updates – The Rousehouse

Fundraising update as of April 1st

Posted on April 3, 2017April 3, 2017 by Spanky Rouse

I get the question all of time, probably daily, “How is support raising/fundraising going for you guys?” I am thankful that I have plenty of people who care enough to ask us how things are going but I really get tired, to be honest of answering that question. The good thing is God that is providing some amazingly, generous people!

I have recently gone to part-time hours at work so that we can focus the other half of our time on meeting with people for support raising and working on all of the millions of details that go into moving a family of 5 across the world. Knowing that I have the freedom to share my time allows me to have the margin I need. We are very thankful for this time UWM is offering me.

To answer your question you may be wondering, “How is support raising/fundraising going for you guys?”…

Short answer is, we are at 62% of our monthly needs and goals! This leaves us with a $3400 gap we are still working on. We have also had 35% of our set up cost donated already in special one time gifts!!! Lara and I are super grateful!

We have enjoyed sharing our story, passion, and vision for ministry and our family in South Africa with so many over the past couple months. Through this we have gained some great relationships with new friends along with new monthly financial supporters! We are thankful for these opportunities and people the Lord has been putting in our path.

Our goal is still the end of the summer so please be praying that the Lord will surprise us with irrationally generous people, churches, and businesses that would love to partner with the Rousehouse!

Thank you for asking the question! (wink wink)

What’s happening, March 2017

Posted on March 9, 2017March 9, 2017 by Spanky Rouse

I can’t believe that it is already March 2017! This is the busiest season of our family’s life ever, I think! It seems like time is just flying by and we are trying to soak up every moment and event. There is a lot happening around here and we want to catch you up on all things… family, transitions, preparations, kiddos, etc. So here we go…

Elly and Brinley getting their ears pierced

Elly has just taken a big step in growing up. She got her ears pierced this past week along with her bff! It was her best friend’s 6th birthday so they decided to go together and get their ears done. It was a memoriable experience for these little girls to have got to do this together! I think it hurt Grey and Daddy way more than it did Elly. Our little baby girl is growing up!

Greyson doing what he does best…chilling in the sun!

We are learning a little bit of Afrikaans (one of the major languages spoke in South Africa) as a family in preparations for our big move. Lara has come up with this creative board that hangs in our kitchen that tells the days of the week, date, and weather. We have fun talking about these items and trying to pronounce these foreign sounding words each morning over breakfast. I wish I could record it because it is hilarious! Lara and I try to make everything sound like Spanish and Grey is our leader in language learning. He does really well and seems to have a natural ability to learn languages. He can say all of the days of the week, months and count to 10 on his own already!

Mac is enjoying all things middle school and is always busy! This guy just finished up his first rugby season in which he did really well. He is not the most athletic guy on the field but he is a hard and disciplined worker which granted him the title of “team captain”. Mac is also doing judo and is in a robotic/science club after school. He is way smarter than mom and dad, and knows it! When he has a question with his homework the conversation usually ends with, “Google it”.

Lara and I are staying busy with all of the millions of details around moving to another country, raising support, and transitioning all areas of our family’s life. We never knew there would be so many todo’s. You just buy a plane ticket and go, right??? Everyone just recieved passports in the mail last week, which is really cool. We can travel the world as a family now! We are currently at 60% of our monthly financial support needs and 25% of our financial set up goal. This is wonderful and we are constantly looking for, asking, and seeking God for more generous people to help meet these needs and goals. And we believe He will! There is still a lot to do like apply for South African visas, finding renters to move in and take care of our beautiful home, figure out what we are taking with us and what we are selling, while continuing to pray for God’s vision for the work in South Africa! We actually made a list of many of the details we have been praying about in the form of a prayer card with the kids. We love passing these out and inviting others to come alongside us in praying for these.

Current Prayer Priorities:

Strength and joy – This will be what sustains us as well as enables us to enjoy this crazy and busy season of life as we prepare to move.

Sensitivity to the Holy Spirt – We want to hear, see, experience, and be lead by the spirit of the Lord.

Wisdom and understanding – to see what He sees to know what we need to give our time and attention to each day.

Financial supporters – We are asking the Father to raise up in the heart of more people irrationally generosity. People we know to ask and people that we may not even know their name yet. We still need about $4000 a monthly commitments. If you would like info on how to partner with us, check this out… Partnering with the Rousehouse

screen-shot-2016-11-01-at-11-40-32-am

Zimbabwe

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Spanky Rouse

That isn’t smoke, it is midst rising from the falls. You can see it from miles away.

Every couple of years we gather all of our missionaries from around the African continent for what we call conference. This is a time of renewal, rest, realignment. This was my first time attending the UWM African Conference and it was held in Vic Falls, Zimbabwe…It’s actually called the Afro Conference but I just can’t bring myself to call it that :)… This was my first chance to meet many of these missionaries. I have talked on the phone, Skype, and emailed most of them but there is nothing like face to face time! I spend almost every minute of this week meeting with people to hear their stories, getting to know them, finding out ways I can better serve them, and praying for them. They are long days and I am always exhausted by the time I get back on my plane to head home but I wouldn’t want it any other way! I love what I do!

The Baobab is also called the upside-down tree because when bare of leaves, the spreading branches of the Baobab look like roots sticking up into the air, as if it had been planted upside-down. – This isn’t even the largest of their kind!

I had an opportunity to speak to 3 different groups while I was there and give a brief presentation on how we were going to serve them and their ministries better. My number one goal was to connect with them personally and have them leave feeling like I was for them and their ministry. By the power of the Holy Spirit it went great! I was able to gain their trust, let them see my passion for Africa, and begin building a strong relationship with them. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Psalm 66:3Say to God, "How awesome are Your works! Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You. 4"All the earth will worship You, And will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name." — Psalm 66:3Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You. 4″All the earth will worship You, And will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name.”

I was texting Lara one day to tell her how the day was going and she said, “You have the best job in the world!” I think it was because I mentioned to her that I was standing at the glorious Victoria Falls having a delicious cappuccino. My “job” is pretty awesome! I get to travel to amazing places, meet awesome people, help others achieve their dreams, passions, and calling, and I have the privilege of seeing/being a part of the Church taking action by equipping leaders, establishing new churches, and engaging in holistic ministries.

Some crazy, fun parts of my trip to Zimbabwe were:

Two of the great minds and missional hearts that I get to serve alongside! Kevin (expansion) and Tom (strategy)

visiting Victoria Falls – it is mind-blowing at how grand and beautiful it really is!!! NO WORDS!

eating some wild game like buffalo, crocodile (taste like tough chicken), warthog (the best meat I have ever tasted! So tender you need no knife), antelope, ox tail (fatty, I do not recommend it), ox liver (not bad), some other animals liver, and a couple other ones.

rafting sown the mighty Zambezi – No joking here, I thought at one moment I had taken my final breath of air while being tossed around a whirl pool in a class 5 rapid! It was an amazing experience after that! The hike in and out of the gorge was pretty awesome too!

watching elephants from the deck just before dinner come to the watering hole in large herds!

watching the sunrise over the African plain each morning!

One of my favorite pictures! This is the sunset on the Zambezi river.

taking a sunset cruise on the Zambezi leaves you breathless!

Shortly after snapping this picture this little guy attacked me! I was definitely more scared of him than he was of me!

Watching monkeys jump in your room to steal food or jump up on the table in the restaurant to grab the sugar packets never gets boring.

Africa always seems to surprise me with its beauty and awaken my soul to the voice of God. The sights, sounds, smells, taste, and people refresh me every time and leave me wondering when the Father is going to ask my family and I to move there. But until then I am choosing to enjoy this wonderful

journey that He so faithfully is leading me on! Jeremiah 1: 4Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, 5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

To all of you who prayed for me and for my family during this time I want to say Thank You!

Off to the races!

Posted on February 12, 2015February 12, 2015 by Spanky Rouse

This year is off to a fast start with a ton of really cool things in the making!

Billy and I at the gate of one of the largest Buddhist temples in Bangkok, Thailand

I feel like I am starting to pick speed and understanding with my job and ministry roles at United World Mission. I don’t feel as much like the new guy who has no idea what is going on, which is very comforting. Since I returned home from Thailand (I will be writing some more about my time and experiences there later on) I have a deeper sense of who our field missionaries are and what we are doing in the way of work/ministry. In my first couple of months I felt a bit lost trying to catch up on who and what is going on around the world but now feel like I have a better handle on things…at least in Asia because I went to the Asia Conference. I am planning on writing up some stories and bios in the next few weeks on these unbelievable people who I get to serve with in Asia so be on the look out for those. You will want to know all that God is doing among some of the most unreached, really cool stuff.

Now I am looking to learn my African fields and missionaries so I can best serve them. In getting to know some of our leaders in East Africa via Skype I have been reminded how much I love Africa! Talking with them over the past couple weeks has spark so much excitement and conversation in the Rouse House about serving in Africa again together soon. We just can’t get away from the cool God stuff that is happening and could happen in that wonderful place. We will see what God has in store in the days and years to come.

At home in Charlotte, I have been able connect with so many people from around the country that are interested in missions. I LOVE this part of my “job”. I get to talk with people about the passions, calling, and conviction to “GO” that He is putting in their hearts. My role is to encourage and coach them on when, where, how, and what…all radical life changing decision with radical world-changing possibilities. Some may wonder, as I did in the beginning days, how I am impacting the nations by not living overseas and being a field missionary. My answer today is, I may have one of the biggest impacts because I am apart of sending, training, preparing, encouraging, and inspiring ordinary people to go do extraordinary God work around the globe. That is absolutely THRILLING for me to think about!

this is the awesome team I get to work closely with…minus our fearless leader, Mark

I am also involved in some team development, Expansion opportunities (Opening up new countries or creating new ministries opportunities…this is so fun!), and Partnerships (local churches, ministries, organizations, etc). I love the flexibility to learn, grow, and be developed so that I can find what my sweet spot is and work with in my wheel house. UWM is a GREAT place to serve and work! I really do believe that I am so blessed!

As always, The Rouse House is extremely THANKFUL for each one of you that pray, support, and give to us so that we can do what He has called us to and be who he has created us to be!

If you would like to know how you can partner and support the Rouse House please click here. We are asking God for a handful of people to help fill the $500 a month need in our support raising budget so that as a family we can take advantage of more opportunities to serve in missions. We would love for YOU to pray and consider joining us.