Back Home

After days of flying, debrief, and two cancelled flights I have finally made it home. I must admit that it really wasn’t until the morning we left Casablanca to catch our flight to the states that I was really excited to be going home. That’s not to say that I wasn’t looking forward to coming home before that point, I did miss family and friends but I wasn’t ready to leave yet.

The weeks leading up to debrief I wasn’t looking forward to going back to west Africa at all. It was only three days but I had no desire to go, but once I got there I realized just how important it was to go to debrief. Yes it was great to hear the stories of the other teams and hear how God worked in their lives and the lives of the villagers but it was important for me to have time alone. Having those three days being neither here nor there allowed us to process what all happened in those four months on our own without the distraction of home or our lives in our host countries. Even having that day in the Charlotte airport by myself was kinda nice (although my family was worrying about me getting home and it was a little stressful), it was the first time in months I had time by myself for a whole day. Yes that day was also hectic and frustrating and I had been up at 2 am from jet lag but it was also nice not having to rush around the airport or through security like some of the other airports we had been through. God knew what he was doing when my flights got cancelled and placed two very nice women in my path to help me at the airport and hotel. Also that was something else that I was reminded of. I can trust God with the big decisions of my life and yet when it comes to the small things I forget sometimes that He has it in control. He got me home safely just a day later. We really had no travel problems until we got to the states and I learned my flight was cancelled and even then I was glad people spoke English here and I knew where I was stuck.

So much had happened and we had all changed in some way and being able to take a few days and process a small part of that helped us brace for the transition back home. We had it a little better than others in terms of culture shock living in a country that was industrialized, but there was still culture shock for me. There is no way that you can live and work in a place for a time and not change. There are things about myself that I know have changed. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to have been able to go and work there, my experience there was so much better than anything I could have imagined.

It was hard to leave and say goodbye but at the same time it is so great to know that there are people that will continue to work at the orphanage and school. Sue the woman from church that went with us to the orphanage and is continuing to go and has already updated us on the kids. Sarah and Mandy are planning on working at Aurora still once they get back from the states from Christmas break and the kids were really excited when they told them they were coming back next year. We did learn from Sue that Comfort had died. She was a child at the orphanage who was about 14 months old and had down syndrome. She had gone to the hospital to get a hole in her heart fixed and ended up getting an infection and passed away, but we take comfort in knowing that she is now in heaven fully healed.

It’s been a week and a half since being home and it’s been hectic and fun and jammed packed. Now that Christmas is over it is now back to settling in to life and starting the next chapter in my life. While this new chapter is starting parts of the previous chapters will flow into it, just like they have in the past. Again I have no idea what the next few months hold but I rest in the fact that God knows and has it under control. So for now I will go and enjoy time with family and friends.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support over these amazing four months.

Continue to pray for the kids at Lambano Orphanage and at Aurora Primary School pray that they would ultimately come to know the Lord. Also pray that God would send teachers to Aurora Primary School, they are in need of teachers. Also pray for EBC and them as a church family that they would continue to glorify God and grow as a church. For the EBC youth leaders that they would come back from summer break with a renewed sense of purpose and passion for reaching these kids and that they were able to rest over this break. They work hard. For the youth that they would continue to come to Friday night activities and Sunday morning and that they would bring their friends and would ask questions and would come to know the Lord and would grow in their relationship with Him. There is so much potential with the kids in that youth group and just pray that they would be a generation that would reach the world in the name of Christ. Thanks for the prayers.

Closing Time

Our time here is quickly coming to an end. The past four months have flown by and have been filled up joy, frustration, change and lots of fun. Going into this I never could have guessed what was going to happen or expected to meet so many great people or learn so much. I came to South Africa not knowing what I would be doing; all I knew was we were working with a local church and that was about it. Over four months later and we have not only been able to work with the youth at EBC but also got to spend our weeks with the crazy and hilarious kids at the orphanage playing who knows how many games of uno (we lost count after a while) and helping with homework. I was even given the opportunity to counsel one girl a little bit. Our weeks were also spent working with grade 2 at aurora and just helping out teacher Emilia (who is incredible for teaching both grade 2 and grade 3) with class work and a lot of reading test.



In these past four months we have been able to see a little boy (kektzo) at the orphanage go from being close to death and skin and bones when we first met him to becoming healthier and he has put on weight and see him smile and his personality and just see him act like a kid. We were also able to watch as Thebule progressed developmentally and see her able to crawl and walk with the help of someone holding her hand and just her smile back at you and imitate your facial expressions and clap. It’s the small things. Thebule and a few other smaller kids have developmental delays so it has been great to see her progress.


Living here and being able to work with these kids has been amazing and my experience here is more then I could have imagined. The past two weeks have been sad as we have had to say good-bye to the kids at aurora and the orphanage as well as to the friends that we've made. Last week we did have the oppurtunity to have a Christmas party with Aurora School. Thanks to the donations from people that Sarah, Mandy, and Lisa (they are americans and Canadians that live in our complex and have been going with us to Aurora) knew they were able to provide these kids with a pizza party and each a christmas gift and a lunch box with fruit and toothbrush/paste. It was so incredible to be a part of that that day and to just see how excited these kids were to open up their gift and find a baby doll or marbles. It really was amazing and we were all just as excited as the kids were. There even was a santa clause thanks to one of the men that works with Sarah and Mandy's husbands. It was a great way to end our time with them.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support during this entire time. I have greatly apprieciated them and so have my teamates. I will update again once I am back in the states for one or two final posts.

Soup Kitchen

One Wednesday we had the opportunity as a cell group to go to the CBC of Jo’burg and help a local church feed some of the homeless people in the city. In all honesty the thought of going to downtown jo’burg at night made me a little uneasy, but once we were down there I didn’t feel uneasy. Up to this point the only part of the city I had seen was the touristy section when we went back in September. As we drove over there we quickly left the area of upper economic status and started to drive through the areas that would be considered lower income areas.

The church that feeds the people on the streets provides them with soup and bread and I think they go more than once a week. We had three stops that night, the first stop being the biggest followed by two smaller ones. We had about eighteen volunteers and our jobs were to hand out bread and pour soup and talk to the people. At our first stop we were driving down the road and then the truck pulled over to the side of one of the roads and that’s where the first stop was. There was a good amount of people waiting to get food, and the age group of this stop ranged from about teenage to forty.

Some of these men are from neighboring countries who had come here looking for jobs and/or other reasons while others are from different parts of South Africa, each with their own story and own families. It is so easy at times to judge and wonder why don’t they just get a job, but I learned that some of these men are the workers you see in the parking lots (the parking lot attendants) while others may be the ones standing on the street corner at the robot collecting trash or recycling or selling things. Then there are some who have no job at all. Some hoping to find work and for others a way provide a better life for them and their families.
One problem that these men and women face is the police. The police will come at times and take the men’s blankets and belongings and go burn them or throw them in a dumping site, and in the process taking their passports and other forms of identification. As a result of the destruction of these documents they are then considered an illegal. There is some corruption amongst the police here.

The handing out of food proceeded and we were able to talk to some of the people, not everyone is open for talking. Even though some of these men are on the streets they still have a hope that things will get better. That didn’t go for everyone but some had a better outlook on life. The first stop was also located about a block from a mosque which was lite up against the night sky and as we were out there it was time for the call of prayer. That to me is such an eerie sound. It was a reminder that it isn’t only these men that need praying for but for the rest of the people in the city as well. Spiritual warfare is alive and well here, just like it is in places all over the world.

The next two stops were smaller than the first one, but still where on the side of the road. The second stop was more of a gathering where people lived. Across the road was what looked like an abandoned construction site and a group of people had made small shelters and they had a fire going. I noticed at this stop that some of the other volunteers in the group knew some of the people at the stop. They had developed relationships with the people there. The night concluded with the third stop that was located in more of a business area of downtown. We were near a bus station and across the road were these abandoned apartment buildings. This was the last stop and for the men that came they were fortunate in the fact that they received the extra bread that was left over from the previous two stops. Unlike the first two stops were most people stayed near the site the men here seemed to stay within a block or two of the site and not just across the street.

Overall it was a good experience and I was grateful to be able to see a different side to the city. It is also a humbling experience at the same time and you become more apprieciative of your living situation just knowing that once you leave there you are going back to an apartment were a warm bed is waiting for you while these men are going to sleep on the streets with only a blanket.

Pics from the shanty town

Here are some pics sarah took when we went to the shanty town. Hopefully this will give you a better understanding of where some of the kids live.

Shanty towns

Time to break the radio silence. God's goodness continues. I must say that up to this point I feel that when writing the blog that I tend to lean more towards the happier side of things, and that we as humans tend to want to hear more about the happy things then the sad things. So today I am going to break from that mold.

The other week courtney and I were able to go with veronica and see where some of the kids from aurora school live. Most of these children live in what is called a shanty town (or squater camps). We went to visit one that was about five minutes from the school. Basically what a shanty town or squatter camp is is when someone comes and sets up residence on a piece of land and others follow. By law if the owner of the property doesn't get that person to leave within 24 hours then that squatter has a legal right to stay there and the owner of that property can no longer do anything about it. So usually once someone has set up "residence" then other people come and a squatter or shanty town is made.

There is usually no running water, trash disposal, and no electricity. The camp we went to had a water tower where a local farmer would bring water in once a week to fill up the water tower. As there is no running water people have outhouses, but because of the world cup the governemnt had put up porta potties in these camps. The government still comes in and once a week removes the waste from them but there is no way of knowing how much longer the government will continue to do this. So while the younger generations may have gotten rid of their outhouses, the older generations have not. Just like there is no running water they also don't have a way of getting trash removed, so they take their trash and dump it on the outskirts of the camp. So as we drove in there was a field of trash.

The houses that people live in are made up of playwood, sheet metal,and anything that they can find. Most houses had one or two rooms and the house we went into had a gas stove, that was run on what smelled like lighter fluid and they had a candle in the bedroom for at night. Basically if a fire were to start it would spread quickly from house to house as the houses are built right beside each other. We learned that the witch doctor had come back to the camp. They had gotten rid of him about a year ago but he returned. There is definitly spiritual warfare within these areas.

Petty thieft is big in these areas. The things that these kids at the school witness and deal with is insane. At the ages of five and six some kids know more about sex then people know about at the age of twenty. The abuse that happens in some of these areas ranges from drug and alcohol abuse to sexual, physical and verbal abuse. That is what some of these kids have to go back home to on the weekends. They don't all come from nice home lives, but go back to homes where they are going to be abused.

Visting that camp and seeing where some of these kids live and learning about the area and what happens there at times allowed us to see why some kids behave as they do. Life isn't easy for some of these kids. Even in those darkest places God is still there and for some of these kids they may be the only believer in their house or area. Its equiping those kids to be the light in the dark and to not be afraid to shine the light of God in those places.

It wasn't only the fact that we learned about these camps and saw the poverty that people lived in but we also learned about what is called a kangaroo court. This still goes on in some of the shantty towns around the area. After hearing this it also brought into perspective why some of the people here and children are so cold and shut off. In these areas there is a neighborhood council that basically is the judge and jury. When somone committs a crime they find them and bring them to the center of the town and everyone in that shantty town from babies to old people come and gather around for this "court". Here they find if the person convicted of the crime is innocent or guilty. If found guilty they will usually kill them on the spot and make everyone watch. Veronica was telling us how sometimes they force them to drink gasoline and then light them on fire. Hearing this disgusted me but allowed me to understand why some people are so numb and cold. I can't imagine growing up having to watch that, its no wonder people aren't trusting and why they build up walls. Yes, this may be the most industrialized country in africa but you don't have to go far to see that it is still africa and see the poverty and how the way of life is still rooted in village and tribal traditions.

We may not be working in a village in the dessert but it is still so evident just how much people here need the gospel. John 13:34 tells us to "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Just loving others as Christ has loved us. At times it can be so easy to judge and make assumptions of others when they aren't like us or from a different culture or area. But Christ loves us despite our imperfections and loves us unconditionally and He commands us to love others as He has loved us. At times it is so evident how some of these kids just need love and so we show them love and try to encourage them. Christ never said this life would be easy, and he uses suffering to grow us and bring us closer to him and uses us to turn us into the people he wants us to be.

A few prayer request: As we have entered the second half of our term I ask that you would continue to pray that we would be able to reach out to the people we work with and that God would continue to open doors that could lead to more conversation about Him and the love He has for them. Pray for the kids at the school, that they would come to know them. Pray for the teachers there and that they would continue to show them Christ in their words and actions, and pray that God would send more teachers to work with aurora school. They need more teachers and people to come and help. I also ask that you would pray not only for the continued physical protection of the students when they go home but also for spiritual protection from attacks from satan and that they wouldn't be afraid to be a light in the darkness and that God would just raise up leaders in these camps that wouldn't be afraid to proclaim His name and it would lead to more and more people in these camps coming to know the Lord.

I just want to add that the whole country is not like that, that is just one part of it. This is a very industrialized and is a well developed country and what was written was about one part of it, so please don't assume the whole country is like that, because it is not.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

Tigers, Braais, and all nighters, Oh my!

Oh my! How time is flying by! Sorry for the lack of update last week. We were introduced to the world of cricket last tuesday. It was a day of fun spent with friends who were trying to teach us the sport which we picked up on kinda quickly. The past two weeks have been great. So much has happened. God is continuing to do amazing things and continues to teach me new things everyday. As a group we are still doing great, I couldn't have asked for two better girls to be partnered with! Our house is full of fun and craziness. Courtney and Ashley have been so fun to work with and are so encouraging.

This past week has been a hectic one, I would say one of the busier weeks we have had in awhile. On our day off monday we went to go play with tigers. We got to spend the day with stacie, which is always fun, and we were able to see a different part of south africa as we had to drive out of the city some. We were all for getting away from the city for the day. But we had a blast walking and petting tigers. Definitly a once in a lifetime exerience. It is so easy to forget that we are in africa at times living in edenvale. We live next to a mall and have gone to about three in one week and are surrounded by aparments and businesses and the urban life that it doesn't feel like africa. Driving on monday took us out of the city and to a rural part of the area. That was when I was reminded that I am still in africa. Working at the school, usually reminds me that I am still in africa, but
just driving through different towns and seeing a different way of life then that of the city was good to see. We definitly drove through areas of lower income, but there were some beautiful scenary. Once it becomes the rainy season and everything becomes green it is going to be so beautiful. It is still dry, although it should start raining soon.

Wednesday was our day at the orphanage and I spent more time at the other house visting with kids. We mainly work at the hospice house, but wednesday I hung out more with the kids at the other house. An oppurtunity has opened up for me to work with a child at the orphanage and I am looking forward to see how God is going to use that and work in that situation but I am also a little nervous as well. This has been something that I had been praying about before I even left the states, so we will see what the Lord does. But the three main kids we work with are doing well. There was a new boy this week. One of the other boys there was having a bad week, he had been doing well the past two weeks but this was a rough day for him. Depending on how he is feeling we soemtimes see him on wednesdays.

That night I went to a stay awake at aurora school. They were raising money for the school by getting people to sponser the kids as they stayed awake all night. I'm not going to lie I wasn't really looking forward to going and staying up all night. It turned out to be so much fun and a good time. I was able to get to know some of the students better and just talk with them. We had fun playing games, dancing and jumping on a trampoline. The middle of the night hours were spent watching movies and standing by a fire (it was feezing that night). While there I got to talk with the owners daughter and the owner and able to get to know them a little bit, which was nice, because when we are there during the week we don't get to talk with the owner because we are all working. I must say some of those kids have so much energy and had no problem staying up all night, I on the other hand had to drink some coffee (and slept most of the day thursday). A few fell asleep around 3 or 4 in the
morning. It was a fun time and the kids will now go home for about 10 days for a break as they are switching terms. For some of these kids they are going home to bad situations and home lives and are faced with difficult decisions so just pray that they would make the right choices and that God would protect them.

Friday was a national holiday and was braai day (which is the south african word for grill, so everyone cooked out). We went to the office and had a big braai with the missionaries there and got to meet new people and learn about the different things they did and where they came from. We also spent part of saturday with some of the women from the office as well and then that night with some other missionaries watching football so we have gotten to know more of them this weekend, which has been great and we are able to recognize them at church. It really is a good group of people that work there and are all very friendly.

This past week has been amazing. Thank you for your continued prayers and I ask that you continue to pray for the children that we work with that they would come to know Christ and that they would all have a safe vacation at home. Also that we would be able to reach the people in our apartment complex as well.

complex outreach

When I was told I was coming to south africa and my main outreach would be working within our complex I didn't know what that invovled or what to tell people. Well I can finally tell you. Our goal while here is to meet people within our complex and get to know them and get them connected within the church. To do this we have gotten a group of people from church to help us with this. We have started to have a weekly hang out (either game night, movies, putt putt, etc) with people from the complex and people from church. Our plan is that when we leave the people from church can continue to minister and build relationships with the people from the complex. Last week was our first game night. While it was basically all people from church we did have one person from the complex come. I was excited that someone from the complex came. Even from that one person coming we have been able to hang otu with her and are planning on continuing to get to know her. That in a nut shell is what we are doing within the complex and reaching people.

aurora school

Along with working at the orphanage we also work at aurora school which is about thirty minutes outside of town and is a private school. We mainly work with grade 2 and help them with assignments. The teacher has both grade 2 and grade 3 so we help her with different tasks and with whatever she needs help with. We are only there in the morning and early afternoon so we are there when they have recess/lunch so during that time we just hang out with kids and try to get to know them better. This week I had a kid ask me about the devil and things like that. I tried to answer the best I could.
Working at the school has been good and I've enjoyed it. Just pray that God would continue to open doors for us and that we will continue to meet people in our apartment complex. We were able to meet a couple people which has been good and we are continuing to develop relationships with them. Thanks for the continued prayers.

Lambano Sanctuary

Our main focus while here is working within our apartment complex, but we also get the oppurtunity to work in a few other community outreaches. We work with the youth at church but we also work with the lambano sanctuary (the orphanage).

This week the kids wanted to be creative so we colored and enjoyed arts and crafts.

After some creative time, we usually get beat in soccer. This week courtney and I did pretty good and are improving with our soccer skills. The three older kids that we work with are around the ages of 10-13 and then there are a two other boys who are about 11 and two little girls who are under the age of 2. These kids look alot younger then what they really are so it is hard to tell ages by looking at the kids. We have enjoyed working with these kids. This week we left the hospice house and went over and helped the other kids with their homework. It has been good working there and we have been enjoying it.

quick update

We've been here for about a month now and have been gone from the states for over a month. This past week has been a transition, as I fade out of the honeymoon stage of being in a new place and slip into the working stage. Things are quickly becoming more normal. This past week we started working with the orphange and school. When we are at the orphange we worked with the hospice kids and I had forgotten how emotionally draining it is. I was able to play some soccer with some of the healthier kids and one of those kids will be leaving soon and going back to his home. Some of these kids are over a year old but have severe delayed development. This is an orphange for kids who have HIV/AIDS and most have other problems as well. There is one little boy who is severly anorexic and his body is shutting down and they are doing what they can for him and he is a strong willed kid, but its heartbreaking at times.

We also work with a private school that is about thirty minutes outside of town. Last week we worked with grade 2 and helped the students and checked papers. The teacher has about 60 students and grade 2 and 3 are in the same room so she teaches both. Kids are kids no matter where they are. Second graders will be second graders. We mainly helped out with checking papers and keeping kids on task. While we are there they have lunch/break so we are able to play and interact with the other kids as well. I will say being here has made me more apprieciative of the schooling I had and just the ability to be able to go to schools where we didn't have to worry about teachers striking or having enough school supplies.

This past week being able to get a taste of what we will be doing on a regular basis has been good and I am able to prepare myself more for future visits and just knowing what to pray for on a specific level. This past weekend we went on a baking spree and made tons of cookies or "biscuits" as they call them here for our neighbors. We were able to meet some neighbors and we are organizing a game night at our flat for neighbors and people from church so that they can become invovled with the outreach as well. Our goal is for the people from church to continue working with the people from the complex after we leave.

Be still...

I have a tendency to worry to much about what the future holds. I like to know what I am going to be doing and what path I need to take. Even when I knew that I would be coming to South Africa I couldn't help but wonder what I would be doing after that, and that was months ago. About a week or so ago I struggled with that and as I was walking around the complex I couldn't but wonder what I would be doing after this. Would I go to grad school, get a job, what would I get my master's in all these things running around in my head. As I walked I was reminded of the verse "Be still and know that I am God" Pslam 46:10. The path before me has been laid and God has it under control and He has guided me in the past and will continue to lead me and I just have to be patience and trust in Him. I shouldn't spend so much time worrying about the future that I forget the present. I have been given this amazing oppurtunity to work here and I can't waste it. God has a plan and a purpose for my life and I have to stay focused on him and live a life the is honoring to Him. It is in those quiet moments that God sometimes speaks the loudest to us. This is not to say that I don't still worry about the future but I know and believe that God has me on the correct path and He will guide me through life.

Here are some photos from the past few weeks
Downtown Johannesburg

The team waiting to go to the top of africa!
We went to a botanical garden in roodenpoort and met up with some other journeymen on that side of town.
We arrived in south africa!! Very excited and thankful to be here!

outreach

So are finally getting a schedule for the coming weeks which is awesome. We will be working with a local orphanage with kids that have HIV and AIDS as well as going to a school and helping them as well. The orphanage where we will be working has a hospic and while some of these kids will return to their families other will not. We will go back next week and really get a grasp of what we will be doing and which group of kids we will be working with. Talking to the woman at the orphanage I was reminded how we as people supporting these places want to only send toys when in reality they need money for food and clothing and things for the kids. The woman told us how they have an overstock of toys but last month they were praying that the Lord would provide money for food and things but businesses would send money for certain things like buidlings. It was a good reminder for myself when I heard that.

When we go to the school we will be helping teachers and kids with work. Those few months in the spring of tutoring have come in handy. The school houses the kids monday through friday and then they go back to their homes on the weekend. As a private school they are able to teach the kids about Christ. The school is small and underfunded but it is their goal to help these kids further their education and see them go on to high school. I am looking forward to working more with them and continuing to work with the youth at church.

We have been here a short time but we can already see God working. We will be joining a group of people in our apartment complex for a weekly time of prayer and we were able to join them last night. It was amazing to be welcomed into their home and just pray with them and get to know them. I am again so thankful for this oppurtunity to be here and work with all these people. Thank you again for your continued prayers and support. Pray that we all stay healthy and that we would be part of the right outreach, the one God wants us at and not where we would like to be. I am learning that my idea of where I thought I would like to work and where GOd would have me are two different things. Coming into this I wanted to work with older high schoolers maybe young adults but have found the middle school age/early high school to be where I am at. I've been able to see in the past week how God had been preparing me for the work that we will be doing. For all those times that I thought I was just taking a job to stay busy before i left or the different trails God has lead me through He was shaping me and preparing me for this. Even those times when I disliked hospic (not the people, Kim was great, but what it ultimitaly ment) I never thought that one day I would be working with them, even for a short time. Thanks again for the prayers!

week 2 update

This past week has been a busy but great week, one filled with some frustration and fun. We knew that while we were here in the city that we would have some things similar to that in the states but we learned that the internet here is not that reliable and that we are still in africa. That was the first trully frustrating day here for both of us as we were looking forward to talking to our families and then unable to because of the internet. We were finally able to talk to them after going to a whole new location. We have internet access once a week. But so far that has been the only truly frustrating day so far, and I know that there are probally more to come but we will deal with those as they come.

I learned a new sport (squash) this week and how fun that is. Courtney hadn't been feeling well so we took her to the doctor and thankfully it wasn't anything to be concerned about, but she is still getting over whatever it is that she has, so if you could just pray that she would get healthy and stay healthy. That night we went to cell group where a group of young adults from the church that meets for bible study. It is a very welcoming group and I loved how they aren't afraid to go deep into different questions and it was just a different type of study than I had been to and I can tell that it is going to be a challenging group which is great. I had worried before coming here about us pouring out into the people we would be working with and then us not getting poured back into but that quickly vanished once we had gone to a church service and bible study.

This week we have had a few meetings mainly with people from the church and just learning more about the different outreaches we may be working with.We've been spending time around the complex and trying to talk to neighbors and one day I did run into a neighbor that we had previously met and had a short conversation with him. We met up with some people from the church that night to go bowling and just hung out and got to know them some more. Alot of what our job is deals with building relationships with people and we do have some people that go to our church that live in the complex so we are able to meet some people through them.

We met up with another team that works across town and got to hear about what they were doing and what there jobs are. There is a strike going on with some of the teachers so they haven't had school for a few days which has not only affected the students but also those working in those schools. Friday night is youth night and we got to go to our first youth night. It was about 40-50 students from grade 7 to some who have graduated. Youth are pretty much the same across the globe. I really enjoyed the kids in grades 7-10 and will probally be working with them mostly. That night all the youth met together for a lesson. Their friday nights are primairly focused on the youth that are unreached, so the majority of them are unbeleivers and have come with friends or through word of mouth. Sunday morning is more focused on those who are saved and part of the church. I really like how they focus on the unreached on fridays. I noticed that they don't hold back, the leaders aren't afraid to talk about sticky topics, they don't try to sugar coat things which I think is a good thing. Life and God isn't always peachy and I think sometimes we in the church try to avoid those topics that may cause convtroversy and you need to talk about it and you can you just have to word it in a way that is appropriate for that age group.I am excited to get to know these kids better and having an american accent helps, since people are curious to why we are here and who we are when they hear that we aren't from south africa.


Saturday we spent the day going to a breakfast at the church, hanging out with a friend of our supervisors and got introduce to south african rugby. They are serious about their rugby and I will say it was alot of fun to watch and while this sport is rough and they take alot of hard hits it really is truely a team sport.

Sunday we went to church and we split up as courtney went with the younger grade school kids and I went back with the youth. These kids are learning about different people through out time that made an impact for the faith. Some of the people they have/will be talking about I have heard of but the one today I had not. I can't think of the mans name but it was back in the time of ceasar and they talked about how even when he was on trail and about to be pursecutted he never renounced God. I can tell that by working with the youth and hearing the messages given to them that I am going to be learning so many things, which is amazing.

This week has flown by which makes not only myself but also courtney a little sad as we are realizing how fast the next few months are going to go by. This truely is a great country and it still has its problems like any other country but what country is perfect. Everyone at the church has been so friendly and hospitable and it has made our transition here so much easier then what I was expecting. We are getting a new team member this week so we are getting ready for that and just pray that we all will work well together and that she will fit in nicely with everyone here. We are going to check out a local school, orphange, and rehab center this week to see about possibly working at one of them as well. Thanks again for your continue support and prayers. Continue to pray for us as we work within the community and our apartment complex, and that God would use us to reach these people and that we would stay focused on Him and not on ourselves. Also pray that doors would be opened for us as well. I am looking forward to see what God is going to do in these next months.

Jo'burg

Three flights and two countries later we arrived in Jo'burg. I am excited to finally be here. As we drove out of the airport toward our home for the next four months we got a glimpse of the area. They are still decorated from the world cup with flags lining the street lamps down the highway. This is an industrial city and at certain points doesn't look like "africa", although we did go to an area that was more "african" and less "western". While it may look similar to the states it is definitely very different. I had a bit of culture shock coming here and going to buy groceries was overwhelming and a sensory overload. It has a bit of a european feel to it and they drive on the opposite side of the road, making it confussing at times.

We have mainly been getting settled in the past few days but have started to work some. We worked with a local church on saturday morning where they were holding a clinic but do to the location and the fact that people aren't big on going to churches they didn't have anyone show up, but we were able to talk to some of the congregation there. We took the long way back home and were able to see a different part of the city and passed through a lower income housing area and passed a couple mosques and hindu mosque all within a few square miles. Saturday was the day that I first saw the difference between the wealthy and non wealthy. As we were driving down the highway we passed a slum which was about a mile long and streched back but then right across the highway there was a subdivision (i would say middle class). There is a line between the rich and not so rich.

This is a city full of diversity. We have diversity in the states but this diversity is different. There are people here from other parts of Africa, Europe, India, and Australia. So when we go out you can just sit and listen and see the different cultures that make up this city. And for those wondering I have seen three McDonald's and about twelve KFC"s. They like KFC over mcdonalds here.

We have been walking around our complex trying to meet some of the neighbors but people don't really come out of their house, but those that we have met have been friendly. We will be meeting with a woman in the complex weekly with her and some others so we will be able to meet some other neighbors that way. It is finding different ways to reach people in the complex that is going to be a challenge. We are going to join a pilates class to meet some people.

We went to the local church we will be working with and I think it is going to be amazing. They have so many different outreaches that we can get invovled in besides helping with the youth. We will be checking out those in the next few days. THe main thing we will be doing for the rest of the week is getting to see the different ministries and continuing to find ways to get involved.

Continue to pray for us as we continue to find ways to reach people. Also just for safety not only for us but for the other teams across africa.

Rain

As i type this it is rainy like crazy. I had come up the hill to use the internet and am now stuck and waiting for the rain to stop. Its rained like this another day and it seems to stop after 30 minutes, so we are just waiting it out. All though with this rain it means that the river will be flooded for longer and there are places already that have been flooded out just in this past week and a half. The teams are starting to split off and go their own directions and in a few days we will be in the city. I am looking forward to leaving and just seeing what God has planned for us there.

Sunday

This morning we had the oppurtunity to go to a local church. We split up into groups and set out. I was with a girl who is working with a different mission organization and went to a church abotu 10 minutes away. The flow of the church service was pretty similar to the one at home with it starting off with worship, prayer and then the sermon. The only big difference was that when people prayed they would all pray at once and outloud. There was a guest speaker today from south america so he spoke portgagues and then someone translated it into french for the church and the girl we were with translated it into english. After church I met a few people from VA who were all from the same church and were serving for different lengths. Again people have varying reactions to where I tell them i am going. THe city will definitely be a challenge and in some aspects harder to reach people there.

We went to an english service tonight and it was odd seeing so many english speaking people in one room. We may see two other english speaking people during the day on the compound and then no one outside of it. It was a great time of worship and a great sersom on the day of rest and working hard and taking time to rest and reflect. We went out to eat, we've been making dinner and lunch at the house everyday so it was a nice break to eat meat and something other than rice. It was also a great time to chat and get to know the girls more. These girls are such great encouragement. I am also learning tha they are just as clueless when it comes to what they are doing after this as I am and even some people I talked to this morning at the other church weren't sure what they were doing either when they returned. I must admit it may me feel better and just that even though we all have no idea what we will do in the winter that God still has it under control.

Orientation is coming to a close and I must admit that I am ready for that. I'm not looking forward to the two days of travel but I am looking forward to being in the city. Being here has definitely taught me things and teaching me see people for who they are and not by how they live or where they live or the economic status. I am glad that we came here before we went to the city and I am preparing for another culture shock as well. It is hard to put into words all that has happened here and I will try to put pics up when I get better internet axcess but it has been a long week but one that has been worth it. Thanks for the support. love you!

past few days and overnight with family

Orientation has been going well and jetlag has finally left. We are learning different things about culture and about sharing the gospel. Last night (Friday) we broke up into teams and got to spend the night with an african family. The family we stayed with didn't speak any english and we didn't speak their language so that made for some fun times of trying to communicate with gestures and body language. We got a tour of the village and people stared at us as we walked by but it was fun. We entertained the kids with paper and pens and made some paper airplanes and boats out of paper which was fun. We did alot of sitting and watching, which was amazing to just be able to see into the lives of these people and how their culture is. We were able to see men going to the call of prayer and we could hear it as well, we saw the woman we were staying with do laundry and take care of her kids and saw how she cooked. They live in a two room house that is connected to another families house inside a wall. We slept inside and I must say I felt totally safe there. It could be in part because we were behind a wall and the husband was sleeping outside in front of the door gaurding it, but we did hear lots of donkeys and others wierd noises It was a humbling experience to say the least and we did have a good time and this family was so nice and hospitable to two strangers who didn't speak their language.

We have a few more days here at orientation and then will be flying to Jo'burg. I must say I am looking forward to finally being there and getting started. Thank you again for your prayers it means so much to me and I ask that you would also keep the other six teams in your prayers as well. They will be in west africa in different villages.

We Made It!!!

We made it to west africa! I must say it was an adventure in itself. Everyone working in Africa met at JFK and we ended running into each other some in charollete and other at the airport or while waiting to get boarding passes. From JFK we had a long flight to Casablanca, which consisted of screaming children and some not so nice flight attendents (we all agreed on that). We had a thriteen hour layover in Casablanca and they had arranged for us to go to a hotel for the day to sleep and stuff. Well the directions were not clear and we spent two hours in the airport tring to find the office to tell us which hotel to go to and once we found that we drove about 45 minutes to our hotel. We were all thankful that we were able to sleep and shower. We decided to go to this market about three blocks away from the hotel. Needless to say it wasn't the most fun adventure. Lack of sleep mixed with huge crowds and people staring at you for being white doesn't make for much fun. A group of us didn't stay long at the market. Where we were was definitely not a toursist location but where people actually live and we had no knowledge of the language. We boarded our plane and finally took off at 2 in the morning and I was able to take a decent nap. We landed in west africa and went to our orientaion location where we were able to take a nap and rest before starting orientation. Day one was pretty easy we went over basic things and all were in bed by 8pm. Day two jetlag really hit me and I was barely able to stay awake when a local pastor was talking with us. The afternoon nap definitly help.
Where we are staying for orientation is a very poor country. People make about 200 dollars a year. When we were driving we passed homes made out of straw and thatched roofs and tarps but we also passed some houses that were made of mud and concrete. Trash litters the road and ground and people walk freely and we have found the lines on the road and stoplight are complety optional and really have no use. Our compound is nice and we are staying near the american embassy and another embassy. It is dry looking here with browns and tans colors making up the landscaping but it is the rainy season so it is humid. This is more of a conservative culture so all skirts must go to your ankles and you must wear short sleaves. This is defintily different then where I am going to be working in but a good experience. This is country that is 99% muslim.
We are taking turns going to the market and pharmacy to learn how to get things. The market was bigger then the last one I went to and was much more crowded and definitely more cars. Venders flooded the market selling potatos, vegatabes, shoes, spices and a whole lot of other things. Of course being white the vendors try to sell you everything thinking that because we are white we are rich. We are learnign to barter and later in the week will have to go and buy something from the market with little help from our translator. I will say it was a little overwhelming going to the market, maybe for the amount of people there or the massive amoutns of flies, and the smell is something different. I must admitt that my attitude so far hasn't been the best. I am ready to be at my final location and it is hard when they are telling us things and then specifying that it probally won't relate to us in jo'burg. I think the whole traveling process being frustrating and being jetlaged has really taken a toll and I did have a better attitude today after getting a whole nights sleep. I am trying to keep an open mind and positive attitude as we continue orientation and I think the more sleep I get and getting on a sleep pattern will help. Plus someone is here during orientation for a few days that knows more about what I will be doing and the area we will be working in so I am really looking foward to that. Thank you so much for your prayers during our travels and while we are here. I am looking forward to being in jo'burg and the oppurtunities that we will have there.

Here we go!

I decided to start a blog for a way to keep family and friends updated while I am gone. I will do my best to keep this current. Also I hope to use this as a place where they can see how God is working and the adventures that are to come.