Prayer Update

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family! We have made it past the half way point and Dad will be home in 20 days! God has been faithful to us all, meeting our needs through His people. We have both had many invitations to dinner and time with friends. Thank you!

Saturday was our Leader's Braai. We had a great turnout and lots of fun, food and fellowship. We had boerwoers (Afrikaans for farmer's sausage) on the braai (grill). There were leaders from many different churches. This was a year end event to get together and get to know each other better. We played a game called Cranium, which is a mix of pictionary, charades, spelling, true & false and multiple choice questions, and much much more! I think a good time was had by all.

Coming up next is Thanksgiving on Thursday. We will get together as a team and have a traditional Thanksgiving meal, although we will probably swim, which is finally seeming normal after coming from the Northern US and hoping Thanksgiving would bring with it some snow.

The next Word of Life event is Summer Camp. Please pray for us as we prepare. It has been interesting with the staff coming and going to see that everything is covered. Brad found a venue and began plans for camp, leaving lists for others returning from the States. Everyone is very familiar with what has to happen to make camp happen, so please just pray that it runs smoothly! Camp is Dec. 11-15. Brad will be returning around 6:30 am the day that camp starts, so it will be a busy week for him with jet lag!

Thank you, also, for your prayers for Marissa. She is completely back to normal now after temp shot up to 105 F a couple of times, but with a few days of extra rest she is ready to talk and play all day. She has mastered skip counting by 2 and a new reading book.

Brandon is working on learning freestyle swimming, and will be a wise man in his play this weekend. He frequently asks how much longer till Daddy comes home and we have made a calendar so we can mark off the days.

Thank you, again, for your prayers!
Mary, for the fam
Brad, Mary, Brandon & Marissa Hawkins

Prayer Update

We are counting down the days until Brad returns! But life keeps busy, even in his absence.

We have been attending recitals, end of year concerts, birthday parties, we went to see the Lipizzaner Stallions.... November is probably the busiest month of the year here in South Africa, as it is the end of the school year AND everyone is making preparations for Christmas.

We have been busy with homeschool and Brandon is learning perimeter, and beginning to enjoy writing. Marissa is beginning to read and learning to skip count by 2's! They have recently started swimming lessons and it is exciting to see them try something new at almost every lesson (which is twice a week).

Marissa is a cow in the Nativity scene in an upcoming play, and she announced to her Sunday School teacher that she knew her lines. "Moo!" The best part about it is that she was serious!

She is under the weather today with a fever of 102.6 and a headache, but I gave her some medicine and she went to sleep early. Hopefully we'll be feeling better tomorrow.

Alan, Rachael, Jaden & Kiana Schuster arrived safely back in Johannesburg yesterday morning, and we are hoping to see them all soon!

Please pray for our staff here in South Africa as they make the final preparations for Summer Camp, and as they prepare the materials for next year.

Please pray, also, for Brad in the US and for us in South Africa! Pray for the kids, that they continue to handle Dad's absence as well as they have so far. 26 days to go!

Brad will be sharing the ministry with 2 churches next Sunday. Pray that he is able to clearly share what God lays on his heart. He will also be travelling to New Jersey the following weekend, and then to New York.

Thank you for your support and your prayers!
Mary, for the fam
Brad, Mary, Brandon & Marissa Hawkins
Word of Life South Africa

Prayer Update

Thank you for your prayers! Brad arrived safely in the US and is surviving despite jet lag. His first meeting to share the ministry went well and the church and pastor were a blessing and an encouragement to him. Thank you, East End Baptist Church!

We were also blessed by being offered 2 cars for Brad to use while in the US! Of course, he only needed one, but God supplied above and beyond what we needed.

John, Christy, CJ and Chae Page arrived safely in South Africa last Thursday and we have enjoyed the time to get reaquainted. (You can check out their blog by clicking here.)  The kids have played together morning till night. God's timing has been perfect with their arrival. For the next month we will be living on the same property and CJ and Chae have been the perfect distraction to keep the kids from dwelling on Brad's absence. Marissa and Brandon have provided a distraction of sorts, as well, helping keep CJ and Chae from being homesick. Isn't it amazing how God works in the smallest of details?

Please continue to keep Brad in your prayers, for safety in his travels and opportunities to share about what God is doing in South Africa. Please pray, also, for the kids and I as we count down the days till he returns. We have been very busy and it helps the time go by faster!

Thank you for your prayers. We would love to hear from you! Drop us a line and let us know what you're up to.

Mary, for the fam
Brad, Mary, Brandon & Marissa Hawkins
Word of Life South Africa

Sam and Mat, by Marissa Hawkins

Mat had a friend named Sam.
Mat and Sam were nice.
They did fun things and silly things together.
Mat walked.
Sam walked.
Mat walked with Sam.
The end.