Day 6

Today was another incredible day of seeing God's amazing power at work. After the super rainy night that we had, we were all worried that we would wake up and find it still pouring. To our surprise, the sun was peaking through among the puddles everywhere and we were able to do the door to door ministry without getting soaked. God is definitely good! We did have a little bit of rain during the day but by God's amazing grace it was when we broke for lunch. When we were heading back to the kids club in the afternoon, the skies were blue and the sun was shining. We never stop being amazed by God's powerful work!

We shared our door to door stories with each other through out the day. It is incredible how we have been able to touch so many lives in a community that is struggling to survive. We have visited so many individuals and seen them be completely transformed. Each of us has our own stories of who has made an impact in our own lives that we will all be sharing when we return. There have been countless stories of families being broken by drugs, alcohol and disease. What has been the most incredible thing to see though is how so many of these families have not lost hope. The things that they have been through on a daily basis are much more than what many of us ever will experience. I have personally been surprised at how many people do know God and are following Him. When talking with them they acknowledge that life is tough but that they still have faith that God will provide and their situation will turn around. These people are dealing with the loss of an immediate relative to HIV at a young age, the loss of a job in a city where the jobless rate is over 50%, the search for food on a daily basis, staying warm and dry during the cold and rainy night that we just had. The problems that we face on a daily basis, while they may be big, they rarely compare to what this community is dealing with. We are so blessed to live in a world with so much prosperity and access to community welfare programs if we are struggling. I think all of us will be forever touched by this community and leave with a new perspective on life.

The afternoon kids club was a huge success. Yesterday the turnout was low due to the rainy weather. Today the kids came out from all across the community to participate in the activities of the day. We probably had at least 200 kids in attendance. While the kids were still filtering in, all of us were playing with the kids. Some were singing songs with them, others were playing soccer and others were simply sitting around and talking to them. One of the touching experiences of the day was to see the joy in the eyes of these kids as they played with us. All of their problems that they came with disappeared and their faces glowed with happiness. The pictures from the day capture the excitement that was in the air. It is amazing how something as simple as a soccer ball can completely transform a kid and bring so much joy. This simplicity is something that we are missing in our society. How often do we take the time to enjoy the simple things in life? We seem to constantly be bombarded by technology and the activities of the day that we often lose sight of the little things in life. We are so accustom to having the TV on while the family is eating dinner or convincing ourselves that what we have is not enough. These people in Overcome Heights have next to nothing yet the simplicity allows them to be filled with so much joy beyond what I have ever seen. They are truly an inspiration to us all.

Tomorrow will be a busy day for us. Our group is breaking up to do both door to door ministry in the morning as well as helping Living Hope with HIV/AIDS, diabetes, TB and blood pressure testing. It is going to be a moving experience to be able to witness first hand when someone hears the news that they have now been diagnosed with HIV and will have to deal with this disease for the rest of their life. Please pray for us so we can be a light to these individuals who may hear the life changing news and that we will be able to provide them with words to comfort them and God's love to restore them even among their brokenness. The evening we will be leading a worship service at the church in Overcome Heights. Please pray that we can be an inspiration to those in the community and strengthen their faith.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. They are much needed and much appreciated! God has been doing amazing things both in the community of Overcome Heights and the team members here on the trip. We only have a few more days left so pray that these days will be even more amazing and that we will continue our strength as a team.

Day 5

It was quite the rainy day here in the Cape. Up until today, we had been blessed with sunny weather but nevertheless the show must go on! We had the incredible opportunity of going door to door in the shantytown of Overcome Heights. Amazingly, everyone we approached were happy to talk with us and let us pray for them and their families, some even invited us into their homes! I believe that we were all truly humbled by this experience and the lives of these individuals. Most of these people are just trying their best with what little they have been given. Just like in our own lives, they too have families to care for and homes to maintain. After introducing ourselves and explaining our partnership with Living Hope Ministries & the programs we are running this week, we asked individuals if we could pray for them. The most common prayer request was the need for employment and secondly, for good health for their families and themselves. To be able to actually meet these people face to face, learn about their lives and pray for them was such a rare yet incredible opportunity. My heart just broke for the people that we met. Despite their unfortunate circumstances, these people were a joy to speak with and very warm and welcoming. We get to participate in two more days of door to door ministry and I personally couldn't be more stoked!

In the afternoon,we headed to Muizenberg beach and ate the sandwiches we made early this morning. Because it was raining we ended up eating in the van but the view was nice and it was fun to see the surfers. After lunch and a quick nap we headed back to Overcome for day two of kids camp. Due to the weather conditions, we couldn't be outside so we gathered all the children that were able to come out and set up in the “container” which is a portable that Living Hope has at Overcome. It was so great to see some of the kids again that had come on day one but we were also bummed to not see some of the kids that had come out yesterday. Hopefully tomorrow the weather will be sunny and we'll see everyone back from Monday, Tuesday, plus even more new faces! There is truly no greater feeling than seeing the looks on these kids face when you are singing, dancing and just talking with them. They just exude such joy! They also love getting their picture taken! After songs, a puppet skit and some snacks, we said goodbye to our little friends and headed back to the Team House.

We just had our debrief of the day and it is such an awesome thing to hear the team member's stories and the different experiences we've each had today. God is truly using us and stretching us and even though we still need time to comprehend and process all that we've experienced thus far, there is no doubt that God is orchestrating everything. God is good! We're looking forward to the rest of the week! Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Pray that God will soften the hearts of those whom we have the opportunity to minister to and for our safety, health and motivation.

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.