This is our last evening in Capetown, and we have had another full day. There is so much to experience and to process-it is rather overwhelming, for me, at least.
This morning we attended King of Kings Baptist Church (where John Thomas is the pastor) and also Masiphumelele Baptist. King of Kings is similar to our traditional evangelical suburban America church-a nice building, a worship team, a sound system, printed bulletins-along the same lines as BBC (just on a smaller scale). Then we went less than a mile away to Masi Baptist, which might as well be in a different world. (This is the building our construction team worked on all week.) The service is usually in Cosi (which I'm sure I am misspelling), but since we were there today, much of it was translated into English. No piano, no fancy offering plates, none of the "ordinary" things we never think twice about, but the people were so joyful. While these services were completely different from each other, the love of God and the desire to know Him know not the boundaries of race, socioeconomic status, language, anything. It was amazing. Sadly, we heard during the announcements that during the early hours of the morning this morning, a fire swept through one part of the Masi township destroying 200 homes and leaving more than 1000 people homeless. The shacks in Masi are so small and so close together that a fire can spread like, well, wildfire. We saw the site of the fire, and already people were clearing debris, salvaging anything worth keeping, and beginning to put up framing for new shacks made out of scrap lumber, tin roofing material, anything they could get their hands on. Amazingly, no injuries or deaths were reported at all.
Tomorrow morning most of us leave very early to fly back to Johannesburg. Two of our team have decided to stay here a couple more days to continue IT work at some of the Living Hope locations. The rest of us will fly to Jo-burg to spend a couple of days at one of the game parks before we depart for the States on Thursday and arrive home on Friday.
On behalf of our entire team, I covet your prayers for us as we sort through and process everything we have seen and heard and felt and experienced while we have been here. So much has happened this week that doesn't fit into any existing frame of reference in my mind, and I'm not yet sure how to deal with it all. When we return, I will go back to my same job, my same house, my same life, and yet I am not the same as I was when we left. I think God has worked in each of our hearts in incredible ways this week (and will continue to even as we leave tomorrow), and we want to take the hope and joy and love we've experienced here with us, whatever that may end up looking like. I don't know.
We have thought much about Bill and Creely Wilson over the past few days. While our hearts are so burdened by his death, we are thankful to be living out the vision and legacy he began at BBC. (For those of you who don't know him, Bill was the former senior pastor of BBC and then was the first missions minister, I believe, and he passed away this week.)
So thank you for your love and prayers and support and emails while we have been here, and, as I mentioned, please continue it--just because we are leaving here tomorrow, I think the journey for each of us is far from over---
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Friday, October 06, 2006
Friday
Our trip is half over here in South Africa-can't believe it.
It has been a long but rewarding couple of days for the team. The construction team has had their hands full at Masiphumelele Baptist Church, and the work is almost completed. Thanks to the team, the church has a new ceiling, new fascia boards, gutters, and downspouts outside, new flooring for storage, and a new fence (well, most of a new fence.) Also, the entire inside (walls and ceiling) has been newly painted, the windows washed inside and out, and the curtains washed and re-hung. We still lack a second coat of paint and to re-install light fixtures, but I think the construction team has earned their keep this week.
The nursing team had the opportunity yesterday to participate in support groups run by Living Hope in the Masi neighborhood. The people have so many questions about health and medical services, and Carol and Kate were warmly welcomed by people so curious for answers.
I don't think I've mentioned our IT team here with us this week. It is a very capable team of one--Bobby Stewart--who is working to install telecommunications cabling at several of the Living Hope locations around town. He has spent much of the week working out logistics at the Muizenberg location and getting cables run. Besides needing reliable Internet access, the various community centers need local networking among each other, and (to the best of my IT understanding) this is what Bobby is working on.
Tonight we had dinner with several teachers and life counselors who work with Living Hope, along with John and Avril Thomas. It is amazing to talk to these people who, in the midst of such need and pain, find ways to bring help, hope, and joy to the people they serve. I talked to John specifically about helping people who have no concept of life outside their shack or the poverty their family has lived in for generations, and he said the key is to give people hope, to let them know that they have value as a child of God, and that their life is worth so much more than even they realize. Give them something to hope for, to aspire to, a reason to try to better their situation. And it works. It happens. In one week's time, that is what I've seen Living Hope doing in so many ways and for so many people, one person at a time.
Tomorrow we are off to do some sight-seeing around Capetown and be tourists. It will be a nice respite from a week of hard, often labor-intensive work. Please continue to pray for us.
It has been a long but rewarding couple of days for the team. The construction team has had their hands full at Masiphumelele Baptist Church, and the work is almost completed. Thanks to the team, the church has a new ceiling, new fascia boards, gutters, and downspouts outside, new flooring for storage, and a new fence (well, most of a new fence.) Also, the entire inside (walls and ceiling) has been newly painted, the windows washed inside and out, and the curtains washed and re-hung. We still lack a second coat of paint and to re-install light fixtures, but I think the construction team has earned their keep this week.
The nursing team had the opportunity yesterday to participate in support groups run by Living Hope in the Masi neighborhood. The people have so many questions about health and medical services, and Carol and Kate were warmly welcomed by people so curious for answers.
I don't think I've mentioned our IT team here with us this week. It is a very capable team of one--Bobby Stewart--who is working to install telecommunications cabling at several of the Living Hope locations around town. He has spent much of the week working out logistics at the Muizenberg location and getting cables run. Besides needing reliable Internet access, the various community centers need local networking among each other, and (to the best of my IT understanding) this is what Bobby is working on.
Tonight we had dinner with several teachers and life counselors who work with Living Hope, along with John and Avril Thomas. It is amazing to talk to these people who, in the midst of such need and pain, find ways to bring help, hope, and joy to the people they serve. I talked to John specifically about helping people who have no concept of life outside their shack or the poverty their family has lived in for generations, and he said the key is to give people hope, to let them know that they have value as a child of God, and that their life is worth so much more than even they realize. Give them something to hope for, to aspire to, a reason to try to better their situation. And it works. It happens. In one week's time, that is what I've seen Living Hope doing in so many ways and for so many people, one person at a time.
Tomorrow we are off to do some sight-seeing around Capetown and be tourists. It will be a nice respite from a week of hard, often labor-intensive work. Please continue to pray for us.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Wednesday
Good morning, everyone. It's Thursday morning here, and we had another wonderful day yesterday. The longer we are here, the more need we see.
Yesterday morning, the nurses made housecalls at the Masimphumelele township, which is very different from OceanView, where we were on Tuesday. Instead of making housecalls, one of our team members, Carol, was asked to stay behind at the clinic itself and see patients, as the nurse who was supposed to be seeing patients is trying to do 3 or 4 people's jobs right now and is unbelievably overloaded. Carol said the morning was heartbreaking. Serious injuries, sick children, very few medications and supplies, not nearly enough staff, the list goes on and on. The needs are so great.
The kids club team had quite an afternoon at Capricorn. Capricorn is one of the most underserved areas in Capetown-no schools, no community center, no programming, no anything. Ashley Lovell has been working in this neighborhood for months now to establish relationships with the children, many of whom are addicted to drugs and/or involved with a gang by the time they are 12 or even earlier. Anyway, Living Hope (the organization we are involved with) held the first-ever Kids Club there yesterday, and we had no idea what to expect, so we had all hands on deck, just in case, and we're glad we did. We ended up with over 150 kids, meeting outdoors in a field to talk about how your body is a temple and how to take care of it inside and outside. The kids were amazing--they are so in need of love, physical contact, affection, anything that shows them that someone cares about them. Before we gave the kids a snack, we had them wash their hands. Because there is no water, we had gotten a big tub of water for the kids to come wash their hands in, and then one of our team memebers, Mike, was waiting with a big bath towel to dry their hands. You should have seen the looks on the faces of these kids--being served by someone else, even if it was as simple as drying their hands. Mike said it was one of the most moving experiences of his life.
We have each seen more need and more hurt in 4 days than many people will ever see in a lifetime. Please pray for us as we process what we are seeing and love these people who need it so badly.
Yesterday morning, the nurses made housecalls at the Masimphumelele township, which is very different from OceanView, where we were on Tuesday. Instead of making housecalls, one of our team members, Carol, was asked to stay behind at the clinic itself and see patients, as the nurse who was supposed to be seeing patients is trying to do 3 or 4 people's jobs right now and is unbelievably overloaded. Carol said the morning was heartbreaking. Serious injuries, sick children, very few medications and supplies, not nearly enough staff, the list goes on and on. The needs are so great.
The kids club team had quite an afternoon at Capricorn. Capricorn is one of the most underserved areas in Capetown-no schools, no community center, no programming, no anything. Ashley Lovell has been working in this neighborhood for months now to establish relationships with the children, many of whom are addicted to drugs and/or involved with a gang by the time they are 12 or even earlier. Anyway, Living Hope (the organization we are involved with) held the first-ever Kids Club there yesterday, and we had no idea what to expect, so we had all hands on deck, just in case, and we're glad we did. We ended up with over 150 kids, meeting outdoors in a field to talk about how your body is a temple and how to take care of it inside and outside. The kids were amazing--they are so in need of love, physical contact, affection, anything that shows them that someone cares about them. Before we gave the kids a snack, we had them wash their hands. Because there is no water, we had gotten a big tub of water for the kids to come wash their hands in, and then one of our team memebers, Mike, was waiting with a big bath towel to dry their hands. You should have seen the looks on the faces of these kids--being served by someone else, even if it was as simple as drying their hands. Mike said it was one of the most moving experiences of his life.
We have each seen more need and more hurt in 4 days than many people will ever see in a lifetime. Please pray for us as we process what we are seeing and love these people who need it so badly.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Tuesday
Hello, All-greetings from beautiful Capetown. Tuesday was again an adventure for us all, and the team got to see so many interesting things.
The nursing team was able to go with community nurses to make house-calls, which was eye-opening, to say the least. I went with 2 nurses to about 10 houses-most of the patients are elderly, home-bound, and bed-ridden. Many have diabetes, high blood pressure, pressure sores-same stuff we have, but then throw in tuberculosis and/or HIV and minimal access to healthcare resources, and the problems become even more complicated. But the people are so gracious and grateful for anything the nurses can do. Just as we were about to leave the first house, the woman asked (in very broken English) if the American would pray for her, as if somehow because I am white, my prayers are more effective or something. Very interesting--
The construction team is making great headway on the Masi Baptist Church project-more to come on that.
The kids club team spent yesterday afternoon at the Red Hill township, which is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Capetown. From what we saw, there is no running water, electricity, plumbing, etc. People live in shacks they've built out of cardboard or wood scraps or sheets of tin roofing material that are maybe 12x12' with 10 or more people living in them. We worked with about 30 kids from 3 to 11 years old, very few of whom spoke English, but there was no mistaking the love they felt towards us. As we pulled up in our mini-van, little kids came running up to us and couldn't wait to be picked up, hugged, sit on our laps, anything, any kind of contact at all. We couldn't understand much of what they said, but we had a great time making crafts, singing songs, eating snacks, and just loving on them. Our team leader, Leigh Ann Cates had brought her digital camera and a very small photo printer with her. We took pictures of each child and then printed the photographs and gave each child his picture. It was amazing to see their reactions; many had never seen a picture of themselves, so this was huge for them! Also, there are 3 of us who have long blonde hair, and the kids are so funny about it. For a while, I just sat down in a chair while kids would come up behind me and mess with my hair-it is so foreign to them. Wednesday will be kids club at the Capricorn location-we are expecting around 100 kids. Please pray for this.
If I could sum up what I've seen so far, it's this: there is such a marked disparity between those who have and those who have not. From the time I was a little kid, I have heard the verse that says to whom much is given, much is required. I thought I knew what that meant all along, but I didn't have a clue...please continue to pray for us and the people we are with.
The nursing team was able to go with community nurses to make house-calls, which was eye-opening, to say the least. I went with 2 nurses to about 10 houses-most of the patients are elderly, home-bound, and bed-ridden. Many have diabetes, high blood pressure, pressure sores-same stuff we have, but then throw in tuberculosis and/or HIV and minimal access to healthcare resources, and the problems become even more complicated. But the people are so gracious and grateful for anything the nurses can do. Just as we were about to leave the first house, the woman asked (in very broken English) if the American would pray for her, as if somehow because I am white, my prayers are more effective or something. Very interesting--
The construction team is making great headway on the Masi Baptist Church project-more to come on that.
The kids club team spent yesterday afternoon at the Red Hill township, which is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Capetown. From what we saw, there is no running water, electricity, plumbing, etc. People live in shacks they've built out of cardboard or wood scraps or sheets of tin roofing material that are maybe 12x12' with 10 or more people living in them. We worked with about 30 kids from 3 to 11 years old, very few of whom spoke English, but there was no mistaking the love they felt towards us. As we pulled up in our mini-van, little kids came running up to us and couldn't wait to be picked up, hugged, sit on our laps, anything, any kind of contact at all. We couldn't understand much of what they said, but we had a great time making crafts, singing songs, eating snacks, and just loving on them. Our team leader, Leigh Ann Cates had brought her digital camera and a very small photo printer with her. We took pictures of each child and then printed the photographs and gave each child his picture. It was amazing to see their reactions; many had never seen a picture of themselves, so this was huge for them! Also, there are 3 of us who have long blonde hair, and the kids are so funny about it. For a while, I just sat down in a chair while kids would come up behind me and mess with my hair-it is so foreign to them. Wednesday will be kids club at the Capricorn location-we are expecting around 100 kids. Please pray for this.
If I could sum up what I've seen so far, it's this: there is such a marked disparity between those who have and those who have not. From the time I was a little kid, I have heard the verse that says to whom much is given, much is required. I thought I knew what that meant all along, but I didn't have a clue...please continue to pray for us and the people we are with.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Monday
It was another great day for us here in Capetown and another lesson for our team in flexibility. Our group of 14 or 15 is subdivided into 4 smaller groups: a construction team, a medical team, a crafts team, and a team working with kids in after-school clubs.
The construction team is working at the Masiphumelele Baptist Church doing several projects: building a ceiling, painting walls and the aforementioned ceiling, tearing out and rebuilding a fence and whatever else they can get to in the time we have. No casualties so far, although one team member spent some time dangling from the rafters today when the scaffolding he was working from gave way, leaving him swinging in mid-air.
The medical team spent time this morning in the Living Hope Hospice and will be going out the next few days into the communities with local "carers" who make house-calls to the patients. HIV is so prevalent here, and resources are available to many, but the social stigma associated with having HIV keeps many from seeking out help. It is a sad situation with so many in need and no easy answers.
The crafts team will really get geared up tomorrow working with ladies who are HIV-positive and attend support groups at Living Hope Centre. The women make hand-made crafts that they then sell to make money for themselves and for Living Hope. More about that tomorrow-
The kids club group has their hands full! Today they worked with about 30 kids ranging in age from 5 to 13 in the OceanView township. We're talking to the kids this week about taking care of your body, being clean and hygienic, eating right, keeping your heart clean as Jesus commanded us, and sexual purity (with respect to preventing the spread of HIV). There is so much these kids need and need to know, and it's hard to know where to start and how to talk about it, especially with such potentially sensitive subjects and such a wide age range.
The weather continues to be beautiful and we are all having a great time. Our team is comprised of very different people with different personalities and such different backgrounds--it is great to just spend time together and hear everyone's stories. Needless to say, there has not been a silent moment since we arrived, and I've never laughed so hard in my life.
Oh, and we ate dinner last night while watching yesterday's 11 o'clock service on our laptops via the live video-streaming. (We are 7 hours ahead of Brentwood, so our dinnertime was exactly as the service was starting.) Pretty cool to be halfway around the world and still attend our very own church service. We even passed the offering plate. Somebody can tell Mike the check's in the mail.
Thanks for your love and prayers-
The construction team is working at the Masiphumelele Baptist Church doing several projects: building a ceiling, painting walls and the aforementioned ceiling, tearing out and rebuilding a fence and whatever else they can get to in the time we have. No casualties so far, although one team member spent some time dangling from the rafters today when the scaffolding he was working from gave way, leaving him swinging in mid-air.
The medical team spent time this morning in the Living Hope Hospice and will be going out the next few days into the communities with local "carers" who make house-calls to the patients. HIV is so prevalent here, and resources are available to many, but the social stigma associated with having HIV keeps many from seeking out help. It is a sad situation with so many in need and no easy answers.
The crafts team will really get geared up tomorrow working with ladies who are HIV-positive and attend support groups at Living Hope Centre. The women make hand-made crafts that they then sell to make money for themselves and for Living Hope. More about that tomorrow-
The kids club group has their hands full! Today they worked with about 30 kids ranging in age from 5 to 13 in the OceanView township. We're talking to the kids this week about taking care of your body, being clean and hygienic, eating right, keeping your heart clean as Jesus commanded us, and sexual purity (with respect to preventing the spread of HIV). There is so much these kids need and need to know, and it's hard to know where to start and how to talk about it, especially with such potentially sensitive subjects and such a wide age range.
The weather continues to be beautiful and we are all having a great time. Our team is comprised of very different people with different personalities and such different backgrounds--it is great to just spend time together and hear everyone's stories. Needless to say, there has not been a silent moment since we arrived, and I've never laughed so hard in my life.
Oh, and we ate dinner last night while watching yesterday's 11 o'clock service on our laptops via the live video-streaming. (We are 7 hours ahead of Brentwood, so our dinnertime was exactly as the service was starting.) Pretty cool to be halfway around the world and still attend our very own church service. We even passed the offering plate. Somebody can tell Mike the check's in the mail.
Thanks for your love and prayers-
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Sunday, October 1st
Hello, Family and Friends-
We have arrived safely at Capetown (tired and rumpled, but safe) and are enjoying our first day here. After having missed our connecting flight in Johannesburg yesterday and then being delayed and split up on different planes, we finally made it to the Team House where we are staying for dinner, a quick devotion, and much-needed rest!
This morning we celebrated with over 400 people John Thomas' 50th birthday. John is the pastor of Fish Hoek Baptist Church here in Capetown and the Executive Director of the Living Hope Centre where most of us will be working over the next 9 days. While John was away preaching at Fish Hoek this morning, we set up tables and chairs for 500, prepared and set out lunch, and decorated the school where the celebration was being held. After morning services were over, people began to arrive--many from John's church, many from the Masiphumulele township, some who've worked with John in the Christian radio industry here in South Africa, his friends, and family. Many of these people spoke briefly (or not so briefly) about their relationship with John and his work and ministry in and around Capetown. It is amazing to see everyone socializing together-white, black, and colored-given the politicial/racial struggles of the not-so-distant past. Clearly many of those present today came from very different backgrounds with respect to race, financial status, education level, religion, but they were all there in support of John and his efforts. Very cool. After the party, we cleaned up, washed dishes, broke down tables, and washed more dishes. We had arrived around 8am and left shortly after 4pm, so it was quite an all-day event.
I think this week will be a lesson for each of us in flexibility. We have wonderful plans for what we hope to accomplish and what needs to be done, we'll just have to take it one day at a time, fully expecting that our plans will change as we go.
Thank you for your prayers and support while we are here.
We have arrived safely at Capetown (tired and rumpled, but safe) and are enjoying our first day here. After having missed our connecting flight in Johannesburg yesterday and then being delayed and split up on different planes, we finally made it to the Team House where we are staying for dinner, a quick devotion, and much-needed rest!
This morning we celebrated with over 400 people John Thomas' 50th birthday. John is the pastor of Fish Hoek Baptist Church here in Capetown and the Executive Director of the Living Hope Centre where most of us will be working over the next 9 days. While John was away preaching at Fish Hoek this morning, we set up tables and chairs for 500, prepared and set out lunch, and decorated the school where the celebration was being held. After morning services were over, people began to arrive--many from John's church, many from the Masiphumulele township, some who've worked with John in the Christian radio industry here in South Africa, his friends, and family. Many of these people spoke briefly (or not so briefly) about their relationship with John and his work and ministry in and around Capetown. It is amazing to see everyone socializing together-white, black, and colored-given the politicial/racial struggles of the not-so-distant past. Clearly many of those present today came from very different backgrounds with respect to race, financial status, education level, religion, but they were all there in support of John and his efforts. Very cool. After the party, we cleaned up, washed dishes, broke down tables, and washed more dishes. We had arrived around 8am and left shortly after 4pm, so it was quite an all-day event.
I think this week will be a lesson for each of us in flexibility. We have wonderful plans for what we hope to accomplish and what needs to be done, we'll just have to take it one day at a time, fully expecting that our plans will change as we go.
Thank you for your prayers and support while we are here.
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