THE SECRET (BY KARL)
It used to be Tuesday’s, then Monday’s
and now Friday’s...read
post
JOURNAL UPDATES
Video
tribute to Karl's Grandpa Ted and other December
journal updates
on life in Africa.
BLOG:
Craftin
My Fingers to the Nubbins
There
are crafty-esque people and...read
blog
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Christmas e-Newsletter
We want to share THREE quick things with you...
As
you look back over 2010, know God has used YOU to
accomplish some AMAZING things here in Africa. See
how God has been using YOU to bless Africa.
A
CHALLENGE: We realized, never before have
we had to start life “from scratch"...read
more
Because
of the above, we are looking for new monthly
giving partners and one-time
donations...read
more
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NEW PAGE: SISTERHOOD OF SUCCESS
Sisterhood of Success Job Skills Training Program
is being offered to some of the communities' most
down and out women - some are prostitutes, many
are addicted to crystal meth...read
more
DECEMBER JOURNAL
Read
about the Baby
Safe Christmas Prayer in Masi, Karl's plans
for the upcoming Christmas
Soccer Clinic and the Informational
Meeting for the Sisterhood of Success Program.
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VIDEO: Pajama
Thank You's
Short
Thanksgiving greeting from the Ostrands...watch
video
BLOG:
African Style Thankfulness
Top
5 reasons to be thankful for living in South Africa...read
blog
NOVEMBER JOURNAL
We
had our first
Men's and Women's Bible Study in Ocean View
and our first group graduated
from the computer class.
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BLOG: Toast
Parties and Dadisms
Ahh…little
girls love their daddy. And I love mine –
dearly and now almost desperately...read
blog
PRAYER
Karl's
health:
Karl’s
been in excruciating back pain and has tonsillitis...more
info
NOVEMBER JOURNAL
See
the latest updates on life in Africa! Read "Weak
and Small" and about the "Abandoned
Baby."
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Abandoned Baby: Here
is a photo of our team
praying for
"Baby Joy" before the adoption agency
came to pick her up. |
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KARL'S NEW MOVIE
Karl
made a new movie about what he loves the most about
Africa...see
video
BLOG: His
Instruments
Sitting
in the bookstore café with Karl, I was surprised
when an old man clamored...read
blog
NOVEMBER JOURNAL
Now
that we are more settled in to life here in Africa,
plans are underway...read
journal
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MOVED IN!
Ah!
After looking for over a month, we have finally
found a home and moved in. In 9 years of
marriage, this is our first house (although renting...we
are excited).
We
looked hard for a place close the communities, with
a yard for the girls and good security. The Lord
is good!
We
still need a sofa, kitchen table (preferably with
chairs), and some shelves - but are so thankful
for the second hand beds we were able to get.
Thank
you for all the urgent, much-needed prayers!
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VIDEO GREETING
Greeting
from Karl and Julie: 2 minute-ish update
on life in Africa...see
video
BLOG: Ava's Dream
Lately
I have not felt very connected to Jesus.
I’m not sure why...read
blog
NEW JOURNAL UPDATES
Get
the latest! See
plans for Ocean View and meet
the Baby Safe girls.
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We found a vehicle! We did quite a
bit of research, looked at many vehicles and are
grateful to everyone who has made this purchase
possible! Please continue to pray as we are still
searching for a home.
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Here's how YOU approached the
community with Faith, Hope and Love this past week...
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FRESH
START |
COMPUTER
CLASS |
BIBLE
STUDY |
TACOS
IN OCEAN VIEW |
Faith & Hope
David Anderson, Karl's cousin, helped us on
our flight here (brave, brave man).
He is involved with a ministry called Fresh
Start and was able to hold an exciting meeting
for members of our community - many
who had experienced a loss,
offense, or hurt.
We broke into small groups and started the
process of forgiveness together...hope for broken
lives!
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Hope
It was great to stop by the computer class
that was started several months ago in Ocean
View.
Meet Lorraine! She has been practicing
her 8-finger typing, and we are so
impressed with her tenacity and determination.
Expanded with the donation of additional
computers, our friend Simon has done an incredible
job running the class.
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Faith
It was so nice to reconnect with our Discovery
Bible Study group.
We spent some time discussing the culture
of Ocean View and brainstorming about ways to
impact the community.
There are a few new members and Karl and Julie
are excited to meet with this inspiring group
of men and women every week.
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Love
It's wonderful to be back in Ocean
View with these friends we LOVE!
We brought tortillas from the
states and wanted to make tacos for our friends.
This was their first "south
of the border" experience and all agreed
tacos are "lekker" (aka "muy
buenos!")
It would be an amazing
micro-business to open up taco stands all over
Ocean View!
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We love being back in Ocean
View! More to come on how YOU are impacting Africa.
FAMILY STATUS: We
are in the process of finding a home to rent and looking
for a vehicle...it's a bit trickier than expected.
- says, “Mom
- is my skin WHITE?” (should we tell her?)
- loves to
whisper stories in your ear, has figured out how
to crawl up steps, and has decided asparagus isn’t
all that bad.
- attended
training for how to help teams create strategy and
vision. He will be a facilitator for future planning
sessions.
- is
in love with gas stoves, vanilla chai tea, and the
hope that there may be dishwasher in her future.
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Emme and Jensen in the Minneapolis airport
(on their way to Africa)
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Back in Africa! We arrived safely
on Tuesday night and are participating in All Nations'
staff conference "Earth Shake."
EARTH SHAKE: Some
points that rocked our world...
Church:
- If your church had to close down, would your city
miss you (would the police miss your good influence
on the community? would city officials notice the
gap you left? would businesses miss how you lowered
crime in their area?)
- Think about a church without walls (church can
happen anywhere and must happen everywhere)
- Church shouldn't smell like church...it should
smell like family
- Humans are wired to "do life" in small
groups (most people spend their time with set groups
of less than 12 people)
- How many people do you believe God has prepared
for his kingdom? 5%, 10%, 50%, 70%? Your answer
determines how you live your life.
- Small groups seeking God can start a business
together (great model for micro enterprise)
Fear and Failure:
- Jesus loves to use fearful failures most of all
(check out all the disciples in the upper room before
Christ appeared)
- It's not wrong to be afraid, but you should not
be bound by a spirit of fear
- The faster you fail, the faster you will succeed
Obedience:
- We're not entitled to get a new word from God
until we obey the last word He gave us
- If you get a truth from God, obey it within 48
hours (if you don't, it usually gets lost)
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Karl and Julie at EarthShake
Note: Guest speaker works in areas of the world
where he could be arrested for his faith
and has asked not to be promoted.
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WE LEAVE IN 3 DAYS:
TOMORROW Coffee & Dessert
Open House (Sunday, Sept. 26th: 2 - 5 pm).
We would love to see you! Please stop by!
BLOG: Old is the New Young (Kinda)
I have always believed “40” is what
happens to OTHER people – not something I
would...read
blog
THANK YOU
You have all been an amazing support and
encouragement to our family! What we do
in Africa, you do...and YOU are changing lives across
the world.
Thank you for loving us and loving
Africa!
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Please come to our Open House tomorrow!
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NEW AFRICA MOVIE
Exciting
video (photos of the last 6 months in Africa and
what's next for the Ostrands)...see
movie
SAY GOOD BYE 2 DAYS BEFORE WE
LEAVE
Coffee & Desert Open House date
moved to Sunday, September
26...bring a dessert!
FUNDRAISER UPDATE
We
raised $6,000 in our A Car Afar fundraiser, but
need about $10,000 (the cost of a 2003 used
car with 136,00 miles we are considering)...
make a donation
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PASTA DINNER FUNDRAISER:
This Saturday (5 - 8 pm)
A
Car Afar Benefit in 2 days! Raise
money for a vehicle (cars in South Africa are
more expensive than in the USA) - $7
per meal
CAN'T COME BUT WANT TO GIVE?
Busy?
Out of town? You can still make a donation
to "A Car Afar"!
Make a donation
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BLOG: Snapshots
of Life with the Ostrands
Miss Daisy Can Drive -
While I was in Africa I went on strike as a driver.
Unequivocally I REFUSED to get behind the wheel...read
blog
UPCOMING EVENTS IN NEBRASKA
Come
hear us share about Africa...
GOD IS GOOD
Thank
you...We appreciate the many who prayed
for Julie's father! The 6 month chemo treatment
was effective and the doctor said he's in a "wonderful
emission." Also, thank you to all who prayed
for Claudine's baby. The measles are gone!
For
your prayers...We have recently found
out Karl's mom has breast cancer. Please pray for
direction from the Lord, as she considers all the
options. Also, Emme will have surgery on September
14th (to better battle infection they will remove
her adenoids).
Join
our prayer team...
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BLOG: Dreams
and Nightmares
By far the biggest “nightmare” phase
of my life was planning our wedding. I had numerous
nightmares but knew I must be taking the whole thing
too far when...read
blog
YOU'RE INVITED
"A Car Afar" Pasta Dinner Fundraiser
on Saturday, Sept. 11 to raise money for a vehicle
in Africa (vehicles are 2-3 more expensive
in South Africa)!
FAMILY VIDEOS
Jensen
pushing
Emme on the swing, talking
about animals, explaining
mountain climbing and describing
a train wreck.
Emme
talking
on her phone, kissing,
telling
a story, & saying
uh-oh.
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We are headed out east to visit family. It will
be great to see friends along the way to say "thank
you" for all the love and support!
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SNEAK PEEK AT OUR FUTURE:
What will be we doing in the next 3 years in Africa?
ARE YOU EXCITED?
We are! Partner with us on this amazing journey.
Love Africa by joining
our team and...
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FINAL MOVIE: Amazing African Women
Film Society
While
in Africa, we facilitated an after school club to
build relationships with Ocean View High School
girls. They practiced the basics of film
(videography, interviewing and production) with
inspirational African women guest speakers...who
were compelling witnesses of God's love. See
the movie the girls made.
BLOG: Three
Great Things About America
Ahh…America.
So many great things! Allow me to focus on
three stunning facets of the American Restaurant...read
blog
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SUMMER UPDATE:
Video
greeting from Karl and Julie...view
video
BLOG: See
the Mountains
Let
me tell you about truly, hands down, the worst day
of my entire life...read
blog
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BLOG: Sleep
is for Sissys
Ahh….20
hour flights with children. God bless the other
passengers... read
blog.
VIDEO MESSAGE:
Greetings from Ansley, Nebraska... see
video.
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Status: We are back in the United
States! Great to be home. More updates to come next
week.
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Wow! It's been 6 months since we arrived
in South Africa. We will return to Omaha
on July 18th and will head back to Africa at the end
of September (we have made a 3 year commitment
to work with All Nations).
BLOG: This
is Africa - A Photo Blog
Ahhh...life
in South Africa! Pictures say it best...read
blog.
JOURNAL:
This week we will have our last Discovery Bible
Study in Ocean View (until we return in the fall).
For us, this is what it's all about...read
journal.
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BLOG: So
About Those Romans…
I
love the 4th of July! I love the fact that
we told England to go home and made our
own country. I love our flag and our patriotic
songs...read
blog.
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Soccer
Tournament: See Photos and Video |
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BLOG: Crawling
By Inches
If
I can avoid public weeping – I do.
No
one wants to see a grown woman cry–
rebellious mascara, rebellious mascara,
hair bedraggled...read
blog.
Lots
of exciting things happened in Ocean View this
month. Join us on the journey and read
June journal.
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As my father would say…sometimes
“you’re a few clicks out.” For
example...the women in Ocean View and me –
I’m 4 clicks out. ..Read
blog.
JOURNAL:
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The
World Cup is HERE! Vuvuzelas have taken
Cape Town by storm ...Read
blog.
JOURNAL:
VIDEO:
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You
have to give it to South Africans for reducing
long, overused statements into one word. Why waste
all that time, energy and valuable lung capacity
on...Read
blog.
JOURNAL:
VIDEO:
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