Much Love

"Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; 

Talk of all His wondrous works!"

1 Chronicles 16:9

Hi everyone! We just wanted to let you all know how much we appreciate the wonderful people the Lord has placed in our lives. We are so thankful for your prayers and support in our calling to South Africa. We truly miss all of our friends and family from home and often think about great times of laughter, fellowship, prayer and even some hard times that we shared together. But, knowing that we have been knitted together in Christ makes us feel just as close to the special people that we may not get to see day to day. We are so thankful for all of the prayer requests that have gone out on our behalf and hope that you know that the Lord has been so faithful to answer them. Please continue to pray for our family and know that it is our privledge to pray for yours as well. We want to ask you to email us with your prayer requests and praise reports. We have seen the importance of intercessory prayer and want to be obedient to His Word. Jon Courson had a wonderful devotion on prayer in His "Footsteps of the Flock"  devotion that you can also get online. We recommend checking out these daily devotions as they have been such a blessing to us. Here is a portion of today's that was from 1 Samuel 15:34-35...

    But the People got ahead of God because the King He intended for them was David. Perhaps that's a word for some of us."Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart," Psalm 37:4 tells us. We cling to and claim this verse, as well we should, but not apart from its context. , for three verses later, David tells us to wait patiently for God. God has a plan for our lives - and no small part of it requires patience. If we get ahead of God, we end up with Ishmael instead of Isaac, with Saul instead of David.

We hope this encourages you the way it has us. Below are more pictures, because well, we love pictures right!

Emerson loves going to the duck pond by our house, I think she would jump in if we let her.

Natasha and Joy after church. Natasha has a real special spot in our hearts, she lives at Ruitersvlei farm and has a real passion for the Lord. She has been such a blessing to us.

Emerson was convinced she needed to be in this family photo. She loves Freddy, Liz and especially baby Israella. I don't think anyone could resist her, here she is too...

The colors of fall...

What a glorious time this is to be serving our King! We are not just servants, but also friends of God. (John 15:15) The Lord has brought us into a season where we are drawing near to Him in a fresh, intimate way. God is doing exciting things here in Paarl.

As you can see, we are moved into our new place & the Lord has totally blessed. (we live in the bottom part of the house)
Last week, we had a great opportunity to team up with the Dream Team (Miqlat Ministries) and hold a Holiday Club (vacation bible school) out on the farms that we regularly minister to each week. The kids on the farms enjoyed connecting with the college students that make up the Dream Team, as did the Dream Team enjoyed the chance to begin building a relationship with these kids on the farms.
Two weeks ago, I was able to participate in coaching a Basketball Clinic led by a fellow American missionary that specializes in Sports Evangelism. We were able to teach over 30 kids the great game of basketball, while sharing the gospel at the same time. Praise the Lord, kids accepted Christ! It was an awesome experience that I won't soon forget.
Currently, we are seeing new faces on Sunday mornings at church. God is directing this church plant in such an amazing way. People in the community are realizing & desiring to see balance within the church, and that is the same vision that God gave us in coming to South Africa and planting this church.
In two weeks, Joy's parents (as well as a team from our sending church) will be arriving here in South Africa. We are so excited to see Mom & Pop! Emme tells us all the time, "Poppa is coming! Grandma is coming! Yeah!" We look forward to that time that we can share with them.
Please pray for us that we would learn the language here (Afrikaans), as that remains to be somewhat of a barrier in our ministry. We are looking into being tutored, so pray that God gives us the ability to absorb and communicate the language quickly.
Also, please be praying for God's leading in future ministry opportunities. I have been invited to be a guest at one of the local high school's Christian club to lead worship. Pray that we may be salt and light to this community, and hearts would turn to Christ. Join with us in prayer that churches would adhere to the Word of God, and not stray from the truth or water it down.
We appreciate all of your love and support. We enjoy the chance to connect with you over emails, and are blessed to live in a world today where we are able to have that instant type of access in communication. Be blessed and have a wonderful day!

In Christ,

The Sextons
Some friends from the Dream Team came over to play games and Emerson didn't want to miss out on any of the fun!







Sunday morning service during worship.








Emerson made the most of gardening, it was too much fun to watch her!








Two friends, Shiloh & Emme, taking a walk on the beach.