Pictures from Katelhong

Meise giving out a food parcel



A picture of one of the homes we helped to build. Believe me, it is in upgrade!


Their cooking facilities

 

Updated Prayer Requests

Here are some updated prayer requests:

1. Please continue to pray for Rose. She has experienced some persecution because of the stand for Christ she has made. Pray that she remains firm in her commitment to Christ and that our times together will be profitable.

2. I spend every Thursday morning in Katlehong with a doctor (Vivi). She is not a believer. Please pray that I would have opportunities to share the gospel with her and be a faithful witness.

3. Katlehong (like most townships in South Africa) is in desperate need of a solid biblical church. Please pray that God would raise one up that we could minister along side.

4. Please pray for the two small groups I am leading at church. Pray that these women would be equipped to minister to other women in our church.

5. Please continue to pray for my safety. I currently in the township once a week and will be going more frequently in the coming weeks. The township is not a particularly safe place.

6. I am in the process of applying for permanent residency. Please pray that God grants me favor in the eyes of those making the decisions.

Question of the day

Yesterday someone asked me, "So if I pray in my heart and not out loud can God hear me?" It would have been a cute question if one of the children had asked me that but it actually was one of the staff workers. It kind of gives you a perspective on how little the women I work with know about spiritual things.

A Midnight Visitor

(Before I start this story I would like to make a disclaimer: Most of us don't think that well or rationally at midnight.)

So, last night for some reason I started watching a movie at about 10:30. It wasn't anything great but for some reason I decided to stay up and finish it. About midnight as I was walking back to my bedroom, I thought I heard something or someone in my kitchen. Now remember I live in South Africa, the land of crime :), my immediate thought was how in the world did they get past my security system and my heart started racing. I then heard whatever it was coming towards me and my heart really started racing. We take intruders very seriously here. I was a little relieved (but not much) when it raced past me and I thought, "oh my word, that is a huge rat......"

I quickly got in my bedroom and shut my door and it hit me that it wasn't a rat but was a cat. Almost as bad in my book. I could hear it race towards the kitchen and jump on something and knock something off the counter. I stood there thinking about what in the world I was going to do. We have a lot of wild cats here so I was also thinking about diseases and germs and things like that. I thought about pressing my panic button and making the security guy get it out of the house but decided I didn't want to be the story they tell to everyone about the dumb American. So, I peeked my head out and made sure it was still in the kitchen. I quietly snuck into the living room and opened my front door. I then went and got the broom out of the closet. (Didn't want to have to touch it- that whole disease thing and I could tell it was scared and mad and didn't want to be bitten or scratched.)

I found it in the kitchen trying to climb up my burglar bars to find a way out. (It had come in through an open window so I think it was trying to find one to leave by.) It saw me and raced back to the study to try and get out that window which was now closed. It raced back and forth several times before I realized that instead of trying to get it to find the door if I opened one of the windows it would jump out of it the next time. It eventually jumped out the window and left. Needless to say, it was a very comical sight that I wished someone else had been there to enjoy :).

Some good entertainment

If you would like to see something very entertaining, please follow the link below. Its the video of our Lambano Christmas concert. It was very fun to watch. Lambano Christmas Concert.

First Day of School

 
 

Last week was the first day of school for four of our children. Yes, the little girl at the bottom was as scared as she looked. I was surprised at how hard it was to drop them off and how hard it was not to cry when we left them. 

I didn't come to South Africa expecting to develop a burden for the poor. I think in part I didn't even begin to know what poverty was until I came to South Africa. I mean I used to think I was poor. I was perfectly content to focus my ministry the women in the church and the staff at Lambano. Yet, the longer I am here the harder it becomes to keep that my only focus. But I keep thinking, what are we doing to reach the large majority of our country that won’t come through our church doors?

It would be easy to stay comfortable but every time I drive down the street passed the local squatters camp I think, "What is the church doing to minister to these people?". That question has become more personal recently. I now think, "What am I doing to minister to these people? What am I doing to bring the gospel to the needy?" In some ways, it was easy to sooth my conscience. I mean I work in an orphanage for HIV positive children. But is there more I should be doing? I have been convicted as I have read Scripture of the priority it places on the church being involved in mercy ministries. (For more on this check out my brother's blog: Africa Bound.)

You see I am convinced that the answer to the AIDs crisis in South Africa is the gospel. Its not the result of a lack of medicine or a lack of education. Yes, those things would help but the AIDs crisis in part is a result of a worldview that is shaped by ancestral worship. But its hard to share the gospel with someone who hasn't eaten in days and not be concerned with feeding them as well. Another GMI missionary recently put it this way to me, "For hundreds of year the church has been telling people the gospel, its time to start showing them what the gospel looks like."

Well, what does this all mean for me? Lambano has started a work in one of the local townships (Katlehong). We provide food to families impacted by HIV. We also have been involved in raising the monies to build houses for people who had no place to live. Each Thursday we take a doctor and an occupational therapist and run a clinic for HIV positive children. (Do you know that in just one of the local cemeteries over a 100 children are buried a month? The majority of these would be AIDs related deaths.) In addition, we train foster mothers so that they can get the government funding they are eligible for and we will be starting a feeding program that will provide lunch for over 1800 school children each day. For many, this will probably be their only meal of the day. We also would like to develop a sustainability project and teach them a trade so that will in turn help them earn an income. The goal: to show them what the gospel looks like. This ministry has provided us with tremendous evangelistic opportunities.

The problem has been that there has been no one to work with this project and lead it which is were I fit in. As of January, I will be helping to head this part of of our ministry up. In about a year, this will all come under the work of the hospice we are building. What’s exciting about that is that the hospice is on the same piece of property as our church plant. There is a tremendous lack of good churches in the black community. To have our ministry geographically close to a solid one will be a tremendous help in helping establish people in the church.

Please pray for this. Pray specifically for opportunities to share Christ with those we will be ministering to. Our desire is to not merely be another humanitarian group but to really bring the truth of God's Word to bear in these people's lives. Pray for wisdom and strength as I add this into my current responsibilities. Pray for my continued safety. Katlehong (the township we are ministering in) isn't the safest part of the city. In addition, pray that God will raise up a good biblical church in Katlehong. Our church plant is currently to far from the township for many of them to go to but there really isn't anywhere else to send them to.

Update on Rose

Sylvia and Rose

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for Rose. The transformation that God seems to be doing in her life is amazing. She truly is not the same person. She and I have started to meet together. She even invited me to her house this week which is amazing. In the past, she kept so to herself that if you even asked her a personal question she got upset. She never would have invited anyone to see where she lives.

We are going through God's Solutions to Life Problems. It is a little above her head but she is working diligently to complete it and learning from it. Please continue to pray for her. She does get some comments about the fact that she is meeting with me and some of the other staff have given her a hard time about it. She also is about to get a promotion which will make them even nastier to her. In the black culture when something good happens to someone, they don't get excited for each other. Instead they get jealous and often begin to attack the other person. Pray that God will continue to work in her heart and life and strengthen her for what lies ahead!

 

Lambano Staff Christmas Party Pictures

 

Lambano's Christmas Concert

This year Lambano put on a Christmas concert. Our kids memorized about 45 minutes worth of Christmas songs. Somehow it seemed a little strange though to hear kids sing about dashing through the snow in tank tops and shorts :). 

The Last Few Months in Review.....

Obviously, because Thanksgiving is connected with American history, it isn't a holiday that South Africans celebrate. So, this past Thanksgiving we introduced a few South Africans to a real Thanksgiving dinner. I must admit it felt wierd to put out Christmas snowmen as part of the centerpieces in 80 degree weather. I've also included a few pictures of some people I wish I had been able to celebrate Christmas with just because they're cute. 

The Difference 5 Weeks Makes

I know it has been awhile since I have updated my blog and I do plan on updating it soon. I did want to post this picture. This is Zintle, the little girl pictured below. In her first 5 weeks with us, she gained about 12 pounds. Amazing the difference being fed and on proper medication can make. She looks like a different girl! Praise the Lord!

Why Lambano is Needed..........

This is Zintle. She came to live at Lambano about a week and a half ago. She is 6 years old and weighs half of what she should for her age. She has AIDs and TB. Now, looking at her you would think she had not had access to medical care. However, Zintle has lived in a clinic for the last two years. While it is obvious even for non-medical people looking at her that she has medical issues, she was not given medication for TB or antivirals. In fact, while she has all the symptoms of TB, she was not even tested to TB while in the clinic. Thus, she got sicker and sicker. It really makes me upset just thinking about it. There is no reason why this little girl should be as sick as she is. None!!!

Shortly after coming to us, she was tested for TB and put on the needed medication for it. She already is doing better. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and her picture clearly shows why ministries like Lambano are needed here in South Africa.

Life isn't about being comfortable

Can I be honest with you and tell you that I like America? I like having choices in the stores. I like being able to go to Starbucks. I like Macys. I like eating Mexican. I like not having to look over my shoulder all the time and I like feeling safe. I love being able to spend time with some treasured friends. I like going to my home church on Sundays. The bottom line is that life is comfortable in America and in many ways it would be easy to come back and live.

Honestly, I was a little surprised during my visit at how easy it was been to adjust back to life here. There is a sense that California is home. Now, don't get nervous. I'm not making any plans to move back and live in the states but it has caused me to do some thinking. I've thought about why I chose to move to South Africa. I didn't leave the states because I wanted to get away. I left and will stay because life isn't about being comfortable. Life is about being compelled by the love of Christ. When I think of the ulimate sacrifice that Christ made for me, ("He made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Cor. 5:21) it makes me realize that the sacrifices I am being called to make really aren't that big of a deal and are small in comparision to what God has done for me. It kind of puts things in perspective.

4 Sleeps Until I Leave......

As they say in South Africa, I have 4 sleeps until I leave for the states! Yeah!!! Its been a crazy week though trying to finish everything up here and get ready to leave. I do find it humerous that the day I arrive in the states Starbucks is raising their prices by 5 cents. Those of you who know how much I have complained about missing Starbucks will understand the humor in that.

I wanted to give you a quick update on Rose. I met with her on Tuesday night and was sooo encouraged. I asked her if she could tell me how she became a Christian. I was expecting to hear some story from her childhood and how she goes to church etc. Instead, she started to share with me about how hard things were for her when her mother died and how angry at God and how sad she was. She said everyone kept telling her to pray and that God was always there for her. She didn't like it when people told her that bit gradually over a few months it seems that God softened her heart and in the process saved her. She can share the gospel in an understandable way and can explain why Christ had to die. She even used an illustration from the Fundamentals of the Faith book to demonstrate what Christ had accomplished on the cross. (A Bible Study we all thought she hadn't paid attention in.) Without me asking, she also began to share with me the difference Christ has made in her life. She loves to pray and read the Bible. She isn't harsh and angry all the time. I was sitting there amazed at what I saw. She is truly a different person with a different countenance. She is genuinely happy and joyful. Time will tell about the genuniness of her conversion but it seems like God has truly done an awesome work in her life. What an answer to prayer!

It was also very challenging to me to think about how small my faith is and how big our God is. I remember praying Lord save her and since that seems impossible- make her quit or give us a reason to fire her. We serve a truly amazing God who is able to do immeasurably more then we can ask or think. This has been such a great reminder to me of that. It was also a great reminder not to give up praying for the people we view as impossible for God to save. Its not about me and what I can accomplish. Its about God's work in people's hearts and lives. He's the one who changes people.

Leaving Home to Come Home

Its a weird feeling to have two homes but in many ways that is the way I feel. Two weeks from today I will be landing in Los Angeles!! How exciting! I will first be attending the GMI conference in San Diego. I return to Los Angeles on October 14th and will be there until October 29th. I will then spend a week in the Philadelphia area visiting family. I would love to see as many of you as possible. If you would like to schedule a time to get together, please drop me an e-mail.

Just a brief update on Rose. Lyn and I had a great meeting with her today. She has agreed to meet with me to talk about her relationship with God and what she believes. Please be in prayer for this. She is still very seeped in ancestoral worship. Thanks so much for praying!!

Some Recent Pictures.....

Such a sweet smile!

Me with some of the kids


Rosemary preparing the kids medicine. Taking medicine is such a part of our kids lives that when they play with their dolls, they pretend to give them medicine like some kids pretend to give their dolls tea to drink.


Christie, Jennifer and I. Jennifer is here for a year with her husband. She is teaching preschool at Lambano and he is helping to finish building our church plant church building.

God is able to do abundantly more.....

When some of our staff workers ask to speak to me, I know what they want to do- complain about management. Thats what I assumed last week when Rose asked to speak to me. To be honest, we have had Lambano management meetings where we have prayed for either a reason to fire Rose or for her to quit. In the past, she has seemed to stir up trouble where ever she was working.

I was thinking recently about the need to praise people for what they do well. Some people only hear what they are doing wrong and never hear anything positive. So, last week I mentioned to her in passing that I appreciated what a hard worker she is. She beamed from ear to ear.

The next day when I went to talk to Rose, I assumed that she was in trouble and wanted to win me over to her side. Was I ever wrong!!! Instead, Rose asked me what she could change to be a better worker. Currently, we are looking for people to promote to housemothers. Rose knows she would never be considered at this point for that position. She told me she really wanted to know what she needed to change about herself for this not to be the case. When she asked, she was very humble and open to what I had to say. Her spirit was entirely diiferent then what I have seen in the past. What an answer to prayer! She also mentioned to me how much what I had said meant to her. She said it had kept her up at might because she was so happy that people were saying nice things about her.

My suggestion to her was that we meet with Lyn (the Director of Lambano) to discuss what she thought Rose should change. We're doing that this coming Monday. I told her that we would then come up with a plan on how to work on some of the things she needs to change.

Ephesians 3:20-21

20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Bostwana

Two weekends ago I had the opportunity to go to Bostwana to speak at a Women's Conference. Bostwana is an African country of about 1.6 million people. It also has the highest AIDs rate in the world. I took two of the young adults (Kerry and Christie) from church with me. It was a very encouraging and refreshing weekend.

Friday night the pastor's wife hosted a dinner for about 8 women were we discussed why biblical counseling and the priority of discipleship in women's ministry. Two topics I am a little passionate about :). Saturday I spoke on God's Solutions to Life's Problems. The women were very eager to learn and teachable. It was a great day.

The church, Open Baptist Church, is a church of about 700 people and has about 37 nations represented in the congregation. It was very different to be in an African country that is not as racially divided as South Africa and were crime is not as huge of an issue. Gaborone neighborhoods are mixed with there be low income housing, middle class and upper class housing all in the same neighborhood. You would never find that here.

It was encouraging too to see the ways that the church is trying to minister to the community. They have developed a program where they disciple and train college students who then go into the local high schools and teach AIDs prevention and specifically abstinence. They have now been invited by the Department of Education to teach it in all of the high schools. What a great opportunity.

Kerry and I with Mary (one of the most joyful people I have ever met)

Kerry, Christie and I

Christie and I at a recent rugby game

 

A trip to the clinic

Yesterday was a very sobering day. One of our staff workers asked me to take her to the local clinic to get tested to see if she was HIV positive. The stigma of AIDs is so great here that many who need to get tested are scared to and don't. So, this was a very brave and scary thing for her to do.

Its kind of weird to sit there and in some ways be waiting for someone to receive a death sentence. We're pretty sure that she has it but the test came back inconclusive. They did bloodwork and the tests won't be back until the end of next week. That's a long time to wait to know if your life is about to be changed forever.