Victory

Now this I know; The Lord gives victory to His anointed. Psalm 20:6

God whispered to my heart this week…

Rebecca you are chosen, equipped, anointed and mine. Not because of anything you are, have done or will do but because I love you, have plans for you and want my name to be glorified in and through you.

As I look back through my life and the lives of Godly friends and family I see and know the Lord gives victory. But it is hardly ever how we want or think but He always does. He is faithful and His anointed are victorious.

Now this I know…I am God’s anointed and am victorious in Him.

Random Fact

Here is a random fact for the day…

Granadilla is passion fruit, they are one in the same.

How did I come about finding this? Well Brooke is visiting South Africa so she could register for her doctorate program. We were discussing what is granadilla. It’s a population flavor in SA. Today Google confirmed for us that it is passion fruit.

Friday Favorites; children

Here are some highlights from this week at the orphanage.

Monday night Lebo, who is 3, and I made dinner together. Lebo added all the chopped vegs into the salad and took many trips to the dustbin to throw away things for me.  He was an eager, joyful little helper.

Wednesday all 12 kids, the house mom and I jumped into the Combi (a minivan like vehicle here in S. Africa) to head to Occupational Therapy. The house mom doesn’t drive the Combi because it’s to big…so when she heard that I had practice driving big vehicles she was ecstatic. On the way home one of the boys needed to pee so we stopped on the side of the road and all 12 kids jumped out and peed. It was hilarious.

Thursday night at the dinner table one of the 4 year old girls told me that dinner was delicious and was very thankful for mini quiches. So adorable.

I enjoyed seeing the world through these little eyes this week and it brought many laughs.

Thank You…You’re Welcome

I have always enjoyed shortening words. In junior high when my sister was teaching me some Spanish I decided that Gracias should be shortened to Gracs. It is just like saying thanks instead of thank you. So my family has adopted “Gracs”, thanks in Spanish.

And I swear that one time when my mom and I were going through a drive through the employee said it to us as we were leaving. My mom insists that the employee couldn’t have said it and I heard it just because I say it all the time. Although she will admit that it sounded like Gracs to her as well but that is just because I say it to her so much.

In South Africa pleasure is often used in place of you’re welcome.  The other night I heard someone say pleas and it made me grin and immediately think of Gracs.

So cheers to Gracs and pleas!

Rugby in San Diego?

I love living and working overseas. I find being in a different culture very intriguing and adventuresome. One of my new found loves since living in South Africa is rugby and the Springboks.

I just discovered that there is a big rugby tournament in San Diego this weekend. There are 16 nations battling it out in 44 matches. My Springboks are playing where a lot of my family lives, that makes my heart smile. Ah how I would love to be at Petco Park enjoying some great rugby with my cousins.  The Springboks just beat the All Blacks (there all time rivals) to go on to the Semi Final Cup of the USA Sevens Rugby Tournament. Don’t worry girls I discovered this is a yearly event so one day we will enjoy some rugby in SD together! Go Boks!

Love

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. Psalm 145:8

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Psalm 107:1

I’m thankful for the Lord’s rich love that endures forever! Happy Valentines Day.

Dinner Time!

Bafana and I made dinner last week. I wasn’t totally sure why the other Aunties said we should start preparing dinner at 3:30 so that it would be ready by 5:30, we were only making spaghetti for goodness sakes. But everyone was busy with their afternoon activities of homework, reading, playing, or helping with dinner. So Bafana, who is a rambunctious 7 year old, and I headed to the kitchen.

I saw very quickly how it could take 2 hours to make spaghetti, salad and bread.  Bafana insisted that he do everything including cut all the veggies for the salad so he cut carrots, green pepper, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes all with a butter knife while I supervised and helped cut the veggies into manageable pieces.

Bafana and I talked about everything and anything and shared many laughs! He started making statements and asking questions about cooking and the food we were making, “auntie cheese is made out of milk, what else is made out of milk? milk is good for you but if you drink too much you will be fat.”  “what is this made out of, what is that made out of?”

My favorite line and wisdom from Bafana was this…”Auntie if we eat this uncooked will we die?!” He asked that about carrots, flour, butter, spieces, really anything we were using. Obviously he had baked cookies with an Auntie who told him that if he eats the cookie dough raw he will die.

I ever knew making spaghetti could be so much work and exhausting. But Bafana and I had a great bonding experience. Last night I quickly made spaghetti without any helpers and Bafana came in the kitchen and with a big grin and said “Auntie Becca you are making what we made together. I’m excited it’s so yummy.” My heart swelled to see Bafana’s pride and joy in our cooking even a week later. The 2 hour spaghetti adventure was well worth it and I’m sure we will do it again sometime!

TIA Moment

T.I.A. (this is Africa!) is a common phrase among expatriates here. It is used to shrug off or laugh off unexplainable or inconceivable cultural differences encountered.  Last night I ran into a near by mall to use the ATM. I was a little shocked that all the stores were closing at 6PM on a Friday night. Yes I have lived here for four years and know that things close way early here then in the States but still 6 on a Friday! I just had to laugh and said TIA.

Friday Favorite; Cup of Coffee

It is truly the simple things that brighten my day. This week one of my highlights was a cup of coffee. I recently started attending a home group. When I walked into the kitchen to help serve dessert, the host told me that he was making Starbucks coffee tonight just for me. I got a huge grin on my face and said thanks. Starbucks is a rare commodity here in South Africa. You have to import it. So being served Starbucks by a South African isn’t a normal occurrence.

Nice and Sweet

Some of the older girls from the orphanage and I made cookies a few days ago. We even had imported Nestle chocolate chips to put in them. The girls love to bake and of course all of the kids loved to eat the cookies. As one of the African Aunties ate a cookie she said these biscuits are too sweet and too nice. All of the American laughed in agreement. Yes we are the land of too sweet and too nice!