More Durban

View of the Durban coastline. This is the Indian Ocean!

Downtown Durban. We went to the Mozambiquan embassy to get a Visa for our upcoming trip. It was very expensive but worth it!

Street vendors downtown Durban.

Kids at the daycare. We sang "Zacchaeus", "This Little Light of Mine", "Yes, Jesus Loves Me".

The kids at the daycare crowding around for me to tell them a Bible Story.

Durban

Tanya with one of the little guys.

The kids at the foster home. I told them to be crazy in this picture. =)

Treyson and Trystan, in order (I think-ha). I had so much fun with these guys while in Durban.

One of the vervet monkeys with it's baby. This was in the backyard at Mark and Tanya's. Doesn't the background look like Florida?

In the back of the bakkie with Troyden. He didn't want to get out!

On Saturday, Trevor, Marilyn and I loaded up the bakkie ("bucky", it means truck) and headed for Durban, where I stayed with Mark and Tanya Wilby, Trent's bro in law and sister. Mark is the Associate Pastor of Durban North Baptist Church. Durban is a gorgeous vacation spot. It reminds me a lot of Florida because of the plants, weather, and beaches - except that Durban is hilly.  From Mark and Tanya's apt. I could see the Indian Ocean. 

On the way down to Durban, I rode in the back of the bakkie, along with the suitcases, my guitar, etc. It wasn't too bad! I took a nice little nap and listened to my iPod. When we arrived and we started unloading the bakkie, Troyden wanted to get in the back with me. He is a cutie, I tell ya. 

Soon after we arrived, Mark called me into the kitchen... a troop of vervet monkeys were in the backyard! I ran and grabbed my camera; they were so cute! The babies latch on to the mom's tummy and go wherever she goes. We threw bread out to them, and they stuffed their faces. It was really neat. I hear that you can't be too friendly with them, though, because they come into your house sometimes and eat your food! 

While in Durban, I ministered at Durban North. I attended some Bible studies, sang and played the guitar at various events at the church, visited a foster home and a children's daycare that the church sponsors. The foster home was very touching. There were about 15 kids there, between the ages of 13 and 17. I played some games with them (elbow tag, the knot game, and a version of paper, rock, scissors), taught them some English worship songs, and shared the Bible story of Naaman with them.  They were great kids and very well behaved. I wish I could have spent more time with them.  On Friday night I went to the youth Bible Study and ministered to some of the young women there. That was fun; it made me miss the youth at Red Hills! They asked me lots of questions about America, and we laughed at each other's accents. One thing I've noticed is it doesn't matter where you are, when you are around fellow Christians, you feel at home. The people at Durban North were so welcoming; I felt comfortable there. 

On the first Sunday, I had an elderly man from the church come up and talk to me afterwards. He didn't have much of a voice because he had had throat cancer and his voice box had been removed. But Arthur was very sweet. He spoke encouraging words to me, telling me God brought me here for a reason and God wants to use me right here in Africa. It meant a lot to me. 

I was able to have some fun in Durban, too! I went out for coffee, went to the mall, walked along the uMhlanga (sp?) beach with Tanya and the kids and put my feet in the Indian Ocean. Also visited uShaka Marine World, where there is outdoor shopping, vendors, restaurants, an aquarium and theme park, and it's all along the beach. uShaka has large, old ship that sits along the shore that has restaurants inside. At the Shark Bar, we went in and looked at an aquarium that had large fish in it, even sharks! When we walked along the beach, we saw some sand sculptures that men had made. They come to the beach around 5 a.m. and start sculpting; some of the figures take 6 hours to make! Then the men wait around for tourists to pay them and take pictures by their artwork. I couldn't resist that. These men had put so much time and effort into these sculptures. 

I would have no trouble living in Durban =). It's a beautiful place and very much like home. I am glad that I was able to minister there. 

Pietermaritzburg

Standing under a giraffe at the Pietermaritzburg Museum. I didn't realize they are so tall! This sounds silly, but I was a little intimidated by the stuffed animals at the museum. The hippo was scary! It's mouth was open with all of its teeth showing! I have a vow to see a real giraffe before I leave South Africa.

Ladies carrying packages on their heads at the top of Howick Falls. This is normal life for them.

The view of Howick Falls. Can you see the man at the top left of the falls?

Troyden, Trent's nephew. He came over with parents Tanya and Mark the first day I was in Maritzburg. So sweet!

Marilyn with one of the twins. I think this is Trystan... =)

After we left Rookdale, I spent a week with Trevor and Marilyn Eayrs in Pietermaritzburg. "Maritzburg" is located in the province of Natal (pronounced "nuttell").  It was a week to relax after all of the hard work in Rookdale. I got to sleep in (yes!) and see a little of the countryside. Maritzburg is completely different than Joburg:  much greener, rolling hills, more spread out... in a way, it sort of reminded me of the hills of Scotland. It was a wonderful rest week, and I was blessed to spend time with Trevor and Marilyn, learn more about their experiences and ministry. I remember waking up one morning to the sound of the dogs barking their heads off. I didn't know what was going on, and Marilyn told me it was monkeys that were passing through. "Didn't you hear them on the roof?" she asked. I didn't hear them. I wish I would've gotten up, though! Apparently wild monkeys travel in troops in South Africa, and it's a normal thing for them to come right through your yard. They are vervet monkeys, and they are so cute! (I saw some later in Durban, I'll post pics of them).  

I purchased a book that has pictures of Scenic South Africa in it. I made a list of the things I want to see while here, and Howick Falls was right outside of Maritzburg, so Marilyn took me there. It was beautiful, and very high. We were standing on a lookout on one side of the falls, and across from us, right at the top of the falls, was a man - just standing there. I guess he was sun-bathing, but it looked like he was going to jump! Also, there were ladies carrying packages on their heads right by the waterfall. That was neat to see. My camera battery died while I was there, so I didn't get too many pictures. But the town of Howick is very cute with lots of shoppes and restaurants. We ate an old country house up on a hill that overlooked the falls. It was beautiful. We sat at a picnic table in the front yard of the old house, and there was a pasture next to us. In the pasture were zebra, cows, horses, donkeys, and pigs. The pigs came over to us, and they were so cute, we couldn't help but feed them. I know that sounds strange to say, but they were actually cute! 

Marilyn also took me to afternoon tea at some really neat places. We went to the botanical gardens in Natal, and a cute British house that had a beautiful garden in back. We visited the Pietermaritzburg Museum and saw history on the Zulu culture, Nelson Mandela, stuffed animals of Africa, and even an exhibit (strangely enough) on the Civil Rights Movement in America. 

It was a wonderful week, and I enjoyed the time of rest and fun.

Day at Royal Natal National Park

A weaver bird sitting by several nests on a tree branch.

Standing by the dam at the Royal Natal National Park.

View of the dam... it was a beautiful day.

Learning how to play cricket. I was bowling (pitching).

Me and Grant with our clay hippos that we bought for R 10. So cute!

Rookdale 4

Women carrying thatch on their heads; they are either selling it or taking it home for their roofs. It is very typical to see women in the bush, or even in the city, carrying heavy things on their heads. 

Trent as "Abraham" re-enacting the story of Abraham and Isaac. The kids were glued to him.

Kids crowded around me after a day at Kids Camp. They were asking me questions after I prayed with them.

Playing "sheep, sheep, goat" (duck, duck, goose) during Kids Camp. No matter how old they were, they loved this game!

L-R:  Miss Lena, pastor Thomas' wife (our interpreter), Lungi, and Grant delivering a food parcel with a school boy.

Rookdale 3

Singing Amazing Grace to the AIDS Clinic

Children praying at one of our morning assemblies. They will quote together The Lord's Prayer in English and in Zulu. It is absolutely beautiful.

Morning assembly at a Primary School.

The living/dining/recreation/entertainment/whatever room! (L-R: Pastor Peter, our interpreter, Lungi, Val, Pastor Thomas, Grant, and Tanya giving the thumbs up!

Pastor Trevor cooking us up a good meal on our gas stove.

Rookdale 2

In the bucky (truck) with some school children. We delivered food parcels to their homes and shared the gospel.

Rookdale Primary School children

Beautiful view of Rookdale as the sun is setting. Rookdale is located in the valley below the Drakensburg Mountains. We saw so many amazing scenes.

Children playing soccer. They make a soccer ball with saved plastic wrappers.

A home in Rookdale with a great view of the Drakensburg Mountains.

Rookdale

Our team, minus Grant.

Singing at Rookdale Baptist

Umfundisi (pastor) Thomas Hlongwane

Val outside the church

View on the way to Rookdale

More Week 1 pictures

Charmaine and "Mr. Jones"

Cadence - so cute!

The Ressells, the family I stayed with the first week.

The BU, Baptist Union, headquarters in Jo-burg

Week 1 Jo-burg

View from  the BU Headquarters

Downtown Pretoria

The jacaranda trees were blooming so beautifully!

Archie and Tony at Mulberry Madness

Weeks 2 and 3 - Rookdale

Just had an incredibly two weeks working with Maceonian Ministries in the "bush" of Rookdale. We weren't completely roughing it, although there were a lot of moderm amenities that we lacked. =) It was a great time, though. I worked with two different teams; the first week, I was with a team from Florida Baptist Church in Joburg, so I was the oddball American girl. =) The second week, I worked with a team from Wakefield Baptist Church in North Carolina. Both weeks we basically did the same things. In the morning, we would go to a primary school (elementary school) and the school would hold an assembly for us. The kids were so wonderful; they were respectful, well-behaved, and so sweet. They would sing to us songs in Zulu and English. I want you to imagine this: 200 African children singing all together, loudly, praise songs to God. That is very typical in the African culture. They would sing, "Higher, higher, lift Jesus higher. Lower, lower, stamp Satan lower." Another favorite of mine from the second week, "Siyahumba ego kanyengwen cosi (we are marching in the light of God). The songs are very fun, and have lots of echos and beautiful melodies. When the children finished singing, they would many times say in unison, "Good morning educators. Good morning classmates." Then we would give our shpiel. Trent (pastor of FBC and friend) and I would play guitar together, and we would all sing some gospel songs. Someone would share their testimony, then Trent or another pastor would share the gospel. It was wonderful. We never gave an invitation, because we were told not to, and because the children want the attention, so they will all raise their hand just to be included. However, we did invite them to our Kids Club in the afternoon, where many came and were ministered to.
Around 2 p.m. we would drive to Rookdale Primary School, a school we had chosen to work with specifically, and give another short assembly. Then the principal would call out the names of 6 children, and they would stay behind. These children were all from needy families, and most were affected in some way by AIDS. Many were AIDS orphans being raised by their older brother or sister or their grandparent. We would drive these children to their homes, three per car, and take a box of food into the home. We would always ask if it was okay if we came in, and the families would always welcome us. Usually the family would bring chairs out for us to sit on and they would sit on the floor. We would follow the same format as an assembly, accept it was much more personal since we were talking to few people. We would share a testimony, then someone would present the gospel. It was amazing; so many people came to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior! No matter what happened, though, we would always say a prayer for the family at the end, and they were always so grateful. It was such a blessing to meet these people. It was challenging at first to go into a stranger's home and tell them about Jesus, but by the end of the second week I was comfortable doing it.
In the afternoons we held our Kids Camp, where we would play games, sing songs, share a Bible story, make a craft, and give out candy. The kids had a blast! The kids in Rookdale don't have Physical Education, so they aren't familiar with typical games. I''ll tell you, they LOVED Dodgeball! We also played "Sheep, sheep, goat!" which is really, "Duck, duck, goose!" and "Simon says". They also loved action songs, like "Spring up o well" and "Father Abraham". They learned the sign languange to classic songs like "Yes, Jesus loves me" and "I have decided to follow Jesus." Not only did they learn these songs, but they remembered them! The Zulu people are an oral people, they learn and retain things that they hear. They are not like us, reading everything and then forgetting it after 5 minutes. =)
At night, we showed the Jesus film in Zulu. It took four nights to show the entire video. The church would show 40 minutes each night, with the final night showing Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. We played the video at Greenpoint Baptist the first week and Rookdale Baptist the second. It was really neat to watch; although we couldn't understand the language we knew what was happening because of what we could see. The entire church would be silent. Many of them had never seen a "filim" (film) before; even the kids were quiet. They loved the video, and understood the gospel message. On the final night we would share how to become a Christian, and ultimately had about 60 people over the two weeks accept Christ just from the Jesus film alone.
I was amazed at the simple faith of the people. They are so hungry to hear the Good News. They are already broken, they already know about sin, even if they don't know it's name. One house we went to, we told the lady we were Christians, and she said she knew nothing about Jesus, but she wanted to. After sharing with her, she accepted Christ! Amazing!
Another thing I noticed is that many people just want to be loved. The children were always a little scared at first, but after a while they would open up to you. I would hug on them, and at first they didn't know how to react, but after a few minutes they would be your best friend. One night at the Jesus film, two small girls (about 5 or 6) sat by me on the pew. They kept staring at me and smiling. I grabbed their hands, and they were so happy. They began "examining" me. They would trace their fingers along my arms and look at my freckles. They were absolutely amazed by my arm hair! (African people have hardly any hair on their arms or legs). They just wanted me to hug them and love them. It was so sweet.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. You are investing in Kingdom work, and let me tell you, it's awesome.
I am now in Pietermaritzburg, a town on the eastern coast of South Africa. I'm staying with Trevor and Marily Eayrs, founders of Macedonian Ministries. They are the ones who held everything together these past two weeks. I am staying with them for a week, then I'm off to Durban, another coastal town, to work with Durban North Baptist for a week. I'm not sure about what ministry I'll be doing there, but I will write as often as I can.
I can't post pictures for right now because I'm on a separate computer from my own. I know many of you are dying to see photos, and I will post them ASAP. It will probably be next week.
Unkulunkulu anibosise! (God bless you all!)