Well, it only took me about 5 months, but I finally got myself a set of wheels last week. Say hello, to the “White Lady”. Yep, it’s already got a name. It’s a 2002 Mazda Drifter double cab truck and she’s a beaut. FYI - trucks are not called “trucks” here they are called “buckeys”. Back in the states I drive a Honda Prelude which sits really low to the ground, so it’s nice to be in a vehicle now where I’m high enough to see over the cars in from of me.

Interesting story how I got to test drive this thing. One of the dealerships knew I was looking for a vehicle and it just so happened that a customer had brought his truck in for service was also looking to sell it. They called me up and I went down to take a look. When I arrived I looked the truck over and asked if I could take it out for a drive. The salesman’s response… “The customer will be back tomorrow at noon so just have it back before then.” What? No signature, no copy of my drivers licesnse, nothing. Sure we know the owner of the dealership, but still at least ask my name. Anyway, I drove it around a bunch that day and really liked it, so a few days later it was all mine.

I just want to thank everyone who is supporting me financially. It wouldn’t have been possible for me to get my new truck. Special thanks goes out to my good friend Chris Gaston from American Enterise Bank for setting up all the financials states-side and making this transaction oh so simple.

Ok, so it’s not really Tivo, but today DStv (South Africa’s satellite provider) released the first “Personal Video Recorder” in all of South Africa. With all our conferences, youth camps, and mission teams things can carry late into the night that might cause us to miss our favorite tv programs. Another bonus is to be able to tape Monday Night Football that comes on around 1:30 AM Tuesday morning.

Only bummer is technology stuff over here is usually pretty expensive and this little gem is no exception. I heard through the grape vine it will cost about $500 each. Maybe we’ll chip in and just get one for the ministry.

I know it’s been a while, but feast your eyes on these 5 new albums to my photo gallery. Hope you enjoy.

ok, ok.

I’ve got a bunch emails from you all wanting to see pictures from my Botswana trip. I’ll going to make a big update to my photo gallery tomorrow which will include an AMAZING safari we went on in Botswana.

Preview - Guess the animal in this picture?

First, sorry for the long absence, but our internet has been down since arrived from Botswana last Friday.

So, like most of you the picture I had in my mind of what Africa was like was a hot barren wasteland. So when I first came to South Africa last year I was a bit surprised to find lots of mountain regions, lush green landscape and climates ranging anywhere from freezing to a typical Florida summer day. Well, let me tell you what Botswana is the National Geographic Africa. This place is a barred desert wasteland that at certain times of the year is the hottest place on earth. From the second we walked out of the plane we knew we were in a place that is not meant to be lived in. Just to give you an idea of how hot it gets the other day a thermometer read 110 degrees. Oh yeah, the thermometer was in the shade.

(Primary School)

Enough about the weather, let me tell you about the ministry Love Botswana. Similarly to Thrive Africa it is Love Botswana’s goal to train and raise up the local people through Godly teachings so they can change their own nation. They do this through their local church, their international private school, their bible school, and church plants. As you can see they are quite a large operation. They have around 20 missionary staff and 50+ local Botswana people employed. Their primary school that opened in 2003 is one of the fastest growing educational institutions in Botswana providing a kindergarten to high school curriculum. I believe there are over 200 students enrolled in the school this year. Besides being an excellent academic school it’s pretty amazing just to look at. It’s been inspiring for me to come to this ministry and see the size of the operation here and have faith that God will grow Thrive Africa to something this big some day.

Yes, I did work while I was there.
During the first week I got to design a 8′x 4′ banner (roughly the size of a doorway) that they’ll be putting in their village church. I usually struggle quite a bit when I have to design something this large, but this time I came up with something that made both myself and everyone here pretty excited. Ok, maybe me a bit more then them because I didn’t really think I was going to be able to pull it off as quick as I did. I spent the next few days in the details adding the little things that can sometimes make all the difference. Check it out the map design. It’s also pretty cool to know that something I created will hang in a church in Botswana.

Week number two had me putting together a couple videos that showcased a children’s talent show and the 50th birthday of the founder of Love Botswana, Jerry Lackey. It was a week that was challenging, fun, and frustrating, but once again things turned out pretty good.

This is the second trip this year that Thrive has taken where we go and server another ministry. I love they idea that even though we are a ministry we go out and help out other ministries what ever way we can. I also want to thank all the families on the property that welcomed us into their homes and cooked meals for us. I can’t wait to go back next year.