Africa 1/19/09

Happy Monday! This will be the first full week of school for the children at Bethesda. The students were anxious for class again. As they continue their devotions and theme on Loving God More. Today the 3rd- 6th graders recited Matthew 22:37 and from this added Exodus 20:3-4 and talked about having other God's/idols. In relation to them they discussed all the "stuff" they liked and that it was OK to like certain things but, not to let this come before their devotion time, prayer time, their Bible reading time. They also discussed all the "stuff" they hold on to which has little to no value. Classes 1-2 focused on Deuteronomy 6:5. As the children sang their praise and worship songs my eyes teared up again. I realize that this will be one of the last mornings to spend with them during this special time of devotions. It has been such a joy watching the children eagerly talk about God and their desire to learn more.
There is extra excitement at the school as tomorrow there will be an open house for all of the parents to get to visit with the teachers and get a quick snap shot of expectations and school curriculum. I had the joy of baking muffins and banana bread for the brunch they will serve. During the brunch tomorrow I will be with grade one. I was super excited and was hoping to read a story to the children until the teacher told me 4 students speak no English. OOPS I guess that won't work. I think they will be working on worksheets and break time will work in any language. So looking forward to this.
Yesterday was great to experience church again in a small village church where Rev. Phago, better know as Jones, preaches. His church meets in a day care center. The music is just voices led mostly by his wife. There is clapping, dancing and very obvious that the spirit is present. His preaching is bold and he really picks apart the scripture to a deeper understanding. After church they invited me to their home for lunch. I feel very comfortable in their home as I helped put finishing touches on the lovely meal and assisted in dishing up the five younger children's plates. Afterwards I sat out on the stewp, (porch) and took the braided extensions out of their oldest daughter's hair. It created a great time for visiting. After this her mother then began to re braid her hair into corn braids. This presented a very intament setting of daughter setting on the ground and Momma on a chair with her daughters head laying in her lap as she braided her hair. It was a great time of sharing. Other children were playing in the yard and would run up and talk and run off again screaming and laughing. A perfect setting for a perfect day. That evening I went to church with Lois, John, and Jo Anna to Mixon's church in Pretoria. This church was a beautiful building and had a western flare to the feel of it's service. The music was lead by a small praise team. The minister took the scripture and related it to current circumstances. Each service was wonderful but such a contrast. How great our God is, for no matter where we are, how we do worship if our hearts are seeking He is there.
Tomorrow after being with the 1st Grade class I will be leaving Bethesda and will be going north for about a 1 1/2 hours trip to Shikwaru Lodge which is own by Dr. Blessmen from Polk City. He does medical missions in the area. I will not be able to hook up with one of his medical teams but hope to find out more about their missions. I wanted to do this especially since I was so close to his location in Africa and since he is also so close to our location in Ankeny. I will be at this site for two days. On Thursday 1/22/09 at 11:59 P.M. I will be flying out of Johannesburg back to Iowa. Pray for safe travels to Blessmen's ministry and back home. Pray that my heart is open to all that God has to show me. Pray for Bethesda and for God's blessing to continue to fall upon this wonderful ministry that has God right in the center of all that it does. Pray for all of their teachers and for Lois and John as they continue to give direction to this ministry. Pray for the loving house parents and for the beautiful children that make up all of the families. In Christ, Sandy

Africa 1/17/09

Friday started at 8:00 in the school for devotions. The children recited thier bible verse Matthew 22:37 and continued the theme of loving God more. Today they focused on Galations 5:22 the fruit of the spirit. This being what you receive as you love God more. Again they sang songs of praise and worship. The spirits of the children become bold and free as they sing unto the Lord. They dance, clap and beam with joy and love for God. They sang one of my favorite songs that they do. Cast your burdens upon the Lord, because he cares for you. Each time they sing and dance my spirit is also lifted and my eyes well up with tears as you feel the love of the Spirit come around everyone of us. It is a great experience to be a part of.
Today Laura, the intern, must leave for Cape Town. I went with Lois and her to the airport to see her off. She was a real joy for the children with her playful, joyful spirit. We pray that God will be with her on the rest of her travels and that she will see the magnificence of God in all of the new things she is about to experience. I had a great day spending it with Lois. We had great conversation and it is so easy to see the wisdom, love, and God's descernment that comes out in every word that she chooses to say. I was blessed with her grace all day. She took me by South Africa's president's home and the lovely gardens that surround it. We took a short stroll through the gardens. While doing this she received another call from a social worker in regards to placement for another orphan. The need is so great here and they have been accepted as one of the best places to call when the need arises. It has been so amazing to me to see the unlimited amount of dedication, love, joy, and service that the Bethesda staff continue to give freely to the children and families under their care. It truly is of God for there is no other way that they could continue to have the strength to sustain such a loving, joyous, caring and servent attitude. I have been blessed to see this with my own eyes.
There has been daily struggles that have taken place. There has been problems the past 3 days with their pumb/water system and the purified drinking water has been very limited. There is plenty of water for cleaning, and bathing as this is coming from their ground well. This we are not able to drink from the faucet so we have attempted to fill water pitchers during a short span of time each day in which we can get usually 3 gallons of drinking water for staff to use. Last night the electricity went off for several hours but was restored again to full power. Nothing that has been of any inconvience.
Staying behind after other team members have left has given my a new feel for missions. I have soon realized that you do not become lonely, as you now become a member of the staff that is here. It is easy to fit in as you work as a team in glorifing the Lord in what ever task you are doing. I have truly realized that there is joy in everything when done for the Lord. I have experienced the building up and the encouragement needed in the body of Christ to help it continue its work in Glorifying the Lord. Encouragement is a daily element for Christ's body to function. It is easily all held together through the love for one another, for without love we have nothing. I thank God for Bethesda, for the tireless love of the staff and for the great things that will continue to grow from Bethesda as God continues to bless this place and the Glory of the Lord continues to blossom and mushroom as the children grow and share their love for Christ with others. With God nothing is impossible and we can do all things through God. Continue to praise God for the love and grace that he has placed upon the children here and for the direction and strength of the staff to continue God's well here. I thank God for the time that has been given me to spend here, for what He has shown me and for the love and support of the family of God here, at home, and to others around the world I still do not know. Paise God, Sandy

Africa1/15/09

Much excitement has filled the air at Bethesda this week. School started on Wed. 1/14/09. It was fun watching the children come as much as a 1/2 hour early for school with new uniforms on and back packs slung on their backs. Laura, an intern, and I had the joy of helping the teachers over the past two days prepare the rooms for the arrival of the children. The rooms truly do look like a fun and exciting place for the children. God continues to bless Bethesda for on the first day of school they had a total of 10 towns children enrolled and plus four additional towns children came to enroll that day. One child's aunt came and stated that her sister had just died and there were 3 siblings. The younger two will live with Grandma and the oldest with her. She stated that she wanted him to come to Bethesda for school as she has heard only great things about Bethesda and that they truly knew how to care for orphans. The similar story still makes my eyes well up with tears as I realize and feel the pain for these children but, I also see and feel the grace that God is providing through Bethesda. There was also a group of 3 people who toured Bethesda in hopes to start another orphanage in the area. I think that this group may have questioned as our group did when we first arrived. Why is the number of children here only 32 when it is such a great program? John explains "God created the family." This is what makes this place so special that each child is given the chance to have a loving mother and father and to be brought up in the christain home setting. The goal being to make desciples for Christ, not just to provide food, clothing and schooling.
Today I actually got to set in on the full day of class and was the teachers aide. I was assigned one girl for the morning to help her with her D.O.L. as she still struggles some with the English. In the afternoon I was able to assist some of the students with math. I was in grade 3-4 with a total of 8 students. Every morning the school has devation. The theme this year is "Love God More" The children discussed what it looks like when you love yourself more then God and what it lookes like when you are loving God more. From this they sang songs of worship and yes you can guess those great African drums came out. There were 3 drums that different students played as the children lifted their praises to the Lord.
There is an empty flatt that is being prepared for another set of house parents to move into which they hope to have placed by end of Feb or first of March. This will allow for 6-8 more children to be placed. They received a call today for a possible adoption. The staff at Bethesda truly have God in the very center of their work, thoughts and daily tasks.
We have experienced some sudden heavy rains. Tuesday was our coolest day which was in the 70's and overcast with light rain all day. Wed. we were up in the 80's again but by mid to late afternoon suddenly a very heavy rain storm came with strong winds. It was raining sideways. There was close to several inches in a short time. Today weather was sunny with temps in 80's.
Making an extended stay has allowed me to see the site functioning in a more normal fashion. It has been a delight to see the love, compassion for all of the children from all of the staff members being a normal part of their lives. As the staff continues to bless the children with their serving God continues to bless Bethesda as a whole. I am learning to serve and find joy in doing ordinary task of mopping, washing and hanging clothes out on the clothes line, running errands for teachers, making name cards, hugging children, and just stopping what ever I am doing and visiting with children or house parents. If we could all slow down, stop multi-tasking and being in the moment I know God would be smiling. God Bless, Sandy

Africa 1/12/09

As I write this all of my other team members are in the air returning back home, pray for their safe travel and for rest as they travel. I will attempt to recapture our last 2 days at Bethesda as a full team and will try to keep you updated when able to my extended stay. On Saturday we were allowed to go to an open market in Hartbeesport which is in a NW Provence one hour away. The drive went fast as we were able to experience the changing landscape of the open meadows and tall grass to rolling hills covered with a green grass and dotted with trees. In the distance a mountian range was approaching. At the market there were many shops under one roof. The merchants expect buyers to barder so we all had fun with this. There was much to see, hear, feel, and smell in the open market. We stayed there about 2-2 1/2 hours which even went fast for the non-shoppers. From there we headed about another hour NW in to Pilanesberg where we went to Manyane Gate Pilanesberg National Park. We did a game drive for 3 hours and was blessed with beautiful terrane and the sighting of a rhino, dazzel (herd) of Zebras playing with wildebeast. A herd of 6 elephants, Many groupings of spring buck and impalas. We saw about 5 hippo's lazily floating in a lake. Many different kinds if birds, wart hogs and we were greated by 6 babbooms as we first entered. In the distance we heard a lion roar, Our guide took us around the lake to hopefully spot it but we were not able to see it. As we were heading back to the game lodge God blessed us with the sighting of a male giraffe eating leaves from the top of a tree. After watching him for a while he gracefully strolled off. We were also blessed with a beautiful sun set as we left the park. The sun was setting behing two mountains and as it lowered between the two it shown colors of red, orange purple, blue and violet. Most spectacular. Sunday we were able to go to another African church service that was lead by one of the house parents. It was a great experience worshiping with the body of Christ. They have a 1/2 hour of innerscory prayer, 1/2 hour of bible study, 1/2 hour of worship and 1 1/2 hour of service time for the message. The South African's have no inhibitions when they Praise the Lord. There was singing, clapping, dancing and hugging through out the entire time of worship. What a site to see and hear and be a part of. At 3:30 all of the families came to the team center and gave us a farewell service. It was very moving. They thanked us for the part of our spirit that we left with them. The encouragement and love that we showed them. For us we will all come back changed. For me it has been a great journey of experiencing God, feeling his Grace, His love, His protection, His faithfulness. As we are all on a journey of salvation the changes that take place on mission trips makes major steps towards are walk with Christ and experiencing the body of Christ oceans apart. May we uphold and incourage one another for the Glory of God. In Christ, Sandy

Africa 1/12/09

Friday, Jan 9, 2009

Hello, friends and family! This note is being written in 90-degree weather at 8am in Hammanskraal South Africa. We are preparing for our day of work with a local hospice center in a township near here called Soshanguve. A local Christian woman associated with the nearby church runs the hospice. We will go into the township, an area of tin shacks, no running water, extreme heat and extreme poverty. Our team will split up with hospice workers and go to specific homes of ill people. We are expecting to wash linens, help bathe, help give medications, and provide love and comfort. It will be an exhausting yet fulfilling day. We will write a blog later about it. Earlier this week we finished work on the local school building. We installed a wall to provide extra room for the growing Christian school and completed the preparation for another school year to start next week. We all have been a part of construction, insulation, cleaning, painting, dry wall installation. Yesterday we had a "play day" with the local kids. There are 30 children who live in this compound. We have to remind ourselves that these children were orphaned or abandoned. Some of them were left in garbage dumpsters as infants, others were orphaned and left alone in the streets as young children. Now, they seem like any other American child: energetic, giggly, loving to play games, thanks to the love and support of the staff and house parents here. During our "play day" we set up an obstacle course, played partner tag, held a scavenger hunt, colored and drew, played duck duck goose, played water games and relay games. It was fun and HOT! After some rest time, last night we watched a movie that is very similar to the lives of some of these children. It showed the life of an orphaned "street" child, just fighting for his survival. It was very moving. The movie was titled "Beat The Drum". This is a place of contrast. Confusing contrast. There are extremes of life here: riches and poverty, joy and sorrow, educated and uneducated, beauty of nature and ugliness of tin shacks, sickness and health, love and hate, Jesus and medicine men, tin shack Christian churches with loud accapella music and large brick Christian churches with modern instruments. We've seen it all. Confusing. We continue to trust that Jesus will use us as needed. And we look forward to seeing all of you again soon. -Jocelyn Bruce

January 3, 2009- Apartheid Museum

Hi guys!
Just a quick update of our group's progress in South Africa.
Yesterday we finished up some work on the Bethesda schoolhouse. Now the floors and windows shine and the new wall is close to completion.
Last night our group split up and enjoyed a deliscious dinner with three of the local families. We also enjoyed playing with the kids.
Today we visited the Apartheid Museum, a museum that explains the segregation of the whites and the Africans and also documents the Africans revolution to overthrow the racism.
The museum taught us a lot about the history of South Africa, and also explaining how South Africa came to be the nation it is.
That's all for now... more updates later!

yt

January 1, 2009- Happy New Year From South Africa!

After three planes, thirty hours of traveling, and countless packages of pretzels; our team arrived safely at Bethesda, South Africa (north of Pretoria.)
Bethesda is a small village/mission group that has greatly improved the lives of 32 orphans. The children are put in homes with Christian foster parents and 4-7 other children. The people in these homes soon become their family. Bethesda also has a small- but very good- school.
A Christian organization like Bethesda is a much-needed help in an area torn by extreme poverty, hunger, violence, AIDS, and disease. 14-year-olds or younger often manage families single-handedly if their parents die, those lucky enough to have homes often live in tin shacks, and children as young as 18 months are left to the streets. The children at Bethesda came from situations like these.
On Tuesday, however, our group was too worn-out from jet lag to jump right into mission work; so we introduced ourselves to the children and to Bethesda. We also realized the people managing Bethesda work extremely hard- most juggle two jobs on top of managing their families.
Yesterday we helped the Matjeni family move in to their new home. We washed windows, cleaned carpet, caulked windows, played soccer with the kids, and enjoyed all the food that was prepared for us. Later in the afternoon we drove back to Bethesda where we had dinner and celebrated New Year's Eve with the Shikwambe family. After they left, our group played a fanatical version of Extreme Around-The-World Ping-Pong to exhaustion.
So far today we have been enjoying the New Year by working on the school-house. The guys are building a wall to seperate the first and second grade classrooms, and the women are cleaning the windows and floors.
Over the next few weeks, we plan to build, clean, and minister in several other areas of South Africa.
Bye for now and happy New Year!