Debrief in Progress.....

Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to tell you all that Jodi and I are very appreciative of all of you who are so much a part of what we do. Please know that we love you and think of you often.

The Global Challenge Expeditions teams returned from their year-long journeys and we are all gathering for their debrief process.  The Teams worked alongside missionaries, building houses, planting churches and visiting and working very hard at orphanages. I visited two of these teams during the year if you can recall.

We are listening to the most incredible stories that are filled with the faithfulness, the love, and the kindness of God. So many of the young people came back forever changed. They have been especially touched by the plight of the poor, the orphans, and the widows they’ve met this year. They experienced how God uses ordinary people to be messengers of hope. I cannot help but notice how the guys from the “Work your Way” team left as high school boys and returned as powerful men of God.

I have been playing a large part in the debrief process and I absolutely love it. Swaziland has prepared us in a lot of ways to teach from experience. God is stirring my creative side for the first time in a long time and my teachings are becoming more 3 - dimensional.

My being in Jeffreys Bay is almost like I am experiencing Spring. It is as if God, the Gardner is spending a lot of time on me as plant. He enjoys gardening and takes great care in giving me water and nutrients and placing me in the best spot to catch the sun. The stuff that brings me life, my gifts and creative side seem to be blossoming again… I am happy to be here and be a part of the bigger story that God is putting together.

Jodi is also hard at work. She is hosting the international students, and helping to facilitate their debrief process with one-on-ones and lots of listening. She is also planning to cook a Thanksgiving Feast for all of the Americans she knows here in Jeffrey's Bay. Even Emi is helping out, as we had the teams over for dinner and she entertained them with song and dance! Thanks for being a part of all we do here.

Blessings,

Marius (Jodi and Emi)

Emi's Surgery A Success!

Thank you guys so much for praying for Emi during her tonsillectomy. Emi did well in her surgery, and today is DAY 3 and she is still doing great. We’re just staying on top of the pain meds and so far so good.

Thank you!!

Love,

The Deetlefs family

Please Pray for Emi's Surgery TOMORROW!

This is just a quick note to ask you to pray for Emi tomorrow (Thursday, October 20), as she will be having her tonsillectomy in the morning. The ENT recommends that with her recent struggles with her tonsils, this is the best route for us to go. Her surgery will be around 8am (2am for you guys in Georgia), so please pray for her before you go to bed.

It was such a blessing for us to see many of you in the States. Thanks again for helping us to get there with your sky miles! Thanks mom and dad for all of your hospitality and help with Emi while I was home. Emi had lots of great time with her Ouma, Oupa, cousins, and aunt and uncle!

We love and appreciate you greatly! Please pray that all goes well tomorrow.

Jodi  (for the whole Deetlefs gang)

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

There’s No Place Like Home!

Emi was released from the hospital on Sunday morning with an infection count of 10 (down from 94!), and the doctor was confident that she was ready to fly. So we did, and we landed safely in Atlanta yesterday (Monday) morning, after our 16 ½ hour flight.

She did great, and we are SO happy to be here! We had a late Happy Birthday party with Oupa (Afrikaans for Grandpa) and look forward to spending lots of time at Ouma and Oupa’s house, catching up on sleep, getting Emi’s appetite back, and recovering from this serious bout with tonsillitis. I pray these next few weeks feel like a long time.

Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support that helped us make this trip. There really is no place like home!

Lots of love from Jasper, Georgia,

Mama & Emi

Operation SkyMiles - TEMPORARILY GROUNDED!

OPERATION SKYMILES – TEMPORARILY GROUNDED!

Most of you know that I was supposed to be landing in the good ole USA this morning to surprise my dad for his 60^th birthday. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and we are still in South Africa.

Emi has been battling with tonsillitis for almost 2 weeks, and was on her 3^rd round of different antibiotics and still she had a pretty high fever. Emi and I flew to Johannesburg on Tuesday, and when she still wasn’t improving on Wednesday (the day we were supposed to fly) I decided to take her to the doctor to just make sure it was ok for her to fly in this condition.  After looking at her tonsils, he immediately admitted her into the hospital for IV antibiotics. She is scheduled to be in the hospital for 5 days! This was SO unexpected, but God has been taking care of us in every way.

This morning her fever broke (after hovering at 102-103 since Sunday) and she is just starting to feel a little bit better. Marius flew in last night, and that is a great help for me and for his biggest fan-Emi! We pray by Sunday she will be released from the hospital on schedule, and be feeling like herself again!

I am SOOOOOOO grateful to God for giving me the wisdom to go for that doctor’s visit. The pediatrician said that her tonsils were so big that her airway could have been compromised, and that is one thing you don’t want to happen at 30,000 feet! When they did her blood work, her infection level was sky high. They usually give kids antibiotics when their infection level is between 2-5, and Emi’s was 94! This is after being on Zithromax, Augmenten, and Orelox. Anyway, please pray with us that she continues to get better and better. 

We have really felt the grace of God on us in these last days; so many kind strangers, and wonderful nurses, and lovely friends encouraging us and praying. Thank you!

While I’m very disappointed that I’m missing dad’s actual birthday, we will still get to fly, possibly even Sunday evening. So, it will still be great to come home and celebrate, just with a healthy little girl instead. Thank you all so much for helping make this trip a reality, and we’ll see you a little later, ok? Keep prayin!

Lots of love from Pretoria East Hospital!

Marius, Jodi, and Emi

OPERATION SKY MILES: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I am SO grateful, and thankful, and speechless at the tremendous response to my last blog and request for Sky Miles! As a result of so many generous mile donations, I have booked our sky miles award tickets, and we are coming home for my dad’s birthday!!!

I want to thank the following people for your GENEROUS GIFT OF MILES to us:

Bonnie Padgett

Dee Benbrook

Tom Wade

Marty Beaver

David & Lisa Filkins

Jerald & Majesty Brown

Jennifer Davo

Kent & Becky Pirkle

And to those of you who also GENEROUSLY OFFERED to donate miles or help in other ways to get us home:

Tommy James

Randy Saxon

Larry Womack (thanks to Steve Wallace)

Steve Kasha

The Altmans (thanks to Elysa MacLelllan)

Tricia Turner Atkinson

Lynn Weaver New

Thanks also to so many of you who were praying with us for this to happen. Your prayers were answered.  My dad is going to be SOOOOOOOOOOO excited and so surprised for this tremendous Birthday gift! I assure you – he is worth the surprise. Anybody who knows him knows that for sure.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this gift to him and to us! USA here we come…….

Love,

Jodi & Emi

*Please let me know if I need to reimburse you for your transfer fees, which I am more than happy to do!

TOP SECRET MISSION!!

I have a really great idea, and I just need a little help to make it happen. My dad’s 60^th birthday is next month, along with my parent’s 40^th wedding anniversary, and I would LOVE to surprise them with a quick surprise visit home. We won’t be coming home for Christmas this year, and I can think of nothing my dad would rather have for his birthday than a surprise visit from his grandbaby that he hasn’t seen in 9 months!

At first I thought it was completely impossible, as it would cost close to $5,000 for Emi and I to fly home, but when I saw this month’s Delta Special Offer I thought this could really happen. So here’s the deal:

To be able to fly home for his 60^th, I just need some Delta Sky Miles. If any of you have some sky miles that you would be willing to transfer to me, I would greatly appreciate it!

Ticket costs:            100,000 miles

I have:                         8,000 miles

I need                        92,000 miles

*But the GREAT news is from August 10-Sept 30 Delta is offering a 100% Miles Bonus which means if someone transfers 10,000 miles to my account – Delta gives me 20,000 instead! So, I really only need:

Only need         46,000 miles

So, for only 46,000 Delta Sky Miles I can fly home and surprise my dad for his 60^th birthday! Marius won’t be able to come because of work, but I if I get Sky Miles for my ticket, then I will then purchase Emi’s ticket (which is only a 10% fare because she’s still under 2 years old).

So, please, if you have some extra sky miles in your account – would you consider transferring them to me?  Several of my friends are avid travelers, so I know this is really POSSIBLE!  If you are interested in helping me, please email me at jodideetlefs@yahoo.com:  

Here’s the link to the Delta Transfer Miles page if you want more details:   http://bit.ly/aEYG4E . There is a $10/1,000 miles fee and a transaction fee of $30 which I would gladly reimburse you for if you’re interested in transferring some miles for me! My Delta Sky Miles Account # is Jodi Deetlefs 2225388079.

Remember, this is a surprise, so please don’t tell my parents! I know it is a long shot, but I just want to see if this is possible, and if you can help, it has to happen SOON (like in the next 7-10 days) while there are still Delta Sky Miles Award seats available on the flights.

Let me know if you choose to accept this TOP SECRET birthday mission!

Thanks so much!

jodi

Out of Egypt....

What a joy to be alive and find our purpose and strength in Jesus! Looking back on the last six months I cannot help but notice how God has built into our lives. He has pushed us out of our comfort zones to embrace who we are in Him. I feel like a tree getting all the sun and water it needs to flourish. I am growing so much lately and I am thankful for this season. Jesus is calling me to BE who I am, who He has made me to be, to trust in my talents and gifts, and to live from a heart of courage. 


In the book “Strengths Finder” the author says: “When we’re able to put most of our energy into developing our natural talents, extraordinary room for growth exists.” He continues saying that there is a myth out there that tells us, “We can be anything we want to be if we try hard enough. Unfortunately, we cannot be anything we want to be, but we can be a lot more of who we already are”. He encourages the reader to focus on their strengths instead of putting so much of their energy into their weaknesses. I am at that place in my life where I want to focus on what I am good at instead of spinning my wheels on that which I am not good at. It brings freedom to operate from your natural talents. So, I am embracing opportunities to teach, to communicate creatively, and to focus on Bible training.

I just returned from my 3 week trip to Egypt/Budapest/Croatia. I met our Explore Africa team in Cairo, Egypt, met the Northbound team in Budapest, Hungary, and traveled on with them to Croatia. The focus of our time with the teams was a midyear debrief session during which we gauged where they were spiritually as a team, as leaders, and as individual team members.  We shared in their laughter and tears as they told the amazing stories of God’s miracles they have experienced in the last 6 months. We prayed for each of them and encouraged them to finish the second half of this year strong. 

What a huge privilege and joy it was for me to be a part of this process in their lives. Some of the students asked me where I got my training to do this. The truth is I haven’t;  it’s just flowing from the heart that Jesus gave me, and I'm learning to be faithful with that. I left Europe with a renewed sense that Jodi and I are exactly where we need to be for this season. I felt validated and appreciated. I felt like I really have something to bring to Global Challenge. I felt loved and cared for by Jesus, and He is helping me to retake me - who I am.

One of the many  highlights for me was when I was asked to teach on communion. Looking at the Gospels I grasped something of the beauty of us REMEMBERING our friend Jesus. I love the simplicity of the Gospel…

Just as a side note, Egypt is not my dream vacation destination. Cairo with its 20 million people is like a beehive on steroids. Crazy drivers and colorless landscapes with extreme heat. Not my favorite...  Three weeks felt a bit too long to be away from home. Jodi had a rough time with Emi who was looking for her dad all the time. Maybe 10-14 days would be better next time. 

I want to thank you all for being a part of this journey with me. Thank you for praying for me, and for Jodi and Emi while I was away. Thank you for selflessly sharing in our lives here in Africa and beyond. We appreciate you! Thank you for your sacrifices so that we can continue to serve Him with our lives here. Many blessings from our family to yours!

Marius

p.s. I still need to come up with $400 more dollars to pay off this trip if anyone feels led to contribute financially. Thanks!

Here are a few pictures of my time with our teams:

Here we were with the Explore Africa team in Dahub, Egypt.

This is possibly where Mt. Sinai is located where Moses received the 10 Commandments.

Marius in front of a pyramid. They are really magnificent and gigantic!

Budapest, Hungary -where we met the Northbound team. Such a welcome sight after Egypt!

We stayed in a college dorm for a few nights.

Marius in Split, Croatia.

Omis, Croatia

The beautiful Croatian coast.

One of our students who was being baptized by her father who is a pastor and her mother. This was so special!

Marius teaching on communion in Croatia.

The Northbound team 

Cairo Backpackers where we stayed in Egypt.

Lunch - Global style.

Marius and Anna-Marie meeting with the Northbound leaders - Elbe and Jonathan.

Just bring what you have......

Recently I was reminded of a time when someone asked what my favorite birthday ever was, and my parents were in the room when I answered. I said, "It was when I was a freshman at Berry College and my mom and dad drove over to spend my birthday with me and brought a picnic with all of my favorite foods - fried green tomatoes, okra, macaroni and tomatoes, green beans, etc." I could see my mom had tears streaming down her face when I answered, and I asked her what was wrong. She said that year they were completely broke on my birthday. They had to use change from their piggy bank to fill up the car with gas to get to Rome to visit me. She had been so upset and she told the Lord she didn't have money to buy me anything. The Lord told her, "You have food. Make some of her favorite dishes." Mom found that she did have several of my favorite ingredients in the fridge and pantry, so she just started cooking. They drove over and surprised me, and still to date that was my very favorite birthday. Just to be with my parents, and to be with people who really KNEW me and knew what I really loved. Isn't God amazing? Sometimes we feel that our gift isn't grand enough and we're ashamed to offer what we have, but God only wants our willingness, and for us to bring what we have, then He takes our little offering and makes it into something really beautiful. 

It’s like the kid in the Bible with the loaves and fishes. There was no way that child could feed the thousands that needed food, but he simply offered what he had to the Lord, and Jesus took that, multiplied it, and fed thousands.

And there is the widow in 2 Kings who came to the prophet Elisha pleading for his help because her sons were going to be taken away as slaves because she couldn’t pay her debts. Elisha asked her what she had, and she said she only had a small jar of olive oil. He told her to ask her neighbors for all of the empty containers she could find and go back to her house and pour olive oil from her little jar until it filled all of the empty containers. She did as he said, and her tiny jar of olive oil filled ALL of the empty containers, which she then sold to pay off her debts and save her sons from servitude. This was a miracle from God, but it required her simply bringing what she had.  In her case all she had was a little oil and her neighbor’s empty jars.

An American missionary here told me a story about when the Lord first called them to the mission field. They went to a big church in Spokane, Washington, and she was looking around the room and saying to God, “There are so many people in this room Lord that are so much more qualified to go overseas and do what you’ve asked US to do."  She said she received a very humbling answer from God as He said to her, “Yes there are. There are 29 people just in this church who are much more qualified to do the job I've asked you to do.”  “Then why US Lord?” she asked. “Because you said YES,” The Lord answered.

Humbling huh? Sometimes the best thing we can give God is just our willingness.  Even though we may look around and see people more qualified or with more resources or more talent, we just simply need to bring what we have, and let God do the multiplying.

Sometimes, after having Emi, I have thought I don’t have so much to offer anymore. I am only able to be at the Community Center a few hours each week with my Xhosa and Zimbabwean girls. 

After becoming a mommy my time is so limited, my resources are limited, I can no longer travel around singing or sharing at churches like I used to do, I can’t visit the teams with Marius, and sometimes it doesn’t feel like I have so much to give. (Yes, even on the mission field we feel like this too!) Aside from learning how to be a great mom to Emi which I believe is of the utmost importance, there is also this theme swimming around in my head, and God has been showing me real time that it is truly about just giving what I have. Here are a few recent examples.

There is a sweet elderly lady in our complex named Ouma Miriam. (Ouma is the Afrikaans word for Grandmother). I met her one day several months ago when I was pulling Emi around in her red Radio Flyer wagon. Since then, Emi and I go to visit Ouma Miriam every week, and we’ve grown to love her very much. She just turned 89 and I was asking God how I could bless her for her birthday. I had my last Betty Crocker cake mix and icing (from the States of course) and so I baked her a cake, picked her a little bouquet of flowers from around our little townhouse garden, and wrapped a few food items for her – a jar of curried carrots from my sister-in-law, some homemade rusks (similar to biscotti), a little beaded cross bookmark, and some toffees. Emi and I took the cake, flowers, and presents over in Emi’s wagon, and we had a tea party with Ouma Miriam to celebrate her birthday. We prayed for her after tea, and with tears streaming down her face, Ouma Miriam told me she couldn’t remember the last time somebody prayed for her. Now isn’t that great? A little cake mix, a short prayer, and wallllaaaaaaa…… God multiplied my little something small into something really special!

 Another example is my water aerobics’ class. I go 2-3 times a week to help strengthen my knee to prolong this knee replacement surgery. I am at least 30 years younger than most of the other participants, and I love it. I’ve made so many new friends, and I've been to several Ouma’s homes for tea, as a result of meeting them in this class. One lady even started a conversation with me in the locker room and ended up inviting me to sing in their Methodist Women’s Group meeting! I was their guest speaker a few weeks ago and it was really great!

I met another lady in that class who was a former prostitute and drug user. While she was in rehab she had an encounter with Jesus, and she has never been the same since. God has given me many opportunities through this class to meet new people and encourage them, and to share about Jesus. It’s so cool, and it is just about being willing to be used wherever we are with whatever we have to bring.

I hope this blog finds you well. Please know that we love you and thank you for helping us serve here in South Africa! You may not feel like you have much to give but I assure you, you are making a difference in lives with us here. Many many blessings!

Love,

Jodi

24 Hours to Cairo…

Today as I write, it is Sunday morning, and in less than 24 hours I’ll be flying to Egypt to meet up with one of our Global Challenge teams - the “Explore Africa” team.  After I spend a week with them, I’ll fly on to meet another team - the “Northbound” team in Croatia, only to return homeon July 17^th.

These teams have been traveling since the end of their training in January of this year, so they’re about half way through their one-year journeys. The focus of our visit is to help debrief the teams, encourage them for the rest of their year, and help them to refocus their vision. I’ll be having one-on-one time with the leaders to make sure there aren’t any issues that need sorting out, and to just let them “vent” a little. We’ll spend a lot of time together in the Word of God and allow Him to refresh us all.  I am very blessed to be a part of this. I’m also excited to be traveling with two other leaders on this journey.

The Lord has been so good to me. These last three months have been a battle for me to re-take ME –those things which the Lord has instilled in me, that which brings me life, that which encourages people. A big part of this process has been the rediscovery of my dormant creativity. I have decided to step out in faith and be all that I know God has created me to be. That choice has begun transforming my thinking, which is bringing me so much joy, courage, and peace. I believe the rest of the year will mark the rebirth of the blueprint that God has planned for me to be. (More on this later)

I am including a few pictures of some of the projects we’ve been up to lately. Two Saturdays ago a few of us Global guys were privileged to build a small house for a widow in the local township. Each of us on leadership meet weekly in our home cell groups and one of our leaders, Clara, has been building a relationship with this elderly lady named Maria. Maria was homeless, and so Clara let the need be known to all of the home cell groups, and we took up an offering, and were able to build her a home! What a joy to be part of this. I cut all of the corrugated tin for the roof and the sides and helped with the framing. Between about 10 of us, Maria had a house in 6 hours! How is that for an Extreme Home Makeover?

The moment that touched my heart was when Ouma Maria grabbed a bucket of water and started washing the cars of those of us who had come to build her home. This is what she had to offer, and so this is what she gave.

Sorry for not blogging lately. There has been so much going on in preparing for this Egypt trip, in local projects to help raise money for our new high school that is in the planning stages, lots of meetings with the full-time Global Challenge staff here, and in helping to raise our 19-month-old ball of energy, Emi.

Thank you for playing a role in everything we do here. We don’t take you for granted for a moment. Hebrews 10: 24 in the New Living Translation says this:

“Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.”

Let’s all be known by our love and good deeds towards the ones that the Lord puts across our paths. Thanks again for journeying with us in all of this. Pray for me while I’m in Egypt and Croatia, and for Jodi and Emi back home in South Africa while I’m away.

Thanks so much,

Marius

Great to be doing what you love to do!!!

The past month was so full of great stuff. Here are some photos to show you some snapshots of what has been going on....

I had the opportunity to teach 3 sessions on Worship, and it was so much fun! I haven't taught in many years, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I look forward to doing it again this year.

I got to help lead worship several times during training. During worship  Emi would stand in the back and point and yell, "Mamma!" I think I was distracting people from worshipping God more than I was helping lead them into worship!

Marius & I hosted an "International Night" for the 5 International students from America, Brazil, Botswana, New Zealand, and Australia. We had a nice meal together, and each girl had a flower and chocolate.  It was great to get to know these girls from all over the world. Hospitality is so at the core of who we are and what we love to do. It was such a blessing to get to sit around the table with many nations represented and all share the same heart, and the same love for Jesus.

I got to actually use my new place-mats and napkins for a very nice international braai. Marius bought them for me at Christmas in Georgia, and it was the perfect night for them to come out of the cupboard.

Four of the "international" students who weren't from South Africa. They are all on the same team this year called "Southbound" because most of the direction they take around the globe this year will be in the southern hemisphere. In June, Marius will meet up with them in Bosnia/Croatia to help with their debrief of the first half of their year serving all over the globe. They'll be helping long-term missionaries and pastors with building, taking care of orphans, painting, evangelism, and many surprises along the way!

Marius got to teach several times during training. This picture was at a Festival with 3 Christian organizations joining together  for a week of teaching, worship, and fellowship. He did such a great job!

He says part of him just comes alive when he teaches! 

This is our full-time Global Challenge staff. Marius and I seriously feel privileged to work with these quality people. They are just amazing, and we're learning alot from them. We were at a staff retreat at a beautiful private nature reserve.

This is the cabin where we stayed. It is called Barakke, which means "barracks". This house belonged to a former South African President, and this was the barracks of his secret service men. 

Someone let us stay in their two homes for free at a very exclusive private nature reserve. It was absolutely beautiful and so peaceful. We got together and prayed for the weekend, for God to continue to lead us and guide our organization.

Beautiful ocean views.

We had a great guest speaker from Scotland, and I got to spend some time with his lovely wife, Yvonne. We really enjoyed hanging out and laughing together. 

This is me with Elaine from Brazil.

Marius and Emi with Helen from New Zealand and Erin from Australia.

Can you believe it? This is Erin's belongings for the whole year! Each Global Challenge participant was allowed one backpack and a small daypack, which had to include their tent and sleeping bag. I was seriously impressed.

Emi was saying goodbye to Linel and Heather before they left.

The students were just about to embark on their year long journeys around the world.

These are 3 of the young girls I've been tutoring at the  Ithemba Community Center.

I just love these girls. 2 of them are from Zimbabwe and they are very smart young ladies. We have lots of fun doing homework and learning about life and about God together.

Well, these are a few snapshots of the past few weeks. Please know how deeply we appreciate you keeping up with us and being a part of all that we're doing here in South Africa. We are making a difference in these lives together! Thank you and bless you. I will leave you with one last photo of our sweet Emi girl, who is also thoroughly enjoying her little missionary life here in South Africa!




love,
Marius, Jodi and Emi