Adventures in Africa

It has been an eventful few weeks! So much to report...where to begin?

Christian's brother, Bobby, came with 6 other staff from our region for the Cru Vision Trip March 14-20th. It was SO encouraging and refreshing to have him here and share what our life and ministry looks like. Lily and Anya were so excited, they started "cleaning" their room for him a week early! We showed them the sights, spent a day on campus together, and ate at the "African Cafe" where you are served traditional African cuisine...and I got my face painted. It was delicious and fun! Bobby and Alexandra will be back in July, as Bobby is leading the Cape Town Summer Project.

About a week ago last Saturday, while our team members(Lauren and Stephanie) were out, their house was broken into. Stephanie's computer, video camera, back pack, shoes, some clothes, and thumb drive, and Lauren's ring, jeans, one shoe?, and misc. items were stolen. The thief broke in through their spare bedroom window and seemed to leave in a hurry, as he/she left a trail of some of their things that dropped. They are thankful they weren't in the house when he/she came, but were understandably shaken up by the whole thing, and don't feel safe in their house. They have been staying with Tyler and Shannon, have negotiated to get out of their lease (praise God!), and have been looking for a safe apartment to move to. Please pray for them to find an apartment that is safe, within walking distance to some stores, affordable, will rent to Americans, and will allow a 9 month lease. Please pray also for God's provision in helping them to replace some of the essentials they lost, as they didn't have renter's insurance. Thank you!

~Family Vacation
We feel rested and refreshed after having a week off for Spring Break! We took a little family vacation and drove about 6 hours along the Garden Route to a town called Knysna. We were pleasantly surprised by the safety of the highways...it felt like we were traveling in America much of the time...until we passed ostrich farms, spotted elephants at a Reserve off the side of the road, and missed hitting a baboon in the road! The drive alongwas beautiful through lush green mountains and rolling hills, and some along the coast of the Indian Ocean. We saw apple and pear orchards, an olive grove, vineyards and forests.
We went to a cute little cafe called Ile de Pain for breakfast (famous for their bread) and then beach the first day. It was a beautiful beach and perfect weather. We were entertained by the way the waves crashed against the large jagged rocks, and by the huge washed up jelly fish and hundreds of little sea snails that came in with the tide. We built sand castles and had a great time!

Our second and final day in Knysna we went to the Elephant Park. Elephants in that area were killed off by poachers, but they rescued some of the orphaned elephants and take care of them there in the park. We got to feed the elephants apples, pineapple, watermelon pieces, etc. Fruit is like their chocolate! We could touch the elephants and could have ridden them if we paid:). Lily got up the nerve to barely touch one of the elephant's ears...but they were both afraid to feed them. No wonder kids get in free!
When we got back to our hotel that night I saw something scurry by my feet...and saw that it was a gecko! After I "landed" and calmed down, we took some pics, scooped him up in a cup and took him outside. Gave me a good scare!:) Lily also informed me on our trip that she is going to be moving back to South Africa when she is older! Guess that's a good sign that she's enjoying it!:)


Thank you for all of your prayers for rest. We feel very refreshed as we enter into our second term! We enjoyed watching the Jayhawk victory on Sunday and hope to be able to download their game this weekend! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Christian went on an outreach to the township of Kayelitsha today.  Pastor Peter went with them to translate as they went door to door to share the gospel and hand out Bibles.  The poverty they saw was sobering.  In one shack lived 2 women, a one year old and a 2 week old baby.  The child and baby were sleeping under a towel to keep the swarming flies from crawling all over them.  Christian got to share the gospel with these women and both women invited Christ into their lives!  He went to the next house and shared with 2 more women while Pastor Peter translated, and they both accepted Christ!  Praise the Lord!  They were given Bibles and Pastor Peter will follow up with them.  It was another humbling experience.  Please continue to pray for wisdom in how to continue to be involved in bringing God's love to our neighboring townships.

Seeing the Townships...humbling & hard!

"Brokenness & compassion, tears & smiles, laughter & anger,..." These are just a few of the things I, (Christian), experienced in my own heart last Thursday as our team visited two of the predominate Townships here in Cape Town.  I have seen the townships before, but I am overwhelmed each time.  There are only 20 km for where we live, but it feels as if there is a world that separates us.

Rose, the leader of Campus Crusade's community ministry here in the Western Cape, took us on tour of three places.  The first was a ministry that seeks to plant Bible based churches in the Township of Khayelitsha.  They are called, "African Leadership Nework," and have been so effective in bring the youth and children of Khayelitsha into Children Churches.  This ministry is doing a great work to end the physical and sexual abuse of the children through a t-shirt campaign.  The shirt reads,"I am precious to Jesus," in Xhosa and serves as a warning to the adults and a source of hope for the children.  I never would have thought that something like this would work, but it is! Many of the things that this ministry is doing blows my "western-mindset."  

The next place that we visited was a church/preschool in a poorer area of Khayelitsha. (there areas that are less developed) This is the church of Pastor Peter, a man who's heart for God was such an encouragement.  In his journey to do good for those around him, he has seen persecution from the authorities, but he has walked with God.  His vision for the church is to help those that are suffering from HIV, abuse, and extreme hunger.  He said, "It is better for for people to experience physical suffering now, but to know Jesus, so they can live in comfort for eternity, than to live in comfort now and experience an eternity of suffering."  Wow, his words hit me hard and brought such clarity to the reality of what we are called to in this life.  We do not live for the temporal, but eternal!  We do not store up treasure on this earth, but in Heaven.  Pastor Peter, has really helped give vision to this area of how they can grow their own vegetables.   He lead an initiative to build a green house at the church, of which our students from last years Summer Project helped to build.  It was working well, they were growing their own food, and were giving it to the poor who needed food so that they could take their HIV medication. BUT...last month the greenhouse was destroyed, people broke in at took the support structures that held the greenhouse together.  They also took all of the food that the church had stored for distribution. Please pray for them in how they should proceed with meeting the needs of this community.

We had one more stop on our "visit."  It was to an area called Gugulethu, where for years it had been an area dominated by gangs, but 13 years ago God called a man to plant a church.  His name is Pastor J, and his journey has looked different than what he expected, but it is a story that is changing lives.  J and his wife moved to this area and began a church. During that first year the police brought to him a 2 month old baby girl whose mother had died. They knew him to be a pastor and thought that they might care for the baby.  They took the girl in and that was the beginning of their orphanage.  They now have 21 children. It was my first visit, and my heart broke for them.  They live day to day on what God supplies, and they truly love these children as their own.  J and his wife are in their 60's but they are putting skin around God's love to these children daily.  They do have 2-3 volunteers that help with the kids. The children were so happy and by our standards had very little.  My heart broke when I saw two little girls playing together, and could not help but think of Lily and Anya.   Rose explained to us that they are in need of help, and have experienced other organizations raising money for them and yet it never made it to them. There are times when Pastor J will call Rose and share that they have no food. She has brought them food and other supplies. We were all moved, and want to be used by the Lord to help this little "orphanage," in Gugulethu.

Pray with us for God to protect the innocent and heal those that are hurting in this city.  Thanks for all of your prayers we really do feel loved, and protected by God.

In His care and love,
Christian, Mia, Lily & Anya

New Believers, New Friends, New Doctor, and not so New things

Last week I went to UWC with Lauren.  We only had a half an hour left before I needed to pick Lily up from school, but we went ahead and initiated a conversation with two girls sitting on a bench outside.  We found out fairly quickly that one had a church background and the other was Muslim.  They were pretty quiet and reserved until their friend came up and joined the conversation.  He also is Muslim, and was quick to tell us he went to Muslim school, where he learned about all the "loop holes" of Christianity.  One of the first things he said when he found out I was a Christian was "Oh!  So we pretty much believe the same things".  I asked how, and he answered that they believe in God and the Bible too...except that Jesus was just a prophet.  He was very open to talking and answering my questions about his faith.  When it came to what happens when he dies, he said he's scared to death because he doesn't know where he'll go after he faces "judgement".  He admitted he's not a "good Muslim", but wants to be better.  I asked why-what's the motivation?  Seemed like it was so he could just be a better Muslim, which would make him a better person.  After talking for quite awhile, I referred back to when he said our faith is pretty much the same, and said I'd actually have to disagree.  He was interested to find out why.  I said "Our God is loving, and our personal relationship with Him is one of love, not fear."  We handed them each a "4 Spiritual Laws" booklet and because we were running out of time I asked if they'd rather take it home and read it, or go through it right now?  All three of them were eager for me to go through it with them right then!  And something miraculous happened somewhere in the middle (probably partly because two of our women student leaders came over and started praying as they listened)...the message of the good news of the gospel became clear!  They came to understand why Jesus is the only way...that we are all sinful and imperfect (Rom 3:23), and Jesus was without sin.  He bridged the gap. They understood it is a gift...not that we can earn it (Eph 2:8-9).  And when they identified between the two circles where they stand, all three said they are on the "left" (without Christ).  Where do they want to be?  On the right (with Christ in their life, 100% forgiven).  So I read the sample prayer, and they all said it expressed the desire of their heart!  I asked if they wanted to pray with me right then to invite Christ into their lives, and explained the assurance they would have in spending eternity in heaven.  Then the two Muslim friends looked at each other and realized what that would mean...and they didn't pray out loud.  But the girl with the church background did!  Praise God!  They were all running late to a study group together, so they had to go.  But we asked if they'd want to get together again to talk further and the Muslim guy jumped at the opportunity!  We all exchanged numbers, and when they left we rejoiced that we witnessed a miracle!  God visibly changed their hearts- we could see that even if two of them didn't pray with us out loud.  They went from not understanding, to understanding.  And the one girl is alive in Christ!  Praise God!  The biggest bummer is that it is mid-term week, and students all become pretty much unavailable during exam weeks.  Please PRAY  that the Muslim guy will meet with Christian this week, while the seed is on fertile soil.  Pray that the girl that accepted Christ would be willing to meet again for basic follow up Bible studies, and get connected to the other student women involved.  

It's just been one story after another of students anxiously responding to the gospel!  One of our staff guys got a text last week from a guy that had just prayed to receive Christ that said something like "thank you so much for sharing with me the most important message I could ever hear".   Yesterday Christian and Nicholas saw a guy accept Christ, and Christian said he could just tell from the beginning God was doing a work in this guys heart.  And this week we hosted an outreach by an illusionist named Adrian VanVactor.  50 students came to the event at Stellenbosch campus, and 2 prayed to receive Christ!  What an exciting and humbling privilege it is to be a part of the harvest...the Lord's life changing work in people's lives.  There's nothing like it.  It's a work that only Jesus can do...and we're addicted! Praise God and rejoice that He is life!

On more of a personal note, God is bringing more friends into our lives, which has been so fun!  We've found a church that we LOVE!  It's called "Common Ground".  For first time visitors they offer coffee and these AMAZING brownies (not gonna lie- it did leave a good "taste" in us wanting to come back:)) in a lounge after the service.  We met a couple who lead a small group, and instantly hit it off!  In fact, all felt sure that we'd met before...we both looked familiar!  Strange...but anyway, we've really enjoyed getting to know them.  The first week we went to the church, Lily didn't make it very long in Sunday school before they brought her to me in the service.  The second week I stayed with her the whole class to help her feel comfortable.  The third week she went right in and had fun!  Praise God!  I'm seeing that it really is a trend of her being anxious and fearful the first time in a group situation.  She's actually started going to this after school class called "Soetlief".  It's a 10 month emotional and social skills program.  It teaches children communication skills and they learn to identify, communicate and control their emotions.  (http://www.soetlief.co.za).  Everything about the description seems like a perfect fit for Lily.  It's about 7 kids that are all Lily's age, and they meet at the teacher's home.  The first class we were a little late, and Lily cried and wouldn't let me go...so the teacher let me stay.  This week, she went in happily and enjoyed it!  They learned about the four core feelings (happy, sad, angry and scared), and did a lot of fun activities in identifying and expressing these feelings.  A personal highlight was getting to meet and visit with one of the other mom's whose daughter is in Lily's Soetlief class!  We got to chat for the whole 45 minutes that they had class, and swapped numbers.  So new friends, a great church, and a great class for Lily!  Praise God!

Anya's sty on her eye has persisted.  We put warm compresses on her eye a few times a day for a couple of weeks, and we kept thinking it was looking better, but it never cleared.  Finally we gave in and went to a doctor.  Actually, first we went to the "M Chem" pharmacy, where you can have a free consultation with a nurse.  The nurse recommended an antibiotic ointment.  However, it turns out it's out of stock in the country for a year.  So, I got right in with a doctor a friend recommended.  Victory number one was finding the hospital.  Victory number two was finding the right room (parked at the wrong building and then had a little trouble finding the right office).  Once we filled out our paperwork, the receptionist said we could go on in...where?  Is that the doctor...the tall gray haired Afrikaans man dressed in nice clothes behind the desk drinking his tea?  Yep- he's the doctor!  So Anya and I went in and sat down.  After some friendly introductions,  I told him I was there about Anya's eye. He glanced at it and said, "Oh, is that all?  What are all those bites on her arm?"  He seemed way more concerned about her mosquito bites (which, side note, there have been a swarm of these little mosquito bugs that have infested our house.  There are NO SCREENS on our doors and windows...so it's either smother or have bugs.   And they are eating Anya alive at night, poor thing).  He then got up and invited us around the corner to his little office closet.  He looked at her eye with some goggle/binocular looking things, and then I couldn't understand for sure what he said, but I knew he'd prescribe some medicine.  Then he looked at her bites and somehow something I said he misheard and thought I thought she had worms!  He said "Oh no...she doesn't have worms!"  There was some miscommunication happening, but all in all he seemed to know what he was doing, wrote down some prescriptions (one for the eye and one for mosquito bites) and said to go to any "chemist" to get them filled.  So, we went to the "chemist" nearest us:) , and I handed him the prescription.  He went and filled it while I waited there at the counter, and when he came back he had 3 items.  I asked what the one in the bottle was for, and he said for an infection.  I asked if I put it on the eye or mosquito bites, and he said he didn't know.  Then he put a spoon with it, and I figured out it was an oral antibiotic.  Must have been in the miscommunication part.  Thankfully the instructions are in English and gave directions for the one I put on her eye so I don't put the mosquito one there!  Then he put the medicine all in a little rectangular cage, zip tied it, and sent me up to the register.   And that is the long version of our first doctor/pharmacy experience in South Africa!  We did it!  And it really seems to already be helping.  Thank you for your prayers!

We have some visitors coming this week...and Christian's brother, Bobby, is one of them!  Yay!  Our region is sending a "vision trip" composed of the summer project leaders (to find housing and settle details about the summer project coming in July), some campus directors, and some interested Stinters for next year.  Please pray for smooth travel, safe arrival, and an encouraging week for all (how could it not be for us!).  Pray for good quality time for Christian and his brother.  Christian has really missed him and is looking forward to time together.  We will visit Khayelitsha (one of the biggest townships) twice next week.  Pray for clear avenues to be able to see how we can serve there regularly, and how to provide avenues for college students to serve there.  Actually, we've met quite a few students at UWC that are from poorer areas and townships.  Some take the train 2 hours each way, and a taxi to get to school every day!  Pray also that God will use the vision trip and summer project to raise up laborers and another Stint team to continue the work next year.  The Vision Trip group gets in at 10:30pm Thursday night (1:30pm MST) and leaves next Wednesday morning.  Can't wait!  We will all be on campus at UWC on Monday.  Pray for our conversations!  Thank you!

Things I'm getting used to...
*calling napkins "serviettes" (the girls say it all the time)
*not having a dish washer
*saying I'm going to "fetch" Lily instead of "pick her up"
*saying "hooting" instead of honking
*wearing skirts
*paying my parking ticket at the self pay machines before I go to my car and going through security gates (a bar) to get in and out of parking lots.
*tipping parking attendants and having "helpers" load my groceries into my car and direct me as I back out of my parking spot
*trampolines at play places in restaurants
*summer.  Though I'm starting to feel the fall air coming in, and I know it's going to be beautiful too!
*having my laundry done for me (because when else will I have that opportunity?)
*driving- I don't have to think about what side of the road I'm on anymore.  It feels normal!
*people standing on the middle line between the two lanes on the road at robots (stop lights), holding signs asking for money.  And people doing fundraisers by going up to the cars at the robots and asking for money
*going to 5 different stores to get everything that I need (I'm missing Target!)
*people speaking to me in Afrikaans...I smile and nod and reply in English :)
*the girls playing with the Williams' girls every day whenever they aren't in school.  Such a blessing to live right next door!
*our little apartment- it's home sweet home!
*bringing my own shopping bags everywhere.  You have to pay for plastic bags at the grocery store and many other places.
*cheap coffee and hot milk, and every place serves breakfast (so yummy!)
* The bacon being more like ham.  So good!
*Buying things in "Rand" and knowing if it's a good deal or not
*Not having TV (but would be lost without internet)
*Lily being at school half the day, and having Anya and I time (though I miss Lily)
*blogging!:)