LIFE INTERRUPTED

Until further notice, I am re-directing any non-YWAM folks to call if you want to catch up on us. I'm taking a "time out" from posting . . .

I will say that we are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay excited because Natalie will be arriving here on August 24th (much love and thanks to all who have supported her these past six months). Taryn & Kenzley will come on the 28th! The three of them will be here on base with us until they all three fly home to Texas on September 2nd, just before Nat & I leave for the Philippines on the 4th. At that point we'll drop out of sight, anyway, because we don't plan to take our laptop or our cameras with us . . .

Now, back to whatever it is I was doing before technology and compulsion interrupted me . . .

We do send our love and assure you that God is on the move here. We're trusting He also is in your neck of the woods!

held,
Shirley

Maasai Land . . .

well we're working on our time with the Maasai and i just wanted to drop a quick update to keep you posted :) Its been a really incredible experience so far. Our team is camping in three tents alongside the Maasai Boma (village) with Mt. Meru and Kilimanjaro as backdrops (not to mention waking up to giraffe herds every morning - such awkward animals)!! im so blessed. The Maasai are beyond intriguing as peoples go and totally different than myself, as much as id like to pretend to be as rad :) Any words i use fall so short of doing them justice so you may enjoy looking them up online. They wear incredible pieces of cloth and jewelry that are their "trademarks." Ive been blessed to receive pieces from them as gifts. Its been a crazy experience just getting used to seeing tall thin nomads walking around in their BRIGHT blue, purple, orange and red "shukas" or blanket robes throughout the day and into the night. Some are herding cattle or goats, others are just walking to a location probably only they are sure of. The landscape looks exactly the same to me, but of course they know it very very well. They have been very friendly and welcoming to us, im sure a lot of it is curiosity. There are about 5 Bomas within 10k or so from the one we're staying with and so many of them make daily visits to our camp. We are visiting them each day to pray, help build huts and visit as well as working at the school YWAM has started in the area. There are about 50 little ones who walk miles each day to learn English, Swahili and the Bible. From about 8-9 AM you begin seeing little ones along the horizon singing and playing games as they finish up their journey to class (usually a few miles). Its honestly been quite frustrating trying to communicate with the adult Maasai. We've been working so hard at learning some Swahiil to get us by here in Tanzania, however most of the them only speak the maasai language. We have one translator named Johannah who has been doing his best as a go between and doing a famous job of it. We cook all of our meals over open flame and have to make due with the VERY limited water we have access to. A person learns that eating off a "clean" plate just means its not full of dirt :). Needless to say, the maasai here dont use really any water at all, mostly because they dont have access to it. They have voiced a need for rain mostly for their cattle and to make some mud so they can build more huts needed very badly. We obviously havent showered in quite a while and have to ration out the 3 liters/each of water we packed in. It has been such an eye-opener for me to see how a group of people can adapt to living under such conditions. As for prayer, the biggest one is that I see the God I know and love as relevant to them. I know He is . . . its just so hard to see when their way of life is so different than mine. Most (even the christians) practice polygamy, sharing of wives, female circumcision and many other things that I cant really wrap my mind around. The biggest foothold that I have found is going with the "heavenly warrior" and royalty mindset with them, which are things they understand very well. Tackling their fear of witchcraft and ancestor worship has been a large and ongoing challenge. I will be much more diligent in my prayers for those investing their entire lives in these people.

Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers as we begin our last week of ministry here in Tanzania ~ i cant believe its almost over ~ before beginning the LONG journey back to Melbourne (10 hour busride to Dar es Salaam, 2 day busride back to Lusaka, 3 hour flight to Johannesburg, 10 hour flight to Malaysia, three day layover and finally finishing up with an 8 hour flight into Melbourne) I'll be on again before we begin all of this, it would just be nice for prayer to begin now :) Traveling for such a long time can be very taxing on anyone, but I feel especially on 10 very different and exhausted backpackers ( 8 being female) who have been alongside eachother for 5 straight months and all a bit homesick :)

I hope this update found your homes well and blessed
. . .all my love,
nattie

Today has been a precious day for us, full of fond memories of Stewart and great anticipation of our future with him in the presence of Jesus forever!

You know, Paul records in I Corinthians 2:9 the Word of God through Isaiah that, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." Then Paul continues with this powerful statement, "But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God."

God has placed eternity deep within my heart, and I have a pretty vivid imagination. But He is showing me Heaven (the new earth specifically) in realities so vivid and powerful, the joy and excitement are impossible to contain.

I recall hearing somewhere that we, as Christians, should "not be so Heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good". I have come to realize that this is a lie straight from the enemy. he knows that the more we become aware of the reality that awaits us . . . the more eager we will be to tell others about Jesus Christ and all that His precious blood purchased for us on the cross!

Heaven is my true home, and God has allowed me to partner with Him in leading others to this wonderful place, glorious beyond our imagination. And if you haven't recently checked out what God has to say about it . . . let the Spirit fill you in as you read chapters 21 & 22 in John's revelation. Remember, we have the same Spirit . . .

We finished up this week's lecture with a good teaching on "The Two Trees". To sum of the five days, Ron Smith taught that as believers we are each constantly eating from either the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil (a religion of works, law & legalism, weight & heaviness of performance, external activity, studious of truth) or the Tree of Life (reality of Jesus, grace & love, joy & strength of His presence, internal experience, experience of truth). Too many pages of notes . . . good stuff . . .

Our 4th of July celebration was really good! Because we had been told that we were going to have a barbecue for the entire base, I posed the question to Nat, "A bbq! I wonder what they'll have to eat!?" When I looked out our apartment window (where the celebration was taking place), I saw the guys cooking hamburger patties and hot dogs. I realized that in Texas we call that a "cookout"! When told we were going to have a barbecue, my Texas mind immediately began conjuring up thoughts of brisket . . . or steaks . . . or ribs . . . or maybe chicken . . . But the hamburgers and hotdogs were really good, and the trimmings are just what I would have served at my Texas barbecue . . . potato salad, baked beans and watermelon! Although I would have served garlic bread, too! But they made up for it by having apple pie! Some of the kids popped off some fireworks (with older "kids" supervising). I don't know which was more fun, watching the fireworks or the Koreans watching the fireworks! We're sure enjoying our new friends from South Korea . . .

TGIF!!! Laundry, homework, SLEEP, church, and a class outing tomorrow to Silver Creek Falls State Park. Some of our team have already been and say it is really beautiful. And we have been told that we are having a cookout . . . I'll have to get back with you on what we actually eat!

Bontoc is the capital of Mt. Province Philippines where the YWAM Mt. Province base is located.

TUESDAY

We had a great weekend . . . After sleeping in Saturday morning (a luxury I have come to miss), we eased into the day. Saturday afternoon we joined the Maxwell Family in volunteering at the "Salem Beat Festival". It is an annual multi-cultural event with booths, music, dancing, and food representative of many different countries. Our families volunteered to help with children's activities in America, Europe & Asia/South Pacific.

We helped the kids with various arts & crafts and had a lot of fun manning and attempting to jump the "tinkle sticks". It takes coordination and concentration to jump in and out of two bamboo sticks being rhythmically tapped together. It often drew a large crowd. A couple of our new friends from Korea, Sue & Lynn, were quite good at it, actually looking quite graceful in the process. Tom Maxwell did a pretty good job, too. I, on the other hand looked a bit like I was trying to jump on hot coals (much to Sue's delight)! We have video footage I'll get Nat to post soon . . .

We have begun our fourth week of lectures. A gentleman by the name of Ron Smith is with us talking about the Kingdom of God . . . it is among us, you know . . .

He told us about Rolland & Heidi Baker who began Iris Ministries, Inc., an interdenominational mission, in 1980 and have been missionaries for the past twenty-seven years. They currently serve the Lord in Mozambique where the population has reportedly gone from 100% Muslim to 40% Christian in ten years.

The Kingdom of God is among us . . .

We spent our intercessory time this morning praying for the Philippines and other nations. When we received the news last Friday that we are going to the Philippines for our outreach, Nat was across the room from me but we gave each other a thumbs up! Then, our children's worship leader led us in singing "It is Well with My Soul", not knowing that it was my lullabay for Natalie & Stewart or that we sang it at Stew's funeral . . . it was such a blessing for us.

Our excitement is mounting! We will be going to Bontoc (north of Baguio), which is in North Central Luzon on the big island where Manila is located. Nat & I were in the Philippines in 1980 for a six-week Navy detachment. While there, we spent a weekend in Baguio as tourists. It will be interesting to return as missionaries.


FYI Stewie's birth mother, Marina Endaya, is from Batangas province which is south of Manila.

NATALIE - Jambo (hello loved ones)

Know it's been quite a while since I sent out an update on my life ~ but here it is finally! Internet has been quite hard to come by at times.

I just finished up a 5 week stent in Lusaka, Zambia serving at a street kid ministry called Chisomo as well as doing nutrition teaching in some remote villages and a TB/AIDS hospice called VK.There's so much to tell about my time there, but I think the details will have to wait a couple months more :)

Zambia is one of the poorest African countries with 50% unemployment and 80% poverty rate. It was so shocking though to see the joy and peace in so many of their lives even without the wants most of us mistake as necessities. It was an incredible experience, challenging at times, but nontheless incredible.

Our God is so good and CREATIVE! The ways He used me in my unique interests and abilities was remarkable, as was feeling Him bless me so deeply through the people I thought I was sent to reach and gain nothing much in return :) Isn't that just like Him? The base was wonderful and the staff members became like family - I will miss them so much.

We left Zambia for a 3 day train ride on an old Soviet train; followed by an 11 hour bus ride through the Tanzanian countryside to Arusha. I was AWESTRUCK by the scenery. So many times I had to sit back, take a breath and remind myself that I was actually experiencing these things ~

No animal sightings yet, but I've heard that while camping out with the Masai people, I'll get unbelievably unique opportunities. The animals are beginning their journey back to Tanzania from Kenya, so I should be able to experience their migration.

I've also enjoyed seeing myself pushed to the limit during the past week of traveling. There have been a few times when I've just had to laugh, take a deep breath and deal.

We are now FINALLY settled into the Arusha base which is much larger than the Lusaka one. There are about 100 people on base right now and it is totally different from our stay in Zambia. We only stay here on the weekends while spending the weekdays out on location.

We are coming up on a week at an orphanage down south and then the rest of our time living with the Masai tribe. I haven't met any yet, but I had such an incredible view of them periodically along the bus ride here. I have NEVER seen such intimidatingly majestic and royal looking people. They are on average 6.5 to 7 feet tall and wear bright red and purple robes with gauges in their ears and rings around their necks. I am VERY excited about finding out more about them in the days to come.

Going up against their nomadic religions of ancestry worship will be hard - but I serve a mighty and steadfast God. He's not surprised by the hurdles. You can be praying for continued energy, excitement and passion for me. I have to be filled up every morning due to the sometimes painful emptying of the day. I'm a bit tired so hope this is all coherent ~

I'll try to do weekend updates as much as possible! Thanks for EVERYTHING, you are greatly loved and missed :) Talk to you soon, Lord willing!!

All my love,

Nattie