Hello friends! I apologize for the long gap between blogs. I have been working on the one titled “South African/Cape Town-isms” but it is taking more time than I thought to write, so I thought I would do a different one just to explain in a bit more detail about what we have been doing this month.
Before I get into that, I just want to update you on what will be happening over the next week and a half. On Wednesday our team will meet up with the other World Race team here in Cape Town at the bus station and travel to Durban, a city on the opposite coast of South Africa. This is a 24 hours bus ride straight through so please keep us in your prayers! Once in Durban, we will join all of the teams and reconvene as a squad for debrief. Debrief is a time for us to rest, recuperate, and get prepared for our next few months. Debrief doesn’t happen at the end of every single month, so it’s a special time because all 42 racers will be together, along with our coaches, squad mentor, and squad leaders. I am personally looking forward to debrief to reconnect with a girl I got to know when I lived in Durban back in 2012. We are going to try to coordinate a time to meet up for coffee while I’m there.
Debrief will end on the 9th of February; then our coaches and mentor will fly back to the States while we will travel as a squad to Gaborone, Botswana. From there we will split up into our teams and go to our next ministry location. Unfortunately, our team has a long journey ahead of us after Gaborone. The village we will be living in is another 17 hours away. We will be at an orphanage in tents in the middle of the Okavango Delta with little electricity. …So we will have to see how often I can blog.
This month’s ministry has been incredibly interesting and challenging for me. Nearly every day we would walk to a different high school or primary school in the community and speak to the kids. Our ministry host John, has favor with the principals in the community and they were shockingly very accommodating to us coming in and sharing with the students. (something that would be against the law in the U.S). I love young people (I get that from my dad) but I am by no means a teacher. It was new for me to come up with a semi-structured lesson plan that the kids would enjoy. The area we live in has a high level of gang activity that targets young people. The kids in this community are exposed to drugs, sexual abuse, and violence as early as 2nd and 3rd grade. As of the end of 2015, the law in South Africa states that children as young as the age of 12 can have consensual sex. Drugs such as crystal meth and heroine are being used by three generations of family members (kids, parents, and grandparents). Statistically, most of the students in this area will not make it long after high school before falling victim to these societal norms.
John recognizes the desperate need for change in his hometown. He spends countless hours pouring into these kids and telling them that they matter. He is the only true fatherly figure many of them have ever been exposed to. Since the government and parents have neglected these young people, he actively chooses to peruse them and teach them the love of Christ. Our team has had the privilege to play a small part in this vision over the past few weeks. We spoke a lot on identity: Who are you? What is your purpose? What are your dreams? Where do you find your identity? Many of these kids develop who they are based on American movies and music. They fall into anything and everything that is placed before them and struggle to see their self worth.
It has been really cool to watch them open up to us as we would share some of the things we have found our identity in at one point or another. They would start to see that we were not perfect missionaries from the U.S here to condemn them, but rather broken people searching for our own identity in Christ. We were relatable and that broke down walls. We got to play games with them, sing silly songs, and build a foundation and understanding of what true love and acceptance from the Lord looks like. I am hopeful for the town of Retreat in Cape Town. I am excited to receive updates from John on how his ministry is transforming the lives of the future generations of South Africa. God is here; people’s hearts just need to be awakened.
Although schools were our main focus, we got the opportunity to visit a local convalescent home and love on the elderly people of Retreat. We also did door-to-door ministry a couple of times where we would divide into groups and walk the streets praying for anyone who crossed our path.
I am so excited to see what God has in store for me as I prepare for month TWO. Thank you all for being the greatest supporters on the planet! I love you and will hopefully be able to write and publish my next blog from Botswana! Oh- and my final announcement (in case you haven’t heard) I AM FULLY FUNDED! All $16,562 has come in thanks to your generosity. I will never forget your kind and willing hearts. God bless each and every one of you!
xx
Ali
