Back to Africa

In March, Lord willing, we leave for 2 and half months to South Africa and Swaziland where we will be working with our partners and staff on some of our already existing projects.

It has been said that, “Christianity in Africa is a mile wide and an inch deep.” While this comment is arguable, what is unarguable is what this comment speaks to; the desperate need for discipleship and equipping. One of the significant next steps we will be working on while we are there is to establish our Vision Year “Indigenous” internship program. The word indigenous literally means “generated from within”.  So this internship would be for young Africans desiring to do missions.  From the beginning we have always dreamed of playing a part in empowering Africans to do missions and not to just be the recipients of missions. Young Africans will have the opportunity to go through a year of equipping through hands on learning and spiritual formation in another part of Africa, as missionaries “sent ones”!  So many young Africans have a willingness and passion to seize this opportunity to be empowered to transform their communities… but the hurdle for them has been resources needed to make it a reality. In fact even now these finances are yet to come.  But we walk by faith and not by sight, right? I believe this is an exciting opportunity for those of you whom are not called to “go” yourself but to “send” others by supporting them. As givers you get to see the resources God has entrusted you with, (for advancing His Kingdom), make a huge difference in the lives of brothers and sisters in Africa. Consider supporting an indigenous intern or giving towards the development of this vision. We are so excited about this and can’t wait to share the stories!

Pray for us.

1. The cost of taking this trip is more than we have, so pray with us that the Lord provide all our needs to go.  He asks us to ask.  John 14:13-14.

2. Pray for our practicalities. Because we are nomads of sorts, much planning has to go into our lifestyle… this is already complex but we foresee it becoming increasingly more difficult with a baby. So pray with us as we figure out the logistics of coming, going, our stuff etc. Much waiting on the Lord and wisdom is needed as we seek first His Kingdom.

3. Praise God for the health of Annie & Judah as the final check up at the doctors has cleared them both!

As a super excited Dad, I want to continue just posting pics of our son on this blog but I realize that would only make the Grandma’s happy… so we will just post a “pic of the month” until his cuteness wares off………….never!!!
(more pics of this cute little snuggle bug here)

Thank you friends for your love and support.
follow close, follow hard
Allan, Annie and Judah

Note on Giving-
For 2009 Donors: Tax Deductible Receipts have been issued and will be arriving shortly.

Last Words
“God want us to be dependent upon Him and interdependent upon one another, not independent.”
- Loren Cunningham (founder of YWAM)

So we are obviously doing well.  Life is forever changed for us with Judah our baby giraffe.  We take things a day at a time with a whole lot of grace from our Father.   We are anticipating an exciting 2010!  As I have been thinking of the year ahead and all that I hope comes out of it, I was deeply challenged by our friend Floyd McClung, whom is so “intentional” in all he does.  I thought these 10 questions of his were worth passing on for you to ponder for yourselves:

1. What’s one way, you could utilize time, to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. Who are three people you can disciple more intentionally?
6. What is the most helpful way you can build community with a few other followers of Jesus this year?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. Who is the person you most want to encourage this year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing can you plan to do this year that will matter most in ten years?  In eternity?

Prayer for…

1. My Papa (Grandpa) is very sick right now with a failing liver. All his grandkids, including myself, are very close to him.  He’s the Grandpa all my friends wished for. He built us the biggest fastest wooden go-cart you can imagine. He would take us to the store and buy us donuts and ice cream so long as we didn’t tell our parents…. especially before dinner. He was unbeatable in arm wrestling and was always willing to hit the dance floor to show us how a real gentleman dances.

2. Annie’s Grandma has had some health struggles of her own recently. She is so dear to us and so precious to our family. She was taken to the hospital but is in recovery. Thank God she is doing much better.

3. Pray with us that the Holy Spirit work powerfully in us this year. We desperately need His power for life and ministry. You’ll know what I mean when you read our “Last Words” below from A.W. Tozer.

We love you guys and are so grateful for your love and support.

Follow close, follow hard

Allan, Annie and Judah

Last Words

“We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone… [We] have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost.”

- A.W. Tozer

Wow!  Baby Judah is born!  What an incredible experience we are having.  As the old year came to an end and people sang Auld Lang Syne to usher in the new one, the three of us shared a special moment in our hospital room; thanking God for His kindness in giving us this beautiful baby boy.  The whole experience from birth to changing his first diaper and driving home at 20 miles an hour has been somewhat surreal.  We now know why people say having a baby is a miracle like no other.  Seeing a new life come into the world stirred up emotions we never knew we had.  It’s truly breathtaking… so we’ve decided we’re going to keep him. Like I said to Annie, “he’s better than a new iPhone”.  Yes, he may not have many apps at this point and his ring volume is un-adjustable but there is just no comparison.  We love lying in bed and stare at him as he squirms around and syncs to life in this new world.

(Click here for updated pics of Judah as he grows)

Pray for…

1. Annie’s recovery from birthing our 9 pounds 3 ounce baby. That was no small thing, let me tell you! I have mad respect for my wife after that experience.

2. Pray for us as we adjust to life with a baby.

3. Thank the Lord with us as we recognize His kindness in giving us a life to nurture and steward. We are so blessed!

Last Words

“People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one.”

“A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank balance smaller, home happier, clothes dirty, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.”

October was a pretty hectic month for us and for AR. Pastor Vincent and Pastor Jonas from South Africa came and spent most of the month with us here in the U.S.  It was really great having them here and seeing a lot of the U.S. through their eyes was insightful as well as hilarious.  You can read more and see pics of our time with them HERE on the AR Ministry Blog. We pretty much covered it all in that post.

As this is our personal blog we thought it time we catch you up on our little lives.  I’m proud to report that Annie continues to be beautiful and pregnant. She was a real trooper for being on the road for 3 weeks being 7 months pregnant. Her due date is Dec 28^th.  I was hoping she could hold out till January, as I don’t want the little guy having to compete his whole life with Jesus when it comes to Birthdays in December; but Annie near about kills me every time I mention that.   She is ready to be done. Above are some pics of her beautiful self as a glowing preggers angel.  I kid you not; her hotness has proportionately increased with her belly.  As for me (my hotness remains at a steady 4.5) We finished our “birthing classes” where I learned oh so many things I can’t even put into words… and neither do you want me to try. But we are READY for action.

Prayer Requests

1. Pray for the last few weeks of the pregnancy.

2. Pray for the progress and development of the LIFE HOUSE Baby Rescue Home.

3. Thank God for our time with the pastors and past interns and old friends. Pray that the many people who heard the pastors challenge them to get involved with the ministry would take steps towards walking with us as we build God’s Kingdom.

Thanks to all of you who so faithfully support us. Thank you for playing your part in making it possible for us to grow God’s church in these very exciting ways.

Love you guys, allan and annie

Last Words

“You can’t lead a revolution AND still get 8hrs of sleep.” – Dr. John Perkins, CCDA Conference in Ohio.

(by the way Annie did NOT like this quote and does not endorse it in any way shape or form. I personally loved it!)

“So what’s the plan?” has been the most asked question so far. Folks wanting to know where are we going to live long term, (Heaven) when are we going back to S.A. (April) and; what are we doing now? (Well at the moment it still feels as though we are catching up with life, sorting out taxes, settling in staff, planning ministry trips, and recruiting for another year.) Pastor Vincent Nyathi and Pastor Jonas Masotla from South Africa are joining us for 3 weeks in October. We work with their churches in the township of Mamelodi. It’s going to be a busy month as we hit the road going from Chicago to Michigan, with meetings, attending the CCDA Conference (Christian Community Development Association.) in Ohio, down to North Carolina and departing out of Atlanta. The primary reason for them coming is the conference in Cincinnati but we also long for them to be encouraged and celebrated in their time here. We will also get to see our alum team members from last year and some of you folks who came on mission trips to South Africa.

In South Africa, Jason and Cara are working hard at renovating a house we are converting into the Life House – Baby Rescue Home. It will be our next step in terms of Orphan Care as we have seen and recognized the need for a place of safety where unborn babies can be rescued. The primary Mamelodi social worker from Social welfare reports to us that at least 1 baby each week is found abandoned and often times dead in this community (Read AR’s most recent Blog post to find out more.) So God seems to be leading us to take the step to rescue His precious children with this home. It’s an honor for us to do this and we are just stepping out in faith for all the many, many needs that surround such a mighty feat as this. We invite you to join us in rescuing these kids.

If you asked us what are we most excited about? Having a baby overshadows all of these exciting things. Feeling him kick and anticipating his arrival everyday has given both of us an appreciation for how precious life is… especially as we build the Life House. A good friend of ours told us this week, “marriage changes you the second most in life…having a baby really changes you!” Bring it on, we’re ready!

Prayer Requests

1. Funding and donations for the Life House – Baby Rescue Home. We don’t have the resources to do this right now but we know through you guys and others, God will provide. Pray with us daily as we walk in faith.

2. October Pastoral Trip- Pray that God really use that trip to envision His Shepherds from South Africa. May they be encouraged and refreshed for their time here.

3. Pray specifically for Annie and I as we prepare for the coming of our little guy. Pray that we remain continually faithful to this call on our lives.

Thanks for your prayers, support and friendship. We love you.

Follow Close, Follow Hard,

allan and annie

LAST WORDS

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”
-Psalm 68:5

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
-Luke 12:32-34

There is a chill in the air here in Michigan and the leaves are beginning to flying south. Meanwhile in South Africa all we hear about is how gorgeous the weather is getting. Just in time for our new staff as they arrive at the AR house in Pretoria. While Annie and I “baby panic”, (thank the Lord He gave us 9 months to prepare) Jason, Cara and Nic Mitchell are packing up their life and preparing to go to South Africa. The Mitchell’s hail from Oklahoma and have officially joined the AR family. Jason is a servant leader with a background in construction, the marines and once doubled for Buzz Lightyear. Cara matches Jason perfectly and makes Beth Moore look like a new believer. These guys are off the charts! (And for those of you who really love Beth Moore, I was just kidding.)

Jason and Cara visited us in S.Africa in April where we checked them out and vice versa. We must have passed the test because they’re joining us for the long haul. Jason has come on board as the Director of Operations in Africa. That’s just the fancy title that says he will be overseeing all of AR’s work on the ground, dealing with everything from hugging grannies to dealing with mission teams. He will especially be focusing his time and energy on Orphan and Widow Care as well as Leadership Development.  Both Jason and Cara are very gifted but it’s their radical obedience to God’s call on their family as well as their genuine compassion for the things that break the heart of God, that make us want to serve together in this work. They are going to have an incredible impact on the ministry.  We love this family and believe in them and know that we’ve been partnered with them to do great things for the King and His Kingdom.  I encourage you to follow along on their blog and pick up Jason’s book, Invisible Children- Rescue The Perishing, which will really help you understand the passion in their hearts. Here is a video promo of Jason’s Book that’s definitely worth watching.

Prayer Requests

1. Pray for our new staff as they settle in and set the attitude of their hearts as one coming to learn and truly serve.  Also pray for others to go and join them. Pray that God bring the right people along to carry this vision.

2. Prego lady- Pray for Annie as she goes through the end of her 2^nd trimester. We are thrilled all is well and are blessed by a Grandma who can’t stop buying cute things for her grandson on the way.

3. At the moment it still feels as though we are catching up with life, sorting out taxes, books, general admin stuff. We are looking for a volunteer here in Lansing to help us with the many admin tasks that come up as we grow this ministry. We are praying for someone who loves research and admin and order. That’s what us visionaries need to keep us on track.

Thanks for your prayers, support and friendship. We love you.

Follow Close, Follow Hard,

allan and annie

^“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Phil 1:4-6

It’s a BOY!!! Yep we just found out it’s a boy and we are both over the moon! We could not believe it as we had ourselves convinced that it was a girl. We had the girls name picked out and everything! We are just thrilled. Now I don’t care if I end up being one of those gushing dads but if you’ve ever seen an Ultra sound or heard the heart beat you will know how surreal and earth shaking it feels to know that, that’s your son! Wow!! So we are just ecstatic and thrilled for what God has for us in the next few months.

While there is sadness over missing Africa there is a nothing like the thought of a little guy arriving in a few months to fill our hearts. While we wait we are getting set up here in Lansing, MI. We have decided to rent here till we go back next year. We are thrilled that God seems to be opening up opportunities to share about our year. The church, URC has been wonderfully welcoming as we fit into life here. We are trying not to be those annoying folks who come back from a life changing experience and compare life here to life there at each and every opportunity. So far I think no one is too annoyed… yet.  However I sense God has been giving me a message to share with His Church here in the U.S. I sense God is making an invitation or a plea to his people to come rescue Him on the road to Jericho. I sense God is looking for more from His people. This message I find challenging and convicting in my own life. So we ask you to specifically pray about our next steps of sharing this and pray that God would use us for His purposes State-side.

Prayer

1. Like I shared, please pray for the wisdom and the message to share what God wants spoken through us as we now focus on mobilizing, recruiting and support raising for the work in Africa.

2. Pray for our new teammates as they leave the U.S. and hit the ground in South Africa. They are replacing us and will be our co-laborers in the field. Check out their blog here. Jason and Cara Mitchell’s Blog.

3. Thank God for the ways He has provided for us as we find our place here. For me, Allan, Chicago was the only American life I knew and being here is definitely different from Chicago. I am grateful for these changes yet there is always adjusting.

Thanks for your prayers, support and friendship. We love you.

Follow Close, Follow Hard, allan and annie

P.S. As this is the end of grilling season and we are enjoying some Summer cook outs I thought some of you might enjoy this short video of a BBQ I took at one of the young adult gatherings of the Powerhouse church in South Africa. They take a lifestyle of worship seriously, singing while they BBQ. Watch for Joshua in the pretty frock.

It was hard to say goodbye to everyone in South Africa. Pastor Vincent had the whole church come up and hug us one at a time at the last service and it felt sad to be leaving when we feel like we have just started getting into peoples lives. It was hard to say goodbye to our interns/house mates/friends/fellow revolutionaries. We know that God is going to take the great things that He has planted in each of us and cause it to grow in the years to come. My prayer is the spark that was struck in Southern Africa will turn into a fierce furnace for the King and His Kingdom! Hey, we’re serious!

We are back in the States and adjusting to life. It seems surreal and odd as we catch up with folks and share about our experience in Africa and hear about their year. It was good to have a break in Greece en-route home. Yes Greece! It was incredible. We considered it our baby-moon… the last hoorah before the baby comes. And it was a ridiculous! We spent time in Athens on Mars Hill where Paul debated with the Athenians. We got to visit the islands of Santorini and Mykinos. Both were gorgeously beautiful. We just felt so loved and spoiled rotten by the Lord that we could be there.  It was the perfect place as we processed our transition out of Africa.

You can see more of our trips of the trip on Allan’s FaceBook page.

We arrived back here in the States with lost baggage, a cancelled flight adding almost an extra day to the trip but great gladness once we saw Mom and Dad Herwaldt at the Detroit Airport. They have been great giving us a car and a phone to use, groceries, and a place to stay. It’s good to be home now just to get over the jet lag.

Prayer Requests

1. Transition. We have a place to stay in for the next month and a half as we house sit just outside of East Lansing. It’s glorious, corn field front and back!

2. Direction regarding buying, renting, etc

3. Praise- Thank God for a good year following hard after Him.

Again, thanks to everyone who supported us this year! Thanks for everyone who visited us and made the 18+hr flight to South Africa! We love you guys and hope to see you in person over this summer.

Love, Allan and Annie

Yo friends,
Great news; Gloria and Pastor Vincent were blessed with an additional member of their family this month. They are both proud parents of a healthy baby boy. Vukosi was born on June 5th. Vukosi means “Kingdom” in Zulu. Click here for more pics.

We also wanted to share what an incredible time we had with 3 different teams serving alongside us recently. A Campus Outreach group from the states came and partnered with us and the Powerhouse as well as a team of 20 folks from North Carolina and Georgia.

Along with our interns we crafted a trip that would be more of a learning/vision trip rather than the traditional “work trip,” which helped set the tone for the whole experience.
The team members came to learn and serve and work alongside the local church. It was beautiful to see God’s Church serving in this manner into the community. Posted here on our blog are a few pics of what it was like. We plan on sharing more stories on this experience on the blog as it impacted so many.

Because this is our last update before we arrive back in the good ol’ U. S. of A we want you guys to be blessed with a bunch of pics we have been holding back on over the year. Check our picture gallery here for pics of “life in our house,” or “hanging out” and a bunch more to get a picture of our time here… consider it a “Year in Review.”

Prayer Requests
1.) Thank God for our growing baby and for the life of Vukosi Nyathi. Life is precious and there is nothing like a baby to remind us of that.

2) We thank God for the vision teams that came and left with so much accomplished and so much learned. We pray that God take what each team member learned and continue to apply it to their lives and ministries back in the U.S. We especially thank the Lord for the amazing example and hospitality the Powerhouse Church showed to our visitors from overseas. They felt loved and welcomed like never before.

3)We pray that God watch over the lives of the widows we got to serve. Ask Him to grant us wisdom on how to better serve them in their distress. (James 1:27)

4.) Pray for our travels and transition back to the U.S. and for everything God has for us there.

It’s our last update from Africa this year but we will still keep you informed as to our whereabouts. Hopefully even this summer we will get to see many of you as we travel back to the US.

As always we are thrilled to be partnering with you in doing God’s work here in Southern Africa.

follow close, follow hard
allan & annie

Hello friends,

Some of you may have seen Annie’s Face Book profile change to “bun in the oven” and realized that it is indeed true. Yes we ARE having a baby!!! We are so grateful to the Lord for this incredible gift and we thank Him everyday for this opportunity to love and nurture a young life…. to be honest we haven’t a clue as to what is about to happen yet we are incredibly giddy about the news.

We travelled to Swaziland with Pastor Vincent and Gloria as well as our team members and visitors from overseas. We had Jason and Cara Mitchell join us from Oklahoma as prospective staff.  Jason applied for the position of Director of Operations in Africa which is the fancy name for the “make it happen man.” We hit it off with them and are confident that they will be an integral part of the AR family from here on out. Jason and Cara are looking to move here indefinitely in September of this year to take over our on-the-ground work in Africa, as AR is growing and Annie & I need to be running things stateside. We look forward to sharing more of them with you in time.

Prayer Requests

 1.) Thank God for our little tadpole baby and pray that he/she grows up strong and healthy. Pray too that God prepare Annie and I for the transition from young hip couple to boring old parents.

2) Again we thank God for Jason and Cara and pray that their next steps be very specifically guided by the Lord as we hand this side of the work over to them. Pray for them as they rally a team around themselves to be obedient to God’s call on their lives.

3) We have 3 teams coming soon from the U.S. to visit and work with us. Pray for our planning and how we can most effectively envision them with God’s long-term vision for their lives as well as how they can serve in the community here.

As always we are thrilled to be partnering with you in doing God’s work here in Southern Africa.

follow close, follow hard
allan & annie

p.s. In case some of you are unaware, we are writing regularly and posting pics of our time here on our blog. www.ARblog.org