So we seem to be getting into the swing of things here at Youth With a Mission Bethlehem. Wake up is at 6:30, breakfast is at 7, then we either have quiet time or praise and worship for an hour and then class starts around nine. I love the classes. This past week our classes focused on quiet time and the meaning of intercession. Oh my goodness, I could just sit there and soak it all up for hours. Especially intercession! Friday morning we sat in the hall for three hours and just waited for the Lord to speak to us. It was amazing. Dan, one of the leaders from Nigeria, began an intercession for Elizabeth and Wilma. It was one of the most moving things I think I have ever experienced. By the end I think all fifteen of us were in tears!
Friday afternoon we went into Bocholochong for the first time. We were just going to go in and walk around a little bit, introduce ourselves to some of the people there, since we're not starting our official ministry there til next week. It was unbelievable being there. I have never seen anything like it, not even in India. All of our vehicles from the base have YWAM written on them, and as we pulled into the camp about fifty children came running out of their houses, their shacks really, screaming BAMBALELA! (Bambalela is the name of our ministry there, it means hold on to Jesus.) When we got out of the cars the little ones just came running up to us with their arms outstretched, grabbing on to our legs or hands or whatever they could reach, just wanting to be held. We walked around the entire camp, and I held this little Sosotho boy the entire time, he was just nuzzling his face in my shoulder. Uh, I can't wait to go back! About half way through the camp this unbelievable storm came about with some of the loudest thunder I have ever heard so we all had to make a mad dash back to the vehicles, but we were still completely soaked through and then had to go do the grocery shopping for the next week at the base dripping through the Pik'n'Pay downtown. The rain came before I got to take any pictures, but I will be sure to take some next week.
Weekends are completely free here, so last night we went and rented some movies and the entire DTS piled into the common room of the girls dorm to watch Sunshine (Cillian Murphy, Melissa!). As we were sitting there all curled up I think that most of our minds kept wandering back to the children of Bocholochong who were sitting in their probably still in their wet tattered clothes, in their leaky shacks, with their neglectful parent. There are over 600 children living in Bocholchong, and considering the number of AIDS pamphlets and billboards in the camp it is probbably safe to say that at least half of them are HIV positive. Please keep the families of Bocholochong in your prayers.
This morning twelve of us went into town and just wandered around for a few hours. There is supposed to be a storm this evening, so a group of us are going to go swimming in the dam before the rain makes it too cold to. Church tomorrow! I'll try and post with some pictures sometime early next week. Thank you guys for keeping up with this!
- C
Matthew 19:14
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
O little town of Bethlehem!
Okay ... here we go .... my first official post. This one's for you Tilden, since I'm pretty sure you will be the only on that reads this. Haha.
So, I arrived in Johannesburg on Saruday at 5:20 P. M. after a very long three day flying extravaganza that involved canceled flights, a run in with 12 blackwater guys, a twenty hour plane ride, and very, very intimidating Senegalese (?) airport security...more than the blackwater guys! As I exited the customs area in the airport, there was a huge crowd off to the right welcoming the South African cricket team home from their victorious tour of Australia. It was really something to watch, although, I don't think it beats out India in the hard core cricket fans department... at least not yet.
South Africa is beautiful. I absolutely love it here. Every thing around me looks like a post card. The people are so friendly, and even though Bethlehem is considered "desolate" it still has quite a lot to offer! We've been getting to know the town over the past couple of days, we even did a walking tour yesterday. It is unblelievable how racist the people still are here. I was told when I first got here that if the people in town see a white person and a black person walking down the street together that they automatically assume that it is YWAM because we are the only people that really mix here. We did go to a church on Sunday that was considered a mixed race church, but even then the people did not sit next to eachother. We got the dirtiest looks walking around the shopping center in town....mostly from the white people.
The base is great...although it is a little more rustic than I was expecting it to be, but I'm definitely not complaining at all. I actually really like it, and I was told we were the lucky ones because we are the first DTS to be here with indoor plumbing.
There are people from seventeen different countries living here. Just in my school we have a German couple (from Bavaria), a guy from the Netherlands, two Canadians, a girl from Nigeria, a girl from England, a guy from Ghana, two white South Africans, two Sotho South Africans, a guy from Pakistan on his way, a boy from Bolivia, a girl from Paraguay, a girl from Honduras, and then a boy from Houston, an older man (62!) from just outside LA, and then my leader is from Kansas, Ariel. Quite the mixer! Dinner conversation is interesting for sure! Today was our first real day of classes. We had orientation yesterday, but today we started the bible work and a book we are going to be reading called Foreign to Familiar, about cross cultural encounters. I cannot wait to get into clases more. I know the conversations are going to be so interesting, with so many people from different backgrounds. Tomorrow we have our first ministry day. There are two squatter camps in Bethlehem. One called Bocholochong and one I don't remeber. Tomorrow we are running a soup kitchen in Bocholochong.
The two Canadian (Mennonite) girls have the most amazing story. They went to high school together in Alberta, and then when they graduated they decided to work for a while and just pray while God told them what to do next. Well they decided that God was telling them to go to Lesotho, even though they didn't know anything about it. When they went they were both 20, and they were just going to go work in a orphanage and rent a house for six months. While they were there working in the orphanage this man brought in his very sick one and a half year old daughter and left her there (she was HIV positive). She was so sick that Sylvia and Wilma ended up taking her to hospital where she stayed for three weeks, and then finally the doctors decided to discharge her with, basically, a death sentence. So Wilma and Sylavia took her in to take care of her, thinking they were just going to keep her safe until she died. Then God worked a miracle, and now she is a bubbly three year old, and Wilma is in the process of adopting her!!! Wilma is only 22 years old she has completely taken care of Elizabeth, nursing her back to health, and Elizabeth is the sweetest little girl, running around the base, just loving on everyone. Even now, while I was typing this she came in to give me a hug and tell me she missed me while she was at pre school. And the looks that Wilma gets while having Elizabeth around town is so difficult to watch, but she just turns a blind eye.
It is completely one thing to hear about AIDS orphans, but now that I have actually come in contact with one it is so much more emotionally difficult then I ever imagined it would be, and I know that sounds ridiculous. Here is this precious little baby girl, and before she was even born she was given a death sentence and has had her life stolen from her because of the actions of others. And this is just one baby. I can't help but think of all the other ones out there who do not have a Sylvia or a Wilma.
Last night in small group we were talking about our expectiations for this Discipleship Training School and why it is that God brought us here ... and I couldn't answer. I have know idea why it is that God has brought me to Bethlehem, South Africa of all places, but he placed on my heart and now I am here. All I know is that he has some big things to show me over the next seven months. Please pray for me, and I am always praying for you.
I am going to be able to get on about once every other dayto post something, so please keep checking. I am going to try and put up some pictures in the next post so please... stay tuned. God bless!!
- C (or D :-))
Hebrews 12:25
So, I arrived in Johannesburg on Saruday at 5:20 P. M. after a very long three day flying extravaganza that involved canceled flights, a run in with 12 blackwater guys, a twenty hour plane ride, and very, very intimidating Senegalese (?) airport security...more than the blackwater guys! As I exited the customs area in the airport, there was a huge crowd off to the right welcoming the South African cricket team home from their victorious tour of Australia. It was really something to watch, although, I don't think it beats out India in the hard core cricket fans department... at least not yet.
South Africa is beautiful. I absolutely love it here. Every thing around me looks like a post card. The people are so friendly, and even though Bethlehem is considered "desolate" it still has quite a lot to offer! We've been getting to know the town over the past couple of days, we even did a walking tour yesterday. It is unblelievable how racist the people still are here. I was told when I first got here that if the people in town see a white person and a black person walking down the street together that they automatically assume that it is YWAM because we are the only people that really mix here. We did go to a church on Sunday that was considered a mixed race church, but even then the people did not sit next to eachother. We got the dirtiest looks walking around the shopping center in town....mostly from the white people.
The base is great...although it is a little more rustic than I was expecting it to be, but I'm definitely not complaining at all. I actually really like it, and I was told we were the lucky ones because we are the first DTS to be here with indoor plumbing.
There are people from seventeen different countries living here. Just in my school we have a German couple (from Bavaria), a guy from the Netherlands, two Canadians, a girl from Nigeria, a girl from England, a guy from Ghana, two white South Africans, two Sotho South Africans, a guy from Pakistan on his way, a boy from Bolivia, a girl from Paraguay, a girl from Honduras, and then a boy from Houston, an older man (62!) from just outside LA, and then my leader is from Kansas, Ariel. Quite the mixer! Dinner conversation is interesting for sure! Today was our first real day of classes. We had orientation yesterday, but today we started the bible work and a book we are going to be reading called Foreign to Familiar, about cross cultural encounters. I cannot wait to get into clases more. I know the conversations are going to be so interesting, with so many people from different backgrounds. Tomorrow we have our first ministry day. There are two squatter camps in Bethlehem. One called Bocholochong and one I don't remeber. Tomorrow we are running a soup kitchen in Bocholochong.
The two Canadian (Mennonite) girls have the most amazing story. They went to high school together in Alberta, and then when they graduated they decided to work for a while and just pray while God told them what to do next. Well they decided that God was telling them to go to Lesotho, even though they didn't know anything about it. When they went they were both 20, and they were just going to go work in a orphanage and rent a house for six months. While they were there working in the orphanage this man brought in his very sick one and a half year old daughter and left her there (she was HIV positive). She was so sick that Sylvia and Wilma ended up taking her to hospital where she stayed for three weeks, and then finally the doctors decided to discharge her with, basically, a death sentence. So Wilma and Sylavia took her in to take care of her, thinking they were just going to keep her safe until she died. Then God worked a miracle, and now she is a bubbly three year old, and Wilma is in the process of adopting her!!! Wilma is only 22 years old she has completely taken care of Elizabeth, nursing her back to health, and Elizabeth is the sweetest little girl, running around the base, just loving on everyone. Even now, while I was typing this she came in to give me a hug and tell me she missed me while she was at pre school. And the looks that Wilma gets while having Elizabeth around town is so difficult to watch, but she just turns a blind eye.
It is completely one thing to hear about AIDS orphans, but now that I have actually come in contact with one it is so much more emotionally difficult then I ever imagined it would be, and I know that sounds ridiculous. Here is this precious little baby girl, and before she was even born she was given a death sentence and has had her life stolen from her because of the actions of others. And this is just one baby. I can't help but think of all the other ones out there who do not have a Sylvia or a Wilma.
Last night in small group we were talking about our expectiations for this Discipleship Training School and why it is that God brought us here ... and I couldn't answer. I have know idea why it is that God has brought me to Bethlehem, South Africa of all places, but he placed on my heart and now I am here. All I know is that he has some big things to show me over the next seven months. Please pray for me, and I am always praying for you.
I am going to be able to get on about once every other dayto post something, so please keep checking. I am going to try and put up some pictures in the next post so please... stay tuned. God bless!!
- C (or D :-))
Hebrews 12:25
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
