Lessons Learned

One of the first questions most South African's ask us is, "How do you like South Africa?" We reply, "The landscape is nice, but it is the people we love." We have been overwhelmed by the hospitality of strangers we are now blessed to call friends. Here are some lessons we have learned from people we have met. We hope these reflections encourage you to think about the meaningful people in your lives and take time to express your appreciation to them.

From the kids...Everyone wants to be loved and to know they are loved. On a walk to the corner store, one of the teenagers asked Rachelle why we love them. She did not ask if we loved them, but why. This was a great reminder that sometimes living your faith and sharing God's love through your actions is not enough: we need to express in words why we believe what we do and why we do what we do.

From the caregivers who truly care...Jo-burg has been experiencing random blackouts for the past few months as the government has enforced electricity load-shedding. Most of the blackouts happen at night, so we do not notice. Lately, however, Sparrow's electricity has gone out just before dinner. We do not have generators, so this loss of power creates a bit of chaos. From feeding 250 kids to ensuring that oxygen-dependent patients continue to receive their life-sustaining flow of air, the caregivers at Sparrow have amazed us. Without skipping a beat, they drop what they are doing, light candles, and give all their attention to the patients. Selflessly, they work together to keep the situation as normal as it can be. We have witnessed several caregivers turn around as they were departing the building at the end of their 12-hour shift to help out during a blackout. The love these men and women show for the babies, children, and adults is a challenge to anyone who really sees them. Their actions push us beyond our limitations.

Vusi...With a 9mm on his hip and a bulletproof vest on his shoulders, Vusi is not the most likely visitor to the baby room of the hospice. Every night, however, Sparrow's night guard pays a visit to the youngest residents. He calls each child by name as they hold up their fists in anticipation of their nightly fist pound. Those who cannot make a fist get a thumbs up. And some get both. His enthusiasim and consistency let the kids know they are cherished and significant and important. We all need a little more Vusi in our lives!

These descriptions do not do justice to the souls we are meeting here, but we hope this glimpse of who they are to us ministers to you.

Peace, love and Africa.
Rachelle and Kate

Pictures in order of appearance:

Kate with the kids in the Hospice
Rachelle with one of the babies in Hospice
The kids sitting outside of church
One of the kids with their faces painted with white chocolate from an Easter Egg
Showing off her decorated egg!
One word describes this child: precious
Here are our guys getting more firewood for our bonfire: um, a tree?
Kate and I enjoying our bonfire with our friends!

Our Identity

It’s the start of a new week, and we are excited about what God has in store. From the kids we tutor to the babies we rock to sleep each night, we see the face of God.

There are many struggles foreign missionaries face as they seek to share the truth of God’s love with different cultures. Although we have both had experience ministering among different peoples and cultures, each new expereince gives rise to its own questions.

We keep coming back to our Pastor Bryan’s words from a past sermon about our identites. Before we are anything else, we are Christians. In this situation, before we are relevant to the culture of South Africa, we are followers of God. The reason we have been meditating on this is that we have faced a few situations with the teenage girls where we were put in a position to respond to the culture. We want these girls to know, as they watch us and talk with us, that they are precious in the eyes of God and that they can make choices different from the ones the world and their classmates encourge them to make. In one conversation, this meant being honest about our belief in abstinence until marriage (something the government does not actively promote). Our struggle to be a fiathful witness without being culturally insensitive is tiring and sometimes we doubt our testimony, but we trust in the Lord and His power to work through us.

Our friend “Erica-from-America” picked us up and took us to the campground where we spent our first days in Jo-burg. Amid the solace of this peaceful place, we were able to commune with the Lord and gain strength for the week ahead. We also had the chance to talk at length with 3-D’s interns who are preparing to set out for 6 months of missions. Our faithful guide Lennit and his encouraging wife Janine took us to church on Sunday morning. The campground’s director, Dawn, let us crash at her house and watch movies on Sunday afternoon when it became terribly cold and rainy.

We cannot express the depth of our thankfulness to our church leadership and to those who are praying for and are encouraging us. We feel the warmth of your care, even as we are thousands of kilometers away. Please continue to pray for our relationships with the teenage girls and with the other volunteers. Pray for Rachelle as she begins helping in the local school and for Kate as she helps another volunteer revise the volunteer application process.

Peace, love and africa!

In order or appearance....
Kids from the hospice
Rachelle's new sweet friend she just loves so much
Kate's new buddy she is trying to get to sleep
Our sweet girl in the hopsice
Rachelle teaching her new friend 'I love you" in sign language
"Erica from America"
Trying to survive the cold, rainy weather!

Finding Our Place

Today concludes our first week at Sparrow. We came into this journey trusting the Lord, and not knowing what our time would look like. Based on information from Sparrow's website, we thought we had an inkling of an idea. Rather than arriving and finding room after room of near-death residents, we found bubbly teenagers practicing their "walks" for an upcoming beauty pageant at school. The situation at Sparrow reflects the positive result that medicine and consistent treatment can bring. Rather than coming here to die, most children and adults now come to Sparrow to get well and go on to lead healthy lives. We rejoice that these are the lives Sparrow's residents are now living!

Sparrow's main focus is still providing healthcare to those faced with the AIDS epidemic, but they find themselves in a new struggle--that of educating the next generation. After several days of observing the Village, we finally found our niche. When they arrive home from school, we work with them on homework and reading skills. Around 7pm, we head to the baby room of the hospice to help feed the infants and get them ready for bed. This makes for a long day!

We are praying for opportunities to share the Gospel and minister to some of the teenage girls. We ask for prayers for discernment in how to fit in at Sparrow and for strength and kindness as we build relationships with the students and our fellow volunteers.


Just hanging out with some of the girls at a soccer game!


Kate with some kids at church!


Kids just being kids....adorable!


Assisting on homework!


So cute....look at their little feet!!!

Getting Acquainted

Our journey has begun. We landed in Johannesburg, South Africa, with adventurous spirits, ready to do whatever is placed before us. We have been blessed to take the first few days to acclamate ourselves to South Africa. We have been meeting those who live in the area near where we plan to work. Our hosts have been warmly hospitiable and have brought us up-to-date on various situations including the history of South Africa, apartheid, racial relations, and the effects of AIDS. Here are a few of the many insights we have gained from our new friends: Koos and Jeni Basson and our faithful guide, Lennit.

With the focus of our trip being to serve residents at an AIDS hospice, many of our initial questions had to do with the disease and its effects on South Africa. AIDS was first identified in South Africa in the mid-1980s. Truck drivers and mine workers were the main progaters of the disease, as they were mobile throughout Africa and often had many partners. Today, we see the government trying to fight promiscuity with the “ABC”s of healthy living. “A” is for abstinence. If you cannot abstain, then “B” is for be faithful. If you cannot be faithful, then “C” is for condomize.

Given the rise in the number of people with HIV/AIDS, it is clear that most people choose “C.” Those we are meeting with believe this educational strategy tries to placate different interest groups, but fails to give the right information. Whether you believe in God and His design for marriage or not, abstinence is the only way to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS through intercourse.

In the words of a Congolese immigrant (who is a student of Lennit’s wife), “South Africans are the victims of their own democracy.” We are seeing the truth of this statement as we learn more about all aspects of life here.

We have so much to learn, so much to do and there is much ahead of us....we head to Sparrow Village on Friday to work at the AIDS Hospice. Pray as we prepare for the work ahead.

Enjoy the pics....more to come.

Peace, love and Africa.

The pictures below are Kate and I looking into the city, Kate and I petting baby cubs, and the last one is a look into the Squatter Camps...a very sad situation.

We arrived!

Our team arrived safely!

We don't have much time here in the internet cafe, but we will post later on in the week!

The country is beautiful.

The people are beautiful!

We can see the Lord's hand.

Thank you for your prayers.

It was a long journey!

-South Africa Team!