tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47459608412925430002024-03-05T10:03:13.171-08:00Jesus4JoburgDavid and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-8383477999404654892011-12-05T10:00:00.001-08:002011-12-15T09:12:08.679-08:00Delac's Christmas 2011<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisX5KZmYm0nEMS7_azOfcFZ4fvBBffBmqT1uFQp5NtbS8XFqCzVH00JUSi1I0QT35l5PT5wfa9trAM5AG5WOGIQyw-54wbrgdzELfz_jZnMjBv1XHlkciKrL-pwg8Pfa4pOfrt-ubKOUR-/s1600/Picture+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisX5KZmYm0nEMS7_azOfcFZ4fvBBffBmqT1uFQp5NtbS8XFqCzVH00JUSi1I0QT35l5PT5wfa9trAM5AG5WOGIQyw-54wbrgdzELfz_jZnMjBv1XHlkciKrL-pwg8Pfa4pOfrt-ubKOUR-/s320/Picture+002.jpg" width="320" /></a>Hello and Merry Christmas to you all! I hope that this blog finds everything well with you and your family. The Delac's have had a crazy year full of ups and downs and ups again. I wanted to share with you some of our goings on. </div>
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We started the year in Johannesburg, South Africa where we were finishing our 3 year term as missionaries with the International Mission Board. The children were still being home schooled and we finished the school year and went stateside in April, right after Emily turned 13. We stayed in Orlando at a mission home and met many wonderful people from Delaney Street Baptist and First Baptist Orlando. We got to go to Disney and Universal Studios and had a great time. </div>
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In June, Leah slammed her thumb in the car door and we had to make a trip to the ER to have it stitched up. We found out that she had broken the finger also. Two weeks later we travelled to North Carolina for a vacation and Emily's appendix ruptured. The doctor had to do emergency surgery on her and by Monday she was released from the hospital. During this hospital stay Micah turned 9 and had to celebrate his birthday by driving back and forth to the hospital. We started driving back to Florida on Wednesday and drove the rest of the way on Thursday. By the time we got home Emily was getting sick again. We drove her to the ER (they knew us well by now) and on Friday Emily had another emergency surgery to unblock her intestines. While the doctors were doing the surgery they found that Emily's appendix was still intact. A lot of you prayed for Leah and Emily through all of this and I wanted to say a heartfelt thank you. Leah's finger has healed well and Emily has a big scar but she is healthy and we are blessed that it was something that could be fixed easily. <br />
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During our time on stateside we had been praying about where God was leading us and what would be the next chapter in our lives. After much prayer David started applying for jobs in the US and in August he was hired as the Assistant Finance Director for the City of Roswell, GA. We were very excited about this opportunity and David moved to GA in late August while I stayed in Orlando with the children. We were in the process of buying a house. I started home schooling the kids again just until we could move to GA. In the middle of September I started feeling sick and after a few days and a pain in my right side that only hurt if you pushed on it I went to the ER. (yes again) Turns out I had a ruptured appendix myself. What are the odds? Again, we felt your prayers and I was released after 4 days feeling very blessed that it wasn't anything worse. </div>
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During this time we were supposed to move to GA in September. That didn't seem like God's will for us. The first house fell through but in God's way we got a different house that was better than the first house and we moved in October. The kids got into schools and they are all doing great. All have made friends and like being in GA. We have just joined Eastside Baptist Church here and we are so excited about the ministry opportunities we will have at this church. David is loving his job and I am loving putting our house together. I thank you for your friendship and your prayers and for all of you that helped us out during our time of need. We are truly blessed with a wonderful family and friends. I pray your Christmas is filled with Jesus and may you and your family be blessed throughout the New Year!David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-61918065584327120492010-07-07T01:24:00.000-07:002010-07-07T02:32:01.642-07:00World Cup<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Y-K9TAE9gpWV-WXkUfVZ8p4pv3bMqQAwHd39seFJnpqM82KVLMGe5jgVnerM-ioCZVhU372hwoqTt09Om2_yu8zReO2TZy088S-QUPVRSKd5dzWSTdo5lLb4oO4w2IBvW4K-YH-3lBvH/s1600/IMGA0055.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 112px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491092872495703746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Y-K9TAE9gpWV-WXkUfVZ8p4pv3bMqQAwHd39seFJnpqM82KVLMGe5jgVnerM-ioCZVhU372hwoqTt09Om2_yu8zReO2TZy088S-QUPVRSKd5dzWSTdo5lLb4oO4w2IBvW4K-YH-3lBvH/s200/IMGA0055.JPG" /></a><br /><div>Hi all. It's been a long time. As always life has happened and happened fast. God has been good to the Delac family. I'll try to get you up to speed on what we have been doing.</div><div></div><br /><div>In April, Emily turned 12. Its was hard to believe. She calls herself 12teen. It fits. She is growing up so fast. We started leading our Crown Ministries group. We had a very diverse group. It was really interesting getting to know them and getting a sense of South African culture through them. Our family got to travel to meeting in northern South Africa. David is the Treasurer for this cluster. The cluster is spread throughout South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and the western province of Zambia. We got to hear testimonies of the missionaries from those countries and how God was working where they serve. We met a lot of new friends and got to hang with some old ones. We had a great time.</div><div></div><br /><div>May brought another trip. We drove to Lesotho. It is a small country within South Africa. We stayed with some missionary friends and got to see where they serve. David is their Treasurer and I help them with their home schooling needs. It was wonderful to actually see where they serve and it helps us to serve them better. Lesotho is a beautiful place.</div><div></div><br /><div>June brought the World Cup to South Africa. All of the schools have been on holiday for the entire month. The kids finished up school here and now are being home schooled. I have been asked why we decided to home school. The short answer is that we will be going stateside April 2011 and I wanted to get the kids back on the American school schedule. I also want to be finished with the school year before we leave here so we have started already. They are all doing great and seem to like it so I am happy. World Cup has been fun. David got to go to the US vs Algeria game. The one where we won in the last 2 minutes of the game. What a great game to see. He loved it. Now that the US and the South African teams are both out he has been cheering for Spain. They play tonight so we will see if they make it to the finals. What has been neat for us is that our friends all over the world have been able to see where we live. At the beginning of the month we travelled up to Kruger National Park and stayed with some South African friends. This time we got to stay inside the park. It is a true safari and we got to do it for a week. We went on a night drive and saw lions. It was awesome. I don't think I will ever be able to go to a zoo again. Micah turned 8 at the end of June and has finally been trying some new foods. I knew one day it would happen.<br /></div><div>This month is winter for us. It has been cold in Joberg. We celebrated the 4th with a picnic with all of the other Americans that work with us. It is very strange to celebrate the 4th in the cold. David will be travelling to Madagascar next month to meet with the M's he serves there. Here we will still be plugging along home schooling. By that time it should be old hat. Thank you for sticking by us and praying for us. We have needed your prayers and have felt them.<br /></div><div>Prayer/Praise Requests</div><br /><div>Praise out first Crown Ministries Group is over and was a great experience.<br /></div><div>Pray for all of the people that came to know Jesus as their Savior during the World Cup. That when they go back to their country there would be someone there that can disciple them.<br /></div><div>Pray for our family as we home school.<br /></div><div>Pray for David as he travels in August.</div>David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-81728495993452391152010-03-04T06:29:00.000-08:002010-03-12T07:55:55.627-08:00God KnowsJeremiah 29:11 tells us that God know the plans He has for us, plans to prosper us and not harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. This scripture seems to have been popping up all over for me. I think Gods trying to tell me something. Life seems to be hectic over here in South Africa and I for one am very happy that God has plans for us. Glory!<br /><br /><br />So whats been happening in the last few months? Well in January David and I got to get away and we went to Cape Town. What a gorgeous place! I went out first to go to a Home School Conference. I met a lot of great ladies there and found out a lot about home schooling in the process. David met me after the conference and we had a great time regrouping and just being us for a long weekend. The day after we returned the kids started a new school year. Emily is now in 6th grade, Leah is in 4th and Micah is in 2nd. We have been blessed with great teachers again.<br /><br /><br />In February, David got to visit Botswana, where he met with fellow workers and got to fellowship with their families. They really took care of him up there. David and the other Treasurers here got trained on a new software system. It was an intense 3 week training. Lets just say it has been very stressful on the whole team. The kids had mid-term break last weekend and we went to Swaziland for the weekend. We had a great trip. We stayed with some friends and David got to go to a rural Bible study. It was nice to get away and regroup.<br /><br /><br />Now that it is March things are not slowing down. David had surgery on his right middle finger Tuesday. He got the joint replaced with a silicone joint. The surgery went very well and he should be fully recuperated in about 6 weeks. We are so thankful to God, He sent us to the only country in the world that would perform the surgeries on his feet and this one on his finger. Also, on Tuesday we led our first Crown Financial Ministries. It went very well and we are looking forward to the next 9 weeks. We are celebrating 2 birthdays this weekend. David's birthday is Sunday and Leah's birthday is Tuesday, she will be 10. Tonight we are having a birthday sleepover with Leah and her friends. She is very excited. At the end of March we will be travelling to northern South Africa for a meeting with fellow workers. Again it will be nice to get away.<br /><br /><br /><br />Praises/Prayer Requests:<br />Pray for David finger healing quickly.<br /><br />Pray for David and Leah's birthdays.<br /><br /><br />Pray for the Treasurers that are very stressed.<br /><br /><br />Pray for decisions our family is making.<br /><br /><br />Pray for the meeting at the end of March.<br /><br />Pray for our Crown Financial Ministries group.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-84090017552424890292010-01-03T10:45:00.000-08:002010-01-03T11:29:11.559-08:00Happy New Year!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckHnuWO5OyLXtamhWz7LJAj8hfICvRZXE2kAE0YuVqWDyo_5rEVXDjE6rXYMuSD-XOJtoLnSZWtwHBYGyAOEtKk96ckgjwlRswnGX3y-UPWn4w5yCIaKMJ3rfV1lS3O0vUNBzM4nzzOQN/s1600-h/IMG_5873.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422597027559459186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckHnuWO5OyLXtamhWz7LJAj8hfICvRZXE2kAE0YuVqWDyo_5rEVXDjE6rXYMuSD-XOJtoLnSZWtwHBYGyAOEtKk96ckgjwlRswnGX3y-UPWn4w5yCIaKMJ3rfV1lS3O0vUNBzM4nzzOQN/s200/IMG_5873.JPG" /></a><br /><div>Happy New Year! My commitment to you this year is to write a blog every other month. That is 6 blogs for the year. So what has happened with the Delac's in the last 6 months? Well lets see the kids finished another school year. They all did really well. They will start another school year in a week. Emily will be in 6th grade, Leah in 4th and Micah in 2nd. We have made the decision to home school them starting in September. They will all move up a grade so that they will be on the American school system again. We are all very excited about this but there is much work to be done before it happens.</div><br /><div></div><div>David did have his foot surgery in June. The surgery went well and David has been able to walk so much better. This year we are hoping to get his finger done also. Hopefully, he will no longer need to use the medication that he has been on.</div><br /><div></div><div>Our company has been making many changes and I believe that last time I wrote I told you about all of the support staff that would be moving here. Well they are here and it has been wonderful to have new families here for all of us. We have about 20 children here now ranging from newborn to just graduated high school. We have made some life time friends.</div><br /><div></div><div>Micah celebrated his 7th birthday in June. He had a Ben 10 party with some of his buddies from school. It just happened that they had a Ben 10 celebration thing at the convention center here that weekend. The whole convention center was filled with every Ben 10 activity you could think of. The boys loved it and so did I. (easy clean up) In October I celebrated my 40th birthday. My friends here threw me a surprise party. It was my first and it was wonderful. I was very blessed.</div><br /><div></div><div>In August the kids had a break from school so we drove to Kruger National Park and went on a safari. It really is awesome to see God's creatures out in there own habitat. We also got to visit with some friends while we were up there. It was a much needed break.<br /></div><div>I have started volunteering at the Pregnancy Crisis Center that is run by our church. It is very rewarding. Mostly we have ladies that come in with their babies that need formula and clothes. Most are foreigners from Zimbabwe. At the center we do pregnancy tests and counseling for pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. The medicine is free to those who find out they have the disease but most won't because they are afraid they will be kicked out of their tribe. It is very sad.</div><div></div><br /><div>On a brighter note my parents came over for a visit in December. They stayed until the 26th so we got to spend Christmas with them. We travelled to Kruger again and had a great time. It was fun baking cookies with my mom and hanging out with my dad. Christmas here is during the summer time so it really doesn't feel like Christmas. It was so nice to have family here to make it feel more like Christmas. I miss them already.<br /></div><div>That brings us to January. On Tuesday I will be leaving for a Home School Conference in Cape Town. The conference ends Friday and David will be flying over to spend 4 days there with me. It will be nice to have 4 days alone with my husband. The day after we come back the kids start school again. At the end of January David and I will be facilitating a Crown Ministries group through our church. We are very excited about this new ministry.</div><div></div><br /><div>I pray that 2010 will be a very blessed year for you and your family. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer.</div><br /><div></div><div>Prayer/Praise Requests</div><div></div><br /><div>Praise - David's foot surgery. Please pray about him being medication free</div><div></div><br /><div>Praise - My parents were here for a visit.</div><br /><div></div><div>Praise - all of the families that moved here. Pray that their belongings that they crated would get here quickly.</div><br /><div></div><div>Prayer - for our Crown Group. Help us to love them the way that God would and that He would use us to help them with their financial struggles.</div><div></div><br /><div>Prayer- that God would continue to use me at the Pregnancy Crisis Center</div><br /><div></div><div>Prayer - for the children this year as they start a new school year. Also, all of us as we prepare to home school</div><div></div><br /><div>Prayer - for the Home School Conference happening this week.</div><br /><div></div>David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-70664040494958207392009-05-31T07:03:00.001-07:002009-05-31T08:17:53.394-07:00Winter is here!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAuYasX-g0UC7wzp-mxf_P9aSlIKfK4GhzC7ZSLOVNAUQ1BPv17FQZY1wKPU8XAWQZn1954_NFJMPmGxwwArY6aK9l_5Ai6zn23nl7Ur_MSWpw-0C9aq7txGLq3ajyYImsemtjyC7Hn91/s1600-h/PICT0577.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342004246862636642" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAuYasX-g0UC7wzp-mxf_P9aSlIKfK4GhzC7ZSLOVNAUQ1BPv17FQZY1wKPU8XAWQZn1954_NFJMPmGxwwArY6aK9l_5Ai6zn23nl7Ur_MSWpw-0C9aq7txGLq3ajyYImsemtjyC7Hn91/s200/PICT0577.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Well June starts tomorrow and winter has already hit the Johannesburg area. It started to get cold here about a month ago. I am prepared for a very cold winter. It is hard to believe that it is cold here when most of my friends back home in Florida are having very hot and rainy days this time of year. It is hard for my mind not to think that Christmas is just around the corner. Then I remember that it is only June and Christmas is actually 6 months away.<br /></div><div>The last two months have been busy for us here in Joburg. Last time I wrote I told you of the children having a month long holiday (vacation) in April. It went very fast. At the beginning of the holiday we went to our annual meeting that they call a AMTM (Annual Missionary Training Meeting). We had a team of volunteers come from the States to minister to us through music, preaching and doing VBS with our children so that the adults could go to the meeting uninterrupted. Our meeting was titled For Such a Time as This. I am not sure how much I have shared with you about our company making changes. But our company is making some big changes and that means a lot of change for us specifically living in Johannesburg. We have had people from around the globe moving here to help with support positions for the continent of Africa. So for such a time as this we had a meeting that we could learn more about the changes and how they would effect us. The volunteer team had 2 preachers with them and they did a phenomenal job sharing with us about how to get a grip on our thoughts and actions while we are going through these changes. It seems that flexibility was the word for our family a year ago and it looks like that its not going to change any time soon. A lot of things that we were told were things we have already heard but it is nice to be reminded. We were reminded that God gives us a fresh invitation to the spiritual world. That to be in that world we need to be in the Word every day so that the Holy Spirit can consume us and that we can have an intimate relationship with God so that He can lead and guide our steps. In doing this we will be able to hear God's voice more like a trumpet and not like a whisper. We need to stay in fellowship with God to know His will. We were asked the question is God having pleasure with what's coming out of you? Are we complaining, whining, being a martyr, a cynic or a perfectionist? We need to stop blaming others for the problems and look for God's hand in our circumstances. As I said before these were such good reminders. There was so much more that we learned but you would be reading for forever if I kept going on. We met some really wonderful people in the volunteers and missionaries that we hadn't had the privilege of meeting before. We all had a wonderful time. While at the meeting we celebrated our one year of living in South Africa.</div><div></div><br /><div>A week later we went with some South African friends of ours to the beach in Durban. It was our first official vacation since living in Johannesburg. We had a wonderful time relaxing on the beach and becoming better friends with the family we were with. We got to see a shark dissected and went to a water park and the movies and did some shopping in one of the biggest malls I have ever seen. A fun time was had by all. There are pictures on facebook if you want to see. The kids returned to school for their second semester at the beginning of May. </div><br /><div></div><div>May has also been a very busy month for us. While we were at AMTM the home school books arrived for the next year of home school. We support 14 families here and we have been working diligently to get their orders for the next school year complete. It is quite a process. David has been working hard in the Treasurers office and on his school work. He completed a class (and got an A) and two days later started a new class which he has been working very hard at trying to get ahead because he will be having surgery on his right foot on Thursday, June 4th. Of course every one of the children has speeches to give this week and Emily has a major project next week. Murphy's law. You all were such wonderful prayer partners for his last surgery please be praying for a quick recovery and that he would stay healthy so that he can have the surgery.</div><br /><div></div><div>June brings Micah's 7th birthday and of course winter. We are not quite sure what we will be doing for Micah's 7th but I am sure I will blog about it next time. </div><br /><div></div><div>Praise/Prayer Requests:</div><div></div><br /><div>Prayer - That we would be able to stay so close to God that we can hear His voice like a trumpet and not just a whisper in all aspects of our lives.</div><br /><div></div><div>Prayer - that we would have opportunities to witness to our community.</div><br /><div></div><div>Prayer - David's surgery June 4th</div><div></div><br /><div>Praise/Prayer - David finished his last class and has started another. Only 3 more to go after this one.</div><div></div><br /><div>Praise - kids doing great in school.</div><br /><div></div><div>Prayer - that we will all stay healthy. With winter comes sickness and every one of us has had some kind of ailment. </div><br /><div></div><div>Prayer - for me and my colleague Dee Ann that we would be able to get the home school materials finished in a timely manner.</div><br /><div></div><div>Prayer - for those missionaries that have to leave their homes to move here and for those that are already here during the transition.</div><br /><div></div><div>Prayer - for Micah on his birthday the 25th of June.</div><br /><div></div><div>Thank you for your prayers and for your friendship.</div><div> </div><div>David, Tracy, Emily, Leah and Micah Delac</div>David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-21764404358751465322009-04-09T12:35:00.000-07:002009-04-09T13:53:31.987-07:00Happy Easter!Wow have I really not written anything on this blog since January? Sorry about that. So what has happened in the lives of the Delac's since January? In a couple of days we will make it to our 1 year mark in Johannesburg. Crazy stuff. Its hard to belief sometimes and other times it seems like we have been here forever. The children have just finished their first term in school and now are enjoying a month off. We had conferences with all of their teachers and they seem to be doing great. Emily received a diligence badge at assembly yesterday. This is a big accomplishment here. David and I are so proud of all of them. The Lord really blessed us with great kids. Next week we will be going to a conference here in Joburg for the southern section of Africa. We are all looking forward to this for several reasons 1) we missed it last year. 2) we get to visit with other M's that we don't get to see often 3) we get to meet M's that we haven't met as of yet and 4) we get to hear some great speakers and hear what other M's around our region are doing. At the end of April we are going with some South African friends to the beach in Durban for a much needed vacation. We are very excited. <br /><br />In March, David celebrated his 40th birthday and Leah celebrated her 9th birthday. I get the fun of calling him an old man for about 7 months then its my turn to turn 40. We went to the Lion and Rhino Park for Leah's birthday (there are pictures on facebook). She took a friend and we got to pet a Cheetah and baby lions. It was a really neat experience. In March we also went on a safari in Pilanisburg. It was so neat to see these animals out in the open and know that its Africa and not Animal Kingdom (nothing against Animal Kingdom). You can also view those pics on facebook. I would put them on here but I can't figure it out. We also received several care packages in March. The Watkins family, David's co-workers from Ft. Myers and the Mother's Morning Out program at McGregor Baptist Church all sent us American goodies. We have been enjoying everything and are so thankful to all of those who have blessed our family.<br /><br />David has started a new class. He is about half way thorough it now. He is taken Personal Evangelism this time. He will be finished with his degree in December. He has enjoyed his classes but I think he is looking forward to finishing. For those of you that have been wondering about David's foot it is doing great. In fact he will be having surgery on the other foot June 4th so you can be praying for that. We can't wait to have all of that behind us. Thank you for your prayers for the left foot.<br /><br />Around BIMS (where we live and work) things are changing. I think that I wrote that our company is changing the way we do things which for us means that there will be a lot of people moving to Johannesburg and working here at BIMS. All of the Treasurers from across Africa are coming to live here. At this time there isn't enough office space for all of these new people to work so they have moved all of us out of the administration building and are building a second story. I am still working in the Home School room and we have had to move all of our books and things to a new office for the time being. That was quite a job. We are all scattered throughout the compound now. Please pray that the building will be completed quickly. Pray for all of those who are moving here and for those who already live here that are dealing with change. <br /><br />In April, Emily will be turning 11. In fact in just a few days. We celebrated by taking her and a friend to an amusement park called Gold Reef City. (pics on fb) We had such a great time. She is getting older to fast. Micah learned to ride his bike last week. I know he's 6 but when we were in Ft. Myers we had to sell his bike before he learned and then well we moved to Africa. Anyway, he was so ready to learn and now he rides like a pro. <br /><br />As I sit here and write this blog I am reminded that tomorrow is Good Friday and of course Sunday is Easter. What a time to reflect on God's sacrifice for me and you and you too. Ephesians 3:19 tells us that Christ's love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Max Lucado tells us that it wasn't right that spikes pierced the hands that formed the earth. And it wasn't right that the hand of God was forced to hear the silence of God. It wasn't right but it happened. God did nothing while his son cried "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? It wasn't right or fair but it was love. Again, I pray that you know that love. The love that was willing to sacrifice his life for our sins. It is so humbling that God would do that for us. I hope you and your family have a very blessed Easter.<br /><br />Prayer/Praise Requests:<br />Praise - The kids are out of school for a month and are doing great in school.<br /><br />Praise - Micah can ride a bike!<br /><br />Praise - David's foot is healing nicely. Prayer - for the right foot - surgery June 4th<br /><br />Prayer - that we would be able to share the gospel with more people. That the Lord would put those people in our paths.<br /><br />Prayer - That the new office buildings would be finished quickly.<br /><br />Prayer - For all of the M's that are moving here and for those already here.<br /><br />Prayer - for the meeting coming next week.<br /><br />As always thank you for the prayers. You are such awesome prayer partners. We are so blessed by you.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-65213791645946994852009-01-17T10:15:00.000-08:002009-01-17T11:50:58.038-08:00It's A New Year<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7X3QhCdLhBNzx7nbUuI1QbozxATZebCE3sf-oj5LlWba34MDEDo5_tDpVCvrfPRrjSUWB-2HmB0T0djFgBzurkuK3luoTYteRnx4CF8BFZ85NpEu_jVinb74LJi9zZ46-zkY8-dfoFUIZ/s1600-h/DSCI0080.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292351792455466834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7X3QhCdLhBNzx7nbUuI1QbozxATZebCE3sf-oj5LlWba34MDEDo5_tDpVCvrfPRrjSUWB-2HmB0T0djFgBzurkuK3luoTYteRnx4CF8BFZ85NpEu_jVinb74LJi9zZ46-zkY8-dfoFUIZ/s200/DSCI0080.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Happy New Year everyone. Welcome back to a new year of blogs from the Delac's. I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas. That seems so long ago already. I think that I will start this blog telling you about how we spent Christmas over here. First let me let you in on a little secret. Yes, we live in Africa but Joburg is a lot more like living in the States than most of Africa. We have malls and roads and most modern conveniences. We do not live in a hut out in the bush. However, we do have friends that do, just not us. O.k. that said we had a pretty normal Christmas. The kids were out of school for 6 weeks. A lot of Joburg left the city and went to the beach for the holidays. Remember it is summer here now. It was very quiet here. The kids and I spent a lot of time baking and making Christmas ornaments for our tree. We had a lot of fun. Here they do not decorate as much. Most everyone has a Christmas tree but there weren't a lot of lights/decorations outside. Again a lot of people were gone. We do have malls here and they were decorated. The children call Santa Father Christmas here. He does the same job. Instead of going to church on Christmas Eve they go to church Christmas morning here. We had a lovely Christmas Day. We opened presents in the morning and had Cinnabons for breakfast. yum. Then we went over to some South African friends for lunch. We ate turkey and some meat they call gammon which tasted like ham. We did Christmas crackers. This is a gift that when you pull the strings at each end it pops and there is a small prize inside. That was a fun tradition. I made pumpkin pie for dessert (which they had never had). I think they liked it. We had a great time. The day after Christmas was a holiday here in South Africa called Boxing Day. This holiday is probably not what you think it is. Basically what you are supposed to do is box up your old clothes and give them to the needy. One of the big differences we have noticed here is that they don't have sales after holidays. The stores are usually just back to normal. Not like the States after Christmas. One week later we had New Years. It was amazing to me how many people told me Happy New Years but never said a word about Christmas before Christmas. Again difference in culture. We didn't really do anything for New Years. Pretty much what we would have done at home in Florida. </div><br /><div></div><div>The day after New Years we held a home school family conference here in Joburg. A few blogs ago I told you that I have been working in the home school room. I got to go and stay out at a hotel with all of the home school families that home school in SA, Botswana, Mozambique, Madagascar and Zambia. We had a volunteer team come over from the States that did workshops with the parents while others were working with the children. Some of these parents have been home schooling a long time while others were just starting. I think it was a great benefit for the moms who were just starting out. I really enjoyed getting to know all of these families that we serve. David stayed at home with our children and on Sunday got a chance to come out and talk to the youth about personal finances. At the end of the month the home school orders will start coming in so we will be very busy trying to do the orders.</div><br /><div></div><div>On another note David's foot is healing nicely. He had surgery in November to straighten out his toes. He went to the doctor yesterday and the doctor seemed surprised that it had only been 2 months since the surgery because the healing process is going so well. We will know next month when David can schedule surgery to do the right foot. Thank you so much for you prayers about this.</div><div></div><br /><div>We finally got to go to the dentist here in SA. The kids went in December and I just went the other day. We were happy that no one had a cavity. Yea us. They do things a little differently here. The dentist is actually the one that does all of the work here. He takes the x-rays and cleans the teeth and everything else. There is a dental hygienist in the room but they just help mainly. X-rays were not taken on the children and I only had two. When he cleaned our teeth he used some kind of electric thing that sounded like a drill instead of the hand held instruments. It was a lot quicker and I think less painful. Anyway I just thought that might be interesting to know the differences.</div><div></div><br /><div>The children started a brand new school year last Wednesday. On Tuesday I took the girls to book day to meet their new teachers. On the way there I asked them who they wanted for a teacher and wouldn't you know that they both got who they wanted. Even better they all three have children in their classes that they are friends with already. What a blessing. Emily surprised us by auditioning for choir. She found out the next day that she had made it and the music teacher wants her to audition for the marimba band. We will see how that goes. Leah also wants to audition for choir and join the Drama club. If you know Leah this is not a surprise at all. Micah is wanting to play cricket for his school this year. I am thrilled that they all will have something to do but it will be difficult to schedule it all.</div><div></div><br /><div>As most of you know we are on Facebook. While on fb last week I was chatting with a friend who asked me in the last year what do I think is the biggest thing that God has taught me. I really had to think about that. God has taught me so many things but as I thought the one thing that kept coming up was this. Everything around you can change, whether it be your home, family, money, whatever but God never changes He always stays the same. Everything that happens is intended to bring us closer to Him. Amazing. Everything for us has changed this year but God didn't and He brought us here to be closer to Him. This year there will be many more changes. The job that David knows right now is going to change. He will still be a Treasurer but the IMB is making Joburg the Cost Center for Africa so we will have a lot of other folks coming to join us here. Things are changing and we don't know what the changes will be. We are standing firm in the knowledge that God knows what will happen. To Him be all the glory.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Praises/Prayer Requests:</div><br /><div>Praise David's foot is healing well. Pray for the right time to do the other foot.</div><br /><div></div><div>Praise the children are doing so well in school. Pray for their teachers Mrs. De La Rosh, Mrs. Raines and Mrs. Brennar</div><br /><div></div><div>Prayer for the home school office as we are going to be very busy.</div><br /><div></div><div>Prayer for the IMB as they make decisions and for the families that will be leaving their homes around Africa to come live in Joburg.</div><br /><div></div><div>Thank you as always for your prayer support. God has heard your prayers and we have been blessed. You guys are an amazing bunch of people.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-33780903564607940402008-12-10T04:40:00.000-08:002008-12-10T06:05:47.562-08:00Merry Christmas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdSlJ3xi71m1bveIwH9T9xSwdzxtgRyInKD8FHUMb76Zth6QowRrZOUZDDA9K_qlynFAPm7i9FbtyePMVMcA-DI8H-0hi_jzWIJiyRUj8k5lWWhARqo26Fjcu_qTSIc6tLKvS5rfeg8P2/s1600-h/DSCI0007.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278161661518373138" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdSlJ3xi71m1bveIwH9T9xSwdzxtgRyInKD8FHUMb76Zth6QowRrZOUZDDA9K_qlynFAPm7i9FbtyePMVMcA-DI8H-0hi_jzWIJiyRUj8k5lWWhARqo26Fjcu_qTSIc6tLKvS5rfeg8P2/s200/DSCI0007.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div> December already and I have so much to blog. So go get some hot chocolate and sit back, here goes. November was a crazy month. David had surgery on his left foot. For those of you that don't know he has psoriatic arthritis in his feet so the doctor went in to straighten his toes out. This was our first experience with the South African hospital system. Overall it has been a great experience. Before the surgery David didn't have to do any tests. No blood work, no nothing. He arrived at the hospital on the day of surgery and was then told that he would be 2nd in line for surgery. By the way they call the OR the surgical theatre here. I guess David was the star of the show that day. He went through the surgery really well and had to stay over night. By the time I got to the hospital in the morning he was already wanting to go home. After some physical therapy and an x-ray he was released. He has been on crutches ever since. He will be getting the pins out of his toes December 17th. We thank you for all of your prayers for him. We are told that he can get the other foot done in February.<br /></div><div> As all of that was going on the kids were finishing there first year of South African school for the year. I am so proud of all three children. They have all done really well transitioning and were all rewarded for their academic achievements. During the last 2 weeks of November we had a very busy schedule. Here the teachers go out with the moms for breakfast or dinner at the end of school. I went to 3. It gave me a chance to meet moms from each of their grades. I am hoping that it will open doors for me to share the gospel with these moms. Here they also do something called Prize Giving at the end of the year. Prize Giving is when the children are brought together and are recognized for their achievements throughout the year, like an awards ceremony. Micah did not have Prize Giving this year but the girls both were recognized for their outstanding academic achievements. I had no idea what to expect so to hear both of them called up was really a treat. The next night Micah performed what they call a concert here with the whole Grade R (like kindergarten). Micah was a giraffe and man was he cute. He said a poem, danced and sang. Micah even had a speaking part. His teacher wrote a part in for him because of his American accent. One of the moms didn't know we were American and thought Micah had really practiced that accent. He was adorable and won every one's heart.<br /></div><div> We have been on holiday since November 28th. We are told that everyone usually goes to the coast for December. Remember it is summer here now. We have decided to stay put but to go to places that we haven't been to here. Like the zoo and caves etc. We didn't bring our Christmas tree or decorations with us so we have been making our own. The kids are having a great time with this. Friends let us borrow their tree while they are in the US so that was nice. We have also been watching Christmas movies and today Emily wants to bake cookies/biscuits. She is quite the baker.<br /></div><div> Being that this is summer we have a storm practically every day. Last weekend the lightning was so bad that it took out the front gate and the internet for the whole compound. The lightning here is vertical rather than horizontal because of all of the minerals in the ground and we are pretty high up. Every time it rains we have to unplug everything. Crazy.<br /></div><div> The kids and I have started to visit a baby orphanage here. This orphanage has about 14 babies. They range in age from 2 1/2 to newborn. They are so sweet and my children are having a great time holding them and feeding them. We have been going for about a month and some of the babies have already been adopted. I want to take them all home.<br /></div><div> Yesterday I was reading a devotion written by Max Lucado. In it he used the verse <em>I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens. Phil. 4:11</em> I have to tell you this verse hit me square between the eyes. He went on to ask this question. What if God's only gift to you were his grace to save you? Would you be content? Because from heaven's perspective grace is enough. Max asks If God did nothing more that save us from hell, could anyone complain? Having been given heavenly riches, dare we moan about earthly poverty? This put things this Christmas season in perspective for me. Just because I am a missionary doesn't mean that I don't get things out of whack. God came to earth in the form of a baby, so that He could grow up to save me and you from hell. His grace is enough and I have learned to be satisfied. I pray that this Christmas season you don't get so caught up in the shopping and parties that you miss the real meaning of Christmas. Jesus. Merry Christmas from our family to yours. </div><div></div><br /><div>Praise/Prayer Requests:</div><br /><div>Praise - David's surgery went well and his foot is healing</div><br /><div>Praise - the children did well in school</div><br /><div>Praise - We have met a lot of new friends</div><br /><div>Prayer- for the babies at the orphanage to find good Christian homes</div><br /><div>Prayer - for the salvation of all of these new friends.<br /></div><div>You all have been a blessing to us this year. We can't thank you enough for your prayers. We couldn't do this if we didn't have your prayer support. Thank you and Happy New Year!</div>David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-54586375391404406592008-11-02T04:37:00.000-08:002008-11-02T05:40:34.901-08:00Spring Is In The AirHi guys. Yes I did say Spring is in the air. Here it is Spring. The flowers are blooming the weather is warmer and we have finally gotten a little rain. Last week I celebrated my first birthday in Africa. I was so blessed by my family and friends in the States, by the missionaries here, by new South African friends and of course by my husband and children. It was a very special birthday. Some people were asking questions about how we celebrate birthdays in South Africa. The answer is basically the same way you celebrate in the States. Children's birthdays tend to be a little more elaborate. I celebrated by having a spa day. With a massage, pedicure and manicure. Very relaxing. These things are a lot cheaper here than in the States. It was great.<br /><br />Now that it is November we are coming to the end of school. Remember that we start the school year in January. It is very different to end in November. We are used to ending in June and doing all of the end of year stuff then. It is going to be a very busy November. We are trying to get Christmas together in November also, more added pressure. The children are all doing well in school. Emily has made a friend and this weekend she went to their family farm. She has seen impala and other animals that live at the farm. We met the friends dad the other night and he asked us a lot of questions about what we do here and about Christianity. We had a good discussion with him and hope to continue talking to him in the future. Leah has been taking guitar lessons with one of the missionaries that lives next door. She really likes it. She makes the rounds around the IMB offices, talking to all of the adults. A regular chatter box. They seem to love it. Micah is still playing Cricket. He is really quite good. The 3rd week he went to practice he got the trophy for best player. Amazing how fast they can pick stuff up. About 2 weeks ago he kicked a soccer ball through one of the guest house windows and has had to work that off. They really are just normal kids but have done so well adapting here. They have finally stopped telling us everyday they want to go home but we still hear it. We all have our good and bad days.<br /><br />November is the month for birthdays in our family. Happy Birthday to Abbey our niece, Dad, Grandma Grapes, Andrew and Roy. David will be having surgery on his left foot on November 13th. He has arthritis in his toes and the surgeon is going to straighten them out. He isn't excited about having surgery but he is excited that his foot will be fixed. He will get the other one done in January some time.<br /><br />A lot of you have been praying for me to find a place where I can minister. Well I have been working in the home school room here and am enjoying it. I have also been given the opportunity to go to Micah's class, all of grade 4 and 2 at the girls school and talk about what Thanksgiving is. It will give me an open door to talk about thanking God for all that we are blessed with. I also have an opportunity to go to a preschool that has poor children with AIDS and minister to them. <br /><br />Since November in the month for Thanksgiving I would just like to say thank you to all of you that read our blog and that have been praying for us. November 7th is our 1 year anniversary with the IMB. We have been blessed by your prayers and have really felt the presence of God throughout this year. Our God is an awesome God. I know that some of you are going through some trials right now. Know that there is hope. Look to Jesus. He is still there. If there is something specific that we can be praying for you about please write us and let us know.<br /><br />Praise/Prayer Requests:<br />Praise - the children are making friends.<br />Praise - its warm finally and raining.<br />Prayer - David's surgery November 13th<br />Prayer - for "W" as we continue talking to him about Jesus.<br />Prayer - Tracy doing Thanksgiving talks at schools.<br />Prayer - end of the school year craziness.<br />Prayer - for our colleagues at home on their stateside assignment.<br />Prayer - for the IMB leadership as they are making a lot of changes.<br /><br />Have a very blessed Thanksgiving Day. Watch the parade for us.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-55170334312372099682008-09-25T00:54:00.000-07:002008-09-25T01:53:12.088-07:00Observations and Other ThingsWell hello again everyone. Let me first say a big Happy Birthday to my niece Megan who will be 9 on Sunday. I have been thinking about what I was going to write this time. I thought that I would share some observations that I have had about our new home in South Africa. Keep in mind these are from my prospective. Mostly, I have observed that they do things differently here. This is neither a bad thing or a good thing, just different. For instance we were driving down the road the other day and they are putting a round about in the road. In the States we would stop traffic one way and let the other lane go then switch. Here they make you detour through a field. This has happened to us a few times now. Interesting. Also, instead of mowing the grass on the side of the highway they burn it here. David and I refer to this as African mowing. The best part is there is no one around to make sure it doesn't burn out of control. Traffic is very interesting here. You do not stop for a stop sign here. You do a rolling stop in most cases, unless there is someone turning in front of you then you stop. Motorcyclists basically can drive anywhere and however they want too. They are scary. Most all service jobs (waiter, cashier, petrol station attendants ect. ) are black. If there is a white person working there it is usually the manager. Here are some observations I really like. When you go to get petrol (gas) it is still full service. They put the petrol in and wash your windows. That is cool. Also, I haven't seen any nurses in doctors offices. The doctor comes and gets you (on time) and takes you to his/her office where he/she talks to you first then does the exam then talks to you again. He/she will then give you his/her number to call if there are any problems. Very cool. Since our crate finally arrived I have been able to cook more of the things we like to eat. Sometimes there will be an ingredient or 2 that I can't find here. What I usually find out is that they have it they just call it something else. That is a good time to have South African friends. Most of the time they can help me find it. There are still things that we can't find here (Dr. Pepper, Raisin Bran, Pumpkin Pie scent Yankee Candles, Smarties, yellow rice, Kraft mac n cheese - the kind with the velveeta) o.k. I'm getting hungry now. The other day I found a box of Frosted Shredded Wheat in the grocery store. It would have cost me $10 for that box of cereal. No thanks, I think I'll pass. Some things you find at the grocery store that you have been searching for and you buy all of it because you don't know if you will ever find it again. Leah found refried beans for me the other day. I bought 7 cans. I have been searching for those practically since we got here. I'm still searching for plain Fritos. They have every flavor Frito imaginable but not plain. I have been told South Africans don't like plain. Go figure. So I continue my search. I hope this helps you understand a little bit of what goes on around here.<br /><br />On the last blog I wrote that I was going to start working in the Home School room. Well I have been doing that. There is already a HS room set up in Kenya and now we are setting up one here. It is a resource room where all of our home school families can come to or order their books/supplies from. Right now we are in the process of inputting all of the books that are currently in the room. So right now I am a Librarian. I know there are a lot of home school friends out there. I would love to know more about the different curriculum's. Please e-mail me and let me know what you are using and what has worked and not worked. That would help me immensely since I have never home schooled. The children are in school. All seem to be doing well. Emily has a tutor for Africaans. This is the language the white South Africans speak. She is doing well and I am jealous. She picks it up so fast. She just came back from church camp last weekend. She had a great time and even climbed up a mountain a 5 am. Go Emi. Micah has started Cricket. He absolutely loves it. We bought him a cricket bat yesterday and he can hardly wait for practice on Monday. We are looking into speech/drama lessons for Leah. We think she would do very well at that. David is still plugging along with his schooling. Doing quite well. It is very hard to juggle work, school and a family but he is doing brilliantly. (I'm learning South African lingo). Yesterday was Heritage Day here. No one seems to know what they are supposed to be celebrating because apparently it is a new holiday. I did hear it called National Braii Day (a braii is a bar-b-que) We had a braii with our cell group. It was a lot of fun. They are a great group of people. I was just thinking that writing these blogs is a lot like writing a Christmas letter every month. It is hard to know what you want to hear from us. If there is something in particular you are wondering about please don't hesitate to ask.<br /><br />Here are some things that you can help us pray about.<br />Praise: Everyone is healthy and happy.<br /><br />Prayer: For the IMB leaders and trustees. <br /><br />Prayer: for a lady named Patrizia. We literally ran into each other the other day and I feel it was a divine appointment. <br /><br />Prayer: for our family still going through changes.<br /><br />Thank you for your support. We couldn't be here without your prayers. You are all awesome. Cheers hey!David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-80552739905846057132008-08-31T22:14:00.000-07:002008-08-31T22:57:31.905-07:00Happy September!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyJ3Ln_gf5N5r1aAW2qaPkCQs9UBvtG6XKHgzaLSR9m6050jrkeFvYLIUTlXiBGEfI0Iy4PyUTp7zh73cQgJ1Pw2eI2rVAKM6LFzMt3VP1XN6YBweiXBhwEAvDj5IsMT_fPqHTzDq4cPG/s1600-h/PICT1347.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240927517805996482" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyJ3Ln_gf5N5r1aAW2qaPkCQs9UBvtG6XKHgzaLSR9m6050jrkeFvYLIUTlXiBGEfI0Iy4PyUTp7zh73cQgJ1Pw2eI2rVAKM6LFzMt3VP1XN6YBweiXBhwEAvDj5IsMT_fPqHTzDq4cPG/s200/PICT1347.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I can't believe it is already September. Wow, how time flies. The big news is WE GOT OUR CRATE! Can you tell I am a little bit excited? The crate arrived last Thursday. I got it unpacked in about 4 hours. There were no breaks and only one thing was missing. (Micah's comforter). I think the sticker fell off of it and they just didn't put it in the crate. But all is good. I finally got all of my kitchen things so last night I mad homemade spaghetti sauce for the first time. It was pretty good. I even made enough to freeze. The kids are excited that they got their toys. It was like Christmas here. Friday we left for the coast for our clusters Spiritual Retreat. It was so much fun meeting new missionaries working in South Africa. The kids met new friends and a volunteer team came from California to help with the children. After the retreat our family spent some time by the Indian Ocean. It was fun and relaxing but the weather didn't want to cooperate. We did get some time on the beach but it was windy and cold for the kids. We did get to see so whales from our balcony so that was fun. They told us that the whales are migrating to Cape Town for the summer and that is why they are so close to the shore. It was an awesome sight to see God's creation. The Indian Ocean is a lot like I imagine the California coast is like. It has huge waves and rocks. Coming home we got to go back along the coast and then through mountains. It is a long drive but very pretty. It is hard to believe sometimes that we are driving through Africa when you are driving down the highway and then you see the squatter camps on the side of the road and you know that you aren't at home anymore. These houses are shacks made out of tin with dirt floors. They are smaller than the sheds people have in their backyards. There are hundreds of houses together in these camps and it just breaks your heart to think that people actually live in these places. </div><br /><div></div><div>The children have been out of school for the month of August. We have had fun. I think they are ready to go back to school. They will still be in the same grade until January because that is when the school year starts. The girls are a bit upset that their friends back home got to move to the next grade already. They all had to get summer uniforms for this semester. Unfortunately we just had a cold front come in last night so the girls may freeze. It is 34 F here today. David finished his class (he got a A) and has already started his next class. He is doing so well and I am so proud of him. He is really enjoying his job as Treasurer here. He got to put some faces with names at the retreat so that was good. </div><div></div><br /><div>I am going to start helping out with our home schooling room here. No, I do not home school but I was a teacher so I offered my services and they need the help. I am very excited about helping. I am trying to find ways share the gospel with the neighborhood that we live around. It is hard because all of the homes have walls and barbed wire around them. We will have to be very innovative.</div><br /><div></div><div>We miss you all and thank you so much for your prayers. If you have questions or just want to chat with us you can e-mail us <a href="mailto:tracy_delac@yahoo.com">tracy_delac@yahoo.com</a> or david_delac.com or get on Facebook. We are both on there. I have just uploaded pictures there. </div><br /><div></div><div>Praise/Prayer Requests:</div><br /><div>Praise - we got our crate.</div><br /><div></div><div>Praise - Congratulations to the Emory's and the Garner's for the birth of their children. </div><br /><div></div><div>Prayer - that the children would not tell us every day that they want to go back to America.</div><div></div><div> </div><div>Prayer- that we would be able to start a ministry in the neighborhood.</div><div></div><br /><div>Prayer - for our colleaques that are out on the field in tough conditions.</div><div></div><br /><div>Prayer - for David as he is starting a new class.</div>David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-45088798015506777392008-07-27T07:54:00.000-07:002008-07-27T08:34:36.176-07:00Back to Jo'BurgHello again everyone. It has been 2 weeks and I have a lot to talk about. We are settling in quite nicely here. It occurred to me that you might not have any clue about what Johannesburg, South Africa is like so let me try and describe it for you. It is a large city with a population of about 8 million people. We have not even ventured into the downtown area yet. The city is surrounded by hills/mountains depending on where you live right now. Us Floridians would call it a mountain. We have opposite seasons from the States. We are in winter right now. It is usually about 30 - 60 F. They say it has been a pretty mild winter. We have been in winter for 7 months now so we can't wait for it to be over. Back to Jo'burg. The traffic is not too bad except when it is the good luck your stuck. All of the houses have walls and barbed wire around them. Very hard to meet your neighbors. The crime can be bad here. It is a case of either you have money or you don't no real in between. There are more BMW's here then I have ever seen. Most people do not follow traffic rules. Stop signs mean slow down, look and go. Motorcyclists are crazy. We live in a flat at the Baptist Missionary Services Compound. The IMB built 4 flats for missionaries to live in here. If you are a Baptist this is what your Lottie Moon offering goes to. We are so grateful. We drive a Condor. It seats about 7. We are so blessed to have all of this.<br /><br />The children are doing well in school. They will be on holiday for the whole month of August. A much needed break for all of us. We will be going to a prayer retreat in Durban on the coast at the end of August. We are planning on staying a few days after to have so family time by the Indian Ocean. We are all excited. Yesterday Micah participated in his schools field day. It was a lot of fun. They do things big here. Remember that he goes to an all boys school so there was a lot of competition. The girls have been going to birthday parties and having play dates with new friends. David and I have also made some South African friends so that is fun.<br /><br />We joined a church here called Edenvale Baptist Church. On Wednesdays we have joined a cell group. It consists of about 10 couples. Most have children. Last week the group went to a government run hospital here. This was very different than any hospital I had ever seen. They also have private hospitals here but the people in this hospital could not afford it. There were many dying of AIDS there. Most did not have anyone to visit them. They welcomed us. We gave them Bibles and prayed with them. Please pray for these sweet people.<br /><br />David is still doing his classes and is working hard at the office. His boss and family left on stateside last Friday. We are missing them already. They will be living in Tennessee for 5 months and coming back in January. We also are losing another of our BIMS missionaries to retirement next week. She has been serving for 20+ years. She is an amazing lady and we will miss her also.<br /><br />Good news. I finally finished the bunk beds. They are together and Emily slept in hers last night. It took about a month to strip the old wood and put new finish on it. It gave the girls so much more room in the room.<br /><br />We have been connecting with a lot of our old friends through Facebook. I have also been putting pictures there. Please join so we can talk to you too. This is not a commercial for Facebook it is just an easy way to keep in touch.<br /><br />Thank you as always for your prayers, notes, e-mails, encouragement. We love them. Keep them coming.<br /><br />Prayer/Praise Requests:<br /><br />Prayer: That our crate will get here soon.<br /><br />Prayer: for the patients at the hospital that we visited.<br /><br />Prayer: for the leadership of the IMB and our Regional Team.<br /><br />Prayer: For the Naude family on Stateside and Sarah as she retires.<br /><br />Praise: The beds are done!<br /><br />Praise: We have all made friends.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-23900644375838291152008-07-05T03:07:00.000-07:002008-07-05T04:00:06.702-07:00Any Road At Any CostHello everyone. Sorry about not writing last week. We have been very busy with different things. The children are still in school and making friends. Leah and Micah have both been invited to birthday parties. Leah went to one at an ice skating rink yesterday. Emily and Micah went to skate too. They all had a great time.<br /><br />David has been busy at work and has started his new class. They are only 8 week classes so they are really intense. He has been studying every night. I have become the furniture restainer. I have stained 2 bookshelves, 1 side table and 1 foyer table. I am now in the process of stripping the wood on the girls bunkbeds and re-staining them. It is a long process but they really look good. I will show you the before and after pictures when I get finished. While I have been doing this work I have had a lot of time to listen to c.d.'s. This week I was listening to all of my Point of Grace c.d.'s. If you are like me different songs have different memories. I was remembering singing at McGregor Baptist Church with my friends. It was good memories. One song really got me to thinking. The song is called Any Road at Any Cost. I was thinking about different e-mails that I have been getting. Some of you that read this blog don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you are reading this and you feel like you have no idea what that means but you feel that something is leading you to want to know more let me encourage you to either e-mail David or me or to visit a bible believing church tomorrow. Do it you won't regret it. I know right now it is summer time in the States. Time to reflect on your year a service in the church and time to pray about what to do next year. If there is something that you feel like God is calling you to do but you don't think you could possibly do it, like teaching Sunday School, auditioning for the Christmas Pageant, going on a mission trip or becoming a career missionary, do it anyway. Take that step out of the boat and walk on water. It's an amazing journey. For those of you that are like us friends on the field either around the world or doing ministry at home. Know that we are praying for you. I know I have said this but I can't imagine doing language school on top of everything else. You all are awesome and we miss you. <br /><br />The last couple weekends we have been to some really fun outings. 2 weeks ago we went to The Lion Park. We got to feed giraffe, pet baby lions and go on a safari. We saw about 30 lions. They had just fed them so we got to watch them eat. It was a driving safari so they were standing right next to the car at some points. They are huge. One female stood as high as the window. Awesome creatures! We also saw zebra and wilderbeasts. We had a lot of fun. Last weekend we went out to Irene market which is an outdoor Africaans market that has antiques, crafts, food yum and camel rides. The girls can now say they have ridden on a camel. We had a fun time together. This week the children have had the week off and there a lot of families with children staying at the compound so the children have been busy. Yesterday we had a 4th of July picnic. We were afraid that it would be to cold to have outside but it turned out to be really nice and there weren't any flies so that was good. We are settling in nicely to our new home but we are still waiting for our crate to arrive. It will be like Christmas when it finally gets here. I can't even remember what exactly we put in there. <br /><br />Micah had a great birthday. He got to open his presents from our family on Skype so they could see him open them. It was neat. We took him to dinner and he openned presents from us that day. He had fun. Thank you to everyone who sent e-cards and wishes to him.<br /><br />Prayer Requests: <br />Praise: Micah had a great birthday. <br /><br />Priase: that we are settling in.<br /><br />Prayer: that our crate gets here quickly.<br /><br />Prayer: that we will know what ministry God wants us to be a part of here.<br /><br />Thank you to everyone. We are praying that you will go down any road at any cost.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-561169345128972472008-06-17T10:52:00.000-07:002008-06-21T12:22:18.229-07:00Finding Joy<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU5d2WNfndsas3IxXSbruevMCh0KqSfxsxA9L5rIxR_8XpYBDYP3IfUomHPX7OmGaHQZoPqP_RshfEZTgN936kv66prHbcRjtyOWK7Mpl8bjVl6P_R87T-OzBc_yqefwNJagud87j1h6X8/s1600-h/PICT1278.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212918535640701106" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU5d2WNfndsas3IxXSbruevMCh0KqSfxsxA9L5rIxR_8XpYBDYP3IfUomHPX7OmGaHQZoPqP_RshfEZTgN936kv66prHbcRjtyOWK7Mpl8bjVl6P_R87T-OzBc_yqefwNJagud87j1h6X8/s200/PICT1278.JPG" border="0" /></a> This picture is not our new flat. It is the tents we stayed in during 40/40.<br /><br /><br />Hello again everyone. Just over a week has gone by and already things are so different here. We have finally moved into our permanent flat. We have been very busy decorating and trying to make it our home. We got our beds on Friday so we were very excited. We live right next door to where David works so it has been really nice to spend time together. We never had that in the states. I started taking a Beth Moore Bible Study every Wednesday morning. It is on the book of Daniel. It has really been great for me to focus more on God and less on me. It gives you perspective. I have been trying to find joy in all things new. Like for instance last week I wrote about having to pick the children up at 3 different times every day. Well I figured out that when doing this I could spend quality time with each one personally talking about their day. It has really worked out quite nicely. The children are really doing well in school.<br /><br />We have found a church and we are very excited about joining it. We visited several different churches but in the end we picked Edenvale Baptist Church as the church we will be members of. It is much smaller than our home church. The children seem to really like going. So we are very excited.<br /><br />We are learning the lay of the land more and more each day. It seems that driving on the other side of the road isn't as difficult as we thought it might be. This weekend we got to see some friends that went to FPO and 40/40 with us. They are in town for 3 weeks to go to another training. It was so nice to see them and hang out. They are serving in Malawi.<br /><br />David is liking his job. He has a lot to learn in a short period of time. We are praying that the power doesn't go out again so that the computers still run. Last week they were out for 2 days. This did give us time to do things that needed to get done before we moved. He will be starting classes again next week so please pray for him. It can get pretty stressful especially if the Internet goes down.<br /><br />Last week I forgot to say Happy Father's Day to all the dads in my life. You know who you are. I hope you had a great one. We had a national holiday yesterday so the kids got the day off. We went to a movie and had a great time together.<br /><br />Micah's birthday is next Wednesday. There is a team coming over this Thursday bringing presents from our family over. He doesn't think he is getting anything from his grandparents so he will be so surprised. Say a prayer for him on the 25th if you think about it.<br /><br />Prayer/Praise Requests:<br /><br />Praise - We have moved to our permanent residence.<br /><br />Praise - We got our work permits today!<br /><br />Praise - We found a church.<br /><br />Prayer - for Micah on his birthday.<br /><br />Prayer - that we would get our crate soon.<br /><br />Prayer - for a little girl named Alexus. She is 4 and needs a new kidney. Her mom is a real estate agent that I met while showing the old flat to renters.<br /><br />Prayer - that now that we are getting settled we could find where God wants us to minister.<br /><br />Prayer - for David's job and school.<br /><br />Thank you as always. You all are so awesome. I pray that you find joy in the Lord this week.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-74619738783764936232008-06-03T10:59:00.000-07:002008-06-10T07:34:34.060-07:00This Is Going To Be A Long One<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwxN3AzTKXVhyphenhyphen3lzkeGdE9lIzhREEwUNavkwdhia5p7dclWOi7wq-_PXuv9E6kbpYsCgeDcOS6tgDZ_aI5EJWSuPknBg7SQt_MAm-W9L3nPzqTmiAaDoPjnnTnc2mK9LurAbkwgK9n8fE/s1600-h/PICT1310.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207920069896288834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwxN3AzTKXVhyphenhyphen3lzkeGdE9lIzhREEwUNavkwdhia5p7dclWOi7wq-_PXuv9E6kbpYsCgeDcOS6tgDZ_aI5EJWSuPknBg7SQt_MAm-W9L3nPzqTmiAaDoPjnnTnc2mK9LurAbkwgK9n8fE/s200/PICT1310.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Home Sweet Home or maybe not quite home but I will get to that. We did finally make it back to Joburg. We have had an interesting week. When we arrived we found out that the flat that is being built for us is not quite finished so they moved us into another flat not to far from where we will live. We will only be here until the 22nd of this month so we will have to re-pack yet again to move. Hopefully for the last time. In this week we have mastered driving on the wrong side of the road and car with a stick shift in your left hand. The drivers here are pretty crazy. Worse than Florida if you can believe that. We have been hooted (honked) at several times. </div><br /><div></div><div>The children started school last Monday. I know most of your children just ended the school year. Here we have year round school that starts in January and goes to November. The children will have May, August and December (our summer) off. So in the end it all equals out. The children are really liking their teachers and are making friends rapidly. It was truly a miracle that they had space for all three kids. At the girls school they only had 2 spots open in grades 2 and 4. They told us there are waiting lists for all other grades until 2013. Micah did not have a spot until the week before we came back from Zambia. Another boy had to drop out so his space opened. God is so amazing. We have spent all week trying to get uniforms. The kids had uniforms in the states but nothing like these. The girls have to wear a blazer, tie and trousers every day except for one which they wear a track suit and when they are outside they have to wear a school hat. They can only wear a certain color hair accessory and they have to have their hair pulled back at all times. That is just the winter uniform. During summer it's a whole new set. Micah's isn't quite so bad yet. He wears a track suit with shorts underneath and a hat when he is outside. They all had to get new shoes and special socks. School drop off/pick up times are interesting. every day each child has a different time to pick them up at. I actually had to write a weekly schedule out so that I could figure out what time to pick each child up. This is my first week so I will let you know how it goes. For all you moms out there there are no car lines. You basically have to drive up to the school, park and go get your child. Interesting when they have to be picked up at three different times. I am trying to get used to this. Just so you know they all go to Catholic Private School. This of course poses a myriad of questions about why they pray to Mary and why do they use a necklace to pray? The schools are our mission field. Please pray that all of us can be the salt and light there.</div><div></div><br /><div>In the last week we have gone grocery shopping, gone to the mall, eaten at restaurants and bought furniture and appliances for our new flat. Here are some funny stories about our South African happenings. First, grocery shopping. Here they have different names for a lot of things. So if you go with a list you have to ask half a dozen people what they might call a certain item. Most of the time they have no clue what I'm talking about. For instance, Q-tips are called ear buds here and you can find them with the baby items. Kidney beans are called sugar beans and sour cream is sour cream but it is in the yogurt section. Shortening is called white butter and you can find that with the butter of course. There is about 3 different kinds a sugar. Good luck trying to find the one you want. Then there are the things I haven't been able to find yet. I was so excited the day I finally found dryer sheets. You have to cut them in half here but at least they have them. I told David I can't even imagine living in a country where I can't read or speak the language. It has been hard enough just doing this. Please join with us in praying for all of our friends around the world who are in language school. At the mall here it is one stop shopping. You can go to the grocery store, go see a movie, go to a restaurant or a drug store all at once. Most big stores have large appliances, food, t.v.'s, things for your car, ect. Last week we went to a restaurant for pizza. That day they were having a "special" on pizza's. Each pizza was 36 rand. However, the pizza I wanted only cost 26 rand regularly. But because the pizza was on special we had to pay 36 rand for it. In Zambia we learned the phrase AWA which means Africa Wins Again. We have used this phrase often. We have also been in the process of shopping for appliances and furniture for the new flat. This has been interesting. Believe it or not the appliances here are very different and everyone has their own opinion about what you should get. We were blessed to find a sale at a nice furniture store so last Saturday we bought furniture for our living room. Yesterday we bought all of the appliances and beds. We have never had to choose appliances so this was all new to us. Appliances & food are smaller here so we are trying to get used to that. I feel like I'm always going to the grocery store. Eventually I will figure it all out. Probably about the time that we go stateside. </div><div></div><br /><div>On a serious note. I am not sure if you saw on the news the riots that were happening in Joburg. It was happening while we were in Zambia. We were not affected by it. They call in Xenophobia. What was happening was that some of the black Africans were upset that refugees and ex patriots were taking homes and jobs that they thought belonged to them. So they started to riot and things got out of control and about 30 people were killed. The South African army was called in. Families are still displaced and grieving. It is very sad. Thank you for thinking about us during this time.</div><br /><div></div><div>Our new mailing address here is PO Box 1759, Edenvale, South Africa 1610.<br /></div><div>Just so you know Micah's birthday is June 25th. He will be 6 years old. My does time fly. It takes about a month for things to get mailed to us. You can e-mail any birthday greetings to me at <a href="mailto:tracy_delac@yahoo.com">tracy_delac@yahoo.com</a> We are on-line now so please e-mail, comment on the blog or Facebook us. We want to hear form you.</div><div></div><br /><div>Prayer/Praise Requests: Praise - the children's school. Please pray that they will do well and make friends easily.<br /></div><div>Pray - that the building inspector will o.k. our flat so that we can move in.<br /></div><div>Pray - that we find a church.<br /></div><div>Pray - for all the people that we are coming in contact with at school, or when buying stuff. That we would have the opportunity to witness to them.<br /></div><div>Pray - for the families that have been displace or lost loved ones during the riots.</div>David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-11369494054617925162008-05-22T04:21:00.000-07:002008-05-22T04:53:28.517-07:00Hello from Zambia Part 2Well tomorrow we will be flying back to Joburg and we are very excited. Since I last blogged some many things have happened. 40/40 has been difficult. The group as a whole caught some kind of stomach bug. This started the same the day we drove to Petauke. Not fun driving while you are sick. The trip took about 6 hours due to road conditions and sickness stops. It was a beautiful drive, just long. Like I said in the last blog we all stayed in tents. Our family had two tents that faced each other. Unfortunately, they forgot to hook up the electricity in ours. ha ha The day after we arrived our nurse had to leave because of sickness. That night Emily was sick all night. I caught it in the morning and David caught it that afternoon. David ended up getting very dehydrated and had to get an IV put in. He felt better as soon as they put it in. We adjusted to camp life rather quickly after everyone started feeling better. Our field assignments were very much like the ones we had done in Lusaka but now David and I got to go together. We shared the gospel several times and one lady accepted Christ! It was so awesome! We went into their villages and met the head man and got to talk with him. This really was an awesome experience. These people live in little round clay huts with thatched roofs. This is how they have always lived. They are farmers and live with their whole family. On the last 3 days in Petuake we went on our home stay. We stayed in the Petauke town. We stayed with a family that actually had electricity. They even had a t.v. They had one 3 year old boy. The kids were excited because they got to play with the 6 puppies that were there. On Sunday we went to church with them and saw 2 other 40/40 families that were staying in the town. I got to learn to wash my clothes by hand and how to make encima. This is something that Zambians eat for just about every meal. By the end of the home stay my children were asking to eat encima and their son was asking to eat rice. The kids did so well. We have awesome kids. On Monday we drove to a "resort" called Ibis Gardens. We are staying in a house. It is very nice and very different from the tent we stayed in. Tonight we are having our banquet. I can't believe it is finally over. It has been a hard month but God has been so good and we are so thankful. Tomorrow we fly back to Joburg at 7:20 a.m. We are so excited to start our lives in our new home. I just found out today that all three of the children have spots in the school. God never ceases to amaze me. Thank you for praying us through this month. We have felt your prayers. We are back on line now so write to us. tracy_delac@yahoo.com or david_delac@yahoo.com I am on Facebook and we both have Scype numbers. I will let you know our physical address as soon as I know it. <br /><br />Prayer Requests:<br />Travel mercies<br /><br />That the children will meet new friends fast and that they will enjoy school.<br /><br />That we stay healthy. All of us have been sick this month.<br /><br />For our family back home. We miss them.<br /><br />That we find a church in Joburg.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-53957620750735336952008-04-27T07:35:00.000-07:002008-04-29T08:50:37.875-07:00Hello From ZambiaHello everyone. This will be a quick blog as everyone needs to use this one computer. We made it to Zambia. All of our things arrived with us and as soon as we arrived we started orientation. Most everyone is staying the first 12 days at the Baptist seminary here but if you are fortunate enough to have 3 or more children you stay at the Baptist guest house. The guest house is so nice. I thank god for blessing me with 3 children. We have <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">separate</span> bedrooms, our own bathroom a kitchen and a laundry room that we share with one other family as opposed to 25 other people. The children are in school while we are in orientation. Most days we have Zambian helpers that take us to their compounds and we have different assignments that we have to do. David and I are on different teams (teams consist of 2 people and a helper). It is neat to hear both perspectives when we return. The thing that we have found that is the biggest barrier to sharing the gospel in Lusaka is alcohol. Please pray for these people. The children got to go to a water park on Saturday and had a wonderful time. They will also get to go to a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">crocodile</span> farm this week. They are having a great time with old friends from VA and new friends that they have met here. Sunday we all went to a craft market. We each bought something Zambian. Sunday night we ate at a Chinese restaurant (yes, even here). When we arrived the electricity was out. But we ate there anyway. There were 24 people eating and we did not get our meal for 2 1/2 hours. It was a true African experience. The electricity has been off 2 times since that. We love candles. On Monday we will leave here and drive to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Petauke</span> about 6 hours away. Lusaka is a city. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Petauke</span> is very rural. We will live in tents for 12 days. After that we will live with a national family for 3 days. Please be praying for us during this month. I am not sure when I will get to a computer again so let me wish my Mom a very Happy Birthday for Thursday. We love you mom! Thank you to all of you that are praying for us. We can feel your prayers.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-12313357398332355102008-04-20T10:27:00.000-07:002010-10-25T07:52:12.998-07:00We made it to South AfricaHello everyone. We are finally here. We had a really good trip. Thursday we left my parents house at about 5:00 p.m. It was really hard saying goodbye to our families but we know that we are in God's will being here. When we arrived at the airport we were a bit worried about the weight of some of our bags but we had prayed about it and we got the nicest lady at the counter. Would you believe she only weighed 2 bags? We were so blessed. Going through security we were pulled out of line to be frisked and have all of our stuff gone through. We couldn't believe that they would frisk a 5 year old. We were really glad we arrived so early. We had plenty of time before our flight took off. We thought it would be easy getting on the plane because we got to get on first with the children. But they had forgotten to scan our passports so we had to stand there while they typed each one into the computer and we ended up being the last ones to get on the plane. We were surprised when there was still plenty of space for all of our carry <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">ons</span>. The first plane ride was great. The kids did really well. They loved the personal movie screens that were right in front of them. They watched movies the whole way. They did sleep some. We got to Germany at about 5:00 a.m. our time. We stayed in that airport for 10 hours. We even found our journeyman Mary. It was a long wait but we all managed to sleep a little. That airport is very expensive. A small bottle of water was $5.00. We spent $33.00 at McDonald's. We were glad we <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">weren't</span> staying in Europe. We got on the second plane at about 10:30 p.m. our time. By the way we are 6 hours ahead of you. We didn't leave the airport until about 11;15 because of weather. This plane did not have the personal movie players and it was hard for the kids to see the movies. The children slept most of the way. This plane was bigger but seemed a lot more crowded with less space. It was pretty uncomfortable for 10 hours. We did meet a a guy that owned some hotels in Hazy View which is outside of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Krueger</span> National Park. He really helped us out at the airport. He also gave us his card so when we go on holiday he said he can set us up. Pray for him his name is Andre. The airport at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Joburg</span> went really smoothly. We actually got all 10 bags. We were met by about 10 people from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">BIMS</span> (this is where we live). They helped us a lot and we had no problems at the airport. We are staying at the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">BIMS</span> compound now. There is a McDonald's and a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">KFC</span> right down the road. We got to see our new home. It is not quite done but it is very close. We are praying that it gets finished before we get back from 40/40 in Zambia so that we can move right in. The children have already picked out their bedrooms. They are excited. Emily and Leah still have to share a room but these rooms look bigger than their last one. Yesterday morning we went to breakfast with friends. He is the Cost Center Manager here. David and he will be working together. We really could see God's hand in all of this while talking with them. We are so blessed to be working with such wonderful people. Last night we had hamburgers and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">hotdogs</span> with all of the people that will be living at the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">BIMS</span> compound with us. Micah fell asleep in my arms at about 6:30. He was crashed out. He slept until about 10:00 a.m. today. Today we went to lunch at the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Tadlock's</span> house. It was yummy. We me Phyllis while we were in VA and she promised the children she would make a coca cola cake for Emily. It was so good. After lunch we drove around and got to see where the children might go to school. Tonight we ate at McDonald's. We have been to the grocery store twice. They seem to have basically everything we do just different brand names. Tomorrow David and I have orientation. We will be learning to drive on the other side of the road and car so it should be fun. Thank you for all of your prayers through this. On Wednesday we get back on a plane and fly to Zambia for a month for our African orientation. We will not be able to take our computer so I don't know if I will ever get a chance to blog. Please pray for us that month. We really covet your prayers.<br /><br />Prayer and Praise requests:<br />Praise -we are here with all of our bags.<br /><br />Praise - our flat is almost finished and ready for us to move in.<br /><br />Praise - we love the people here.<br /><br />Praise - the children are <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">doing</span> great here.<br /><br />Prayer - that we learn how to drive here.<br /><br />Prayer- that we are ready for 40/40 in every way.<br /><br />Prayer - that we stay healthy<br /><br />Prayer - that the children will get into the school that God wants them to be in.<br /><br />You all are such a blessing to us.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-35492962587569309562008-04-13T14:46:00.001-07:002008-04-13T15:21:22.946-07:00Saying goodbye is hard to do...We are still in Florida. We have done a lot in the week and a half we have been here. Today we are in Orlando celebrating Emily's 10th birthday. 10 years went by so quickly. Last week we went to Sarasota to visit with David's parents. Thursday night we were treated to The Chart House by David's parents (thank you). The entire time we were eating we watched 3 dolphins out in the water. We had a wonderful time. On Friday we got to go out on the water in a pontoon boat. It was so beautiful. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The children had a great time swimming in the pool all week. We all had a great time with David's parents. We can't wait until they come over for a visit.<br /><br />Friday night the kids got to spend the night with their cousins (which they loved) and David and I were treated to Ruth Chris Steakhouse by my brother-in-law and sister (thank you so much for the food and fellowship). Two steak dinners in as many nights I can get used to that. Saturday we went to Walt Disney World. We went to the Magic Kingdom. Each child got to pick what rides they wanted to go on. Micah was even tall enough to go on Space Mountain. He absolutely loved it! We had great weather and other than it being really crowded we had a great time. It was nice to go somewhere fun before we leave.<br /><br />Today the children got to go to the circus with my parents and their cousins. They had a great time together. We are having a celebration tonight at my sisters house with family. It is good to spend time together.<br /><br />This week we will be packing and saying goodbye. We covet your prayers. We have so much to get in our bags and saying goodbye is really hard to do.<br /><br />Praise and Prayer Requests:<br />Praise that it is Emily's 10th birthday<br /><br />Praise that we are having a wonderful time with our families.<br /><br />Pray: For our families. It is hard for them to say goodbye .<br /><br />Pray: that we will get everything packed.<br /><br />PRAY: On Thursday, Friday and Saturday we will be flying and in airports. Pray for travel mercies.<br /><br />Pray: For the people we will meet in airports and on airplanes that they will be open to hearing the gospel.<br /><br />We will be in Johannesburg on Saturday morning. We are looking forward to meeting new friends and seeing where we will live.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-70708824157111707982008-04-07T13:05:00.000-07:002008-04-07T18:05:37.846-07:00Back in FloridaWe made it back to Florida with no problems. We were commissioned as missionaries last Wednesday. It was hard to say goodbye to our friends. Some are already in their part of the world. We are praying for them as they start their new ministries. As I said the drive home was uneventful. We drove to Orlando on Thursday and stayed with my parents over the weekend. Now we are in Sarasota staying with David's parents until Friday.<br /><br />It is very strange to say that we drove home just because home for the last 13 years has been Ft. Myers. We sold our home there so I guess technically we didn't really drive home. That is kind of sad. We miss our friends and church in Ft. Myers.<br /><br />Emily will be turning double digits on Sunday. I still remember being pregnant with her and now she's almost 10. Time really does fly. I think of all the children she is having the hardest time with this move. Please pray that she finds a good friend in Jo'burg when we get there.<br /><br />Saturday we are going to Walt Disney World. We got a Disney gift certificate before we left Ft. Myers. The kids are so excited. I think it will be a nice distraction during these last days before we leave. Something truly American to do.<br /><br />Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon packing the children's bags. Man do we have a lot of stuff. We are fortunate that we can check two 50 lb. bags each and we can each take 2 carry-ons. That is 20 bags for our family! I am a bit anxious about the flight. 2 of my 3 children have never been on a plane before much less moving across the world. It should be an interesting experience to say the least.<br /><br />Prayer and Praise Requests:<br /><br />Praise we made it back to Florida with no problems.<br /><br />Praise we sold our van! We are using a rental car now.<br /><br />Praise & Prayer Emily's 10th B-day is Sunday. Pray for her in this transition time and that she finds a friend fast in South Africa.<br /><br />Prayer - that we will have a wonderful and relaxing time in Florida.<br /><br />Prayer - for our families that we are leaving.<br /><br />Prayer- That we could get everything done before we leave.<br /><br />Prayer- at the airport there will be no glitches. Pray that I won't be anxious and that we get there safe.<br /><br />Prayer for all of our missionary friends scattered all over the world. That every nation, tribe and tongue would hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.<br /><br />You all are so awesome. We couldn't have done this without your encouragement and prayers.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-32864098252901185482008-03-29T09:30:00.000-07:002008-03-29T09:52:57.967-07:00The Count Down BeginsWe only have 3 more days! On Thursday we will be heading down to Florida to visit with the grandparents. This week has been great. At the beginning of the week we got the results of our Myers/Briggs test that we took. David is an introvert (big surprise), sensor, thinker, judging and I am an extrovert, sensor, feeler, judging. That pretty much sums up both of us. It is good to know these things about yourself your co-workers and you spouse so you can figure out the way they think about different things. We also learned another tool called Pioneer Evangelism. It has been really interesting to learn all of these tools. The second part of the week we have been in contingency training. This is another tool that has been pretty intense to learn. In fact even today we are still going through it. I would tell you all about it but then I would have to kill you and I don't really want to do this. (ha ha)<br /><br />Tomorrow we are starting the packing/cleaning process. I think we are pretty busy the rest of the week so we won't have much time. Wednesday will be our commissioning service. We are all pretty excited to get on with the moving process. It will be nice to have some down time in Florida. That reminds me. Thank you to those that sent the Easter care package. To the Cooke's I love the recipe game. To Kathi the pictures are beautiful. If you would like to continue to send us care packages please do not sent them to the VA address any longer. You can send them to 2155 Curry Lane, Orlando, FL 32812. We leave for South Africa April 17th. After that I will give you another address. Also, if you are on Facebook I have now joined so that is another way we can keep in touch.<br /><br />You all have been so wonderful while we have been here at ILC. Thank you for your prayers.<br /><br />Prayer/Praise Requests: Praise we are almost done!<br />Praise our nephew Samuel made a profession of faith!<br />We need to sell our van when we get home.<br />Easy transition for the children and us and the grandparents.<br />Saying goodbye to friends going all over the world will be difficult.<br />Travel mercies on Thursday.<br />David's mom is in Europe right now pray for her safe return.<br />Pray for our ministry when we get to the field.<br />Pray for our neighbors and people in the airports and on planes that they will have open hearts to the gospel.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-60002421790228918142008-03-21T10:31:00.001-07:002008-03-21T10:54:55.130-07:00Happy Easter!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOvCheJEzYyAuQ-vCoIW-NM82m686Ac9JqyePhALbnb_8TtRRtcRXDYCznyNeWbRDKo3cnNKaau0QsTtCH4vsJJHS1s2IQtToNMCQMY5wtFQJ4hjq0zkZ4v_2D28J8BApbCpoiTgiz0s5/s1600-h/PICT1069.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180254282889069298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOvCheJEzYyAuQ-vCoIW-NM82m686Ac9JqyePhALbnb_8TtRRtcRXDYCznyNeWbRDKo3cnNKaau0QsTtCH4vsJJHS1s2IQtToNMCQMY5wtFQJ4hjq0zkZ4v_2D28J8BApbCpoiTgiz0s5/s200/PICT1069.JPG" border="0" /></a> This is a picture of our quad. We live on the left side.<br /><br /><br />1 1/2 to go! This week was great. Last Saturday we went to D.C. again. We had a great time. We even got to go up in the Washington Monument. We went to the National Zoo and saw the pandas and to the Air and Space museum. It was great.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We spent most of the week here with our Regional leadership. We learned a lot of things about the culture we will be going into and ministering too. We had fun being with our CESA team. Yesterday was our last day of shots. Leah and Micah did fantastic Emily not so much. But it's over and we won't have to get shots for a long time. Thank you for all of your prayers.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This week was an interesting warfare week. You all know from my last blog that the house sold last Thursday. What you don't know is that for some unknown reason the money from the house sell sat in limbo until Wednesday. When it was finally transferred into our account. At the same time the air conditioning on the van decided to break. We prayed a lot and the van was fixed for $130 and the money from the house finally made it. It is amazing how the enemy knows exactly what things will throw you off. But we praise the Lord for bringing us through it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I know that I said this last week but I just want to thank all of you who sent cards, gifts, e-mails or called David and Leah on their birthdays. You really blessed them. They both had great birthdays.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Prayer Requests: please pray for us especially Thurs. - Sat. David and I will be going through some training that will be tough.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Pray that we can stay focused. It is hard to do when you only have a 1 1/2 left.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Pray for the sell of our van.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Pray for our niece Katy and my sister Kym who both have birthdays this week.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We pray that you have a wonderful Easter. Thank you for all of your prayers. Please let us know if there is anything that we can be praying for you about.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-19163634678451875482008-03-14T09:27:00.000-07:002008-03-14T09:58:27.717-07:00THE HOUSE IS SOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!I never thought that it would feel this good to be homeless. The house sold yesterday at 1:00 p.m. What a blessing. Thank you so much for those who have prayed with us during this time. <br /><br />We only have about 2 1/2 weeks to go. They will be intense weeks so keep praying. This week we learned about doctrines and spiritual warfare. Pretty interesting stuff. Jerry Rankin the President of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">IMB</span> is the spiritual warfare speaker. There are so many things that we have learned but one that really sticks out is that we need to die to self every day. If you drop the "h" in flesh and spell it backwards it spells self. We cannot live in the flesh.<br /><br />Last night our regional leaders came to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ILC</span> and the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">CESA</span> team helped make an African meal. It was really good. At the end we had angel food cake with fruit (papaya, banana, mango, strawberries and pineapple). We celebrated all of the March birthdays. I think there were 5 of them. The food was so good. Emily ate most of it. Leah and Micah tried very small pieces but they weren't too excited by the menu. <br /><br />This is a birthday weekend at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Delac's</span>. David's birthday is today. We made cinnamon rolls for him this morning and the journeymen (girls) on our team decorated the quad. Tonight we have a babysitter and we are going to P.F. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Changs</span> for dinner. Yum! After that we are headed back to have an ice cream party at the quad. Thank you to all of you who sent cards. He really appreciated them. If you would like to send him a birthday e-mail his address is <a href="mailto:david_delac@yahoo.com">david_delac@yahoo.com</a> Tomorrow we are headed back to D.C. just to see some of the sights we missed when we went a couple of weeks ago. Sunday we will celebrate Leah's birthday. She doesn't know about the cards and gifts people have sent. I have hidden those from her until Sunday. I am sure she will be very <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">surprised</span>. Thank you for the love you have shown our family. <br /><br />Last month I wrote that we were kind of feeling forgotten. I want you to know that you all responded to that and have sent e-mails and notes of encouragement. We have really appreciated that. I also want you to know that you can e-mail us and ask questions and we will be happy to answer you. Sometimes we don't know what you want to know. Thanks again for blessing our family.<br /><br />Prayer requests for the week: David and Leah's birthdays<br /><br />Tracy is very congested pray that it would go away.<br /><br />Safe travels to D.C. tomorrow<br /><br />That we would die to self everyday.David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-46262106498848524552008-03-08T06:24:00.000-08:002008-03-08T15:34:30.709-08:00Another Week Finished<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYpOhZ54HyzNWr1AdIVfSM_6UbgBvlFwwu5WN2Lv2XdFq4lpSmxCJcIx2869pZaxgOevsg7gP1jhGeh6TXEtm7zSXprQG7aAFCahlCjzZ_gSBBlYuFxF4qUJLBmHBJK0wuE-RbJCNv8J5H/s1600-h/PICT1084.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175518065224612914" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYpOhZ54HyzNWr1AdIVfSM_6UbgBvlFwwu5WN2Lv2XdFq4lpSmxCJcIx2869pZaxgOevsg7gP1jhGeh6TXEtm7zSXprQG7aAFCahlCjzZ_gSBBlYuFxF4qUJLBmHBJK0wuE-RbJCNv8J5H/s200/PICT1084.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJhZuGl0Lhvm3m1clojfxxzCqXg9jg6NgxbGoA8SkRdYpBq_92LVMlCynEMvN3fs209JzuoXaZi4Mv6Qn-2vdEXM8LBWKJuIkOU6z1pj7f_Hd3sCfRNNBtJBVP4JzR1ZXbxpijM7VmLOG/s1600-h/PICT1087.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175518090994416706" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJhZuGl0Lhvm3m1clojfxxzCqXg9jg6NgxbGoA8SkRdYpBq_92LVMlCynEMvN3fs209JzuoXaZi4Mv6Qn-2vdEXM8LBWKJuIkOU6z1pj7f_Hd3sCfRNNBtJBVP4JzR1ZXbxpijM7VmLOG/s200/PICT1087.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Hello. This was a crazy week. Monday we learned a technique they use called T4T. (Training for Trainers) It is a tool that we can use on the field. Tuesday we all went to Washington D.C. The weather was great. It was overcast but didn't rain until we were leaving. We didn't really get to spend to much time there so we are planning to go back on a Saturday in the next couple of weeks. Our bus stopped in Union Station and before we even got out of there we witnessed to a lady from Zimbabwe. She was very nice. She had grown up a Catholic and before we left she had invited us to visit her family in Zimbabwe. We then met David's cousin Blair. They had not seen each other for over 20 years. Blair and her family live and work in the D.C. area. Blair if your reading this. Hello. She got us a behind the scenes tour of the Capitol. We had 2 interns take us in the underground tunnels that go from the Congressional offices to the Capitol. Pretty cool. We then took the Metro. The kids had never been on a subway. They had fun. We had 2 Journeyman with us. It helped a lot to have 2 girls that didn't mind giving piggy back rides. My back would have never made it. We visited the White House (just the outside) and then we had to get back. We didn't want the bus to leave without us. It was a very exhausting day.<br /><br />Wednesday was a hard day because we had so much to do and every time we tried to call someone the phone died. The Internet wouldn't work. Nobody seemed to be picking up their phones. We had classes all day and we were just frustrated. It was just one of those days. Thursday the Lord answered our prayers. After class in the morning our schedule was changed and we were allowed to have Personal Application Time. So all the stuff we couldn't get done Wed. we got done Thurs. What a blessing. God is good all the time. Friday our speaker was Tom Elliff. He has been to McGregor in the past year I think. He was great he talked about forgiveness and breaking the curse of words, listening and keeping the faith. He was great. Those are really great tools to have.<br /><br />Prayer Requests: We signed the papers yesterday for the house. We should close on Friday.<br /><br />David's Birthday is Friday, March 14th and Leah's birthday is Sunday March 16th<br /><br />That David would finish his paper. It is due tomorrow.<br /><br />For Valerie the lady from Zimbabwe we met in Union Station.<br /><br />That we would not grow weary. This has been a tough week.<br /><br />Thank you for all of your prayers.</div>David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4745960841292543000.post-67407637909003684002008-03-01T18:01:00.000-08:002008-03-01T18:28:16.377-08:00We are 1/2 way through<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGikHLorUkKNeyo65kbLfnwfmrChKg1qoEn0GjFRlPDSzaWiwWT2Gunv7CSqVC99X7DMfmYIxP5hIL-AGdhtTj57KIycvSFKvWAGjX-qcZQ1CAtaX_y1ZdMpSGTIsq43Bf3UcYsxqVES_N/s1600-h/PICT1063.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172965416877694658" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGikHLorUkKNeyo65kbLfnwfmrChKg1qoEn0GjFRlPDSzaWiwWT2Gunv7CSqVC99X7DMfmYIxP5hIL-AGdhtTj57KIycvSFKvWAGjX-qcZQ1CAtaX_y1ZdMpSGTIsq43Bf3UcYsxqVES_N/s200/PICT1063.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Hello again. I can't believe we are already 1/2 way through our orientation. The weeks have just flown by. Next month we will be getting on a plane and leaving for Africa. This week has been a tough one. We had classes about the persecuted church the first part of the week. We learned that the thing that other countries learn the most from missionaries from the US is fear. Isn't that sad. That is what we teach them. I was shocked. It was an awesome class to go through. The last half of the week we learned about Bible Storying. Since most of the world is illiterate we learned how to witness by telling Bible stories. It seems pretty easy until you are the one trying to tell the story. Really you need to remember a lot. Because you can't just tell one story and think that they will get saved. I am still working on that. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The children are doing well this week. The girls got to go to another quad and have a sleep over last night. They stayed with other girls and the chaperone's were 3 of our journeymen (don't worry they are girls). They had a good time. On Tuesday we all will be going up to Washington D.C. to witness and to get familiar riding the Metro and eat in a culturally different place. This is all of the people here and their families. The children are very excited.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>We all got our shots yesterday. The kids and David each had 4. I only had 3. Last week I was asked why the difference in number of shots. Well I had shot records for me and the kids but we could not find David's so he is getting a lot. Also I went to Nigeria in 06 and got a lot of the shots that the children are getting now. So that is what the difference is.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Prayer Requests: That we are safe going to D.C. and that we will be able to witness to someone.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Praise: Last week we found out that some medicine that David has to take was going to cost us about $300 for the next 2 months. Well we found out that there is an assistance program for this medicine so now we only have to pay $75 for the next 2 months. It is still expensive but it is a whole lot better. It is payed 100% once we get on the field.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Our house was supposed to close yesterday. However, our buyer needed 2 more weeks. We really need your prayers that it will close by March 14th.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>As always please continue to pray that we are walking close with God. Pray that the enemy will stay away from us and pray for those that are being persecuted for believing in Jesus.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Thank you.</div>David and Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203505429990667544noreply@blogger.com3