Short Update

Hey all,
Things are still going great, our last week at Aurora was quite productive. I dug a big hole in the field, and leveled off the floor of a shed, raked and cleaned up, as well as finished planting the spinach. Courtney has been teaching students who need extra help, and giving them a bit of one-on-one time. This week one teacher was sick, and Courtney was thrown right into the classroom, teaching 40 grade 2/3 students. It was hectic to say the least, having to also take care of Rylee, but she did awesome! We are still learning the ropes here, but each day feels a bit more regular! That's all for now, here are a few photos!

 IN Vancouver, getting ready to leave.

 Rylee watching dad dig.

 Courtney's Class!

My hole!

We Made It!

Hello everyone,

We finally made it here! We survived our first week in South Africa, and love it here. We have spent time at Aurora, with other missionaries, and even connected with our family down here. This week I (Gregg) worked in the garden making room for some spinach. I am working closely with Sipho, the maintenance man at Aurora, and next week we will have lots to do! Courtney is working with a few students each day who are having troubles, and need a bit of extra help.

We learn more and more about the culture every day and are getting used to locking the doors while driving, and putting Courtney's purse in the "boot" rather then in the front seat. So far everything is going well, but it is still hard to stay on the left side of the road, and shift with my left hand! Sorry there are no photos in this update, but we forgot our camera in Pretoria with Frank, so when we update next we will have some to put up! We have limited internet access here, but will get on from time to time! Thanks for reading!

On Our Way

It is Saturday night, the eve of our trip. It seems unbelievable that after over a year of planning and fundraising we are finally going to be on our way! I can only hope that everything is in our bags and nothing is going to be left behind. In less then 24 hours we will be en route to London, and then to Johannesburg. We have a 9 hour flight followed by an 11 hour flight, so hopefully Rylee is feeling a little more tired then usual for the next couple of days. Our next update will be, the Lord willing, from the continent of Africa, 15,000 kms away.

A huge thank-you to everyone for their support. It mean so much to have had people ask about our trip, or wish us well, etc. We fell so blessed to have such solid support behind us, both here on earth, and in heaven above. Stay tuned for more updates!! Thanks and God Bless!

Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of whom shall I be afraid?

Hockey Tourney

Thanks to all those who came out for our road hockey tournament! It was a lot of work, but in the end it was a huge success and a whole lot of fun! We were able to raise right around $1000 dollars toward our trip which is huge!! A huge thanks to all those who helped out and made it all possible, as well as everyone who came out to show their support.. It meant alot to see people buying $20 hotdogs!

Otherwise, we are doing well, we are getting so close to our April 8th departure date, it seems as though there is way to much to do! It will be awesome to get on that plane and not have to worry about packing anymore! We are very excited to start our time in Bapsfontein at Aurora!

Here are a few photos of the tourney:

Pauls Pals, the big winners!

Quick Update

We finally bought our tickets, and have a departure date, leaving on April 8th! Due to a break in the school year at Aurora we pushed the date back a couple of weeks, but it is relieving to have a date! We moved out of our house at the end of February, and thanks to the Leyenhorsts, we have a place to live for the next month. It is quite weird to be still living in Vernon, but not in our own house. Although we are leaving later then intended it still seems that we are leaving way too soon! Even Rylee is ready to go!

We still have a long ways to go financially, so if you would still like to donate please do so soon at sim.ca!

Thanks for reading!

Coming along.....

As the time to leave draws closer we eliminate stresses each day, just in time for new ones to come forward. Just recently we found a renter for our home so that is definitely praise worthy. We can finally start packing up our home and get all our things ready to leave, but that all has to happened within 2 weeks! Support has been going well, as the money slowly keep coming in. If anyone has yet to donate we urge you to do it soon, you can post-date the payments or whatever has to happen, but we can't leave until our support is fully in, or at least pledged for, so if do want to donate,  please do it soon! Thanks again to all those who have supported us both financially or in prayer, it feels as though the further our adventure progresses, the more support we need!

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
   but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." Psalm 20:7

A Quick Thank-you

First off, we just want to say thank-you to all who have donated so far! We are about a third of the way to meeting our goal! We pretend we are ready for what is ahead, but I don't believe you can truly prepare yourself for a full year in another culture. Sure our shots are done, and money has been coming in (thank-you again) and we've made a packing list, but how does one actually prepare. If you have any advice we would love to hear it, because it feels like we have way to many free nights!

Also our house is still for rent so if you know of anybody needing a home, let us know!

1 Chronicles 16:24 -- "Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples"

God Bless!