Finding Joy

This motherhood thing is quite the journey. I am thankful everyday for the gift of my 2 boys. They are the most handsome little men I know. Jake is 4 years old going on 12. His brain seriously works faster than mine. He talks non-stop and asks question after question. His energy is ceaseless and his creativity awe-inspiring. What a treasure he is! Judson is 20 months and trying every last nerve that I have. He can go from super-sweet to tantrum-throwing in a matter of seconds. He's learning to say words and it's so fun to hear him make new sounds. Yet, the shrieking when he doesn't get his way or just wants to be held is unnerving. His smile and curls can melt your heart.

My husband loves to listen to Brian Reagan. Over the holidays we fell asleep laughing to his hilarious jokes. One of them was about his little boy. He joked that we as parents get caught up in the frustration of the moment and miss the joy in our little one's heart. Like when they spill a glass of milk (as is completely normal in ALL children), my mind jumps to the inconvenience of cleaning it up and steals the joy from a moment that could be funny and inconsequential.

So, the Bradford motto for 2011 is (drum roll, please)........."The joy in my little boys' hearts!" I commit to try and find the joy in all situations with my sweet and crazy boys. They are little people learning to live in a big world and I must guide them through it with joy and laughter, not yelling and scowls. They find joy in so many things, each and every day. Why shouldn't I? My track record with 'not yelling' is not so good. It's an easy fall-back when the moment gets heated, but I will continue my effort to be a laid-back, loving-at-all-costs, take-a-deep-breath, remember-their-smile kind of mom.

A new love for South Africa

I am so excited to share some stories from my 10 days in South Africa. It was an amazing trip full of God’s goodness and grace. I could feel the prayers from the moment we left home so thank you for everything!

We arrived in South Africa (after almost 30 hours on a plane including layovers) at midnight. It was nice to crawl into bed and go straight to sleep. We stayed at a Christian camp called Skogheim. It was like a mini-house for our Rockwall and Firewheel team. We ate South African inspired food everyday in the cafeteria and enjoyed coffee and tea ALL the time. The food was great – sometimes odd – but for the most part really good.

We spent the week ministering at many different places. We did a kids club for 4 days at Murchison Primary School. One of the days we estimated 500 African children. They were beautiful! All dressed in school uniforms and very excited to meet our American teenagers. They were a mix of speaking English and Zulu so we used translators quite a bit. We did bible stories, crafts, basketball, soccer, and of course, snacks!

We visited 2 other schools – one where we led a leadership day for 8th graders and one, a high school, where we did a school assembly and 2 of our students shared their testimony along with a gospel presentation.

One of my favorite days was a Toms shoe drop at St Martin’s School for the mentally challenged and hearing impaired. We handed out 320 pairs of shoes to children of all ages. This is where I met “Z” (can’t pronounce her name). She had down syndrome and was probably 6. She was so excited to receive her new shoes. She hugged me so hard she knocked me over! We also did Toms shoe drops at the Murchison School, Genesis Care Center, Assissi orphanage and Reheboth orphanage.

The Genesis Care Center was created by Norweigans Settlers Church (our Lake Pointe partner church) for men and woman who are released from the hospital dying from HIV/AIDS. Many of the people that come to the care center pass away but some are so well taken care of that they get healthy and are able to go home. Our students prayed with the men, women and care takers. I met a woman named Faith. She was mid-20’s and had a 5 yr old son. Her smile was gorgeous! She asked that I pray for strength to return to her legs so she could get up and walk again.

My heart is automatically drawn to teenage girls so when I met Precious I was ecstatic. She was a 10th grader and found us at the Murchison school one afternoon. Precious had lived in children’s homes for 4 years as a child but was now living with her brothers. She was writing a report for school on teen pregnancy and showed it to me. It was full of God’s truth; about waiting until marriage and saving yourself for that one special man. I was able to give her a Zulu bible and an English bible. Greg taught her to use his camera and she took a picture of Greg and I.

I also found my African Jud! He was almost a year old and was living at the Reheboth orphanage. The orphanage was started by a couple who had never stepped foot on South Africa. They received the need for an orphanage for children with HIV/AIDS by email and sold everything to move there. The children live with ‘house moms’ (4-5 children per house) and go to school, play, enjoy life and get the care and medicine they need for their disease. This is Greg’s favorite place in all of South Africa so it was really special for me to finally see it in person!

The missionaries we served with and the staff members at the church are amazing! They seek to love those that are lost and dying each and every day. Cala and Steve Flippo (the missionaries with IMB) served in student ministry in the states for years before selling everything and moving to South Africa, also having never stepped foot on the country before. What a sacrifice!! They are amazing people who LOVE God and LOVE South Africans.

There are so many more names of people I met, each serving God faithfully. This trip was inspirational. You can’t come back unchanged. I am SO grateful to have gone and so excited to hopefully go back one day. Thank you for your contributions to my trip and for your prayers. I felt them! My biggest prayer request was to fully engage and not miss the boys too much – both were answered!