jon and layne heller | Casa Ahavá and our Family

From Botswana

A Jon Post

Well we said all our goodbyes and left all of our friends and family in the USA and we got on an airplane Friday afternoon.
It was very hard. There were many tears.
We kept going.

It’s never easy to say goodbye. Especially to the people who deserve all the credit for what we are doing. But we did and we traveled and last night we arrived in Botswana where we will spend the next 1-2 weeks. We’ll get our truck tomorrow. I really miss that truck.

Angola visas? Naaaahh… We don’t have them. Is that a problem? Well I guess that depends on who you ask. If you ask me I’d say “Yes, a big one”, but if you ask God, He’d say “Nope. I’ve got it under control.”
I’m still asking Him to get us those visas soon. I’d like to ask all of the people who read this to do that too. Please ask God to get us those visas soon. If you have a second right now… please pray.

We miss and love you all. We are here. We are safe. We are loved.

November 9, 2009

Jon

Personal, Visas

14 comments

Is this real?

a layne post

Jon and I keep looking at each other and asking, “Are we really moving to Africa on Friday? And by the way, where are we going?”

Maybe it is because we do not know exactly where we are going, or maybe it is just our current, crazy, unsettled life, but it all feels a little unreal. There is this part of me, that is currently buried in the extreme emotions that accompany “good-byes”, that is excited and filled with anticipation. I have moments, normally fleeting, when I can grasp this feeling and remember, “Layne, you love this. You love Africa. You love serving.”

It is during these moments that I gain the strength, once again from our gracious Lord, that enables me to board that plane on Friday and leave my family… my precious, precious loving family.

Prayer Points

We still do not have an invitation or visa to Angola. We still are holding onto a small hope we could get some paperwork together before we leave, yes, in 4 days. Please pray with us! No matter what happens though, we believe the Lord has a plan laid out for us, and as long as He guides us for the day, we’ll be alright.
Pray for emotional strength on Friday.
Pray for wisdom and direction upon our arrival in South Africa.

Thank you all your support and love while we have been in the States, as well as commitments for the future! We have felt so loved. My spirit has been refreshed. We look forward to posting reports of our (that is you too!) work from Africa!

Leading worship at Quiettime Ministries

Some girl time

More pics to come…

November 2, 2009

Layne

Angola, JonandLayne.com, Visas

5 comments

Website Updates and Making Memories

A Jon Post

The days keep counting down and it is really hard to imagine some times how committed to this thing we really are. Are we really going? Is the dream this big?

I’ve been able to meet new people here in Corpus Christi and it seems like I’m often telling people where Layne and I are going and what we’re doing. Part of it is because Pete (my father-in-law) always introduces me as “This is Jon my son-in-law, he and my daughter are moving to Africa for good in two weeks!” (thanks Pete haha). The more I tell people about our heart and dreams for Angola the more it is solidified in my head that we really are moving there. It’s not a small deal.

I updated our website to have a couple new pages. You can click on the “About Us” and “Support Us” tabs up on the top left there. I am pretty happy with the “Support Us” tab. You can now support what we are us in Angola with a credit or debit card! You can even set it to a certain amount monthly or quarterly or yearly or daily or however often you’d like and it’s all tax-deductible! I know it sounds like I’m just asking for money here but I’m mostly just happy that I got all the php code working for the Paypal links and all (and I’m asking for money… we’re still working towards our goal of $2000/month). I have a bit of training in html code but this php stuff that powers our blog is ALL learning and new to me.

Anyway, we’re busy making memories here in Corpus with our family here. It’s so good to be so loved by so many people. We certainly don’t deserve it.

Please pray for us. We are getting closer and closer to our leaving date and we are still hoping and trusting hard that paperwork for Angola will come in soon. Layne and I get up every day and check our email hoping for good news and we will keep doing it.
God please, please, please, bring these plans to fruition. We need you so much. We need Your dramatic, over-the-top, no-other-explanation-but-from-You actions. We trust you. We trust you.

Pray with us. Partner with us. We love you all so much.

Memories

October 25, 2009

Jon

JonandLayne.com, Visas

3 comments

First move

Our bags have been weighed, I would say approximately ten times a piece, and are finally narrowed down. Jon will have two 50 pound bags, and I will have two 50 pound bags… plus one 70 pound bag. While the three are technically mine, you should know that the 70 pounder is carrying many reading material and resource material for the both of us! ;) (Ah, I feel better now that you are not judging me so harshly. Hehe.)

Our time in Arizona has been sweet. I am pleased with the amount of people we were able to connect with, though some unfortunate timing led to us missing a few of you! My apologies. We love and appreciate you greatly. It is important to us for you to feel connected to us and our ministry (“our” includes YOURS!). Please feel free to comment or email us whenever.

We leave early tomorrow morning and arrive in Corpus Christi, Texas early afternoon. There we look forward to more sweet times and dread more sorrowful good-byes. We will be staying there until November 6th, and then heading to South Africa. Great news… We are so blessed to have Jon’s parents coming to Corpus to see us off there!

We are overwhelmed by love.

Today at Trinity Christian Fellowship as we were prayed over and sent out, my heart was filled. Your support is treasured.

As we spent the day with family, love, love, love.

How precious these days are! How many times will I look back to them, and find strength amidst my loneliness! Thanks.

Quick update on visas:

We are still hopeful about taking a short trip to Angola in December to meet potential partners for the future and allow them to meet us. We are still in need of a letter of invitation; however, communication is flowing and it is still possible! Continued prayers are welcome.

We love you.

Jon and Layne

October 18, 2009

Layne

Angola, Personal, Visas

6 comments

A Week of Lasts

A Jon Post

Well… we’re leaving Arizona on Monday. Here come the last times I’ll do some things… at least for the next 2-3 years. That gets hard some times.

Last time I see my brother Joseph. What a man he is. He got married on Sunday to a fantastic girl that he will love wildly for the rest of his life. What a man he is. I hugged him and cried as I let him go. He’s on his honeymoon now and I won’t see him before we go.

Last time I get together with all my brothers. This group of LionMen. This band of warriors. These poets of love, deed and their Christ. I love these men.

Last time I sit with my sister and dream of futures and of life. What an angel. Always taking the next step in love. Always encouraging, always such a model of the hand and love of Christ. What a missionary. What incredible love.

Last time I hug my mother. My mother… who loved… loves me for 27 years and beyond. Never wavering. I’ve never seen disappointment in her eyes. Always pride in her son. Always love. What a woman.

Last time I sit and listen to the wisdom of my father. Maybe… someday… I’ll be like that man. I can dream… I can dream.

Last time I see dear friends. Last time I can sit and glean from all these wise men and women around me. All these shoulders that we stand on as Layne and I go boldly into the unknown. We don’t have to fear it. We go with you.

A week of lasts. What precious memories.