It's the end of month 2 and I cannot believe how fast the months are going by! This month we got to work with the New Hope Jeremiah Project in Western Cape about 20-30 mins away from Cape Town, South Africa. We were welcomed to Cape Town by eight girls dancing and singing, “Welcome to Cape Town” to end our 30-hour train ride with smiles. My team merged with team Degal this month and became one big team and we called ourselves team DeGen. We stayed in the home of Ma-Margie and Pa-Connie Haynes. There are 13 of us. The girls all got the 2 guest bedrooms with bunk-beds and the boys slept in the living room with mattresses on the floor every night.
Ma and Pa are truly some amazing people. They have such big hearts and are so selfless it's crazy. They took me and our team in as family, but for me it was so different. I felt like I was at home with my own family which really made the month hard because I missed my really family. Ma is everything that a virtuous woman should look like; read Proverbs 31 when you get a chance. She prayed for Pa to give his life over to the Lord for over 18 years and just 6 years ago he did. Pa gave his life to the Lord and all at once he gave up his desire to drink and do drugs after 30 some odd years. He is now a living testimony of what God can bring you through. Both Ma and Pa give of EVERYTHING they have and I mean EVERYTHING. They know that everything they have is the Lord's and nothing is theirs. If a child needs food, Pa will not eat so they can. If Ma gets a donation of food, she goes to people's houses to give some away. Anyone is allowed to go in and out of their home and get some tea, coffee, or food if they ask. They never say no. Broken families and orphaned kids are norms here in South Africa. Very few of the kids I’ve met come from families that have both parents or parents that waited until marriage to start a family if they’re parents are married at all. Broken family situations obviously lead to many emotional, social, and spiritual issues that often repeat in the next generation. These kids need a community of people to love them, pour into them, and tell them who they really are: God’s precious sons and daughters in spite of their wounds and poor decisions they may make now. Ma and Pa are two people making a difference.
Ma and Pa’s investment in their neighborhood comes from the overflow of their hearts, and their wallets. Ma and Pa don’t receive any sponsorship from any church or even the government but they give out of their own income and the kindness of a few individuals. Ma has been a housewife taking care of family members for the last twenty years and Pa’s glass and window repair business has had several dry spells lasting up to three years without work. But God has been faithful to provide to those who care for his children. Ma and Pa have even sacrificed their house for four World Race teams over the years that effectively take over their small home so the Gospel will go forward in their neighborhood.
New Hope Jeremiah started because they wanted to help children realize that the Lord has a plan for each and every child. Hence the Jeremiah Project based on Jeremiah 29:11. Our ministry this month was going to people's houses to pray, play with kids around the neighborhood and pour into pre-teen and teenage girls who are involved with praise dance with the Jeremiah Project. We were able to talk with these girls about feminine hygiene, modesty, boys, what a woman of integrity looks like, the dangers of internet chat rooms and social networking sites and we were able to have bible studies with them. We also had the opportunity to go to Xena's, Ma and Pa’s granddaughter who lived with them, school and share the gospel with 300 elementary school children. Our last night with them we had a praise dance party outside with loud speakers. It was great night full of laughter and tears. Friends we had made during the month came to visit us before we left.
Overall, month 2 was a great month! It was hard at times living in community but I was definitely appreciative of everything that we experienced and did. It was really hard to say good bye but I that God for faith that Ma and Pa have given me. Currently I am sitting in Nelspruit, South Africa for our month 2 debrief. Next month I’ll be in Manzini, Swaziland.
P.S. I'll add pictures soon!
