The Buddy System

Our entire squad was together working at El Shaddai this month. All fifty of us. And our ministry looked different for each racer. For our mornings, we had several options to choose from. Several did manual labor, or taught preschool or worked in the baby house. I got my ministry idea while in the shower. There I was, standing in a shower stall that looks like it belongs in a horror film, getting all sudsy. And what do I see? Spiders. Just a handful of big spiders hanging out the corners being all creepy. I mean, who wants to be watched by eight legged creatures while they condition their hair??? Definitely not me. Standing there observing my new friends, I had a moment. I could only think that there’s no need to live like this. Whether it’s our living area or the children’s, it should be clean. So me and a few other girls got to work as best we could but quickly realized that very little could be done until we got some cleaning supplies in our hands. I told my leader what we needed and just had to wait. In the meantime, my teammate Gloriel felt led to head up an intercessory ministry. Every day from 8-12 she would be out on the rock (quite literally a big rock with an amazing view) praying and worshipping over this ministry. So until I got the necessary equipment to clean, I spent my mornings with her praying over Swazliand and El Shaddai. Within a few days of Gloriel praying, there was a noticeable difference in the spiritual atmosphere on the mountain. We came to El Shaddai in a time of transition and attack. And we could feel it. Sometimes you can’t tell right away if prayer changes anything or not. This time it was obvious and immediate the change it made.

In the afternoons was an even more important ministry, tutoring. From 3-5 everyday we would each have a buddy that we would spend time with and help with their homework. And when they didn’t have homework, we’d make some. I was fortunate to get a beautiful 6 year old girl Phila to be my buddy. She’s only been at El Shaddai three weeks when I showed up. She’s very shy and has limited English. Every day we spent time learning letters and concentrating on phonics. The education system in Africa is really failing these kids. The focus is more on memorization than comprehension. Although I could tell Phila knew her alphabet, I also knew she didn’t know what any of it meant. Thankfully, one of my squad mates, Stephanie (also form Idaho) knows quite a bit about teaching. She borrowed some flash cards from the preschool and would teach both my buddy and hers the letters and their sounds. Each letter had a picture and a title and a motion and a sound. I now know that Red Robot goes rrrrrrrrrrrrr…. Now all you have to do is move like a robot and you’ve got it. There was a marked difference in both Phila and Stephanie’s buddy. As simple as it is, giving these kids some one on one time makes all the difference.

During our stay at El Shaddai, a couple from Michagan that supports the ministry visited. Their heart is to get all of the kids at El Shaddai sponsors. Their website is www.james127.org
Please check it out and even pray about sponsoring one of the children. It’s even possible to sponsor Phila, my buddy (please email me for her full name). The sponsorship covers everything from food and clothing, to school supplies. It’s really amazing what is taking place at El Shaddai. I was so blessed to be a part of it.