28 August 2007

If I can’t relate, am I really effective?

Hope and I have seen some challenging things in this trip. We discuss eternal issues daily. Yet I didn’t expect to encounter something this past week that would cause such a massive jolt of reflection that would ripple through all the compartments of my life. While serving with Walk in the Light ministries outside of Pietermaritzburg, we met, served, and prayed with a woman very sick with AIDS. I’ve never interacted so closely with anyone truly suffering from one of the most dreaded diseases of this generation. She sat in a simple, worn-out den chair outside her mother’s shack in Haniville Township. Her family called an ambulance around six that morning because she was in so much pain but by the time we arrived at around ten they hadn’t seen any help. A new staff from the UK, Dave, explained that many AIDS victims’ legs swell due to their failing lymphoids, and they’re unable to walk — that’s the state she was in. Before we began the process of moving her, Dave led us in prayer. Then we carefully lifted her from the chair and laid her in a stretcher as gently as we possibly could. As I helped to carry her to the Land Rover, I reflected on how light she was while praying that I wouldn’t slip on the gravel. Getting her into the Land Rover smoothly & gently was a challenge but we did our best (picture shows us contemplating the task). Her sister, who is HIV-positive yet still fairly healthy, joined us as we transported her to the nearby hospital. As we drove, I attempted to comfort her with my arm around her… praying the whole time for her to sense Christ’s presence and peace. Once at the hospital, we lifted her gently into a wheelchair. Afterwards she insisted by motioning her hands that we not leave her there to spend the night so we told her sister to phone us when they were ready to go home again. This experience began the ripple-effect, but it wasn’t until the next day that I felt the jolt. Phindile, the “secretary” of Walk in the Light, invited us to join her for medical “rounds” in Haniville in which she visits clients daily to “make sure” they take their medication for AIDS and TB. (She explained that if she doesn’t check daily they will neglect to take it.) As we began our walk with her, I asked her about the woman we helped the day before. Without hesitation or any noticeable remorse, she responded, “She died.” Deaths from AIDS are so common that Bruce, the Director of Walk in the Light (family picture), facilitated 73 funerals last year, just in his part of that one community… However, our encounter with this woman hit us in two profound new ways: she was the first, visibly suffering, AIDS victim that we’ve interacted closely with, and she was the first person we know directly to die from AIDS. I began reflecting on this as I walked down the steep hill that cuts through the township. While wrapped in my thoughts, I saw a young boy about 10 years old with torn shirt, dirty, mis-matched pants and sweater, and no shoes walking up the hill. As we passed him, Phindile greeted him as she had to all those we passed along the way. He looked familiar and Phindile shared with us that he was this same woman’s son. I looked back at him and as he turned toward me I saw her in his eyes, his broad cheek bones and his full lips. He had a distant look of shock, loss and aimless disbelief. I wanted to go hug him but he probably wouldn’t have known what to think of this white female stranger hugging on him. Tears filled my eyes as the ripples of reflection invaded my thoughts, memories and heart. Another experience that rippled through my heart, mind and soul was this last week while rather spontaneously serving a small inner city program for the homeless of Durban called Isinkwa Setheku. (We didn’t even know the name of the program as we drove with our new friend George, Karien’s brother, into the dark, prostitute-filled, inner-city streets of Durban. All we knew was that the program began at 7 pm.) George left us in the care of Paul, the current coordinator of the ministry, who put us into a group with Phil & Gus. Paul led everyone in a prayer and then sent us out to shelters around the Durban city centre. As we drove with Phil & Gus, we received a very quick orientation on Durban’s homeless shelter “business” and what the Isinkwa Setheku was all about. Being the warmest city in South Africa, many homeless flock to Durban; unfortunately, though, “shelters” began to spring up, charging about 20 rand (US$3) a night for a bed & shower. This inner city ministry Isinkwa Setheku is trying to raise support & find accommodation for a shelter ministry, but they have met challenges and not been successful yet. Neither Hope nor I had directly ministered to the homeless so we didn’t know what to expect that night. After observing Phil minister to a woman he obviously knew from other times ministering on the streets, my attention turned to Lynda, a 30-year old male who had been on the streets for only about 3 months and felt that his past was unforgivable. Our time was blessed with honest conversation and prayer focused on God’s unconditional love for him. It seemed his situation reflected the prodigal son. I don’t know if he took my advice to return home but that is what God put on my heart to tell him. While encouraging my trust in an all-knowing God, these ripples of reflection permeated through my conscious thought, but they have also made me question my effectiveness in these brief visits with ministries around the world. This trip is all about trusting God’s design in that we don’t know where we will stay day to day but I'm learning to let go of my will and let God guide us in His sovereignty. I am learning to really trust my heavenly Father with my own steps so I must translate this trust to His meta-narrative design of all of life. I cannot yet fully grasp the reasoning of His call to this unique adventure but I can trust in His love and design. I must close with thanks to Hank Keating, a colleague of my father’s, who connected us to two incredible men of faith — Dave Peters (picture at the Valley of a Thousand Hills) and Bruce Taylor. From our introduction last Monday night, Hope & I were both blessed by their display of faith, their trust in God’s provision, their words of wisdom & encouragement, and their nurturing spirits of brotherly & fatherly love. African Enterprise and Walk in the Light are both holistic Christ-centered ministries bearing amazing fruit for God’s glory. Also a thanks to our generous, new friends, George & Minette Murray, who shared their limited space with us in Durban and opened their hearts to us like family.

20 August 2007

six degrees of separation?

One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned over the last week is how wonderfully small and interconnected the world is. It’s so amazing to discover God’s kingdom this way. The moment we walked into Pangani Nieu Communities in Pretoria, we immediately met Alycia, a beautiful, gregarious woman from the States. After less than 5 minutes of conversation, we found out that she works with 13th Floor, a performing arts ministry based here in Pretoria that we’re already connected with through Karien Murray. Similarly, our old friend Amy Wilson connected us with her friend Kevin Thomas about trying to meet while he traveled through South Africa, but we had no idea that we’d cross paths so soon. We met here at Nieu Communities the night we arrived (Tuesday), but we didn’t make put it all together until on Wednesday morning. Then, Saturday morning, we went with our new friend Dayna to the bus station to pick up her old friend, Bell, who came to Pretoria for a vacation from her job at a Bible College in Jeffery's Bay. It didn’t take us long to make a connection with her, too. She graduated from Gordon College with Natalie Burns—an old friend from First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, who also shared an art class with Hope in high school. It really is a small world after all… And, believe it or not, we’ve had more experiences of the same nature! Kevin Thomas spent a week with Greg Oefinger in Paarl (near Cape Town) that we’re already planning to connect with thanks to our friend Brittany, who we met at Ministry of Hope in Malawi. Our new friend/ministry colleague Hein Reyneke got married at the house of Cois, who we already connected with through Rodney Seals a month ago in Johannesburg and hope to meet with while in the Cape Town area. A former participant of the Pretoria Nieu Communities, named Betsy, serves with the Turks in Madagascar, and the Turks are PC-USA missionaries that we are hoping to visit thanks to our previous connection through the Dimmocks (missionaries from Montreat Presbyterian, now serving in Lesotho after 15 years in Malawi). These names may not mean anything to you, but my point is that it's more like 3 degrees of separation within the ministry world. __________________________ Now we're back in South Africa, a 1st-world country with frequently seen McDonalds & KFCs, more consistent electricity, and Sudafed for my head cold. Cecile, Andries and Anelia Louw graciously opened their home to us again. In our brief visit, we connected with SAAWE, met new people, reconnected with Mutodi, Leslee, & Mutodi's family, ran much needed errands, made dinner for the Louw's, and Hope even fit in sanding & painting a rocking chair and shelf for their new baby's room. (Marisje is due at the end of August and could come any day. We hope to meet her before we leave the continent.) Saakie Fourie, with SAAWE, not only gave us a ride to Pretoria but he also made possible a meeting with Hein Reyneke, the coordinator of the southern Africa region for Kids Games, SCAS, and "Ubabalo 2010"… After our meeting over brunch on Tuesday, we spent Thursday afternoon with Hein and got a short orientation on these ministries and to get some guidance on our upcoming visit to Cape Town. Hein reminds me of Shawn Stewart in that he has so much energy and gift of vision for kingdom work with youth. Kids Games is my type of ministry, using games to share the Gospel with youth. I won’t give you a full overview but you can check out the website through the link. I highly recommend anyone who uses recreation in youth work to register with them and use the invaluable, free resources they provide! I can’t express how thankful I am for the connection to Nieu Communities through Amy & Johnny Wilson! Definitely check out their website. Anyone who wants to get a taste of missions in the context of an intentional, Christian community would benefit from spending a year at one of the 3 Nieu Communities sights (Pretoria, Vancouver, or Glasgow). We have been blessed to participate in 2 women’s gatherings (dinner & birthday celebration), an incredible fellowship meal, and many wonderful conversations with progressive Christians seeking a different perspective. On Wednesday we learned about Tshwane Leadership Foundation, which is the umbrella over the Pretoria Community Ministries who are doing incredible, holistic, urban work. TLF strives to “strengthen the unfolding movement of churches, communities and programmes with capacity, resource development, advocacy and policy work, communication and marketing, and spiritual nurture.” We met with Kathrin --- for over an hour to try to grasp an understanding of this movement and it’s history. We were very thankful for her taking time to meet with us considering the huge, annual project unfolding this next week called “Festival of the Clowns.” We wish we could stay here to check out all the events and participate in the social justice workshops but alas we are catching a bus down to Pietermaritzburg tomorrow. She arranged a tour of the ministry sites for us with a humorous, outgoing, Malawian staff member, Eric. It was moving to visit the AIDS hospice house, the boarding house for young women trying to get out of prostitution, and free day care and homework club for urban youth who would otherwise be on the streets or alone at home throughout the day. On Friday we ate lunch with Colin Honiball from 13th Floor and his colleague Ritich. We learned about the unique ministry of 13th Floor, the history, their current work here in South Africa and in the US, and the vision for the UK and Mozambique. 13th Floor has a distinctive way to minister to the youth culture through arts and performance by thinking outside the box, an issue most churches are challenged by. After lunch we joined Dayna Curtis in a trip to Soshanguve, a township of over 3 million. She introduced us to GoGo’s (grandmother’s) family who Dayna had ministered with during her year participating in Nieu Communities in 2005. Dayna recently facilitated a mission trip with a group of non-Christian’s from Los Angeles… quite a unique adventure. Our time in the north part of South Africa comes to an end for now. We ended this segment of travel by meeting up with Mark Walkup, an old family friend who has been working in Harare, Zimbabwe but visits Pretoria for a work conference. He has a refreshing perspective and some incredible stories as Zimbabwe is in a state of chaos which is something few can relate to.

11 August 2007

Tionana

"See you" -a common farewell in Chichewa We left Malawi yesterday with mixed feelings: sad to say goodbye once again yet gratitude for our friends there and the sense of fruitfulness in our work through the Ministry of Hope (MoH). These last 10 days have been full. I appreciated returning to Matapila, the village I stayed in last year with the Montreat Pres. summer mission project. This visit differed from last years in that we were hosted by Gift (the MoH Feeding Center Director for the nearby village Katonda and interim Director for the Matapila Feeding Center) and his beautiful wife-Esnart, daughter-Tawina, and son-Takodwa. Unfortunately we didn’t get out to Matapila until mid-afternoon... once again leaving after lunch when we thought we would be leaving first thing in the morning. African time. We did get to catch the Matapila market day in full throttle, the busiest day of the week. It’s a bit uncomfortable to be starred at constantly by hundreds of people but after a while you get used to it. They rarely see azungus (white people) out in their villages. The highlights flourished throughout our time in Matapila. One blessing entailed spending evenings with Tawina and Takodwa. It took a short while for them to check us out but it didn’t take long for them to melt our hearts. Another blessing involved visiting Selengo, a village about a 30 minute walk away, where we spent 3 days in ministry last year. The changes amazed me: finished goat pin with 2 male goats & 8 females, finished maze mill in action, and the mini-market formed next to the mill bringing support to the local economy. With the help of Mavuto & Wiseman (African Bible College students/MoH interns), we played Red Rover with the kids and led a devotion. Unfortunately the last child to make a run got “clothes-lined” when he chose to try to break through 2 bigger kids’ arms. He fell back on the ground hitting his head on a rock. It reminded why we never played Red Rover at the Boys & Girls Club. But it all worked out… Jimmy (the Director) told me Monday that he healed alright. Another highlight consisted of a very successful workshop on recreational evangelism: using games as an experiential way to share Scripture lessons. The morning filled with smiles and laughter from a diverse age-group of youth and youth workers (more than 40 all together). After lunch (of nsema & soy- common protein source here, not just for vegetarians) we met with just the youth workers. I wanted to make sure that they grasped the concept. They did! We ended the session brainstorming scripture lessons for a Malawian hide-and-seek game. I was so excited! Then the youth leaders decided, of their own initiative, that they should meet once a month to share ideas and encourage each other. Dean Borgman (of GCTS & Center for Youth Studies) said this might happen and I’m so thankful it did. This week we were blessed to go out to Mponela, a village in the north. Actually, it’s much bigger than what you would think of as a village, something like 11,000 in the surrounding area. Our new, good friend William directs the Feeding Center and goes beyond the normal programing with hundreds of orphans by doing some amazing things in the community. He developed a support program for widows and he’s now beginning a job skills training program. As we walked into the city center we observed his connection with the community by all the kids running up and people calling out "uncle". He’s doing great work while giving God all the glory. Tuesday evening we were called to spend some time with an encouraging, generous woman, Enala, who has supported William like a mother. She treated us to coffee, tea, croissants, and mandasi (Malawian doughnuts) while she prepared a dinner for us to take back to Williams. We invited Violet & Felocia (2 young ladies MoH is supporting through textile school) and the 3 guards for the Center to join us for dinner and we still didn’t manage to finish all the food! I must admit that I’m glad we didn’t eat with Enala otherwise I would have felt obligated to eat the goats’ intestines that were one part of the meal. (Hope tried some anyway.) When we got up the next morning we found Enala sitting in William’s living room waiting to visit with us and she brought a breakfast which ended up feeding 7 people! In addition, Enala sent over some medicine and leamons to help Hope fight the infection which had set in. And before we left she sent over 4 nsomba (fish) and 2 big bags of teza (peanuts) to take with us. Enala radiated generousity. A huge highlight to our time in Mponela involved the workshop we facilitated with almost 50 youth workers. William recruited at a number of churches in the Mponela area and various ministries. Unfortunately we experienced the coldest day yet but that didn’t hurt the turn out too much. I took the workshop further by teaching 5 games and connecting them to scripture lessons, then teaching a couple more games but having the youth workers brainstorm scripture for them, and finishing out by inviting them to share Malawian games to link to lessons. It intrigued me to find that not many people could remember games youth played. I observed that in Malawian culture there lies a distinct division between youth and adulthood. Youth ends in marriage which most often happens fairly young, especially in the villages. It seems like a lot of adults forget how to play. I engage them in play and it reminded them of childlikeness of faith. Christ encouraged this quality in Matthew 18 & 19. I’m so thankful He is calling me to facilitate childlikeness in His people. We ended our visit to Mponela by listening to the beautiful harmonies of well over a hundred youth. As I stood there I made a conscious effort to hold on to this memory as it would probably be a long time before I hear such sweet sounds from African youth again. Although our new friend Felocia and her brother gifted us with a demo of their families' new album which they will produce as soon as they raise enough money. Unfortunately Hope’s infection didn’t get better so we visited the African Bible College clinic where she received the diagnosis of a sinus infection. She tried to take it easy for the rest of our stay only venturing out to the pharmacy, to pick up our new, beautifully-tailored African outfits from the talented and fair tailor, Ishmael, and to walk down to the neighborhood market one last time. Our final evening in Malawi entailed hours of no power, wonderful company (Daniel & William), and the simple delicacies of sandwiches instead of the italian meal we planned for. God designed this so we would bask in the fellowship of our brothers in Christ, which I thanked God for as I drifted off to sleep very late in the night. We safely rested our heads at the home of Cecile, Andries, and Anelia again here in Johannesburg. As will be the case throughout the next almost 11 months, the direction of our next steps aren't confirmed yet. We might make our way up to Pretoria next to visit ministries there. Keep us in your prayers as we pursue connections throughout South Africa. We'll keep you posted as the events unfold.

01 August 2007

Mulungu akhale nanu

"God be with you"... as He has with us. I'm amazed every day by how blessed we are. The Ministry of Hope (MoH) has been so good to us... specifically Daniel Moyo, Charles Gwengwe, Rollins Mtambo, Mr. Kamanga, Agnes Guta (who is leaving), Rowana (who is replacing Agnes), Kalvin Kalonga, & Mpho Lungu. Daniel, the Director of Education, Spiritual Development, and Volunteer Coordination (quite a mouthful), has been an incredible host and friend. We had met last year just after he graduated from African Bible College (ABC) and right before they brought him on full-time... a great move on their part. A lot has happened since my last post including saying goodbye to our fellow North Carolinians as well as our new friend Brittany, a retreat at Lake Malawi of 120 youth (8-15 year olds) from the six MoH feeding centers, lots of walking around the chaotic streets of Lilongwe, haggling with the women in the fabric area of the Old Market, a formal service at the neighborhood CCAP lasting 2 1/2 hours, a late therefore shortened recreational ministry workshop at ABC, feeding precious babies at the Crisis Nursery, leading a Bible Study about the Dangerous Wonder of childlike faith, and a blessed afternoon with Youth Care Ministries filled with good people and games with urban youth of Lilongwe. Many, many blessings. The youth retreat was an incredible experience filled with lots of dancing, playing, swimming at the beach, praying, inspiring talks with some translation, small group activities Malawian food, wonderful youth workers and ABC student/interns, and did I say dancing? Daniel had arranged for a Afro-reggae-gospel band from Scripture Union in Lilongwe to come out for the week. They kept us dancing until we headed to our tents and then woke us up to dance some more. That's where the video clip comes from (below). We had a different experience than the Lutheran High School group from CA (who helped facilitate the retreat) because we chose to camp with the kids at the "House of Joel Bible, Missionary, & Training Center" where the retreat was held. We could have taken the more comfortable route by checking into a room at the Chipoka Lodge. They would take off to the lodge around 8pm while Hope & I would continue on dancing with the kids. We were woken each morning around 5am to little voices speaking Chichewa all around us but we wouldn't straggle out of our tent until we heard the Afro-reggae-gospel vibes floating through the camp around 7am. Although the retreat was a bit exhausting, it was a huge blessing! Saturday we spent with Daniel and my friend Yohane walking all around the city center of Lilongwe visiting markets, tailors, a community center, taking a minibus packed with 23 people (quite normal, actually), ending the day at the Area 47 (neighborhood) market to get fresh vegetables. It was an educational experience, perspective shifting. We chose to get up early Sunday morning (6:15am) to join Daniel for the CCA Presbyterian church service. I was amazed at how formal the service was, not what I expected. We literally sat for 2 or the 2 1/2 hours... my butt was going numb! It's interesting how ceremonial the Malawian culture seems yet at the same time they are always late (hours) sometimes never even showing up. Seems to contradict itself. Early Sunday evening we went down the street to the MoH Crisis Nursery to help with feeding time. I know we're there to help but I think we're the ones blessed. Mom, you would love it... 18 beautiful babies. They are there because they are either orphans or they have health issues that their parents need help with (including malnurishment and HIV/AIDS). Some will go back to their families (sometimes extended family), some will be adopted, and some will end up in orphanages. Hope & I both would love to adopt one but the Malawian government doesn't make the process easy. You must live in Malawi for 18 months before you can even start the application process, which takes another 18 months. Somehow Madonna bypassed this process last year. So Monday we experienced Malawian culture quite vividly which ruffled our American perspectives. We showed up at the ABC gym (which we had rented) to find the leftover mess from a wedding from Saturday strewn all over the floor. Then over half the workshop participants showed up 2 hours late. It all worked out fine and it was still a blessed time but it was a gentle reminder of how clock-oriented our time perspective is in America... as opposed to event-oriented as is the perspective here in Malawi. Tuesday we began our day reconnecting with the ABC student/interns and William, the MoH feeding center director for the village of Mponela. He is an amazing "man after God's own heart." At the youth retreat he had shared with me his experience doing missions in Rwanda during the height of violence and turmoil. He has traveled all over central & southern Africa working with youth. He expressed his frustration with the church lacking any focus on youth. It seems like a common theme so far in my African experience: for youth to have no voice. It's frustrating. Jesus said, "when you did it to one the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me" (Matt 25:40). In Malawi (& Mozambique) you're considered a youth until you have your own family. Paul (writer of much of the New Testament) would have been treated as a youth... interesting. Then we ate lunch with Lessie, a former MoH staff who I connected with last year. She's had a challenging year including losing her job at MoH, catching gastoral-malaria, and therefore losing a 7-week old baby she was carrying. She's an amazing woman, still showing kindness and contentment. After helping with feeding time again, I drove Hope & I over to a Bible study with a "youth group" of 17-20 somethings. God placed Dangerous Wonder by Michael Yaconelli on my heart. I encouraged these "youth" to hold onto "the childlike attribute of our faith called dangerous wonder", "- a place landscaped by risky curiosity, wild abandon, daring playfulness, quiet listening, irresponsible passion, happy terror, and naive grace." If you haven't read it, you should. Today we thoroughly enjoyed our visit with William Nyasulu and Youth Care Ministries. I met William last year, briefly, and caught a glimpse of his vision for urban youth in Lilongwe. Youth Care has two after-school programs and a "safe haven" housing 8 homeless youth. William gained perspective on effective, urban youth programming by taking part in "Urban Promise" in Camden, New Jersey, a ministry supported and promoted by Tony Campolo and EAPE . He now has a vision to build a 'campus' with a primary & secondary school, 8 'group homes' for homeless youth, resource center, technology center, library, guest house for missionary groups... and it goes on. They have acquired land and he hopes to make it to the States to raise support and research more urban programs. We spent the afternoon with one of the After-school programs which they call "camp". I encouraged Mavuto (an ABC student/intern) to facilitate 2 games devotions he had learned with me on Monday (Red Light, Green Light and Elbow Tag). We met many volunteers including 4 ABC graduates who are heading to New Jersey in September to work with "Urban Promise". One, Robert, wanted to hear my perspective on American youth and how they differed from Malawian youth. One big difference is respect. In America, adults don't get respect, they have to earn it relationally. But here in Malawi, respecting your elders is a part of the culture. I've observed this in many ways, even in the handshake. I hope that the western culture doesn't dilute the Malawi traditions too much. Tomorrow we go out to Matapila, a village to the south where MoH started. We will be staying with Gift and his family, helping with the feeding center programs, and facilitating a recreation workshop for youth workers. It should be another unique, perspective-shifting experience.

dancing to afro-reggae gospel