Our country is stricken with the AIDS pandemic because of lack of knowledge and low moral values. These past two weeks we have given ourselves to serve the young people of Uitenhage with a program called Beat the Drum.
We start off by showing the Beat the Drum movie, a Hollywood production, to the group of kids we will work with for the week. The rest of the week we discuss various issues and topics such as relationships, values, sex, AIDS, rape and God’s love for each of them. Every person gets a workbook in a magazine form which they work out of. During the week we also show a shorter video called In Your Face. It is informative on AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, and challenges young people to abstain from sex before marriage.
The first school I went to was McCarthy High. We paired up and Ashley and I got to work with two of their Gr 8 classes. Iit was truly a blessed time. The kids wrote us letters about their situations and problems, and it was an honour to be a channel through which God can help them. The last day more than 40 kids in the whole grade came to the front when we asked who wanted to dedicate their lives to Christ. And I know that a great number of the Gr 8 group chose this week not to sleep with anyone before they get married.
This week we are ministering to the Gr 10s of Limekhaya High School. On Monday we showed them the Beat the Drum movie, and it truly touched a lot of people. Some girls even cried during the parts in the movie that is so sad, but so real in South Africa. The next day we met our classes, handed them their workbooks and shared with them some stories and teachings on the movie, values and actions. We encouraged them to write us letters on any questions, problems or situations that they need help with. Some letters broke my heart as these young people shared their deepest secrets with us, asking just to be helped and to feel loved and whole again. Today we had a seperate guy and girl talk. Ashley and I spoke to the girls about some serious girl stuff such as relationships, love, AIDS and rape. God put such a love in my heart for these pretty, special girls who are afraid to love, afraid to care and afraid to dream what they want to become one day. I pray that God will surround them with His arms of love, healing their broken hearts and whispering in their ears the amazing and colourful dreams that He has for their future.
During our time in Uitenhage, Cathy and I stay with a lovely lady named Hanna. She blesses us every day with a home filled with friendliness, tasty home-made meals, coffee and company.
Here I am with her two granddaughters This photo I took just outside of her house
