Brandon & Julianna Jones

Brandon's turning the big Two-Nine this week. His birthday is Monday, Oct. 25. I'm sure he'd love to hear from you via e-mail or facebook on that day!

Someone jacked our car from our driveway last week. On Wednesday, Brandon and I went outside to take our car to the office and it wasn't there. That was an awful feeling.

During the night, the would-be thieves popped our car's lock and pushed it down the street (presumably to get in a darker spot). Then they tore out the wires from the steering column and tried to hotwire it. The immobilizer (an anti-theft device that's common here) kicked in and locked up the car's tires and prevented them from getting away with the car. They snagged our GPS from the glove box (shouldn't have left it in there) and abandoned the car.

It's my first personal introduction to the crime that's rampant here in South Africa. As I've told people about what happened to us, I heard nearly every kind of car theft story imaginable. It seems everyone here has had something like this happen to them. The week before, my friend Danielle had her car broken into in the grocery store parking lot. They didn't try to steal it, but they did cut the seatbelt and steal a baby car seat from it. My South African friend Shane has the best story: He walked into a shop to get his hair cut and about 10 minutes later he stepped out and his car was completely gone.

I knew that crime was bad here, but it hadn't happened to us yet. It feels different now. I struggled the past few days with fear of what might happen. I felt exposed, vulnerable. I think that's what a lot of people in South Africa must feel like. Probably why so many people who have the means emigrate to the U.S., Europe or Australia.

Actually, when I moved into our new neighborhood, it wasn't long before I felt the effects of fear in my surroundings. Where we live, people have giant fences surrounding their property and private security company logos dot those fences. I have only met a few of my neighbors, because I just can't see the other ones behind their fences. My first few nights here, I didn't sleep well, having frightful dreams. It was as if the fears of the previous tenants lingered within our walls.

My friend Rashmi had a dream about me one of those nights. She said she came over to my house and everything was really dark. Dark walls and dark decorations and dark furniture. She said she thought it was strange. "Why would Julianna decorate like this?" She spent the night at my house and felt really confused about a lot of things. Then she said she woke up in the morning and came out of her room to a new house. Instead of the dark things, I had redecorated the whole place to be bright and light. The walls were light-colored and I had covered the floors with brightly colored carpets of red, green and yellow.

I think environments can be changed. Atmospheres of darkness can be changed to atmospheres of light. That's what I was thinking about this morning. I got fed up with feeling apprehensive. I realized I didn't have to live fearfully. I declared to everything in general around me in my house: "No! I am not going to be afraid! I have not been brought here to live a life of fear. I have been brought to this point to live a life of love and boldness. I am going to do that, and nothing is going to stop me." The house didn't shake and nothing crazy happened, but I felt worlds better.

I think that's what God wants to do to the whole nation of South Africa. He wants to banish that fear and put in its place love and boldness. The word I keep thinking is "safe." God wants to make South Africa a safe and secure place. So I volunteered Brandon and I to help bring that about in our neck of the woods. I said, "Let me be the safe place for those around me."

I want people to feel safe with me. I want to be that refuge they need so that they can get away from their problems and find a new perspective. There is so much danger, so many unhealthy relationships and communities here.  Whatever it takes to be the safe place for someone, I want to make it happen.

Siphe is a young man that I met during CPx. One day while wandering around the wetlands, my friend Whitney had a word from the Lord that led us directly to him. We prayed for him and met his family as well.

His mom welcomed us into her heart and home. We prayed with her and studied the Bible with her every week for several months. Every week, her prayer request was the same: her children were not following Jesus, and she wanted them to change their lives. Siphe came to our gathering once or twice, but usually made himself scarce during that time. He was in a gang and into drugs.

He came to one Bible study in particular towards the end of my time in Cape Town, however. His mom led the study and I can't even remember what the verse was about. But the Holy Spirit was there, and Siphe was moved. He was engaging with us more than I'd ever seen. He asked questions, and he said he wanted to turn his life around but he didn't know how. We prayed for him and he broke down. He shared how messed up his life was and his mom led him in a prayer to give over control of his life to Jesus.

I didn't see him again before I left, but a friend of mine who was in CPx with me followed up with him while I was gone. He continued to disciple Siphe along with his gangster friends. Siphe starting praying and reading the Bible. He quit doing drugs. His mom said he gets in the shack at a decent hour now. When I saw Siphe upon my return to Masi, I was shocked. He even looked different, his skin had a glow to it and he was smiling ear-to-ear.

"Remember when you found me," Siphe asked. "Remember when God told you to come to me while I was doing the washing?" He thanked me for coming to him and not giving up on him. "My life is different now, and it's because of Jesus," he said.

Wow. This is the kind of transformation I want to see more of. It certainly wasn't much that I did. I was just there. But God sees these people that many have written off, and he calls them just the same. God sees and loves Siphe!

It's spring here in South Africa, and it's a gorgeous season!

When I think of spring, I always think of oceans of bluebonnets growing along the highways in San Antonio. If you haven't seen it, you should definitely go see the wildflowers in South Texas in March.

Here, they have an equivalent amount of beautiful wildflowers, but these seem to me to be much more exotic. We have a tree in our backyard with branches draped in spindly red flowers.

We also have something that looks like Bird of Paradise growing in our backyard (or our "garden" as they call it).

And my favorite: Calla Lilies growing all along the side of the road.

In Texas, it's illegal to pick bluebonnets, the official state flower. I know, because I once felt really dangerous when I picked one as a child. Here though, I figure, "This is Africa." So I picked a bouquet of lilies for my new home. It feels so luxurious to have fresh lilies in my living room! I may be living simply, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate gorgeous flowers in my very own home.

We found a great deal on a house in Welcome Glen, about a 10 minute drive from the All Nations base. There are a variety of reasons I think we got it for such a low price: there's a huge hole in the backyard, the toilets are stained brown and the former tenant was an awful decorator. But it's also very spacious, freshly painted and has a beautiful yard with a great view. Really, I know it was the Lord who provided it for us.

But it could also be because of the baboons.

Yes, you heard me right: baboons. We live on the side of a mountain that is the traditional home of the monkeys. We've invaded their space, and now they like to invade humans' space. If you leave a window open they'll climb inside, head straight for the kitchen and make a mess of it. They can open cabinets and fridges and will pull out the food and tear up the containers and have a feast. They'll smash anything in sight. I'm even told they can open up unlocked front doors and waltz right inside (although I'm not sure I believe it). Below is a picture of our dining room after the former tenant left a window open and the baboon came inside to tear up what they'd left in the kitchen.

They're somewhat cute, but they're also terrible pests. My neighbor across the street bought herself a paintball gun to shoot the baboons in order to scare them off. "Another great thing is burglar bars," she told us. When we told her our landlord wouldn't let us get them, she replied, "That's selfish of him. You can't live here without them."

On our second morning in the house, the baboons knocked over our trash bin, somehow unlocked the locks on it (specifically placed there to keep baboons out) and dumped the trash around our driveway. Our aforementioned kind neighbor picked up our trash for us and then told us later.

Our plan as of now is to only open windows when I'm sitting in that room. When I move to a new room, I close the windows in the first room and then open them in the second. You can't NOT open windows here, because there's no ventilation otherwise and your house will start to mold.

I'm trying not to live in fear of the creatures. They don't eat humans and they only get violent if they feel threatened. They do have sharp teeth and strong jaws though.

Normally they're just after easy food from your kitchen. For now, I think we're safe. Such is life in Africa. I'll let you know if we have anymore run-ins with the baboons. I'm praying we don't.