stop before going to fetch Andrew was the UCLA area, so that Marianna could try Diddy Riese's Cookie sandwich! I got in line, ordered, was told they only took cash (of which I had none) so then they gave them to me for free!!! I just want to say that I have had such a great time just hanging out with Marianna these last few days and doing fun stuff together! Growing up, I had always wanted a sister, and now I have two! We get along really well and I'm looking forward to getting to know her better! It was so nice that she came all the way out here from Canada to visit us, it has been a special time for both Andrew and I! In fact, when Andrew left for the US for seminary, she was only 15 and has obviously grown up a great deal since then! So for both of us this has been a really sweet time of fellowship with our little sister!

With Hollywood checked off the list, we went to pick up Andrew from work early because tonight is the Seminary Banquet and Andrew and I need to get polished up!!!

Disneyland with Marianna!

2010-02-24T23:02:00.000-08:00

We are just so excited to have Marianna out for a week with us! She is our first family member (and probably our only one!) to come and visit us! So we have packed the week with a bunch of fun activities to do! Yesterday we picked her up from the airport after Andrew's first class, grabbed some In-N-Out and then sat in with his second class. Then Marianna and I went to meet my friend Lynette at her house and had coffee with her till Andrew was done with his last class. Then we came home, had some dinner and watched a movie since everyone was a little tired (Marianna had been traveling by bus and by plane so her journey was long!). We watched "Left Behind" (I think it was number three) and then crashed early!

On Wednesday's Andrew has no class so it was the perfect day to head off to Disneyland to check off the first think on Marianna's list! The day was cool and overcast which was perfect weather to run around in! This is what we got up to!

Time for some photography!

Disneyland was not offering a fireworks display this evening so we decided to watch the parade...

As you can see, it started to drizzle, but nothing too bad!!!

Finally, we ended off the evening with some delicious Chick-fil-A on our way home! What a wonderful day of fellowship it was! I like my new sister!

Wandering Around in Newport Beach

2010-02-21T23:22:00.000-08:00

There are some truly magnificent buildings here in Newport, and we couldn't resist just one more drive around the area to see what we could see... Now you get to see it too! This whole weekend has been such a joy for Andrew and I, and we leave encouraged, equipped and well rested for the rest of the semester!

And after an afternoon of fun we headed off home again...

Lunch at PF Changs

2010-02-21T13:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's lunch with our Bible Study was so great we decided to do lunch together again today after the last Session of the Conference. We had all received gift vouchers to "PF Chang's" which has a very good name for itself. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time there and the food was amazing!

Ruby's Diner on Pacific Coast Highway

2010-02-20T23:26:00.000-08:00

The sun set as we hopped in our car to grab some dinner and cruise along the Pacific coast Highway...

Nothing like a long exposure on the ebb and flow of the ocean...

Our destination was Ruby's Auto Diner, a sixties themed American Diner with great food and fun old-school decor. We had a great time there for dinner, but everyone thought we were a bit weird for taking pictures of everything! Enjoy the photo's!

An Afternoon on Balboa Island

2010-02-20T15:00:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful place Newport beach is! The afternoon was free time so we went off together to the much raved about Balboa Island, not really knowing what to expect, but it was fantastic! We really enjoyed the walk around and saw some fun architecture and the sea air was so refreshing. Spring was really out in full form with all the flowers blooming and new leaves budding...

(Here's just a few shots with our uber-cool fisheye lens!)

Just for a laugh I had to put this last pic in of the HORRENDOUS carpet in the conference room we used! Good memories though! I suppose it was cool once upon a time...

Lunch with SOS at Stonefire

2010-02-20T13:30:00.000-08:00

I love Stonefire, and I love SOS Bible Study! So we had the perfect idea, to all have lunch together at the retreat! It was such a fun time of fellowship and good food. On the way there, too, we got to drag race the Curries in their Merc... (while being sanctified and not breaking the speed limit, of course!) Guess who won. ;)

Day Two: Marriage Retreat

2010-02-20T11:30:00.000-08:00

Day two of the marriage retreat! We had such a good sleep on the amazing hotel bed, so much so that we got the name of it: "Posturepedic Grand Bed Plush Pillowtop". Wow. And that coupled with blackout curtains, I slept like a baby! But the first session was coming up so we dragged ourselves out of bed and went to find some starbucks coffee and breakfast.

After we picked up an English Muffin from MacDonald's, we drove until we found a cool spot to park and enjoy the magnificent morning by the water.

Then it was back to the conference for mail call! A fun thing they do here in the States is that they get each person to secretly write a love letter to their spouse and mail it into the church which they hand out at some point to facilitate the romance of the weekend ;) So much fun! So Andrew and I got our letters which we kept to read at a later point when we were together!

The sessions were phenomenal! Rick is such a gifted teacher and can speak from much wisdom and experience on the subject of marriage. A big thanks out to Rick and his lovely wife Kim for braving a bunch of people they didn't know!

Day 1 - Marriage retreat

2010-02-19T23:05:00.000-08:00

Finally! Andrew and I have been looking forward to this weekend for ages! We have been so blessed by someone who provided a scholarship for us to be able to go to this retreat that is run by the fellowship group we go to at Grace Community Church. After work, Andrew and I drove down together to Newport Beach to the Hyatt which was hosting our conference. The drive was great, as the weather was just clearing up after some rain, everything was green and clean... Some traffic gave me the perfect opportunity to take some pictures along the way!

When we arrived we picked up our welcome package which included a book, some gift cards for local restaurants and the Starbucks, and our ultra-cool nametags ;) We went around exploring the hotel and caught a glimpse of the sunset before we headed off to get dinner.

For dinner we went to the Fashion Center and poked around, before settling on a burger joint in the food court. What a fun place Newport is!

Next, it was back to the hotel for the first session, and Rick Holland was the guest speaker. What a great weekend this is going to be!

2010 Sweetheart Skate

2010-02-14T23:54:00.000-08:00

The main date for Valentine's was planned by Andrew and he surprised me by taking me to the Ice Station in Valencia (Actually I managed to get him to tell me where we were going ahead of time!) After church we headed off to the rink and hopped on the ice! It had been a really long time for both of us so we both had our turn to fall, but before long we were happily gliding along!

In fact, after a while I felt I needed to outdo myself and slowly figured out how to skate backwards! I think I'll need to practice more though before I am brave enough to move away from the wall...

Part of the sweetheart package was hot cocoa and cookies, but after our snack Andrew's feet were all blistered up so he took the camera and I spent the last few minutes on the ice. All in all we had a great time and discovered this could be one thing that Andrew and I would love to do more often together!

Just before we left, we took a look at a few of the other rinks and saw some Ice Hockey games going on. Andrew is quite used to this but I think this may be the first time I've seen someone play it! I suppose it can't be surprising though, since I am from sunny South Africa!

Babysitting Calista

2010-02-13T23:07:00.000-08:00

Ryan and Elna were given tickets to a Valentines Banquet at Placerita Baptist so we agreed to babysit for them so they could have an evening alone for a change! They both looked so smart all dressed up as they headed off for dinner. Calista is a real cutie and Andrew and I had fun building blocks and playing with her! Unfortunately she is going down with a cold and is also teething but she was still a joy to look after! It helps that I'm pretty high up there on her list of favorite people!

Valentines Dinner

2010-02-12T23:41:00.000-08:00

This year we celebrated our first Valentines day as a couple! Such fun! Andrew and I had to split up our Valentines this weekend because of a very busy schedule so we enjoyed an early, but still romantic dinner together at home! I made my hubby a little token of my love using things around our home... After gifts, nothing like some bubbly, lasagne and then chocolate pudding to top off the evening...

I didn't think it possible to love Andrew more, but this past year has proved otherwise! I love you more than words, my dearest husband!

Sick days...

2010-02-10T23:05:00.000-08:00

Well, the inevitable happened... LA has been experiencing the weirdest weather lately and half of the seminary has been coughing and sneezing, so naturally I picked up the bugs doing the rounds! So off to bed with me, and I pray it will be over swiftly! I've been down for quite a few days already and no improvement so I am awaiting a prescription from our dear friend Dr. Drew. I am so thankful for him as our new medical aid coverage only begins on the first of March.

I don't think I've ever been spoilt by so many people, especially my husband! He came home nearly every day with something for me, from books to some chocolate! Lucky girl to have a husband who puts up with my "poor me's"! He would come home from a long day at work and then still serve me in any way possible... Such as running me a bath or fixing me something to eat or dishing out medicine as it was needed.

Another huge blessing was a wonderful lasagne made just for us by one of my favorite people, Amy Bird! It was so thoughtful of her to make me a dish because I wasn't feeling well, and boy was it delicious! Thanks so much Amy!

Jonah's 4th Birthday Party

2010-02-06T23:35:00.000-08:00

Jonah Bird has turned 4 years old and Andrew and I were lucky enough to make it onto the guest list!!! Unfortunately, I have come down with a nasty cold so have been in bed the whole weekend. But my dear husband represented us both on this special occasion...

My Day with Anna Taljaard

2010-02-04T23:22:00.000-08:00

I had no idea that today would turn out the way it did, but it was just incredible to see the Lord's hand in every moment... The events in Anna and Lonngren's second pregnancy have taken a turn, but the Lord has been gracious and shown Himself as active and intimately involved in their lives and the life of their unborn! He saw fit to bring another trial into their life, but along with it, tremendous grace and blessings.

Since Andrew had an exam this afternoon, I could leave early since I would only go to his class first thing in the morning. A few days ago I "happened" to bump into Anna and asked if I could hang out with her, maybe get her to practice her Afrikaans on me or something! She agreed but realised she had a doctor's appointment for that morning. But instead of canceling with me she invited me to come along with her, since it would just be a "routine" ultrasound. So at 9.30 she picked me up from Seminary and off we went to the doctor in Tarzana. I have never seen an ultrasound first-hand so I was really excited!

We arrived there and got signed in, and waited for our turn. Then we went in, and the doctor came and did the ultrasound. I was amazed at how perfectly formed the little unborn boy was at 24 weeks! We could even see the 4 chambers of his heart! It was just incredible! The doctor seemed very happy with how everything looked from the ultrasound. She happened to mention to the nurse that she had previously miscarried twins last year which she mentioned in turn to the doctor in passing. It 'just so happened' that the doctor decided to do a further inspection because of her past pregnancy complication and from it discovered some very concerning signs that her cervix was already dilating which can allow for early labor and infections! Both Anna and I were shocked, and had not expected to hear something like this... After talking through the situation with the doctor, he immediately transferred her to go and see her usual doctor to take action. We sat in the car for a few minutes before we left, just praying both for Anna, the little child and for the doctors who would be working with her. It truly was a blessing that I had just happened to go along with her that day because it would have been really hard for her to go through on her own...

We drove across to the Hospital, all the where we waited to see Dr. Vreelds, Anna's Christian doctor who is very wise and has a biblical worldview and perspective on these situations. He immediately scheduled her for surgery. Anna chose not to tell Lonngren before she had heard from the doctor, as he had an exam in just a few hours, but now she called and brought him up to speed with what was going on. While all of this was happening I marvelled at the grace of God, seen in how Anna was able to respond in such a godly and humble way to this serious news, and how the Lord had worked out all of these details so that the doctors could discover the problem early and act accordingly. She was checked in as a patient and was placed into the Triage section of the Delivery and Labor unit at Providence Adventist hospital straight away and placed an IV on her arm, and took a bunch of samples for the lab.

We were not sure about the time for the surgery and so the two of us spent the afternoon together in fellowship until the boys were done with their exam. More amazing circumstances were that Andrew happened to have his own car at seminary today, and that both Andrew and Lonngren were in the same exam, as well as the fact that the other person in the carpool was able to get another ride home so that Andrew could bring Lonngren to the hospital once they were done. When the boys arrived, I swapped out my position with Lonngren and we headed home, the events of the day still fresh in our minds and just praised the lord that He had worked all these things in such a unique but perfect way.

Anna had her Cerclage at 6.30 this evening and which apparently went very well. Both her and the baby are very healthy! Praise the Lord for having his all-powerful and sovereign hand over Anna and child during this time!

Dinner with friends

2010-02-01T23:50:00.000-08:00

Meet su-chef Justin. The leading expert on cooking steak... He and his assistant, the lovely and elegant Jamie honored us by coming over and cooking us dinner! We had a special guest with us too - our very own Raqel Cherry! What a fun evening we had, very entertaining and most enjoyable! Justin and Jamie are truly two very special people who are always ready and looking to serve, dear friends of Andrew and I... Here are some snapshots of the evening!

Justin decided to wear his VERY cool SA shirt that was given to him, but in order to not get it dirty, Jamie lent him her pink, flowery apron! So hilarious!

The five star meal! Steak, broccoli, potato bake and then souffle for dessert! mmmmm... Delicious!

What a great time of feasting and fellowship! Thanks guys!

Becoming Your Husband's Friend, Fan and Flame

2010-01-31T22:53:00.000-08:00

Today I went to the Placerita Baptist Church Marriage seminar for women along with my friend Elna. It was such a great time of fellowship and learning! The church was beautifully decorated, and the speakers and their topics were excellent! Here are some of the highlights of the day!

Games Night at the Pidal's

2010-01-30T23:10:00.000-08:00

This evening we went over to the Pidals for dessert and a games night. We had great fun hanging out with them and the Vaughn's, and we played a game called "Things". We were treated with Apple Pie and icecream, and then laughed histerically while we played! It was soooo funny, some of the things people come up with!!!

This is how the game works:

"Want a Good Laugh?
Well it's as simple as opening the box and playing THINGS...™ the hilarious new game that presents players with provocative topics, like:
• THINGS...™ people do when no one is looking.
• THINGS...™ your parents forgot to tell you.
• THINGS...™ you can never find.
• THINGS...™ dogs are actually saying when they bark.
• THINGS...™ you shouldn't tie to the roof of your car.
...and allows each player to say whatever comes to mind. Pick a topic, get everyone to write a response, read them out loud and then guess who said what. There are no right answers. There are no wrong answers. Just a lot of fun!"

Volunteering for Shepherd's Conference

2010-01-24T23:08:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to be here at Grace Community Church for my first Shepherd's Conference! Andrew is the guy in charge of the whole Bookstore this year and will be really busy, so I have decided to volunteer to help at the conference too. I will be involved in the shepherds shoppe where they sell all the merchandise for the conference. It looks like I will be receiving some training before the conference so I can be an overseer of the store, helping to fix any problems that come up... Today was the volunteer's meeting after the service, and there were over 600 people there, all ready and eager to serve the 3500 pastors and men who will come from all over the world to be encouraged and refreshed for ministry! The volunteers are all assigned to different areas and will be working together to make the conference as effective and smooth as possible. I am so blessed to be a part of this church!

Andrew and I can't wait to see a few of the South Africans who will be coming out to the conference, it will be such a sweet time of fellowship and ministry!

Shepherd's Conference Website

The Shepherd's Conference is from March 3-7 2010.

"Our mission is to provide the opportunity for men in church leadership to be challenged in their commitment to biblical ministry and to find encouragement as together we seek to become more effective servants of our Chief Shepherd."

TMS Placement Workshop

2010-01-23T23:19:00.000-08:00

The Master's seminary has such great resources for outgoing students and they play a huge role in helping students with placement in churches all over the world! Twice a year, this placement workshop is held by Ray Mehringer who organizes speakers who can offer useful insight into how to think about, and what usually happens in looking for a church to minister at.

"One of the most important decisions a pastor will make is what church to accept a position at. In the same way the choice of a wife will effect your everyday existence, the choice of a church will become the world you live in."

The workshop guest this time was Jack Hughes, along with his wife, Lisa. The timetable was as follows:

Welcome and Introduction of Jack Hughes
"My experience Interacting with Pastoral and Search Committees" - Jack Hughes
"My Role as a Helpmate in the Candidating Process and in Ministry" - Lisa Hughes
"What I've Learned in the Last Few Years of Ministry" - Jack Hughes
Q & A with Jack and Lisa Hughes
"Avoiding Potholes and Pitfalls in Ministry" - Jack Hughes
Q & A with Jack and Lisa Hughes
Church Planting 101 with IFCA
"The Placement Process" - Ray Mehringer
"Your Responsibilities while Candidating" - Ray Mehringer

One of the biggest resources they give those who attend is a file containing all the notes from the workshops, a bunch of applicable articles to read, a sermon for the wives of pastors and various helps for creating the necessary documentation to apply to a church. They also show how to use TMS' placement program on the website, which is such a great tool for looking for churches.

As our time here at seminary draws to a close and we start to look for possible opportunities for Andrew, one of the most important things we have to remember is that God is sovereign and will not be thwarted, and that even if we make an unwise decision, He will still work it out for our good and His glory, even if it is a painful experience. We are very excited to see what God has planned for Andrew and are trusting God that he will direct our paths!

My New Friend!

2010-01-22T23:01:00.000-08:00

I have a new friend! I have truly been blessed to have met and developed friendships with so many godly people while here in the States, and Melissa is no exception! The Pidal family has just moved up to Newhall and lives now only a few apartment complexes down from us, and Andrew and her husband Gus carpool together since they both work at the bookstore. So Melissa just decided to call me up and have me over for lunch today!

Melissa is in her final month of pregnancy and is a housewife extraordinaire! She also has a little boy, Cael, who is two and a real sweety-pie! I am affectionately known as "miss Biekie" by him... I really enjoyed spending the afternoon with her, picking her brain and being encouraged by her in certain areas that I perhaps had not been purposeful in while here in the States! The Pidal's are busy gathering support to go to Spain as missionaries, and are hoping to leave within the next year. How exciting, and I look forward to getting to know the family better!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

2010-01-21T23:13:00.000-08:00

Today is Ryan Mitchell's Birthday and we booked them for the evening, bringing with us the greatest gift one could ask for!!! In-n-out for dinner!!! Even Calista got her own burger, and we made Ryan try out the animal fries! We really enjoy hanging out with them and are so glad they came to Seminary!

A Full Time Worker!

2010-01-19T09:43:00.000-08:00

We have been given an extraordinary blessing from the Lord by receiving Andrew's R1 visa, and as of today, he is a full time employee of Grace Community Church! This means more hours of work a week so he may drop one of his classes, but does mean we are able to save up some money to head on back to South Africa, Lord willing, at the end of this year!

The Lord has provided for us in every way here at seminary, even before this visa came through, and we see His hand in every aspect of our lives here! We have experienced abundant goodness and kindness directly from His hand. I am sure that it took real faith for Andrew to come out to the States to study at the seminary, and God has proved Himself faithful far beyond even that! We are so thankful to the Lord for all he has been doing in our lives!!! Thanks also to all our friends who have been praying for this these many months!

My itchy arm...

2010-01-15T12:17:00.000-08:00

So on Monday or Tuesday I began to feel an intense itch on my right arm and shoulder area. The best way to describe it is that it feels at though someone is sticking me with a bunch of needles, or as though a swarm of bugs are biting me. It is not constant, but comes is frequent waves, a second apart. The intensity wavers throughout the day with no real pattern. It is a combination of a sting, itch, tickle and pain! It is mainly on the softer underside of my arm, my underarm, a spot on my chest and another on my shoulder blade, all on the right side. There is no visible rash. The only thing that seems to help it is an ice pack that numbs my arm! Please pray that it is nothing serious and that it goes away! It is quite hard to handle the sensation day in and day out and wakes me up sometimes at night even. I spoke to a doctor who gave me some cream to try, but it hasn't really helped. I'll be waiting a few days to see if it goes away and will go in if it's still a problem after the weekend...

R1 Visa Approved!

2010-01-13T23:58:00.000-08:00

Praise the Lord for an answer to our prayer! We have been thinking through whether we should just forget about the visa or not in terms of planning for future ministry. We decided that if we didn't hear anything this month that we would plan for without it. But this evening, just before bed we got the email letting us know it is approved! we are not sure exactly when we will get the actual visa or how it will affect our plans, but we will keep you posted!

A BBQ in the Park with the Mitchells

2010-01-13T18:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had to buy a new tyre for our car. It had been very shaky and was deteriorating so we checked it out and it was badly worn. We also got it aligned again. Today we had to buy a new battery for it. It wouldn't start when Andrew went to the shop and had to have it jump-started! Poor guy! It's going to stretch our budget tight, but at least it is up and running again! We also went to get Andrew a haircut for school! It was so long!

Then it was time for some lunch at the park! We went to the S Hart Park just up the road from the Mitchell's and set up our little gas BBQ for the second time! I also took along the camera to play around a bit!

Mmmm! Good job husband!

My Last project in SA...

2010-01-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

This is the last of my work is South Africa before I got married and moved to the States so it has a special place in my heart! It is an ablution block that I designed as an add on to a sad looking tea kitchen... It is located at Highbury Preparatory Boys School where my mom works (the joy of having contacts!) and has eternalized the Ramsden/Dedekind name on the School!

Thanks mom for sending me pics!

Coffee with Elna

2010-01-06T23:18:00.000-08:00

So Calista and I are now apparently best friends!!! What a precious girl! I went to visit Elna today, and walked from my apartment to hers, it's really a pleasant walk! When I got there, Calista babbled on and on about something to me, I'll have to get the video Elna took! It was a great time of fellowship with Elna, and I'm sure there will be many more occasions like it!

Ryan and Elna move to their Apartment

2010-01-04T23:33:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought that 5 people and ALL their belongings would fit in our apartment?! I t has been so much fun to have Ryan and Elna stay with us, and I have gotten to know them really well over the last four days since we came back from Frazier Park! Little Calista and I have already formed a close bond, and man is she cute!

But today they got their own apartment and it's in Newhall, just minutes from our apartment! We are so glad they will be so close! But we couldn't send them off empty handed! for the last month or so I have been collecting things for them that can be quite expensive to get all at once!

So this is it:

Not much yet, but it's a home of their own and they have already been accumulating offers of a bunch of furniture!

The Lord has so incredibly provided for them and we are excited to see their journey here in LA unfold!

The Getty's at GCC!

2010-01-03T23:02:00.000-08:00

I love Keith and Kristyn Getty. They write the most incredible new hymns! Like "In Christ Alone", "Beneath the Cross", "The Power of the Cross" and "Speak O Lord". We sing all of these at Grace, and today, they came to lead Grace Community Church in worship for the evening service! I got Andrew to take me super early so I could get a good seat and hear them practise! It was totally worth it and here is the results!

It was a wonderful evening! After the service, I helped at the Book Table with my hubby because there was such a demand for their music and song books!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's a new year!!! Although Andrew and I just rolled over at midnight to say happy new year and then went back to sleep, we have much hope and excitement for 2010 (Apparently the correct way to pronounce it is "Twenty-ten", like "Nineteen-ninety"!). This is Andrew's last year at Seminary. It also holds our first Anniversary, and a great deal of opportunity for our great God's will to be unfolded in our lives. We will begin looking for a place for Andrew to minister, primarily South Africa, but we are open to anything... We will be waiting only a little longer for Andrew's R-1 visa, and then move on if it doesn't come... We will be waiting on the Lord's will and timing for us to start a family... We will continue to rely on Him for providing for us from month to month till we cross the finish line... We will continue to put our marriage first above all else in the sight of our God.

We hope and pray that for all those reading our blog this year, that it will testify to how great our Lord is, how much we need Him, and how faithful He has been and will continue to be!

Happy New Year!!!

The Birds come up to Frazier Park!

2009-12-31T23:34:00.000-08:00

Scott is a good influence on Andrew! Here you see the boys cooking the lunch while us ladies just hang out an coo and kaa about Jacob!

And outside? The boys play with Scott's Christmas present from his dad! An air rocket! Can't go wrong there! And the small boys love it too...

All this why the neighbor begins playing with his new gun! Ok, it shoots pellets, but still!

Count... Three, two, one...

Blast off!!!

Thanks to the Birds for blessing us with their company today!!!

Welcome Ryan and Elna!

2009-12-30T23:17:00.000-08:00

Another South African couple arrives in LA for Seminary! I was so excited that they were coming out, both for Andrew, who knew them from Grace Fellowship, and for myself because I hopefully gain a new friend! Ryan was Joel James' secretary before he came out, and Elna is a GP. Their little daughter Calista is 19 months and a real cutie!!!

Since we were up in Frazier Park we drove down to help prepare things for their arrival!

They seemed to have found an apartment in Granada Hills, so we went over there early to get everything organised. When we got there we spoke to the lovely Manager, but their apartment was not ready for them. They were going to let them use a different empty apartment in the mean time, but there was still NOTHING in there! Not even a fridge! And with a little one it is far from ideal. We sat in our car, camping out and waited for them to arrive. HOURS later the poor procession arrived after crawling through traffic from LAX. We had a quick conference in the parking lot where we recommended they use our apartment until theirs opens. This was great too because we wouldn't be home for the first few days and they could get Calista settled down again. We all then hit the road again and sat in traffic for AGES again between Granada Hills and Newhall! We finally got to our apartment, offloaded everything and then got some pizza in our tummies!

Andrew and I stayed until about 9 giving them all the info they needed to start setting up, and they were talking of maybe looking for an apartment up here in Newhall instead! That would mean we would be able to see them more often and help them with getting set up! For the next few days we will be driving down from Frazier Park to help them get set up here.

Welcome Mitchell Family!

The Pot Plant and the Rules

2009-12-30T18:19:00.000-08:00

Say no more...

Will it snow?

2009-12-30T17:13:00.000-08:00

And the answer is? No!!! It rained but it wasn't cold enough to snow...

My First Turkey!

2009-12-28T23:59:00.000-08:00

A few more pictures from the afternoon first!

After a beautiful dusk, we moved indoors and I decided to cook our turkey! In the home of the people that gave it to us!

First thing was to get Andrew to help! here's he's stirring the stuffing

Powdering the bag...

In goes the stuffing...

Some butter for the skin...

Into the oven for 3 hours!

And...

There we have it!!! Bon Appetit! Good job all round!

Holidays in Frazier Park

2009-12-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

We are just so blessed to have been given this amazing opportunity! This morning we packed the car and headed off along the 5 to Frazier Park!

Frazier Park is a very small town in the mountains about 45 minutes from Santa Clarita. it gets great snow in the winter and last week was no exception!

Ok, so the town didn't have any anymore... But the mountain, Mount Pinos does!

As we climbed higher in elevation I began to spot snow in the shadows! I was just so excited!

First stop was the home where we were going to be staying. It's the second one on the right with the white garage door. I wasn't sure what to expect, and the house was huge!

This is the cute little hut outside! Adorable...

We dropped off our things and then headed straight up the mountain to see what we would find...

Snow!!!

And an amazing view!

Andrew and I took turns with the big camera, it was such fun!

Our little car was a real blessing... I don't know what I would have done without the heater in that thing! after about an hour I couldn't feel my toes and was completely drenched!

Here's some more pics while having fun with our new toy!

Shadow picture...

What a wonderful afternoon we had!!!

The Big 26 for Andrew!

2009-12-26T23:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Andrew!!!

This is how the day unfolded!

First, while he's still sleeping (this is enough of a challenge!) I get all his prezzies together... Make coffee and then enter the room singing Happy Birthday!!!

Then it's present opening time!!!

Three things are necessary - food items...

Small items...

And the big, main item!!

Guess!!!

A camping tent!!! We are booked to go on the Seminary camping trip this year, but don't have anything to stay in... So I got something with purpose!

We HAD to put it up to see how it looks!!! Move the furniture!!!

Up it goes...

In goes the inflatable mattress...

And we're ready to camp! The idea was to sleep there, but after a few hours of it being in the way, it got put away again! At least we know how to set it up now!!!

Every birthday has to end with a dinner! So Andrew and I went to BJ's. It was so busy so we had to wait. So I gave him a mini photo shoot while we were sitting around!

The food was average but we had great fun just living it up a bit, we even ordered dessert!!! A novelty here while at seminary!

Mmmmm...

The town Center always looks great, it's trees all lit up!

Hope you had a blessed day my love! Thanks to all our friends birthday wishes too!