A look back at camp #3

Camp was incredible. Once again, we were blown away by all God did in the lives of the children and leaders. Each year I am blown away at God's faithfulness. It is amazing to me that He takes a group of people from different cultures and backgrounds, many of whom have never met, and does such beautiful things through them--things that will impact His Kingdom for eternity. I am so humbled to be a part of it. It is truly an amazing thing to watch. 

Walking into the worship room on the first day, there was this strange silence as 61 kids stood around not really knowing what to expect. We started out the week calling them our first quiet group, but believe me that didn't last long. After only a few hours, they came out of their shells and were loving every minute of it! Our leaders did an amazing job making the kids feel comfortable and loved very quickly. Before we knew it, the teams were playing games and doing cheers like they were veterans. 

Our theme for the week was a new creation--Promise and Melissa did an amazing job as always. Even though they share the message in a language we cannot understand, it is so clear that they are proclaiming the truth of the gospel in a powerful way! The small group leaders did a great job expounding on what Promise and Melissa taught in the large group sessions. It is wonderful to see Americans and South Africans working side by side to see kids come to understand the message of the gospel. 

We celebrated with baptism on the last full day of camp--Jamie and my dad shared in baptism with 46 kids--3 of which had accepted Christ before camp, while the other 43 accepted Christ during the week! Please continue to pray for these kids. Many of them have now transitioned back into a home where there may not be any other believers. They may even be in a home where they are mocked for the decision that they made. Please pray for them as they persevere in their walk with Christ. And pray for us as we seek to disciple these children in the months to come. 

Our prayer is that this isn't just a one time event, but that it is the start of a new life for these kids. A life where they often have so little, but can now find all they truly need in Jesus. 

With that in mind, please join us in praying for the purchase of land in the township. We have now submitted our paperwork for non-profit status in South Africa, and on approval we will hopefully be able to purchase land where we can build a resource center to aid in ongoing discipleship of the kids that come through our camps. 

In just 2 weeks I will be home for a couple of months! I am really looking forward to this time with my family and excited about all the events that will be taking place! It is definitely going to be a special time. I am also looking forward to being able to share at various churches in the community about what God is doing in the Hidden Place and where we believe He is leading us. I still have a few spots open, so if you are interested in hearing more about what we do, I would love to be able to share with your church or group! If you are interested, please e-mail me at thehiddenplacesa@gmail.com 

Thank you all for your continued interest and support. We couldn't do what we do without you--thank you for being a part of this ministry. 

--Courtney 

3 weeks til #3

Here we are 3 weeks away from camp #3--it's honestly a bit surreal. A year ago preparation was happening for the first Hidden Place camp. My mind is blown when I think back to all God has done during that time.

Preparation is well underway on this side--bible studies are finished, forms are funnelling in, leaders are in place, shopping has been (mostly) done, and stress levels are a bit higher than normal. It as at this time that the fears begin to flood my mind. Will enough kids show up? Will our leaders get along? Will the weather be good? Will the charter buses show up? Will someone get hurt? Will someone be left out?

And as those fears come through, I am reminded that this is God's--I'm just a small part of it. If we have 50 kids or 75 kids, it will be ok. In the hiccups and moments that don't go so smoothly, God is still there. He has something to teach each one of us involved. And as cliche as it may seem, He is in control. And at the end of the day, if one child comes to know Him personally, it is all worth it. All the money--all the resources--all the time--all the effort--all the fears--all the anxiety. It is all worth it. And I couldn't think of anything else I would rather spend my life doing.

A new creation is our theme. And God has been challenging me so much in that lately. At church last night, Richard challenged us to be who we are in Christ. We are holy. We are righteous. We are hidden in Christ.

We are His. So let's be His. Just as we will talk about with our children in a few weeks, being His doesn't mean let's "act" like we are His. It isn't all about behaviour--it's about our hearts. And when our hearts are so in love and in awe of who Jesus is and what He has done for us, we can't help but become something new.

I'm so excited for October 6th to get here. Ever time the first day rolls around I struggle to sleep. I am so giddy just thinking about how incredible it's going to be. The small things are my favourites--seeing our kiddies load onto a huge bus, many for the first time. Arriving at camp and seeing their faces light up seeing the beauty of the J-life farm. Seeing them pile their plates full of food and then being amazed that they actually eat it all. Trying to get them to sleep the first night. Trying to keep them out of the showers ALL day. Teaching them the superman prayer. Watching the first child pray to accept Christ as Saviour--and then the next one and the next one. Watching them laugh at all the white people trying to dance. Watching them learn new things, and teach us new things as well.

I could go on and on.

For now, I sit here expectant. I can't wait to see what all God is going to do. I can't wait to get there. I can't wait to meet each of the kids that will be at camp. I can't wait to see lives and hearts changed by the gospel.

the busiest season yet

I've been sitting in bed for the past 30 minutes trying to will my mind to rest. Today it hit me how insane the next few months are going to be. Just a disclaimer, this blog might be a little out of the ordinary, but I felt like letting people in to more than just the hidden place aspects of life. I just wanted to be me and share a glimpse into this season. 

Camp is in less than two months, and believe me that alone usually is a bit overwhelming. I honestly cannot wait--and I believe that we are going to have an incredible team, both from the States and from South Africa. We are going to have close to 10 leaders at camp who have been before--what a blessing! I have no doubt that this is going to make my job a little less stressful, and God definitely knew that this was the time I was going to need that. 

Tomorrow marks 5 months til the wedding. And yes I know 5 months is a long time. But let me just tell you all that is going to happen in that time. On the first of September Carl moves into our new home!! yay :) Which means moving furniture, cleaning, painting, and organising a new home. Thankful we will have time to get his stuff settled and the house decorated before it is officially our home together in January. The next month brings camp and all the things that entails :) 

And during this time I will be studying for my FINAL semester!! Woop! I applied for graduation from NOBTS for December of THIS YEAR! I never thought I would be able to write those words :) 

On top of these events, we are still working quite diligently on finding land for The Hidden Place in Alex. And I'm happy to say we are making progress! I am currently working on getting our non-profit and tax-free status here so that we are able to get a better price from the government. Please please please keep this in your prayers. We are hopeful that we will have land by the end of the year...

I am also still working at the tutor centre 4 days a week. It has been so great in the past few weeks to have extra volunteers join our team--this means I have extra time to spend with my older elementary kids working on skills they really need to develop. 

Needless to say, it is quite a busy time. Please pray for me--pray that I will be able to really focus on my relationship with Christ. Pray that I wouldn't wish this season away, but I would allow God to use it to develop whatever He needs to in me before next year. 

Please pray for Carl as this is also a crazy busy time for him. Also please pray for my amazing family in America. My parents and my sisters are truly going above and beyond to make all the events in this season go as smoothly as possible. I am so thankful for the support system that they are. 

Believe me--I know all of these events are nothing compared to the lives of many people. I just wanted to let you all in and ask for your prayers. My desire is to stay focused on what God wants to do in and through The Hidden Place in the next few months. I truly believe He has great things in store. 

Thank you all for your support. Thank you for your encouragement and love. I'm so blown away at this life I get to live :) 

bye for now! 

Patience

Patience. I am pretty sure that my Father has been trying to teach me that lesson for many years. However, I'm learning that maybe it isn't what I always thought it was. You see, patience isn't sitting around waiting on God to open a door or provide what you need. Patience isn't letting go of your dreams. Patience isn't a command to stop trying. Patience is rest--Resting in the fact that God is completely sovereign over a situation. Patience is an active belief that God will provide in His time. But patience is active. 

For the past 6 months, we have been praying for God to provide land in Alex to build a resource centre/office for The Hidden Place. I honestly had no idea where to begin looking as townships have their own culture when it comes to buying land. Basically, it's by word of mouth. So, I started spreading the word--telling anyone I could that we were looking for land. For a while there weren't really any leads, and then about a month ago something happened. A guy who does some recruitment for camp came to me and had some potential land. I was beyond thrilled. We went and looked at the property and chatted about what would need to be done to create what we wanted. And then I waited. 

I waited on "the man" in Alex to come back to me with an offer. I waited to sit down with him and talk about prices and conditions, etc. And it never happened. 

Earlier this week I found out that the purchase has most likely fallen through as there are some issues between him and the municipality. Not really sure of all the details--I was just told it wasn't going to happen. 

So here we are--back to searching. Back to being patient while knocking on every door we can to find out anything we can about land. I am truly confident that in the right time, God will provide exactly the piece of land He wants us to have--but I still have days when I don't want to wait. I have so many days when I'm ready for this venture to continue to grow--when I am ready to have a place our kids can come to grow in their walk with Christ. I am ready to take this to the next step. 

And then I wonder--maybe God is waiting for me to really be ready. He must know when the right time is--He must know what needs to be in order first. He knows. And He will provide. 

Thank you to everyone who has prayed and encouraged me during this time--please don't stop your prayers! Let's continue to go to God with this and trust that He will open the right door at the right time. 

In other news, we will be having a follow up day with our kids on the 17th of July. We are taking them to a local park for the morning where we will have a braai, games, and worship--after that they will split into their groups from camp and chat about how things have been since. The local leaders will be there to encourage them in their faith and touch base to  let them know we are still here. It will be an amazing day--please be in prayer that all the kids will be able to attend! 

Also, I will be home for a few weeks in June/July so I am looking forward to seeing many of you during that time :) 

lots of love--

Court

Camp #2 :)

What an amazing week! I don't think I will ever stop being overwhelmed by the fact that God chose me to be a part of this ministry. Being apart of a week that brings cultures and races together as the body of Christ is beyond incredible. I had my fears going into this week--will we see the same results as we did last year? Will the team be unified? Will we make a difference? Will everything go smoothly? The list goes on and on, but as I saw the week unfold, I was reminded that God is sovereign. He takes a team from various walks of life and backgrounds and unites them in Him to make a difference for His Kingdom. Is it difficult? You better believe it! Do we have differences? That is for sure--but one thing is constant, and that is the fact that we all want these children to know Jesus in a personal and intimate way.

We had 72 kids attend the second Hidden Place camp, over 30 of them accepted Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives! Relationships were built with leaders in the community which we hope will join us in doing follow up with the kids in the coming weeks. Our mission does not stop here. There is more to do. Jesus called us to make disciples, and that is our desire. Please join us in continuing to pray for the kids that attended camp. Pray that they will continue to walk out the decision that they made a few weeks ago. Pray for the team here that we are able to develop a discipleship strategy that works and impacts the lives of these children. And please please join us in praying for the Lord to provide land. It is truly a deep need of ours to have a face in the community and a home base from which we can minister to the children of the community.

Thank you all for your support, prayers, and encouragement. A special thanks to the amazing team from the States who went above and beyond what they were asked to make this camp a reality.

2 weeks!

Wow...time is flying! I cannot believe we are just two weeks away from our next camp. I just wanted to give everyone a little update on how prep is going and ways you can pray...

We currently have 55 kids signed up for camp and will have a few more in the next few days. We have 9 leaders coming from the States and 8 coming from various townships around Johannesburg. I am so grateful for the team we have in place. I really believe God is going to do great things in and through them!

Promise will be leading us in large group bible studies throughout the week, and Brad will be leading us in worship. Please pray for these two as they prepare for the week.

Game and activity prep is coming together as well. It is always a joy to watch the kids as they learn how to do new things and build relationships with their team. Please pray for each of our 8 teams--that the leaders will be able to quickly build relationships with the kids, as well as the kids with one another.

A major prayer request is team unity. Our team during camp is made up of people from various cultures and backgrounds, which can sometimes make unity difficult. Please pray that people will step out of their comfort zones and get to know new people. Pray that we will be unified as we work together to minister to the children attending.

In these next two weeks so much prep work takes place--both here and in the States. My desire is that our focus will stay on Christ and what is in going to do in the week of camp. So often the details and lists can become so overwhelming that my focus shifts. Join me in praying for our kids, our leader, and that God would be the focus of the week.

Thank you all for your support--this couldn't happen without you. Please check out The Hidden Place on Facebook and follow us on twitter thehiddenplace_ for all kinds of updates during camp.

:) Courtney  

a new year

After a wonderful month with my family and friends in America, I am back in SA and looking ahead to all that the year holds. First of all, I just want to update you guys on all that happened while I was in the States. It was a wonderful and very busy visit!

While in the States, we received some very exciting information---our non-profit/tax exempt status was approved!!! I am so thankful to everyone who has prayed for this--it was such a relief to get that piece of paper so that we can begin the process on this side of the ocean. Please pray as we begin the process of gaining that same status in SA.

I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to share the vision of The Hidden Place with various churches while I was home. It was so great to speak at my home church, as well as Mars Hill and others who play such a huge role in supporting this ministry. God also opened up some doors so that I could share at new places--it is such a joy to have new people jump on board every time I am home.

We also held a fund-raiser at Pizza Inn--thanks to everyone who braved the cold to come out and support! It is such a blessing to have so many people who believe in this ministry--you are all a huge part of making The Hidden Place a reality.

Now we are right at 2 months away from the first camp of 2014 and as of now we have 9 volunteers coming from America to work at camp--I am so thrilled! Please pray for each of them as they prepare to come here and share the love of Christ with these children.

As far as things on this side go, Promise will once again be doing the talks at camp and our theme will be "the armor of God." Please be in prayer as we meet with two new pastors this weekend who are excited to join The Hidden Place team. Forms will be going out soon--for both children and young adult volunteers--please pray that God leads us to the individuals who He desires be a part of this camp.

Please also be praying for God's provision in land. We are very excited about the prospect of building our own office and resource center, but land is proving to be difficult to find.

I really believe that God has great things in store for this year. I am constantly amazed that He chose me to be a part of this ministry. I am so unworthy, but I am so thankful that in my weakness His strength is made known. Thank you for your support---this could not be possible without you.