Countdown....

"If anyone lacks wisdom, let Him ask of God who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

So baby Archer is 2.5 weeks away, and this verse has been a comfort to me thinking about how babies don't really come with instructions, but the Lord gives wisdom to those who ask for it, in every situation....but we just must ask! I've been reading through the book of Proverbs, and there are so many verses that apply to this giant responsiblity that lies ahead of us...I think the whole book is underlined! Its been such a sobering thought thinking about how we are going to be parents, and the responsiblity of raising such a little one in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Yikes. That's alot of hard work and preparation, but I am so excited for the challenge. My ministry will be changing in the next few weeks from my primary focus being ministering to Clint and the church, to now mainly ministering to Clint and baby...which will be a gigantic adjustment, but I am looking forward to the new challenges because the Lord always uses those to stretch us and mold us more into His image (that is if we respond appropriately!)

Last week for Easter Clint bought me a Lindt chocolate bunny (Lindt chocolate is supposedly the best in the world ....from Switzerland) except he hid it throughout the house (it kept moving) and wherever it was it "laid an egg" (one of those cadbury eggs). Since we live in the church's house, its gigantic, so finding the bunny wasn't easy. I found eggs all over the house, but never the bunny! BUT I finally found it on Easter, it was so good (yum!) pure chocolate.

This is Clint playing cards with some of the Cornerstone group after Bible study last week. Since it was school holidays I think we've gotten together with the Cornerstone group almost every other night. Clints been teaching through different issues at Cornerstone, and last weeks was particularily good on how to balance fearing man, but at the same time be above reproach. Also the section in Colossians he's been preaching through has just been so great, super practical stuff on the Christian life. Its been awesome to see the changes in our own lives in our home, as well as the conversations of people in our congregation.

If you can remember to pray for us....just pray in particular for the member's in our congregation's health. Alot of people have recently had cancer battles, and are in and out of hospital. The pastor's wife at our church plant is in the hospital with extreme vomiting, and they have no idea what's wrong with her!

The nursery is finally done! I will post photos next time! :)

Bronwyn's wedding

Clint's sister Bronwyn got married a few weekends ago! She looked so beautiful. I had the honour of taking some shots at the wedding....and have been editing them all week...so here are a few!

Bronwyn and her new husband Etienne

Clint with his brother Donovan & sister Brownwyn

I love this long African grass in the background, the sunset makes it so pretty!

Clint performing the ceremony

Church Website!

Our church Hillcrest Baptist finally has a website! :) Check it out....you can download Clint's sermons for free

www.baptistchurchhillcrest.com

Hope Valley

The Monday after Easter in SA is a public holiday...and after a crazy week we went away to Hope Valley to stay in a little cabin for a night. It was a very spontaneous thing.....but we called and their little "Bonga Bonga" cabin was open. Its totally rustic, no electricity or anything! But when they got there they said the rain had destroyed the road to the cabin, so for the price of the "rustic" cabin, we got one with electricity and a kitchen! :) I was kinda sad though cause we had prepared to ruff it for the night! But we still enjoyed cooking over open flame....yummy steak!


We took Geneva and Spurgeon with us. They had the time of their lives roaming around this HUGE farm with sugar cane and wild lavendar to sniff and chase bugs in. I don't think I've ever seen two doggies more happy then them! We laughed so much just watching their little tails and noses go wild at all the valleys and crevices to explore. Geneva is curious as to why we are stopping when there is so much to explore?

We were amazed at how beautiful it was. This little corner of the world really is gorgeous! I love Durban!

They say walking alot helps to bring labor on quickly. With 3 1/2 weeks to go....it wasn't that quick I guess! Nuts! But the walks were beautiful! There were amazing purple lilly-pads in this lake!

HBC

Snapshots of our church:

Clint preaching ...this week he has 3 messages to prepare this week cause of Good Friday as well, keep him in prayer!

Our elders at Hillcrest Baptist....Neil, Clint, Keith and Glen

Our musicians....with Graeme on the trumpet

Labor

Only 6 weeks to go, crazyness!

So we've been going to pre-natal classes every Wednesday night. They are supposed to make you more confident about going into labor. Hmm. So they think..."I know, lets show them a video of a live birth, and a live c-section!!! That will make them LESS scared of giving birth!" Yikes. I wasn't scared before, but I am now!

So this is what I've learned in 4 weeks of prenatal class.

1. Labor is painful

2. If people tell you "its not that painful" their lying

3. If there are complications, its even more painful

4. Here are some exercises to help with the pain, although they don't actually work

(they had us sit with a big block of ice in our hand and try and make the pain go away by breathing. I don't get the breathing thing. How can you breath away pain?)

5. But after the baby is born you forget the pain

What they didn't tell us was the reason why its painful, but that is found in Genesis 1. God cursed women with pain in labor (a massively intensive time of pain) and men with work labor (pain over many years of work). So I think I just need to remember that sin is what causes pain, and that God is in control, and this is what He has for me, and all women! So its His will that labor is painful. I'm just praying that somehow it makes me more like Christ!

Photos from my family shower in the states. In South Africa they are called "Stork Parties" so this cake is particuarily appropriate :)
The whole family! (Parents, Aunts, Uncles & Cousins :)

Storm

So this Thursday night was the most hectic storm I've ever been through. It started so quickly with huge flashes of thunder, and lightning that was CONTINUOUS (no joke, it was quicker than a strobe light) for 2 hours straight. No sooner had I realized there was a storm than I ran into the office to unplug Clint's computer, and on the way the electricity died, went up again, and died, before I got a chance to unplug it. Needless to say, his motherboard blew (yikes) so he is using my junk laptop till it gets replaced :) The rain then came down so heavy, that within 5 minutes our kitchen was flooded, and at this time Clint came home from a deacons meeting...we were frantically lighting candles and mopping up water. What was so weird was the lightning...there was a BRIGHT flash every second...no joke. Winds were at 80mph and the rain was coming down in sheets. Our electricity was off for 3 days. Our poor dogs thought the world was coming to an end!

These are some photos of the beachfront in Durban. Normally this looks like a nice paved boardwalk with shops and stuff. Its totally under water.

This is the restaurant we usually eat at on the beach...the Wimpy. Check the windows that are smashed in.
Sand totally covers the boardwalk now. They say that 50 million rands worth of damage happened in the Durban area. Schools were closed down cause the wind lifted off the roofs, or trees fell on the classsrooms. Hectic stuff!

"The Lord is slow to anger and great in power. And the the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. In whirlwind and storm is His way, and the clouds are the dust beneath His feet. Mountains quake cause of Him, and the hills dissolve; indeed the earth is unheaved by His presence, the world and all the inhabitants in it" Nahum 1:3 & 5

Resolved

I just realized I never posted Resolved photos...here are some (I took a million!)

In anticipation.....the first night of Resolved

One of the coolest parts about being at Resolved was singing with 3000 people. In a church of under 200, you forget what an awesome feeling that can be!

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit" I Peter 3. I think this was the most poignant point Piper made that night....was that the end goal is GOD, being with Him in all His glory....very powerful message.

SCV lunch at the park

Me and Marietjie

Jesse & Deidre

Just the girls :)

SCV group photo....awww.

Panel Discussion

CJ preaching

SCV at BUBBA GUMPS!

Run Forrest RUN!

Girls who are coming on the SA team (hopefully!) to Durbs this summer!

Baby Archer enjoyed Resolved too....he always kicked during the worship! :)

Journey

Journey

My favorite beach: Leo Carillo. It's just up from Zuma on PCH. I took this photograph 10 years ago in 1997, for a highschool class project. Clint's brother recently asked me to make a copy of it for him, so I had it scanned digitally. Every time I go to this beach I look to see if the sun is shining through the rock, and I've never seen it like this again. This year would be my highschool 10 year reunion, pretty scary. So much has changed since 1997...I was just thinking my life is a bit like this photo since then. "Well I'm not who I was when I took my first step, and I'm clinging to the promise that You're not through with me yet" One of my favorite quotes from Ginny Owens (a blind Christian singer) about how the Lord changes us and molds us into His image...and that He who began a good work is faithful to complete it. But we have to take the steps necessary and work out our salvation with fear and trembling. 10 years ago I never considered missions. 10 years ago I had no idea who I was going to marry. 10 years ago I was complacent in my walk with the Lord. 10 years ago I had wild dreams about what I would be doing 10 years from now. The Lord has been so faithful to me in where He has brought me, and I'm glad He gave me the desires and strength to follow His will, so that He could bring me on this journey to where I am now....about to be a mom! :)

Hillcrest Baptist Church

So I've been working for the last 2 weeks on our church's website (it should be done in the next month or so, with sermon downloads and everything!) The biggest challenge was figuring out how to compress sermon files so that they are small enough to download....but today it was finally successful!! :) Yipee! I'm trying to get the website off the ground before baby Archer arrives. (My good friend Janine here just delivered 2 weeks early....yikes!) Here are some photos of our church building I took for the website...our church is awesome. On Sunday I'll snap some of the inside :)

9 weeks to go!

9 weeks to go!


We have been busy this week painting the nursery! (You can see the ugly color it was before on the left wall....apricot peach!) but now its blue and white. Clint and his dad are holding up the boat boarder....its super cute! We have a crib and a changing table now...and the room is almost done! I'll upload more photos when its all together

Here are some 3d photos from my last scan. He stuck out his tongue at us! and the doctor said he was doing "breathing exercises" getting ready for the real world. Its so amazing. I now see my tummy moving all the time.

Yesterday we went to the mall and they have a parking section for "expecting moms only...car will be towed if you are not an expectant mom". Its right outside a "Baby City." So we decide to finally take advantage of this "handicapped" type parking cause its a super busy day and there's no other parking and its like 100 degrees...no sooner are we parked and a security guard comes out of nowhere to yell at us...then looks down at my tummy...and is like "OH!! I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were expecting!" Then I walk in the shop while Clint is locking up the car, and a random guy just walks by and starts shaking his head very dissapointed at Clint taking a spot from a poor pregnant person, he quickly yelled 'Kim wait up, I'm coming' but the guy never saw me... :)

Scott & Sara

This is one of the more fun weddings I've ever photographed. I think the pictures reflect how much laughter there was! :)

Congratulations! We were both so glad we could be part of the wedding! :)