Quick Update

Wednesday I went to Bunting's campus (with my ID this time!) and got into Horizon res with Natalie (blog link to the right). We talked with 5 girls that she has already met. I spent an hour dying laughing in one of their rooms with 4 South African girls that were such a hoot! You should have seen their faces when I told them I was married...for 5 1/2 years...with 2 boys! Their mouths dropped farther and farther. I got to share some of our story and they LOVED it. It was well worth the awkward moments at first because they totally accepted me :) (I haven't been in a dorm in 3+ years, so I was a bit nervous!)
We all went to the soccer match after dinner and there was an incredible view of the city from the stands. You can see a 180 of the city. I'll post pics when I get a chance.

Thursday, we had Theology training that Michael led talking about regeneration (when God takes out your heart of stone and gives you a heart of flesh) and how that changes everything. They've had a lot of good training, but it's like opening your mouth and trying to drink from a fire hose. I think they are soaking up a lot, though. After that we ate lunch at the CCP's guest house, Kofifi, and headed out to campus.
I went with MK and Susannah this time to UJ Kingsway. I'm trying to go with different CCP girls everyday. This was a lot of fun, too. I met some of the student leaders and first years they are trying to spend time with. TK is one of the leaders that was with us the majority of the day. She's about 4'7" and such a little sassy thing...in a great way! She is so fun and the girls seem to love her. The funnier part of their dorm is that they had 2 bunnies in their 1 acre courtyard that produced about 50 bunnies. The University said they were going to shoot them if they didn't find a home for them. (Can you imagine if PETA found out about this?!?) So, we helped a couple people try to catch some. So random, but so funny. We had a great conversation with a sweet girl named Nadine, too. She was very open with us and initiated a conversation that was great and I even got to share some of my testimony with her.
We went to their leaders' meeting after dinner at their Student Center and Robert Binion (GT staff guy leading the CCP) talked about the main theme of their summer...God making all things new. It was great to see their leaders and sit in on their share time about all the God's doing on their campus.

Today I'm going to meet my friend Jeanette. Hope you all are having a great week!

South African World Cup song

Here's the video of the dance Rader and Levi's school taught us at "Domestic Worker Day". All the nannies LOVED it and got up and danced after I stopped video taping...my camera died sadly. It was so fun to be a part of life in JoBurg as a mom with Sheri this morning!

Tuesday at lunch update

Monday July 26, 2010

Yesterday we went to a church in Sophia Town, which is just up the street from where we're staying. It's a church plant of the main church Campus Outreach Johannesburg is partnered with. It reminded me of our church, Atlanta Westside. We really enjoyed it and I loved hearing the Africans sing.

After church, we went with a couple of guys to McDonald's. McDonald's is so much better overseas! We used to like it in Moscow, too. We went back to the house where the CCP is living. It's called Kofifi and it's awesome. It feels like a youth hostel.
We got to go to a cookout at CO Johannesburg's main meeting building. It's hard to describe this place. When you're on the street, all the houses have big walls and gates so you can't see in, but it's amazing when you walk in. I felt like we were in Beverly Hills. They had green grass and a pool with pretty furniture. This place houses about 4 roommates/family units, so about 10 people. There are a couple of buildings and a meeting room there.

This morning Michael gave the training talk to the group. It was about God making all things new. It was really good, I thought. When you are a Christian, you put your hope in Christ and your new life is in Christ, so you don't have to find life in this world....But, Jesus cares about this world deeply, so we should too. It's a fine line to care deeply, but not put all your hope in this life. I'm sure he'll share more later about all this. This is just my summary off the top of my head.
We're about to go to campus for a few hours. I'm excited to see the "res" (dorm) there. Each res is like a fraternity or sorority, so it's easy to get to know a lot of people quickly while you're there. There are students that are already involved in the ministry that are letting us in, so it's not like we're walking in cold turkey. They are so interested in American life, so it's not hard to carry on a conversation. I'm so curious about African life, too!
I get to meet up with my friend, Jeanette Thursday morning. I'm so excited to see her! I met her on the playground in Atlanta when she was nannying 2 kids that are almost exactly Sam and Owen's age. We hit it off and she actually started going to Westside some before she moved back to JoBurg.
***Update since I wrote this Monday at lunch.
So, I did go Univ. of Johannesburg Bunting campus yesterday with 2 girls from North Georgia, Lauren and Taylor. I forgot to bring my ID so I wasn't allowed in the res. We sat outside, which was good because the girls weren't in their rooms anyways. I met a few of the girls outside. One girl, MK, became a Christian just last week while talking with Lauren and Taylor. God is really working on that campus and it was great to see some of it in person!
Monday night, we ate dinner with the Ketterman's. They have been so great and hospitable.
The highlight of today, Tuesday morning, is that I got to go with Sheri and the boys and one student that babysits for them, Nanto, to the preschool. It was "Domestic Worker Day" there. All the nannies came with the children and they showed us their classrooms and they did some singing and dancing. I'll post the video of the dance they made up to the South African World Cup song. It was so fun! The video is the teachers and kids teaching us and then after the video we all did it together. There were nannies with babies on their backs doing the dance and loving it. It was fun to be a part of South African life here as a Mom.

Fwd: Saturday

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <mrs.vestal@gmail.com>
Date: Saturday, July 24, 2010
Subject: Saturday
9:30pm

We ate breakfast with the kettermans this morning and enjoyed seeing
their three little boys run all over the house...we felt right at
home!
We got picked up and went to the gooch's to meet up with our Atlanta
group. We got a tour of the soccer stadium, Soweto, Mandela's house,
the new Soweto mall, a students house there, then we drove about an
hour to Pretoria. We had a meeting there with the groups from
charlotte and Greenville, along with all the south African staff. It
was great to hear updates from all the regions. I'm looking forward to
meeting more people tomorrow.
I have jetlag and my brain isn't functioning well. :) we're 6 hours
ahead here. Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Fwd: We're here

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <mrs.vestal@gmail.com>
Date: Saturday, July 24, 2010
8:00am

It's amazing that you can fly half way around the world in only a day!
We read missionary biographies before that talked about how you packed
your things in a coffin because you would most likely die and it would
take months on a boat to get to Africa.
I'm so thankful to be here and see what life and ministry look like.
Driving on the other side of the road was fun last night! We went
straight to the Melville church where the bunting group was having a
trivia night. We didn't stay long because we were so tired but I got
to meet some staff and a lot of students. They were so warm and
welcoming! We are staying with the kettermans, so we went to their
place around 7 last night and we were asleep by 10. I slept pretty
well despite the jet lag.
Today we are going to Soweto and Pretoria. I'm looking forward to
riding around in the daytime and seeing everything, including all the
tech girls that are here.

Updates while we're gone

To learn more about who we're partnering with: http://www.cojohannesburg.org/
History of Campus Outreach JoBurg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCEREdjaGwY

Two Tech Students down there this summer:
http://caseyinsouthafrica.tumblr.com/
http://nittyinsouthafrica.tumblr.com/

South Africa

Michael and I are headed out on Thursday at 1pm for South Africa! We'll fly to DC first and then head over. It's going to be a LONG flight! The boys will be with both sets of Grandparents while we're gone. We're so thankful to have 2 sets of amazing parents that are willing to take care of our children for that long and that respect our wishes on how to care for them...very unusual and an extreme blessing!!! I don't think they'll miss us much at all because they are going to have a blast.
I'm really looking forward to our time there together, too. A team from our Atlanta region is there for 2 months and there is a Campus Outreach team in Johannesburg that we will partner with. Michael and I are staying with one of the families down there, The Kettermans.
The GT staff girl there this summer, Courtney, just sent this on her blog about what they've been doing and what they will be doing. We'll be with them the whole time we're there, so he's a sneak peek of our time there.

I can't believe we are 17 days in!

It feels like we've been here for months.

We now have a full week on campus under our belts and our learning curve has shot through the roof.

Last week was our first "typical" week on CCP.

Here's a look at our weekly schedule:

:: Monday - Theme Training, Campus
:: Tuesday - Small Groups, Campus
:: Wednesday - Theology Training, Campus
:: Thursday - Grocery Shopping, Campus
:: Friday - Ministry Training, Campus
:: Saturay - Cultural Excursion
:: Sunday - Sabbath

Our theme for the CCP is "All Things New", which comes from Revelation 21:5 were Jesus says, "Behold, I am making all things new."

So, each Monday we look at specific areas of life that Christ is making new. Last week was "New Creation" - 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, referring specifically to what happens when God makes a person new in Christ. Today was "New Leadership" - Mark 10:42-45. We addressed how Christ-centered leadership looks different than the leadership of the world. In the coming weeks we'll look at "New Bodies" - 1 Corinthians 15, "New Prayer" - Hebrews 10:19-22, and "New Mission" - 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

Theology training unpacks different systematic Biblical topics, helping us to understand more of who God is and how He works out His purposes in the world.

Ministry training is led by the Campus Outreach Johannesburg (COJ) staff and is a time to equip our team in how to minister to others and address the question of why we should give our lives to making Christ known.

Last week we were on campus each day from 3:00 to 10:00, meeting students and spending time with the COJ student leaders. Each student on our team has a partner and has been assigned to a specific res (dorm). The COJ staff have a game plan for each pair, either building on relationships they already have or meeting new students.

This week we're trying to go deeper with the students we met last week, praying that God will give us opportunities to get into spiritual conversations and share the Gospel.

Please pray God makes a door for us to share the Gospel clearly with these students and that He would save many while we're here.

This past weekend we went to a lion and rhino park and got to play with baby lions! We followed that with an awesome dinner at Carnivore... an all-you-can-eat domestic and game meat restaurant. We ate impala, eland (big antelope), wildebeast, and crocodile... plus all the normal fare. It was SO good!

This coming weekend we'll go to Soweto and check out homes where two of the COJ students grew up, then head to Pretoria for a CCP Vision Night with the other CCPs here.

Well, thank you so much for your prayers, please continue asking God to move in us and through us as we seek to share Jesus with these awesome students.

Saving Money

Michael and I live on support from family, friends and churches. We love this because it keeps those supporters interested in our lives and ministry more than if they gave to a big organization and didn't know exactly what ministry was going on day to day. Because I know the people that are giving the money, I can be very self-conscience when I spend a dollar. This is bad perspective though, because God is providing their salaries just as much as He's providing ours. Anyways, I do want to be a good steward of the money regardless of my good or bad perspective about it.

Since we live on what some people think is little (I have friends that don't know how we are surviving), I've been able to learn a lot about how to do with less and be wise with each penny over the past 5+ years. I don't do it perfectly at all, but I'm learning everyday how to be content with less money, things and conveniences. (I do realize that we make more than most people in the world, though...just so you know :)

Anyways, I got to thinking about all this and wanted to share some of my tips so that you can save money and can have the joy of giving more of your money away to those in need or ministries that have encouraged you.


Turn unused lights off and use those energy efficient light bulbs

Wash only full loads of dishes or laundry

Buy jumbo pack of diapers with a coupon or just buy them in bulk

Use cloth diapers (I couldn't do this one since we have only a stackable w/d right next to our kitchen...gross!)

Have a day of the week to plan all the meals for that week, then shop according to what's on sale and stick to your list.

Ditch the home phone and just use your cell phone

Don't pay for a data plan on your phone, just get the cheap phone and basic plan. (You can text Google at 466453 almost any question and it will text the info back to you...mostly basic info. Do you really need to be that attached to the outside world in between hot spots and your time at your computer??)

Print off pictures during Snapfish deals

Use Groupon and Scoutmob for special date deals (you can go out to eat for 50% off)

Use Amazon on Black Friday for amazing deals for Christmas

Cheap Date ideas (52 Date Nights)

Drink fun drinks at home instead of at a restaurant where the prices are higher

Make Salsa (thanks, Tiff), pizza (thanks, Melissa), hummus (or whatever you eat a lot of) at home.

Barter with friends! :)

Homeschool for preschool (ATL preschools cost at least $2000/ year)

Planning the week helps your family avoid the food frenzy of not knowing what to throw together, so you just go somewhere "cheap". You can use Google Calendar and share your schedule with your spouse and vice versa.

Productive Parenting instead of paying for entertainment, like Kangazoom (which I'm probably banned from anyways! haha!)

Maximize Birthdays and Christmas gifts by planning ahead and making a wish list so you don't end up with things that were a waste of money

Have a Health Savings Account

Don't buy prepackaged snacks or drinks that you could easily divide up into baggies or pour into cups. (It's better on the environment too)

Only buy chicken when it's on sale for $1.99/lb. and stock up a few weeks worth to freeze.

Check out this awesome cheese story (I knew this couple in college and she is good about making her own food and cleaning supplies! Lane)

Go to Southernsavers.com to plan your meals and grocery list for the week.

Shop thrift stores first, then Craigslist (nellymae) before buying from a store full price.

Go to consignment sales for kids clothes before buying anything from stores.

Buy less clothes and just wash them more often.

Share babysitting with another family or take turns keeping each other's kids

Share meals at a restaurant (it saves calories, too) or just don't go out to eat!

Go with less cable or no cable at all.

Use Netflix instead of buying movies or having an expensive cable bill.

Borrow equipment instead of owning everything you could possibly ever need and share what you have with others.

Don't buy disposable hand soap, just keep the containers and refill them with the big jugs of soap.

Go paperless with your bill paying to save on stamps.

Use Evite instead of mailing your own invites and/or paying for the actual invitation. (is this ok, Emily Post?)

Only use a pea-sized amount of tooth paste. (Heard this in high school, that's all you actually need)

Don't be so high-maintenance with your hair, or use coupons. (Aveda Institute or Bob Steele HOT appts.)

Don't go into Target, ever. (Is this just me, or do any of you have a weakness here?)

Cook enough for leftovers so you can have an easy meal later or eat it for lunch

Use the library instead of buying books.

Plan free playdates and pack a lunch instead of going out to eat.

Don't be a perfectionist...be ok with things being a little less than perfect or not totally convenient instead of rushing to buy something to fix it immediately.

Organize your house and declutter so you can find the things you already own instead of buying the same things over and over. (FlyLady helps me here!)

Paint your own nails. (Tutorial)

Cut your own grass.

Don't have a pet.

Reuse your bath towel. (hey, that's the cleanest you ever are when you use that thing!)

Make postcard greetings for Christmas. (Cheaper per greeting and less for postage)

Do a meal share with neighbors

Live in a smaller home. (They are more efficient with energy and they cost less overall)

Be local. (Stay around your neighborhood more and develop those friendships...you'll save gas money)

Buy Starbucks coffee on sale at the store. (You can take the empty bag to a Starbucks for a free tall
coffee...and they have wifi now!)

Make a gift budget and stick to it.

Keep those Bed, Bath and Beyond coupons because they never expire

Make birthday gifts like you find on One Pretty Thing or etsy instead of buying them.

Don't over-eat. Figure out how many calories you should be eating per day.