NEWSLETTER
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December 2006
Greetings from South Africa:
Once again, I write wondering where the past month has gone. Time seems to have flown by in a whirlwind and brought December quickly to the horizon. Here at the Zakariasen house, we have kept ourselves busy with many ministry opportunities and have enjoyed a blessed month…
On November 2nd, Bethany Harrington returned to the States, after a three week visit. A few days later, I was able to spend a long weekend with David & Erin de Bruyn in Johannesburg. Despite coming down with a 24-hour flu bug, for the first time in five years, I had a wonderful time. It is always a blessing to get together with Erin; she is such a godly friend and it is so nice to be able to fellowship with her. It was also a blessing for me to participate in the services at New Covenant Baptist Church, where David & Erin minister, by playing the piano for the morning and evening services.
While most people in the States have Thanksgiving on their mind throughout the month of November, we were all thinking about Christmas. Christmas celebrations begin early, here in South Africa, since most people leave for the coast on holiday, during the month of December. Since the first few days of November, the malls have been beautifully adorned with Christmas decorations, the schools have been preparing for holiday break, and the weekly church activities have been coming to a close for the year. Anyway, Central Baptist Church (where we attend on Sunday mornings) held their annual Christmas banquet on November 18th, and they asked Kevin Zakariasen to be the emcee for the evening. Kevin and Sarah put together a wonderful program of events, and I was privileged to provide Christmas dinner music on the piano. Overall, the evening went really well, and a good time was had by all who were in attendance.
With our first Christmas event finished, it was time to focus on Thanksgiving. While Thanksgiving is not observed in South Africa, the Zakariasen’s still make it an important part of their November festivities. On Thanksgiving Day, we invited five South African people from Central Baptist Church to join us for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. It turned out to be a very eventful evening… Our dinner guests arrived at 5:30pm, just as a large rainstorm was blowing in. As Sarah & I were preparing the meal, the electricity went out two times. Thankfully, both power outages were only for a couple minutes, as we would not have been able to finish the meal otherwise. As we sat down to eat, Kevin provided a brief history of the Thanksgiving holiday, so that our guests could better understand why we celebrate. We then enjoyed a delicious meal and began to prepare for tea/coffee and dessert. No sooner had we brewed the tea/coffee, cut the pumpkin pie, and whipped the cream, than the electricity went out, again – this time for nearly 2 hours. Our guests were gracious and flexible, and we were still able to enjoy dessert and fellowship by candlelight. Two days later, on Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed another Thanksgiving meal with seven South African people from Central Baptist Church. The food was delicious, the fellowship was wonderful, and the weather was beautiful. However, I must admit that I have had my fill of Thanksgiving meals for a while.
Throughout the month of November, Sarah & I (with help from the kids) have been working to fill approximately 125 Christmas stockings, for village churches to pass out to the children in their area. The stockings are filled with school supplies, toys, toiletries, and treats that have been donated by many people from the States. It is a big project to undertake, but I know the Christmas stockings are an incredible blessing to the area churches. It has been a blessing for me to be able to participate in this ministry for two consecutive years, as I was also able to help fill Christmas stockings when I was in South Africa in June of 2005.
Recently, God has helped me to fulfill a long-time dream… For several years, I have participated in the Operation Christmas Child shoebox program. For those of you who are not aware of the program, each year the Samaritan’s Purse organization collects shoeboxes full of “treats” (school supplies, toys, clothes, toothbrushes/toothpaste, etc.) that people have put together for children around the world who are in need. I have been blessed to participate in this ministry through buying items to help “build” shoeboxes for needy children, and I have also volunteered in the Samaritan’s Purse warehouse, working to make sure the shoeboxes were ready for shipping. Both aspects of participation have been an amazing blessing for me; however, I have always longed to be on the delivery end of the shoeboxes. When 400 shoeboxes were delivered to the Zakariasen’s house this past September, I was very excited – could God really be giving me an opportunity to fulfill one of my dreams?! On November 30th, God allowed my dream to become a reality, when we delivered nearly 150 shoeboxes to Onderstepoort Primary School. The experience was every bit as exciting as I had hoped it would be – I can barely put it into words. You could see the anticipation in the children’s eyes, as we entered the room with armfuls of shoeboxes. As we passed out the boxes and they began to open them, the joy was completely evident on their faces. The children were very excited at what they received personally, but they were also excited for their friends and what they received – jealousy seemed to be a non-issue. On several occasions, I even saw the children sharing their toys and candy with each other. It was an incredible example to me of how I need to think of others before myself. Being able to pass out these Christmas gifts, to children with very few material possessions, was definitely a highlight of my Christmas season, and it is a memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
I am sure I have many more wonderful opportunities to look forward to, in the months to come. God has been working throughout my time in South Africa, thus far; I do not suspect He will stop working any time soon. Currently, I am anticipating the arrival of the amazing gift God has given me – a trip home for Christmas! I had been praying for several months that it would somehow work out for me to go home for a visit at Christmastime. It seemed an impossibility, but I knew that God would work it out, if it was in His plan. To make a long story short, God provided me with a flight home for Christmas, through a generous financial gift. Not only did He provide the money, but He orchestrated every little detail surrounding the flights. Without any effort on my part, I have a flight back to South Africa, and it just so happens to be on the same airplane as Erin de Bruyn. Some people would add that up to a nice coincidence; but, I know that it was God’s sovereign hand, carefully sorting out all the details. So, on December 20th, I will be boarding an airplane for a 22-hour flight back to Minneapolis. I will be home for nearly one month, before returning to South Africa. I cannot stop smiling, as I think about the greatness of our God!
As I look back on the month of November, I am reminded of God’s constant presence, and His continual teaching. He has been working in my life to help me trust Him wholeheartedly, without any shadow of doubt. After all, what reason do we have to doubt Him – He has never failed us or forsaken us! God has really impressed upon me that I need to have faith in Him because of who He is, not because of what He does do for me. Regardless of what we are going through, good or bad, we can still trust and praise God because He is faithful and unchanging. I am realizing more and more each day how awesome our God truly is. I pray that you will also grow in awe and love toward our great and wonderful God!
Serving the Lord in South Africa,
Krista Smith
P.S. For current updates and pictures, please visit my website: www.journeytoafrica.org
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