Last year Greg and Kristin Evans came for a short trip to the States during this conference. This year Greg is in town. It is so refreshing to see Greg! I already equate him with my African home. I can’t wait to move!

Seeing Greg definitely makes me more excited to move to Durban. I only saw him briefly last night but we were already talking about what is in the mix for The Life Church Durban campus.

Reality hit a little bit closer tonight. And not necessarily in a home-sweet-home kind of way.

It was more of a put-on-the-gloves-ready-to-fight kind of stirring.

At first, Greg started sharing about the different opportunities for ministry. The possibilities here and there. The different groups we could work with. What we could work towards for the future. Then the conversation turned into personal stories from people’s lives through various encounters he had.

He started talking about the fact that every day he encounters prostitutes. Child prostitutes. Young men and women. And he says the numbers aren’t dwindling. They are actually growing because they are shipping them in for the FIFA World Cup later this year.

Straight up human trafficking.

Makes me sick.

Don’t forget about the other stories taking place: kids living from house to house or on the streets because one or both parents were lost to AIDS, kids not knowing the difference and stepping right into their parent’s destructive lifestyles, or those families barely surviving on the food they may or may not bring home.

Greg with kids from a Children's Cup feeding center

All these things are not fixed overnight. But we can make a difference. We are looking at the big picture but never forgetting the life of that one person needing Hope.

The actual work in Durban will probably take different shapes as time goes on. God might open the door for one inner city ministry and then something else later. The ministry that will start from the beginning though is building The Life Church Durban.  The local church providing ministry, discipleship and community is absolutely vital to any outreach.

That’s why I’m going to Durban. To begin the journey for a thriving, life-giving local church in Durban where all walks of life can find Hope, Truth, Love, Healing, Life! and a fresh start through our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus.

A little one asking me to hold her

You may not be going on the plane with me but you can be just as much a part of it. (Of course I’ll take scores of pictures and videos so you think you’re going along)  If you are praying for me, this trip, my fellow missionaries, the church – you are a part of it. You are investing in building God’s Kingdom. If you are partnering with me financially – you are a part of it. If you are going on one of the short term trips to Durban – well then, yes, I’d definitely say you’re a part of it. See the different ways you can be a part?

Here’s where I’m not going to be shy. I can’t really be a part of actually going unless I get all my funds. Talk about reality check!

I’ve still got a ways to go but that just means an opportunity for copious amounts of people to be a part of this landmark event! Look at the field before you! What do you say?

Let me know what you’re thinking! Send me an email, leave a comment, ask for a letter, donate below, twitter about my blog post, share my facebook page, tell your friends… yep, I’d say that’s about it!

This past weekend was actually the 100 day mark. It was a fun and celebratory time! Kassie and I kept passing each other at church and yelling “100 days!!” Including sharing the time line with everyone else we passed!

On Saturday I had pictures taken in order to use for my website, letters, postcards etc. Kelly Mayberry was the fabulous photographer! She is a creative genius and I love her work. She mostly concentrates on artwork and fine art photography but also does portraits. It was a no-brainer to ask Kelly to take my pictures.

I also asked a friend, Katie, to come along in order to help out and provide laughs for natural pictures! Let me tell you, she definitely provided the laughs. Katie was such a huge help to me and to Kelly M. with her naturally creative eye. Hair in the face from the wind? Katie fixed it. Poses? Katie’s provided ideas. Entertainment? Katie debuted new hilarious dance moves. To recap: she was a tremendous blessing.

I’m not going to share all of the pictures here because I have yet to decide exactly where I want to use my favorites. (And there are over 100 pics!) But below are some of the fun ones. Kelly took me to a nearby park called Shelby Farms and knew exactly where to shoot the photos.

These are some of the first location – a simple rock wall. Kelly asked me to stand against the wall and I had no clue what I was doing. It was pretty funny – both Kelly and Katie were laughing at me. Kelly was asking me questions and I couldn’t smile and answer at the same time! The expert she is, she did manage to catch some realllly good ones at this location. These are some of extra ones…

Then we moved to one of the fields with a huge tree right at the beginning. As we were walking over to check out the spot, I stepped on some thorns. These were huge massive ones! The one that stuck me was about 3 inches long and in a bunch of about 3 or 4 other thorns. Not fun! I had to literally jerk it out of my foot. The puncture wound is still healing!
Here are a few of the photos from that location (ones that I don’t have enough room in other projects)….

Do you see how the wind was blowing? And a fun picture in the middle of Katie!

Then a few photos on a park bench…actually there is only one photo without future plans:

It was a fun morning! I was extremely happy with all the pictures. Can’t wait to show you my favorite ones!

It was a complete honor to be able to serve at the Collierville campus this past weekend. I had actually never served in Collierville before and was so excited to have the opportunity before I move to Durban. Now I only have to get to the Jackson campus at least one time!

I serve in the Nursery/Preschool section of our KidsLife ministries. Many times I teach in the classrooms but I generally coordinate the services in the Nursery/Preschool along with a great team. This time in Collierville, I was a service coordinator during the two services. I made sure to prepare ahead of time to document this monumental occasion for Collierville! We still have some work to do in the decorating department for Junior KidsLife and Nursery/Preschool but you can still get the idea of the church. These pictures are also for Greg and Kristin Evans serving in Africa to build our Durban campus. Greg and Kristin: I thought about you while building this Collierville Nursery/Preschool team! (captions correlate to photo above it)

Welcome to The Life Church Collierville!
Behind the camera is the side entrance with the main entrance and auditorium straight ahead through the double doors. The hallway to KidsLife School Age, Junior KidsLife and Nursery/Preschool is to the right.

Kinsey is an enthusiastic and friendly sight at your Connection desk!

Need to check-in your children to KidsLife? Visit Venus at guest services.

Our 3 and 4 year olds gathering to begin the Bible lesson Lil’ K.

It’s a dark picture (not the best photographer) but this is the 1 and 2 year old classroom dancing to Lil’ K.

Our baby classroom (above) with pictures of beautiful babies following…

Some great artwork done by the creative team! The kids loved it! They would be walking down the hallway with their heads turned towards the wall. Many a parent had to encourage their kids to watch where they were going.

Our KidsLife School Age room. Such a cool sight. I didn’t have my camera at the time they were singing and dancing but that was awesome too.

Sherrie is one-of-a-kind. She leads our Junior KidsLife and is the best. This picture was taken during first service. Every classroom had more kids then we expected and this classroom was no exception. I can’t remember how many came during first service but there were 33 five and six year olds during the second service! What an opportunity for ministry!

Thanks for visiting the Collierville campus with me! Join us at the actual campus next week: services at 9:00am and 11:00am. If you need directions or a friend to go with, let me know!

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.”

Let me know if you want one of the oh-so-amazing letters. I will be glad to email (kphelan@goglobalmissions.com) or mail it!

There are only 108 days left until I leave! It’s getting closer and closer.

It is such an amazing opportunity to be able to serve my church and build God’s Kingdom on an international level! I am extremely excited to get to go!

Every Wednesday Greg Evans, the missionary living in Durban, meets with a group of people to pray for the city. Some of the things they have set forth to pray about are

* city officials
* leaders
* churches
* believers
* workers to reach the unbelievers
* The Life Church Durban

Greg meets with this group around the lunch hour (1pm) Durban time. Well, that translates to 5:00 too-early-in-the-morning a.m. Memphis time.  I’ve tried to join them at that time and have all the intentions in the world. I mean, c’mon, to pray Hope for a city, to pray for Life and Light for people there, to pray for my future home? I can’t get up at 5:00am to pray at the same exact time that others are gathered doing the same?

My body has said no every time.  Apparently I am not a morning person : )

I was starting to feel bad about not getting up at that hour. It would turn into guilt and getting distracted about the time instead of prayer! So instead I pray when I get up, when I eat, when I’m working, when I’m home and when I go to bed.  Wednesday is my day to focus on the city of Durban.

You’re welcome to join us…

Let me know, leave a comment! Maybe you’re a morning person. You can join Greg and the others…I’ll still be sleeping though!

Took one of the most fun road trips to a close friend’s wedding (miss you Allie)
Had a crazy start of the year at work but it turned into a promotion!
Welcomed my niece into the world in February (didn’t meet her until April though)
Made some great new friends
Spent two weeks in Swaziland and South Africa
Left my heart in Africa
Made the decision to retrieve my heart and move to South Africa
Heard Beth Moore for the first time and now love her
Ran my butt off at my second ever half-marathon
Enjoyed Christmas in New Hampshire

What I am looking forward to in 2010 in 50 words:
(I kinda planned this one to help out the 2009 list)

Leaving procrastination behind : )
Trying to fit a year’s worth of belongings into two suitcases…yeah right
Living in South Africa
The World Cup in Durban
More running!
Understanding South African life on South African turf
Building The Life Church Durban!
Serving with Kassie Perritt and Greg, Kristin and Isaiah Evans

Kassie and I on our way to Africa last May

I’m on vacation at the moment and thought I’d give a quick recap in pictures. I was able to fly to New Hampshire to see family for Christmas. The best part was seeing my nephew and niece! I’ve only seen my niece once when she was about a month and a half old. She’s now 10 months old. It was so much fun seeing the both of them! Here are some of the best pictures:

This is James with his new costume of Captain America. Except he didn’t seem to really care about Captain America. It’s all about ninjas, knights and pirates. This is what he calls his ninja outfit.

James is home-schooled and learning how to write his letters and numbers. My brother makes sure James has a broad vocabulary…notice James learning how to write the word ’shun’. I thought it was hilarious. I mean, c’mon, what 4 year old knows how to spell shun and it’s definition?!

Cate loves the camera! She always smiled when it was out and when it flashed. She usually had her brow furrowed or upraised eyebrows in question but I caught her simply curious here. It was so fun to be around her and just learn who she is! She hasn’t perfected crawling or words yet but it’s fun to watch. She has such a funny guttural laugh too!

Cate loved the Santa hat we kept putting on her head. It matched the outfit I gave her perfectly!

Cate opening up presents Christmas morning! She couldn’t quite open them herself so James jumped at every opportunity to help. Much of the time she was so distracted with the paper itself : )

New Hampshire made sure not to disappoint me with winter. It was about 30 degrees when I got there but didn’t stay there. The last couple of days were in the single digits with 45 mph wind gusts providing a -10 degree wind chill! Of course it snowed too. Not too much but just enough not to let me down.

I’m glad to be back home though. More posts to come about all things 2009 and the greater things to come for 2010!

I will be moving to Durban, South Africa as an intern with The Life Church to our new Durban campus! This past weekend our 3rd BIG weekend of our In The House series was Campus weekend. We talked about the great blessing of the Jackson campus, new developments in the Cordova and Collierville campuses and finally…the Durban campus!

Greg and Kristin Evans moved to Durban in July 2009 to begin establishing the foundation for the new campus. They were the children’s pastors here at The Life Church Memphis before spending a year in Swaziland and then moving to Durban. They are a great family (expecting their first child in 2 weeks!) and I am so honored to be serving with them. I can’t wait to join them across the ocean!

When the Durban campus was announced in church, Greg and Kristin were able to be there via Skype! It was so neat to have them there and to share with the church about Durban.  When Pastor John, our lead pastor, and the Evans were talking to everyone in the service I was so excited! My stomach was jumping the whole time! I could not keep a smile off my face.

I am so blessed and humbled to be a part of this great vision. It’s an honor to be a part of something God is doing not only here in Memphis but across the globe!

The Durban skyline

]]> http://kellyphelan.com/2009/11/196-days/feed/ 0 http://kellyphelan.com/2009/10/facebook-already-knows-this-but-i-dont-know-if-you-do/ http://kellyphelan.com/2009/10/facebook-already-knows-this-but-i-dont-know-if-you-do/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:16:43 +0000 Kelly http://kellyphelan.com/?p=181 You know those notes passed around on Facebook about 25 random things about you? Well, I did that awhile ago but thought I’d share it here too. Here are some of the most random things about me. Enjoy.

November is just a week away and fall has been in full swing. It’s been unusually rainy in Memphis but the cooler weather is definitely welcomed. I’ve been anxious for the trees to start turning colors now that it’s cooler. They’ve been slow about it but today the trees have really turned. Faint golden yellows, deep and bright reds, warm browns, burnt oranges and elegant purples have all shown up. I miss the vibrant colors of New England but still enjoy any fall colors.

I have almost a thirty minute commute to work every morning and always take the same route. There is this one particular back road that I love to drive because of its twists and turns, overhanging branches on the road and generally low traffic. The colors of fall are truly beginning to take form especially on this road. As I was driving this morning, the changing of the season made me think of a specific verse – Genesis 8:22

“While the earth remains,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night,
shall not cease.”

I read this verse with new eyes a couple of years ago and have always loved it since. It is where God makes a covenant to never again flood the earth. He goes on in chapter 9 to describe the covenant. But here at the end of chapter 8, God begins His promise. The verses give me a hope and confidence: as long as I am here on earth, every time I sow there will be a harvest, every summer there will follow a winter, every long night spent praying, wishing, hoping there will come a dawn.

Hope is His name; and Faithful is His promise.