Crawl 101

JYWY Dispatch (Dec 2008)

First, the good news … John returned safely from his trip to Lesotho. Next, our visas have been extended for 12 months until 01 February 2010. Finally, we are able to spend Christmas & New Year in Malaysia!

We want to thank you for your amazing support through 2008 without which we would not have survived. Please find attached our report for 2008.

As we raise our financial support through donations from friends such as yourself, please let us know if you’d like more information as to how you can do so. Further, we are keen to expand our network of long-term friends who are passionate to pray for and support Kingdom endeavours in Africa and beyond. Do feel free to connect us with churches or individuals who fit this criteria.

May God shower you with His blessings over this festive season and into the New Year!

Please pray for the following:
1. The SA Home Affairs have informed us that our current visa type (Volunteer Worker) has a 3-year limit. We need wisdom to transition to an alternative visa type from Feb 2010 onwards, otherwise we will be forced to leave the country
2. Pray that Kingdom ministries will be the last and not the first to suffer by the global economic crisis

Emma 16-22 Weeks

Emma’s Views On The Global Economic Crisis …

… and the banking fat cats who enriched themselves at everyone else’s expense!

Emma Has A Sense of Humour

If you can guess what she’s laughing at … I’ll send you a free gmail account!

Emma’s Daily Dietary Supplements

There is a whole health industry that has emerged which attempts to do the above … some call it yoga & pilates. For those of you who have succeeded … I toast your improved health – hope you liked the slightly sour & gritty taste.

JYWY Dispatch (Nov 2008)

Just a quick note from us …

On Monday, we received Emma’s passport – 1 month earlier than expected. On Wednesday, we submitted an application for Emma’s South African visa as well as for both our renewals.

John travels to the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho (do look it up in Wikipedia, e.g. 29% of population have HIV/AIDS with average life expectancy of 37 years old) to conduct Ubabalo training for a week. He is not sure what to expect, but is ready for rough conditions. We’re sure there’ll be much learning and some interesting stories to tell when he returns.

Prayer Needs:
1. Journey mercies for John during his travel to Lesotho. He has to take a flight, drive a rented car, and journey up a mountain by 4WD.
2. Protection for WY, Emma & John’s mum during his absence. We suspect that Emma senses her daddy’s impending absence. She has been refusing to follow her eating routine.
3. Quick and smooth issuance of visas. Pray for a 3-year extension.

Confirmed! Emma Is Chinese

Now we’re certain that she’ll feel right at home in Asia!

JYWY Dispatch (October 2008)

First the good news. Emma now holds a Malaysian birth certificate. We had quite an adventure on our journey to the Malaysian High Commission in Pretoria (1500km from where we live). Emma was only 2.5 months then – she was an angel on the 2-hour flight to Pretoria (at 5am) but screamed almost the whole way home (3pm flight). We are now waiting for her Malaysian passport (which takes 3 months) so we can begin to apply for her South African visa by mid-December. Emma has been growing very well. Caring for an infant reminds us that God is ultimately in control and everything follow His timetable, not ours. Emma will be 4 months old on 30 October. Last week she surprised us by rolling onto her tummy. A few days later, she attempted to crawl. She pushes her legs to raise her bum, and then use her raised bum to slide her body forward – like a caterpillar. She is a strong toddler! But Emma is very shy with strangers. She stares and takes a while to warm up. If you’re interested, you can view pictures and videos at www.thewallah.wordpress.com. Do you think think that we are obsessed? Hahaha!

Wan Yi is doing very well. Now, she works mostly from home (thank God for the internet). John’s mum has extended her stay with us until 19 December. Her help has been invaluable! John is in Singapore from 30 October – 5 November to conduct an Ubabalo Training of Trainers, and then heads to Orlando for meetings (from 8-16 November) and will spend a night with dear friends in Atlanta before heading home.

Like many of you, we are watching the global economic crisis unfold and fervently praying how our (small) family can make a difference in the lives of those who will be impacted most during this crisis. Like many of you, we too are trusting God for his provision for 2009. A past teacher of mine would frequently cite: “Today may be Friday, but Sunday is coming!”

“What looks like divine absence is really hidden divine presence … We must learn to let God be God and to trust in him and his promises, rather than in our own finite and inadequate perception of a situation.” (Spirituality In An Age Of Change: Rediscovering The Spirit Of The Reformers, Alister McGrath)

This newsletter isn’t the platform to further elaborate on the above, but we’ll find time and post something on our blog at a later stage (hopefully, before the crisis ends).

To end off, we want to share rousing news. Last month, 12 persons from 9 countries (representing all continents) gathered in Stellenbosch for almost 10 days to activate the development of 80-sessions for Ubabalo which will become available over the coming months. We now have Ubabalo life coaching sessions translated into 7 languages. Further, the concept has cross-over from football into other sports like hockey, handball, tennis, basketball and netball. We can’t begin to express how exciting all this is!

Prayer items:
1. Journey mercies for John during his travels
2. Protection for WY, Emma & John’s mum during his absence

Emma’s Caterpillar Crawl

This video speaks for itself … she only turns 4 months on 30 Oct.