People are my FAVORITE!! I love meeting new people- hearing their stories, laughing with them, encountering their culture, sharing in their journey, and praying for them. God has been so good to allow me to cross paths with a lot of people that have shown me more of WHO HE IS. He’s done this in a big way through the children of CT. They have quickly wiggled their barefeet into my heart…and one precious little girl in particular…
I’ve mentioned 4 year old Robin before and I want to update you on what God has been doing in her family. I haven’t been able to visit her or see her as much as I would have liked, but I hope to remedy that in the last couple of weeks that I have here in CT.
Robin lives in a township called Capricorn with her mother Rosalyn and her baby brother JC. There have been some recent changes her family situation, which have brought a little more safety in the home, but also more hardship because Rosalyn has been left with no financial resources to buy the necessities that her family needs (food, etc). I was chatting with a LH Life Skill Educator about their situation, when he told me that Rosalyn had just recently prayed to receive Christ!!! Isn’t that amazing!! And he has committed himself to helping the family grow in the Lord.
When I heard this wonderful news, I e-mailed my aunt in Murfreesburo, TN to let her know because she and her Sunday school class have been praying for this family each week. She replied to tell me that they had been diligently praying that someone in the house would become a believer!!! WOW! “The prayer of a righteous man is POWERFUL and EFFECTIVE.” James 5:16
This week I got to go back to visit Robin and Rosalyn. They had only met me one other time but remembered my name and hugged me like we were long lost friends. This definitely made my day! I had the opportunity to hold sweet Robin in my arms and pray for them in their home. As I was leaving, I asked Rosalyn how I could specifically pray for her, and her answer ROCKED MY WORLD…”Pray that I would grow spiritually…I don’t ask for material things, because I know I can’t take them HOME with me.” Ok, this simple prayer comes from a new believer (maybe 3 weeks), she has no income, barely any food for her family, lives in a crime and drug filled community, and lives in a 2 room shanty with a dirt floor and one bed. I hope her words echo in my mind (AND YOUR MIND) forever.
After I visited that day, I made up my mind to visit once a week before I leave. And also that I’d try to get Robin to come to the daily kid’s club that Living Hope runs in her community. This would be a positive place and support system to connect the family with…but once again, God was way ahead of me…
Yesterday afternoon Zana,, Natalie and I went out to Capricorn kids club and as I walked up I heard someone yell my name. It was Rosalyn…there she was with Robin, JC, and her oldest daughter Geraldine! Robin latched on to me quickly and we had the best time playing and being silly. So, God had already been working to connect them with Living Hope, YAY!!!!!!
May God use the kid’s club program to bring Christ’s HOPE and LIGHT into the life of this precious family.
What a blessing that God has been so good to let me be able to meet Rosalyn and Robin during my time here in South Africa. How great to get be a part of their lives, to share their story with you, and for us all to pray and watch God work. PRAY HARD FOR THEM…HE IS ANSWERING!!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Back from Zim...
If you ever have the chance to go on a trip to Zimbabwe, you definitely need to do it...I may not be full of much good advice, but trust me...this is the truth!!
Monday night I returned from a long-weekend trip to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. There were 8 of us...Zana, Natalie, Bethany and Drew (a couple from Greenfield, TN- friends of Nat's), Mike (our friend from Zim who made all of the trip arrangements...and our tour guide), Carl (a friend of Mike's), and Kate (a friend of ours from Chicago, met her in CT, she is now in Malawi). Anyway, this was our small army!
We arrived on Thursday afternoon to find our accomodation to have one of the most amazing views you could ever find...the Zambezi River!! That afternoon we looked out to find about 5 hippos in the river, and elephant on the other side of the riverbank, and a crocodile. And this was only the beginning of our raw encounters with African wildlife. There are warthogs, baboons, monkeys and mongoose all over the place- in our trash kind of like racoons or possums. One of the monkeys found his way into our cabin and the powdered milk. He definitely had a milk mustache!
Watching the sunrise and sunset in Zim was amazing...probably a highlight of the trip for me. A couple of mornings I woke up early to go watch the sunrise over the Zambezi...kind of surreal!! (It's funny because when I watch an African sunrise or sunset, I get really excited about watching these things in Tennessee!! So if you know of the best spots in Nash to watch the sunrise or set...let me know :)
It would take me about an hour to tell you all about our weekend, so I'll just hit the highlights!! The first morning, we rafted down the Zambezi River- and let me just tell you, the Zambezi and the Ocoee...NOT THE SAME!! I'll have to admit that I was a tiny bit nervous about this because Mike and Carl were trying to freak us out about crocodiles and anything else they could think of. I just decided that as long as I could just stay inside the raft, I'd be fine :) So, we hiked down into this huge gorge to where the river was...this was a completely straight down hike...praise God that I'm not afraid of heights. I would have passed out and rolled down into the river, and that have been it for me.
Anyway, we got on the river with our guide Kossam. Kossam was one big muscle...probably no body fat at all cause all he does is raft down one of the most powerful rivers in the world. He made the trip so much fun, and he really knew what he was doing. He yelled out instructions to us like "Forward," "Back Right," and my personal favorite, "GET DOWN!!!" Translation- get down and hold on for dear life!! One time I didn't hear him yell it and I was paddling my little heart out then looked around to find that I was the only one still up...needless to say, I moved pretty quickly to get myself down!!
Remember how I said that as long as I could just stay in the boat I'd feel fine?? Well, famous last words...on rapid #8 (out of 23) our boat flipped over and we all found ourselves swimming in the middle of class 4 rapid!! Crazy right??
Again I should remind you that this is not the Ocoee! It was a little scary for a moment...I came up several times to grab a breath only to have another wave knock me in the face again. I'm pretty sure that I swallowed a good bit of Zambezi!!
So the raft ride was quite an adventure, I loved it!! The most interesting part of the day though occured after we got off the river...remember how we had to hike down into the gorge?? Well, that means that you have to hike OUT, right?? After we had been in the sun on the river we had to hike out a half mile STRAIGHT UP...do you hear me?? STRAIGHT UP!! So here I am with a wet life jacket, a helmet and a paddle climbing straight up!! As they say in South Africa, it was a HECTIC climb!!!
The next day we went to see Victoria Falls which is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The falls are about 1 mile wide and 130 meters deep. It stretches between Zimbabwe and Zambia. The power of the water is so great that the spray from the falls can be seen from miles away...it looks like smoke over the trees. They call it the Thundering Smoke. When you get to certain parts of the falls the spray from it is so great that you get drenched!! It was like standing in the middle of a rainstorm!!
My thoughts as I looked at Vic Falls...it's probably the most powerful force of nature that I've ever seen! And with all it's power, it is nothing in comparison to the power of God!! That's hard for me to wrap my mind around. And for all the beauty that I saw in Zim and have seen in SA- the natural beauty of the ocean, the mountains, the sunset- God is infinitely more beautiful!! And the vastness of the ocean and the African sky...God is bigger!! And all of this points to how pea sized our human brains are because we can't even comprehend how BIG, BEAUTIFUL, and POWERFUL that He is!! And all of this beauty that I've seen here shows not only how much God loves us and delights to show us good and beautiful things, but the natural world points to Him and declares His glory...He doesn't NEED humans to show the world His glory and worth, because nature does this without words, singing, and all the other stuff we do (ok, not saying that we aren't responsible to declare His glory and worth, just that He'll get His glory despite what humans do, make sense?)
Here in Africa, my eyes have been opened to so much of God's beauty through nature. I'm sure I'll miss all the beauty at my doorstep here, but I am so excited to come back to Tennessee and see how God manifests Himself through nature there!! God is just as present through nature in Nashville as He is in Africa. I'm not sure why I have not been too aware of this until now, but I can't wait to get home and see things with new eyes!!
The people of Zim were absolutely beautiful--on the inside and out! All that we encountered were cheerful and welcoming with the biggest smiles you've ever seen. They seemed genuinely excited to have us in their country, and are resiliant people- they face daily challenges with grace and joy.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, things are very hard for the people of Zimbabwe. There are often shortages of food, power, and about everything else. Gas cannot be purchased in the country, so people must make a plan to get it from somewhere else. Inflation is so high that 1 US dollar is equivalent to 1 million Zim dollars, and the value of the Zim dollar is decreasing rapidly. Banks are not good places to keep money or withdraw because they will give a different exchange rates than the "black market"- so people often have to come up with an alternative way to get cash. Bread and milk are almost impossible to find in the country (we brought in most of our food). We ate a 2 resteraunts and each time the waiter told us that out of all the selections on the menu, there were only 2-3 options that we could order (because of short food supply). We ordered 7 bottles of water at one resteraunt and he came back with only 4 (that's all they had), so we split 4 bottles between 7 people.
These are just a few small things to give you a little insight into what's going on in Zimbabwe. I learned so much more about this whole situation- what's created the problems, etc- over this weekend. Pray for the country of Zim- that God would strengthen the believers, bring people to a saving knowledge of Him, and bring restoration to all that has been destroyed.
I could go on and on and show a million pics, but that will just have to wait!!
As for the rest of the week...well it's Thanksgiving tomorrow!! I'll be spending it with my American family here in SA--can't wait for the turkey and dressing!! I'm so thankful that although I can't spend this day with my Barkley family- God has gifted me with a "family" here in CT- and I'm so thankful for that provision.
So, if you are still reading...please know that I am infinitely thankful for you and your willingness to share in this journey with me!! (And if you are not reading, I'm thankful for you too :) God has filled my life with so many good gifts- but people and relationships have always been my favorite :) I could never really express my gratitude to God for having the grace to fill my life with so many DEEP and TRUE friendships and with such a LOVING and SUPPORTIVE family!! Ok, I'm getting a little sappy now and I'm about to cry into the keyboard- so I'll stop :) Just know that as you are eating your turkey and dressing...Laural in South Africa is thanking God for you!!
P.S. Please watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for me :)
Monday night I returned from a long-weekend trip to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. There were 8 of us...Zana, Natalie, Bethany and Drew (a couple from Greenfield, TN- friends of Nat's), Mike (our friend from Zim who made all of the trip arrangements...and our tour guide), Carl (a friend of Mike's), and Kate (a friend of ours from Chicago, met her in CT, she is now in Malawi). Anyway, this was our small army!
We arrived on Thursday afternoon to find our accomodation to have one of the most amazing views you could ever find...the Zambezi River!! That afternoon we looked out to find about 5 hippos in the river, and elephant on the other side of the riverbank, and a crocodile. And this was only the beginning of our raw encounters with African wildlife. There are warthogs, baboons, monkeys and mongoose all over the place- in our trash kind of like racoons or possums. One of the monkeys found his way into our cabin and the powdered milk. He definitely had a milk mustache!
Watching the sunrise and sunset in Zim was amazing...probably a highlight of the trip for me. A couple of mornings I woke up early to go watch the sunrise over the Zambezi...kind of surreal!! (It's funny because when I watch an African sunrise or sunset, I get really excited about watching these things in Tennessee!! So if you know of the best spots in Nash to watch the sunrise or set...let me know :)
It would take me about an hour to tell you all about our weekend, so I'll just hit the highlights!! The first morning, we rafted down the Zambezi River- and let me just tell you, the Zambezi and the Ocoee...NOT THE SAME!! I'll have to admit that I was a tiny bit nervous about this because Mike and Carl were trying to freak us out about crocodiles and anything else they could think of. I just decided that as long as I could just stay inside the raft, I'd be fine :) So, we hiked down into this huge gorge to where the river was...this was a completely straight down hike...praise God that I'm not afraid of heights. I would have passed out and rolled down into the river, and that have been it for me.
Anyway, we got on the river with our guide Kossam. Kossam was one big muscle...probably no body fat at all cause all he does is raft down one of the most powerful rivers in the world. He made the trip so much fun, and he really knew what he was doing. He yelled out instructions to us like "Forward," "Back Right," and my personal favorite, "GET DOWN!!!" Translation- get down and hold on for dear life!! One time I didn't hear him yell it and I was paddling my little heart out then looked around to find that I was the only one still up...needless to say, I moved pretty quickly to get myself down!!
Remember how I said that as long as I could just stay in the boat I'd feel fine?? Well, famous last words...on rapid #8 (out of 23) our boat flipped over and we all found ourselves swimming in the middle of class 4 rapid!! Crazy right??
Again I should remind you that this is not the Ocoee! It was a little scary for a moment...I came up several times to grab a breath only to have another wave knock me in the face again. I'm pretty sure that I swallowed a good bit of Zambezi!!
So the raft ride was quite an adventure, I loved it!! The most interesting part of the day though occured after we got off the river...remember how we had to hike down into the gorge?? Well, that means that you have to hike OUT, right?? After we had been in the sun on the river we had to hike out a half mile STRAIGHT UP...do you hear me?? STRAIGHT UP!! So here I am with a wet life jacket, a helmet and a paddle climbing straight up!! As they say in South Africa, it was a HECTIC climb!!!
The next day we went to see Victoria Falls which is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The falls are about 1 mile wide and 130 meters deep. It stretches between Zimbabwe and Zambia. The power of the water is so great that the spray from the falls can be seen from miles away...it looks like smoke over the trees. They call it the Thundering Smoke. When you get to certain parts of the falls the spray from it is so great that you get drenched!! It was like standing in the middle of a rainstorm!!
My thoughts as I looked at Vic Falls...it's probably the most powerful force of nature that I've ever seen! And with all it's power, it is nothing in comparison to the power of God!! That's hard for me to wrap my mind around. And for all the beauty that I saw in Zim and have seen in SA- the natural beauty of the ocean, the mountains, the sunset- God is infinitely more beautiful!! And the vastness of the ocean and the African sky...God is bigger!! And all of this points to how pea sized our human brains are because we can't even comprehend how BIG, BEAUTIFUL, and POWERFUL that He is!! And all of this beauty that I've seen here shows not only how much God loves us and delights to show us good and beautiful things, but the natural world points to Him and declares His glory...He doesn't NEED humans to show the world His glory and worth, because nature does this without words, singing, and all the other stuff we do (ok, not saying that we aren't responsible to declare His glory and worth, just that He'll get His glory despite what humans do, make sense?)
Here in Africa, my eyes have been opened to so much of God's beauty through nature. I'm sure I'll miss all the beauty at my doorstep here, but I am so excited to come back to Tennessee and see how God manifests Himself through nature there!! God is just as present through nature in Nashville as He is in Africa. I'm not sure why I have not been too aware of this until now, but I can't wait to get home and see things with new eyes!!
The people of Zim were absolutely beautiful--on the inside and out! All that we encountered were cheerful and welcoming with the biggest smiles you've ever seen. They seemed genuinely excited to have us in their country, and are resiliant people- they face daily challenges with grace and joy.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, things are very hard for the people of Zimbabwe. There are often shortages of food, power, and about everything else. Gas cannot be purchased in the country, so people must make a plan to get it from somewhere else. Inflation is so high that 1 US dollar is equivalent to 1 million Zim dollars, and the value of the Zim dollar is decreasing rapidly. Banks are not good places to keep money or withdraw because they will give a different exchange rates than the "black market"- so people often have to come up with an alternative way to get cash. Bread and milk are almost impossible to find in the country (we brought in most of our food). We ate a 2 resteraunts and each time the waiter told us that out of all the selections on the menu, there were only 2-3 options that we could order (because of short food supply). We ordered 7 bottles of water at one resteraunt and he came back with only 4 (that's all they had), so we split 4 bottles between 7 people.
These are just a few small things to give you a little insight into what's going on in Zimbabwe. I learned so much more about this whole situation- what's created the problems, etc- over this weekend. Pray for the country of Zim- that God would strengthen the believers, bring people to a saving knowledge of Him, and bring restoration to all that has been destroyed.
I could go on and on and show a million pics, but that will just have to wait!!
As for the rest of the week...well it's Thanksgiving tomorrow!! I'll be spending it with my American family here in SA--can't wait for the turkey and dressing!! I'm so thankful that although I can't spend this day with my Barkley family- God has gifted me with a "family" here in CT- and I'm so thankful for that provision.
So, if you are still reading...please know that I am infinitely thankful for you and your willingness to share in this journey with me!! (And if you are not reading, I'm thankful for you too :) God has filled my life with so many good gifts- but people and relationships have always been my favorite :) I could never really express my gratitude to God for having the grace to fill my life with so many DEEP and TRUE friendships and with such a LOVING and SUPPORTIVE family!! Ok, I'm getting a little sappy now and I'm about to cry into the keyboard- so I'll stop :) Just know that as you are eating your turkey and dressing...Laural in South Africa is thanking God for you!!
P.S. Please watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for me :)
Friday, November 9, 2007
November 9
Sorry for no picture today, I've been sitting here for over 30 minutes and the uploading just isn't happening today :)
This week I’ve gone out to Capricorn to visit my friend Naaz at Rainbow Educare—her preschool (she’s the principal). I went out Monday to take some pictures of the newly painted building for them, and let me just tell you about the unique experience I had that day. I met their handyman, Mango, and he decided that he wanted to put on a little show for me…So, how often do you get to watch an African man dancing to Michael Jackson?? I mean, it was pretty impressive, and kind of made me think of the scene in Napolean Dynamite where he danced in front of the whole school. It was one of those classic moments that I’ll probably remember forever, and don’t worry I have it all on video. Then after that he sang “Honky Tonk Angel,” (not sure who sings it, but he definitely sounded like Elvis… )
Anyway, I’ve gone off on a tangent…I went back on Friday to deliver the pictures that I had taken. They were sooo excited to see the pics (if you haven’t read the other blogs…a group of volunteers recently painted the inside and outside of the building—so Naaz had asked me to take the before and after shots). Seeing these pictures will help them to remember how far God has brought their little crèche!!
Today, Naaz told me stories of all of the ways that God has provided for the needs of Rainbow. Just this morning, someone had walked in off the street just to take a look at the facilities and asked, “What do you need?” “A ceiling, for one of the classrooms,” was the answer. And just like that…God provided!! The lady is going to fund the much needed new ceiling. Another time, a donor gave in support tiling for one of the classroom floors. Just to hear Naaz speak of God’s faithful provision and her trust in Him to provide for the needs of this preschool was amazing to me. Do I live my life with such confidence in God, then overflow with joy and gratitude for His provision??
No doubt, she has her share of challenges. After the ceiling and tile stories, she told me that yesterday a sewage pipe had overflowed in the crèche and you know how nasty that can be…I believe she described it as a “poo factory.” ☺
I looked for little Robin (a 4 year old student at the crèche who has become special to me ☺), she was not there today and had not been all week. Naaz has talked with her father today, and all we can do is pray that all the kinks that have kept her from school this week will be worked out and that someone in her family will make sure that she gets to there each day. Thank the Lord that since Robin has started attending Rainbow Educare, she has someone like Naaz looking out for her. Now Robin has an advocate in Naaz and her teacher at Rainbow.
In the last blog I mentioned that Living Hope was having a “Get Tested” day at the local mall. We set up a booth with lots of HIV/AIDS educational info, brochures, etc. And there was HIV testing—12 minutes to know your status. Many people don’t even want to know their status because they don’t want to change their behaviors or admit that they may be living a risky lifestyle. So to even get tested is a big step…
A great story happened that day…On the way back from lunch, Natalie ran into one of the groundskeepers at our flat—Martin. He had seen us at the mall and asked her what we were doing. Natalie explained and asked him if he’d been tested. Martin said no, and that he was afraid!! Nat tried to convince him that no matter what the outcome, it was a good idea to find out his status. He asked if she’d be at the booth that afternoon, she assured him that she would, so he said he’d come at 2:00. After 2:00, he came by…but still said “I’m afraid!!” He had to go do some shopping, then would come back, he said, all we could do was hope. Anyway, hours later he finally came back and had the courage to do it!! He just walked right up and got in line (or the queue, as they say in SA). I guess he just needed some time to convince himself. How amazing…this really shows that Living Hope is doing wonderful community work. People who would never in a million years find out their HIV status are doing it!! This is a huge step to fight the ignorance that keeps the disease from taking lives.
It was fun to be able to support and encourage Martin that day in his very courageous choice to get tested!! Zana, Nat and I were kind of like his cheerleaders…we jumped up and down when we saw him come to the table then got so excited when he came out—knowing his status!! He kept saying thank you to us…and when we saw him a couple of days later he thanked us again “for all the we did for him that day.” He later admitted to walking by the booth 4 or 5 times before he actually stopped by. This is a disease that thrives in an environment of ignorance, denial, secrecy, and stigma…and it’s exciting to be a part of a ministry that is pro actively seeking to erase all of these things---not just in the name of good health but in the name of Jesus.
Next week, me and my wives and a few other friends will be heading up to Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls (one of the 7 natural wonders of the world). I am SOOOOO excited!! Please pray for our trip- our safety, that all the details will come together perfectly, and that we’d have a fun time!! Pretty sure that we are going to raft down the Zambezi River---yikes!! If you don’t know about what is going on in Zimbabwe, I’d encourage you to research the current situation in that country. It’s a very sad and desperate situation that we hear about all the time here- I’m not sure if it is in the news in the US at all, but you need to be aware…so find out, then PRAY!!
This week I’ve gone out to Capricorn to visit my friend Naaz at Rainbow Educare—her preschool (she’s the principal). I went out Monday to take some pictures of the newly painted building for them, and let me just tell you about the unique experience I had that day. I met their handyman, Mango, and he decided that he wanted to put on a little show for me…So, how often do you get to watch an African man dancing to Michael Jackson?? I mean, it was pretty impressive, and kind of made me think of the scene in Napolean Dynamite where he danced in front of the whole school. It was one of those classic moments that I’ll probably remember forever, and don’t worry I have it all on video. Then after that he sang “Honky Tonk Angel,” (not sure who sings it, but he definitely sounded like Elvis… )
Anyway, I’ve gone off on a tangent…I went back on Friday to deliver the pictures that I had taken. They were sooo excited to see the pics (if you haven’t read the other blogs…a group of volunteers recently painted the inside and outside of the building—so Naaz had asked me to take the before and after shots). Seeing these pictures will help them to remember how far God has brought their little crèche!!
Today, Naaz told me stories of all of the ways that God has provided for the needs of Rainbow. Just this morning, someone had walked in off the street just to take a look at the facilities and asked, “What do you need?” “A ceiling, for one of the classrooms,” was the answer. And just like that…God provided!! The lady is going to fund the much needed new ceiling. Another time, a donor gave in support tiling for one of the classroom floors. Just to hear Naaz speak of God’s faithful provision and her trust in Him to provide for the needs of this preschool was amazing to me. Do I live my life with such confidence in God, then overflow with joy and gratitude for His provision??
No doubt, she has her share of challenges. After the ceiling and tile stories, she told me that yesterday a sewage pipe had overflowed in the crèche and you know how nasty that can be…I believe she described it as a “poo factory.” ☺
I looked for little Robin (a 4 year old student at the crèche who has become special to me ☺), she was not there today and had not been all week. Naaz has talked with her father today, and all we can do is pray that all the kinks that have kept her from school this week will be worked out and that someone in her family will make sure that she gets to there each day. Thank the Lord that since Robin has started attending Rainbow Educare, she has someone like Naaz looking out for her. Now Robin has an advocate in Naaz and her teacher at Rainbow.
In the last blog I mentioned that Living Hope was having a “Get Tested” day at the local mall. We set up a booth with lots of HIV/AIDS educational info, brochures, etc. And there was HIV testing—12 minutes to know your status. Many people don’t even want to know their status because they don’t want to change their behaviors or admit that they may be living a risky lifestyle. So to even get tested is a big step…
A great story happened that day…On the way back from lunch, Natalie ran into one of the groundskeepers at our flat—Martin. He had seen us at the mall and asked her what we were doing. Natalie explained and asked him if he’d been tested. Martin said no, and that he was afraid!! Nat tried to convince him that no matter what the outcome, it was a good idea to find out his status. He asked if she’d be at the booth that afternoon, she assured him that she would, so he said he’d come at 2:00. After 2:00, he came by…but still said “I’m afraid!!” He had to go do some shopping, then would come back, he said, all we could do was hope. Anyway, hours later he finally came back and had the courage to do it!! He just walked right up and got in line (or the queue, as they say in SA). I guess he just needed some time to convince himself. How amazing…this really shows that Living Hope is doing wonderful community work. People who would never in a million years find out their HIV status are doing it!! This is a huge step to fight the ignorance that keeps the disease from taking lives.
It was fun to be able to support and encourage Martin that day in his very courageous choice to get tested!! Zana, Nat and I were kind of like his cheerleaders…we jumped up and down when we saw him come to the table then got so excited when he came out—knowing his status!! He kept saying thank you to us…and when we saw him a couple of days later he thanked us again “for all the we did for him that day.” He later admitted to walking by the booth 4 or 5 times before he actually stopped by. This is a disease that thrives in an environment of ignorance, denial, secrecy, and stigma…and it’s exciting to be a part of a ministry that is pro actively seeking to erase all of these things---not just in the name of good health but in the name of Jesus.
Next week, me and my wives and a few other friends will be heading up to Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls (one of the 7 natural wonders of the world). I am SOOOOO excited!! Please pray for our trip- our safety, that all the details will come together perfectly, and that we’d have a fun time!! Pretty sure that we are going to raft down the Zambezi River---yikes!! If you don’t know about what is going on in Zimbabwe, I’d encourage you to research the current situation in that country. It’s a very sad and desperate situation that we hear about all the time here- I’m not sure if it is in the news in the US at all, but you need to be aware…so find out, then PRAY!!
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
THIS IS A "MUST READ"!!!!!!!!!
This week God did some amazing work…Oh my goodness, so amazing…keep reading (it’s long…)!!
Today is Wednesday and my routine has been to go with a group of Life Skills Educators to school. I knew exactly what time to meet them and everything, and when I got to Living Hope I found that they had already left!! “Not surprising” was my first thought…things like this tend to happen to me?☺
I stayed around for the morning devotion and talked to some staff members and Living Hope regulars. As I was chatting to the cook named Cathy (who loves my Southern accent) a man came up and gave me a small folded up piece of paper. I must confess that my first thought was not a nice one, I’ll admit it… (sometimes the men at the center can be a little…well you know). I continued chatting to Cathy and didn’t hurry to read the note, but when I did these are the words that I read… “Please pray for me. My name is Charles. I will kill myself today.” Needless to say my conversation ended at that point, I went to get the other social worker to come with me, and we went outside to look for Charles (hoping that he had not gone far, cause I wasn’t sure that I’d even recognize him.)
He was actually standing right outside the center (thank you Lord!), so we began to talk. He said that he wanted to make peace with God before he meets Him, because he will die today. He had been thinking for a couple of weeks that he wanted to end his life and said that he planned to jump in front of a train or bus because “there’s plenty of them around.” In a nutshell, he was tired of living on the streets and trying to make things happen for himself and nothing ever going right. Basically he was tired of trying, without hope, and ready to end it all.
I got him to come inside with me and Sannah (the social worker). We did a lot of talking, praying, and he did a lot of crying (for once in my life, I held back the tears ☺). Sannah asked him if he had ever accepted Christ in his life, he said no, and then prayed to receive Christ right there!! He was weeping all the time…completely broken and desperate.
I shared with him some Scripture that popped into my head, and it was a blessing to speak some truth into Charles’ life, yet hard at the same time. What do you say to someone who is in the circumstances that he is in?? I shared a few verses with him like “Never will I leave you or forsake you.” And Isaiah 43:1b-2…"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
He continued to talk pretty openly with us and told us a story that had happened last night. He was standing at the train station and was about to throw himself on the tracks when someone grabbed him hard on the shoulder and threw him backwards, away from the tracks. He turned around to see who had done this and NO ONE WAS STANDING THERE. When I asked what he thought when this happened he said that he thought it was a witch doctor or something and it scared him. He said several times how sore his shoulder was this morning, from the hard push he’d received. Then he pulled back his shirt to show us the mark that had been left on his shoulder. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw a large red and purple bruise covering his left shoulder.
Now, I’ll be the first to tell you that I am prone to be a little skeptical of such things, but I know that what he experienced was God’s angels saving him from ending his own life!!!! We both said this to him…that God intervened because he loves him and has a plan for his life. This was not witch doctor or strange coincidence, but God’s hand in his life!!
He began to tell us that all he wants is to see his children, who live about 3 hours from Cape Town. His home is there, and if he could get there he knows he could find work (he’s a boilermaker by trade), and that he has friends that he can stay with. He wept and wept for his children…he can’t even get in touch with them now because someone had stolen his bag that had their phone number in it.
We began to talk options and action… All Charles needed was about 20 rand for his train ticket and 2 taxis that it would take for him to get to his destination. To put this in US dollar terms…he needed about $3!!!!! $3 was keeping him homeless and one the streets!!! Needless to say, God provided this money and a little more for Charles to make it to where he needed to go. I began to see a little hope in his eyes…
All he had to his name was a small Bible, but before he left he had been given a couple shirts, a pair of pants, a bag for his things, and a couple of bucks for food for his journey. I wrote these words in the front cover of his Bible, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a FUTURE.” Then I turned to Jeremiah. 29:11, underlined it and put today’s date (10/10/07). Pray that in times of frustration and despair that Charles will read these words and remember that God has a plan for him and that IN HIM THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE.
It was beautiful to see the hearts of the staff members of Living Hope as they prayed for him and encouraged him before he left. Sannah and I walked with Charles to the train station to buy his ticket. On the way he said that he was beginning to feel excited, he knew that seeing his children would be the motivation he needed to keep going.
Before he left I asked him if I could give him a hug…he said yes…then of course being true to who I am, I just couldn’t resist giving him a tiny little sermon ☺ …Keep walking no matter what…remember God is always with you and sees you…always remember God’s faithfulness to you last night and today… what He has done today, He can and will do again. He is always faithful, even when it doesn’t seem like it… I’m sure that I was talking a mile a minute, and he probably wanted me to shut up, but I just had to say it!!
So, then he left and who knows what has happened and where he is today (Friday). My prayer is that he made it to his destination and that he will soon be reunited with his children. I do know though that there are probably a lot of other issues that he will have to face in going home, I’m not sure of what he left behind there. I pray that God will make a clear and easy path for him to his children, that they will be reunited after the 3 years that he hasn’t seen them. I pray that God would continue to deal with him, that his salvation was genuine, and that he’ll begin to walk with God becoming rooted in His Word. I pray that God would bring Godly men and women into his life that will encourage him in his walk and to stand firm in his faith. Please join me in praying for Charles, and that he would be “caught” by God’s relentless love and mercy.
I know that I’ll never see Charles or hear from him again, but there is no doubt that he will be in my heart forever. What a lesson to me of God’s love and care for all people. He always attentive and is always watching. I am in awe of his love for such broken and “stiff necked” people (I couldn’t think of another word, so I’ll just quote what God repeatedly call the Isrealites when they turned from him ☺). That God would be mindful of us and allow us to be instruments of his love and redemption is pretty mind boggling to me today.
Ok, so I know this one is amazingly long, but aren’t you glad you read it all?? You get gold stars and A+++++++!!!!
___________________________________________________________
I posted this blog on October 12, and today is November 6...HERE IS AN EXCITING UPDATE!!
Sannah said that Charles has returned to Muizenburg!! She says that when he came up to her she didn't even recognize him because of the HUGE smile on his face! We definitely didn't see that smile on the day that we last saw him.
He was able to return home safely and see his children. Unfortunately though, he could not find work in that other town, so he's come back to Muizenburg to work. I was so excited to hear that he was able to see his children!! What an answer to our prayers, right?!? Now he is living on the streets and looking for a job (which does NOT come easily here)...so pray that Charles can find work and be able to save up for a place to stay. Also, continue to pray for His walk with the Lord...
Praise the Lord that He hears and answers prayer!!!
Today is Wednesday and my routine has been to go with a group of Life Skills Educators to school. I knew exactly what time to meet them and everything, and when I got to Living Hope I found that they had already left!! “Not surprising” was my first thought…things like this tend to happen to me?☺
I stayed around for the morning devotion and talked to some staff members and Living Hope regulars. As I was chatting to the cook named Cathy (who loves my Southern accent) a man came up and gave me a small folded up piece of paper. I must confess that my first thought was not a nice one, I’ll admit it… (sometimes the men at the center can be a little…well you know). I continued chatting to Cathy and didn’t hurry to read the note, but when I did these are the words that I read… “Please pray for me. My name is Charles. I will kill myself today.” Needless to say my conversation ended at that point, I went to get the other social worker to come with me, and we went outside to look for Charles (hoping that he had not gone far, cause I wasn’t sure that I’d even recognize him.)
He was actually standing right outside the center (thank you Lord!), so we began to talk. He said that he wanted to make peace with God before he meets Him, because he will die today. He had been thinking for a couple of weeks that he wanted to end his life and said that he planned to jump in front of a train or bus because “there’s plenty of them around.” In a nutshell, he was tired of living on the streets and trying to make things happen for himself and nothing ever going right. Basically he was tired of trying, without hope, and ready to end it all.
I got him to come inside with me and Sannah (the social worker). We did a lot of talking, praying, and he did a lot of crying (for once in my life, I held back the tears ☺). Sannah asked him if he had ever accepted Christ in his life, he said no, and then prayed to receive Christ right there!! He was weeping all the time…completely broken and desperate.
I shared with him some Scripture that popped into my head, and it was a blessing to speak some truth into Charles’ life, yet hard at the same time. What do you say to someone who is in the circumstances that he is in?? I shared a few verses with him like “Never will I leave you or forsake you.” And Isaiah 43:1b-2…"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
He continued to talk pretty openly with us and told us a story that had happened last night. He was standing at the train station and was about to throw himself on the tracks when someone grabbed him hard on the shoulder and threw him backwards, away from the tracks. He turned around to see who had done this and NO ONE WAS STANDING THERE. When I asked what he thought when this happened he said that he thought it was a witch doctor or something and it scared him. He said several times how sore his shoulder was this morning, from the hard push he’d received. Then he pulled back his shirt to show us the mark that had been left on his shoulder. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw a large red and purple bruise covering his left shoulder.
Now, I’ll be the first to tell you that I am prone to be a little skeptical of such things, but I know that what he experienced was God’s angels saving him from ending his own life!!!! We both said this to him…that God intervened because he loves him and has a plan for his life. This was not witch doctor or strange coincidence, but God’s hand in his life!!
He began to tell us that all he wants is to see his children, who live about 3 hours from Cape Town. His home is there, and if he could get there he knows he could find work (he’s a boilermaker by trade), and that he has friends that he can stay with. He wept and wept for his children…he can’t even get in touch with them now because someone had stolen his bag that had their phone number in it.
We began to talk options and action… All Charles needed was about 20 rand for his train ticket and 2 taxis that it would take for him to get to his destination. To put this in US dollar terms…he needed about $3!!!!! $3 was keeping him homeless and one the streets!!! Needless to say, God provided this money and a little more for Charles to make it to where he needed to go. I began to see a little hope in his eyes…
All he had to his name was a small Bible, but before he left he had been given a couple shirts, a pair of pants, a bag for his things, and a couple of bucks for food for his journey. I wrote these words in the front cover of his Bible, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a FUTURE.” Then I turned to Jeremiah. 29:11, underlined it and put today’s date (10/10/07). Pray that in times of frustration and despair that Charles will read these words and remember that God has a plan for him and that IN HIM THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE.
It was beautiful to see the hearts of the staff members of Living Hope as they prayed for him and encouraged him before he left. Sannah and I walked with Charles to the train station to buy his ticket. On the way he said that he was beginning to feel excited, he knew that seeing his children would be the motivation he needed to keep going.
Before he left I asked him if I could give him a hug…he said yes…then of course being true to who I am, I just couldn’t resist giving him a tiny little sermon ☺ …Keep walking no matter what…remember God is always with you and sees you…always remember God’s faithfulness to you last night and today… what He has done today, He can and will do again. He is always faithful, even when it doesn’t seem like it… I’m sure that I was talking a mile a minute, and he probably wanted me to shut up, but I just had to say it!!
So, then he left and who knows what has happened and where he is today (Friday). My prayer is that he made it to his destination and that he will soon be reunited with his children. I do know though that there are probably a lot of other issues that he will have to face in going home, I’m not sure of what he left behind there. I pray that God will make a clear and easy path for him to his children, that they will be reunited after the 3 years that he hasn’t seen them. I pray that God would continue to deal with him, that his salvation was genuine, and that he’ll begin to walk with God becoming rooted in His Word. I pray that God would bring Godly men and women into his life that will encourage him in his walk and to stand firm in his faith. Please join me in praying for Charles, and that he would be “caught” by God’s relentless love and mercy.
I know that I’ll never see Charles or hear from him again, but there is no doubt that he will be in my heart forever. What a lesson to me of God’s love and care for all people. He always attentive and is always watching. I am in awe of his love for such broken and “stiff necked” people (I couldn’t think of another word, so I’ll just quote what God repeatedly call the Isrealites when they turned from him ☺). That God would be mindful of us and allow us to be instruments of his love and redemption is pretty mind boggling to me today.
Ok, so I know this one is amazingly long, but aren’t you glad you read it all?? You get gold stars and A+++++++!!!!
___________________________________________________________
I posted this blog on October 12, and today is November 6...HERE IS AN EXCITING UPDATE!!
Sannah said that Charles has returned to Muizenburg!! She says that when he came up to her she didn't even recognize him because of the HUGE smile on his face! We definitely didn't see that smile on the day that we last saw him.
He was able to return home safely and see his children. Unfortunately though, he could not find work in that other town, so he's come back to Muizenburg to work. I was so excited to hear that he was able to see his children!! What an answer to our prayers, right?!? Now he is living on the streets and looking for a job (which does NOT come easily here)...so pray that Charles can find work and be able to save up for a place to stay. Also, continue to pray for His walk with the Lord...
Praise the Lord that He hears and answers prayer!!!
Friday, November 2, 2007
Friday's are my favorite!!
Pic 1- These are some of the wonderful Life Skills Educators that I've mentioned before. We had them over for pizza one night, then played with the self timer on my camera.
Pic 2- Happy Halloween!!
Can I just say that I can’t believe that it is November!!! What in the world?!? Time is flying by!!
I’ve kind of been holding out on you by not really talking much about one of the main things that I’ve been working on for Living Hope. 2 months ago the General Manager asked me to do some community research regarding orphans and vulnerable children. Living Hope is considering what their position will be in working with these children (future programming), so they wanted a little information to help them make a decision. So they asked for my help in this. Yikes!!! Kind of a scary task for me I must admit…
It has been a challenge because I don’t love research, gathering and interpreting information and talking to people on the phone that can’t understand me (and I can’t understand them either). But I know that God gave me what I needed to finish well and to actually be thankful that the project was assigned to me. I’ve gotten to learn about some other programs in Cape Town, and even visit a couple and see what they do. I have loved meeting and talking with people who have a heart to help others, and seeing the creative ways that communities are helping children and families. I guess being a social worker and kind of a fan of the “non-profit world,” this was a little bit fun for me ☺
This week, my major task has been to finish this up…and I do mean MAJOR TASK!! Working on this took me back to college and grad school days of writing papers…YUCK!! I loved learning and gathering the info, but putting it together in a way that would make sense to someone else has been a different story ☺
Looking back, now I can say how thankful I am for this assignment because I learned so much. Yesterday afternoon, I finished and e-mailed it off!! Out of my hands…AHHH THE FREEDOM!! I hope I get an A++++++. (I celebrated by having some good ole apple pie…made me feel like I was back in the south!)
The rest of my week has gone something like this…
Tuesday morning I led the devotional at the Living Hope Muizenburg Ctr. I talked about the parable of lost sheep. I pray that these men and women will understand how much our God pursues them and seeks them out- just like the shepherd in this story went looking for the ONE little sheep that was lost.
After devotion, I led the weekly support group with street people. The activity was painting with watercolors (take you back to when you were young??) It’s called paint journaling (thanks Julie!!). People always LOVE this activity!! No matter how old you are, there is just something wonderful about creating your own masterpiece ☺ It’s tons of fun for me to watch people do this…for some it’s VERY UNCOMFORTABLE, but for others it’s easy. My favorite is to watch someone who at the beginning is so unsure of themselves and uncomfortable with what they are doing, but as they keep going they really get into it and in the end feel a great sense of pride in what they created!! It’s kind of an opportunity to boost someone’s self worth and affirm their feelings and value. This is pretty much as good as it gets to me ☺
Let’s talk a little bit about the holiday situation here in South Africa…
This week was Halloween (you obviously know this). I’m not typically a big Halloween fan…just have never liked dressing up…don’t know why. But I guess when you are living in another country; anything that reminds you of home becomes kind of special. So, this I how we celebrated, we bought cheap masks (Mom says they looked more like Mardi Gras masks than Halloween masks---I’ll agree with that!!) and wore them to Living Hope. Not so much a popular thing to do since some consider this “Satan’s Holiday.” Oops, I like the words that another American volunteer used to describe Halloween…it’s all about kids and candy. And just so you know…we actually had trick or treaters…I guess they must have known that the American girls would give them candy ☺
Since it’s now November…my head is beginning to think of Thanksgiving (sadly, this American holiday is just that…an American holiday…so there aren’t any cute turkey, pilgrim or Indian decorations here). I’m thankful for a good “American” family here in SA, so we’ll have our own Thanksgiving celebration—Praise the Lord!! I can’t go without my turkey, dressing, and green bean casserole!!
So, since there is no Thanksgiving to celebrate…they’ve moved straight into Christmas!! Yes, that’s right…at the beginning of this week, the Christmas trees and decorations went up. I must admit that it feels a little funny walking around in flip-flops and a t-shirt looking at stockings and snowmen. So, I’m in the Christmas spirit a little bit early this year…me and my wives have definitely started listening to Christmas music!!
Well, I need to run over to the mall and the Christmas trees. It’s a “Get Tested” day for Living Hope at the mall. We set up a booth in the mall with HIV info and they do free testing. It only takes 12 minutes to find out your status. This is a great opportunity to educate people on how to stay negative and how to live a healthy lifestyle if they are positive. HIV is surrounded by stigma, denial, and secrecy- so for someone to get tested is a huge step in breaking the stigma. People are not very willing to go to a medical center to get tested, so we are bringing the testing to the people!!
Have a holly, jolly Christmas…
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