Our team, minus Grant.
Singing at Rookdale Baptist
Umfundisi (pastor) Thomas Hlongwane
Val outside the church
View on the way to Rookdale
Monday, November 17, 2008
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!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
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!)
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!)
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Safely arrived
I'm here! I arrived last Thursday, 10/16 around 4:30 p.m. after a total of 17 hours on a plane! It wasn't too bad, though. So I've been here exactly a week today and I'm enjoying it so much. I haven't been able to get online until today, and there's so much to write, but I'll do my best to include all of of the details for all of you.
The first week has gone by so fast. I am currently staying in Jo-berg (that's Johannesburg for short) with a family, the Ressells. They have been wonderful. They have 3 kids, all under 4, and I've been learning so much about South African culture, religion, even politics by staying with them. I attended Florida Baptist Church on Sunday, which is the main church I'm working with that has organized my trip. They introduced me at the end of the service and had me explain how God led me to be here. Then they prayed for me; it was awesome. Monday I went on a hike in Mountain Sanctuary Park. It was beautiful, very similar to Utah landscaping, with huge gorges and rocks that we bouldered up. I got some great pictures which I will try to post later. The rest of the week I have been working on details for a trip I'm taking with Florida Baptist this coming weeked to a town called Bergville. We are doing a Bible "camp" for the kids there, most of do not speak English and have never used a crayon or scissors. In the evenings we are doing a revival and I'm helping with the music portion (playing guitar and singing while Trent, the pastor, plays the djembe and sings as well). When we are not doing the kids camps or the revival we are going to visit people in the village door to door and share the gospel with them. I'm very excited!
I'll share with you some things about Johannesburg and what I've learned so far: Most everyone speaks English and Afrikaans, as well as bits of different African tribal languages, like Zulu or Xhosa (pronounced with a click where the X is). I have learned several phrases, like Sao bona (hello) and Jesu oingitanda (Jesus loves you) in Zulu. Everyone here thinks I have an accent, which is cool. Some people have trouble understanding me, but it's mostly the other way around. =) Jo-burg is a very mixed with the extremely rich and the extremely poor. There are dozens of men who sit on the street corners with their tools, just waiting for work to come their way. There is a lot of crime, so everyone has a gate in front of their house and an iron gate-type door outside the front door as well. You have to unlock them everytime you go in or out. Even the church has gates. There is a car guard whenever you park your car that watches it to make sure nothing happens, and you tip him when you come back. But everyone I've encountered has been very friendly.
Prayer requests: Please pray for the team that is going to Bergville this coming weekend. Pray that there will be team unity, health, safety, and that God's will is done in the lives of the people there. Pray that we rely on His Spirit and be willing to do whatever is required while we are there. Also, pray for me as I stay on after the Florida Baptist team leaves. There is an American team from a church in North Carolina that is coming at the end of the first week, and I will work with them the following 10 days afterwards. Pray that I will be able to adjust and work well with them, and that I will be used during that time as well. Please also pray for a girl named Elisma who I met last Saturday; we visited her in the hospital. She only has one kidney and it has failed, now she is in line for a kidney transplant, which is very hard to come by. Other people in the hospital have been waiting 10 and 12 years for a transplant. Thank you so much for your prayers! I will give another update as soon as I can (probably in another 3 weeks since I will be far from a computer while I am in Bergville).
The first week has gone by so fast. I am currently staying in Jo-berg (that's Johannesburg for short) with a family, the Ressells. They have been wonderful. They have 3 kids, all under 4, and I've been learning so much about South African culture, religion, even politics by staying with them. I attended Florida Baptist Church on Sunday, which is the main church I'm working with that has organized my trip. They introduced me at the end of the service and had me explain how God led me to be here. Then they prayed for me; it was awesome. Monday I went on a hike in Mountain Sanctuary Park. It was beautiful, very similar to Utah landscaping, with huge gorges and rocks that we bouldered up. I got some great pictures which I will try to post later. The rest of the week I have been working on details for a trip I'm taking with Florida Baptist this coming weeked to a town called Bergville. We are doing a Bible "camp" for the kids there, most of do not speak English and have never used a crayon or scissors. In the evenings we are doing a revival and I'm helping with the music portion (playing guitar and singing while Trent, the pastor, plays the djembe and sings as well). When we are not doing the kids camps or the revival we are going to visit people in the village door to door and share the gospel with them. I'm very excited!
I'll share with you some things about Johannesburg and what I've learned so far: Most everyone speaks English and Afrikaans, as well as bits of different African tribal languages, like Zulu or Xhosa (pronounced with a click where the X is). I have learned several phrases, like Sao bona (hello) and Jesu oingitanda (Jesus loves you) in Zulu. Everyone here thinks I have an accent, which is cool. Some people have trouble understanding me, but it's mostly the other way around. =) Jo-burg is a very mixed with the extremely rich and the extremely poor. There are dozens of men who sit on the street corners with their tools, just waiting for work to come their way. There is a lot of crime, so everyone has a gate in front of their house and an iron gate-type door outside the front door as well. You have to unlock them everytime you go in or out. Even the church has gates. There is a car guard whenever you park your car that watches it to make sure nothing happens, and you tip him when you come back. But everyone I've encountered has been very friendly.
Prayer requests: Please pray for the team that is going to Bergville this coming weekend. Pray that there will be team unity, health, safety, and that God's will is done in the lives of the people there. Pray that we rely on His Spirit and be willing to do whatever is required while we are there. Also, pray for me as I stay on after the Florida Baptist team leaves. There is an American team from a church in North Carolina that is coming at the end of the first week, and I will work with them the following 10 days afterwards. Pray that I will be able to adjust and work well with them, and that I will be used during that time as well. Please also pray for a girl named Elisma who I met last Saturday; we visited her in the hospital. She only has one kidney and it has failed, now she is in line for a kidney transplant, which is very hard to come by. Other people in the hospital have been waiting 10 and 12 years for a transplant. Thank you so much for your prayers! I will give another update as soon as I can (probably in another 3 weeks since I will be far from a computer while I am in Bergville).
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
13 hours till the journey begins
In 13 hours I'll be on a plane headed for Johannesburg, South Africa. I can't believe the time is finally here! I have no idea what to expect; I'm excited and scared, and ready to just be there, although once I'm there I'm sure I'll have all sorts of emotions going on. God knows every little detail, though, and He's shown me time and again this is what He wants, so I know I'm in the best hands and I have nothing to worry about.
Once I arrive in Jo-burg I'll spend a few days getting back to normal - South Africa is 6 hours ahead of Florida time - 8 hours ahead of Utah time, so I'll need some time to recoup after the 21 hour flight (yikes!). The first week I'll be helping to coordinate final details for a trip with Florida Baptist Church. The trip will include members from FBC (the church I'm working with in Johannesburg) and also a team from Wakefield Baptist Church in North Carolina that is flying over to help. We will leave Saturday October 25 for a town between Jo-burg and Durban (can't remember the name right now). Once there, we'll provide kids activities, a tent revival, show the Jesus film, and minister to people there. I'm excited about this trip - I want to get my hands dirty!
There is so much going on in my head right now and I'm not sure what all I should write. I know this is the beginning of an awesome journey and that God is going to teach me so much. I can't wait to see what happens! I will write again when I arrive and let you know how the flight went, etc.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Please pray for me that I can stay calm and not worry about anything that might happen while I'm gone. Also pray that I do not get sick while I'm in South Africa. Please also pray for the people I'll be working with, that their hearts will be open to hearing and receiving the gospel, and that God's will is done in everything that we do. Please also pray that I will have a boldness to share the truth with those around me, whether it is through words or music, or anything else that I might do. I also want to be able to get to know the people, the culture, the country so that I can minister to them better. A praise: God helped me today to figure out a financial problem that I had with my bank account and accessing the money in South Africa. He not only helped it to work out, but provided a large benefit through the answer - thank you LORD! Thank you all for praying for me. That is the most important part of my trip!
The next time I write I'll be in South Africa!!
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