Transitioning back

Good Monday morning.  For most of the team, this is the first full day back in the States.  Macy and Paula stayed in South Africa to visit Durban, and Hillary went to visit her brother in Zanzibar.  9 of us returned to the States on Sunday morning, and spent the day trying to adjust back to "reality."  There is no doubt that you come back to life at home with a different lens than when you left.  Please pray for the team to keep their spirits up and to use what they've learned in East London in their everyday life at home. 

Also, please continue to pray for the efforts in East London, as our week last week was only a taste of their daily reality.  Read about the school's efforts at:  http://www.hopeeducation.net/

Looking forward to the next team's trip in November!

Cupcakes & Goodbyes

Our day is coming to a close at First City Baptist Church, and while we are so happy to be here, there is a sad tone surrounding us all since this was our last day doing Holiday Club, which means we won't see the children anymore.

Our theme this morning for Holiday club was 'God is our Father', and our Bible verse was "For I am God's most treasured posession," from Exodous 19:5. The story we learned about was Jonah and the whale, which was fun because the children were quite familiar with the details, and were very excited to chime in and help Paula tell everyone about it. The children really enjoyed craft because they got to decorate picture frames with stickers! They also made pictures and wrote letters for Dani, some of which were too precious for words. In music class with 'Auntie' Liz we danced to "Jesus is my Super Hero". It was so much fun to just let loose.

With today being the last day of Holiday Club, after lunch the team surprised the kids with cupcakes and ice cream. They were so adorable with frosting smooshed all over there faces! Some of them were quite sad  knowing that we would be leaving and not returning tomorrow. We were all a bit somber as we took our last pictures and embraced the kids one last time; it was a struggle to leave because they wouldn't stop hugging us, and we didn't want to let them go either. But the abrupt 'goodbye' is just how it has to be.

This afternoon we finished our renovations at the church. Adam and Jeremy finished varnishing the bathroom doors while the ladies that have been sorting the fabrics at Thembelethu did an amzing job getting everything in working order. And the rest of the ladies finished painting and cleaning the inside of the church.
 

Tonight we're enjoying dinner and fellowship with some of the members of the church. We've been blessed to enjoy throughout the week. Thank you so much to the congregation of First City Baptist for welcoming us so warmly. Their hospitality and generosity has been such a comfort to us, and we can now say that First City is a home away from home!

Ulale kakuhle uThixo akusikelele (Goodnight & God Bless -in Xhosa)

-Dani, Hillary & Stephanie

A Little Bit of Hope

Another day is winding down in East London, South Africa.  We've had a busy few days, and we were unable to update you last night.

Yesterday's Holiday Club was exciting for us and the kids - we learned that God is our helper, using the story of Moses and the Red Sea.  We had fun acting it out and covering "Pharaoh and his soldiers" with the red velvet sea.

One of our favorite parts of every day of Holiday Club is the music.  These kids are amazing!  They just keep singing, starting a new song on their own as they finish each one.  Aunty Liz has been teaching them new songs and dances - they especially like her "Get it, get it" song, and they keep singing it on the playground!

After Holiday Club, we took off on our African safari.  It was great to have a break from the emotional strain of learning about these kids' difficult lives.  Even though it was cold and windy, and the animals were hiding in the deep bush, we had a great time and saw quite a few, including: a rhinoceros family, monkeys, wildebeests, impalas, African antelopes(?), giraffes, zebras, buzzards, and an entire pride of lions, including three little cubs.  At the end of the game drive, we got to pet a family of cheetahs that have been raised at the game reserve since they were three weeks old.

We had an Independence Day dinner at a local favorite restaurant called Country Bumpkin, and we enjoyed our early night.

Today's Holiday Club theme was "God is my protector," and we used the story of Daniel in the lion's den.  The kids really enjoyed making their lion pictures in craft time with Aunty Dani, using the circles we spent hours cutting out on Tuesday night.

After Holiday Club, those of us who are visiting South Africa for the first time (Christina, Elizabeth, Liz, Dani, and Paula) had the opportunity to visit local townships with BB, who has been ministering in South Africa for decades and is a wonderful tour guide.  It was difficult to see the living situation that many people in East London experience.  The impact of apartheid is still incredibly obvious, and seeing the racial division continue was difficult for us to understand.  Many people live in shacks without electricity or running water, and families often share one bed.  We saw many young children (some looked as young as 8 or 9), carrying their younger siblings on their backs.

BB told us that these shacks burn down about once every three years because their only source of heat is building fires.  We could actually see smoke and smell fire, and we spotted one small brush fire.  The current conditions (cold, dry, and windy) make it easy for fires to start and spread.

We met one family who lives in a house like those above, in a more rural community with cows, pigs, and goats roaming freely throughout the neighborhood.  Despite their difficult circumstances, the family was happy, and they were proud of the house they have built and keep in beautiful shape.

It's hard to believe we have just one more day of Holiday Club before we leave.  Tomorrow, we're learning about how "God is our Father," and we're looking forward to seeing the children, though we know it will be difficult to say goodbye.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers - we're looking forward to seeing you soon!

- Elizabeth and Christina (with help from Petina)

Double Blessing!

Today was our second incredible day at Hope School.   We are each getting to know the children better.  What amazes us is that many of them come from unimagenable home situations and yet they are so joyful and filled with hope. Their joy is simply contagious.   That was our first blessing today.  Our second was through a ministry that reaches out to -- in their own words -- 'street workers'.   Most of us admitted we were nervous and at a loss for words yet what an inspiration these dear ladies were to us.   Again, even in dire circumstances they were full of joy.  Most of them openly admitted that they know what they are doing is wrong and they are not happy with their lives and are truly looking to God to open a new path for them.  There were 15 of these awesome women and we ask for you to pray for them and this ministry to them. 
Honestly, we traveled to South Africa to bless others - instead we are the ones being blessed! 

We are eating way too much because of the delicious cooking of Marie, Dawn, Ethne.  Tomorrow after our time at HOPE, we go on safari.  To say the least, we are all psyched that at long last we will have the opportunity to see the wildlife of South Africa - maybe even a giraffe!   Thanks for your love and don't forget to pray for us!  Hugs and Kisses ....


Liz and Paula

Molweni! Today was the first day of Holiday Club and we couldn't have been more excited to meet the 80+ children of Hope Prep. The theme was "God is our creator" and set the foundation for the rest of the week. A big hit amongst the kids was the craft where they made collages about the seven days of creation. 

Later in the afternoon we did some church renovations that involved updating the conference center and organizing Thembalethu, an outreach program which gives the women of SCI sewing skills used to provide a sustainable income for themselves. 
Our highlights from today: the little smiles, homemade food (Dawn's cobbler!), bonding and fellowship, meshing as a team, planning for tomorrow's Holiday Club and listening to Sandi's (Kindergarten teacher at Hope Prep) stories and opinions. Be sure to check back later this week for more updates!
-Macy, Maribeth, Dani, Stephanie and Christina

Arrived in East London

After almost a 12 hour flight delay causing us to stay overnight in Jo'burg on Saturday night, we left our hotel this morning at 5:30 am to make it to East London by 9am via a quick 1.5 hour flight.  We immediately packed up our luggage and headed to First City Baptist Church.  After service, we visited the local church in Duncan Village (Gompo) for part of their service.  Ethne & BB hosted a wonderful lunch for us, and now we're preparing for our week of adventures with the kids   More to come!