Hello! I am so glad that you are here to read about our trip. What an amazing experience this was for all of us. Below you will find my personal journal from our 16 days in Bethlehem, South Africa. While the journal will try and detail for you the highlights, there is obviously no way to fully communicate to you what this trip was like for me. I feel so blessed to have been able to go on this trip. My church family that supported this trip has been such a blessing to me. I am eternally grateful for the many that gave their own money to help our students go and experience the world in this way.
One of the things that I always like to do after a trip is to ask "How am I different now?" It's a way to help me process the things that I experienced and to make sure that I don't continue to live the same way I was living before God showed me something new. This trip is no different. It was life-changing for me. It has been two years since God first laid on my heart the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. I promised him then that I would go and see things for myself and do what I could to make a difference. Since then, that vision grew and spread to others. Seventeen of us from First Baptist Church of Yucaipa ended up making this trip after raising many thousands of dollars.
So what has changed? How am I different? I will never be the same, that is for sure. The people that I met on this trip have changed me forever. The YWAM staff in Los Angeles, as well as at the base in South Africa, have taught me immeasurable things about prayer. I learned to pray in a way that is more powerful than anything I have known before. In Bethlehem, I began to learn a dependence on God that is unlike anything I have known before. It became so clear to me that God is still speaking to his children, and that he is still moving in mighty ways. I was so aware of his presence in this place and his desire to redeem people. In the midst of darkness and hopelessness I am convinced that God spoke to us and used us to bring about hope to those that had none.
One of the questions that goes through my head is "What difference can we really make?" I mean, why go all the way to Africa, why spend all this money? While I don't know that I can fully answer that, I have come to a couple of conclusions. First, the impact that our visit had on people can never be measured. The prayers that we said for healing, the people we encouraged - we will never know how those things turned out. My feeling is that God will use the time we spent, the words that we said, the smiles that we showed to further his kingdom in this place. Secondly, the lasting impact on us is probably greater than anything else. We will never be the same. We will never spend money in quite the same way, we will never vote in quite the same way, we will never read the news in quite the same way, we will never pray in quite the same way, we will never see pain and suffering in quite the same way, we will never see missions in quite the same way, we will never see God in quite the same way. Our marriages, our relationships, our careers, our futures will never be quite the same as if we had never gone. Everything we do will be done through the filter of a worldview that includes the hurting people of South Africa. And that will affect us, our children, our churches, our neighborhoods, our classrooms, and every person with whom we come into contact.
As you read about our trip, please feel free to contact me with questions or comments. The point of this is to encourage you and to bless you. Start by clicking on July 13 (on the right) and work your way back up. Enjoy the pictures, and feel free to leave comments. God Bless!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
July 28, 2007
Today was the final day in Africa. We got up in the morning, had a nice breakfast, and headed to "Bruma" - a local outdoor market. It is apparently a very dangerous area, with lots of crime. We prayed a lot about that and took measures to make sure we were safe. Our students were aware of the danger of theft so we were all very careful to stay together, and to be aware of our surroundings. Thankfully God kept us safe. The market was pretty neat. There were lots of handmade things from all over Africa. We were able to shop for our families and barter for prices. I got some good deals on some things and had a good time picking out gifts for people. But again, I was most excited about getting on the plane in the evening and heading home. We finally did leave the airport and begin the 24 hour journey home.
July 27, 2007
Today is our last day in Bethlehem. This morning half of our team went into Bohlokong and painted a preschool building. It looked beautiful when it was finished. The other half of us (all guys) went to the Bombalela in Bohlokong and tried to dig a hole for an eventual toilet. It was about 6 feet across and it needed to be two meters deep. The first half meter was rather easy, but after that the hard red clay and rock began to really slow us down. The wind was also howling and making it difficult to see with all the sand and dirt blowing around. We had fun taking turns digging, while we talked with our African friends from the YWAM base. But I must confess that I couldn't wait to be done and leaving. Eventually we went back to the base, cleaned up, loaded the vehicles and got on our way. It is about a four hour drive back to Johannesburg. The drive was scary, as the wind was blowing fiercely, and our little van and trailer were swerving all over the place. We were quite crammed in the vehicle - it was one of the worst drives ever for many of us. But we did finally arrive. We stayed the night at a bed and breakfast that was amazing - it was called Le Chateau. It was super fancy, quite a stark contrast to our lodging for the last two weeks. We stayed for free as the owner is a friend of YWAM and our directors. We went out to dinner at a local mall and had some great food! I had BBQ chicken skewers and absolutely loved it.
July 26, 2007
Today was a day off from ministry. We got up this morning and drove to "Clarens", a little community in the sand stone mountains. We were told that people like Prince Harry and Brad Pitt spend time here. It's basically an artist community. It reminded me of Big Bear village, or even Oak Glen. There were lots of art galleries and souvenir type shops. Most things were expensive. I purchased one painting that to me is beautiful. It shows a couple of African women walking with loads of sticks on their head, and a child walking with them. It is something I saw many times here in Africa, and the color and beauty of this painting seemed to capture that for me. It was a relaxing morning. After that we drove into Bethlehem and had lunch (a pizza!) and looked in some more stores. I am very much anticipating our trip to Johannesburg tomorrow and the fact that this is my last night at the base. I've grown to love many of the people here, but I love the people back home too much to spend another day here. I am thankful for all that I have learned here - the power of prayer being the greatest.
July 25, 2007
This morning we went to an old person's home, or retirement community. It was all white Afrikaans speaking people. Many spoke English. I met one couple who had been married 24 years, a second marriage for each of them. Shortly after their marriage he was in a car accident and broke his neck, leaving him a quadriplegic. More recently he had a stroke which caused them to need to be in this home. The faithfulness of this woman was amazing - to stick by her husband through all of this. In America, the husband would likely have been stuck in a home for others to take care of while the wife continued her life outside. But here this woman was living in this hospital with her husband.
Another couple we met in this facility (a hospital surrounded by 60 homes - all old age) had been married 65 years! They showed us pictures of their kids and we had a good time talking together. The husband kept asking why I didn't shave my beard, haha. Finally, this last person we met was a woman named Dorothy. She was so sweet. She was a widow. She made us tea and coffee. We spent more than an hour with her listening to her stories, and sharing ours.
In the afternoon we went to one of the local farms and spent time with some 25-3 children. The guys played a huge soccer game which was great. Some of the littlest kids were so good.
Then at night we had a graduation ceremony for Simon and his wife who had finished their DTS (Discipleship Training School with YWAM). It was a fun time. Jordan led some worship and it was really food - people were singing at the top of their voices. We also had some celebratory songs and dancing at the end led by our African brothers. I'll definitely miss their joy, their dancing, and their songs.
Another couple we met in this facility (a hospital surrounded by 60 homes - all old age) had been married 65 years! They showed us pictures of their kids and we had a good time talking together. The husband kept asking why I didn't shave my beard, haha. Finally, this last person we met was a woman named Dorothy. She was so sweet. She was a widow. She made us tea and coffee. We spent more than an hour with her listening to her stories, and sharing ours.
In the afternoon we went to one of the local farms and spent time with some 25-3 children. The guys played a huge soccer game which was great. Some of the littlest kids were so good.Then at night we had a graduation ceremony for Simon and his wife who had finished their DTS (Discipleship Training School with YWAM). It was a fun time. Jordan led some worship and it was really food - people were singing at the top of their voices. We also had some celebratory songs and dancing at the end led by our African brothers. I'll definitely miss their joy, their dancing, and their songs.
July 24, 2007
Wow. I'm really ready to go home. I lay awake at night and look forward to the next day because it is one day closer to when we go home. I love this place, but I miss my home. However, today was amazing. This morning took us forever to leave (the schedule here is rather frustrating) but we finally did leave for Bohlokong. Somehow word gets out when we arrive there and women and children come to the Bombalela for singing, dancing, and encouragement. Jessica shared her testimony, which was great - it was the first time she had done that before. The women sang beautifully. I was outside most of the time playing with a few boys. After the service, we passed out bread to all the children. They come prepared with bags. The kids are beautiful.
As we were kind of hanging around waiting to leave, I met a boy who was talking to Kevin. His name I can't pronounce, but his English name he said was Harold (in the hat). He knew four languages. He couldn't have been older than 13 or 14 years old. But he spoke with HOPE! I don't know how else to explain it. He had determination and confidence that he would rise up and do something with his life. He told us that his friends smoke and drink and they make fun of him because he doesn't do that. He is intensely serious about school and his education. He clearly sees education as his means out of this life. I asked him what he wants to be when he is older and he said "I need to be a doctor." He was so intent on this. You can see that he wants to change the world. We prayed for him right then that this would happen and he would become a doctor like his heart desired. He told us of how we bring so much hope to these people and that we need to come back. He then began to tell us about his family. He said that his parents used to fight and his father would beat his mother. Then the split up, which made him very sad. He said he wanted to kill himself, but some people prayed for him, and he no longer wanted to do that. He wished sometimes that his parents were together, but when he remembers what his father did to his mother, he is glad they are not. Then he said the most amazing thing ever. He said, "Sometimes I wish I could hate him, but I can't because I've learned to forgive." Wow! Lord, give me that kind of heart. This kid was to me an answer to our prayers on the first day up on that mountain top. We prayed that God would raise up young people who would change this place, the "Place of pain" into a "Place of Hope." I believe that Harold will be one of those people. He was oozing hope all over the place and I am blessed because I met him.July 23, 2007
Today we spent the morning working on the base. Miguel (the YWAM base director) wanted us to cut down this huge tree - it was pretty ridiculous. The longer I'm here the more frustrated I become. What seems rational to this culture is sometimes totally irrational to me. Fortunately his chainsaw wasn't working right so we got out of that job.
After that we went to pray for some people near the base. Apparently this man gave YWAM all its buildings and its land, so we prayed for him and his workers and his family that God would bless them.
In the afternoon we went back to Eden - the first orphanage we had gone to. It was neat because it didn't take any time this time for the kids to warm up to us. They saw us coming and ran to meet us. It was neat to firm up some friendships that had started the first time. Julius and I sat and talked a while. He was asking about what a "good wife" is - so I described Kimi to him. Someone told him to pray for a good wife so he was wondering what that means. We also talked a bit about his culture of Ghana. The other night we were talking to Nicodemus (our roommate) and he was telling us about Zambia. He told us he went through a circumcision ceremony when he was five years old. We couldn't believe it! He remembers it clearly. He told us that afterwards they cook up the foreskin and eat it. Yuck! Anyway, he told us how in his culture you would be shunned if you weren't circumcised. Every man and woman must be circumcised. Women can't be married unless they go through this. This is where our conversation got strange. Nico doesn't seem to think that female circumcision is anything but normal. However, I've been reading lately about this practice and how devastating it is to women. Many can no longer conceive, some are so damaged they are no longer desired. Others get bad infections and even die. The process removes the clitoris, and therefore any sense of pleasure. I want to help Nico to understand why this is bad, but I'm not sure how to do that. For him, it's just a normal part of his culture. Anyway, Julius said the don't do that in Ghana, and he was equally bothered by the whole thing. The problem is that Nicodemus doesn't really understand what happens. He told us that in his country there are commercials that urge everyone to be circumcised, and it says that it can help prevent HIV. Wow! This is a government sponsored commercial promoting bogus ideas. It's amazing that things can be so primitive.
After that we went to pray for some people near the base. Apparently this man gave YWAM all its buildings and its land, so we prayed for him and his workers and his family that God would bless them.
In the afternoon we went back to Eden - the first orphanage we had gone to. It was neat because it didn't take any time this time for the kids to warm up to us. They saw us coming and ran to meet us. It was neat to firm up some friendships that had started the first time. Julius and I sat and talked a while. He was asking about what a "good wife" is - so I described Kimi to him. Someone told him to pray for a good wife so he was wondering what that means. We also talked a bit about his culture of Ghana. The other night we were talking to Nicodemus (our roommate) and he was telling us about Zambia. He told us he went through a circumcision ceremony when he was five years old. We couldn't believe it! He remembers it clearly. He told us that afterwards they cook up the foreskin and eat it. Yuck! Anyway, he told us how in his culture you would be shunned if you weren't circumcised. Every man and woman must be circumcised. Women can't be married unless they go through this. This is where our conversation got strange. Nico doesn't seem to think that female circumcision is anything but normal. However, I've been reading lately about this practice and how devastating it is to women. Many can no longer conceive, some are so damaged they are no longer desired. Others get bad infections and even die. The process removes the clitoris, and therefore any sense of pleasure. I want to help Nico to understand why this is bad, but I'm not sure how to do that. For him, it's just a normal part of his culture. Anyway, Julius said the don't do that in Ghana, and he was equally bothered by the whole thing. The problem is that Nicodemus doesn't really understand what happens. He told us that in his country there are commercials that urge everyone to be circumcised, and it says that it can help prevent HIV. Wow! This is a government sponsored commercial promoting bogus ideas. It's amazing that things can be so primitive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
