Sad Saturday

Last Saturday I attended the funeral for Maserame, a 14 year old girl that died the previous Saturday after a car hit and killed her and left her on the side of the road to be found much later. I met Maserame at Agnes' house through her feeding program. She lived several km's from Agnes' tucked back in the bush. There used to be several very large farms that were owned and run by the Afrikaans. Now that Apartheid has fallen, the black SA's have moved onto this vacated land and have established little shack "compound" looking areas that sometimes several families occupy. It is desperately poor as most of the people don't have jobs and their daily goal is simply survival. This is the area that Agnes' heart bleeds for and the place that Maserame unfortunately had to call home. She was unfairly plucked from life prematurely, but I wonder if it wasn't God's mercy to remove her from the very difficult life that she was living. It wasn't just the poverty that she has escaped, but the daily abuse.
The funeral was slated to begin at 7 am on a very cold (upper 30's) morning. I was amazed at the contrast of the beauty of the sunrise as it peaked up from behind the mountains to the living conditions of this family. The funeral began late as we waited for all the children from the school to arrive on the bus that the school hired. It was very unorganized; in fact Chelsea and I set up the chairs in the tent where the service took place and prepared the "room". I offered to take pictures because they usually hire a photographer at funerals as we would a wedding (I know a bit weird) and the family did not have the means to do that. One of the teachers was considerate enough to sit between Chelsea and me to interpret throughout the whole service. The service was similar to what we would have in America with family and friends sharing words, the reading of the obituary, singing (random people will just lead out in song at appropriate times, this is not arranged ahead of time...also the children from the school sang a few songs), a message from the pastor, and closing comments. The one thing that is interesting that they do differently is that they read all the cards and messages that were sent to the family with all the flowers, etc. I was impressed with the number of remembrances that were there considering most of the people have so little that it would be a great sacrifice to buy something like that. This service lasted a couple hours and then we proceeded to the Cemetery for the burial. Most of the people that attended the funeral didn't have a car, so everyone piled in to the few vehicles available as well as the bus with the kids. We passed the spot on the road where Maserame lost her life on the way to the cemetery and then we wound through very rough dirt roads until we located the little tent they had set up in the middle of the field. This was what I would describe as the "potter's field"...there were not any head stones, just piles of dirt with a little homemade sign to mark the grave. Many people gathered here for this service...several more than had been at the house earlier. The pastor shared a few words of encouragement and then they lowered the casket into the ground and proceeded to have the family members throw some dirt on it. Then, as part of SA culture, the men took turns shoveling dirt until they literally buried the casket while we all sang song after song. (took about 30 minutes) Many of the family members wailed and were extremely emotional during this time which was difficult to witness. Finally, they ended with a few more words and a prayer of committal. We went back to the house where a meal was prepared to serve to all of the 100's of people. It is expected of the family to provide a dinner for everyone which is an incredible burden on the family trying to mourn. This family could not serve a meal because they had no money. So, Agnes went to the school and spoke with the principal and arranged for a meal to be prepared and served between their joint efforts. This family would not have to be shamed as a result. Seriously, she is the perfect example of a sacrificial servant. Everyone lined up and got their food and sat all over outside eating and talking while they soaked up the warmth of the sun. At this point, Chelsea became very sick to her stomach and so we had to leave. I took some ladies home on the way by and we left. I have to say that it was very difficult for me to go home (6 hours later) and enjoy sitting in the comfort of my home after spending time with that family that is in the most desperate of circumstances. I have to trust the Lord and just be obedient when He says to give...I know I can't make it all better, but if I can just do something to make even a minuscule dent, I can find a small sense of comfort in that. Please pray for this family and for this area that God would turn the difficulties into victories! This is a glimpse into what I get the privilege of doing...not always easy, but very important in sharing life with the people that we desperately love. I have included a slide show above with some of the pictures of this day.

Christmas in July Party!

Last Friday night we had a Christmas in July party as it is so cold here that it feels like it should be Christmas. We had all of the missionaries in the area over for a delicious traditional Christmas meal. It was very festive; Chelsea (our intern) and myself with the help of the kids decorated our tree and put out a few other decors. We almost had as much fun preparing for the party as we did at the actual party. The fellowship was refreshing and the "white elephant" gift exchange was the highlight of the night; we laughed SOO hard! I am so thankful for the friends that the Lord has provided for us since we had to leave precious friends and family behind.

Enjoying our "Christmas "dinner

with great friends...

Christmas in July party!

Winter Break in Review

There are so many things to write about, I don't know where to begin. But, since I can't really ever get caught up on all of the amazing experiences that we have had since we have been here, I will start this journey by sharing about the extended "holiday" (school break) that we just had. Our kids go to school year round and have a break at the end of each term. The winter break that we just finished is usually for three weeks but it was four and a half weeks due to the World Cup. It was so nice to have that long of a break; but it went by very quickly. We balanced ministry and taking time off as well as we could during this time. While we are in school session, Chris and I are extremely busy. Since life is so demanding during this time, we really make and effort to spend a lot of quality time with the kids while we do not have to prepare for classes and be on campus everyday. It is a welcomed change!
We have had a missionary associate here assisting us from Bedford, Indiana named Chelsea Flynn. She has just finished her undergrad degree in intercultural studies and she came to help us out and fulfill her internship requirements for graduation. She has been such an incredible blessing to our family. We wanted to give her as much exposure to ministry while she was here as we could even though we were out of our normal routine. She worked hard the first week after she arrived as we hosted a team at the school that ran a soccer clinic in the community close to the Bible school as well as painting a building and yard work on the campus. We cooked for the team of 30 something (the number fluctuated) plus our students...so, over 40 for 3 meals a day for 8 days; it was exhausting but we had a great time with the team as well as the South Africans. Then, we took time to go out to the feeding center in Phokeng that the kids and myself go out and help serve and donate fruits and vegetables regularly. Agnes is a "mama" to the approximately 60 or more children that she feeds as they pass her place on the way home from school. These children are neglected and very poor; Agnes provides the only love and stability that most of these children ever receive. Her heart is opened to them and there is nothing that she is not willing to give to them. I don't think I have ever seen Christ's love demonstrated more accurately than I have in Agnes. She is literally His hands extended. I admire her for that and she challenges me to consider the things that really matter and her example pushes me to do all that I can to further His kingdom. We went out to her place one day and fed the kids a special meal as a treat on their holiday and then did a vbs of sorts for them after they ate. One evening we went out and showed a movie (one that Athletes in Action put out that told the testimonies of several of the World Cup athletes) on a screen and served popcorn and hot chocolate. After the movie, Chris took the opportunity to pray with several for salvation. It was an amazing experience.
We also took the time to have some fun! We went to Pilanesburg which is an animal reserve/game viewing park that is less than an hour from our house on a drive and picnic one day. The kids love to go to the park and it was extra fun because Chelsea went for the first time. Also, we got involved in the World Cup madness! Chris absolutely loves soccer and so the fact that Rustenburg was one of the host cities was pretty cool for him. He managed to go to three of the games thanks to different individuals who offered us tickets at either very discounted rates or gave them to us free of charge. The excitement at the games was exhilarating and it really was a once in a lifetime dream that was realized, especially for Chris. The boys went to the New Zealand v. Slovokia game and the USA v. Ghana game while the girls went to the USA v. Algeria game. It will go down as one of my favorite life experiences so far.
Chelsea and I helped host a girls purity retreat at the Bible School for the youth of the area. It was mainly attended by the girls that I brought from Agnes' ministry. These girls had never had the opportunity to leave their village and this was such a special experience for them. Sarah Careins and Jessica White are both AGWM missionaries to the youth of South Africa and they planned and executed one top notch retreat. We spoiled the girls as much as possible while we taught them, loved on them, and prayed for them. There were intimate times of healing that took place as many or most of them expressed seemingly unreal living conditions where abuse is the norm...please pray that God continues the work that He began in them almost 3 weeks ago.
We ended our holiday by going up to the Limpopo province to a place called Giyani where Chris was invited to do some teaching and preaching at the youth winter camp that was held there. This was the first time that we have been to SA camp and it was different but awesome! Other than the bat that roomed with me and the roosters that kept us awake a good portion of the night, it was a blast! I so enjoy experiencing the passion that the SA young people have for the Lord; worshipping and dancing with them is incredible and impossible to express in words. We feel so privileged to be able to minister here in so many different ways and with so many different people. I am thankful that we had a chance to relax and rest during the winter break as well as utilize the extra time we had to do ministry. Below are some pics of some of our adventure...Enjoy!!!

Just the Beginning

We have been in South Africa for a year and a half now and I am finally getting around to creating a blog! I am not really that computer savvy, but I love to write and this represents another opportunity to connect with people that we love around the world. So, here it goes! I am not sure how I will take the time to do yet another thing, but I have been told that in the long run it will save me time as I can "tell the story" one time to everyone on my blog instead of several times to different people. My goal is to share life experiences here on this blog; I plan to share victories and struggles alike. I will tell family tales and give ministry updates at least once a week. Please join our family on this journey that we call life and learn what it is like to live in Rustenburg, South Africa!