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!