Kitchen Tea is no Laughing Matter

I remember last June; I was sitting outside with a friend, Lorna, reading when a former student showed up on campus thinking she was going to lunch with some friends. What she didn’t know was that she was being given a Kitchen Tea. They dressed her up in a HOT PINK Polka dot dress and put a BIG BLACK Curly Wig on her head. They put bright red lipstick on and made her go down to the harbor and by a fish head. This is what happens to Brides to be in South Africa (Not all as bad as this I came to find out, but also sometimes worse). As this was going on I leaned over to Lorna and said I am so glad that I am not going to marrying a South African. Hahahaha. Needless to say a month and half later Gary asked me out and I will be marrying a South African in April.

Saturday was my turn. I made it perfectly clear to my future sister in law  after Gary and I got engaged that I really didn’t like the idea of being completely embarrassed and doing things out of my comfort zone. Thankfully she was kind to me. I showed up at the church; the bean got spilled that I was having a kitchen tea, so I was not surprised, but I didn’t expect that many people to be there. Ibolya, my future sister in Law, was kinder to me then the girls were to the former student. I was given an apron to wear and a bandana to wear with Curlers in my hair and hot pink lipstick.  Every present had a rhyme and I had to guess who the present was from or what was in the bag. If I got it wrong there were consequences. A few of things I had to do was: get M&M like things out of flour, show how I would dust my house, sing my favorite song (which the only song that came to my head was Hakuna Matata) but the Most embarrassing thing I had to do was sing the star Spangle Banner. I was so embarrassed that I forgot the words. What American for gets the words to the National Anthem! I mean seriously!

All in all it was lots of fun and not to embarrassing! The Ladies gave me Pantry items, so Gary and I have groceries for the first three months at least. And they all gave me recipes; that will be so fun to have all these recipes. I look forward to being in MY Kitchen in May and cooking for my Husband! 

Jan Update

In these ten months God has shown me more and more of his will and purpose for my life. He amazes me with His faithfulness and I am so grateful to see His grace upon my life on a daily basis.

November came and went without me even realizing what had happened. I stayed busy with all my different ministries around the city. I stayed the busiest at Joshua Children’s Mission where I worked five days a week.

The school year runs January through December here, and was coming to an end, and I didn’t want to start a new topic with my bible study girls so when we ended Biblical Beauty the end of November Carol and I took the girls to Fish Hoek Beach for fun and Ice Cream. The girls loved it and it was fun to watch them get out of their environment and let loose a little bit. It was a WINDY day but the girls didn’t mind that the water was freezing; I on the other hand didn’t put one toe in the water!

That same week was Thanksgiving, and since it is an American holiday I got to introduce Gary to the festivities. We went to Brad and Patty Wos’ (MTW missionaries) house for the meal. It was great fun and Gary really enjoyed it. He got to taste his first pumpkin pie and he loved it! The following day I came up from kids club and we went out for a picnic. During that evening Gary purposed and we are now engaged to be married in April.

I spent that weekend up at his brother and sister- in- law’s house. When I arrived back home I got an email from sister with the subject line saying “CALL ME ASAP”. I didn’t know what was going on. I then got another email saying that my father was having triple bypass surgery at 8 am (ET), my time 3pm. I quickly called my sister not even considering that it was 6 in morning in Chattanooga. By God’s grace my father didn’t have a heart attack but he was just having chest pains. His doctor sent him in for test. He ended up having quadruple bypass surgery. I was so thankful that God gave me such a wonderful community of friends here in Cape Town who prayed with me. It was so hard to have all of this happen while I am 10,000 miles away. I would have much rather been able to sit in the hospital with my mom during the surgery instead of waiting for a phone call from my sister. But God is so good. My dad is doing well and seems to be back to his old self again, which is wonderful.

School ends the beginning of December so Carol (from JCM) organized a Christmas Program for the kids to do for the parents. It was great fun. The Children sang some of the songs that we have been learning in the Literacy Program, they sang three Christmas Carols and they said their memory verses.

The Lord once again provided and the kids were given gift boxes from Samaritan’s Purse and we had a local store here in Cape Town donate a whole bunch of clothes, so all the Kids got one brand new piece of clothing. God is so good. We were also able to give all the mommies pamper packs of smelly soap, lotion and chocolate!  It was so fun watching the kids open their presents and see the excitement on their faces.

The following week I took two of the kids to a Scripture Union camp here in Cape Town. They had so much fun, when I picked them up they didn’t stop talking about all things they did. It was such a joy to hear all their stories.

I spent Christmas at Gary’s parent’s house. It was a bitter sweet time. I enjoyed spending the holidays with my future in-laws, but I missed all the hustle and bustle that goes on at the Caines’ house during Christmas.  It was also very interesting to spend Christmas Day by the pool instead of enjoying the first White Christmas in years in Chattanooga. It was fun being able to see how other families celebrate Christmas. The Isaacs do things differently than my family but it was fun to be able to celebrate in a different way than how I grew up.

It is now January and I am getting back into the swing of ministry. I spent the past weekend in Franschhoek, which is about 2 hours outside of Cape Town.  Muizenberg Community Church where I teach Sunday school and help with Kids Club had a camp for the kids. It was lots of fun. We had 19 kids come to the camp, and we were blessed with 7 adults to come and spend their weekend as chaperones.  The theme of the week was “Amazing Grace”; it was based on the TV show “Amazing Race”. We studied the book of Judges and how God kept showing grace over and over again to the Israelites. They Kids got to do fun activities as they “FLEW” from one country to another in attempt to be the first team to get all the clues. The kids loved it. I was so grateful to God for how smoothly the camp went. We had a few hiccups at the beginning of the camp but by the end things were running so smoothly and kids were so well behaved.

School starts back this week as well as my ministry with JCM. I look forward to seeing my kids there as I will only have a month left with them. My time here with MTW has flown by. I cannot believe I have a little over a month left before I head home. This year God has shown me where he wants me and I have learned a lot about doing ministry full time. It is amazing.

I just want to say thank you to all of you who have prayerfully supported me these past ten months. As well as financially supported me. MTW likes to provide two months of salary and benefits to their interns once they arrive home, so if those of you who support me on a monthly basis could prayerfully consider continuing through April, I would appreciate it. When I return home the end of February I will be planning a wedding for April.

Thank you for being such a wonderful team these past few years on my several missions’ trips with MTW. God truly has blessed me with such a loving Covenantal Community and has shown me where he wants me and what he wants me to be doing with my life, and he used all of you to help in that. 

Proposal

I am not that big on surprises. I don’t like being left in the dark or not knowing what is going on. You might say that is my controlling personality. (I come by it honestly) One of my sisters favorite stories of me as a child is when I knocked on her door (I really wanted in to hang out with her friends and She kept telling me no) I lowered my voice, as low as 6 year old can go, and Proceeded to say that it was JR (my oldest brother) in hopes that I would be allowed in the room; all that to say I don’t like being left in the dark. So these past few weeks have been torture on meJ.

Gary has told me time and time again that he wanted to marry me and when he asks me it will be perfect.  Man oh man! Patience has never been mine! I tried hard to be patient; it took all my will power to be patient. I can’t say I was perfectly patient because I was not. I tried hard to pull information out of mutual friends but they plead ignorant on the whole thing! And I believed them!

Over a month ago I saw a ring in a shop and I couldn’t stop thinking about it so I showed my friend Lorna the ring to get her opinion on it. She loved it. She told Gary about it but He didn’t seem to be concerned that it was the only one of its kind. I thought maybe he had other plans. Then one afternoon at his parents, Gary called Lorna about an “assignment” he was working on and asked her if she could get that “book” they were discussing the other day for him. I light bulb went off in my head Lorna is not in Gary’s class why are they discussing an assignment?  Later that week when I went back to the store I noticed the ring was gone!  I was sad, not even thinking that Gary was the one that bought it. I told Lorna that the ring was gone and she just said I am sorry. I asked her about the “book” and she played it off so well, she just said she was helping Gary with an assignment he was working on. I believed her.

Two Sunday’s ago Gary told me he needed to speak to Mark (the pastor) privately after Sunday evening Church. I thought they would go into Marks Office at his house and Sam and I would chat and get the kids in bed. I was clueless of what the true meaning of meeting meant. Mark and Sam have Skype so Gary really wanted to Skype with me dad and ask for my hand. When we walked into the house Mark said that Skype is set up (at that moment I knew the point of the meeting). I slowly made my way to the back of the house and helped Sam get the kids to bed While Gary talked to my family.

Even though I knew Gary had asked my dad for my hand, I still did not expect anything anytime soon. I thought he would wait until after the Churches quarterly meeting where they would be voting to bring him on staff at the church.

On Thanksgiving Gary asked me if we wanted to hang out one on one on Friday or hang out with his brother and sister-in-law. As much as I love his brother and sister-in-law I really wanted to hang out with Gary alone, so after I got up to Kraaifontein around 6 on Friday after kids club and we headed to this beautiful park that we went to a couple of weeks ago. It was a very hot day so both Gary and I were in T-shirts; I put jean on, because evenings can get cool, but Gary still had shorts on. We went to the Park found a perfect little spot near the dam and started reading through a chapter in a book we have been reading. All of the sudden the wind started blowing and it got cold fast. I was shivering. Gary said let me make sure I have my wallet and we can go get something to eat. He “had his wallet” and we got up to go, but he only moved to his knees.  I was questioning what in the world was he doing. I wanted to fold up the blanket so we could go, it was cold. Then all of the sudden was only sitting on one knee and he had a ring in his hands, MY ring! He proceeded to ask me to be his wife! I of course said “YES” (Repeatedly).

I was clueless! I might not like being in the dark of things. But I do have to say the end results are always better. I am glad I was clueless even though it was tough to be patient! SO I am very thankful this season that God has brought Gary into my life. I have been praying for years that if God so deemed to provide a husband for me it would be someone who loved this continent as much as I do, and that we could serve God better together then separate.  God has provided for me as he always has and always will. We serve a might God and I give him the praise.

October 2010

I am halfway through my internship with Mission to the World in Cape Town South Africa. These past six months have been a roller coaster ride of joys and sorrows, as well as a time where I have been able to seek God’s call in my life and know that this is it.

            Being away from my family during that first month here was tough, I cried most days, but the more I got to know people and the more busy I became with ministry the more I started to feel at home. I have made wonderful godly friends who push me more to seek God’s face in all that I do, and I have for the first time felt content in the work that God has given me.

            As Luke writes in Chapter 9 of his book that there is a cost to following Christ. I have experienced a minute part of that. I have missed the weddings of dear friends. I have missed the babies of friends being born. I have missed family events. But I have gained so much as well.

            I have fallen in love not only with my work and this beautiful city but also with a wonderful South African man, Gary Isaacs. Gary is a student here at the Bible Institute of South Africa, where I have been living these past months. He graduates the end of November and hopes to become an Interim Pastor of his home church here in Cape Town. He also has a big heart for the children and youth of his local community in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town.

Before Gary and I started dating I contacted MTW about returning to Cape Town for an extended period, because it felt so right here. I knew that I was where God wanted me. MTW was shocked because they told me I should be experiencing culture shock and be home sick. But I think I got all of my home sickness out during the first month, and I really I felt at home here. God is truly good, and has made it evident that this is where He wants me to be by blessing me with Gary and with incredible ministry opportunities.

            My ministries have had some interesting moments these past six months; times when I just wanted to cry and time when I wanted to cry out of complete JOY. This month has been no exception. My ministry at Joshua Children’s Mission is going well. I love those kids and they will, by the end of the term, have learned 12 Bible Verses, and learned many great stories in the Bible. My Wednesday Bible Study has been tough. The girls who attend are very closed up and afraid of speaking. They don’t want to be laughed at so they don’t want to really talk. In this Bible study I have two “gangs” of girls. They don’t like each other and I am trying hard to help them see each other as friends not enemies. Two of the girls got into a fist fight a couple of weeks ago after Bible Study. That was a BIG faith challenge for me; I have never been good with confrontation. Carol, the director’s wife, told me that she would talk to the girls if I wanted her to. I personally really wanted her to, but I knew that it was my ministry and my responsibility. I pray that the issue is resolved but in this type of community hatred is running rampant so it sometimes feels impossible to break down the barriers; the only one who can break those barriers is God. But God has given me a glimpse of hope though; I have seen progress in one of the girls; at 16, She is the Oldest. She has a beautiful one year old daughter who was conceived out of rape, and even through the hardship of the conception, Gayle is a wonderful mother who wants only the best for her family. She works very hard in school and at home, not only taking care of her baby but her Grandmother and baby sister. Gayle asked me if I would pray for her daughter, that she would grow up and have a personal relationship with the Lord because she knows how important that is, so I ask all of you to lift this little girl up to our heavenly Father and ask him to take her as his child.

             Another fun blessing in my work schedule has been taking a 12 year old boy to art class every Monday afternoon. Art has always been a joy in my life so I was excited about this opportunity. I noticed soon after working at Joshua Children’s Mission that he was talented and that with training he could be very good. Carol and Greg felt the same so they asked an art school if they would take him and they agreed. It is a joy to be able to take him each Monday. We get to chat about his day and I am working on a good relationship with him. I must admit it makes me a little jealous that he gets to be taking these art classes; it makes me want to pull out my creativity once again!

            Through my ups and my downs these past six months I have seen God’s hand in all my ministries and my daily walk with him. I Praise our Heavenly Father for blessing me with wonderful, faithful supporters who are my faithful prayer warriors.

A child of the KING,

Ruth Caines

Prayer Points:

1.    Pray for the dynamic with the girls in my Bible Study. Pray that God will soften their hearts and teach them how to love one another.

2.    Pray for Gary and my relationship, that the Lord will grow us more in HIS love and teach us how to love each other through his love. And that neither of our ministries are hindered by our relationship.

3.    Pray for all the students who are finishing up the School year the end of November first of December. Pray that they will pass their finals and be able to advance to the next level of school.

4.    Pray for me as I prepare my different lessons throughout the week and how to minister effectively to the Children that I am with 5 days a week.

5.    Pray that Greg and Carol Karsten will find someone to replace me at Joshua Children’s Mission come the First of March as I am to return to the States.  

Rainbow Nation

  South Africa’s nickname is the “Rainbow Nation” for its ethnic diversity.  It is amazing how many different ethnic groups are in this country. I always thought America was ethnically diverse, but South Africa is so much more. I think mostly because there are more Natural Ethnic Groups in South Africa then the USA.

I have enjoyed this “Rainbow Nation” for another reason then just its ethnic diversity, But for its Natural beauty.  I was told when I landed in South Africa that I will see some amazing Rainbows. The past couple of weeks I have seen some spectacle Rainbows. They Stretch from one Mountain to another; from the ocean to a Mountain. It is amazing.

  I went for a run one afternoon in between rain storms (unfortunately it was not so much in the middle because I got caught in the rain half way through my run) and as I running two whales were having a grand old time in the bay that I had to stop and watch them, my lungs were grateful for the stop as well. J As I watched them I noticed this beautiful Rainbow stretching from Muizenberg beach to Fish Hoek beach. It was beautiful.  The greatest way for me to really experience God has always been through Nature.  I have always felt God around me while enjoying his creation. Once again it was like God was giving me a BIG hug as I enjoyed watching these two silly whales with his Covenantal Promise stretching overhead. He is a good Father that loves his children unconditionally.

  I live in “Rainbow Nation” and I really enjoy it, but I am glad to say that I am a child of a Father who never breaks his promises, a Creator whose creation is so wonderfully diverse in all aspects (ethically and topographically). His Art is more beautiful than any art hanging in Louvre or the High or the Vatican or any other Art Museum.  He is the Best most perfect Artist there is. Take time today to look at the creation around you and see Gods handiwork. 

Saw this rainbow on my way to my car to go to one of my ministries. It is hard to capture the true beauty of the rainbows here, but like I said my art is not as amazing as the real thing!

Bend but does Not Break

These trees are all over the Cape Town. They Crack me up! Why are they like this! Cape Town is know for Strong North-westerly Winds, so as young trees  they bend to the wind while trying hard to grow Tall and strong. And as long as their roots are strongly Planted they never fall over when a big wind comes thru. They just are a little cattywompus. 

These trees make me think about the different times in our Christian walk we are blown over by circumstances, but as long as our roots are grounded in the word and our eyes are pointed heavenward we will grow tall! Yes, we might have kink here and there, but those kinks are the Things that God has used to shape us!

July/August Newsletter

July/August

Let my hands perform His bidding,
Let my feet run in His ways; 
Let my eyes see Jesus only, 
Let my lips speak forth His praise.

~All for Jesus

July and August has been a whirl wind for me. I can’t believe that August is already over and September is well on its way.  When School started back the first of July from the Holiday’s I jumped with both feet into all my ministries.

I continue to go to Athlone once a week to see my babies in ThembaCARE.  I knew when I started volunteering there I would see some of my babies leave. I know I am not supposed to have favorites but I do. The two babies that stole my heart on my first day have both been discharged. It means that they are reacting properly to their medicines and they are starting to act like normal healthy babies. It makes me sad to think that each Monday when I arrive I will not see either Elethu or Owetu and their BIG smiling grins that they give me, But I am thankful that they no longer have to be there and they can go to their homes and live a “normal” life with their loved ones.

Joshua Children’s Mission has been such a blessing to me. I have enjoyed getting to know Greg and Carol Karsten and their passion for Vrygund. Carol asked me over the holidays if I would be willing to take on more responsibilities. I was more than willing and ready to help where needed.  Tuesday and Thursday they do a literacy program connected to the school. Carol is doing the literacy program and I am teaching a 15 minute bible lesson and helping the Kids learn memory verses. Then on Friday I teach the same lesson to the kids who come to Kids Club.

My Girls Bible Study has had its ups and downs. I have come back a couple of times just wanting to cry because I just felt as though they didn’t care. I have a couple of girls who can be hard to handle. On one of those days a dear friend came up to me and I was telling him about my frustrations. He reminded me that most likely the only time they get attention at home or school is when they misbehave and so I need to find a way to incorporate loving tactics that encourage good behavior. That was hard to do. I still do not have a grasp on how to do this effectively but I have been praying that God would give me opportunities to learn more about these girls on a personal level, and he has. I have had a chance to speak one on one with two of my girls. I am thankful for that. And I have seen a change in these girls, and I can’t wait to see a BIG change in all of them.

I am still helping out with my churches Kids Club program. It has been such a joy to get to know these kids better. They adore me and I love them. I am smothered by kids as soon as I walk into church. From little 3 &4 year old boys who want me to play a game they have dubbed nighttime to 8-10 year old girls who give me big hugs that almost knock me down. They are all precious. In the middle of Church one Sunday one of the younger girls was sitting on my lap and was playing with my hands, then all the sudden she turned around and said “Aunty Ruth, You are really white!” I just grinned trying hard to hold back the laughter and I said “Yes I am, and you are NOT”.  These are the moments that I cherish and love.

There have been hard times and there have been times of laughter. I am thankful for them all. God is using both of these times to strength my walk with him and learning how to love in those moments where you just want to give up. He continues to teach me to rely on him for all my needs and not trust in my own strength. I cannot wait to see how God will grow me in the months ahead as well as how he will use me to advance his kingdom.

His Daughter,

Ruth Caines

Please Pray for:

1.         1. The girls in my bible study. Pray for opportunities to develop a personal relationship with them and that I will see those moments clearly and use them.
2.        My time management as I have to do more preparations for my daily ministries. That I will use my free time wisely.
3.        For all the children that I come into contact with. That God will soften their hearts towards his Grace and love and that I will see some fruit from the work he has put before me.