Let me take you back to my time in Cape Town, because I had one more thing I wanted to blog about from my time there. Well, I shouldn't call her a thing. She is a person and her name is Bec Scales. Some of you are already blessed to know Bec. I met Bec is August 2007 while I was living in New Orleans. She is a good friend of Rob and Annabeth Wilton and had stopped by for a visit. I could tell instantly that she and I were kindred spirits and that she had a passionate drive to follow God wholeheartedly. My heart always connects with people like that, especially other single women. Bec is from Australia and God has taken her on an incredible journey of faith, loss, healing, and radical calling. She has followed His calling with joy, determination, and complete obedience.

Thank God for Facebook. :) Bec and I were able to stay in touch that way while she went for a year of Bible college and onto her next adventures in faithfully pursuing God's purpose for her life. She headed to Africa for a second time, with no agenda, just seeking God out in a place that her heart was so drawn toward. She traveled from place to place, especially focusing on her love for one particular organization that means a great deal to her. Watoto is a non-profit organization that cares for orphans in Uganda by building villages and raising up future leaders. In case you're not familiar with it, I am including a video of an interview with Marilyn Skinner. Her and her husband Gary founded Watoto and their story is simply incredible. If you haven't heard of this organization, get to know it!



Through a series of events while traveling around Africa, Bec was called to be a youth pastor for Life Church in Cape Town, South Africa. Thus, our paths were able to cross once more. I had told Bec I'd be in Cape Town and would love to get together with her. I figured it would take a couple days to set something up, but I was determined to make it happen. We arrived in Cape Town on a Friday. Late Satuday night Kitty and I were up and on the internet. I was busy talking with a friend and so she was doing research for us about where we should attend church that next morning. Originally our plan was to take the train to attend church with Cindy and Brandi, but the train system seemed unreliable on Sundays and we didn't want to risk getting up at 6am for nothing. Kitty found Life Church as a great option within walking distance. Two things I didn't realize at the time: 1) We had passed this church while driving into town and we all remarked that we were interested in checking it out and 2) this was Bec's church!

So we arrived at church Sunday morning, found our seats and enjoyed a great morning of fellowship with other believers. I was quite emotional as I looked around and saw God's children from all races worshiping together. Then came time for the children's special. A young woman took the mic and introduced the performance. As I looked more closely I thought, "That looks a lot like Bec." I asked Kitty if she thought the lady had an Australian accent. Then I asked the guy in front of me if the woman on stage was named Bec. Indeed she was! How cool is that? We had unknowingly walked into the very church that Bec serves in, and even got to see her in action. It was great! After the service we finally found her and she flipped when she realized it was me. (The last time she saw me I had shorter blonde hair.) It was the start of a great week and we were able to spend time with her two different days after that.

Words cannot describe what an encouragement Bec was to me during those times with her. And more than just an encouragement, her faith challenged me immensely. Spend two minutes with Bec and you'll know what I mean. Her joy is unmatched by most I have seen in other Christians. The Holy Spirit just radiates all throughout this woman. I can't say enough about her. I wish you could all just spend an hour with Bec, listening to her heart, her incredible God-sized stories and encounters, and her passion for loving the unlovable and the forgotten. And there's a good chance she'll be a bit embarrassed when she reads all of this that I'm writing about her. That's another quality I love about her... she is a great woman of God yet filled with humility even though she's already done more for Christ than most do in a lifetime.

I am grateful for the friendship God has given me in Bec. It's incredible to see how God can bring two people together like us, who have spent such little time together, but who's hearts connect and beat as one with the same passionate pursuit of God. To me that equals instant friendship. Lifelong friendship. And I look forward to keeping up with Bec, learning from her, and hopefully crossing paths with her again and again as God so blesses.

Here is a link to her blog (though she will be the first to admit that she doesn't keep up with it): http://becscales.blogspot.com