WEEDS

Today we were working at the church again and here is an example how a practical thing can become a lesson in faith. I went to help and as I arrived there was one task laid out for me: Get rid of the weeds in our garden. I started with one side and Pastor Xavier did the other side. While I am weeding I am thinking of the spiritual application of things. I pray: Lord, please weed the garden of my heart, please tear out what hinders me to be with you, Jesus. After a while we took a break so Pastor Xavier and I talked: Isn’t it interesting that it is quite easy to remove the small weeds, to recognize the small weeds. Yet, when the weeds grow stronger and bigger, it is sometimes hard to distinguish from the plants (the truth) and the weeds (the bad stuff in our lives). Sometimes the weeds position themselves very closely to the plant, that makes it even harder. The harder it gets the more skills and the better tools are needed. It is the same with how the bad stuff in our lives if left to grow/if ignored it grows and then there comes a time when it is very hard to distinguish between the truth and the bad. Have you been there? I have and I was quite astonished about how the practical action of weeding could remind me of an important truth: Let God get rid of stuff that is not His truth, stay accountable, be real!!

HAVEN

Hey ho, I found a place that I can call my own, MY OWN! After I had been praying for quite a while…(since December last year) – I know that a lot of you joined me in that prayer over the months…, I found a place last Monday. The Pastor helped me find it. It was perfect: Kitchen, Lounge, Balcony, Bedroom, Bathroom, Guestroom: all furnished. I pray my rent per month which gives me more flexibility especially now that I leave for the US/Germany in July. I tell you this is such confirmation of Jesus knowing the desires of my heart. I have been longing to have a place on my own. Don’t get me wrong, I loved having roommates…some of my favorite friends have been roommates one way or the other….but it is time now that I have my own HAVEN. My HAVEN where I can retreat especially being with a lot of people. My assignment is being with people which is awesome but it is not always easy. It brings me to my limits and then it is awesome to come home to my own place. It was such a blessing to stay at Granny Jenny’s place for more than 1 year. As she put it in her note to on Thursday (my moving day) : GO FLY, BUTTERFLY. So here I am, I spread my wings and I fly. This is a new chapter, a new season! Enjoy the pictures of my apartment No. B 13 and praise God with me!!

TRAPPED

TRAPPED/LOST in some way The picture I put on here inspired me when I found it online. Look at those 12 little ones trapped in that bucket. Trapped. Trapped is how I have been feeling this week. It is a feeling of being lost in some sort of way. I still know who I am and I know who my Father and my Savior is. Yet I am processing very good things that need to reach my heart instead of only my brain. I feel trapped in a circle of events that seem to always happen in the same way. I am glad that my feelings do not reflect God’s reality for HE is with me and HE is my lighthouse as HE told me today. He will shed more light and HE will help me grow in this, HE will light the way for me. Only with HIS help I can get out of this trap that past hurt and experiences have opened up for me. Do you feel trapped in any area or any way? KSB

Bits

I thought I'd blog a bit. There is a lot to blog about...today I chose to bring some bits here and there together for one post. The internet works very differently here. You buy 1 Gigabyte for a month. Downloading updates takes a lot of space...downloads in general do. Watching online messages from East Hill or watching videos, little clips is nearly impossible for it it really takes a up a lot of that 1 Gigabyte. It is not like in the US where you have unlimited internet access. Even in Europe this is different. I find myself limited by that every once in a while. I am very pensive these days, trying to prepare myself. I am challenged to go deeper in the Bible and I feel overwhelmed quite often. It is a feeling of being under too much volt during the day..... I am thankful for a lot though

mmmh

I am blessed by having this couple as my friends. YOu can see them in the big picture of the Start of this blog: Nadine and Innocent. If you have followed my adventures here in Cape Town, you know that they are a big part of my life, specifically since last year August. She gave birth to a healthy little baby girl called Jamie a month ago. I posted Jamie's entering this world 4 weeks ago. Today we blessed the mom by giving her a bubble bath. Jamie was good during that time and it is true: there is nothing like a baby in my arm, a baby that looks into my eyes (I know she cannot really see well yet...), or a baby that is sleeping. There are no words for the peace that I am feeling. My heart aches for a baby of my own... I am ready I know it.I am sad for all the babies I cannot hold ...the babies of all my friends in Germany and the States. I would love to be there right now. Anyway, just wanted to talk a bit about babies...and post some pics, too

BLESSED!

Today was a miracle. Let me explain what I mean by that. After a wonderful church service and a challenge on trusting our Lord more, I set out for lunch somewhere. There could only be one place for me today. After a stressful time and the need of more relax time for me, I decided to go to a special place. It is a very nice café/restaurant with a little pond, some ducks and geese. I got myself a nice GREEK salad and enjoyed watching all the people there, the children, the families. Then, I spotted them: 2 wonderful HAMMOCKS. I made a plan. After my meal I would get into one of those and just look at the blue sky. So that is what I did. Shortly after I lied down, a young boy struck up a conversation with me. He was quite a chatter box. His name was Keeyan with a K like a KEEN KING as he explained to me. “WOW, I said,” my name starts with a K as well…” We made friends and talked about funny animated movies such as Madagascar and Kungfu Panda and Toy Story. The Keeyan said: “It is very nice meeting you!” By then three other lill kids seemed to be drawn to me and we all chatted. I felt so awesomely blessed; it is hard to put it into words. Here I was, just having had a lunch on my own…I could have felt so lonely…but God had a different plan and I am glad I caught that one. HE blessed me with the presence of 5 really sweet kids: Keeyan (8years old), a girl (9 years old), a girl (4 years old), her little sister (3 years old) and a cute little blond boy (3 years old). I drank in the scene that displayed itself in front of my eyes and I know that you my God have drawn those kids to me. Before I left, Keeyan said: “SO, is this good-bye?” I told him so but then hugged him good-bye and then he put a shy little boy’s kiss on my cheek saying: This is MY good-bye to you.” Thank you, dear PAPPA in heaven for blessing me with your sweet presence today…it was so tangible. Words cannot describe, even pictures fall short of even coming close to that one. Thank you form the bottom of my heart!!!! Your Sunshine K

underSOMETHING

I know that my Reeemer lives and I know I have to start this post with this assurance. I also know that the enemy does not sleep, he is otu to kill , steal and distroy. The third thing that I know is that the enemy waits for a HIGH to end, for the adrenalin to stop, so he can start choking the truth out of the vulnerable people. Why do I write this? Because i see my church family and myself in this process right now. We come from 2 conferences at our new Church buidling and our official opening and dedication of the church building. It has been a very itnense time of giving hours and work to let God be glorified. This week has been a hard one for all of us. I can see the enemy just prawling and waiting for attack. It is like inthis picture. he waits udner water and wants to attack, shooting arrows and torpedos at us, at me. I am glad for God's protection. He is my tower and my shield. He will help me to sleep better and HE will help my soul to calm down. Just know that whenever you have experienced a mountain top, the valley is not far, prepare yourself, put on the armor of God and praise HIM who will lead you through! That is what I am doing....trying to do at least while I am recovering.

CREATEDbyGOD

I am still amazed. When Innocent, Nadine's husband called me on my cell wednesday evening, I was a bit concerned. I had a huge headache and was already in bed at 6pm after 3 hard work days at the church.When I heard Nadine cry in the background, I knew it was urgent. 10 minutes later I was in front of there door and I could see, we need to go to the hospital...it was time.Oh my....I had been thinking of all those movies I had seen where the baby came in a car.....I freaked. The granny I live with tried to calm me: Kerstin, the baby won't come in the car! So we left and drove to hospital that was 30 min away. We arrived and got her where she needed to be. I was able to translate a bit for her because she has trouble to understand English and she was nervous. 5 hours later Nadine brought Jamie into this world. 53 cm, 3kg...wiht a lot of hair and beautiful eyes. I feel like a Godmother or Antie and I am so proud of Nadine. She did a great job. When I held JAMIE for the first time I was so amazed....what a perfect baby, see for yourself

ImmerseFULLY

In the last few weeks, this comes up a lot in our Praise and Worship times and even in the times we pray as intercessors for the church. The word is based on chapter 47 in Ezekiel. When we enter God's presence, do we want to enter completely? Do we want to IMMERSE ourselves fully into HIS presence? Do I want to be in the water of the flow of HIS presence ankle deep? Knee deep? Sholder deep? or fully immersed? SO now when I worship...I imagine our church building as a huuuuuuuuuge swimming pool. As I enter, to I jump in and swim a bit and then dive under the water? Or do I stand and watch from a distance as others jump in and worship in Spirit and in truth? Do I even get jealous of them? Do I only stand in the water of of LIFE and still hold on to my control of the situation oder do I let go, let go and immerse myself in the Father's arms? I tell you something: I want to immerse myself fully in HIS presence, I want to let go of all and give HIM everything. I want to swim and dive and get wet in the water of HIS love!!

BeautifulCAPETOWN

Enjoy a glimpse of the Beauty I am surrounded by.....

FOLLOWtheFLOW

Wow, this is a little thought while I was learning how to build a wooden frame today with the Pastor. I picked up a little leftover piece of wood. I looked at it and frowned..then stood there amazed while the following thought ran through my mind:

Jesus learned from his father Joseph to be a Carpenter. He learned from him how to treat wood best to build what he wanted.I saw the grain and the lines and thought about the Holy Spirit. We also need to work well with the Holly Spirit in our lives. We need to follow the flow - follow the flow withthe Holy Spirit....just like what the Carpenter does with the wood, follow the flow of th elines, of the grain.

Jesus learned well under Joseph and I bet that was a great asset for his minsitry later: His ministry

You are holy , my Lord

Sing with me, learn some Xhosa...praising God in one of the SOuthafrican languages!