South Africa Picture Log (#2)

 View of Joberg from the Apartheid museum.

 Freedom Square in Soweto.

 An area of informal settlement still remaining in Soweto.

 Relaxing at the guesthouse.

The ladies cooking dinner at Nieu Communities.

 Planting grass at the orphanage.

South Africa Reflections (#5)

Today is Wednesday and we leave in 2 days. Honestly, I wish it were more like twenty. The first conversation we had with Pure Hope discussed real communities and relationships, and I feel like I am just now starting to have real relationships with not only the team from America but also our friends we’ve made in South Africa like the Pure Hope team and the Nieu Communities families. Regardless of our short time left, I am glad that we met these people and the experiences we have shared.

These past couple days have been filled with some pretty intense situations, but in a good way. Yesterday, we went back to the Juvenile prison and sat in on the weekly Bible Study led by Pure Hope. Last week, Katie and I joined Wihan and Dian for the art class, but since it was a holiday (Women’s Day!!), only the team from America, Maxi and Chris were present. We discussed our identity in Christ and what that meant for our purpose in life. There was some pretty intense discussion in our smaller groups, and Conrad (one of the inmates) even led the group in discussion and song. It was very inspiring and Jennifer even took notes on the South African hymnals he sang. I was very glad we were able to go and visit the boys again.

Today, after sleeping in an extra 30 minutes (such a blessing!!), we went with Curtis and Braam to visit the Apartheid Museum, Johannesburg, and Soweto. After taking a few courses on South Africa and the Apartheid regime, I was not much surprised by what was presented in the museum. However, I was very pleased with the presentation of the Apartheid era and its affect on the nation and surrounding areas. It was unbiased, objective, but also had a personal feeling about it that allowed you to connect to the stories of individuals who experienced Apartheid and the fight against it. Everyone absorbs the information differently, but there is no way anyone could twist the presentation to be for or against anyone – just cold, hard facts. Then we drove through Soweto, learned a bit about its history, saw Mandela’s house and soccer city. We drove through downtown Joberg and returned home. Later tonight, we are going to see Bang Bang Club, which is a movie about photographers/journalists who documented the terrors and violence in the fight against Apartheid. I’ve heard it is graphic, and I am honestly concerned that I’ll be able to stomach it. We’ll see how that goes, and hope that it’s good.

Thank you to all who have had us in our prayers; we have certainly felt them and enjoyed our time here.

- Kristin.

South Africa Reflections (#4)

We have officially been here over one week and still love the country, the people and of course, the coffee. I think we go to coffee shops at least twice a day, not to count when we drink coffee or tea at breakfast. To recap this weekend, we woke up early on Saturday morning and went to the Boeremark, which is a farmers market, but with more crafts, food and it is a lot bigger than just a farmers market. We had something called a ‘fatcake’, which is bread dough fried like a donut. There were spices, jams, wire/bead crafts, food, coffee, puppies, scarves, etc. Then we spent the rest of the day planting grass at the Yabana Village, which is a part of Good Hope Orphanage and Preschool. They just got a new playground and the grass we planted will eventually be a soccer field. The kids loved trying to help us, even though the shovels were usually bigger than they were. We then had a braai with the children and families from around the area. We were going to stay the night at Mama Mary’s house in Mabopane, but our plans changed and we ended up back in Pretoria for the night. We were able to sleep in and just hang out today and rest, which was very needed after doing so much this last week. We are going to a church called Third Place tonight, and then waking up really early tomorrow morning for a safari! We have been so busy while we have been here that it feels like we have been here for much longer than a week. The country and the people have left big impressions on all of us. I think there are a couple of us that could definitely see ourselves coming back in the future  J

 - Julie

South Africa Reflections (#3)

It’s our fifth day here and so far, the experience has been amazing.  Between missionary work, sight seeing, meeting new people, and networking, it has been a great experience so far.  The day before yesterday, we went to Mabopane for the second time.  The kids race towards the van as soon as we pull in.  They instantly grab our hands and want to be held.  Some of the girls would play with our hair and try to style it.  One little girl wanted to be picked up and fell asleep in my arms for over an hour.  The children just want to be played with, held, and paid attention to. 

In the evening we went to Maxie’s parent’s house for a braai.  The food was SO good.  I love the style of the houses here with the oven/grill to cook inside.  It was a great time with good company.

Wednesday, we went to the preschool at Moreletapark Church.  The kids were learning about houses and furniture.  We each got to help a child individually with their colors, numbers, drawing, and cutting with scissors.

Thursday, we did some sight seeing- Voortrekker, the Union Buildings, and Paul Kruger’s house.  Voortrekker was beautiful and had so much history of early South Africa between the Dutch and the Zulus.  The Union Buildings are like the White House of the United States.

Tomorrow we are going to a “farmers” market and then Mabopane again in the afternoon and night. 

Overall, we’re all having a great time and can’t wait to come back!!

- Katie

South Africa Picture Log (#1)

South Africa Reflections (#2)

Yesterday, we woke up to the loud screeches of what we decided to call the “pomegranate bird” (It looked like the kiwi bird of Australia, but the kiwi is not native to South Africa), we were more adjusted to the freezing morning. The space heater probably helped. After breakfast we headed over to the Dutch Reform Church (do not ask me how to spell it in Afrikaans) and had a conversation with the good folks of Pure Hope. We discussed the differences between pseudo community and real community, and how God’s opportunities and trials allow us to develop genuine relationships. It was in that conversation that many of us shared personal stories. That honesty and communication helped us to begin to develop our real relationships with each other and the Pure Hope.

After lunch, we headed over to Mabopane. Finally, after years of praying and planning and saving for this moment, I was in Mabopane. When I first stepped out of the van and the children ran up to us and the Pure Hope team, I felt alone, but in a good way. It was serene, unreal. Reality rushed back and I had one girl who clung to me. She was about 4 and spoke very little English. She couldn’t tell me her name, but she could count to 10, tell me body parts, and point out colors and shapes. She called me “Sessi” which means “sister” in Tswana. She also new the word “up” which she used every time I would put her down. Both Katie and Julie had 1 or 2 girls that clung to them as well, and it was then I realized that our purpose was to show these children love and affection. They may not receive it at home or their parents may not be in their life at all. It is our duty to show them the love that Christ shows us. I realized that we are to develop real and not pseudo relationships with these children, because that is what Christ did and called us to do.

- Kristin

South Africa Reflections (#1)

After 35 hours of traveling with very little, incremental sleep, we finally arrived in Johannesburg. Driving out of Johannesburg into Pretoria, the highways and cities didn’t look too much different from the U.S. We learned that the highways were in such good condition because of the World Cup last year. Much of the city of Pretoria is well-developed with really nice malls, coffee shops and restaurants. It was not exactly what I was expecting to see, even though I was aware of the economic disparity in South Africa (lots of wealth, but very unevenly distributed). One of the craziest things was going to the church that Pure Hope is connected with, called Moreletapark. It is about the size of Willow Creek Church in Chicago, can hold thousands of people and is basically really beautiful. Right next to the church is about 800 families living in plastic shacks with no electricity, running water, etc. Some of them are international refugees from Zimbabwe and Lesotho, but most are South Africans. The government controls who comes out of this group of shacks and has been saying for years that they will do something to help these people, but they are still there. Pure Hope has built some better shacks for some of these people when there shacks burnt down, but the government support for helping these people is minimal. At the church, we listened to a service through headphones that translated from Afrikaans into English, although the music was in English. They did songs such as ‘God of the City’ and Hillsong songs. They also had a children’s choir of orphaned kids from Uganda called the Watoto choir. A church in Uganda started this choir as a way to care for all the children orphaned by AIDs, and now care for around 4000 orphans. Those kids can dance too. The sermon itself was incredible. It was a simple message, but very true and relevant to the congregation. He brought up how many orphans are in South Africa, along with the poor who live in shanty towns outside of the wealthy cities and how it is our duty and responsibility as the church to be the hands and feet of God that reach out to the distressed and give them hope. We all have the capability to do something, and it is God’s commission to us to use whatever we are given to help others and share the gospel through words and action.

Joe is now quoting Shakespeare quite seriously to us, so I’m going to go. We are leaving soon to spend the day in Mabopane with a ton of kids. Should be great!
 - Julie