Why South Africa?

We answered this question in a 5 reasonswhy we moved to South Africa post.

What about money?

This is the question we get asked the most. We are not paid a dime for being missionaries. We live debt free. We’ve been doing this for over 10 years. Shocked? We explain more about this and other money questions here.

How long will you be in South Africa?

The short answer to this is that we don’t know. We moved here in 2008. To accomplish what God has asked us to do and see long-term fruit it will take time. This could take 3, 5, 15 years. We know this, we are committed to long term missions and that South Africa is the current season in our lives. We are here until God says to move.

How often do you return to the US?

Ideally, we like to return once a year especially since our kids are young. But because of finances and busy ministry schedules, that might not be possible. Right now we are making a more realistic goal of every 18 months. Here are our posts about visting America.

You call Knox & Evangeline twiblings, what does that mean?

Twiblings is a made up word from another adoptive family. It means two or more children, not biologically related, who belong to the same family and are very close in age so that they experience life much like twins. Knox and Evangeline are 2 months apart, both born in South Africa. Knox is a part of our family by adoption and Evangeline is a part of our family by birth. We met both of them with in 12 hours. We literally went from the children’s home to the hospital. They both came home with in a few days of each other. Its a crazy story of bold faith, obedience, the providence of God. Here’s the link to all things tagged twiblings. Enjoy reading through our beautiful journey of how only God could have formed our family.

Did you get pregnant in the middle of an adoption? Was this planned?

Yes, we planned our twiblings. We answered all of that in our announcement post.

I’m curious about your adoption story. Why did you adopt? How did you adopt in South Africa?

Knox’s adoption was a domestic South African adoption. We were able to do this because De Wet is also a South African and because God gave us incredible favor. Therefore we don’t have much insight about how to adopt internationally from South Africa. But if you have more questions and are interested in adopting here, drop us an email. We could point to you other people. For everything we’ve ever written on adoption on this blog, here’s that link.

Do you know much about Knox’s biological family and situation?

We realize alot of bloggers share to different degrees of openness about the details of their children’s adoption. We choose not to answer certain questions about Knox’s adoption because we consider them private. We feel they are his story to tell one day. And that might not be something he wants to do on the internet. We’ll let him decide. You can see here everything we’ve written tagged adoption.

Did you move to South Africa because De Wet is from South Africa?

No. De Wet’s extended family lives in another part of the country. His immediate family lives in the US, so both of us are moved away from our families. We both individually heard from God and made a commitment to move to South Africa before we were even in a relationship. Call it God’s irony. We came because we see huge potential to influence the continent. Although, we see it as God’s hand of providence, that one of us already speaks one of the local languages and understands the culture.

Where do you get the photography on your site?

Pretty much all of it we take. We prefer to give you a taste of what we see everyday not some random stock photography. That said, we don’t have much time for photoshop. We try to keep it real around here. To use any of these photos, please contact us first. A few photos of us were taken by friends and place with permission. If a photo is not from us, we’ll credit it.

How did you two meet?

We answered that here in about us. But you don’t want to miss the story of falling in love when De Wet had a mullet. Everything on love & marriage we’ve written is here.

What do your families think?

Every career has its pros & cons. Missions is the same. Some might guess the traveling, living on a small income or the culture shock might be the hardest factors. Hands down, the most difficult thing is being away from family and the familiar. The reality of being in missions is that our decisions affect our parents and siblings. When God called us, they also pay a huge price. But, our families are amazing and the have fully championed us throughout all these years in missions. They are also willing to come visit which helps alot with the cost of staying connected.

Who designs your website?

We have been blessed to have a friend of ours take the time to completely revamp our site. What a huge practical blessing to this ministry. He is responsible for the current appearance and layout, although all the copy and photos are ours. If you are looking to hire someone proficient in WordPress, who pays attention to detail and who is also serving in Africa get in touch with him.

How long have you been in missions?

For how long and how we got into missions, check that out here.

Where do you live in South Africa?

We live in Muizenberg, South Africa. Here’s a tour of our apartment. It is located just outside of Cape Town, near the southern most tip of Africa. This is a diverse area with people from all over Africa. Its a beautiful area near the ocean that was first established as a missions base because it was a “grey” area under apartheid . We experience all 4 seasons, minus snow. But it does get really cold! The seasons are opposite, so its winter in June, but summer in January.

You mention “townships” alot. What is a township?

Great question! We answered that here in a South African snapshot.

What is YWAM?

YWAM is short for Youth With A Mission, one of the largest Christian charitable organizations in the world. Founded in 1960, our calling is to know God and to make Him known. Our many ministries fit into three main categories: evangelism, training, mercy ministry. We are currently operating in more than 900 locations in over 150 countries, with a staff of over 16,000. Here’s what other Christian leaders are saying:

Which YWAM Base do you serve with?

We are a part of YWAM Muizenberg. Be sure to check out their website!

Did we not answer your question? Drop us an email.