So that's it.... We've said our goodbyes and all 6 English Roses have been reunited with their families, life has returned to normality.... except the 6 best friends who returned are not the same as the 6 strangers who left Heathrow all those months ago. We have had an incredible time in South Africa but its impossible to forget the harsh realities. Just because we are no longer there doesn't mean that LI aren't working with those children day in day out, Amaoti is still there-a community full of people who just want to be able to support their family but due to the unemployment level are unable to, a place filled with schools run by teachers who care more about the money than their pupils and a community where far too many children are in abusive homes. But, despite the darkness in Amaoti its a place that has such a sense of community, its a beautiful place.
While in SA we heard a lot about light and dark, about 'shining like stars in the dark world' (Philippians 2:15), it seemed to be an ongoing theme, with the soundtrack of Build your kingdom here
Build Your kingdom here.
Let the darkness fear.
Show Your mighty hand.
Heal our streets and land.
Set Your church on fire.
Win this nation back.
Change the atmosphere.
Build Your kingdom here.
We pray
I hope that for the time we were in Amaoti we were lights to the community, like a city on a hill (You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden- Matthew 5:14) On our last day Theo mentioned how the people of Amaoti are talking about us, they cant believe that 6 white girls would work with them for so long and would live in the community for a week. I would like to think that during our 6 months we've challenged the people of Durban about their attitude towards Amaoti and Phoenix.
We lived a much simpler live in our 2 bedroom house in Phoenix, its seems weird to come home to my own bedroom which is full of a lot of rubbish! Small things like hot water, tin openers and carpets are luxury and as Abi said when we all got very excited by comfy beds when we went on safari- I never want to stop being so grateful.
We have learnt that poverty isn't just materialistic, yes that is a huge part of the problem but spiritual poverty is an aspect we had never considered. One of our team phrases was 'you live in freedom', in our final weeks we went on a prayer walk in Amaoti and prayed for so many people, alcohol and drug abuse are huge problems in the community and we prayed for people to realise that they don't need to rely on drugs and alcohol but that they can find a freedom in Christ.
One of the main things I learnt was to trust God with everything, I have heard people say this before after doing similar trips but never really realised the extent some people trust God. The staff of LI are such an inspiration- never in the UK would you try and run a holiday club for 700+ children with a zero budget, we had to fully rely on God to provide food for 5 days, the staff are trusting for salaries at the end of the month and we are still praying for breakthrough with the vehicle situation. They don't give up but continue to pray and worship, they have a passion which is inspiring and through it all there is a sense of joy.
We never imagined that it would be so hard to say goodbye, we have build such strong relationships with the staff that saying goodbye was a tearful occasion. Even as I write this I am chatting to friends from SA! In our last week we popped round to the Browns several times just to make the most of our time with them, we couldn't have felt more welcomed into their family, they are incredible!
Its been 6 months where I have been constantly pushed out of my comfort zone but its been incredible to see all of us grow, if you had given me a huge group of Zulu speaking kids when I first arrived I would have had no idea what to do but now I just get on with it, even if our Zulu singing isn't the best!
Our hearts have been broken for the people of Amaoti and the thousands of miles between us and South Africa aren't going to stop us praying for the people we met and getting involved from here! Rend Collectives album was often blasting in our car and the lyric 'you're not finished with me yet' seems appropriate, God has bigger and better plans for Amaoti, LI and the 6 of us, by Gods power Amaoti can become a place of hope and where children have the same opportunities as those born in richer parts of Durban.
This is probably our last blog post, there are so many stories we could tell you that never made it online so ask us questions, the more interesting the question the better! 'How was it' is quite hard to answer!
Loads of love
Catherine
(on behalf of all the girls who are far too far from me!)
Wednesday 30 July 2014
Monday 14 July 2014
Emma's blog!
Hello!
As I begin to write this blog we have ten days left in South Africa, I have no idea how and I can’t even begin to understand leaving. Even as I am writing this Cathy Keys is in the bunk bed above and we are reminiscing on life, torn with leaving this place and all that is here which is now a regular conversation in team life and one that is becoming an ever closer reality.
As I reflect on our African adventure and look back on this journey I think I now realise it has been a call to live out of my comfort; to step beyond and into a place where only God can carry us through. We’ve been so pushed beyond what normal life is- living in a two bedroom Phoenix house as our little six, bungee jumping, or even teaching “zumba” at holiday club! God is in the areas that don’t rely on us, where we step out of the boat and focus on Him- going through challenges, being at Brookdale reading with teenagers, working in Amaoti One with uncooperative teachers or in a crèche without any sort of system.
Stepping out of myself has allowed God to truly break my heart for the community of Amaoti- a place so lacking and in need but also brimming with life and hope. Poverty is no longer a distant picture full of nameless people but it is where we live and who we serve. It’s a boy who was found unloved and uncared for as a vulnerable baby wrapped in newspaper, living in a home where the family only “keep” him because of an orphan grant- a case so regular when the desire of money beats family and love. It’s the friendship I have with that child who has eyes so full of joy and innocence but are also so lost in neglect. And that is only one vague story of the many people we have met and love. These are the people who we serve, people that are broken and alone and the people that break me as we say goodbyes...this is what poverty is.
I have struggled a lot with the division in South African society- take a 15 minute drive out of Amaoti and arrive in Durban North- a place of overwhelming affluence with people blissfully unaware of what life is for the people of Amaoti, their wider community. It’s a divide that can never be justified, it’s the difference between children only getting the food LI provide at aftercare and the existence of Wakaberry (a frozen yoghurt shop) being everywhere. As much as I still struggle with it, if not more than ever, I feel it is a another way that I have needed to be out of comfort; to be uncomfortable with the poverty, division and brutality of life. I want it to mould my decisions and to move me to speak up for these beautiful people. It gives me a passion to see God’s Kingdom here, and to see glimpses of this deepens this passion- seeing God’s power through prayer when we went on a prayer walk in Amaoti, 900 children attending the LI holiday club and also seeing our team form strong bonds with the people we work alongside and who we serve.
I feel like my heart has been stolen by Amaoti and its people and so to not tell their story is an injustice to them. They are a community with horrible contrasts- a place of poverty, broken families and violence but also a place filled with hope, joy in celebrating life and a real sense of community. At the weekend we had a goodbye braai in Amaoti with the LI staff filled with African dancing, loud music and laughter. It tears me apart that we have to leave these amazing people who we work and serve with but it has made me feel truly blessed that we have journeyed and shared life with them.
What I have realised over this trip is that it is a real blessing to be placed out of comfort, to live in a place seeing the Kingdom being revealed and seeing God working in the greatest of ways. It really is going to be hard to leave this amazing place and return to Northern Ireland life but I am excited for what is still to come!
Lots of love,
Emma xoxoxooxoxoxox
As I begin to write this blog we have ten days left in South Africa, I have no idea how and I can’t even begin to understand leaving. Even as I am writing this Cathy Keys is in the bunk bed above and we are reminiscing on life, torn with leaving this place and all that is here which is now a regular conversation in team life and one that is becoming an ever closer reality.
As I reflect on our African adventure and look back on this journey I think I now realise it has been a call to live out of my comfort; to step beyond and into a place where only God can carry us through. We’ve been so pushed beyond what normal life is- living in a two bedroom Phoenix house as our little six, bungee jumping, or even teaching “zumba” at holiday club! God is in the areas that don’t rely on us, where we step out of the boat and focus on Him- going through challenges, being at Brookdale reading with teenagers, working in Amaoti One with uncooperative teachers or in a crèche without any sort of system.
Stepping out of myself has allowed God to truly break my heart for the community of Amaoti- a place so lacking and in need but also brimming with life and hope. Poverty is no longer a distant picture full of nameless people but it is where we live and who we serve. It’s a boy who was found unloved and uncared for as a vulnerable baby wrapped in newspaper, living in a home where the family only “keep” him because of an orphan grant- a case so regular when the desire of money beats family and love. It’s the friendship I have with that child who has eyes so full of joy and innocence but are also so lost in neglect. And that is only one vague story of the many people we have met and love. These are the people who we serve, people that are broken and alone and the people that break me as we say goodbyes...this is what poverty is.
I have struggled a lot with the division in South African society- take a 15 minute drive out of Amaoti and arrive in Durban North- a place of overwhelming affluence with people blissfully unaware of what life is for the people of Amaoti, their wider community. It’s a divide that can never be justified, it’s the difference between children only getting the food LI provide at aftercare and the existence of Wakaberry (a frozen yoghurt shop) being everywhere. As much as I still struggle with it, if not more than ever, I feel it is a another way that I have needed to be out of comfort; to be uncomfortable with the poverty, division and brutality of life. I want it to mould my decisions and to move me to speak up for these beautiful people. It gives me a passion to see God’s Kingdom here, and to see glimpses of this deepens this passion- seeing God’s power through prayer when we went on a prayer walk in Amaoti, 900 children attending the LI holiday club and also seeing our team form strong bonds with the people we work alongside and who we serve.
I feel like my heart has been stolen by Amaoti and its people and so to not tell their story is an injustice to them. They are a community with horrible contrasts- a place of poverty, broken families and violence but also a place filled with hope, joy in celebrating life and a real sense of community. At the weekend we had a goodbye braai in Amaoti with the LI staff filled with African dancing, loud music and laughter. It tears me apart that we have to leave these amazing people who we work and serve with but it has made me feel truly blessed that we have journeyed and shared life with them.
What I have realised over this trip is that it is a real blessing to be placed out of comfort, to live in a place seeing the Kingdom being revealed and seeing God working in the greatest of ways. It really is going to be hard to leave this amazing place and return to Northern Ireland life but I am excited for what is still to come!
Lots of love,
Emma xoxoxooxoxoxox
Wednesday 9 July 2014
Hey
We are loving life and will blog at some point but for now is a link to a blog written by Nate from our home group about us!
http://www.therock.org.za/church/community/
Enjoy
:)http://www.therock.org.za/church/community/
We are loving life and will blog at some point but for now is a link to a blog written by Nate from our home group about us!
http://www.therock.org.za/church/community/
Enjoy
:)http://www.therock.org.za/church/community/
Thursday 26 June 2014
Creche times
Hey there!
We have had a busy few weeks here and now that I stop and think about things I just can’t believe that we have a matter of weeks left! Where has the time gone?!
Anyway, we now find ourselves at the end of the projects that we started just after our mid-trip holiday over 6 six weeks ago! Just to recap; on our return from our holiday we decided that we would be much more effective and build stronger relationships if we spent a long period of time at one particular project. After much discussion and prayer Abi, Kez and Emma felt called to work in Brookdale Secondary and Pippa and Catherine in Amaoti 1 Primary with the intension of taking small groups of struggling kids and helping them learn to read and write better. I felt called to work in the crèche.
It has been an incredible 6 weeks for us and while in hasn’t all gone according to plan (particularly for Catherine and Pippa as we’ve talked about in other blogs!) God has been so present and at work in the things that we have been doing.
Pippa reminded me the other day that as a team we have a lot of initiative and when I think back to our 2 week placements at the crèche at the very beginning, I remember the worksheets we started making and the games that we thought up and I’m really proud of my team and what we managed to do! So when we came back from our holiday I felt convicted to go back and carry on the work that we had started and hopefully try to make a difference. This all sounds a bit clichéd I know, but now that I look back I really can see that the crèche has improved. For example, when we first arrived at LI there was very little structure in the crèche, and not a lot of learning took place. We spent a lot of time being human climbing frames which was quite tiring and, at times, the lack of structure was frustrating. The kids were given plain paper to draw on during the activity time, which was great! But what came back were 30 sheets of scribble; I knew that with a bit of help they could turn those scribbles into writing letters or drawing pictures - all they needed was a bit of guidance.
I think my biggest challenge at the crèche has been with organising and preparing the craft activities (usually in the form of worksheets). I have really enjoyed thinking up, preparing and leading the activities for the children but on the days when I didn’t, nothing was prepared by the staff. I found this really hard because I enjoyed the work that I did but didn’t feel that as a volunteer it was my place to be leading. After talking this through with Zanele we decided that even if it wasn’t sustainable I could continue doing what I was doing because the children would at least learn something during my time there.
It is frustrating that Nombuso (the crèche principle) doesn’t really prepare activities for the kids to do but I have come to realise just how difficult her job is. She looks after upwards of 30 children from 8am to 3pm Monday to Friday and, although there is usually someone else helping her, there have been days where she looks after them single-handedly. The age range of children is from about 18 months to 5 years, which is massive! And at the end of the day she goes back to look after her 7 children! What she does is incredible with such little support. With a very tight budget and only two pairs of hands looking after the children it’s very easy to see how Nombuso is stuck between a rock and a hard place. How can the crèche develop when just getting through the day is a struggle for her?
Thankfully a local charity, Domino Foundation, who work alongside LI, has been very involved in crèche development. Each day it provides soup and porridge for the kids to ensure their growth and development, they also have a monthly workshop to help crèche workers all over Amaoti improve their skills.
I have learnt that development can be a very slow process and that you have to be patient but also stubborn in making sure that things happen and get done properly, so that people don’t forget the vision and what needs to happen to get there. I have also learnt so much about material poverty; my first thought when I first arrived at the crèche was that they need more toys, more craft materials, more space etc. (and I still believe that they really could do with more), but actually children can find so much enjoyment from simple things like bark rubbing which requires a piece of paper, a crayon and a tree – that’s it, simple.
Since our arrival:
· The crèche has moved to be closer to the LI offices (funded by Domino Foundation) so that the kids are closer to the toilet and the water supply
· A kind woman at a local church has donated an incredible climbing frame
· The team have made a number line and alphabet which have been put up making the crèche look much more colourful
· We have printed and put up pictures of each of the crèche kids to help them feel part of the crèche
· The kids have been on a school trip to a local primary school
· We have done lots of painting and crayoning and making of worksheets
· We have even had a go at planting African daisies
· We brought in a CD player and watch them have fun playing musical statues
· Some tyres have appeared (not quite sure where from!) which the kids have loved rolling down the little hill
· We have introduced morning exercises where the kids enjoy coming outside and doing lots of star jumps among other things (the idea of this was for them to release some energy before they came back inside to play – I think it just makes them a bit more hyper!)
· The majority of the kids have learnt to count to 10 and can draw the letters of the alphabet, the oldest kids who are going to school next year can even say the sound of the letter when I point at it – it just makes me so proud of them!
So much has been achieved at the crèche and I just want to give God the glory for it all!
It’s sad that my time at the crèche has come to an end but it was such a rich experience that I will never forget and has equipped me with new skills. My prayer for the crèche is that it will receive more support so that it can continue to go grow and educate children out of poverty.
Thanks again for all your prayers and support,
Love to you all!
Hannah x
Wednesday 18 June 2014
Photos Photos Photos
Hello lovely blog readers!
This week I've decided to go for a different approach to blogging, by uploading a few of the 3,836 photos I have taken over the past 19 weeks!
Although at times this beautiful country has given us experiences that can't be captured on camera, I have made it my challenge to take photographs that will at least remind us of the amazing journey that this trip to South Africa has been.
I couldn't upload the photos to the blog itself, so follow the link and enjoy :)
Abi xxx
Tuesday 3 June 2014
After 4 months of avoiding doing the blog post I have finally taken on the task. I've never been the best with words or sharing my thoughts but felt I needed to highlight the challenges we face doing mission in a beautiful, frustrating, diverse country such as South Africa.
I came on mission to step outside my comfort zone, experience life in another country and of course, serve! The popular song by Hillsong 'Oceans' sums it up 'spirit lead me where my trust is without boarders'. But I never quite expected to face so many challenges or to be so far out of my comfort zone that I thought I would never make it back. However here I am writing about some of the things we have had to face while I am forever closer to being back in my depth (which isn't very deep considering my height ;) )
Working in Amoti 1 has never been easy but has always been exciting. It was in the middle of all the madness that it struck me; where do you begin to help where the need is so great ? The answer I do not know, but what I do know is you just have to rock up and roll with it. This is never the easiest thing to do when you have grown up in our western culture where the systems are far from perfect but are more established and structured compared to the places we work where communication is lacking and corruption is rife.
For example trying to work with the social workers to get a young girl out of her home where she is being sexually abused and all that is stopping this from happening is a phone number of a guardian is needed. It is in these situations where I can't help but question how there can be so much injustice and corruption, and these situations where I have learnt not to give up but persevere through the frustration and to fight for justice.
Last week was different in terms of projects, our house turned in to a small factory and we spent every waking moment making hanging heart decorations, bracelets, journals and drawing logos on what felt like a million pieces of brown card. All to sell at the Hope Market which was took place at Grace church and supports local charities/businesses. The market went well and helped to raise valuable funds for LI.
In all of the challenges, each day we see glimpses of hope and it is these small mercies which keep us going.
Pippa
I came on mission to step outside my comfort zone, experience life in another country and of course, serve! The popular song by Hillsong 'Oceans' sums it up 'spirit lead me where my trust is without boarders'. But I never quite expected to face so many challenges or to be so far out of my comfort zone that I thought I would never make it back. However here I am writing about some of the things we have had to face while I am forever closer to being back in my depth (which isn't very deep considering my height ;) )
Working in Amoti 1 has never been easy but has always been exciting. It was in the middle of all the madness that it struck me; where do you begin to help where the need is so great ? The answer I do not know, but what I do know is you just have to rock up and roll with it. This is never the easiest thing to do when you have grown up in our western culture where the systems are far from perfect but are more established and structured compared to the places we work where communication is lacking and corruption is rife.
For example trying to work with the social workers to get a young girl out of her home where she is being sexually abused and all that is stopping this from happening is a phone number of a guardian is needed. It is in these situations where I can't help but question how there can be so much injustice and corruption, and these situations where I have learnt not to give up but persevere through the frustration and to fight for justice.
Last week was different in terms of projects, our house turned in to a small factory and we spent every waking moment making hanging heart decorations, bracelets, journals and drawing logos on what felt like a million pieces of brown card. All to sell at the Hope Market which was took place at Grace church and supports local charities/businesses. The market went well and helped to raise valuable funds for LI.
In all of the challenges, each day we see glimpses of hope and it is these small mercies which keep us going.
Pippa
Thursday 22 May 2014
the story of Sbo (to the tune of one direction)
Greetings people of the world, Catherine here (again!)
Thought I would take some time to tell you about Sbo- someone who has been an inspiration to us lately. Sbo works for LI and is based in amaoti 1, at first glance it may seem that she doesn't have a huge role but in fact she is the only person who is prepared to work there. Amaoti 1 is a tough school,cooperation with teachers can be hard and there are so many harrowing stories of children's home situations. During our time in SA I have been struck by the fact that God doesn't call us to live comfortably, we are called to love the unloved even if that doesn't look how we may hope, not a glamorised hugging of cute babies who have been abandoned but sticking by the kids who are being abused no matter how many times they try to push you away. amaoti 1 may not be an easy place to work but that doesn't mean we should ignore it. Sbo is a vital link between the school and charity and knows all the back to school children, she distributes uniform and is a friendly face for children to talk to. With about 60 children in a class teachers can't invest time in individual children but if they are worried about a child then they will tell Sbo.
A couple of weeks ago a teacher alerted Sbo of a child who needed to go to the clinic due to a broken leg, so we dropped her off (that was Thursday), on Friday morning she arrived at devotions with the girl having helped her get ready due to family members not bothering. We took the 2 of them to the hospital and it turned out that her leg was infected due to her aunt (a witch doctor) trying to treat it. Sbo stayed with the child till Monday, sleeping on a short wooden bench, her selfless love for this girl led to other people in the ward thinking they were mother and daughter. This led me to wonder what I may do in this situation, would I be prepared to stay with a child for 3 days with only the things I left for work with in the morning, I like to think I would have reacted in the same way but the reality is I probably wouldn't.
On Wednesday we received a phone call saying the child had been discharged, without questioning it Sbo left aftercare, this is when me and Pippa got to see the child on the ward, within a couple of hours we were beginning to get frustrated at the slowness of everything, and I wondered how I would have survived being there all weekend. Sbo's actions reminded me of the parable of the lost sheep and the farmer who leaves the flock to find one sheep, her love was sacrificial. She could have asked someone to swap positions or bring a change of clothes but she didn't, she selflessly stayed with the girl showing her Gods love. She sacrificed a weekend with her family for a child she barely knew but who cried when Sbo left, she invested time in that girl when she needed it most.
Gods love doesn't need to be shown in a flamboyant way but going the extra mile behind closed doors.
We love Sbo!!
Xxx
Thought I would take some time to tell you about Sbo- someone who has been an inspiration to us lately. Sbo works for LI and is based in amaoti 1, at first glance it may seem that she doesn't have a huge role but in fact she is the only person who is prepared to work there. Amaoti 1 is a tough school,cooperation with teachers can be hard and there are so many harrowing stories of children's home situations. During our time in SA I have been struck by the fact that God doesn't call us to live comfortably, we are called to love the unloved even if that doesn't look how we may hope, not a glamorised hugging of cute babies who have been abandoned but sticking by the kids who are being abused no matter how many times they try to push you away. amaoti 1 may not be an easy place to work but that doesn't mean we should ignore it. Sbo is a vital link between the school and charity and knows all the back to school children, she distributes uniform and is a friendly face for children to talk to. With about 60 children in a class teachers can't invest time in individual children but if they are worried about a child then they will tell Sbo.
A couple of weeks ago a teacher alerted Sbo of a child who needed to go to the clinic due to a broken leg, so we dropped her off (that was Thursday), on Friday morning she arrived at devotions with the girl having helped her get ready due to family members not bothering. We took the 2 of them to the hospital and it turned out that her leg was infected due to her aunt (a witch doctor) trying to treat it. Sbo stayed with the child till Monday, sleeping on a short wooden bench, her selfless love for this girl led to other people in the ward thinking they were mother and daughter. This led me to wonder what I may do in this situation, would I be prepared to stay with a child for 3 days with only the things I left for work with in the morning, I like to think I would have reacted in the same way but the reality is I probably wouldn't.
On Wednesday we received a phone call saying the child had been discharged, without questioning it Sbo left aftercare, this is when me and Pippa got to see the child on the ward, within a couple of hours we were beginning to get frustrated at the slowness of everything, and I wondered how I would have survived being there all weekend. Sbo's actions reminded me of the parable of the lost sheep and the farmer who leaves the flock to find one sheep, her love was sacrificial. She could have asked someone to swap positions or bring a change of clothes but she didn't, she selflessly stayed with the girl showing her Gods love. She sacrificed a weekend with her family for a child she barely knew but who cried when Sbo left, she invested time in that girl when she needed it most.
Gods love doesn't need to be shown in a flamboyant way but going the extra mile behind closed doors.
We love Sbo!!
Xxx
Sunday 18 May 2014
It's Kez's turn to blog!
Hey lovely blog readers, Kez here :)
Two minutes ago I was sitting comfortably wearing my cosy loungers and slippers, on my own (a rare treat in itself!) in our living room. Picture a perfectly content Kezzie on a beautifully chilled South African Sunday, humming away to some acoustic mellow musical goodness, trying desperately to get from 4 to 5% of Eliot's 'Middlemarch' on my Kobo, contemplating making my third cup of tea of the day. Now imagine the distress and terror that gripped my heart when I heard the fateful 'ding' from my phone, signalling the call to battle that I've been nervously anticipating since Catherine set me up in her last blog. Message received from Pippa and Catherine who are out doing a little food shop:
"We have decided that we would like a draft of your blog post for when we get back this afternoon ;) good luck and may the odds be ever in your favour."
So here I am, scribbling away on my hastily-grabbed paper with the first pen I could find, writing to you good people and wondering whether or not the odds will be in my favour. The pressure is indeed on.
Firstly I'll update you on the team's whereabouts and goings on over the past couple of weeks ...
- Team Amaoti 1 Primary School (Pippa and Catherine): To continue where Catherine left off in the last blog ... Unfortunately, in classic African fashion, the meeting that the Head Teacher needed to have with the staff in order that the girls could read with the Back-To-School children, hasn't happened yet. But, in classic Pippa and Catherine fashion, they've been stars anyway! For the first few days they gathered drawings and letters from LI's children to be sent to their sponsors, keeping the communication ball rolling. This week, though, an emergency case involving an LI child occurred, meaning that trips to and from Amaoti, social workers and hospitals were vital ... *Enter Pippa and Catherine!* Team Amaoti 1 transformed into Team Taxi for the week which wasn't quite the plan, but hey, TIA!
- Team creche and LI office (Hannah): Our lovely little Hannah has been splitting her days up by spending the morning in creche and then early afternoon in the office helping Innocent with LI admin (e.g. organising sponsors' files, finding information on the Back-To-School children and sorting paperwork). She's been such a blessing to the creche staff, this week in particular; Gugu took a day off in order to revise then sit an exam, leaving Noombosa alone to look after the 30ish kids ... *Enter Hannah!* This meant that Hannah spent Tuesday looking after the 8 youngest babies for the morning - playing games, singing songs and being a blessing!
- Team Brookdale Secondary School (Abi, Emma and Kez): We've just finished our second week of taking LI's Back-To-School children, who are really struggling with English, out of class to run our own reading 'lessons'. We take 4 groups with about 10 children in each, aged around 13-15 years. The reason they struggle so much is because they've fallen behind with reading in primary school and aren't given the opportunity to catch up. *Enter Abi, Emma and Kez!* We've loved getting to know some of the after care children better and just show them some individual care and attention. Teaching a teenager to read who is barely at primary school level can be really draining and feel like an impossible task, but God is good, the kids are good and I think we're doing well at trying to be good too!
Although I love the projects we're working on and the people were working with, I'd love to share what's been on my heart, this week especially.
If I can be honest, sometimes the 'routine-ness' of it all wears me out. To think that my day has consisted of Brookdale -> office -> after-care -> home for the last two weeks and will be the same for the next five weeks, makes me tired. I find myself going through the same selfish thought process, seesaw-ing between "oh, it's fine, it's only five more weeks - I can get through it" followed by "what difference can I possibly make in such a short amount of time when there is so much to do?!".
Although the fact still remains that my daily routine will be more or less exactly the same for the next five weeks, whether I choose to see that as a long time or not enough time, I've realised that actually there's richness in the routine. I can choose to see it as 'mundane' and 'everyday' or I can choose to see that it's what I'm called here for. Not because I'm supposed to have a boring time or to dread the thought of having the same old week - not in the slightest. But because we are called to action, and in our action, to be effective and to show Jesus's love. The routine reminds me that being effective doesn't necessarily come in the form of living the classic #gapyah life; a group of young white girls all-singing/all-dancing surrounded by beautiful, wide-eyed, gap-toothed African children clinging onto us for dear life. No, in reality, being effective in this time looks like driving around and then waiting for hours in a hospital car park. It looks like wading through documents from 2006 in order to make the cupboards tidier. It looks like sitting with one child for however long it takes for them to be able to read one sentence.
I think I've had a bit more of a heart realisation that this adventure has been and will continue to be about relationships and community. In reality I don't think that can happen without simply humbling ourselves, plodding on and pressing in, even if it feels like we did that yesterday. And the day before. And on Monday. And all of last week.
There's richness in the routine.
Two minutes ago I was sitting comfortably wearing my cosy loungers and slippers, on my own (a rare treat in itself!) in our living room. Picture a perfectly content Kezzie on a beautifully chilled South African Sunday, humming away to some acoustic mellow musical goodness, trying desperately to get from 4 to 5% of Eliot's 'Middlemarch' on my Kobo, contemplating making my third cup of tea of the day. Now imagine the distress and terror that gripped my heart when I heard the fateful 'ding' from my phone, signalling the call to battle that I've been nervously anticipating since Catherine set me up in her last blog. Message received from Pippa and Catherine who are out doing a little food shop:
"We have decided that we would like a draft of your blog post for when we get back this afternoon ;) good luck and may the odds be ever in your favour."
So here I am, scribbling away on my hastily-grabbed paper with the first pen I could find, writing to you good people and wondering whether or not the odds will be in my favour. The pressure is indeed on.
Firstly I'll update you on the team's whereabouts and goings on over the past couple of weeks ...
- Team Amaoti 1 Primary School (Pippa and Catherine): To continue where Catherine left off in the last blog ... Unfortunately, in classic African fashion, the meeting that the Head Teacher needed to have with the staff in order that the girls could read with the Back-To-School children, hasn't happened yet. But, in classic Pippa and Catherine fashion, they've been stars anyway! For the first few days they gathered drawings and letters from LI's children to be sent to their sponsors, keeping the communication ball rolling. This week, though, an emergency case involving an LI child occurred, meaning that trips to and from Amaoti, social workers and hospitals were vital ... *Enter Pippa and Catherine!* Team Amaoti 1 transformed into Team Taxi for the week which wasn't quite the plan, but hey, TIA!
- Team creche and LI office (Hannah): Our lovely little Hannah has been splitting her days up by spending the morning in creche and then early afternoon in the office helping Innocent with LI admin (e.g. organising sponsors' files, finding information on the Back-To-School children and sorting paperwork). She's been such a blessing to the creche staff, this week in particular; Gugu took a day off in order to revise then sit an exam, leaving Noombosa alone to look after the 30ish kids ... *Enter Hannah!* This meant that Hannah spent Tuesday looking after the 8 youngest babies for the morning - playing games, singing songs and being a blessing!
- Team Brookdale Secondary School (Abi, Emma and Kez): We've just finished our second week of taking LI's Back-To-School children, who are really struggling with English, out of class to run our own reading 'lessons'. We take 4 groups with about 10 children in each, aged around 13-15 years. The reason they struggle so much is because they've fallen behind with reading in primary school and aren't given the opportunity to catch up. *Enter Abi, Emma and Kez!* We've loved getting to know some of the after care children better and just show them some individual care and attention. Teaching a teenager to read who is barely at primary school level can be really draining and feel like an impossible task, but God is good, the kids are good and I think we're doing well at trying to be good too!
Although I love the projects we're working on and the people were working with, I'd love to share what's been on my heart, this week especially.
If I can be honest, sometimes the 'routine-ness' of it all wears me out. To think that my day has consisted of Brookdale -> office -> after-care -> home for the last two weeks and will be the same for the next five weeks, makes me tired. I find myself going through the same selfish thought process, seesaw-ing between "oh, it's fine, it's only five more weeks - I can get through it" followed by "what difference can I possibly make in such a short amount of time when there is so much to do?!".
Although the fact still remains that my daily routine will be more or less exactly the same for the next five weeks, whether I choose to see that as a long time or not enough time, I've realised that actually there's richness in the routine. I can choose to see it as 'mundane' and 'everyday' or I can choose to see that it's what I'm called here for. Not because I'm supposed to have a boring time or to dread the thought of having the same old week - not in the slightest. But because we are called to action, and in our action, to be effective and to show Jesus's love. The routine reminds me that being effective doesn't necessarily come in the form of living the classic #gapyah life; a group of young white girls all-singing/all-dancing surrounded by beautiful, wide-eyed, gap-toothed African children clinging onto us for dear life. No, in reality, being effective in this time looks like driving around and then waiting for hours in a hospital car park. It looks like wading through documents from 2006 in order to make the cupboards tidier. It looks like sitting with one child for however long it takes for them to be able to read one sentence.
I think I've had a bit more of a heart realisation that this adventure has been and will continue to be about relationships and community. In reality I don't think that can happen without simply humbling ourselves, plodding on and pressing in, even if it feels like we did that yesterday. And the day before. And on Monday. And all of last week.
There's richness in the routine.
Friday 9 May 2014
Hello!!
A lot has happened since we last blogged..... (This is being written at midnight, every dog in Durban seems to be up and barking- maybe they are discussing todays election result....)
As many of you may have heard we have had some problems with our car recently. Let's start from the very beginning (its a very good place to start)
We have had a lot of issues with our car from the beginning.... For the first couple of days in SA Abi and Pippa spent most their time at the airport trying to hire a car which was a long process due to problems with licences and funds being in the wrong account and took a lot longer than hoped. We had a car for a month and all was well but then in our second month we reversed into our gate causing damage which we fixed using 'panel beaters'- a local company. We were impressed with the result but the hire company weren't and when they discovered the damage withheld money from us. Once we returned from our holiday it was uncertain if we could get another car as the company didn't want to give us one but once again this was resolved and we had another car (an automatic this time- a new experience for everyone!) Then last week whilst we were painting a wall at the safe house a woman reversed into our hire car, we reported this to the police (another new experience) and then took the car back to the hire company. They said that we needed to pay 17000 rand (about £1000) in order to get a car, if we paid and the woman paid at a later date we would get our money back but there was no guarantee she would ever pay. We sent messages home asking for prayer and refused to be defeated, that night we went home and praised God, struck by a song saying 'I will praise you in the storm'. The next day we were overwhelmed by people offering to cover the cost for us but this wasn't needed as tearfund found that our insurance will cover the cost, praise God!! Those days were filled with lots of emotions!! Please continue to pray for the car.
Me and Pippa are back in amaoti 1 (the primary school) and the craziness began on day one. We were helping Sbo to cover a grade one class and what follows is not exaggerated..... We won't tell you every detail but this is a 20 minute snippet of our day. Sbo had to go photocopy some sheets for the class so we were left alone with a lot of Zulu speaking children, after a bit of learning the names of shapes the chaos began, we don't really know how but Pippa ended up with half the class round her asking for toilet roll which she was distributing with a confused look on her face- hec-tic. A child then began crying so Pippa went to find Sbo leaving me alone.... In a attempt to keep the classes attention I began a copying game we had played earlier, it didn't take long for the whole class to be clapping but they then began to all sing a Zulu song, marching seemed to be a crucial part of the song and soon half the kids were marching on the tables.... My very limited Zulu doesn't stretch to 'get off the tables' and they then started copying my action which was meant to mean get down! Order was resumed when Pippa and Sbo returned! The rest of the team seem to look forward to hearing what happened on our mad days but we are hoping that next week meetings will happen that allow us to take struggling children out to help them with English. We are also aiming to get photos of all the 'back to school children' who are sponsored and get letters/ pictures from the children to the sponsors. We have a manageable target of 44 children in our school but as an organisation we need to find around 500 from many different schools!! Forming contact between children and sponsors is vital in ensuring sponsors continue to support LI and finding new sponsors.
Thats all for now, see you next time (on the blog Kez has promised to write!)
Byeeeeeee
Catherine
Xxx
HOW COULD I FORGET??! you might remember that last time we blogged we mentioned a singer called Matthew mole... Well last Monday we googled to see If he was playing in Durban soon but Google failed us, luckily though Kez spotted a sign when we were out and after driving round in circles to see it again we got the details! Next thing we know its Sunday and we are at a outdoor gig seeing Matthew mole and just jinger! Not only did the ticket cost convert to just £6 but we also all got photos with Matthew! Maybe in Kez's blog she will write something profound about some of his lyrics.... Pressures on girl!!!
P.s temperatures have dropped to 22° this week meaning we have experienced what its like to be cold (a problem we used to only have in the shower!) The 3 fleeces Emma packed along with a number of scarf's are finally being used and I'm hoping that it won't be long till I'm not ridiculed for bringing a wooly hat....
A lot has happened since we last blogged..... (This is being written at midnight, every dog in Durban seems to be up and barking- maybe they are discussing todays election result....)
As many of you may have heard we have had some problems with our car recently. Let's start from the very beginning (its a very good place to start)
We have had a lot of issues with our car from the beginning.... For the first couple of days in SA Abi and Pippa spent most their time at the airport trying to hire a car which was a long process due to problems with licences and funds being in the wrong account and took a lot longer than hoped. We had a car for a month and all was well but then in our second month we reversed into our gate causing damage which we fixed using 'panel beaters'- a local company. We were impressed with the result but the hire company weren't and when they discovered the damage withheld money from us. Once we returned from our holiday it was uncertain if we could get another car as the company didn't want to give us one but once again this was resolved and we had another car (an automatic this time- a new experience for everyone!) Then last week whilst we were painting a wall at the safe house a woman reversed into our hire car, we reported this to the police (another new experience) and then took the car back to the hire company. They said that we needed to pay 17000 rand (about £1000) in order to get a car, if we paid and the woman paid at a later date we would get our money back but there was no guarantee she would ever pay. We sent messages home asking for prayer and refused to be defeated, that night we went home and praised God, struck by a song saying 'I will praise you in the storm'. The next day we were overwhelmed by people offering to cover the cost for us but this wasn't needed as tearfund found that our insurance will cover the cost, praise God!! Those days were filled with lots of emotions!! Please continue to pray for the car.
Me and Pippa are back in amaoti 1 (the primary school) and the craziness began on day one. We were helping Sbo to cover a grade one class and what follows is not exaggerated..... We won't tell you every detail but this is a 20 minute snippet of our day. Sbo had to go photocopy some sheets for the class so we were left alone with a lot of Zulu speaking children, after a bit of learning the names of shapes the chaos began, we don't really know how but Pippa ended up with half the class round her asking for toilet roll which she was distributing with a confused look on her face- hec-tic. A child then began crying so Pippa went to find Sbo leaving me alone.... In a attempt to keep the classes attention I began a copying game we had played earlier, it didn't take long for the whole class to be clapping but they then began to all sing a Zulu song, marching seemed to be a crucial part of the song and soon half the kids were marching on the tables.... My very limited Zulu doesn't stretch to 'get off the tables' and they then started copying my action which was meant to mean get down! Order was resumed when Pippa and Sbo returned! The rest of the team seem to look forward to hearing what happened on our mad days but we are hoping that next week meetings will happen that allow us to take struggling children out to help them with English. We are also aiming to get photos of all the 'back to school children' who are sponsored and get letters/ pictures from the children to the sponsors. We have a manageable target of 44 children in our school but as an organisation we need to find around 500 from many different schools!! Forming contact between children and sponsors is vital in ensuring sponsors continue to support LI and finding new sponsors.
Thats all for now, see you next time (on the blog Kez has promised to write!)
Byeeeeeee
Catherine
Xxx
HOW COULD I FORGET??! you might remember that last time we blogged we mentioned a singer called Matthew mole... Well last Monday we googled to see If he was playing in Durban soon but Google failed us, luckily though Kez spotted a sign when we were out and after driving round in circles to see it again we got the details! Next thing we know its Sunday and we are at a outdoor gig seeing Matthew mole and just jinger! Not only did the ticket cost convert to just £6 but we also all got photos with Matthew! Maybe in Kez's blog she will write something profound about some of his lyrics.... Pressures on girl!!!
P.s temperatures have dropped to 22° this week meaning we have experienced what its like to be cold (a problem we used to only have in the shower!) The 3 fleeces Emma packed along with a number of scarf's are finally being used and I'm hoping that it won't be long till I'm not ridiculed for bringing a wooly hat....
Monday 28 April 2014
WE ARE EXACTLY HALF WAY THROUGH OUR TIME IN SOUTH AFRICA!
Our first week back at LI was spent in meetings and making bracelets till our brains turned to mush. We had meetings in 2 of the schools which some of us will spend most of the next few months in to discuss what we will be doing, we were encouraged by these meetings and can't wait to get back into Amaoti 1 (the primary school) and to go into Brookdale secondary (a school next to the office which we haven't worked in yet) and creche. We really want to work with the children struggling at school especially after hearing that grades in recent exams were very low. We decided to make bracelets to sell to raise valuable funds for LI, by Friday evening we never wanted to see another bracket again, we had been sat in the same place for hours not even moving to eat lunch, although we did manage 2 trips to the new shop down the road for food to keep us going (they were keen to encourage us to get our eyebrows done next door too.) At times it seemed to be a full scale military operation (as I type this I can hear kez downstairs talking about how many bracelets she has made today!) We have been given some opportunities to sell more bracelets in coming weeks which means we need to make more!
This week we are painting a room in the safe house and helping out at the LI pageant organised by Melissa (daughter of Theo and zanele the project leaders) to give the children something to do in their holidays otherwise they will just go and beg. The schools are off again this week having only had 2 weeks since their last holiday, we are in a period of excessive public holidays and with 2 days off this week the department of education decided it wasn't worth schools opening.
We have loved being back at LI and are getting used to our living in our team house again, me, Emma and Hannah are slowly adjusting to having a bed room light (something we didn't have till last week.) Music has always featured heavily in our team but now we have found our favourite south African artists which adds something different to the normal selection of Mumford and sons, Taylor swift and one direction which we sing as loud as possible. Our new faves are Matthew mole http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=EZvHZgii7XI and gangs of ballet http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=qFINg3DWhfY
Goodbyeeeeeeeee
Catherine (on behalf of the team trying to watch lord of the rings)
Xxx
Our first week back at LI was spent in meetings and making bracelets till our brains turned to mush. We had meetings in 2 of the schools which some of us will spend most of the next few months in to discuss what we will be doing, we were encouraged by these meetings and can't wait to get back into Amaoti 1 (the primary school) and to go into Brookdale secondary (a school next to the office which we haven't worked in yet) and creche. We really want to work with the children struggling at school especially after hearing that grades in recent exams were very low. We decided to make bracelets to sell to raise valuable funds for LI, by Friday evening we never wanted to see another bracket again, we had been sat in the same place for hours not even moving to eat lunch, although we did manage 2 trips to the new shop down the road for food to keep us going (they were keen to encourage us to get our eyebrows done next door too.) At times it seemed to be a full scale military operation (as I type this I can hear kez downstairs talking about how many bracelets she has made today!) We have been given some opportunities to sell more bracelets in coming weeks which means we need to make more!
This week we are painting a room in the safe house and helping out at the LI pageant organised by Melissa (daughter of Theo and zanele the project leaders) to give the children something to do in their holidays otherwise they will just go and beg. The schools are off again this week having only had 2 weeks since their last holiday, we are in a period of excessive public holidays and with 2 days off this week the department of education decided it wasn't worth schools opening.
We have loved being back at LI and are getting used to our living in our team house again, me, Emma and Hannah are slowly adjusting to having a bed room light (something we didn't have till last week.) Music has always featured heavily in our team but now we have found our favourite south African artists which adds something different to the normal selection of Mumford and sons, Taylor swift and one direction which we sing as loud as possible. Our new faves are Matthew mole http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=EZvHZgii7XI and gangs of ballet http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=qFINg3DWhfY
Goodbyeeeeeeeee
Catherine (on behalf of the team trying to watch lord of the rings)
Xxx
Monday 21 April 2014
Let's get ready ready let's get ready ready let's ready to rumble!!!
Yo it's Cathy keys, pipface emz here ready to take on the challenge of blogging about our holiday!
12 days, 6 girls, 5 stops, 1 bus
We travelled down the garden route to cape town on a hop on hop off bus stopping at hostels on the way and loving life.
Stop 1 was Port Elizabeth, not much there so not much to say but we made the most of it and enjoyed some rest and relaxation. We then moved onto Jeffreys Bay where we had a surfing lesson, we now like to think of ourselves as pros but in truth we are more pro at falling off then standing up! J bay left us with some memorable moments- lying under the stars and watching the sun rise. Storms River was the next stop and where the adventures began, beginning with the hostel with triple bunk beds, hammocks and a bonfire. 'Fear is temporary, regret is permanent' was the motto of Thursday morning as we all took on the world's highest bridge bungee! Some of us enjoyed it more then others and as seen from the photos the diving skills were varied too.
We are now back in Durban feeling very at home, we had forgotten what it feels like to be constantly hot and sweaty!! Ready to get back stuck in to life at lungisani indlela!!
Lots of love,
Xoxoxo
Yo it's Cathy keys, pipface emz here ready to take on the challenge of blogging about our holiday!
12 days, 6 girls, 5 stops, 1 bus
We travelled down the garden route to cape town on a hop on hop off bus stopping at hostels on the way and loving life.
Stop 1 was Port Elizabeth, not much there so not much to say but we made the most of it and enjoyed some rest and relaxation. We then moved onto Jeffreys Bay where we had a surfing lesson, we now like to think of ourselves as pros but in truth we are more pro at falling off then standing up! J bay left us with some memorable moments- lying under the stars and watching the sun rise. Storms River was the next stop and where the adventures began, beginning with the hostel with triple bunk beds, hammocks and a bonfire. 'Fear is temporary, regret is permanent' was the motto of Thursday morning as we all took on the world's highest bridge bungee! Some of us enjoyed it more then others and as seen from the photos the diving skills were varied too.
Penultimate stop was knysna, where we celebrated kez's birthday with an elephant park, sunset boat trip and a late night dip in the pool! We then had a sweaty 8 hour bus journey to cape town, where we went to robben island, did a city tour, went to cape point and went up Table mountain (in the cable car, our legs wouldn't have survived the walk!)
Lots of love,
Xoxoxo
Thursday 3 April 2014
Tuesday 1 April 2014
Hello!
We just want to say thanks to Ali (Catherine’s friend) for his comment on our last blog – your challenging questions have been part of our devotions all week! I hope this blog will answer them sufficiently :)
What effect is being in South Africa having on your view of the UK?
I think a word that sums up our feeling is simplicity. Life is so much simpler than we in the UK make it. Who needs a tin opener when you’ve got a knife and a tea towel? Who needs a baking tray when you can use a saucepan? Who needs a shower when a dripping tap can provide you with enough water to wash in? In the end it comes down to comfort and what’s easiest for us. I think being here in SA has highlighted the excess on which we base our lives at home.
But, life is about balance. At the end of our road, there is a lady who sells mealies (corn on the cob).; Everyday we drive past and everyday she is there, waiting for people to stop and buy her produce. She never has a day off because days off come with the luxury of having a job. Selling mealies isn’t her career- it’s her life! It’s her only means of survival. She lives without experiencing excess but instead is forced to live in less than simplicity- she can’t afford otherwise. The effect of being here in SA has made me frustrated by excess in the UK and frustrated by the injustice of the deficiency out here. What perfection we could create if only our excess could balance out the ‘lack of’ elsewhere in the world!
What would our feeling be towards God if the vehicle materialised, or if it doesn't?
Well, we believe that this whole experience is strengthening our faith in God. Even the mere act of fasting made us seek God with a new perspective. If the vehicle situation is resolved- God is good. If it isn’t- God is good. We will naturally be disheartened if it doesn’t happen, but we are learning out here that God’s timing is perfect. We believe God has promised a year of abundance for LI, and whether that means the organisation is blessed throughout the year, or if it means they receive a years worth of abundance on the 31st December, I just pray that we can rest in the knowledge that God knows what he’s doing.
What do you think about the Safe House? What does the fact that it's needed say about the world, South Africa and people in general?
Our immediate reaction (of course) is that the world shouldn’t need safe houses! God created this world for us to live in community with others, in peace and happiness. However, the fact that safe houses are needed doesn’t surprise us, because our own free will has led us away from God’s perfection. It’s frustrating that despite the house being a safe place for the children to live, they still rebel against protection. There is now only one girl staying at the house because the others have all run away. We see Pumza struggling to keep it all under control. All the children want is freedom, and all we want to shout is that there is more freedom in the house! At least they can be free of the distractions of Amaoti (and the world! Drugs, alcohol, money problems, sexual activity… I could go on!). Pumza works for LI. She is a mother of two young children, she sees her husband once every two months because he works in Johannesburg, and she’s studying to become a social worker. We are frustrated, so the strain on her must be overwhelming. In all of this I can’t help but feel sorry for God. Just as the Safe House was created to heal the broken children of Amaoti, God welcomes us to be in relationship with him, in order to heal our brokenness. Yet we still reject him! We want the children to see that the Safe House is the best option, just as God wants us to see that he is the best option.
I feel I may have divulged from the question a little, but we just pray that the work that is going into the Safe House will be blessed.
Are you really going to let the lack of Wakaberry be the most life changing aspect of your time in South Africa?
Last week we had the privilege of meeting Sarah, who heads up Transform Trips at Tearfund. It is lovely to catch up with someone whose job it is to look after teams like us. She talked with us of the struggle that is so apparent in South Africa- the gap between rich and poor. As a team, I think this has been a big topic over the past few days. We live in two worlds! On a day to day basis we work within a community that often can’t afford basic needs such as food, sanitation and shelter. Nevertheless, at weekends we spend time 10 minutes down the road in Durban North, where excess is normality. How can that even be justified?
Sarah helped us realise that it is no good beating ourselves up about our weekend freedom. We are not here to live as the people of Amaoti live, but we should remember them in the choices we make in Durban North. In the same way, the justice and equality we know from the developed world can help us see the need of such things in the developing world. So in some ways, yes! We are going to let Wakaberry be (at least one of) the most life changing things about our trip! It is just another part of the developed world – the world where yoghurt in itself isn’t good enough, but where excess (somewhere along the line) possessed someone to freeze it and create what we now know as Froyo. Wakaberry really could change our lives because it reminds us of how essential it is to let both worlds colour each other, and in letting that happen the gap between excess and deficiency can be balanced.
Just a few prayer requests…
· That sponsors will come forward, and money will become available to make LI more effective in their work (and so they can buy a new car!).
· Health within the team (half the team have been to the hospital this week with various infections).
· For our upcoming holiday (we leave on Sunday), that it will be a good rest for the team and that we will come back from the two weeks ready to get stuck in again.
Thanks again for your continued support and prayers.
Lots of love,
Abi and the girls.
xxxxx
We just want to say thanks to Ali (Catherine’s friend) for his comment on our last blog – your challenging questions have been part of our devotions all week! I hope this blog will answer them sufficiently :)
What effect is being in South Africa having on your view of the UK?
I think a word that sums up our feeling is simplicity. Life is so much simpler than we in the UK make it. Who needs a tin opener when you’ve got a knife and a tea towel? Who needs a baking tray when you can use a saucepan? Who needs a shower when a dripping tap can provide you with enough water to wash in? In the end it comes down to comfort and what’s easiest for us. I think being here in SA has highlighted the excess on which we base our lives at home.
But, life is about balance. At the end of our road, there is a lady who sells mealies (corn on the cob).; Everyday we drive past and everyday she is there, waiting for people to stop and buy her produce. She never has a day off because days off come with the luxury of having a job. Selling mealies isn’t her career- it’s her life! It’s her only means of survival. She lives without experiencing excess but instead is forced to live in less than simplicity- she can’t afford otherwise. The effect of being here in SA has made me frustrated by excess in the UK and frustrated by the injustice of the deficiency out here. What perfection we could create if only our excess could balance out the ‘lack of’ elsewhere in the world!
What would our feeling be towards God if the vehicle materialised, or if it doesn't?
Well, we believe that this whole experience is strengthening our faith in God. Even the mere act of fasting made us seek God with a new perspective. If the vehicle situation is resolved- God is good. If it isn’t- God is good. We will naturally be disheartened if it doesn’t happen, but we are learning out here that God’s timing is perfect. We believe God has promised a year of abundance for LI, and whether that means the organisation is blessed throughout the year, or if it means they receive a years worth of abundance on the 31st December, I just pray that we can rest in the knowledge that God knows what he’s doing.
What do you think about the Safe House? What does the fact that it's needed say about the world, South Africa and people in general?
Our immediate reaction (of course) is that the world shouldn’t need safe houses! God created this world for us to live in community with others, in peace and happiness. However, the fact that safe houses are needed doesn’t surprise us, because our own free will has led us away from God’s perfection. It’s frustrating that despite the house being a safe place for the children to live, they still rebel against protection. There is now only one girl staying at the house because the others have all run away. We see Pumza struggling to keep it all under control. All the children want is freedom, and all we want to shout is that there is more freedom in the house! At least they can be free of the distractions of Amaoti (and the world! Drugs, alcohol, money problems, sexual activity… I could go on!). Pumza works for LI. She is a mother of two young children, she sees her husband once every two months because he works in Johannesburg, and she’s studying to become a social worker. We are frustrated, so the strain on her must be overwhelming. In all of this I can’t help but feel sorry for God. Just as the Safe House was created to heal the broken children of Amaoti, God welcomes us to be in relationship with him, in order to heal our brokenness. Yet we still reject him! We want the children to see that the Safe House is the best option, just as God wants us to see that he is the best option.
I feel I may have divulged from the question a little, but we just pray that the work that is going into the Safe House will be blessed.
Are you really going to let the lack of Wakaberry be the most life changing aspect of your time in South Africa?
Last week we had the privilege of meeting Sarah, who heads up Transform Trips at Tearfund. It is lovely to catch up with someone whose job it is to look after teams like us. She talked with us of the struggle that is so apparent in South Africa- the gap between rich and poor. As a team, I think this has been a big topic over the past few days. We live in two worlds! On a day to day basis we work within a community that often can’t afford basic needs such as food, sanitation and shelter. Nevertheless, at weekends we spend time 10 minutes down the road in Durban North, where excess is normality. How can that even be justified?
Sarah helped us realise that it is no good beating ourselves up about our weekend freedom. We are not here to live as the people of Amaoti live, but we should remember them in the choices we make in Durban North. In the same way, the justice and equality we know from the developed world can help us see the need of such things in the developing world. So in some ways, yes! We are going to let Wakaberry be (at least one of) the most life changing things about our trip! It is just another part of the developed world – the world where yoghurt in itself isn’t good enough, but where excess (somewhere along the line) possessed someone to freeze it and create what we now know as Froyo. Wakaberry really could change our lives because it reminds us of how essential it is to let both worlds colour each other, and in letting that happen the gap between excess and deficiency can be balanced.
Just a few prayer requests…
· That sponsors will come forward, and money will become available to make LI more effective in their work (and so they can buy a new car!).
· Health within the team (half the team have been to the hospital this week with various infections).
· For our upcoming holiday (we leave on Sunday), that it will be a good rest for the team and that we will come back from the two weeks ready to get stuck in again.
Thanks again for your continued support and prayers.
Lots of love,
Abi and the girls.
xxxxx
Friday 28 March 2014
Sunday 23 March 2014
Hey bru!!
One of our latest projects is forcing ourselves to say 'bru' (south african equivilent of bro) a lot so that by the time we get home we will say it without thinking and be cool enough to pull it off!!
We have had a fairly exciting few weeks, we went to the rugby to see The Sharks vs The Reds, we went all out with the sharks facepaint and left having a bit more of a clue about the rules of rugby! The sharks won 35-20!!
Friday was a national holiday so we went on a hike, a decision we were regretting when we had to get up at 6! We walked down a gorge and along the river, we spent 20 minutes walking in silence after Nate, Carl and Janelle (friends from church) convinced us we might walk into a baboon! We didn't particularly enjoy the walk back uphill and some of us couldn't walk up or down the stairs the next day!!
One of the funniest moments in the last few weeks was when we were babysitting for Chris and Junior, all was going well until Junior went up for a bath and came down having shaved off some of his hair! We were all speechless as were his parent when we dropped them home!
We have now all spent 2 weeks on each project and will spend the next 2 weeks painting a room in the high school, moving the creche and opening the LI charity shop! On Thursday we spent some time praying for the safe house, the safe house is quite literally a safe house where children can stay who have been taken out of abusive hone situations. We prayed for the children living there and the new house mum, there have been several challenges with the children living there recently.
We had our first trip to the doctors this week, Abi had a huge bite on her foot, resulting in a cankle and not being able to walk! All is fine now! We have also had sickness, colds, headaches, general tiredness and dodgy bowels! Please pray for team health and energy.
We are all slightly worried about the lack of wakaberry (frozen yoghurt) in England, we eat so much of it.....
That's all for now,
Lots of love Catherine and the girls
Prayer requests-
-the lack of LI vehicle, please pray for the funds to become available
-the safe house, children living there and house mum
-team health and energy
One of our latest projects is forcing ourselves to say 'bru' (south african equivilent of bro) a lot so that by the time we get home we will say it without thinking and be cool enough to pull it off!!
We have had a fairly exciting few weeks, we went to the rugby to see The Sharks vs The Reds, we went all out with the sharks facepaint and left having a bit more of a clue about the rules of rugby! The sharks won 35-20!!
Friday was a national holiday so we went on a hike, a decision we were regretting when we had to get up at 6! We walked down a gorge and along the river, we spent 20 minutes walking in silence after Nate, Carl and Janelle (friends from church) convinced us we might walk into a baboon! We didn't particularly enjoy the walk back uphill and some of us couldn't walk up or down the stairs the next day!!
One of the funniest moments in the last few weeks was when we were babysitting for Chris and Junior, all was going well until Junior went up for a bath and came down having shaved off some of his hair! We were all speechless as were his parent when we dropped them home!
We have now all spent 2 weeks on each project and will spend the next 2 weeks painting a room in the high school, moving the creche and opening the LI charity shop! On Thursday we spent some time praying for the safe house, the safe house is quite literally a safe house where children can stay who have been taken out of abusive hone situations. We prayed for the children living there and the new house mum, there have been several challenges with the children living there recently.
We had our first trip to the doctors this week, Abi had a huge bite on her foot, resulting in a cankle and not being able to walk! All is fine now! We have also had sickness, colds, headaches, general tiredness and dodgy bowels! Please pray for team health and energy.
We are all slightly worried about the lack of wakaberry (frozen yoghurt) in England, we eat so much of it.....
That's all for now,
Lots of love Catherine and the girls
Prayer requests-
-the lack of LI vehicle, please pray for the funds to become available
-the safe house, children living there and house mum
-team health and energy
Friday 14 March 2014
Hi there!
We have had a very exciting week with lots of firsts including: fasting, going to homegroup and for me and Catherine driving partway to work (thankfully we made it in one piece)!
This week Catherine and I have been in Amandlethu, a secondary school with about 2,000 students from grade 8 (age 13 or 14) up to grade 12 (age 17 or 18). We have been teaching a programme called Life Orientation to the grade 8s with Zama, Pumza and Maqhawe. Life Orientation aims to help the children build strong relationships, plan for the future and learn about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and sexual relationships.
Teenage pregnancy is quite a big problem here so it is really important to properly educate the kids and at a young age. The programme is having a noticeable effect because the number of pregnancies has decreased in the 7 years they have been there - when they first started teaching there were 5 pregnant girls in grade 8 alone!
LI are in desperate need of a new car so that they can give out food parcels and do home visits. Unfortunately their vehicle (Tata), after coming out of the garage 2 weeks earlier, gave up the ghost. The Tata has been on its last legs for a while but there just haven't been the funds for a new car, so the whole LI team (including us) decided to fast for 3 days and pray for God to resolve the problem. We did decide to have an evening meal each day so that we weren't fainting all over the place - especially as this is our first time fasting. Having originally planned to break our fast on Wednesday, the 6 of us felt challenged to continue until Friday, when members of the board were meeting to discuss various issues; one of which was the vehicle. At this very moment we are awaiting the return of Zanele from the board meeting - so that we can eat!
This week has been quite full on, the fast only presenting half of the challenge. We've had problems with the electrics, had to break up a fight involving two young boys and a belt, struggled with ill health and have even been peed on by Creche children (more than once!). But we've also seen some amazing things. On thursday, Abi, Pippa, Emma and Catherine helped the team give out 16 food parcels in the community. They came back looking like four drowned rats, but all laughing and full of God's joy. They had spent 2 hours in the rain, running around and handing out food from the back of a borrowed pick up truck. Pippa got to test her amazing reversing skills too! Apparantly the overwhelming thankfulness from GoGos (grandmas), parents and children gave everyone a desperately needed lift in spirit. After all, seeing God's work done is what we're here for!
So that's it for this week! Thanks again for your continued support and prayers.
Lots of love
Hannah x
We have had a very exciting week with lots of firsts including: fasting, going to homegroup and for me and Catherine driving partway to work (thankfully we made it in one piece)!
This week Catherine and I have been in Amandlethu, a secondary school with about 2,000 students from grade 8 (age 13 or 14) up to grade 12 (age 17 or 18). We have been teaching a programme called Life Orientation to the grade 8s with Zama, Pumza and Maqhawe. Life Orientation aims to help the children build strong relationships, plan for the future and learn about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and sexual relationships.
Teenage pregnancy is quite a big problem here so it is really important to properly educate the kids and at a young age. The programme is having a noticeable effect because the number of pregnancies has decreased in the 7 years they have been there - when they first started teaching there were 5 pregnant girls in grade 8 alone!
LI are in desperate need of a new car so that they can give out food parcels and do home visits. Unfortunately their vehicle (Tata), after coming out of the garage 2 weeks earlier, gave up the ghost. The Tata has been on its last legs for a while but there just haven't been the funds for a new car, so the whole LI team (including us) decided to fast for 3 days and pray for God to resolve the problem. We did decide to have an evening meal each day so that we weren't fainting all over the place - especially as this is our first time fasting. Having originally planned to break our fast on Wednesday, the 6 of us felt challenged to continue until Friday, when members of the board were meeting to discuss various issues; one of which was the vehicle. At this very moment we are awaiting the return of Zanele from the board meeting - so that we can eat!
This week has been quite full on, the fast only presenting half of the challenge. We've had problems with the electrics, had to break up a fight involving two young boys and a belt, struggled with ill health and have even been peed on by Creche children (more than once!). But we've also seen some amazing things. On thursday, Abi, Pippa, Emma and Catherine helped the team give out 16 food parcels in the community. They came back looking like four drowned rats, but all laughing and full of God's joy. They had spent 2 hours in the rain, running around and handing out food from the back of a borrowed pick up truck. Pippa got to test her amazing reversing skills too! Apparantly the overwhelming thankfulness from GoGos (grandmas), parents and children gave everyone a desperately needed lift in spirit. After all, seeing God's work done is what we're here for!
So that's it for this week! Thanks again for your continued support and prayers.
Lots of love
Hannah x
Monday 3 March 2014
Saturday 1 March 2014
Heyyyy
This week has been CRAZY!! We have been staying in Amaoti with Theo and Zanele and their family, we weren't expecting the car horns to start at 5am!! Amaoti is the township which we are working in. We have been told that white people never stay in Amaoti, we were greeted with an amazing traditional welcome of dancing. Highlights included eating cow intestine, riding in the back of the truck and doing the hokey kokey in the back yard with goats watching.
The 6 of us were all in one room, 3 of us in one bed. At least once Theo asked if we were ok due to our laughing sounding like someone was dying.....
We ended the week with a braai (BBQ) which involved lots of loud music, dancing and so much meat!!
We have just got home to a river coming out our door.... Turns out that a pipe has burst in our bathroom..... Everything is ok now, the water ran straight down the stairs and out the house so didn't damage anything although we have turned the water off so can't have a much needed wash, average time since a hair wash is a week....
We all swapped projects this week, Catherine and Emma are in the creche, Abi and Hannah in the primary school and Pippa and Kez in the secondary school.
Its been an exhausting week but we have laughed so much!
Lots of love
Xxxxxxx
This week has been CRAZY!! We have been staying in Amaoti with Theo and Zanele and their family, we weren't expecting the car horns to start at 5am!! Amaoti is the township which we are working in. We have been told that white people never stay in Amaoti, we were greeted with an amazing traditional welcome of dancing. Highlights included eating cow intestine, riding in the back of the truck and doing the hokey kokey in the back yard with goats watching.
The 6 of us were all in one room, 3 of us in one bed. At least once Theo asked if we were ok due to our laughing sounding like someone was dying.....
We ended the week with a braai (BBQ) which involved lots of loud music, dancing and so much meat!!
We have just got home to a river coming out our door.... Turns out that a pipe has burst in our bathroom..... Everything is ok now, the water ran straight down the stairs and out the house so didn't damage anything although we have turned the water off so can't have a much needed wash, average time since a hair wash is a week....
We all swapped projects this week, Catherine and Emma are in the creche, Abi and Hannah in the primary school and Pippa and Kez in the secondary school.
Its been an exhausting week but we have laughed so much!
Lots of love
Xxxxxxx
Wednesday 19 February 2014
Monday 17 February 2014
Heyyy Catherine and Pippa here!
We are currently working in Amaoti 1 a primary school right at the top of the
hill, we are loving the views! Our days have been very unpredictable, we have
been reading with small groups or whole classes (there are so many kids in each
class), distributing uniforms and spent a lot of our time doing home visits. We
have had to be very spontaneous and teach lessons at the drop of a hat.
One home visit that stuck out to me was a trip we payed to
the home of a girl from the secondary school, her grandmother has recently had
a stroke so is cared for by the 13 year old who also has to help look after 3
small children. While we were there 2 of the little kids were helping their
grandmother wash her feet. There are so many other stories we could tell you.
We have just got back from walking from the school to the
office- a plan the rest of the team thought was insane but there is a nice
breeze today so we are still alive and ready for aftercare, the kids will appear
very soon!
At the weekend we went to the beach (Catherine is sporting some lovely patches of
burn where she missed the suncream) and then went to Moyo a traditional
restaurant on the seafront, the views at night are as amazing as during the day
(we will try and upload photos soon). Several of the team tried the curry,
tears then followed when they couldn’t handle the spice. On Sunday we went to
church twice again and then most of us had a well needed nap while Abi and
Pippa went for a run. We spent the evening watching Despicable Me 2 but only
got half way through before needing our beds!
Bye,
xxxxxx
Wednesday 12 February 2014
Heyyyy
Keziah and I have been working at the crèche this week, I have a bit of experience of working with this age group but even so it has been quite tough. Creche is for children aged between 2 and 5 (from what I can tell). They arrive between 7 and 8.30 am and are picked up by their mother or siblings between 2 and 3 pm. Compared o a British nursery there is very little structure and discipline. At first we found this quite difficult because it is not what we are used to but now I can really see the benefit this crèche has for the Amaoti community. Breakfast (porridge) and lunch (soup) is provided every day- without this the children would not get enough food to eat. It also provides a save place for these children to play and have fun during the day away from the responsibilities that some of them will already have at home.
At Easter the crèche will be relocated so that they have toilets nearby and I feel this move will realise the potential that this crèche has. The LI team are praying for an understanding of God's vision for the crèche and hopefully we as a team will be able to help improve the building by painting it and putting up posters . The crèche are in desperate need of more toys but they use what they have to have fun, there is a lot of singing, hand clap and being spun around. The children love hugs and plying with our hair which we weren't quite prepared for!!
Today we arrived at 8 and found the children playing with the toys in the hut, breakfast was served before we went into singing in a circle. This is how the children learn numbers and the alphabet by copying what the teacher sings, they also have songs for the days of the week and months. . We have introduced a new idea of splitting the group into 2 so that the children have longer with the craft resources- this has been working really well. I took 1 group outside to play with and created a game with hoops that they really took to, this was a real blessing because it is hard to communicate with the language barrier. In the afternoon it was so hot (32 degrees) that the children couldn't play outside but instead went to sleep before they had their soup. Once they woke up though they had a lot of energy and continued playing.
Next week we are looking forward to leading the crèche.
Lot of love
Hannah
The rest of the team have been working in a primary and secondary school, you'll hear all about it next time!
We have had time for some fun too! We have had some trips to the beach, girly sleepovers (we learnt, well tried to learn, African dancing, played dares and ate crisps!)and a tour of Durban!! We are all excited to explore the area in our beautiful car in our time off. Sunday also involved 2 church services, one in a more affluent area (which started at 7.45!!!) and one in Amaoti, they were so different. The songs, buildings and language differ so much! Trying new food has also been great, tea and rusks seems to be a daily ritual which everyone but me partakes in!
That's all for now!!
Catherine
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Keziah and I have been working at the crèche this week, I have a bit of experience of working with this age group but even so it has been quite tough. Creche is for children aged between 2 and 5 (from what I can tell). They arrive between 7 and 8.30 am and are picked up by their mother or siblings between 2 and 3 pm. Compared o a British nursery there is very little structure and discipline. At first we found this quite difficult because it is not what we are used to but now I can really see the benefit this crèche has for the Amaoti community. Breakfast (porridge) and lunch (soup) is provided every day- without this the children would not get enough food to eat. It also provides a save place for these children to play and have fun during the day away from the responsibilities that some of them will already have at home.
At Easter the crèche will be relocated so that they have toilets nearby and I feel this move will realise the potential that this crèche has. The LI team are praying for an understanding of God's vision for the crèche and hopefully we as a team will be able to help improve the building by painting it and putting up posters . The crèche are in desperate need of more toys but they use what they have to have fun, there is a lot of singing, hand clap and being spun around. The children love hugs and plying with our hair which we weren't quite prepared for!!
Today we arrived at 8 and found the children playing with the toys in the hut, breakfast was served before we went into singing in a circle. This is how the children learn numbers and the alphabet by copying what the teacher sings, they also have songs for the days of the week and months. . We have introduced a new idea of splitting the group into 2 so that the children have longer with the craft resources- this has been working really well. I took 1 group outside to play with and created a game with hoops that they really took to, this was a real blessing because it is hard to communicate with the language barrier. In the afternoon it was so hot (32 degrees) that the children couldn't play outside but instead went to sleep before they had their soup. Once they woke up though they had a lot of energy and continued playing.
Next week we are looking forward to leading the crèche.
Lot of love
Hannah
The rest of the team have been working in a primary and secondary school, you'll hear all about it next time!
We have had time for some fun too! We have had some trips to the beach, girly sleepovers (we learnt, well tried to learn, African dancing, played dares and ate crisps!)and a tour of Durban!! We are all excited to explore the area in our beautiful car in our time off. Sunday also involved 2 church services, one in a more affluent area (which started at 7.45!!!) and one in Amaoti, they were so different. The songs, buildings and language differ so much! Trying new food has also been great, tea and rusks seems to be a daily ritual which everyone but me partakes in!
That's all for now!!
Catherine
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Friday 7 February 2014
Sawubona from South Africa!!
So, after a mad dash through Jo-burg airport, involving lost bags, visa troubles, and security issues 6 sweaty LI members made it to Durban!!!
It's been a hectic few days here- some may even say a bit of an emotional rollercoaster- but we are starting to settle in to life in South Africa! We have spent the last few days being introduced to the people and projects that make up Lungisani Indlela, including creche, aftercare and numerous trips to the airport trying to sort out our transport. We can finally announce that the team are proud hire-ers of a Toyota Avensis, which will sit perfectly on the driveway of our homely team house. Living on our own for the first time has been really exciting. We have done pretty well feeding ourselves too- having had jacket potatoes for dinner last night!! We cant complain too much though as we have had a lot of help from Philile who cooks, cleans and leaves us lovely post it notes while we are at work.
We have been made to feel so welcome by Theo, Zanele and the LI family. We are looking forward to getting properly started next week and are excited to see what God has in store.
Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers,
Until next time!
With love from Abi and the team
So, after a mad dash through Jo-burg airport, involving lost bags, visa troubles, and security issues 6 sweaty LI members made it to Durban!!!
It's been a hectic few days here- some may even say a bit of an emotional rollercoaster- but we are starting to settle in to life in South Africa! We have spent the last few days being introduced to the people and projects that make up Lungisani Indlela, including creche, aftercare and numerous trips to the airport trying to sort out our transport. We can finally announce that the team are proud hire-ers of a Toyota Avensis, which will sit perfectly on the driveway of our homely team house. Living on our own for the first time has been really exciting. We have done pretty well feeding ourselves too- having had jacket potatoes for dinner last night!! We cant complain too much though as we have had a lot of help from Philile who cooks, cleans and leaves us lovely post it notes while we are at work.
We have been made to feel so welcome by Theo, Zanele and the LI family. We are looking forward to getting properly started next week and are excited to see what God has in store.
Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers,
Until next time!
With love from Abi and the team
Tuesday 21 January 2014
South Africa is a country where 50% of the population live below the income poverty line and 5.3 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS. On 1st February we will be flying out to spend 6 months in South Africa working with Lungisani Indlela Trust a project based in the Amoti township outside Durban.
'The vision of Lungisani Indlela is to transform and empower the lives of the people and children of Amaoti, bringing them hope for the future. Our vision and mission is to see every child in a crèche or school, to see the Amaoti crèches and schools transformed and reach a standard of excellence; every orphan cared for; entrepreneurial businesses established within Amaoti; children participating in sports, dance, drama, art and crafts, so that no-one will be idle as they develop a transformed work and play ethic. We believe that community development is the most appropriate action to combat poverty. Such development needs to incorporate the social, spiritual and physical well being of each individual (holistic approach), focusing on the old adage of ‘teach the people to fish’.
We will be helping out in several of the projects LI run, including homework clubs,
home visits and girls support groups, at the end of our trip we will be helping to
run a holiday club for hundreds of children which we are all particularly excited
for!
As a team we first met in October where we were all equally shocked to find we
are an all girls team! We spent a few days together getting to know each other and the
other Tearfund teams, learning a lot about our trip and winning the talent show
with our quickly thrown together adaptation of ‘Father Abraham’. From there we
set of in all different directions home more excited and nervous than ever and
were back to work in an effort to raise the money we needed. We have had many
other ways of fundraising too, Pippa’s dad did a 45 mile run, Catherine
sometimes seemed to be babysitting every day and some of the team took on
the rice and beans challenge for a week.
We cant thank everyone who has donated money enough, we are so grateful!!
Its only 10 days till we leave the cold UK for the heat of South Africa and
there is so much to sort, we still need to make sure we all have visas, pack, say
goodbye to all our friends and families. We would really appreciate it if you
could pray for us as we do the last preparations and pray that our journey will go
smoothly, we will try and keep this blog updated as often as possible so you can
find out all about our trip!
Bye for now!! Next time we blog we will be in South Africa!!! (ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)
xxxxx
Bye for now!! Next time we blog we will be in South Africa!!! (ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)
xxxxx
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