Leah - July 27

“Motho ke motho ka batho- A person is a person through other people” –African proverb

A sign at the entrance to The Apartheid Museum

July 27 was a Friday packed full with history, love, and ,of course, Jesus. We started off the day with an amazing breakfast and a perspective of a white women living through Apartheid, both provided by Glenda, the owner of the Castle.  She described the confusion and frustration of living with parents who supported the movement, but believed the truth that a person is a human, no matter the color of their skin. The passion and emotion behind her words brought true light to the foreign tragedy. Her story, however, was just warm up for us. Then we went to the Apartheid museum. This museum was packed full of information and representations of the whole history of Apartheid and included an exhibit about the life of Nelson Mandela. We were at the museum for a solid two hours, and I personally spent 90 minutes just reading about Nelson Mandela. The whole museum was silent not only because we were constantly reading, but also because of the material made everyone speechless.

The team with Ma Ethel and all her children

            After our little history lesson at the museum, we met up with Sihle Mooi, a pastor for a church located in Soweto. We went to lunch at a local buffet that had interesting food. Of course I tried it all because, well, we are in Africa. What I didn’t realize was that my first big bite was of cow intestine and stomach. I am just going to say that it wasn’t for me. Everything else, however, was delicious. My favorite part of the meal was when Eric went up and played the xylophone with the natives.

Sihle then took us to Ma Ethel’s, who is an exceptional women! She is 78 years old and for over 30 years has opened up her home to abandoned children. At this time, she is housing 35 children in her 3 bedroom home. She says that Jesus has blessed her with all these children and when she loves on them, she loves on Him; so, she is able to love Him all day everyday. After a tour of her home, we were lucky enough to get a concert from not only all the children, but also Ma Ethal. You could just see the light in their souls while worshiping Him. The beauty in that house was so pronounced that you couldn’t help but have a smile on your face. However, we still had to experience the difficulty of saying goodbye.

Children from the neighborhood in Soweto

Connecting with some children from Ma Ethel's Home

The last stop of the day was to Porsche and Wendy’s home. This mother and daughter team live in a township in Soweto. their home is half the size of my bedroom, but they are proud to live there. Wendy, the daughter, is the representation for physical science for her school at a competition on Saturday. She also runs a bible study in her township which partners with Sihle’s church. Wendy is only 16 years old, but has spiritual maturity of a women three times her age. While we were at Wendy’s home, we also had the privilege of playing with the children of the township. I met two girls, Angel and Taylor. Angel is ten, her favorite color is pink, and has the prettiest smile I have ever seen. However, Taylor was a mystery, we had no way of verbally communicating with each other. Nevertheless, just embracing her and loving on her made a connection between us the will never be forgotten. Both Taylor and Angel exerted raw love and I have no doubt that God was present in that time we spent together. When we left the township to head home, Sihle told us that the children we just spent time with rarely got that much affection, and we made a difference in their lives.

The beautiful Ma Ethel sharing her powerful story

            In the past two weeks, we have experience so many different places and set the foundation for so many relationships that is as been bittersweet. The bitter part is mainly that we only get to love on these people for a few hours max. however, it is so sweet that we get to share our love with so many different kinds of people. I cant lie, it has been wearing; Nevertheless, it is totally worth it. 

 

-Leah :-]

We're back online... (for now)

We know that there have been a lot of questions and wonderings about the team and how we are doing. Well, we have been without internet for the last few days since being in Mozambique. The central server for most of the country was done, so virtually everyone in the country was without internet. But it's back on now and we will do our best to post all of the days that you've missed out on. As for us...we are all doing well, we are experiencing amazing people and incredible things, we are so thankful to be here and to be a part of such powerful kingdom things.
Gershwin

now, a little fun.

Wednesday, July 25.

I'm just gonna throw this out there.... cape town, south africa is my new favorite place on earth. seriously this place is. unexplainable. the energy here is so clean and renewing and THE FOOD IS AMAZING TOO... my mom would be so proud. i even eat everyone's leftovers off their plates [that's a big accomplishment for a skinny boy].

today, i awoke to the ringing of my alarm clock and sprung into the shower. after some maple granola [bear naked, i brought it from the states, my favorite granola] and a south african soap opera, the rest of the team walked through the door after being picked up by our driver, mr. ford, from their host families. we all shared a few words and broke back into the van and began another journey. today was a lot of things... sunny, our last day in cape town, and our fun day!

St. James beach

we started off at st. james beach. it's a beautiful, and small, beach with bright and bubbly changing shacks lining the water and a large, concrete-walled pool that's protected from the ocean. when each wave hits the wall, water splashes up and ripples across the pool. i just couldn't resist the opportunity [since i am a mermaid] to change into my trunks and enjoy the sea! leah snapped a few pics of me ariel-style and then we headed to get lunch. everyone had to fulfill their craving of fish and chips, so that was the dish of choice. we scrambled to the nearest seafood eatery and were quickly back on the road with fresh seafood.

What else needs to be said?

photo by leah.

next stop, the market.

yes, a real [touristy] market. one where you bargain and everything. well, they don't sell animals, but it's still a pretty cool african experience. and with help of our loyal driver, we set off to buy some souvenirs. the purchases range from tapestries to flip flops to bottle openers [for the adults back home of course]. i would go to one stand and tell them i'm from the states, to get a response like, "oohhhhh, i give you goooood price, yes" or, "oh, feel free to touch, yes it is all yours". many polite "no thank you"s were given. some stands i would say i'm from cape town, and they would say, "ohhhh, really?! i give you local price!" or "my prices for locals are much lower than those tourist prices, tsk." hmmm... i think i'll go as a local!

African masks sold in the local markets

then at about four o' clock, we arrived at the hout bay harbor for a little devotional/recharge time with kay. she is such a great leader for us teenagers and is a really fun person too. we soon got a call from gershwin for us to meet him on the other side of the harbor for a boat ride.

Seal Island

when you think of boat ride, i'm sure 99% of you think of a relaxing evening boat ride, maybe some hors d'oeuvres... well our boat was one of those crazy tourist thrill high-speed roller coaster boats, complete with jockey seats and surprisingly no barf bags. yes, we were part of that 1%. so we whooshed out of the harbor and into the deep sea waves. in the midst of the airtime and splashing, we approached an island completely covered in seals! from afar it looked like brown rock, but it was just a plethora of seals making awkward noises and being cute. they would even repeat our noises that we made at them like parrots! amazing.

we all were exhausted and ready for our last night in with our host families. we were all dropped off by mr. ford and savored the last night in cape town.

The view from the front of the boat

this place has a place in my heart and i never want to leave. nonetheless i cannot wait for what we encounter in Johannesburg, Soweto, and Maputo. hopefully I'll fall in love with another place yet again. god has shown himself in every single thing here so far and this is a place where you truly see the beauty of his creation. now, off to Joberg!

Eric

photos by eric.

A Day at Sweet Home Farms, July 24

Children running the streets of Sweet Home Farm

Kay sharing a kiss with Siya's new baby boy.

The sun setting on Cape Town

Today after  our daily convening at Gersh's house, we visited a childhood friend of Gershwin, John Scheepers who has known our grumpy Gershwin for around 25 years. John lives in a community in Cape Town called Woodstock. Like most of Cape Town, Woodstock is a community with massive amounts of wealth contrasted with the harsh reality of poverty. At the top of a hill in Woodstock sits some of the most educated, young business people in all of South Africa, less than a block away is an impoverished community with run down and abandoned buildings all around  John has intentionally moved to Woodstock to start a church community. Not just any church though, he is focusing on the unity of people and the mixing of the diverse cultures in Woodstock. He hopes that lines of class, race, and origin are blurred and in his home. At his house, John talked to us about Matthew 5. He used the imagery of the city on the hill and the light of the world to help us see his vision of the community. John's ministry is just starting out and in many ways only conceptual, however John has a clear passion for the people there and helping create a diverse yet united group of Christians in the are. Furthermore, John is told us of how he intentionally is focusing on small groups. He doesn't want to start with the large sanctuary, worship team, and pastors. John believes that the church should not be just an activity on Sunday or a small group during the week, it should be a way of life. Not just a way of life but living with a group of people and living intentionally with God centered community. After our little lesson and discussion John took us on a walk through the streets. We encountered many friendly people who told said good morning and asked how we were. I couldn't tell if it was the chilly morning or the stark contrast of poverty and wealth there that tightened my chest, but I know something is moving in my heart.

The victorious Superstars Soccer Team

After we left John we headed back to the Warehouse. KayMo rejoined us there after being absent that morning, unsurprisingly teaching a Bible study at a local church. There we met up with our friend Barry, a British architect who has moved to South Africa to serve the people in the township of Sweet Home Farms. Gershwin enjoyed harassing Barry over the South African cricket team "walloping" the English team in their recent game and soon after we left to go visit Sweet Home Farms. We arrived and went to lunch at a place in the township owned by a woman named Christina. She is a truly amazing woman. Christina found out that she was HIV positive and fell almost into a state of shock. She didn't really understand what that meant in her life, however she wasn't alone. The Warehouse helped her get on her feet and taught her about her condition. With there help she started her little restaurant and a support group for the HIV carriers in the community. Our meal was fantastic and delectable. So good that Eric not only ate his meal, but four others' left overs. My hypothesis is that Eric is turning into a mermaid, he is always the one who wants to see the ocean and go swimming and also eats like a black hole. We took a short walk around Sweet Home Farms and saw the church area/daycare for the children. As soon as we were spotted, children from all over the township came to see us. They ran with arms open wide at us and eager to be loved. Like the kids in Fikelela they wanted attention and love, both of which we have in excess. We played around with the kids and had fun in the street. Pearce and I cut some orange slices for the boys soccer game that we attended, Barry and the Warehouse have a team named the Sweet Home Farms Superstars. After many tears and heartfelt goodbyes, we left with the team for the game. The younger boys won three nil and the older boys almost made a two nil come back but had a final of two to one. A good time was had by all and after a beautiful sunset we said farewell to Barry. Something in my heart felt like that was not the last time I would work with him in my life and I'm excited to see what God has in store for me.

Love Max

Monday, July 23

The team and some of the children at Fikelela

"All things are possible with God" Mark 9:23. This message was easy to see after an amazing day around South Africa. After being picked up from our homestays and a quick cuddle sesh at Gershwin's house,  the team made our way over to Fikelela Orphange Home. Almost immediately, children were peeking through bars to get a glimps at the foreginers. We met our new friend KAte who explained to us the basic operations and the origins of the orphanage. She has been in SA for eightenn months now, starting off with no intention of ever coming to Africa. She spent years traveling back and forth between Asia and her home country, Australia, (Aussi, aussi, aussi, oi, oi, oi!) eventually she came to Africa with a friend and fell in love. The orphanage has an amazing succes rate, lAst Year fourty-nine came in and fourty-one were adopted! All the children are looked after with each of their needs met- some of the kids have Down Syndrome, others have Cerebal Palsy, 50% have been diagnised with HIV, and 80% have TB. When our tour was finished, we got to see the children! They took one look at us and ran, with arms open, completely excited for new visitors, begging to be picked up. We spent the morning playing with the kids and even with the language barrier, the joy was plastered on each of their faces. After lunch, the children were put down for naps and the team started on our next project- making a mural on one of the walls. Surprisingly little paint was spilt and our masterpiece was coming together. All day long, one little baby kept coming back to me, Barney. Barney is not his real name, but comes from the route of barnacle since he sat on my hip all day long and became extremely upset if I put him down. This orphanage is truly an amazing operation. Even though most of the kids were unwanted and neglected at the beginning of their lives,  everyone happy, friendly, and love being loved. They are clearly looked after and given the necessary attention, even in the most extreme situations where others have turned their backs on them.

 One by one the kids woke up and came to view the new edition to their home. quote from the book of Mark, complete with an astronout in a spaceship, an alien, and the solar system.


It was hard saying goodbye to each of our little babies! We piled into our van, again with all the children looking at us through the gate. Muizenberg was our next destination but only by chance! There is an amazing little ice cream shop called Spendid that we have all been waiting to go to and finally we went! Muizenberg is lined by the ocean and surfers try and catch the best wave. We got our ice cream and took a stroll along the boardwalk, which led to taking pictures in the ocean, which led to a bit of getting wet. Especially one photo of our group, minus Gershburger and Kay, of the beautiful mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. Before we knew it, a giant wave crashed behind us, drenching us all, with the little "warning" from Gershwin. We contiuned playing in the waves until our feet were numb from the cold ocean and our arms limp from carrying kids all day.

Standing on the beach in Muizenberg

Already on this trip we see the difficulties of living in third-world conditions, but we also see the hope and joy that simple love can bring.

Katie

yesterday began with some great devotional time with the team. we talked about what has been hard for us so far on the trip and how God has revealed Himself. a moment we all loved occurred the day before on a train ride. after seeing downtown cape town and eating some traditional south African fair (gatsby sandwiches, samosas, appetizers and stoneys) we took the train back to Gersh's hometown. we entered the station in the "white" area- modern and clean- and then moved to the "colored" section- old and tagged and run down- to catch our train. these sections are no longer segregated but still loudly profess the inequities suffered for so long. on the train we encountered a father and son, disheveled, the child without shoes, jump on the train with their drum. perhaps the dad was a street musician, we speculated. suddenly another man on the train sat down with them and began to play the drum and sing! the bus ride turned into a concert! we all loved the joy and spontaneity of the moment,  God revealing something beautiful that sprung up in an ordinary, dirty train ride.

Mural on the wall inside The Warehouse

we headed out in the rain- a lot of rain- to "the warehouse", a ministry that practices urban gleaning. following the biblical model of leaving part of the harvest to give to the poor, the warehouse collects gently used clothing and new items gleaned from local businesses. we gathered around Barry Lewis, a British man who is a leader at The Warehouse, to tell us about their work in sweet home farm, an informal settlement with 17,000 people living in deplorable conditions. but the first thing he told us, upon discovering we are from Denver, was of the horrific shooting at the batman premiere. we listened in stunned silence as he read from the BBC report of the violence. a world away, our hearts are heavy for our hometown and those suffering there. suddenly the suffering here and at home felt connected. we live in a world broken, by evil and by poverty and we were standing at the intersection in our own hearts. Barry went on to tell us of work they have done in sweet home farm learning the language, living among the people as friends and fellow humans and his vision and hope for the future of the people of sweet home farm. we have been reading when helping hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert- a great book about poverty alleviation- and it was if the words came alive as Barry spoke. it was a really inspiring talk. he spoke a phrase Xhosa, that is foundational to their work and philosophy, "the beautiful people will do beautiful things." we are still talking about that today. after eating lunch  we went to work on bags and bags of clothing, sorting by size and gender and folding and folding and folding. these kids can fold some laundry!

after we finished, we went to a coffee shop in the mall to talk about the experience and wander around (still raining) and then back to our new south African families for dinner and then youth group at a local church!

parents, i have to tell you that these are some awesome young adults. they are handling challenges with aplomb, interacting graciously and with so much laughter with each other and the people they are meeting, they are a joy to be with! thank you for your willingness to share them and release them to their callings!

love
kay

More...

The team at Greenwood after all 11 bags were packed!!!

 So more thoughts on the first day here in South Africa...

The gardens downtown Cape Town

So after a few quick showers and everybody trying to find their legs we headed off into the heart of Cape Town. It's really weird looking at this group of people who were just packing all these bags back in the high school room at Greenwood (which by the way we needed a separate vehicle just for the bags)  and seeing them trying to drink in all of the new things around us.  More than anything today was really about just looking at Cape Town, looking at all the various parts and pieces of this melting pot city. It was a typically beautiful winters day with clear blues skies and a very manageable 65 degrees. We went from seeing abject poverty to having a bright new red Ferrari roar by us on the highway. The are the contrasts we've been trying to talk about all this time. Two things that are seemingly on opposite ends of the spectrum live very close to each other here.

We wanted to send everybody a few pictures from today, so here goes... this first one is taken in what was the initial gardens for the Dutch East India Company as they founded a food station and refueling station for ships heading from Netherlands to India. Today these gardens are open to the public and many Capetonians often wander though the park for lunch and enjoy the beautifully manicured lawns and trees. Our group enjoyed these gardens and the friendly squirrels that were all over the place.

This is a picture of one of the stained windows in St. George's Cathedral, this is the home church to the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in South Africa. It was a church that had a significant role during the apartheid regime. It was from this church that Desmond Tutu would call apartheid evil and ask the government to stop treating its people so inhumanely.

It has been a full day, though I think much of the tiredness we all feel comes from the nearly 2 days of traveling. We hope you have found a spot for the team prayer and that its something that helps to remind you all to be praying for us.

We will be in touch..

Grace,
Gershwin

We have arrived!!!

After 2 long flights and many awkward positions trying to sleep on some small seats we have eventually arrived in Cape Town!!! It's a beautiful day here in Cape Town and after some showers we will be venturing into downtown Cape Town and getting a feel for the layout. We will make a more substantial post later today, though I have a feeling there are some very tired people around these parts.
Later
Gershwin

We are almost there...

It's Thursday, July 12. I feel overwhelmed, I feel like all the balls are up in the air and every time I turn my head to respond to someone calling my name I drop another ball...sigh
Yet on the horizon lies this adventure, this calling...this experience. I know there are going to be amazing moments scattered throughout this time and yet I fear I won't have the capacity to take it all in.

So I hope this space will become a place where we all get to process through some stuff. The place where we get to just write down what's going on inside of us because if you are anything like me I sometimes struggle to get the experiences out...

We will do our best but i van promise you that we will fail at various point.

But there are so many exciting things to look forward to and I hope that at we share them here all of you reading it will feel close and a part of our experiences

Gershwin