Be spontaneous!

The kids in the neighborhood are out on winter break for 4 weeks so the streets have become one big playground. Kids are out til dusk playing games, hanging out, singing, dancing etc. It reminds me of the neighborhoods when I was little. The only thing that would interrupt our play time were cars that passed by. We all moved to the side and then resumed right where we left off.  I have learned to play a game called “Tennis”. I have noticed that only girls play it. Two people bounce a tennis ball back and forth trying to hit the person in the middle. My favorite part though is that if you drop it or the ball goes past you, it is literally a free for all. Everyone standing around you runs and fights for the ball. If you are the person to get the ball it’s your turn.  This creates lots of laughter and shouting (in a fun way). Oh, and I’m learning names. As you can imagine this is not an easy task. Not counting Luc’s family I think I remember 6. I’m trying to add 2 each day.

We attended church at the children’s home this Sunday. Thomas, my fellow teammate, preached and did a great job.  We also caught the end of a choir competition. Most of the groups were just kids of all ages singing together, but there were two legit choirs. They were really good. In two weeks I’m going to preach on Sunday. I’m going to use the bible story about Joseph to talk about when we are called by God or have dreams we want to achieve, though people may intend to stop us or try to keep us down God will use it for good.  Or something like that…

We were invited to a surprise birthday party and you can’t go to a party in Africa and not dance. There was a congo line at one point and the older ladies took us by the hands to dance in the middle. Oupa, our team leader, warned us that it would be spontaneous and sure enough it was! I was asked to make a speech; a word of encouragement or blessing to the woman whose birthday it was. Uhm. Sure?  I was just one of probably 10 people that got up to share something. There is an MC and a program of which I was just added into on the spot. I had a lot of fun though and it was another great culture experience.  

Straight line or station?

I'm recovering from being out of commission for most of the week due to illness. I didn't leave bed for 3 days so I'm some relieved to feeling better. Imodium and rehydrating salts became my best friend :)
I made it into town by taxi. I passed some neighborhood kids on my way to the main road and two of the girls wanted to walk with me. I think by now they recognize me J In order get the taxi to stop for you, you just point your finger in in the air which mean you are going to town I guess.  Now, when I say taxi it’s really like the equivalent of a 15 passenger van. I’m pretty sure they just drive around the township picking people up until they are full and then drive into town. He literally honked at every person we passed or saw. I’m going to have to get used to so much honking.  It’s very different then the states where you just get in and head straight to where you are going. Maybe this is why we run on cp time (the original) here. No one’s in a hurry.


For the local taxi's you use hand signals to tell the driver which way you want to go. You make a circular motion with your fist if you want to go to the station/ plaza for shopping or anything in that direction. Coming home you make a gesture of straight line and tell them your stop. It works quite easily actually.You just get in with the rest of the people going that direction. My accent has proved to be a little bit of barrier when telling the driver where I want to get down. The other day it took a couple people in the taxi with me to figure it out what i was saying but I got there just fine. 

"How do we grow taller?"

This weekend the basketball team that Luc coaches had a chance to go to its first tournament. It was actually  their first time leaving the township to play basketball and their first competition. We all went along to support the team since we had been going to some of their practices. They are all high school age and unfortunately they were playing against college and men's team so it was a bit uneven. However, despite losing by 90 points in both games their attitude was great, they had a good time and enjoyed the experience. Afterwards they wanted to know how to grow taller and hopefully they gained some motivation to work hard in practice.

                                    

    

Friday is the kids club that Petunia organizes for the kids in the neighborhood. They first bake followed by games, songs and bible study. I'm hoping to find a way to connect with the young girls maybe another time during the week. They have their winter break coming up so pray I can find a creative way to minister to them. 

Finally for lunch this week we had a South African burger in the township. It includes an average size burger on two huge thick pieces of bread and then a huge mound of fries. Quite the experience.We can cross this culture experience off the list.  

feeling the love

My family recently lost my grandpa who was such a beautiful and loving husband, dad, grandfather and great grandfather. As you can imagine its difficult for me to be so far away but its given me an opportunity to turn to my community for encouragement and prayer. People truly are wonderful if you allow them to speak into your life and be there for you, but that's the catch you have to allow them. You have to open up and say here are my weaknesses, my needs and my shortcomings. You must invite people into the depths of your life because its meant to be shared. It took the hardest seasons of life to realize this for myself and I was stubborn at first until I could accept the gift that those around me offered. Now, I will never be the same.

Lord thank you for all the friends and family that are models of your faithfulness, compassion and unconditional love. You have allowed them to help me see you. Always in your debt. Amen.

A Funeral (South African Style)

On Tuesday our schedule for the day was changed due to a funeral at the neighbors house. You can learn so much about cultures through their ceremonies (weddings, funerals) and rites of passage (birthdays etc). First its a very communal event whether you know the person or not and its last a loooong time. From the day that the person dies until the day of the funeral there is an evening prayer/memorial service every night at the home. The night before the funeral the evening service is 4 hours long. We heard them singing long into the night. We didn't have to attend that one, but we did go to one of the evening services. Lots of singing and praying. It was not in English so to be honest I feel asleep after the singing. oops...  The family cooks for the entire neighborhood that attends the funeral so everyone shares their pots, pans, dishes, etc. The women spend two days cooking. There was easily over a 100 people that came. That is so hard core something we in the states would never consider doing.

The coffin is brought to the home and placed in the father's room if its his child. I was wondering how in the world they would get a coffin through the doorway, but its much smaller than our ornate huge ones. Then 30 minutes before the funeral starts they open the coffin for a viewing. When its time to start which in this case was 7am the coffin is moved outside under a tent that has been set up in the yard with chairs for people to sit in. The only thing really different about this part is that about half of the people came late and it was outside at 7am in the cold. Brrr.. After about an 1 1/2 it was time to go to the cemetery. It is not that common to see a processional of cars in the states but here everyone does it. How do over a 100 people get there you ask?Well some people drive, but most take a bus. Yep, they rent a bus to take ALL the people to the cemetery. At the cemetery they sing and bury the coffin but not 6 ft down just below ground level because next the men use shovels to cover the coffin and make a mound above ground. This took a little while but we waited til its done. The fact that the men of the community actually bury the coffin themselves is fascinating to me. Something about it seems more personal or meaningful. After this part we went back to the neighbor's home and had lunch. All together it was almost a 4 hour affair but well worth it.

In the beginning

Its been three days since arriving here in South Africa. We have had time to soak it in, adjust to the time difference and learn about the community. Our first day here in order to fight jet lag Danielle and I went to help Petunia, the team leader along with her husband Luc, with her weekly kids club. They bake together,  play games and then end with bible songs. There must have been 40 kids from the neighborhood that came over to join. The kids just stared at us for the first 30 minutes or so, but once the games started we were pulled in quickly to participate laughing and playing with them. The kids speak English here so the bold ones came to talk to us. The second day here we were given a history of the Innerchange team and the township. Listening to the story I found it amazing how God provided the relationships and connections to be invited in, placing the team right where He wanted. The history of the township was also interesting as we learned about its foundation, the role of the government in developing it,and the remnants of the apartheid. This also helped me to understand how the history of this township has affected/or created the culture of this area. I'm totally a geek when it comes to cultures. I find it so fascinating.Today we went to church where Luc was preaching and I was blessed by his message about obeying the word of God. After church a few people wanted to take a picture with us because they were so excited to meet someone from the states :)

Luc and Petunia have been wonderful hosts as we stay in the guest room of their house. They are the team leaders here in South Africa. They have 3 children that have been a pleasure getting to know. Their son is 8 months and they have two daughters 5 and 14.Its a blessing to be with them and be welcomed in so graciously.Our orientation of the township and the ministries we will be participating in continues through this week. I have learned to greet people in Zutu which is fun, but language learning is such a humble experience. As we serve and minister I'm hoping to learn as much as the language as possible.

Prayer requests:
- continued team building as we continue to get to know each other
- sharp and curious minds as we learn the language and the culture in order to honor those we meet.
- the resolve to be obedient to the Word of God.
- health and strength for my body because it is not used to all this new bacteria

                                                                  Church Building

                                                                     Our room

                                                         Jumping pic kids from church

                                                                One of Luc's daughter and his son