Adoption?!

So this is not our new baby in Lou Lou's arms! But I thought it might get your attention.

We are in the process, or I should say have been in the process of expanding our family through adoption. Since before we were married (over 7 1/2 years ago!) we have talked, dreamed and planned of adopting some-day. Well some-day just became very soon!
Over the past year we have been working with Durban Children's Society and specifically with a social worker named May. She has talked us through the process, interviewed us, visited our home and asked us some very tough questions about adoption, ourselves and what we are hoping for as we adopt our new baby. It wasn't always easy and it made us look deep and not just dream of this perfect family.
I'll update more as the day's pass because we hav now entered the placement process. That is, we have been aproved by the Durban Children's Society to become parents and now they will put us on the list of parents to be matched with babies.
Oh yes, and their next meeting to match is Thursday (tomorrow). And yes that does mean it is possible that we are matched this week!

Many people have great questions for us in this process and we welcome them. Please us this blog to poss them or email us to get some more insight if you would like it. A couple of FAQ are:
1. Why? 2. HIV/AIDs.... will the baby have it? 3. Isn't this expensive, and arn't you on "gift income," can you afford it? 4. Does this make you cliche? ie too wraped up into South African life?
Yes these have all come our way, so over the next couple of days I'd like to answear them here, for you and for us! thanks for checking out the blog, please post a comment if there are other questions on this process you would like to know.

Things are getting crazy!

Only a few day's until the Medical School is up and running with first-year students registering and discovering, for most of them, what life is like with no elders around telling them what to do! It's scary for some, exciting for others and a wonderful opportunity to develop relationships and enter into peoples lives in authentic ways.
I'll be updating the blog on what we are doing, how we are doing it and the students we are meeting.
These photo's tell a bit of what we've been up to as we prepare for the students to come.
Our first step was in thinking of ways to get into conversation with the students... how about an upside-down Myles?! Our full of life 2 year old is always up for adventure, danger and interacting with the students. As I've been working hard at building our financial partnership base over the past month Myles had made sure that I took time out to just be a bit crazy.
Kristy, Myles, Thobe and Lou Lou took a day to go visit our good friend S'the and her new baby boy Nhlanhla. Myles made a fast friend (as usual) and a greatly encouraged S'the received some much needed support as mother, intern Dr., and help with living back at her parent's home.

What's next? A gathering of the core team next weekend to look into our personal contributions for the year and to launch into the 2009 school year!

Isaiah 30.21

Whether you turn to the right or to the left your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Timely read verse I found as I read and look at the promises of God.

Thobe is Back!

Our great friend, co-laborer in Durban, and vying for favorite aunty (and person) in the world to Myles.... Thobe. After 5 months in the USA working with The Navigators People Resource Team in Colorado Springs Thobe has come back to us!

As we have talked and debriefed the trip, we have found that many of Thobe's family and friends didn't expect her to return to South Africa. It seems that many South Africans, given the chance, would love to travel outside the country and never return(legally or not). Jobs and money are the key factors to this. That and working and living conditions. As safety, political fears and economic world wide recession grip the minds of many here in SA, we see a growing need to develop individuals and communities trusting God and living missional lives. It's interesting times. It's going to be an interesting year.
Watch this space in 2009 as I hope to dive into some of the issues, hope's, dream's, and fears that are rippling through South Africa.

making Bake-a, bake-a

One of Myles favorite activities. Baker-Baker (sounds like "I'm making the Bake-a Bake-a").

Upi giraffe?

Just a quick note to tell you what's up in the Carlson world. We have just said good-by to our friends Jon and Amy and Sage Rodquist-Kodet. Now our other good friends Brandon and Abby are with us! Game park time has left Myles looking for giraffe and elephant every time we get in the car!
"Upi giraffe?" is constantly heard.... Where is the giraffe in Zulu.

Why you wanna leave me!?!

We said good-by to Daniel on Tuesday. He has been with us for close to 2 years helping partner on the Medical campus at the University of KwaZulu Natal. Rather than write of all the individuals he has impacted, I thought I'd share some highlights through photos. thanks for being with us Daniel, enjoy re-uniting with Malinda (fiance!) and your family.

A day in the life of....

Well the school year is coming close to an end. Got back to Durban from that long weekend of Nav meetings and catching up with the guys (check out photo of me and Alex-UCT grad) and found I had a lot to work on! Working on ending the year well with the Navigators and our budget. Daniel (our intern and almost 2 year friend and workmate) is 4 weeks away from departure. Spent the morning talking through his last month and exit strategy. I took Myles to swimming lessons. Summer was supposed to arrive a couple months ago but somehow missed the memo. This evening was Lou Lou's jewelry exhibition. I'm feeling sick. Kristy feeling a bit stressed. Myles loving life. And we are surrounded by questions of Obama. A day in the life of the Carlson's.

"a little bit..."

It's one of Myles' favorite lines.... "a little bit....." fill in the blank with anything that you would like. Right now in the Carlson home:
Ben "a little bit feeling better (physical, emotional, ecumenical...)
Kristy "a little bit of needing to show a lot of grace"
Myles "a little bit of MORE SLEEP" but he would say "...treat."

Back from Jozi

It was a week in Johannesburg, and probably the best one(that is best week in Jozi) I've had yet. What did I do? Spent the first 3 days following up graduates from our ministry that I have discipled over the past 7 years. Refreshing, fun, and a wake-up call to the hardships and loneliness that meets some of these guys when separated from all of the friends, mentors and fellowship that they got used to at university in Durban with us. It's given me some insight into what to do to help prepare the current students we have the privilege to be discipling. After the time with Claude-Sandton, Tshepo-in Sun City, and S'pho -Dr. in Soweto(photo's in that order) I spent a morning judging coffee (ask me if you care:). Following this I was in workshops with fellow South African, Malawian, and Kenyan Navigators alongside a group of Navigators from Colorado Springs as we were trained, had great dialogue and dug into the Bible to learn how to best fund and develop partners from Africa for the advancement of the Gospel in Africa! Rewarding, fun and intense. Worth it? Completely. Glad to be back in Durban with Kristy and Myles? Absolutely!

Growing Kingdom

You may be familiar with my great friend Cyril, but the story I've got to share with you will give you new perspective on this yong doctor. But first let me give you a bit of backgrund.
I was just the best man in his wedding in June the week before our trip to the USA. Cyril and I got to know each other over 6 years ago. I was the coach of the University of KwaZulu Natal men's basketball team(yes, you can laugh right along with Kristy) and Cyril was the captain of the team. Over the course of the season Cyril and I spent more time together then just on the court, reading the Bible and having some deep conversations. At the end of the year he knew where he stood with Christ and wanted that to change so gave his life to Christ. Everything changed from that moment and Cyril become one of the key student leaders in the Durban Navs.
Fast-forward 6 years. Cyril gets married to Gloria (also a part of our ministry and also a Dr.) and is working hard at a local hospital. Our conversations have changed a bit since those days of him driving the lane as a point-guard, but the central component of Christ has remained the same. One of the things I love about Cyril is his desire to see the Kingdom of Jesus grow. He married a woman who has the same heart, and together they are planning on moving to rural South Africa to work as doctors and spread the Gospel to those in need where no-one else is going.
The excitement doesn't start when they go to the rural hospital though, this past weekend Cyril and Gloria were helping working with a youth camp and they helped lead 15 kids to a first time decision to follow Jesus.
Wow! I was blown away. But there's more.
After the camp owner heard Cyril speak, he asked if he would share with his staff the next morning. Cyril was the first Zulu man speaking to this hard group of Zulu men and women about Jesus. They had "heard it before" from their boss, but when Cyril shared his life's story and how Jesus changed his life this closed and uninterested group changed into an eager and hungry group with open hearts. What happened was that 17 of these men and women gave their lives to Christ!
This has been our hope.
This is our vision.
Generations passing on the Gospel and growing the Kingdom of Jesus.

What happens at Core night?

Every week between 5-15 students gather at our house to eat, pray, fellowship, learn about being authentic followers of Jesus and... have fun!
Our current theme is focused on one of our core values: To know, love, and become like Jesus. We are searching the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to look at Jesus' life, character, way of life and relationships. This has been a powerful and potent look at our Jesus and in turn, our own lives.
This week we played a lil' Guesstures to get the night off to a good start. The video should give you a much better insight into the dynamics of our gatherings. Myles (shy as ever), takes center stage. Enjoy.

A month... already?

from Kristy...
I has officially been a month since we departed the US and landed ourselves back in Durban. To be honest, it feels like we've been back just a few days in so many ways. In other ways, it feels like a year. We can barely remember the smell of Dunn Brother's Coffee or the bird sounds that are so different from the sounds here. The month has gone by quickly because we feel like we have made such little progress in some of our biggest life and ministry goals here. We are back into the swing of things, and yet it feels like we have accomplished little.
Well, at least finally the house feels like home again and no longer looks SO BARE (a feeling, we think, that resulted from spending time in lots of very full American houses). The intense feelings of being torn from the ones you love best and who love you best have faded into a dull ache. We have, actually, fully re-established ourselves here. It has just taken time we did not expect it too.
I thought I would include a description of the bird sound so wake up to in the morning. We have a group of 7 Hadedas (pronounced Haw-de-daw) that nest in our neighbor's tree. I call them the little old grumpy men.

In Johannesburg, and on the beaches and savannas of southern Africa, it is the hadeda ibis, not the rooster, whose song, if it can be called that, announces morning. Har-har-har, he calls. Loud, raucous, guttural, the hadeda’s cacophonous call sounds like drunk men laughing. Har-har-ha-de-da.

Imagine a middle-aged man, grumpy and barrel-chested. He drinks too much, yells too often, laughs a lot but is quick to anger. Now. put feathers on him and stick him in a tree. Give him avian vision, a long curved bill, and a Red Sox fan’s hoarse yawp—and hello, hadeda

Anthony Schneider

We woke up without a president

Read the New York Times article for some good insight. Click HERE!

realistically I do see long term and short term problems and pain coming to South Africa because of the ANC forcing out President Thabo Mbeki.  He was Nelson Mandela's vice president for 5 years and has served for the past 9 as a president with great foreign relations skills and has helped a country that wants to better itself become a better place.  We're going to miss president Mbeki.

2 Year Birthday bash!

Myles turned two on 12 September.  Rather than give a play by play of the b-day week (oh-yes, we did a week since cards came early and late in the mail and the party in the park was a couple days after the day:)

The quick run-down:

1. 11th, Myles and Mom make cup-cakes.  Myles learns that cup-cakes are REALY good. 

2. 12th, Myles brings cup-cakes to play school and doesn't stop asking his teacher Thandeka for "more cup-cakes please" the rest of morning!

3. 13th, Myles gets some presents, feeling a bit sick but not too sick to help mom make juice and play with his buddy Conner. Notice who Myles supports whole-heartedly in the pictures (thanks Grand-ba ba and Grandma Sue!)

4. 14th, the big Birthday celebration at the Botanic Gardens.  Lots of friends, food and mom's great B-sting cake (could rival b-day cup-cakes for enjoyability)

5. 14th, by bedtime Myles is really sick but has enjoyed his best b-day week ever!