Ndinithanda nonke (I love you all in Xhosa) (p.s.: It’s a clicking language, so it sounds like *click*-cosa)
It’s been a good first week here in Port St Johns. We live in a house with our ministry contact and the boys that he is discipling. They are an awesome group of young men, who are willing to teach us their language, as well as keep us safe 🙂 We’ve had some awesome bonding times with them, from our walks to the school, or dance parties, or cooking/cleaning with them, or just by sharing our background stories with each other. It’s amazing seeing the transformation in them. On the 4th of July, we had a USA Independence Day partyJ. I had brought red, white, and blue glow sticks from America, as well as a few small American flags. I didn’t realize how much of an impact it would have on them. We took awesome photos, and used the glow sticks to make glasses and necklaces. The next day, a few of the guys still had the glow sticks on. One of the guys even took one of the American flags and sowed it onto his shirt! Over the course of the week, we have gained about 16 South African brothers and sistersJ. The wifi here is very sketchy, and doesn’t last very long. The power here goes in and out during the evening. We walk to just about everywhere that we need to get to. We’ve experienced our share of bucket showers, and we’ve gotten to all ride up the mountain to the coast on the back of a Baki… Aka: a flatbed pickup truck. Is it technically Illegal? Yes. But Hey! It’s Port St Johns! And as they say ‘Just smile and wave ;)’
The ministry that we are working with is Living Hope Ministries Port St Johns. It was started a few years ago, as a way to reach out to the youth in this community. A lot of the youth here come from harsh backgrounds and aren’t usually raised by both parents. Sometimes it’s just one parent, or the grandmother. There is also a lot of alcohol and drugs here, and sometimes the youth get caught up in it, as it’s something to do. A lot of people say that their town or city doesn’t have anything for them to do, but in Port St Johns, that’s a reality. There are almost no job opportunities, no movie theater, no bowling alley, no mall… nothing. There are a few things to do, but for the youth here, that live here, or travel from an even smaller village, there’s no form of entertainment. Sometimes you will see kids just sitting by the side of the road. Why? There’s not really anything else to do. That’s where Solomon comes in.
He has taken a lot of the teens under his wing. He sees the road that a lot of the kids here end up taking. If you finish school here and don’t have good enough grades to get into a university, some of the kids see that there is no hope for them and end up going down the wrong path. It’s so sad to see. Solomon has come up with ways to help them. There is a youth center that the kids can go to after school to study, work on homework, and is used as a type of safe haven. Solomon reaches out to the schools to let them know that there IS hope. He brings university applications and will mail them for the kids. He will also help arrange transportation for the kids if they get an interview at that school. He also brings New Testament Bibles and bible pamphlets that are in their language.
This week, we had the awesome privilege to go to their high school and spend time with the seniors. We got to help feed the student’s lunch and then sit and talk with them. As we sat and talked with them, we heard their stories. Not right away though. It took time because at first they were very shy. But over the course of a few days, we played games with them, had many laughs, and got to hear their stories. Some of these stories included kids who were living on their own, kids who only were able to eat one meal a day, or kids that had to make a decision between school, or working and helping to raise their family. Building trust with these kids is huge. I felt so honored to meet these kids who were trying to better their lives in a place where there doesn’t seem like much hope. Even when we leave (which we’ve had a few of our guys and a few of the students tell us that they wish we could stay forever), Solomon and another couple will still be here to continue the work.
We also had the awesome chance to go with our group and another church group to a ‘winter survival camp’, but you can read more about that in my next blog ;). Until next time,
~Brittany Johnston
U Squad
Team: RAJ
Port St Johns, South Africa
