Backwards is really forwards.......

When we found out about Meise and what she had been doing, it felt like our project had taken a hundred steps backwards. In fact at one point Lyn even said to me that maybe we should shut it down for awhile to regroup. The more we heard and the more we saw of what she had done the more discouraging it was. But you just keep reminding yourself of the truth. God hasn't made a mistake yet. This isn't and accident. Somehow and someway he is going to work through this. And He has.

What seemed like a hundred steps back has really become a hundred steps forward. For me, it has been good to have to be more hands on in Katlehong. There are a lot of things Meise has done for us that I have done in the last few weeks. Last Friday, I spent a large portion of the day taking one of the 80 year old grandmothers to the doctor and helping her do somethings at the bank. As a result, I had some great conversations with the woman who went with me to translate about spiritual things. I've also had the chance to meet with most of those we are helping up there and begin to build deeper relationships with them. Because Meise tried to keep them away from us for fear that she would be caught out, her not being part of our project has freed them to share with me in new ways.

We also have hired two new workers. Both who claim to be Christians and one I am fairly certain is. The Christian is actually a man who is a widower and has three small children that he is looking after and raising. Not a big deal to many of us but you have to understand in their culture the men typically have children and leave. He's really the first one I have met who is actively involved in his children's lives in the Katlehing area. Men there just don't do that. He also has been involved in going into schools and teaching about purity and abstenice (another unheard of idea here). I'm looking forward to capitalizing on some of his contacts at the school!

We also found out why we have met with such resistance from the clinics in Katlehong. We had had a great meeting with one and they had agreed to give us the names of children they think are HIV positive for us to follow up on. When Meise went to get the names, they refused and all of a sudden started talking about privacy issues. Doreen (the other person we have hired) went and spoke to the clinic this week and they told her that they were afraid to give Meise the information because they were afraid of how shoe would use it against people. They would be more then willing to give us that information now for us to follow up.

It has been an encouraging few days. I've prayed (and I know many of you have) for this project and that God would give us inroads into the community and make us effective there. It has been exciting this week to see how He used what seemed like a hundred steps backwards to accomplish this! Thank you so much for praying. Your prayers are such an important part of the ministry here!

On a different note, I am very excited that my parents return home from three months in the states this Sunday! Yahoo! I really am serious about hiding their passports next year so they can't go. :-)

I'm also looking forward to going away this weekend with some people from church. We are going to Lesotho which is a small country in the middle of South Africa. It should be a lot of fun!