If you would like to host a Party Animal Part, e-mail me at lindsay@luo-setfree.org. The animals are for sale for $40 on our website. www.luo-setfree.org We leave for J'Bay tonight with a group from the Orange Conference...don't forget to follow us on twitter for up to the minute updates on the children and our current project! www.twitter.com/luosetfree
Yesterday it was raining. It rained all Wednesday night. When it rains in the township, read- shanty town, everyone and everything gets wet and muddy. Most of the shanties have dirt floors. The water just runs on in. Even those who live in government houses, 12 x 10 feet, one room, cinder-block homes, have water running in under the door. The kids will not want to walk in the rain, or they won’t have dry clothes to wear. There is a lot of pride in the Xhosa culture. So they won’t come to Ithemba. There were only five kids there in the morning when we got there. We spent the morning with them, and painting the scratched-up tables in their classrooms.
In the afternoon we put together pencil boxes full of school supplies for the preschool children. Over dinner Rich asked Gavin what his dream for Luo would be over the next five years. I wish you all could have heard him answer off the cuff and from the heart.
He spoke of their desire to go deep instead of wide with their ministry. He talked about seeing Jeffery’s Bay be a leading example in South Africa; breaking racial barriers between the white and the black and colored communities. He said he would like to see the township women have self-worth, see the township men change their bad attitudes and embrace real male -leadership. He would like to see these precious kids grow up with real dreams and hopes, with the belief that they can be something more then every ancestor that has come before them. That they would all would know Jesus. He said “Will that happen in five years? Maybe not. But I believe by praying for things that only God can do, is the way your faith to continues to grow.”
Not a bad dream to chase.
Friends,
Our time at Ithemba is coming to a close - but as a group we have decided this is not "goodbye"...instead it's a "til next time."
Our time here has been truly life-changing. I don't think any of us will walk into a Target, or grocery or department store, or even our own home with the same eyes we came with...there has definitely been an internal shift - a change of mindset. I hope that when we find ourselves wrestling with contentment, we now have a name and a face of someone we've met that is currently living with so much less and has a joy and peace that is contagious.
We started the day as we have many others - playing with kids - just lovin' on them, playing beauty parlor, pool, kicking the ball, throwing football, hula hoops, etc...but something was definitely special about today knowing it would be our last...bittersweet. I spent most of my time playing with Asum, Mary & Lisacahze - they are some of the ones that have captured my heart. Unfortunately, it was too wet to do our fun day/field day - so we left the toys w/ the teachers to do when it warms up. After we put the kids down for nap time, we headed over to SuperTubes to watch the waves roll in and pick up some lunch.
After lunch, we headed back over to Ithemba to play games and say our goodbyes. A couple of the boys, Simphiwe and his cousin, gave us a tour of the township where they live. (The city is divided into three - the whites, the coloreds, and the blacks.) They live in the black community which is the poorest of the three. I can't begin to put into words what we saw. As we walked, we handed out sandwiches we had made to the kids we met and I prayed alot as we walked the area. I know our God is good and He is Sovereign, but sights like today still wreck my heart with questions of mercy and justice. I think the hardest part was knowing that Precious, an orphaned HIV positive kid that goes to Ithemba, was running into one of the shanties we walked by. I just wanted to scream out her name, scoop her up, and take her home. (I will post a pic of her later that will melt your heart.) Leaving her behind was hard.
Another moment that will be forever etched in my mind was Matthew walking up to this cute little boy, laying on his belly with his head propped up on a picnic table bench just staring at us as we walked by - and as soon as he saw Matt's hand out with a sandwich just for him, he's eyes and body perked up and he jumped down and took it and then smiled at Matt and gave him a high five...and then took a big bite. As his sister, it was a very proud moment. The smile on Matt's face was just as precious as the kids...so rewarding to have witnessed it...for that I am grateful.
My Richie Rich moment of the day was watching him with as many kids as could fit in his lap watching cartoons off in the corner with some of the afternoon kids. He was just giggling along with 'em - very cute.
I am not quite sure what to do with all we have seen and heard today. I take comfort in the fact that safe house is almost done and some of the children will have a place to go to and perhaps have a chance at a life of possibilities and choices.
For now, I am just pondering what these verses and hoping God will continue to show us where and how to stand in the gap and do for those who can't do it for themselves.
Matthew 25:37-40 (NIV)
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
With grateful hearts,
Becca, Matt & Rich
Just got another note from our girls in J'Bay! Here is what they have to say about their time so far :)
Hello from Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa. We have officially been here for three weeks and our lives have settled into something that neither of us expected but we love. The people have been so welcoming and friendly and we are learning more and more about their culture each and every day. Some cool things we have learned are that rhinos are afraid of fire, elephants get drunk from eating a fruit called amarula, it is important to greet the elders in the room first in the Xhosa culture, and it is always important to have lots of tea and coffee on hand for spur of the moment entertaining.
We were blessed to attend the Xhosa worship service at Ithemba this past Sunday. The authentic worship in that place was enough to bring us to tears. There was a lot of dancing, clapping, and praising the Father. We felt His presence among us and it was an amazing time to celebrate the love of the most high God. We were asked to stand in front of the congregation and introduce ourselves and then they formed a receiving line so that each member could greet us with a hug or a handshake.
Things at Ithemba have settled into a very pleasant routine and we are enjoying assisting the teachers with their classes as well as playing with the kids and showing them love. We are so excited about the new principal, Estee, and what she will be able to contribute to the way the school is currently running. Just today, we made a plan for the curriculum and for an assessment of each child. We feel that the assessment is crucial so that they can be placed into classes with other children that are on the same level academically. We have worked together to plan a structure that we think will benefit the kids and their educational experience at Ithemba.
The safe house looks wonderful! The roof is almost finished and they are already working on the electrical work and the plumbing. It still needs to be painted and such but we are so impressed with the work that is already done. I know that this house is going to bless the lives of so many children as they are able to find shelter, safety, and love. It stands as a silent reminder both of the desperation of many of these precious lives and also the hope that they can have for a brighter future.
We are looking forward to the joys and challenges that each new day will bring and we are so excited to have the other teams join us. Our driving is getting much better and we are not reduced to tears or panic each time we get behind the wheel. We are trying new foods and experiencing new things all the time and we send our love from J-Bay!!
Allie and Lindsey have been in J'Bay for just over a week and we are so excited to have them there! Below is an e-mail I received from Lindsey about their adventures so far! I will be posting pictures of their trip soon...as well as updates from Nicaragua!
Molweni everyone! (Hello in Xhosa)
It has now been one full week since I arrived in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa. I have had a wonderful, busy, exciting, crazy, and challenging week so far. I am working at Ithemba (the children’s day center) full time now from 8:00 AM- 4:00 PM and I love it! Working with the kiddos is both rewarding and challenging. By the time I get home at night I am completely exhausted because they keep us on our toes. In the mornings I help the teachers (4 Xhosa women) make the kids their breakfast. Then we have play time for about an hour. This usually consists of piggy back rides, getting my hair braided and tied in knots, tickling and chasing, and lots of hugs and kisses. The mornings usually have around 55- 60 kids ages 5 and under. I am quickly picking up Xhosa phrases to ask them how they are, what their names are, to tell them my name, and of course the useful kid phrases like “listen”, “don’t do that”, and “sit down please.”
I am teaching in one of the classrooms which is fun and yet very difficult because they are too young to speak English so I have to have everything translated. I am working with Mama Queen. She is a Xhosa grandmother. We work on the alphabet, shapes, numbers, days of the week, etc. There is a lot of work to be done to make the classroom setting run a little more smoothly, but we will get there! In the afternoons, we play some more and then about 100 more kids come after they get out of school- they are from ages 5- 16. I am working with the older kids in the afternoon on math, English, and writing. Yesterday, we did long division- it has been a LONG time since I have done long division but it went well!
My favorite part so far is just getting to know the people here. Both the Xhosa people and the Afrikaans people are so kind and helpful. They do not hesitate to help us (myself and Allie- the other girl I am here with) when we don’t understand something and they are very patient about teaching us their languages as well. We are learning pretty quickly and I am getting quite excited about that. Building relationships with not only kids but adults as well is very important to me!
The scariest part for sure has been the driving. Most of you know that I do not know how to drive a manual car so I had some lessons when I got here. My friend Marco was very brave and patient and he took us out for 3 lessons here before he let us hit the road on our own. Not only are we learning to drive a stick, but we are driving on the other side of the road and they have a lot of these roundabout things that are kind of tricky to figure out. We have had quite a few scary moments and stalls but so far the car is still running and we haven’t hit anyone else so I consider this a job well done- or maybe just done haha! We are getting better every day so I am trying to be positive even though I have to fight down panic each time I get in the car. Please be praying for safety both for myself and for the unsuspecting people of J-Bay!!
Finally, I want to share some of the cultural things that I find interesting so far: the eggs are not refrigerated so you by them on the shelf, milk comes in a box on the shelf, they call stop lights “robots”, they call stop signs “stop streets”, they say “see you just now” instead of see you later, soda is called “fizzy” or “cool drink”, and there are many more but I am slowly picking up on these things!
Anyways, I realize this is kind of long- but I hope that this finds you well and enjoying the summer! It is pretty cold here and I must admit I am a little envious of the weather at home. It is pretty though, and we are right on the Indian Ocean so we are definitely enjoying this place!
Please be praying for energy to keep up with the kids, for continued good health, for SAFETY while driving, and just that we will be used to accomplish the Lord’s purpose here! He is in control and He knows each and every one of these people by name. He speaks their language, even when I do not, and He has a deep and unending love for every nation, tribe, and tongue.
I will hopefully send out another update next week, please feel free to respond with questions or comments- I am obviously leaving a lot out because this thing would be SUPER long if I tried- but I am happy to answer any questions you may have. I get to the internet every couple of days!!
Lekker Dag (Have a nice day in Afrikaans),
Lindsey
Our friends in Nicaragua were excited to tell us that the kids are all doing great. Of course, they have had some struggles with transitioning the kids from La Chureca (the dump) into a real home and family setting but they are doing well and really changing into a family that loves each other! 
Well, it seems to be time that you all meet one of my favorite people...someone that Gavin and I look up to in just about every way. She is incredibly inspiring. The way that she lives her life is constantly challenging us to try to be more like Christ. 
After the painting, came the footprints...and individual "signature" of each child. This part is the most difficult but we think it is the most important part of the canvas! Above is a little girl named Sive signing her canvas, her very own work of art! 
