Well, we are one week away from departure for South Africa. I am sharing our itinerary below. Please pray for me and my husband as God brings us to your heart and mind. (Remember, it is a 16-hour flight….) Sunday 8/16 Flight leaves at 8:10 p.m. Arrive in Johannesburg 5:15 PM (Monday) Monday 8/17 Arrive in South Africa Tuesday 8/18 Travel to Lichtenburg Wednesday 8/19 Outreach – North West Thursday 8/20 Travel to Pilanesburg – Outreach Overnight – Manyane Friday 8/21 Back to Johannesburg / Fly on to Cape Town From Lanseria – Arrive 19:10 Saturday 8/22 Planning & Ministry in Cape Town Conference Monday 8/24 Flight to Lanseria – Arrive 16:35 Tuesday 8/25 Depart from Johannesburg to home 8:45 PM Wednesday 8/26 Arrive Atlanta 7:00 A.M. I am so very excited about this adventure, and can’t wait for all God is going to teach me. I am praying He will use me to encourage and minister to others in His Name (and I believe that I will be the one that will be CHANGED). I am so thankful for the opportunity to go.
South Africa – 3
South Africa – 2
Flights will be booked next week and that is a serious prayer request from my heart to yours! I am not askeered (scared), I am a-claustrophobic! Seriously claustrophobic. In fact, my “most requested story to tell and act out with lots of drama” is about my trip to Chattanooga and RUBY FALLS back in the day when I was a young woman and certainly knew better than to act like I did. The problem was I did not know that Ruby Falls was an UNDERGROUND waterfall until I got down there…all the way down there in a mineshaft. My, my, my. My husband knew we were in trouble when he saw me laying on the ground, holding on to the tour guide’s ankles and begging her to take me back UP! She didn’t, and I still suffer today…bless my heart. Anyway, back to South Africa. The flight from Atlanta is around 16 hours, so pray for me. That’s a long time to be confined. Any good ideas besides a double dose of Ambien? Love y’all so much! JanSouth Africa – 1
Today marks the beginning of a journey to South Africa! The actual trip is late August of this year, but the process has begun in earnest. We have known about this mission opportunity since late Winter, but the details are coming together and I am beside myself. My husband and I finally got everything together and applied for our passports today! After finding out that I wasn’t “certified,” there was a delay. I have had a copy of my birth certificate for a VERY long time :), but only recently discovered it wasn’t certified. I got that taken care of this past week, so we are well on our way. The nice gentleman at the Post Office told us the turn around time is actually just 3 or 4 weeks! I want to keep up with this journey on my blog, so I’m going to number the posts…so today is number one! I appreciate your prayers as God brings me and this mission trip to your mind. Much love, Jan
Me and My Minister Man
This post is: “dedicated to the one I love…” My sweet husband of 32 years…The Reverend Gary Timothy Morton… My sweet girlfriend, Mrs. Lisa McKay, better known by her wonderful blog, “The Preacher’s Wife,” is beginning a new feature on her blog. Go here to read all about it…The Woman BESIDE the Man… I was thrilled to find out that I was to be the first PW she is featuring. I told her I feel like I won a “prize,” and I mean it! Let me tell you about my real PRIZE: my minister man! I am the most blessed wife in the world, and it is first of all because of the ONE I love, my Savior, Jesus Christ. He blessed me in my marriage with a precious young minister almost 32 years ago, and I have been honored to serve alongside him all these years. I have been to so many choir practices and church dinners and Sunday School classes and retreats and banquets and youth fellowships and lock-ins and missions conferences and revivals and Sunday mornin’, Sunday night, and Wednesday church…and NONE of that matters as much as the way this man lives out the life of a Christ-follower at HOME and in the trenches Monday through Friday! May I say this? HE IS THE MAN IN FRONT OF THIS WOMAN! Gary – I love you and I treasure you. Thank you for being genuine and loving and supportive of me – in all my seasons of life. Thank you for being an awesome daddy to our boys, and now “G-Daddy” to our little Zeke… May God continue to bless us as we sojourn together. I count it a privilege to be your bride… And as you say so sweetly, “our nest ain’t empty, we’re still here!” I love you, Jan
What Are Little Boys Made Of?
I’ll tell you this, there are no “snips and snails and puppy dog tails” with this little bundle of blessings! He is pure delight to me! I kept Zeke for a while around noon today so my son could take his wife, my daughter-in-love, out to lunch…he is sweet that way. My husband set a good example and for that I am so thankful, he’s a sweetheart too. I pray Zeke will grow up to be sweet too – I believe he will because his parents are committed to raising him up in the Lord. He is a delightful baby and I wanted to share some updated pictures of my grandboy. Indulgent, yes – but hey…I’m Gran Jan!!!
R&R IN “YE OLDE SOUTH”
My sweet husband and I just spent 3 days away for a little R&R (for you non-military types, R&R stands for Rest & Relaxation). It could have been R & R & R & R & R, Rest, Relaxation, Revival, Reconnecting, and ROMANCE 🙂 We had such a wonderrrrrful time! This trip was a gift to us from our church in honor of our 20 years of service there. They are the best congregation in the world and we love them! Anyway, the gift came in June, but since the reservations were good for a year, and we had a BIG-EVENTS summer in our family that included the wedding of our youngest son in June and the birth of our first grandchild in August, we finally just got away this past weekend. We headed out to Savannah Wednesday afternoon. We love Savannah, a very beautiful and romantic city on the coast of Georgia. In fact, it is Georgia’s oldest city. Here are some pictures from my weekend…
View from our room at the River Street Inn which fronts the Savannah River in the 
These are the ruins of Fort Frederica which was built back in the early 1700’s to protect the coast of Georiga from invasions by the Spanish in northern Florida.
Now this picture below is also in a historic section of Savannah. It is the famous LADY & SONS RESTAURANT and is owned and operated by Paula Deen and her two sons. The food is wonderful and no trip to Savannah is complete without a trip to the Lady & Sons.
It is absolutely gorgeous and a step back in time with all the huge live oak trees and Spanish moss hanging from them. The cemetery had graves dating back to the early 1800’s and it was so peaceful to visit this church and the gardens nearby.
~Georgia Jan
