Day 4

Today was a day that truly touched the lives of all of us on the team. We experienced so many things today that would never happen in our communities. It became even more apparent of the need that there is over here for us to become involved in the work that God is doing. These people are living lives that are completely broken. The children are being ripped of their innocence at such a young age. They are never given a chance to experience the amazing creation that God has made for them.

In the morning we spent the day touring the various Living Hope sites. We went through the hospital and saw the various ways which Living Hope is reaching out to the population stricken with HIV and other diseases. The facility has 22 beds that are there to provide a Christian environment to those struggling. It was amazing to hear the stories from Mike and John on how God has blessed their organization numerous times over the years since it has been in existence. Almost all of the facilities that Living Hope owns are debt free and have been acquired at prices that completely reflect God's involvement in the process.

After the health care facility we went to the work facility that Living Hope has. There are numerous buildings on the campus that are used to train those living in the various townships for various job skills. We heard the story of one man who has been a part of this program and is now making hand carved candles and wire stars for an organization in the US that will sell them on his behalf. The facility also has an area for pottery making, sewing and even a computer training lab. The great thing about Living Hope is that they truly are meeting the needs of the community from all aspects. Many organizations just focus on one part of the need such as food, shelter, clothing, education or healthcare. Living Hope is meeting all these areas for the community which makes it so much more effective than other organizations.

Probably one of the most impacting moments of the entire day was when John Thomas, the founder of Living Hope, provided his insight to the community as we toured with him. He told us exactly what life was like for these people living in these communities and the experiences that they have been to. Many of these children experience things at such a young age that children in America never have to think about. These families living in single room shacks that provide absolutely no privacy. Children are witnessing everything that goes on inside their home. Sex is a huge issue in these communities. The males often have multiple partners and the females often sell themselves as a way to earn extra income. These children are often in the room of the house observing all these things. John said that for many of these children, by age 8 they are already experimenting with sex, sometimes even as young as age 5. They have seen in their communities already that 11 year old girls are pregnant. It is completely gut wrenching to think these children are losing their innocence at such a young age. No child should be experiencing these things. Children need to enjoy their time as children and not be exposed to these sorts of things. God did not intend for children to be exposed to these things. He intended children to be nurtured in a loving environment where they are encouraged to grow and live life to the fullest. It is so hard to see these children and know in the back of our mind that many of these kids will never have the opportunity to go to school because they are required to have uniforms in order to attend. Uniforms cost money and when there is rarely enough money to buy food for the day, these children never have the chance to learn the things that our children learn in America.

After spending the morning in the communities, we finally got our first chance to be up close and personal with the kids. It was so incredible to be part of this opportunity and interact with the kids in a loving manner. To think that we may be the only time during the day when we can make these kids smile, laugh and give them hugs is so sad. Our time spent with the kids is truly amazing. They loved the songs that we taught them, the puppet show that we put on and the skit from Jeremiah. After this time we broke into two groups for snack and craft time. The kids took frisbees and put stickers on them. They all wanted to put as many stickers as they could on the frisbees and were having a blast. Lots of smiles and lots of laughs! One of the most impacting times was when we distributed the sandwiches for snack time. For some of these kids, this sandwich is the only meal that they get during the day. We were told this before hand and as we were distributing the sandwiches, it became apparent which children were the ones that only received one meal. Those were the children than practically inhaled their sandwiches. Some children didn't even finish theirs. Those were the ones who received daily meals from their homes. It was hard to leave all the kids after our time but they were all excited to come back and see us the next day. We told each of them to bring friends tomorrow. It will be exciting to see just how many kids we have for our next session!

We were fortunate enough to have dinner with John and Avril Thomas back at the Team House. It is so incredible to hear their stories and learn about the amazing work that they are doing. They are so deeply connected with the community and know exactly what the needs are. It reminded us all just how important it is to engage the community around you while coming in and doing God's work. The best results happen when the actual community is involved in the work themselves. Seeing the success that they have had makes it apparent that they have the right combination. They are constantly having to change their techniques to combat the ever changing communities. It was great to see that through everything they are still so passionate about what they are doing and the work that God is doing for them.

Tomorrow we will start the door to door ministry. Please keep us in your prayers both for safety and being able to impact those that we are ministering with. Tomorrow will be another emotional day for all of us as we are going to be up close in the living situations of Overcome Heights. It will be completely life changing for all of us and I think as we are back next week, we will all have a new perspective on what really matters in life. Thanks again for all your support. We really appreciate it while being half way around the world!

Day 3

Today was such an amazing day. We got up early, had a devotion and breakfast and headed out to Overcome Heights to go to church. This was our first look at the community that we would be working in for the week. Driving in was such a humbling experience. The people in these communities life in makeshift houses from cardboard, metal and whatever else they can find. These houses are literally right next to one another and have none of the conveniences that we have in America. On Tuesday we will be doing door to door ministry in the community and will get to see these houses up close and personal.

Our church experience at Overcome was an experience like no other. The people there were so incredibly hospitable and friendly it was amazing. We hugged probably everyone in the church at least twice! We came in and immediately felt welcome. There were about 100 people crammed into a small room. We sang a variety of songs that were familiar to us. Our OCC pastor Mike Howerton preached the message at church. We met many adults and children whom we would be working with during the upcoming week so it was a great start to the relationships that we would be building as we are there. We were invited to come back that evening for the kids program that they were having. We stayed flexible and were able to work it into our evening plans.

Right after church we headed out to the Cape of Good Hope, the most southwestern point in all of Africa. On the way we saw lots of wildlife roaming around. We ate lunch near a bunch of penguins. We were able to get up close and personal with them. We passed a few groups of baboons that were sitting on the side of the road. One group of tourists were out taking pictures of the baboons and left their doors to their car open. One baboon crawled right into the backseat of the car! These animals are quite dangerous and if you aren't careful, they will open your car doors and walk off with whatever they can find. We also saw a few ostriches on our way out to the tip.

The view from the Cape was truly amazing. South Africa is one of the most beautiful places out there. It was such a clear day and we could see for miles. The ocean was a bright blue with sandy beaches and huge waves crashing in. It reminded us of what we have seen on the beaches of Hawaii. All of us were in awe of God's amazing creation and are feeling so blessed that we can minister to communities living in this area. We hiked up to the lighthouse at the Cape and wandered around the area for a while. We weren't able to stay too long since we had to head back to Overcome for the kids service.

The kids service at Overcome so encouraging to watch. Kids from all over the Cape Town area came to participate. Various groups performed skits, songs, and dance routines. All were done to Christian songs. It is so wonderful that the churches in this area have provided Christian activities that the kids can be involved in to give them something to have hope in and confidence in themselves. There were so many kids of all ages there. At first they looked at us smiling but were a little shy and stayed their distance. As the program continued, the slowly became more comfortable and came over and sat by us. It was so much fun interacting with the kids. They were so friendly and loving. They are so excited to interact with us this week and we are so blessed to be able to work with them. We could have stayed at the church for hours after the kids program but we had to head back to the Teamhouse for dinner and planning for the week.

The ride back from the kids program we were all pretty quiet. Today was our first interaction with Overcome Heights so I think we were all just quiet in amazement of what we are about to take on. There are so many children in this community that we are hoping to reach. Through God's power we are able to accomplish anything! Please keep us in your prayers this week as we are ministering to this group. They are a group thirsty for Christ and excited for us to be involved in their community. We are excited to start our work and know that God will truly bless us and our work.

Day 2

Today was a day of learning about the South African people. Clynton took us into Cape Town and it is a beautiful city with a lot of history riddled with pride and sadness. I don't think I have yet digested all that we learned about today, but I know that it has further prepared the background for what we all will encounter in the coming days.

Josh Mcqueen and Mike Howerton joined the team today from Durbin, S. Africa this evening. They got here safe and we are blessed to have them with us for the next 3 or 4 days.

We are all enjoying the team house and the wonderful people who cook, clean, and provide their time and service to the teams that come through here. They are awesome! And their hospitality and kindness helps make the teamhouse feel more like home.

So we have an early morning tomorrow . . . .church in the morning where Mike H. will be preaching (how cool!), more Cape Town tomorrow afternoon, and then church again that evening. It will be a great day of reflection before our first big day on Monday.

In Him - Jaclyn

We are finally here!

After a pretty non-eventful flight from Seatac to Heathrow and a pretty turbulant flight from London to Cape Town (11 1/2 hours and there were a couple of times we thought we might be going down - just kidding!), we are finally here! We arrive tired from time changes and backwards sleep schedules and let's face it, who likes to, or rather can, sleep on planes? But we are all excited to be here and we are taking it all in. And to make things even better, we are all safe and all of our luggage is also here safe and sound. Yay! Clynton is the manager of the team house we are staying at and he picked us up at the airport and took us through the city, guiding us along the way to our accommodations. It is beautiful! Luscious green mountains tower above us and the water practically surrounds us. It's a cold, blistery 56 degrees when we arrive and slightly raining, which quickly turns to a downpour, which then gets blown away and the sun arrives over the ocean right in our backyard. Wow! How blessed are we?

I spent the afternoon laughing with Yiyi (aka Sarah C) and Steph....we can be kinda crazy sometimes, especially with little to no sleep. That is a recipe for trouble. We had a good lunch at the teamhouse, and then Rachel, Joe, Steph, and I went for a wonderful, sunny walk on the beach. The waves were crashing against the shore and the sand is the good, sink-your-toes-in kind of sand! (Like Cancun, Mexico sand) - Rich and brown sugary. :) Now we are just relaxing before dinner and then in for some down time to set our internal clocks straight. I have not slept yet....I'm hoping I can get up on time tomorrow!

As we prepare for this upcoming week: VBC begins on Monday! I was reminded about in John when Jesus is talking to His disciples about the vine and the branches. He says, "Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." (John 15:4) In verse 5, Jesus says, " apart from me you can do nothing." And later in chapter 15, Jesus reminds us, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit. Fruit that will last." (15:16) How awesome are His promises to us! My hope and prayer for this team this week is that we may remain in Him, so that we can bear much lasting fruit, here at the teamhouse and also in the lives of the South African people we meet at church and in Overcome Heights. I also hope that we can continue to encourage each other in each of our seperate journeys and our journey as a team united on this trip. We are growing closer by the minute and I know all of these people will have special places in my heart forever!

We all love all of you out there praying for us and wishing us well! Sarah V. will be giving you more of the low down later. :) Talk with you all soon!

In Him - Jaclyn

We're Here

We made it to Cape Town, safe and sound! Thanks to all who prayed for our safe travel. The only tense moment was a spectacular lightning storm we encountered off the western coast of Africa--it was bumpy for a while but we survived.

The team is in high spirits, despite twenty hours of flying and a few hours spent in airports. It's amazing that even after a full day of travel, everyone is still able to laugh and sing together. We have a fun group, I'm sure we'll really enjoy working together this week.

The house we're staying at is very nice, and everyone we've met so far has been extremely friendly. These folks are pros at hosting short term mission teams and it shows--we'll be in good hands during our stay here.

We'll spend today just settling in and recovering a little from the jet lag, and doing some preparations for the week.

Getting on board for the second leg of our trip

Quick prayer of thanks after touching down in South Africa

The girls: Jaclyn, Stephanie, Ruth, Rachel, Sarah V, and Sarah C

The guys: Mike, Aaron, and Joe

What a crazy crew, we are gonna have a blast guys!!!!!

We are on our way!

Hello all!

I can't believe that today the 10 of us embark on this journey together! As I'm reflecting on what it has taken each of us to get this far (the fundraising, preparation, research, training) - In all of those logistics, I have seen, as we have been faithful to God, He has been so faithful to us. It is such an amazing thing to see in action! :) I have felt for a long time that I know that God has a specific plan and purpose for each of us on this trip . . . .I don't think that any of us know fully what that is yet, but I'm excited to see what He has in store for each of us. I know it will be awesome and beyond our wildest imaginations! I know this because even in preparation for this trip, I've felt changes in my own life. It's amazing what happens when you come to Him with a willing heart to serve and the attitude of "your will, not mine, be done, Lord." This is what makes me so excited for this trip with you all.....I see this attitude and heart in all of us. What enormous things God will do!

I pray that we have safe travel today and tomorrow and that our going through customs and getting organized today is smooth and without too much trial ;) I also want to say thank you again to everyone who has supported each one of us throughout this whole trip. None of us would have been able to do it without you! Thank you for your prayers and support. We love you!

With love - Jaclyn