I am preparing to pack up my bag and walk to my host family for the last time. Its a sad feeling as well as a very strange one. My mom has got malaria now, but Bernadette has been able to provide medication for her. My host sister is also struggling with a respitory infection, but thankfully we have resources to get her medication as well. So keep them in your thoughts and your prayers, please. I have been wanting to write about some of the simple things that I do every day..things that you do every day too! So read, compare, contrast, and enjoy!
Sleeping: In the beginning, I slept in the room where my mom and four sisters would sleep if I wasn't here. It is one of the four rooms in the house- a room for the boys, one for the girls, one for pots, dishes, and baskets, and a sitting room. There is only a a couple of small windows so the house is dark. Its walls are built with hand made bricks and has dirt floors. Bernadette, our community partner, provided each of the host families with a mosquito net and nails. In that room, they hung it up and laid out one of the three bamboo mats that they own- the best of course; it has the least snags and holes. Since the ground in South Africa ate my sleeping pad...yes, ate it, I did not loose it..okay yes I did..maybe...I've been laying out my sleeping bag on the mat and sleeping in a liner sheet with a small, inflatable pillow. My oldest sister, Amina (12), sleeps on the mat next to me while my mom, Vitoria (9), Inacia (4), and Lucia (2) sleeps on another mat in the sitting room. One day the second week of being here, it was unusually hotter than normal..normal here is in the mid to high nineties..so my host mom said we were going to sleep outside since the house stays hot through the night. After the sun had set, they dug four small holes in the ground with their machete and placed bamboo sticks that are about four feet tall in them. Then, they hung the net over the poles and unrolled the mat underneath it. It made for a sweet night's sleep under the stars and the light of the moon with Amina next to me on one side and the rest of my family on my other-it was peaceful. I have been lucky enough to sleep outside nearly every night since. I was scared about not having my sleeping pad, but it has turned our better than I expected. I have gotten really good sleep-well, good for Mozambique- sweating, scrathching, and waking up anywhere between six and ten times in the night. There has been a handful of times that I can recall catching creepy crawlers crawling on me. I am just really glad it has been so dark because if I could see whatever it was that was on me, I know I would have let out a few girlish screams!
Eating: I like the food here, a lot! My host mom is a good cook, especially for cooking over a small fire. For breakfast, I will usually have what they call poppa which is pretty much a flavorless porridge. She is kind enough to add sugar to it. Coming from South Africa, I really was not a fan, but I have grown to really enjoy it. She will sometimes make me tea as well..lemon grass from the bush in front of our house, On days we have gone to the market, I will get a roll and maybe some tomato-onion sauce that she makes with oil. On a few occasions, she has even let me help make sweet potato fries! Yes, sweet potato fries for breakfast. Awesome. Lunch and dinner meals are similar. I have had lots of rice and beans- which I love. If I don't have beans, she will make a paste with leafs that we have picked from her fields. A subsitute for rice is massa. It sort of looks like a ball of dough. It is the main component of my family's diet. It comes from a plant called mandioca. They dry it then they crush it in a large wooden bowl- about two feet tall- with a large stick- about four feet tall and three to four inches in diameter. After they crush the gagada, they sift it and will cook it in boiling water until it reaches the desired texture. Unfortunately for them, it has zero nutritional value. I will usually have this when I have fish with the tomato-onion sauce. They like to feed me fish. It is a big deal to them. Its also kind of funny though because I really. Don't. Like. Fish. The fish here isn't the best, either. I'm not sure what kind it is or how old but its okay because all the fins and scales and tails and eyes stay on when I eat it. Oy. Strange enough, I have begun to get semi-excited when there is fish..mostly because of what it means to my family, I think. Its almost time for mangos to be in season! I have had a few that were ripe-wow. Delcious. I've grown to like when they aren't ripe. Its sour, but its refreshing in the middle of the hot days. I have also had the wonderful pleasure of having a few slices of papaya. I tried to eat each bite as slowly as possible so I could enjoy it to the fullest. I think the days that I get the gift of a coconut are some of my favorites. That cashew tree outside my house has been a constant piece of paradise. Cashews fall from it every few minutes. My sisters and one of my brothers collect the nuts and save them until they have enough to roast. I have never liked cahsews so much..hand roasted on and open flame, in my front yard, by my little brother and sisters. Yum. the fruit that drops with it has become a weakness of mine. Its delcious! I will make sure to post pictures. Especially one of me carrying water on my head. Heck yeah. My sisters taught me how, and my host mom has helped me perfect the task. We get all of the water we drink, cook with, and bathe with from the wells near our house..pulling it up a bucket at a time to fill up larger containers. There is one well just on the other side of the bushes of my house. In the first weeks, that is where I would help get the water from. In the second week, though, my host mom took me to a well a little bit further- I call it the social well. So many people get their water there! Mostly women, but a few men will buscar agua as well. (ha, get it? as well. oo. not that funny) The first time going there was an experience for everyone involved: me, my mom, and the audience! My mom was proud though, she trained me well. I walked away with out spilling any water-until I turned the corner and no one could see, haha. As we were filling up my bucket, they were asking us if I really was going to carry it on my head. They got such a kick out of me saying yes..and even a bigger one when I actually did. It takes multiple trips to the wells to get enough water for everything you have to do that day. Enough for cooking for every meal, enough for drinking, and enough for the cup showers..for everyone in the family. Nonetheless, it has become a normal thing to wake up and fetch water every morning.
Churching: I have had the great pleasure of going to two different churches during my time here. The first was my olderst brother, Deno's (19), church. The second was my host mom's- a 10k walk from our house. Both were similar services and were held on Saturday because they are Seventh Day Adventists. The first church was in a long rectangular shaped building made of grey hand made bricks. The seats were benches made of a concrete that stand about a foot and a half high. The women sat on one side, the men on the other. Since I was a guest, I sat in the very front row. Both services were spoken in a mix of Portugese and one of the tribal languages, Dialeto. It seems sort of like a business meeting. Attendance was taken, a short message was spoken, then came time a few songs and the offering. The tithing time is what takes up the majority of the services. They take several different tithes and make quite an ordeal of it all. In one church, they took record of who gave how much. In both, they announced the ending total. Interesting. I have been told it is a cultural thing. The churches try to keep everyone accountable because if they don't very few will give because they have so little to give. My host mom's church was pretty cool. It was held under a rectangular shaped grass roof. There were strings hanging like clothlines with purple flowers draped over them. The seats were bricks and they had log benches for the elders, deacons, pastors, and guests. I was the first white person in the area, so they brought a wooden bench for me to sit on-I asked my host mom to sit on it with me. One reason being so she can enjoy the honour, but also so I am not 'the white person sitting above all the rest.
It can be a little uncomfortable at times having people stare at you like you are an animal at a zoo. I have gotten used to it, some days it does bother me, though. Especially because all I want to do here is live how they live. I want to sit on the bricks. But I have learned to understand how great of an honour for them it is to be in the prescence of a white person. White people are not only rare around these parts, but are viewed in an indescribably high manor. I hate it. I am just like them. I have needs. I have wants. I laugh. I breath. I walk. I cry. I have a heart. I make mistakes. I have fears. I have hopes. I have friends. I have a family. Thats what I want them to see- but they see anything but those parts of me. I would like to think my host family has learn to see me in that listed light, however. I won't ever know if they do or not, but it is my hope. I have shared sweet moments with them. Great memories for me and for them to be able to cherish for the rest of our lives. Thats what I want to leave behind. Memories. Love. Not things. Not numbers and lists of what I have done or how many people I have brought to Christ. Those things are not bad things, but they aren't what I came to do-what God had me come to do. Relationships are a precious thing-praise Him for making us relational beings, in His image. We need others around us in all aspects of life. You can enjoy a cup of good coffee, but you can enjoy it more while drinking one with your friend. Friendships have been a lot of what I have been thanking God for lately. Those from our short but sweet time on the Rez.. Those from my time in Vredendal that will forever be stamped on my heart.. The ones that have been orchestrated in this crazy country of Mozambique.. The ones with the people I spend my time with-whether it be in Breckenridge, Fort Collins, or Colorado Springs-you know who you are!..the ones that are stuck with me, yup I'm talking about you Combests and Bishops and the rest of my wonderful family..annnd everyone inbetween, even the short beginnings to frienships that thrive, and maybe some that don't. This is what life is about. Whoever you are, where ever you are in life, its about you and how you live and interect with others. How have you been doing at that lately? If this is what everything is based off of and we only have one life to live to do these relationships- make em count. Be intentional. It only makes sense. For me, the priority is how I choose interact with God. I have learned the better I am at that, the better I become at loving those around me. I have also been especially grateful for the friends that are right under my nose, my teammates. I have had rough time dealing with the tragic death of a family member during my time in South Africa and a very difficult time learning to cope with the death of a close friend that I recieved news of a couple of days ago. It hurts so terribly bad. And it doesn't make it any easier being so far away from those involved. However, I am in the right place..at the right time. The peaceful and laid back vibes of this culture have given me adequate time to think, to reflect, to mourn, and to rejoice in those two lives I had the blessing of being a part of. Having such a strong and encouraging group surrounding me in this journey has only made it more do-able. There is nothing that He will give us that we cannot handle, with out Him. And He will give us the tools to get where we need to be too. Phillipians 4:13 "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." and 1 Corinthians 10:13 "..And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
From There to Here
My oh my has life been crazy! Crazy in all sorts of different ways, some have been really wonderful, while others have been a lot more challenging. Through it all, God has been continuously blessing me. I feel completely unworthy of this unexpectedly strong flow of His favour, and I know that I do not deserve it. His love is so massive and overwhelming. I often find myself sitting on the bamboo mat in the shade of the cashew tree in the front yard of my family's grass roof hut in complete awe of what He has given me. Sometimes it is easy to get used to the idea of me being here..on this trip, but thankfully, there are constant reminders of what an unbelievably precious and rare of an opportunity this actually is. Not only have those thoughts of these recent occurances ungulfed my mind, but reflecting on what I have been blessed with back in beautiful CO (and Illinois!!) has been taking up a large portion of my thinking time as well..which I have quite a bit of with such a thick language barrier. But I mean really..no matter how terrible of a day I am having, how little I feel like I may have, or how small or unwanted I feel, there is no good reason to let those lies overtake me. I have heard this many times before, but meditating on the concept over and over gives me an oddly positive outlook on life. I have not one thing to be sad about. Quite frankly, some one always has it worse than I do. Complaining is pointless. So instead of using energy to sulk, I have chosen to use it to celebrate. Celebrate everything..like it says in 1 Thessalonians 5, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ." God doesn't want us to live our lives in sadness or depression. He made us beautiful in His image..Genisis 1:27. No matter what things are being darted at us my the devil, be thankful and take joy in those things. Take Job for example. He had it all; he had it good with God, a spotless reputation, ten children, seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred oxen, five hundred donkies, and a ton of servants. What the heck! That is so crazy!!! Think if someone in today's time had all of those things in his possesion..now imagine what it meant in biblical times. Yipes. Ok sorry for the rambling-back to the story..within a short amount of time, all of his wordly possessions..gone..through army attacks, fires, and collapsing houses. All with the permission from God. Oh wait, and then the Lord allows Satan to take Job's health as well. Through it all, Job doesn't even hesitate to praise His name. That is the commitment that I long to live by.
After the farewell from Vredendal, I got the opportunity to meet some of the wonderful people the rest of my team spent time with in Lambert's Bay. It was a great thing to kind of be on the outside; not necassarily being able to feel like a part of the progress made in the community, but to be thrilled to see the affects on everyone else involved was a huge blessing. I often find myself having a difficult time relating to the rest of my team's reminiscant stories, but excited nonetheless because of how joyful they are from the relationships and experiences. I love hearing all about it, and its nice to be able to put faces with names too.
We left Lamberts Bay to head to a city just outside of Capetown called Belleville. There we met our new temporary community partner, Donny. He is a fulltime missionary in northern Mozambique. He graciously agreed to join us on our long trek from South Africa to Macuba, Mozambique. By long..I mean really long. 68 hours of bus riding. Sixty Eight. Ay yi yi. And that is only the time that we were actually on a bus. It doesn't account for any other travel or layover hours in between the four seperate legs of the journey. But God is good and He totally provided. He got us all here safe and sound, we crossed over the border with ease, and we had nice places to sleep and good food to eat. I couldn't have asked for more. I even made a friend on one of the rides. I can't remember his name, but I can recall everything that we talked about. Ah that 21 hour bus ride was the sweetest of them all. God knew what I needed and He gave it to me on a silver platter!
Our team arrived in the middle of town in the middle of the day..tired, smelly, thirsty, and a tad bit grumpy. (I, of course, was still ready for another bus ride if need be..keep 'em comin!) All of those negative vibes blew away the moment that Donny pulled up with thirteen taxis. Taxis here are a little different than those in the United States. They have much better air conditioning systems and are a lot better on gas. Stumped? They are motorcyles! (African style, of course) I can't quite describe the concoction of my emotions.. all of the excitement, exhaustion, shock, and perplexity was unlike anything I have felt before. The reason behind the recipe is mainly because I have a 40 lb. hiking pack on my back and a 10 lb. backpack in my hand. Is this a joke? There was no way in any of our minds that we could fit on the back of one of those things..no stinkin way. Something else I have learned here is in Africa, there is always a way. As we all are giggling and smiling and shaking our heads in disbelief, the crowd of eager Mozambiquans rolls up in front of us, picks one of us out, and 'tells' us to hop on. Ha. Hop on? Seriously? Yes. They were serious. So then we did. We practically paraded through the middle of Macuba. Front wheel, handle bars, driver, backpack, me, hiking pack, back wheel. (Don't worry Grandma, I was lucky enough to have one hand free to hold onto the guy's shoulder) It was awesome. I couldn't dream of any better way to transition from a tiring busride to the next chapter of our trip.
After about a ten minute ride, we arrived at our contact's property. Bernadette Jensen is a woman from South Africa who was called into missions in Mozambique about twelve years ago. She has built an amazing oasis for so many in the community. I am so eager to write further into detail about her ministry in another blog, so definitely look forward to it! For now, know that this place serves as my team's base for our weekends and training period. We had a few days to adjust to the area and to prepare ourselves. Those few days were great, but a lot of complications came about in that small amount of time. One of our teammates very unfortunately had second seizure within a two week time period- and because of the severity, the amount of variables, and the lack of health system here, needed to go home for his sake. It has had a huge impact on our team, but we all know that God has a plan in it, and we are thankful he is safely back home now. So please pray for Josh as he is trying to figure it what caused these episodes and how to make sure it doesn't happen again.
One of the inexplicable joys that God has blessed me with is my host family. I love everything about them. God obviously fit us together perfectly- I couldn't have wished for a better family. Lorinda is my mom, she is 34 years old and is a mother of six. Deno is the eldest son and is 19, Manuel is 14, Amina is 12, Vitoria is 9, Inacia is 4, and Lucia isn't quite 2 yet. The coolest part is is how well we get along with each other, and they don't even speak a word of english. I have been soaking up being able to be quiet, to sit, to watch, and to learn. I think one reason that my first week has been so positive is because of the dynamics in the home. My mom seems to be a wonderful mother. She has instilled dignity and strength in the girls, and a sense of respect in the boys, which is often difficult to find in boys their age here. Because they are all her children, they have responsibilities around the house and in the community that they know are a priority. My mom asks me to just sit on the mat and rest for a lot of the day because I am a guest in her home. But thats not what I am here for. I am here to learn how they live life. So when I have gotten the chance, I will sneak up off my mat to go run off to one of the wells to help my sisters get water. They even taught me and allowed me to carry a full bucket on my head! This was huge progress in the transition I have been trying to make between a guest and a sister. Of course when my I got back home with the bucket, my mom saw me carrying it and smiled, clapped, and laughed. The following day, I had the honor of her taking me to the social well where she let me carry a bucket of water on my head quite a few times. It seems like such a small task, but it means so much that she is now letting me help her work. It was even entertaining and a foreign sight for the people in the community to see. She has let me cut tomatoes and onions, she has let me stir the rice of massa. (which is crushed up cassava..a nutritionless crop.. made into a white, sticky dough-like roll-they eat this as a substitute for rice since they don't have money to purchase it) She will also let me sweep the yard in the morning. The very early morning-I normally get around 4:30 or 5:00. Crazy, right? But it works out when we fall asleep with full stomachs after a dinner cooked under the moonlight at a whopping 8:00 at night. Another huge progression I have experienced this week was I began eating my meals with a spoon. I quickly observed that they don't. When we have dinner in the dark is normally when I would practice eating the soupy beans and rice with my hands. The first night that she served me dinner with my family and didn't get my any silverware was an accomplishment for me. Now she doesn't ever serve me a meal with a spoon. The small things like that really mean the world when they could have never imagined having a white guest in their house, let alone one like me, or someone who actually wants to learn how they do the things they do every single day. It gives them an honour that cannot be put into words. It makes their hut a real home. It gives them a sense of pride and ownership that has never been instilled in them before. It is very humbling that the Lord is using me as a tool to help a family feel this amount of worth.
I don't have pictures yettttt, but they will be coming soon. I have chosen not to bring my camera with me to their home until a feel that it is an okay time to bring it out. When I do, I will be able to show you the strength and the miracles that I have been blessed enough to be a part of.
That is all of the time I have for now, but there will be many more stories to come. Pray for the teammates of mine whose stomachs aren't handling the food or water well..and pray that mine continues to enjoy it as much as I am (which is a lot!)..minus the fish. Oy. I couldn't eat fish before I came here..but let me tell ya-I've learned to smile while I chew!!
After the farewell from Vredendal, I got the opportunity to meet some of the wonderful people the rest of my team spent time with in Lambert's Bay. It was a great thing to kind of be on the outside; not necassarily being able to feel like a part of the progress made in the community, but to be thrilled to see the affects on everyone else involved was a huge blessing. I often find myself having a difficult time relating to the rest of my team's reminiscant stories, but excited nonetheless because of how joyful they are from the relationships and experiences. I love hearing all about it, and its nice to be able to put faces with names too.
We left Lamberts Bay to head to a city just outside of Capetown called Belleville. There we met our new temporary community partner, Donny. He is a fulltime missionary in northern Mozambique. He graciously agreed to join us on our long trek from South Africa to Macuba, Mozambique. By long..I mean really long. 68 hours of bus riding. Sixty Eight. Ay yi yi. And that is only the time that we were actually on a bus. It doesn't account for any other travel or layover hours in between the four seperate legs of the journey. But God is good and He totally provided. He got us all here safe and sound, we crossed over the border with ease, and we had nice places to sleep and good food to eat. I couldn't have asked for more. I even made a friend on one of the rides. I can't remember his name, but I can recall everything that we talked about. Ah that 21 hour bus ride was the sweetest of them all. God knew what I needed and He gave it to me on a silver platter!
Our team arrived in the middle of town in the middle of the day..tired, smelly, thirsty, and a tad bit grumpy. (I, of course, was still ready for another bus ride if need be..keep 'em comin!) All of those negative vibes blew away the moment that Donny pulled up with thirteen taxis. Taxis here are a little different than those in the United States. They have much better air conditioning systems and are a lot better on gas. Stumped? They are motorcyles! (African style, of course) I can't quite describe the concoction of my emotions.. all of the excitement, exhaustion, shock, and perplexity was unlike anything I have felt before. The reason behind the recipe is mainly because I have a 40 lb. hiking pack on my back and a 10 lb. backpack in my hand. Is this a joke? There was no way in any of our minds that we could fit on the back of one of those things..no stinkin way. Something else I have learned here is in Africa, there is always a way. As we all are giggling and smiling and shaking our heads in disbelief, the crowd of eager Mozambiquans rolls up in front of us, picks one of us out, and 'tells' us to hop on. Ha. Hop on? Seriously? Yes. They were serious. So then we did. We practically paraded through the middle of Macuba. Front wheel, handle bars, driver, backpack, me, hiking pack, back wheel. (Don't worry Grandma, I was lucky enough to have one hand free to hold onto the guy's shoulder) It was awesome. I couldn't dream of any better way to transition from a tiring busride to the next chapter of our trip.
After about a ten minute ride, we arrived at our contact's property. Bernadette Jensen is a woman from South Africa who was called into missions in Mozambique about twelve years ago. She has built an amazing oasis for so many in the community. I am so eager to write further into detail about her ministry in another blog, so definitely look forward to it! For now, know that this place serves as my team's base for our weekends and training period. We had a few days to adjust to the area and to prepare ourselves. Those few days were great, but a lot of complications came about in that small amount of time. One of our teammates very unfortunately had second seizure within a two week time period- and because of the severity, the amount of variables, and the lack of health system here, needed to go home for his sake. It has had a huge impact on our team, but we all know that God has a plan in it, and we are thankful he is safely back home now. So please pray for Josh as he is trying to figure it what caused these episodes and how to make sure it doesn't happen again.
One of the inexplicable joys that God has blessed me with is my host family. I love everything about them. God obviously fit us together perfectly- I couldn't have wished for a better family. Lorinda is my mom, she is 34 years old and is a mother of six. Deno is the eldest son and is 19, Manuel is 14, Amina is 12, Vitoria is 9, Inacia is 4, and Lucia isn't quite 2 yet. The coolest part is is how well we get along with each other, and they don't even speak a word of english. I have been soaking up being able to be quiet, to sit, to watch, and to learn. I think one reason that my first week has been so positive is because of the dynamics in the home. My mom seems to be a wonderful mother. She has instilled dignity and strength in the girls, and a sense of respect in the boys, which is often difficult to find in boys their age here. Because they are all her children, they have responsibilities around the house and in the community that they know are a priority. My mom asks me to just sit on the mat and rest for a lot of the day because I am a guest in her home. But thats not what I am here for. I am here to learn how they live life. So when I have gotten the chance, I will sneak up off my mat to go run off to one of the wells to help my sisters get water. They even taught me and allowed me to carry a full bucket on my head! This was huge progress in the transition I have been trying to make between a guest and a sister. Of course when my I got back home with the bucket, my mom saw me carrying it and smiled, clapped, and laughed. The following day, I had the honor of her taking me to the social well where she let me carry a bucket of water on my head quite a few times. It seems like such a small task, but it means so much that she is now letting me help her work. It was even entertaining and a foreign sight for the people in the community to see. She has let me cut tomatoes and onions, she has let me stir the rice of massa. (which is crushed up cassava..a nutritionless crop.. made into a white, sticky dough-like roll-they eat this as a substitute for rice since they don't have money to purchase it) She will also let me sweep the yard in the morning. The very early morning-I normally get around 4:30 or 5:00. Crazy, right? But it works out when we fall asleep with full stomachs after a dinner cooked under the moonlight at a whopping 8:00 at night. Another huge progression I have experienced this week was I began eating my meals with a spoon. I quickly observed that they don't. When we have dinner in the dark is normally when I would practice eating the soupy beans and rice with my hands. The first night that she served me dinner with my family and didn't get my any silverware was an accomplishment for me. Now she doesn't ever serve me a meal with a spoon. The small things like that really mean the world when they could have never imagined having a white guest in their house, let alone one like me, or someone who actually wants to learn how they do the things they do every single day. It gives them an honour that cannot be put into words. It makes their hut a real home. It gives them a sense of pride and ownership that has never been instilled in them before. It is very humbling that the Lord is using me as a tool to help a family feel this amount of worth.
I don't have pictures yettttt, but they will be coming soon. I have chosen not to bring my camera with me to their home until a feel that it is an okay time to bring it out. When I do, I will be able to show you the strength and the miracles that I have been blessed enough to be a part of.
That is all of the time I have for now, but there will be many more stories to come. Pray for the teammates of mine whose stomachs aren't handling the food or water well..and pray that mine continues to enjoy it as much as I am (which is a lot!)..minus the fish. Oy. I couldn't eat fish before I came here..but let me tell ya-I've learned to smile while I chew!!
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Do Not Fret, My Pet!
It's getting to be that time! Already?? Oy..where did the time go? I have no idea. But God just keeps showing off. My last few days here were so, so nice. The good byes were realllly hard, but there was joy through the pain. Its beautiful to see the way He orchestrates everything. Every thing. I praise him for that.
Before we leave Vredendal to drive to Lamberts Bay for a couple days for team debrief in preparation of Mozambique, I wanted to share with you something that the Lord has done in my heart. I have written about it previously, but the fact that I am writing about it again shows the He has answered my prayers. Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." He has miraculously given me the strength and the focus to not have an ounce of worry for whatever is happening tomorrow. Literally. (As some of my family knows, a pet peeve of mine is people saying literally when it doesn't fit the context. So when I say it, I am happy to say that I really mean it!) He has given me and unending peace about whatever situation is at hand as well as whatever is going on in the future. How our schedule worked was quite different than something I am accustomed to. We often times didn't know the plan for the next day. If we did, it would normally change from this to that or from that to this. Typically, that would bug the worms out of me. (No pun intended. Don't worry everyone, I have taken my de-worming meds. Man, I feel like a dog.) But because that was the case, it was easier for God to give me a pure joy and sense of satisfaction in doing whatever we were doing, where ever. That has lead me to actually be able to BE where I am. Fully. It has been rewarding beyond measure. Not only for me, for those around me, but it for Him too. He has spoken through me in prayers that I have prayed over some of our friends and in messages I have taught to kids, the youth group, and even a group of police neighborhood watchmen and women. I thank God over and over and over, and I still can't seem to say it enough.
So I encourage you and challenge you to strive for the same. There is no way I could have ever achieved this peace on my own, no matter how hard I tried or how badly I wanted it. But God will provide. He will give it to you. Just follow him, do what he asks. Do not worry. Do not be anxious. Do not agonize. Do not stress. Do not fear. Do not doubt. Or as my mom would say, "Don't fret, my pet!"
Goofin off with some of the kids we would hang out and play with every week.
Me, Arina (my host mom), Anarie (my host sister), and Cassandra (my roomie)!
Our team with the Kingdom Vision Bible School students. They are all wearing the blue shirts.
From left to right: Marian, Kerau, Sumalie, Qula, and Lionel.
Pray for my dear friends! Prayer is so wonderfully powerful. How cool is it that we get to speak with The One that created us..that created this all?? How could I want to do anything else but that..? :)
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Love and Laughter
My heart is overwhelmed as I write this out. I don't even know where to begin. My time here in Vredendal is coming to an end. It hurts. I love the people here. My host family has taken me in as a part of their family. I have seen such a change in them between the first week and now this last week. God is moving and he is growing them! Vian, Arina, and Annari have taught me valuable lessons that will stay with me for years to come. Johann has taught me so much as well. I respect him more than words can say. The Lord really uses him to love and to teach others. He listens and obeys even when it means sacrificing the things he and his family care about.
The friendships that have developed over my time here mean so much to me. Every Wednesday night, we meet with the high school youth group at Johann's church. These kids are absolutely amazing! They have a zest for life that is wrapped up in laughter and a spirit willing to learn more about God. I love them. We also have spent a lot of time with the students of a Bible school that Johann is very involved with. There are five students ranging in age from about 21-33. When we plan time to go the the squatter camps or to a school for a program of singing and games and a lesson, they often times join us and help guide what we have planned out for the afternoon. They are such an incredible group of young people. They have so much to offer and so much love to give. I love and respect them so much.
Our times working on the farm have been unforgettable. My team working in the fields with their workers is a foreign concept to people in this community. Not only are we white people working among the coloured people that are classified as some of the lowest in the community, but we are Americans working with them. With them. Not in front of them. This has opened so many doors! It is such a blessing to be a part of it. God is so good. He has also given us the opportunity to become very close with Francios and Madalie, who own the farm and the fields that we've been pruning, harvesting, and planting.
We have visited a handful of different schools. Each one of them is full of bright kids that longed to be loved. It is not only a fun and wild experience for them to run around with us, but it is also refreshing for the teachers and administrators of the school. Just like in any school in the U.S., there are troubled kids in the classroom..bullies, smart-alecs, interrupters, the shy and quiet ones, the ones that don't care..but when they get to be outside and play!! That is when the real kid in them comes out. Some of the teachers have expressed to me how nice it is for them to see that side of their students. It gives them reason to persevere through the hard days.
Something that we have a team has struggled with is seeing 'the effect.' Some days it feels like we aren't really doing anything life-changing for the people around us. We aren't building houses. We aren't converting people by the dozens. Men still walk around drunk, smoking drugs. Women and young girls and boys still get used and abused. There are still homeless people sleeping outside of the stores and along the side of the road. The crime rate hasn't dropped. But Satan uses our discouragement to try to tear us down. The work we have been a part of and the things we are doing aren't tangible. As an American, that is very difficult to understand. However, being here in Vredendal for these five or six weeks has shown me that even though statistics haven't changed, hearts have. Praise the Lord for that.
We have also been making friends in the squatter camps..just walking around, talking to who ever is standing outside their home and is willing and brave enough to talk to a group of white people walking around. (It's not something that happens very often, so usually when we are talking with a new friend, there will be people off in the distance watching and wondering who? Why? Where? What are they doing here?) The presence of the Holy Spirit has been overwhelming in some of these situations. Prayer is powerful. That is one of the biggest lessons I've learned here. One Wednesday night at the youth group, we were all sitting in a circle. some people were sitting on the couch, a few in some lounge chairs, and the rest of us were sitting in plastic chairs. Me being me..I was leaning back on the back two legs of the chair during most of the evening. I had no idea that almost the whole group had been watching me and waiting for me to fall backwards. Near the end of all of us hanging out, Tayla, one of my favorite girls in the youth, and Megan, the other girl from Colorado, prayed and asked Jesus if He would make me fall out of the chair. I guess in the ten seconds after they finished praying, God did them one better. One of the legs on the chair broke! I feel straight to my back having no clue what happened. Oh gosh, everyyyyyone was laughing their faces off! But I thought, hey, I am okay with God teaching the group how powerful prayer is through my expense, well really, my ego's expense. Ah it really funny. I had no idea Tayla thought it was so funny until we went to visit their school a few days later and she had told alllll of her friends about it. Then she proudly pointed at me and laughed, "This is this girl!!" It took me back to a sheepishly shy middle school feeling, but it was totally worth it seeing her laugh so hard.
Another really awesome opportunity that our whole team had was being involved in the Farm Run! This is an event that happens every year. Churches from all over the community join together and hold bike races, runs, and walks to raise money for the Cohen Group. The Cohen Group is a group of young adults that commit to training and learning the best ways to be there for kids in the schools of Vredendal, similar to a counselor. The teachers in the schools offer themselves up as well, but for the kids with struggles at home or at school, addictions, any type of abuse, and the list goes on..its a lot easier for them to talk someone closer to their age. Their training is through a faith based program, so these coaches (which is what the students refer to them as) are able to pray for the kids and offer them advice and love the way God asks us to. In addition to the races, they have crafts being sold, tons of unbelievably delicious food, blow up jump games, then even had a human foosball blow up game! Another huge focus of the day is the Farm Fun. People are split into even teams..2 adults, 2 high schoolers, and 2 younger kids. Well Cassandra, the one girl on our team from Mexico, and I partnered up and found some awesome kids that wanted to compete. The events for the competition included jumping over hail bays, rolling and running a barrel, wheel barreling your team across a teeter-totter, rolling tires in a straight line, pulling a tractor, kicking a soccer ball through a tube into a goal, knocking down cans with a slingshot, and one of the favorites crawling under a net in a pool of water. It was awesome. People loved that there were people from our team actually participating in all of these with the kids. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. It was a blast! We had high hopes for making it to the top three, but were unfortunately disappointed. But Megan's team got second place! I was glad that my Colorado sister represented our country well.
The Lord continues to give me His favor in so many things. He really has blessed me with these friendships. There will be many tear filled good byes..
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for Johann, Madaleen, Annie, and their ministry. Pray that God gives them direction and provides for them financially, physically, spiritually, and through relationships. They are family truly after living out the word.
Lift up the students in the Kingdom Vision Bible School. Their hearts are made of solid gold. Pray that the Lord continues to grow them and teach them more about Him. Also pray for the hearts the people they come in contact with, especially the kids that they make friends with and play with. Pray for their hearts to be opened and their lives to be changed through the wisdom my friends have to offer.
Ask God to continue to bless the harvest of Francois and Madalie's fields. They are hard workers and lovers of Christ; they are some of the sweetest, most giving people I have met here.
Also pray for my team. Satan really is trying to tear a couple of us down- so pray that we surrender it all to the foot of the cross. Pray for discernment and healing as well.
The friendships that have developed over my time here mean so much to me. Every Wednesday night, we meet with the high school youth group at Johann's church. These kids are absolutely amazing! They have a zest for life that is wrapped up in laughter and a spirit willing to learn more about God. I love them. We also have spent a lot of time with the students of a Bible school that Johann is very involved with. There are five students ranging in age from about 21-33. When we plan time to go the the squatter camps or to a school for a program of singing and games and a lesson, they often times join us and help guide what we have planned out for the afternoon. They are such an incredible group of young people. They have so much to offer and so much love to give. I love and respect them so much.
Our times working on the farm have been unforgettable. My team working in the fields with their workers is a foreign concept to people in this community. Not only are we white people working among the coloured people that are classified as some of the lowest in the community, but we are Americans working with them. With them. Not in front of them. This has opened so many doors! It is such a blessing to be a part of it. God is so good. He has also given us the opportunity to become very close with Francios and Madalie, who own the farm and the fields that we've been pruning, harvesting, and planting.
We have visited a handful of different schools. Each one of them is full of bright kids that longed to be loved. It is not only a fun and wild experience for them to run around with us, but it is also refreshing for the teachers and administrators of the school. Just like in any school in the U.S., there are troubled kids in the classroom..bullies, smart-alecs, interrupters, the shy and quiet ones, the ones that don't care..but when they get to be outside and play!! That is when the real kid in them comes out. Some of the teachers have expressed to me how nice it is for them to see that side of their students. It gives them reason to persevere through the hard days.
Something that we have a team has struggled with is seeing 'the effect.' Some days it feels like we aren't really doing anything life-changing for the people around us. We aren't building houses. We aren't converting people by the dozens. Men still walk around drunk, smoking drugs. Women and young girls and boys still get used and abused. There are still homeless people sleeping outside of the stores and along the side of the road. The crime rate hasn't dropped. But Satan uses our discouragement to try to tear us down. The work we have been a part of and the things we are doing aren't tangible. As an American, that is very difficult to understand. However, being here in Vredendal for these five or six weeks has shown me that even though statistics haven't changed, hearts have. Praise the Lord for that.
We have also been making friends in the squatter camps..just walking around, talking to who ever is standing outside their home and is willing and brave enough to talk to a group of white people walking around. (It's not something that happens very often, so usually when we are talking with a new friend, there will be people off in the distance watching and wondering who? Why? Where? What are they doing here?) The presence of the Holy Spirit has been overwhelming in some of these situations. Prayer is powerful. That is one of the biggest lessons I've learned here. One Wednesday night at the youth group, we were all sitting in a circle. some people were sitting on the couch, a few in some lounge chairs, and the rest of us were sitting in plastic chairs. Me being me..I was leaning back on the back two legs of the chair during most of the evening. I had no idea that almost the whole group had been watching me and waiting for me to fall backwards. Near the end of all of us hanging out, Tayla, one of my favorite girls in the youth, and Megan, the other girl from Colorado, prayed and asked Jesus if He would make me fall out of the chair. I guess in the ten seconds after they finished praying, God did them one better. One of the legs on the chair broke! I feel straight to my back having no clue what happened. Oh gosh, everyyyyyone was laughing their faces off! But I thought, hey, I am okay with God teaching the group how powerful prayer is through my expense, well really, my ego's expense. Ah it really funny. I had no idea Tayla thought it was so funny until we went to visit their school a few days later and she had told alllll of her friends about it. Then she proudly pointed at me and laughed, "This is this girl!!" It took me back to a sheepishly shy middle school feeling, but it was totally worth it seeing her laugh so hard.
Another really awesome opportunity that our whole team had was being involved in the Farm Run! This is an event that happens every year. Churches from all over the community join together and hold bike races, runs, and walks to raise money for the Cohen Group. The Cohen Group is a group of young adults that commit to training and learning the best ways to be there for kids in the schools of Vredendal, similar to a counselor. The teachers in the schools offer themselves up as well, but for the kids with struggles at home or at school, addictions, any type of abuse, and the list goes on..its a lot easier for them to talk someone closer to their age. Their training is through a faith based program, so these coaches (which is what the students refer to them as) are able to pray for the kids and offer them advice and love the way God asks us to. In addition to the races, they have crafts being sold, tons of unbelievably delicious food, blow up jump games, then even had a human foosball blow up game! Another huge focus of the day is the Farm Fun. People are split into even teams..2 adults, 2 high schoolers, and 2 younger kids. Well Cassandra, the one girl on our team from Mexico, and I partnered up and found some awesome kids that wanted to compete. The events for the competition included jumping over hail bays, rolling and running a barrel, wheel barreling your team across a teeter-totter, rolling tires in a straight line, pulling a tractor, kicking a soccer ball through a tube into a goal, knocking down cans with a slingshot, and one of the favorites crawling under a net in a pool of water. It was awesome. People loved that there were people from our team actually participating in all of these with the kids. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. It was a blast! We had high hopes for making it to the top three, but were unfortunately disappointed. But Megan's team got second place! I was glad that my Colorado sister represented our country well.
The Lord continues to give me His favor in so many things. He really has blessed me with these friendships. There will be many tear filled good byes..
Oh the Namqualand Daisies! The Western Cape takes pride in these beautiful flowers that blossom for a very short time during the winter season. White, orange, and yellow flowers drown pastures of grass. But really!! Rolling hills look like an ocean of these things!
Sweet Potatoes!! Yummy. Look at how many :)
My new little friend, Asa.
Team tire rolling at the Farm Run!
Wednesday night youth group. What goofs!
Johann and Madaleen Engelbrecht
Some of the team with Madalie and Francois!
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for Johann, Madaleen, Annie, and their ministry. Pray that God gives them direction and provides for them financially, physically, spiritually, and through relationships. They are family truly after living out the word.
Lift up the students in the Kingdom Vision Bible School. Their hearts are made of solid gold. Pray that the Lord continues to grow them and teach them more about Him. Also pray for the hearts the people they come in contact with, especially the kids that they make friends with and play with. Pray for their hearts to be opened and their lives to be changed through the wisdom my friends have to offer.
Ask God to continue to bless the harvest of Francois and Madalie's fields. They are hard workers and lovers of Christ; they are some of the sweetest, most giving people I have met here.
Also pray for my team. Satan really is trying to tear a couple of us down- so pray that we surrender it all to the foot of the cross. Pray for discernment and healing as well.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart
Oh. My. Gosh.
1 Peter 1:8 says, "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." Oh guys, God is so, so good!! That is exactly what has been burning inside of my heart, glorious! Inexpressible! Pure joy. Even if the circumstances at hand aren't that great, or are more difficult or painful than sweet, HE has filled ME with an overflow of this delicious taste of emotion.. Not to mention the tastey food that we have been eating too, haha. (Onnn a side note, I planned on maybe loosing a few pounds here and there on this trip-mmm quite the opposite has happened! But I am enjoying every second of it).
No, but really. Since the day I sent out my support letters, the Lord has instilled in me a spirit that I have always dreamed of having. I think why I never could achieve it before now was because I was trying to do it on my own. I would ask him to instill in me contentment and something bigger than happiness- but then I would work and push and squeeze it into my life myself. I am going to be honest, when I mailed my letters, I had no stinkin clue how I was going to raise enough money to do what God had put in my heart. But then I heard him ask me to set that fear and anxiety at the foot of the cross. "C'mon, Lindsey. Please, just give it to me! I will help you, I promise. But you have to surrender." I responded with trusting in Him- more than I really ever had before. And this is what He gave me in return! Because of him, and only by his strength, I have been able to live every single day in the moment..by being thankful for what is right in front of me instead of looking ahead or waiting for the next big THING. Not only that, but enjoying it all to the fullest because it is a gift from him. A gift. He has given all of this to me because he loves me! Why?! I have nooo clue. He amazes me in a new way every single day. As well as keeping this blog, I have been writing a personal journal. I am pretty sure that the term 'thank you' is written more than almost anything else. I really can't seem to write it, say it, or think it enough. He blows me away.
Half of my team is in Lambert's Bay, where we had our training. While the other half of us, myself included, is in Vredendal- pronounced Freedendal. Each team is scheduled to be in both towns for three weeks at a time. (I was chosen, along with one other girl, to stay in Vredendal the whole six weeks, though. God is good- I definitely want and need to be here for the whole time) One reason being that this creates an opportunity to see different areas of South Africa. In both communities, we are involved in varied activities. Some of what the team in LB is doing includes each person staying with their own host family, visiting hospitals, care centers, nursing homes, church groups, and learning more about the culture and living how these people live! Building relationships is what we all strive for. The same goes for us here in Vredendal. We want to learn from them, not teach them. We want to love on them, not show them how to live life. Making friends with strangers and brothers and sisters in Christ has been so rewarding to me in countless ways. Johan- pronounced Yohan- is our community partner here. Him and his lovely wife and their beautiful daughter have been gracious enough to open their arms wide open to accept us as their children and to help us achieve the goals I have just mentioned. One of my teammates and I have been living with a host family as well. Which has been another source of God's outpour of blessings. The couple reminds me in some ways of my parents. They love us so much. They want the best for us! To be well fed, warm, and happy. Every night before bed, we all sit in their living room and discuss our days. We laugh and tell jokes..we discuss our countries and their similarities and differences. We talk about our hearts and what God is doing in us. It has been a safe haven here. I am so excited and thankful that God has orchestrated this.
The last week and a half we have been all over the place. We have spent a lot of time on a friend of Johan's farm. Madalie and her husband, Francois, own a few different farming properties. We have spend a handful of days digging through the sand to harvest sweet potatoes. Tons of sweet potatoes! It sure has been fun playing in the dirt. We also have spent a couple of days pruning in the vineyards. Vredendal is known for their grapes! I am proud to say I have my first true farmers tan. WOO HOO. I think I am actually a little to excited about that one.. We also have visited a handful of schools to play with kids. Oh my gosh. What wonderful and beautiful kids! We have gone through bible stories like Jonah, we have taught them songs, played games, and just gotten to love on each other. It's been wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. We also got to visit a few different squattercamps. These are the areas where the poorest of the poor live. These communties are often made of houses constructed of tin sheets and cardboard.. Some are nicer than others, though. There are neighborhoods that the government has put in running water or even built some homes from concrete. The kids here are not well educated and are surrounded by a community that lives off of drugs, abuse, and alcohol on a daily basis. All they want is to be loved. The fact that we are the ones that get to do this is beyond humbling.
Praise the Lord for what he is doing in me. I would love to hear what he is doing for you too! If you have questions about anything I've mentioned, ask away! I'd love to answer. Tomorrow the six of us will be interviewed on a SA Christian radio station based here in Vredendal. Very excited!! I've never been on the radio before.. If you would like to listen, it will be live on their website.
http://www.radionamakwaland.co.za/
Our interview is Wednesday August 15 at 2:50pm South Africa standard time, 8:50am Eastern.
1. Lulu and Hunter, our host family's dogs! Hunter is still a pup- 7 month old mastiff!!
2. A view of the vineyards pre pruned :)
3. Photo credit, Brenna. This is a pic of one area of the squatter camp. A bit of a nicer area.
4. My host fsmily's home
5. After digging up all the potats, we sort them by size and quality and oil them up and pack them to be ready for selling in Capetown. Just a picture of us oiling!
1 Peter 1:8 says, "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." Oh guys, God is so, so good!! That is exactly what has been burning inside of my heart, glorious! Inexpressible! Pure joy. Even if the circumstances at hand aren't that great, or are more difficult or painful than sweet, HE has filled ME with an overflow of this delicious taste of emotion.. Not to mention the tastey food that we have been eating too, haha. (Onnn a side note, I planned on maybe loosing a few pounds here and there on this trip-mmm quite the opposite has happened! But I am enjoying every second of it).
No, but really. Since the day I sent out my support letters, the Lord has instilled in me a spirit that I have always dreamed of having. I think why I never could achieve it before now was because I was trying to do it on my own. I would ask him to instill in me contentment and something bigger than happiness- but then I would work and push and squeeze it into my life myself. I am going to be honest, when I mailed my letters, I had no stinkin clue how I was going to raise enough money to do what God had put in my heart. But then I heard him ask me to set that fear and anxiety at the foot of the cross. "C'mon, Lindsey. Please, just give it to me! I will help you, I promise. But you have to surrender." I responded with trusting in Him- more than I really ever had before. And this is what He gave me in return! Because of him, and only by his strength, I have been able to live every single day in the moment..by being thankful for what is right in front of me instead of looking ahead or waiting for the next big THING. Not only that, but enjoying it all to the fullest because it is a gift from him. A gift. He has given all of this to me because he loves me! Why?! I have nooo clue. He amazes me in a new way every single day. As well as keeping this blog, I have been writing a personal journal. I am pretty sure that the term 'thank you' is written more than almost anything else. I really can't seem to write it, say it, or think it enough. He blows me away.
Half of my team is in Lambert's Bay, where we had our training. While the other half of us, myself included, is in Vredendal- pronounced Freedendal. Each team is scheduled to be in both towns for three weeks at a time. (I was chosen, along with one other girl, to stay in Vredendal the whole six weeks, though. God is good- I definitely want and need to be here for the whole time) One reason being that this creates an opportunity to see different areas of South Africa. In both communities, we are involved in varied activities. Some of what the team in LB is doing includes each person staying with their own host family, visiting hospitals, care centers, nursing homes, church groups, and learning more about the culture and living how these people live! Building relationships is what we all strive for. The same goes for us here in Vredendal. We want to learn from them, not teach them. We want to love on them, not show them how to live life. Making friends with strangers and brothers and sisters in Christ has been so rewarding to me in countless ways. Johan- pronounced Yohan- is our community partner here. Him and his lovely wife and their beautiful daughter have been gracious enough to open their arms wide open to accept us as their children and to help us achieve the goals I have just mentioned. One of my teammates and I have been living with a host family as well. Which has been another source of God's outpour of blessings. The couple reminds me in some ways of my parents. They love us so much. They want the best for us! To be well fed, warm, and happy. Every night before bed, we all sit in their living room and discuss our days. We laugh and tell jokes..we discuss our countries and their similarities and differences. We talk about our hearts and what God is doing in us. It has been a safe haven here. I am so excited and thankful that God has orchestrated this.
The last week and a half we have been all over the place. We have spent a lot of time on a friend of Johan's farm. Madalie and her husband, Francois, own a few different farming properties. We have spend a handful of days digging through the sand to harvest sweet potatoes. Tons of sweet potatoes! It sure has been fun playing in the dirt. We also have spent a couple of days pruning in the vineyards. Vredendal is known for their grapes! I am proud to say I have my first true farmers tan. WOO HOO. I think I am actually a little to excited about that one.. We also have visited a handful of schools to play with kids. Oh my gosh. What wonderful and beautiful kids! We have gone through bible stories like Jonah, we have taught them songs, played games, and just gotten to love on each other. It's been wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. We also got to visit a few different squattercamps. These are the areas where the poorest of the poor live. These communties are often made of houses constructed of tin sheets and cardboard.. Some are nicer than others, though. There are neighborhoods that the government has put in running water or even built some homes from concrete. The kids here are not well educated and are surrounded by a community that lives off of drugs, abuse, and alcohol on a daily basis. All they want is to be loved. The fact that we are the ones that get to do this is beyond humbling.
Praise the Lord for what he is doing in me. I would love to hear what he is doing for you too! If you have questions about anything I've mentioned, ask away! I'd love to answer. Tomorrow the six of us will be interviewed on a SA Christian radio station based here in Vredendal. Very excited!! I've never been on the radio before.. If you would like to listen, it will be live on their website.
http://www.radionamakwaland.co.za/
Our interview is Wednesday August 15 at 2:50pm South Africa standard time, 8:50am Eastern.
1. Lulu and Hunter, our host family's dogs! Hunter is still a pup- 7 month old mastiff!!
2. A view of the vineyards pre pruned :)
3. Photo credit, Brenna. This is a pic of one area of the squatter camp. A bit of a nicer area.
4. My host fsmily's home
5. After digging up all the potats, we sort them by size and quality and oil them up and pack them to be ready for selling in Capetown. Just a picture of us oiling!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Just a Taste
Ohhhhh my goodness. Where to start?! I am in Africaaaa! That simple fact alone has been blowing my mind on a daily basis. It is now 9:00 am on Friday morning, my team arrived in Capetown last Wednesday night. The adventure here was exactly just that, an adventure. But because I had great people to be around and somethin fantastic waiting at the finish line for me, I found my way. From the airport, we drove 3 hours to a very small city called Lamberts Bay- known as the lobster capital of Africa. Too bad it's not lobster season!! However, we did have a meal cooked for us that included a huge crawfish in my plate (he was looking at me while I was eating him..creepy!!) as well as some type of silvery scaled fish. If you know my appetite, you know that seafood and I have never agreed. But that night, I found an exception! For the first time, I actually liked it! I am hoping that this will continue through our time here in South Africa because fish is so prominent here along the coast.
For our first few days here, we stayed at a hotel for our training. The view from our back patio was unbelievable! A gorgeous whitish-grey sandy beach lead into the pacific ocean and was bordered by a row of palm trees. Paradise. One thing that did throw me off, however, was the temperature. It's winter here! It gets very cold at night, and there is no source of heat in any of the homes, hotels, or buildings since their winter is so short. Compared to a Colorado winter, it's nothing- so I have learned to manage well. Hein Van Wyk is our community partner during our stay not only in SA, but Mozambique and Lesotho as well. He is definitely a man after the Lord. He and his family have changed a lot in their life to accommodate the needs for the Immersion team coming down. He has specially picked out every city, host family, church, and organization that we will have the wonderful opportunity of partnering with. During our training time, we had great times of fellowship with Hein's family as well as Yan and Enid who run the beautiful hotel we stayed at. We learned a lot about the South African culture as well as ways to look at the poverty we will face in the next five months. There is beauty in brokenness, that is for sure. You know the song.. You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of the dust? I LOVE that song. It is so true to this beautiful place I am surrounded by.. And my heart as well. The tune is constantly stuck in my head.
I really have to go, even though I want to keep writing and writing about the experiences I have had so far, but I will find time to write again very soon. I am itching to tell you more about the things I've seen and the people I have met. Blessings to you.
GO USA! .. And South Africa :) cheering for you too.
A sunset view from our hotel room's porch.
Ok, sorry. I had to add the picture of the bird. We found it walking along the beach. Nasty!! Haha..
For our first few days here, we stayed at a hotel for our training. The view from our back patio was unbelievable! A gorgeous whitish-grey sandy beach lead into the pacific ocean and was bordered by a row of palm trees. Paradise. One thing that did throw me off, however, was the temperature. It's winter here! It gets very cold at night, and there is no source of heat in any of the homes, hotels, or buildings since their winter is so short. Compared to a Colorado winter, it's nothing- so I have learned to manage well. Hein Van Wyk is our community partner during our stay not only in SA, but Mozambique and Lesotho as well. He is definitely a man after the Lord. He and his family have changed a lot in their life to accommodate the needs for the Immersion team coming down. He has specially picked out every city, host family, church, and organization that we will have the wonderful opportunity of partnering with. During our training time, we had great times of fellowship with Hein's family as well as Yan and Enid who run the beautiful hotel we stayed at. We learned a lot about the South African culture as well as ways to look at the poverty we will face in the next five months. There is beauty in brokenness, that is for sure. You know the song.. You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of the dust? I LOVE that song. It is so true to this beautiful place I am surrounded by.. And my heart as well. The tune is constantly stuck in my head.
I really have to go, even though I want to keep writing and writing about the experiences I have had so far, but I will find time to write again very soon. I am itching to tell you more about the things I've seen and the people I have met. Blessings to you.
GO USA! .. And South Africa :) cheering for you too.
A sunset view from our hotel room's porch.
Ok, sorry. I had to add the picture of the bird. We found it walking along the beach. Nasty!! Haha..
Monday, July 30, 2012
Don't You Worry Bout A Thang
It's a quiet Monday morning here in the Waterflow Mission House. I'm sitting here eating some delicious peaches and cream oatmeal, listening to the coffee brewing. This dining table has become so comfortable for me. This entire house has! This large home that has been used over the years as a catholic school house that was then morphed into a safe haven for the drunken natives and/or Vietnam Vets to stumble into for a good nights sleep and a simple meal..and now it's become a home base for our team. There is a lot of history inside these walls, I love being in a place like this. A place that has seen life and death. I think I like it so much because I cannot even imagine the stories of the people who have resided here at one time or another. The stories of trouble, history, anger, and defeat; but also stories of God's compassion and his saving grace!! (which triumph over all)
Lynn and her husband Don, the owners of the Mission, never expected to be called into ministry on the reservation. The Lord had bigger plans for their life. They have been loving enough to open up their home to hundreds an hundreds of people. Can you imagine that? Their selflessness is such a beautiful picture of Christ's love.
God is like that a lot. We have these ideas of how we think we should live our life, we get wrapped up in so many things. And what relevance do they have? My encouragement to you is to open your heart to the concept that God has a bigger plan. Not only that, but allow him to let that plan run into motion!
As I have already expressed, a strong struggle of mine is being anxious of tomorrow. But why? Why do I always feel like I have to know everything, plan everything? Why can't I continually live every day knowing that God has provided me with EXACTLY what I need. He always will. If I feel like for some reason he hasn't, I've begun to learn to step back and reflect on why I feel unprepared or hurt or lost. It's at that moment that he opens my eyes and says, "Lindsey, my precious daughter, I love you. Not one thing can ever seperate you from my love. I will never, ever leave you or forsake you."
I know that if my God says that, I need to change my way of thinking in that situation. He knows a heck of a lot better what is really going than I ever will. How cool is that?! Ahh how he loves. It's amazing, unbelievable, so beautiful!!
And I know- for certain- that as my team leaves to begin our travels to South Africa this morning, his love will protect, provide, and prevail.
What a blessing our time has been on the rez. I thank my Savior for the ways he has grown me, and am very eager to see what else he has in store. Same goes for YOU! Love him where you are at, He will meet you there.
This is a picture of the front of Waterflow Mission. :)
Lynn and her husband Don, the owners of the Mission, never expected to be called into ministry on the reservation. The Lord had bigger plans for their life. They have been loving enough to open up their home to hundreds an hundreds of people. Can you imagine that? Their selflessness is such a beautiful picture of Christ's love.
God is like that a lot. We have these ideas of how we think we should live our life, we get wrapped up in so many things. And what relevance do they have? My encouragement to you is to open your heart to the concept that God has a bigger plan. Not only that, but allow him to let that plan run into motion!
As I have already expressed, a strong struggle of mine is being anxious of tomorrow. But why? Why do I always feel like I have to know everything, plan everything? Why can't I continually live every day knowing that God has provided me with EXACTLY what I need. He always will. If I feel like for some reason he hasn't, I've begun to learn to step back and reflect on why I feel unprepared or hurt or lost. It's at that moment that he opens my eyes and says, "Lindsey, my precious daughter, I love you. Not one thing can ever seperate you from my love. I will never, ever leave you or forsake you."
I know that if my God says that, I need to change my way of thinking in that situation. He knows a heck of a lot better what is really going than I ever will. How cool is that?! Ahh how he loves. It's amazing, unbelievable, so beautiful!!
And I know- for certain- that as my team leaves to begin our travels to South Africa this morning, his love will protect, provide, and prevail.
What a blessing our time has been on the rez. I thank my Savior for the ways he has grown me, and am very eager to see what else he has in store. Same goes for YOU! Love him where you are at, He will meet you there.
This is a picture of the front of Waterflow Mission. :)
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Until Next Time, Bisti!
My emotions were high as our team left Bisti for the last time. God did work. The Holy Spirit breathed on me through these caring, loving, selfless people to open my eyes to a side of the Lord's love that I have never found myself in before. I felt like I was not sprinkled, not showered, but completely dunked in a pool of passion.
Speaking of pools.. Leroy and Rhonda (the pastor of Roger Deal Memorial Bapist Church and his wife) blessed us with a wonderful night of redneck and rezified hot tubbing! We took a couple loads of water from the natural well and filled a horse trough and three huge watermelon boxes for the twelve of us to soak in. The watermelon boxes were from the food donations that are made weekly to the church. A semi truck sized load of produce, breads, and sweets comes in weekly for RDMBC to hand out to families in the community and to offer to anyone who comes to the mid-week service. Hence the rez style tubbing! It was definitely one of the most memorable adventures from our time on the reservation.
We also had the opportunity to visit the Four Corners. Believe it or not- in my twenty years of living in Colorado, I have never been to the landmark! It was a great time goofing off with all my new made friends. After seeing the infamous X, we hiked around Shiprock- a sacred landmark to the Navajo people. It really is just a huge rock resembling a ship with an amazing natural wall of rock in its trail. The feeling of standing on the highest point to safely climb to (don't worry, Mom) was indescribable. Being surrounded by nothing but the Creator's creation made me feel so small but so loved and important at the same time.
The people I met and the relationships that we're built will forever be stamped in my heart. Harry, a 70 year old man that I had the honor of spending time with, works harder than any 25 year old guy I can think of. His nephew, Travis, is sort of like a gentle giant. He has the sweetest heart, the best intentions, the cutest laugh, and he sure does love his grandma! When you put those two together, any project will get done quickly and perfectly. Hands of magic!! Bulah and Brittanie are my fly, stylish sweethearts. Such beautiful young women of God that have already been through more trials and trauma than most of us see in a lifetime. I can't wait to see their smiling faces and feel there arms wrapped around me again! Then there is Cody.. Oh Cody. He is such a punk. But the little punk that you can't help but laugh at and love. If I had a little brother, it would definitely be him. He was on the same level of scaring me as Ryan and Kyle! Now that's an accomplishment. Uncle David is a hard working man that always tries to push your buttons and give you a good scare. His laugh and smile were contagious!
All I could think to help the tears lessen was that this was not goodbye.. But I will see you later!
Team photo at the Four Corners!
Me with Shiprock in the distance.
The church sign.
Our Navajo Reservation hot tubs!
Travis and me.
Speaking of pools.. Leroy and Rhonda (the pastor of Roger Deal Memorial Bapist Church and his wife) blessed us with a wonderful night of redneck and rezified hot tubbing! We took a couple loads of water from the natural well and filled a horse trough and three huge watermelon boxes for the twelve of us to soak in. The watermelon boxes were from the food donations that are made weekly to the church. A semi truck sized load of produce, breads, and sweets comes in weekly for RDMBC to hand out to families in the community and to offer to anyone who comes to the mid-week service. Hence the rez style tubbing! It was definitely one of the most memorable adventures from our time on the reservation.
We also had the opportunity to visit the Four Corners. Believe it or not- in my twenty years of living in Colorado, I have never been to the landmark! It was a great time goofing off with all my new made friends. After seeing the infamous X, we hiked around Shiprock- a sacred landmark to the Navajo people. It really is just a huge rock resembling a ship with an amazing natural wall of rock in its trail. The feeling of standing on the highest point to safely climb to (don't worry, Mom) was indescribable. Being surrounded by nothing but the Creator's creation made me feel so small but so loved and important at the same time.
The people I met and the relationships that we're built will forever be stamped in my heart. Harry, a 70 year old man that I had the honor of spending time with, works harder than any 25 year old guy I can think of. His nephew, Travis, is sort of like a gentle giant. He has the sweetest heart, the best intentions, the cutest laugh, and he sure does love his grandma! When you put those two together, any project will get done quickly and perfectly. Hands of magic!! Bulah and Brittanie are my fly, stylish sweethearts. Such beautiful young women of God that have already been through more trials and trauma than most of us see in a lifetime. I can't wait to see their smiling faces and feel there arms wrapped around me again! Then there is Cody.. Oh Cody. He is such a punk. But the little punk that you can't help but laugh at and love. If I had a little brother, it would definitely be him. He was on the same level of scaring me as Ryan and Kyle! Now that's an accomplishment. Uncle David is a hard working man that always tries to push your buttons and give you a good scare. His laugh and smile were contagious!
All I could think to help the tears lessen was that this was not goodbye.. But I will see you later!
Team photo at the Four Corners!
Me with Shiprock in the distance.
The church sign.
Our Navajo Reservation hot tubs!
Travis and me.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Pictures, pictures
Here are a few pictures of the last week in Bisti, New Mexico!
The front door looking out to the east in an old Navajo cave.
Fried bread, special made for Navajo tacos!! Delish.
A gorgeous New Mexico sunset with an old school building.
A beautiful wild mama horse with her baby!
Brenna an I smiling big!
Me, Cailee, Emily, and Hannah wearing our head lamps!
Beautiful Kaity Marko hiking up the ruins.
Chaco shot across the Ruin lands.
The front door looking out to the east in an old Navajo cave.
Fried bread, special made for Navajo tacos!! Delish.
A gorgeous New Mexico sunset with an old school building.
A beautiful wild mama horse with her baby!
Brenna an I smiling big!
Me, Cailee, Emily, and Hannah wearing our head lamps!
Beautiful Kaity Marko hiking up the ruins.
Chaco shot across the Ruin lands.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Good bye training, Hello Navajo!
What an incredible first few days it has been. Getting to know my team has been such a blessing! Together we have laughed, been challenged, cried, and have dived further deeper into a knowledge of God.
The president of Experience Mission, along with a few other staff leaders, have taken time to be a part of the kick off to the very first immersion program! It has been an unbelievably thrilling start for everyone involved- we cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for us. It has also been a very humble beginning. In our American society, we have trained ourselves to be slaves of time. It is so easy to get caught up in where, what's next, and for how long that we miss out on what's right in front of us. Schedules constantly dictate how our minutes an hours should be run, but we have quickly learned that this trip will be far from that.
We originally planned on staying in a wonderfully generous mission family's home just west of Farmigton, New Mexico until the end of this week, but our plans rapidly changed when we heard of a remote community's need for a Vacation Bible School. Our team leader, Heather, along with EM staff member, Sarah, and president, Chris directed us to pack up our belongings so we could attend a Wednesday evening church service in a Navajo community..Bisiti. We were warmly welcomed, attended a beautiful time of worship an learning, then were fed with a feast made by these amazing people. (THE best green chile soup I have ever tasted). The service itself was spoken and sung in half English, half Navajo. After stuffing our faces, the pastor's wife, Rhonda, took us to a well a couple miles or so away from the church. Oh. My. Gosh. It was pretty much an all-natural hot tub. (If you have ever sat in the Combest hot tub, you know how hot we like it and this thing was definitely up to par). We came back to the church and spread ourselves out on cots to get a good nights sleep before yet another new adventure.
We have been learning to adapt to circumstances rather than making them adapt to us. It's quite the learning experience! Today, just like every other day, will be full of great surprises as well as a couple curve balls.. But we are ready!!
More pictures to come :)
Missing and praying for you all. Thanks for reading!!
The president of Experience Mission, along with a few other staff leaders, have taken time to be a part of the kick off to the very first immersion program! It has been an unbelievably thrilling start for everyone involved- we cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for us. It has also been a very humble beginning. In our American society, we have trained ourselves to be slaves of time. It is so easy to get caught up in where, what's next, and for how long that we miss out on what's right in front of us. Schedules constantly dictate how our minutes an hours should be run, but we have quickly learned that this trip will be far from that.
We originally planned on staying in a wonderfully generous mission family's home just west of Farmigton, New Mexico until the end of this week, but our plans rapidly changed when we heard of a remote community's need for a Vacation Bible School. Our team leader, Heather, along with EM staff member, Sarah, and president, Chris directed us to pack up our belongings so we could attend a Wednesday evening church service in a Navajo community..Bisiti. We were warmly welcomed, attended a beautiful time of worship an learning, then were fed with a feast made by these amazing people. (THE best green chile soup I have ever tasted). The service itself was spoken and sung in half English, half Navajo. After stuffing our faces, the pastor's wife, Rhonda, took us to a well a couple miles or so away from the church. Oh. My. Gosh. It was pretty much an all-natural hot tub. (If you have ever sat in the Combest hot tub, you know how hot we like it and this thing was definitely up to par). We came back to the church and spread ourselves out on cots to get a good nights sleep before yet another new adventure.
We have been learning to adapt to circumstances rather than making them adapt to us. It's quite the learning experience! Today, just like every other day, will be full of great surprises as well as a couple curve balls.. But we are ready!!
More pictures to come :)
Missing and praying for you all. Thanks for reading!!
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