Day 13: There is nothing like hearing a group of orphans sing praise songs.

Today was too stinking rad. We woke up before the sun and hit the road to make it to Aquila, a safari game drive. It was probably one of the coolest things ever. We got sooo ridiculously close to all the animals. It is so neat to see God's creations up close and personal. Such a testament to what an amazing, holy, and creative God we belong to.

Sadly, when we got home we had to say goodbye to our friend, sister in Christ and one of our leaders Lailanie, as she left a day early to make it to a wedding in time. She will be missed on our last day!

Afterward, we hosted "South Africa's Got Talent." The Bridges students and some of the RH team have been practicing different talents for weeks, and tonight was the night they got to show them off. It is absolutely unbelievable how talented these kids are.

After the talent show concluded, we gathered outside and had a bonfire. It was probably the best way we could have possibly ended out our journey in South Africa. It started out with fun games and dancing around the fire, but as the night dwindled down, we mellowed it down a bit. As we all held the kids and sang praise songs around the fire, I think we each realized how much we have fallen in love with these students the past two weeks, and how difficult going home will be.

As Michael said this evening, "I've seen miracles happen every day on this trip--What will it look like to go back home?"

Here is a bit from our teammate Kelsey,

"Wow! What an amazing experience! I can't put into words how amazing God has been these past 2 weeks. I have to admit that I was hesitant about coming on this trip. Will I get enough fundraising? What would I teach, would I be able to teach it? Will I be able to connect with people from a completely different lifestyle and culture? But most of all, how can I teach someone about God when I have my own doubts, confusion, and insecurities?
All I can say is that God can do some pretty incredible things when you're able to be vulnerable. The more I opened up to others and asked to see Him the more it became evident that He is here; from praying for a women sufferring from HIV and aches all over her body; who then danced around the room once the prayer was over, to seeing precious little boys and girls accept Christ.
I am afraid to come back, ok I said it, and I can say I am not the only one on the team. Not only will I have to leave this beautiful place and the even more beautiful people, but I won't be living day in, day out with a small community of fellow believers. Instead I'll be returning to a world where most people's main focus isn't to do God's will of serving others. A world where most people don't know or care for their neighbors, and a society driven by materialism and self-centerdness.
My main fears are how will I be able to keep the changes that I've made and be able to explain what has happened to others who weren't here with me? I know tomorrow will be so sad and upsetting for us as we say good-bye and leave the safe haven of a mission trip. So please not only pray for us for safe travels, but pray for the transition back home. Pray that we don't become numb to what has happened by falling into our old routines. We aren't the same, and we can't be. My hope is that we will pray, love, and feel God's presence as strongly back at home as we have throughout these two weeks." -Kelsey


Transitioning back home can be very difficult. But here is a letter from Dennis and Susan (the leaders of Bridges of Hope) that better explains how you, as family and friends, can help us transition. One of the worst things about coming home, is that people don't ask questions, or know what to ask. So here is a list of suggestions:

"It is normal for people returning from a trip like this to be faced with some unique challenges re-entering American life. Though Franschhoek, where they stayed, has many first world elements, the overall environment in South Africa is very different from that in America and the issues that are daily struggles for our friends here are unique to a nation ravaged by HIV/AIDS. When the team returns home it will be a transition as they adapt to the environment, relationships and overall life there. It is common for people returning from a time of ministering abroad to experience reverse culture shock, often times over the little things of life, such as driving on the other side of the road, or by being confronted with values that are at odds with those of the people they have been ministering to.

The team had a powerful ministry in South Africa and they will have many stories to share about lives that were touched, including their own, while serving here.

As the people closest to the team members, and as those I was asked to send this letter to, you will play a key role in creating a smooth re-entry back into life at home. The most important thing you can do is to offer your listening ear. Be prepared to take them out for Starbucks or Peets and invest some time asking questions, looking at pictures and enjoying the stories they will have to tell. If you ask questions like the ones below, you will help them to process the many things they have just experienced (and it will keep them from repeating the same general answers over and over again):

• Share with me about one experience you had in South Africa that touched your heart.

• Tell me about one person who affected your understanding of love, ministry, joy in suffering, etc.

• Are there any symbols that represent the trip in your mind?

• How did God reveal Himself to you during this trip?

• How are you different as a result of this experience?

Encourage them in the ongoing ministry at home that will spring forth from this experience.

Please let us know if you would like to receive quarterly newsletters or weekly prayer updates from Bridges.

God bless you,

Dennis and Susan Wadley

Bridges of Hope

DennisW@BridgesWorldwide.org

www.bridgesworldwide.org "

Thank you everyone. Please pray for our goodbyes with the students, and for our flight home.

Day 12: I can see the finish line.

Things have been absolutely wonderful. Every time we think God can't possibly love on us more, He does.

Here is a passage from Jessica about the result of the Choose to Wait program we've put on the last few days:

"So...we just finished day 2 and 3 of Choose to Wait (CTW)! God is so awesome and I felt his spirit today and yesterday moving through the students here at Bridges Academy. I will summarize both days and wish I could go into specific detail but you will have to wait for your beloved friend or family memeber to get home to hear those. :)

Day 2 consisted of 3 skits demonstrating the realities these kids deal with when deciding wether or not to have sex. We portrayed the spreading of STD's, a son being pressured by his father to have sex with his girlfriend, peer pressure from friends and finally, making the choice to wait whereby avoiding a laundry list of negative consequences. Using the CTW curriculum, we went over the '6 Good Reasons to Wait.' What are the '6 Good Reasons to Wait' you ask? Well, I will tell you; 'Abstinence protects...100% from STD's, from pregnancy, from emotional pain, from the sex trap (porn, masturbation, abuse, etc), distrust in marriage and the family circle. I shared my personal testimony focusing on the point that other people don't define who we are, God does. Lastly, we answered approximatlely 20 questions that had been written by the students and dropped in our 'question box.' A few major points were made using the 'Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships' workbook including what God teaches us about 'finding the right one' and 'true love.'

The author, Chip Ingram, states that instead of trying to find the right one, we need to be the right one. We need to stop looking for a guy or girl and work on ourselves and our relationship with Christ. When we are ready and when the person God has ordained for us is ready, the two will meet. When that happens we stressed that it's important to walk in love with our partner and with Christ. A good realtionship should make both parites fall in love with God even more because of the Christ they see in each other. Another concept we tackled was, 'true love.' We basically discussed the fact that love is a choice and infatuation is a feeling that eventually fades. Agape, phileo and eros love are all necessary for a good relationship to work. Good stuff, huh? We finished with the 'Believe and Be Satisfied' poem, author unknown. Look it up when you have a chance.

Day 3 consisted of two testimonies shared by Mitch and Cassie (both incredile speakers), gender based small group discussions, and of course, the opportunity to sign a covenant declaring the choice to be sexual pure from this day forward and choosing to abstain. Mitch's main point was that God meets you where your at, especially at your lowest point and works with you to get you where he wants you to be. Cassie's main point was that there is beauty in life's pain and that as children of God we are never abandoned no matter how lonely we may feel. The small group discussions were lead by the RH staff but they provided a safe place for the students to share and ask any more questions they had. We were able to review all of the concepts and information we had covered.

After we came back together in the main room at the retreat center at the academy, I got up and, using the Love, Sex and Lasting Relationships workbook, I discussed why we need to make pre-decisions to stay sexually pure. I shared mine, one of which is that I will only date someone who is committed to being sexually pure as well. I discussed why we need to make a game plan for ourselves; for example, I will not go looking for Mr. Right, I will focus on being who God wants me to be. Lastly, I stressed the importance of accountability and how I had sent my pre-decisions and game plan via email to a few close Christian friends to hold me accountable when I do start dating someone. We passed out paper so that each student could write down their own pre-decisions, game plan and accountability partners. We gave them ample time and had worship music playing in the background.

When time was up, we had them close their eyes and pray. We asked them to listen and hear if the Lord was calling them to make this decision today. During this time, I have to say that Mitch felt called to make a cross the studnets could come to and get prayed for after making their decision to be abstinent. He and a few other guys went outside and came back with fire wood and black nylon in the shape of a beautiful cross. God is so cool. Also during this quiet prayer time, the RH staff passed out a book mark with the Believe and Be Satisfied poem, a laminated card with bible verses on it and a CTW covenant card.

We had them open their eyes and explained the covenant card. If they were ready to make this commitement, they were to sign, date it and come to the cross to get prayed for and recieve a gift from Rock Harbor church. Necklaces were donated by RH for our cause. They are silver dog tags with the word 'awaken' on them. You might remember them RH attendees...So the lights were dimmed, we had our cross and our RH staff ready and waiting. Worship music playing and the Holy Spirit filling the room. It was still for a while. I ashamedly admit I was worried no one would step forward...but then it happened. A 10th grade guy boldly steped forward and was quickly followed by a few of his male peers. The 6th and 7th grade girls took the charge for the female side and I was so proud of them. We went over our time by 15 minutes in order to listen to the tears, to pray for the vulnerable and open hearts and to just be in the moment that God had been planning and orchestrating all along. It was moving and special and holy. We ended the evening with a RH style blessing and then sang Mighty to Save.

I can't tell you in words how special this journey has been. I had serious anxiety the first morning of CTW despite maticlous planning by our academy team. I was prayed over and the stress left me. God has continued to tell me in different ways (i.e., members of the team, nod to Kenny & Kristy) that God is the one in control, if we think we deserve praise, He will surely humble us. This gave me so much comfort this past week; knowing that God already had it planned out and that He would do His work through us was such a relevation to me! I guess it's situations like this that help us truly learn his power.

Please keep these students in your prayers. May they be the change Africa needs and be 'awakened' to the blessing it is to follow the path God has already laid out for us. God is doing mighty things here, may he be with you also.
Much love and God bless." -Jessica


Please continue to pray for:

-God to help us finish strong. Let us not get tired or lazy just yet, and allow us to completely finish off on a good note.
-Please pray for me (Erika) as I have also gotten sick just today.
-Pray for the Bridges students to be bold and courageous in walking out their faith and sticking to God's plan for their lives.

Day 11: "Bless the Lord, oh my soul."

Interesting story: Remember the pot hole that popped two of our tires? We all casually looked for it on the way home yesterday and didn't see it (nor does anyone from Car #1 remember seeing it on the way there in the first place...) and today when we looked it also was not there. Strange much? Spiritual warfare much?

Correction: One of our first blogs said we had a story written by Miranda. That was a typo, it was actually from Jessica. Also, Jessica was supposed to blog tonight about the Choose to Wait program we put on, but due to technical difficulties she'll be writing on the next blog.

VBS was great. More kids were welcomed into God's kingdom! The angels are celebrating with God I'm sure. We had an awesome opportunity to pass out some beanie babies to the Sweet Home kids, because one of our sponsors donated a whole bunch of them. The kids LOVED them. It was fun seeing them cling to them as they left for the afternoon.

It was a rough day, knowing that it was the last day of VBS but we pulled through and finished off strong.

Here is a blurb from Kristy about one of her experiences:

"Two years ago I was able to go to Sweet Home in hopes to find a new partnership for Rock Harbor. Eight of us were taken to an HIV support group where a group of ladies fed us soup. Shortly after, the women led us over to a “crèche” or preschool. That was my first taste at falling in love with the little ones in Sweet Home. Last year was the first time Rock Harbor was able to do VBS for Sweet Home. We were able to take the same crèche kids that we had met the year before and tell them how much Jesus loves them. One of the little girls I connected with was Yumkella. I remembered her from the year before. I still pray for her every day. I have a picture of her framed in my room, and I absolutely adore her. This year VBS was different because the crèche closed months ago. There are many children that are the same from last year, but no Yumkella. I asked the CHE’s if they knew her. I asked every day about her. No one really knew who I was talking about. Today was our last day of VBS. I have to admit the first round of VBS was tough because we were all discouraged and sad that it was our last day. When the CHE’s entered the room I noticed that they had brought a new little girl with them. She looked familiar, but it wasn’t until a few hours in that I asked her name and found out that it was Yumkella. She has grown very tall over the year, and looked a little different, but is still as cute as ever. It was such a special time for me. I really felt like the Lord brought me her as a blessing considering it being the last day I was going to be in Sweet Home. I held her and she started repeated the same phrase over and over. I asked the CHE’s what it meant and I found out she was saying, “You are my mother.” She then asked me, “Are you going?” That absolutely broke my heart, but yet I left so joyful and thankful that I got to spend a little time with her. This trip has been amazing. It is my third time here, and I just fall more and more in love with the people here. It is a special place." -Kristy

Kristy and Yumkella.

Some of our team with some of the CHE's.

Some of the team at this restaurant called Spur with a few of the Bridges staff and students.
(We had a chance last week to take the Best Overall students out to dinner, and tonight we took the Most Improved students.)

Kids with the banners and stuffed animals we passed out in Sweet Home today.

The CHE's passing out the beanie babies.

Kids raising their hands to accept Christ for the first time!

Sorry for the lack of update on how the Choose to Wait program went, you will get a complete summary on the next blog. But for now, the kids have been super responsive and excited about the material that has been taught.

Please pray for Deb, her stomach has been irritating her today.

Please pray for our last day of teaching classes and being at Sweet Home.

Please also lift up our entire team as we're winding down our trip, and each of us is heartbroken to know our work here will soon be done. Pray for our team to be comforted in God's hands, and for our final days to be perfect closure.

Thanks to everyone who has been commenting. We love hearing from each of you!

Day 10: Our God is mighty to save.

Oh, God is good! After our nightly debrief with the team, it sounds like we all had a phenomenal day. God is so powerful, and His love is truly overflowing.

I can say that, for me, today was just breathtaking. We woke up this morning, and instantly I was exhausted and angry that I didn't get enough sleep--knowing full well that it was going to make the day drag on. When we got on the car to depart for Sweet Home, the mood was totally different than usual. Where we typically converse and laugh, today we all just were battling nodding off to sleep. I fought through it, but the entire time I just felt weird. Not to mention that three of our team members were ill.

Everything just went wrong this morning. (No surprise, today was the day we revealed the story of Jesus' life and death, and how we are saved into God's kingdom because of it-- Satan did NOT want today to go well.) Because of the number of people from our team that were going to VBS today, we always have to take 2 cars. Shortly after rolling into another township, Phillipi (where many of the Bridges Academy students came from, and a very dangerous place to be--especially as a group of white people...) we got a call from the other car saying they got two flat tires. (Read William's story below.)

Then we realized we forgot to bring the peanut butter and jelly to make sandwiches for the VBS kids, meaning we'd have to just feed them bread and juice.

To make matters worse, we woke up to beautiful blue skies but as we loaded up into the car to leave, it took a turn. Storm clouds rolled in big time, it got super windy and cold.

Everything that could have gone wrong did. We sat in the car after arriving to Sweet Home and just laid out some honest prayer to God, confessing fear and frustrations but praising Him and recognizing His big and glorious plan.

And wham, things instantly began looking up. We decided to run all of our stations in one room. Now normally, this particular room is freezing--even on a nice day. But praise God, it was warm all day. The kids were super zoned in and focused on every thing we did, loving every moment of it.

Then we jumped into story telling. I was so terrified--these kids literally have never heard about Jesus before, how do I explain his whole life and death in one 20 minute segment with a translator, without going over their heads?

But by the grace of God, he reached them right where they were. Though I planned to wait til tomorrow to invite the kids to accept Christ in their hearts, I totally felt God tugging on my heart BIG TIME to do it today. Though I was terrified (since I've ever done that before) I dove in.

I asked the kids to raise their hands if they prayed the prayer the first time and several hands shot up. Praise God. Moreso, in the second round of kids even more hands shot up. You could tell by talking to the kids afterward that something was just absolutely different in that room, and in each of those children. Please pray for them, pray that God would reveal himself to them in mighty ways.

Though, as we were leaving I felt a little discouraged again. I started to think that we only have one more day left, and then we're taking off. What will happen to these kids faith when we leave?

But when we got home to the students at Bridges, God totally gave me a divine appointment that uplifted my soul. I sat down with one of the students I've bonded with a lot, Odwa, and he just started asking me a lot about my day. He said "Today you went to Sweet Home? Did you play games? Did you tell them a bible story?" I answered him saying yes, that we shared a bible story and told the kids about Jesus and played all sorts of games. With a huge smile on his face, he said "Oh yes, I remember when I was a child I would go to the OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children] Camps. I remember every time the Americans came and shared bible stories. I remember everything they said."

Absolutely floored I stopped him and said "Really, you remember all that from your childhood with the Americans?" And he, again with a huge reminiscent smile said "Yes, I remember all of their stories. All of them."

This was the greatest encouragement I could have received. Praise God for today. I love that we were able to lay down our plans, because we totally saw God carry us.

Here are some words from William, as he shares his experiences today:

Romans 8:28

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

As we arose this morning, the day was bright and the air was right! The plan of the day was to drop off four duffle bags of stuffed animals at St Paul Church in Philipi for the kids there, then head down to Sweet Home for another Sweet Day of VBS. There were two cars going to Sweet Home. As the team started driving to Philipi, everything was great and fine. After a thirty minute drive on the freeway to Philipi, we got off the exit and started driving on the surface street. Just a quick reminder, the roads in Philipi were unevenly paved and there were pot holes every five feet - basically a land mine.

Two minutes on the surface street in Philipi, I saw a giantic pot pole as I was following the car in front of me. I tried to avoid it by steer the steering wheel to the right, but for some bizzare reason the car went straight through the hole. All of a sudden, the car became lower and lower, so I decided to pull the car over to the left, next to the side walk. As soon as the car came to a Full Stop, I came out of the car and checked on the tires; the two tires on the right side of the car were blown. Once I realized the two tires on the right side of the car were blown, I immediatedly went back into the car and unleashed the bad news to the people who were in the car. According to other team members who were also on the prior trips, people in Philipi would rob passengers in parked cars - that is definitely not good. The car that I was following was out of of sight when this happened so we had to call them on the cellphone and ask them to come back to rescue us. They came back in five minutes and we decided that the guys should stay with the car and the girls should go with the rest of the team to Sweet Home. By the grace of God, we had two guys waiting in the car with blown tires, which was way better than just one! It was awesome that God was watching over me and this other guy while we were waiting in the car that nothing bad happened to us. During the wait in the car, we prayed that God would watch over this entire day and we thanked Him for everything that just happened because we know He allowed things to happen for reasons. After the prayer, I turned on the radio, and guess who's on the radio - Joyce Myers. She was preaching on trusting God in all things and at the end of the her sermon, she gave a Verse - Romans 8:28. After hearing that verse, we realized that God affirmed the prayer we had a couple minutes ago! After an hours and half, the first car came back with a used tire so we were able to put on a used tire and a spare tire for the car.

As soon as we were able to get the tire situation squared away, we rushed to Sweet Home. My task for today was to lead the kids to memorize John 3:16 and I wasn't sure how it went. Surprisingly, it went extremely well. God was able to use one of the people from Sweet Home when I was absent to lead the kids to memorize the verse in their own language. It's a very important verse and God knew that it's would be a lot better for them to memorize with understanding than just to memorize. Praise God for everything that happened because if the tires didn't pop then the kids would not have an understanding of one of the most important verses in the bible!! " - William


Today was awesome--all the glory to God!

Please pray for our partners, the CHEs, as they are feeling discouraged and are loosing some unity among their group.

Please also pray for the students who accepted Christ today.


Much love and thanks to everyone who is supporting us and sending encouragements. We're ending strong!

Day 9: Comments Work!

The Sweet Home Team playing with the kids before the business seminar.

Peter (left) and Caleb (right). They are two of the staff members here. Peter is leaving soon to continue his ministry in Tanzania. Please pray for him, he is an amazing man who has encouraged each of us. Please also pray for Caleb, as he is going back home to Utah at the same time as us after being here for about a month and a half. Pray that his transition home would be a great one and that God would comfort and continue to use him as he goes home.

The whole team with Peter. He's so rad!

Thank you to everyone who responded to the email sent out encouraging and loving on our team. Thank you also to all those who have faithfully commented, despite them not appearing to come through. . They may not show up immediately as they are being moderated by a team member that is in California, but we will get them eventually.

We spent a lot of time last night sharing the affirmations and comments from home and the whole team was so encouraged and full of joy to hear from you all, so thank you and please keep them coming!

Day 9 was another great one, it never ceases to amaze me how willing God is to show Himself mighty when we step out in faith.

Today we have three guest bloggers; Matt, Kristy and Jon. Enjoy!

"Today in Sweet Home, Michael and Jon did an amazing job of presenting the CHE's (Community Health Evangelists) with a step-by-step process of how to start and run a small business. For the past 6 months or so, a few of the women of Sweet Home have been in the process of starting a sewing business that is run out of the home of one of the women that specializes in making dresses, aprons, bags, and various alterations of clothing. Michael prepared a detailed business plan that included steps such as product selection, cost analysis, marketing, etc. It was incredible to see how actively involved all the CHE's were with his presentation and how they seemed to just soak up all this new information. Michael and Jon did a great job of presenting all the information in a thorough but easy-to-understand manner. The presentation could not have gone any better, and as we were getting ready to leave, all the CHE's expressed their heartfelt thanks. To paraphrase Sisanda, the advisor to the Sweet Home CHE's: "I had an idea of all the information that I wanted the CHE's to hear, but I wasn't sure if you would be able to present all these things. However, you were able to present all the information that I was hoping to share with them, and I could not have asked for better information. This was exactly what we needed. Thank you!" Overall, this was so exciting to be a part of, and we all left with the hopeful expectation of the great possibility for success that these women have with their business! For those who may not have heard, one of our team members, Jessica, broke her leg the Sunday before we left. The day before we left for Africa, I got a call from a staff member at Rock Harbor asking me if I would mind using my truck to pick up a wheelchair that Rock Harbor purchased from the non-profit group, Free Wheelchair Mission, for Jessica to use during our time here in Africa. (After you finish reading this blog, go check out their website at www.freewheelchairmission.org). The plan was to purchase a wheelchair that we could leave in South Africa for someone who has been in need of chair but has been unable to purchase one. Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night, and I rememebered that I needed to let Mama Lulama (the head of the all the CHE's in Phillippi and Sweet Home) know about the wheelchair that we wanted to leave with them. As we were leaving Sweet Home today and giving Mama Lulama a ride back to St. Paul's Church in Phillippi, I said to her, "Mama Lu, I've been meaning to tell you that we brought a wheelchair with us that we want to leave with you before we go home. Do you know of anyone who might be in need of a wheelchair?" She gave me a look that kind of said 'Are you serious?!' and then she clapped her hands together and raised them over her head, and said, "Praise the Lord!!" She then said, "There's a woman who needs one. We've been praying for weeks now for a wheelchair! The pastors met and said they'd try to get some funds together but have been unable to do so. Praise the Lord, you just made my day!!" I've been waiting for that moment during the trip where I just stop and say "Wow, God." That moment definitely happened today. How cool is it that we serve a God who works in such amazing ways! I can't wait for the moment later this week when hopefully Jessica and this woman are able to meet!" -Matt

"Today was probably one of my favorite days here. As a teacher myself, I really feel for the teachers/staff here. Today we were able to bless them by cooking them a special lunch (Tacos and Burritos-which was a blessing for the team as well). Our team was able to cover their classes, so that their lunch time could be extended. I think it was special for me because we were able to purchase gifts for the teachers and staff before we came, and it was just really cool to be able to bless their efforts here. Our team is only here for a few weeks, but the teachers and staff are here full time. Please pray for them. Pray that they would be encouraged, united, and refreshed from the day to day routines. The students are absolutely amazing, and we love them so very much, but we don’t want to forget those that support them daily." - Kristy
"What an amazing journey it has been to be with such an outgoing team. We are each blessed with special skills that contribute to the overall impact of this trip. One of my most favorite events of the trip is waking up at the crack-of-dawn to the most beautiful, radiant sunrise breaking on the most breathtaking landscape you have ever seen while starting the day with songs of worship and group devotions. This is definately a tradition I would love to keep. As Matt mentioned above, we had a great time teaching at Sweet Home. Michael just had amazing words flowing. But I must give props to the team back at the Academy! While we were at Sweet Home, they were busy doing a Photo scavenger hunt. That gave us so many goofy pictures of the kids just being together and having fun. What other way to spend a day. On a more personal note, I wanted to share my humbling experience at Sweet Home. I had an amazing encounter with a little girl at sweet home. She was not old enough to talk, but most certainly old enough to understand what true love is. This poor little girl was accompanied by a full package of diarrhea, but this little girl had shown me in her eyes that she could not remember the last time she had a real hug. She needed to be embraced as though her life depended on it. After holding her, I knowingly had hefty stains on my jeans and forearms-- but she needed love. We were doing our VBS lessons, and she had been wandering off from our assigned groups (probably because she didn't really know what was going on, let alone understand English). So I took her aside and sat down next to the car, and began to point out things on the car that she could touch and feel. Eventually, she made her way down to the wheel-- She found pieces of mud that she, absolutely, had to give to me. Out of kindness I smiled at her and accepted her gift. In my eyes, she had seen joy, and she wanted to make me happier... So she began to break off more mud and hand it to me until there was no mud left. She wanted to please me, but there was no mud left. As a result, she resorted to giving me her balloon... Her balloon-- She had found this balloon several hours before this moment, and this balloon had kept her occupied whenever she got bored. She had found it in the filthy trash and had been sucking on this balloon ever since. This balloon was special to her, and it was her last possession: and she wanted to give it to me..... Here we are, servants of the Lord most high-- Coming clear across the world-- Coming to serve them-- Coming to love them-- And this little girl is giving every bit of her possessions in order to make me happy? What greater display of God's Love and Affection than to serve the servant. The Lord is fascinating, he has picked us up with Love even though we are covered in filth, human waste, lies, deceit, and sin. He has every right to say that we are too filthy to be loved-- And yet He has embraced us, he has smiled at us with open arms accepting our gifts of gratitude. All he asks is that we give Him our balloon-- the balloon that we hold on to so dearly." -Jon



Another heartfelt thanks to all who have prayed for our health. So far everyone who has fallen ill has been restored pretty quickly.

Please also pray for team unity as this is the time in the trip where we can expect to get grumpy and turn against one another. Pray that our love and patience would just overflow with one another and with those that we serve.

Please also, as Kristy mentioned above, pray for the staff that is here year round. Pray that they would be encouraged and refreshed by our visit and that we could be support to them and affirm them.

Thank you all!

Day 8: Sunday Funday!

This morning we ran a church service for the kids at the Academy. Thank you to everyone who prayed for us in regards to this, because it ran absolutely incredibly. If you think RockHarbor services run long sometimes, you ain't seen South Africa. We went well over an hour, but dang! The Spirit was seriously moving. Michael spoke about God's healing and transformation and it seemed to really hit the hearts of the kids. After sharing a message and some of his testimony, we took communion together, prayed together and worshiped together. It was such a beautiful picture of what "the Church" is to look like--family. God is so, so, so GOOD to us.

Then after lunch we threw an Ice Cream Social for the kids, which was super fun. It was nice to just relax and enjoy the scenery and spend time laughing and talking with the kids. Afterward, one of the Academy students, Sinetemba, gave us a small lecture on the political standing of South Africa. It was so awesome and informational! We all have faith that he will be the future president. :)

This evening was also wonderful. We went to this amazing pizza restaurant. MY GOODNESS, it was so delicious--you don't even know. (Really, you have no idea...) We came home and spent time affirming and encouraging one another which was incredible, and so encouraging.


Tonight's guest blogger is Kenny, who got his hair corn row'd this afternoon by one of the Academy students, Pretty (as seen in the picture below):
"There is nothing that is going on in this world that He does not already know of. It is so easy to forget such a simple fact. Injustice in the world suprises us, despite the fact that sin has reigned supreme in the world for thousands of years. Yet, in Christ we have peace. In Him there is a contentment that the apostle Paul called a prerequesite to godliness. If we do not possess within us peace, but rather discontentment (whether about ourselves or our environment- it is of no meaningful difference, for our perceptions create the environment around us) there can be nothing but strife, produced by a constant effort to try and change what we find unacceptable. In this we find our prideful selves, for we somehow think that our own efforts can save ourselves and the world (it is a must that we understand that our perceived selves cannot be separated from our perception of the world, our actions through which create the world we live in). Yet Paul in his letter to the church in Ephusus, gives us the opposite message, that we are saved in grace through faith and not by works so that no one can boast. Jesus Himself proclaims that no one can come to God accept through Him, and in the same gospel (John) a few chapters later, states boldly to His doubters that not one can come to Christ unless God draws Him. Again in the book of John, Christ makes it clear that the work of God the Father is completed by the one who believes in God the Son. He says, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." Our "works" therefore are a direct result of our faith in him, and the abundance of works flows out of the Spirit. THIS IS THE SAME SPIRIT AND THE SAME GOD THAT HAS THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS. This is the God who saves, the God who will not let go of his chosen. Sir Issac Newton once stated "Every action has an equal an opposite reaction". Sin in the world results in injustice. Consequences from The Fall are present in our day to day living. They are part of us and have diluded the world with deception. It must be made clear to all Christians, that these consequences are real and that they should be of no suprise. Christ said, "In this world you have trouble, but take heart I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD". Jesus Himself recognized that sin was very real and alive, and even told his disciples not to be suprised about it.

In all of this, let us not forget that God loves us, that He has chosen us, that He calls us redeemeed. Let us not forget that the Spirit lives within us, and the path we are on and the works we are doing and shall do, God has already planned out. He has given us a peace that surpasses all understanding (memory-->knowledge-->perception). WE CAN BE CONTENT NOW, AS HE HAS CALLED US TO BE. It is not our responsibility to change the world, to change each other, to change ourselves. God has already given us LIFE, and our lives are right now in the moment hidden with Him. Yet, we will never stop the efforts, and thus the pain and strife will never cease, untill we become aware that WE HAVE BEEN PERFECTED. This awareness shifts not only how we see ourselves, but also the world and our place in it. We have been granted with the wonderful gift of being able to walk burdenless on the path God uniquely set before us, doing the works He already planned out. So, what shall we do? Just that.. walk. Jesus said the two greatest commandments are these, that we love our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that we love each other as we love ourselves. Let us therefore walk in LOVE, for HE IS LOVE, HE IS TRUTH, and HE IS OUR PEACE." -Kenny



Please take the time to pray for our ministry this week, and also for Matt as he has gotten a bit sick.

A huge praise to God for how mightily He heals, as William was also sick but after prayer and rest God absolutely healed him back to complete health this morning!

Day 7: We are such gangsters.

Another great day in South Africa. After going our separate ways and doing our typical different ministries today, we met up this evening and gave a rousing performance. We've been working on a hip-hop performance since before we left (choreographed by our wonderful Jessica) and finally had a chance to show it off to the kids. They loved it.

Here's a photo of us straight thuggin' it:


Here is a short blurb from tonight's guest blogger, Lailanie:

"Tonight at dinner I was sat with the 6th grade girls, who have only been at Bridges Academy for 4 months. Sitting across from Noluthando, I asked if she liked coming to school here. She answered with a smile, "Yes!" "Why?" I asked. She goes on to say, "It's safe here. There are no men who are walking around who are rapists, who rape people.You hear and see bad things all the time." I couldn't believe that this was everyday life for her back at the township where she is from. Though my heart sank in disbelief and anger at the everyday injustices happening there, I was also so thankful for Bridges Academy, a place where these orphans have a chance at life- a chance for a quality education, a future, and to know the love and hope of Jesus Christ. What an amazing opportunity, privilege and blessing to be part of your work here Lord."

Please pray for our work here at Bridges tomorrow, as we will be producing an entire church service. Pray over Michael, who will be our speaker and for all the students to feel God's healing and transforming love.

Love!

Day 6: Our day off.

Today was the team's free day. We woke up bright and early, and were out of the house by 6 a.m. to avoid traffic. We got to take a boat out to Robben Island, where we got a bus tour and a tour of the maximum security prison where Nelson Mandella was held. Sadly, it was pouring rain and we all got soaked. (I guess we should all pray that none of us catch a cold.) Then we had lunch with some of the CHE's from Sweet Home. Afterward, we had a little bit of time left to walk around Cape Town and look around some of the shops. This country is really so lovely.

This evening when we got home we had dinner with the students from the Academy again, and watched the modern version of Romeo & Juliet (the one with DiCaprio in it.) Because, apparently, they are studying Shakespeare. They seemed to really enjoy it.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Day 5: Oh, how He loves us.

A few quick notes before we get started.

1. Again, please feel free to post comments on our blog. They will be shared with the team during our debrief time, and I'm sure everyone here would love to get a note from somebody back home.

2. I realized tonight that every blog has been super long. (Tonight's included.) I'm sorry for the long-ness of all of them, but at least that means God is working and doing so much we don't know what to cut down, right?

So lets get straight into it. Two guest bloggers again tonight; Emily and Jessica:


"For many of us, in the last few days Sweet Home has become our home away from home. Crazy fun kids, who will push one another over to get love and hugs from you, CHE ladies who are invaluable vessels of light to the community, barely-controlled games, energetic bible memory times, and very silly, loud worship songs. It has been a ton of fun! But in addition to VBS, we've also been spending time walking around the community, praying and doing home visits. Yesterday, on our second home visit, a group of us visited a sweet older lady named Faith who was suffering from many types of pain, along with HIV and a fever. Erika wrote about that yesterday.....

Today, however, it got even better. In the midst of the craziness of the day, I was speaking to one of the CHE ladies named Nosizwe who had been at Faith's house praying with us. She said to me, "You know, that lady is walking around the community after being stuck in her home for a month. I stay on that side of Sweet Home and everyone is asking what happened to her. I told her that the Americans prayed for her. They were all amazed because no one would ever go in her house, it is small and smelly and has lots of flies. But what we love about you is that you don't underestimate people. You will go anywhere and pray for anyone. And I have learned something from you: you pray so boldly, you ask God to heal people, and God works. I can't pray that way, but I have learned from you that I want to try to pray that way. But I still have doubt, but I still think that God can not do what I ask him to." Through my tears (having been so blessed by what she was saying to me), I said to her, "Nosizwe, I had so many doubts about God. And I have never seen miracles the way I want to, or heard God speak, but God can handle our doubt. He does not think less of us because we have doubts, he welcomes our doubts and questions, and will still show himself to be loving and powerful." She got an enormous smile on her face, clapped her hands together, grabbed my hands and said, "Thank you, now I can pray that bodly, and can really help the people in my community." We cried together for a few minutes, laughing and rejoicing in the amazing gift that God had just given us in those few moments. I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined that I could have such a tender and transforming moment, in limited English, admist the energy and excitement of Sweet Home VBS, with a woman I met two days ago, in a country I've long dreamed to come to. As an Academy kid said to me the other day, "I am praising God for these moments."

One quick other precious experience from today. There was a 18month old little girl who wandered over to me within the first 10 minutes of arriving in Sweet Home on the first day. She had a severe cold, a snot covered face, and a full ripe diaper - at only 10:00 in the morning. I picked her up, wiped her nose, and she ended up being attached to myself or another team member for most of the day, leaving all of us snotty and smelly! It was heartbreaking know that she just needed a baby wipe across her face, a little bit of baby Tylenol, and a good warm nap to start feeling better. At the end of the day, we had no clue where she went, luckily a child pointed to her house. Yesterday, she was a little better, but today, I was determined to get a smile out of her. During one of our song times, as I was dancing around with her, a teammate finally got a sweet little smirk out of her (which was an amazing interaction in itself), and she pushed her face into my shoulder, laughing as she wrapped her arms around my neck. As I felt her sweet, quick little heartbeat, I felt HOPE....which is something that has been hiding from me while I've been here. It's hard to see light in a place as backward as Sweet Home......but we have all seen it this week....in the bright, smiley faces and strong, wild heart beats of the precious little ones of Sweet Home." -Emily

"Today the after school program held the first of a three day 'Choose to wait' (CTW) program. I admit to having anxiety about being a part of the academy team because I realize the seriousness of the topic of purity and abstinence. This morning before the Sweet Home crew left the academy, I confessed my fears and a few of my fellow teammates prayed for me. The prayed ardently and purposefully and I felt the effects immediately. I felt filled with the Spirit and can't even begin to express in words how supportive this team is of one another.

After some careful planning (I am very 'type A') and brainstorming with the academy team, we had a solid game plan for the hour and a half we had to kick off CTW! We began with a basic introduction; we have a question box available for the students to write down any questions over the next week, the shared that the academy team will be sharing their testimonies over the 3 day program and that we were always available to talk and to pray.

We began with a skit to capture the students' attention- a guy and a girl enter the room with beautifullly wrapped white gift boxes, one tied with a blue string, one tied with a pink string. They walk around the room and eventually bump into things, they progress in their carelessness and trip over their boxes, now filled with anger they bang their boxes on tables and even rip the others box out of their hands. Eventually, this stops and their eyes meet, they enact falling in love and end up walking down the isle. They turn to face one another and pull out their dishelved, ruined gift boxes and stare at the state of one anothers box. The skit ended there.

The skit is obvioulsy representing what happens when one makes poor choices regarding the gift of purity that God entrusts us with. It was powerful to watch even though I knew what would happen and helped our talented actors with the scene. The students seemed to be intregued by the performance. We had a discussion and then made a very strong point in saying that our God is a forgiving God and that when we ask for forgiveness, we are instantly forgiven. Our God is a God of hope and we can be made new in Him. We then pulled out two new boxes, both white, perfect, the way it was meant to be.

Our brave and talented actors were Miranda and Kenny; they have been dating for almost four years, are newly engaged and I am honored to state they have chosen to wait. The Lord somehow orchstrated Kenny's availability today (he was supposed to be off site) and he and Miranda shared their story. They spoke for at least 20 mintues- you could hear a pin drop in the room. The students were enthralled with what they had to say. They were honest about their personal struggles with pushing the limits of their physical relationship but gave everyone in the room hope. I was moved to tears during their testimony about how pushing the physical limits of their relationship hinders their closeness to each other and their closeness to the Lord. They shared how they were friends first and dated secondly. They shared how incredible their relationship is now and how they know their marriage will be blessed by God and that he is pleased with them. I feel honored and blessed to have heard their story and know these students will not ever forget it.

After the testimony, we discussed God's picture for marriage- that a man shall leave his family and be joined with his wife and the two would become one flesh. We broke into small groups and discussed bible verses and why we thought God's design was important. After this we discussed God's priniciples for sex inside marriage. We nicknamed the principles "The 7 P's," which are Physical, Pure, Precious, Powerful and Passionate, a Present, Procreative & Private. We discussed the meaning of each and how sex is viewed inside a marriage. Lastly, we did an activity with them using the keyword and it's defintion. Breaking into five groups, each group was given all 7 P's and their definitions but scrambled. The group that put all seven back in order was the winner. Each definition began with the phrase, "insdie the walls of marriage, sex is..." So the students were hearing that over and over again. It was meant to be a constant reminder that sex is good when in marriage as God designed it to be.

Overall, it was a great and powerful day because God was in it. He was with each and every one of us in that room and I know the Holy Spirit has begun to work in the hearts of the students already. Thank you for your prayers!" - Jess

Day 4: Chugging right along.

This trip has truly been a blast. Yesterday (Day 4) we did the same things as Day 3. We split up into two groups; one going to Sweet Home for VBS, the other staying back at Bridges to teach classes and spend time with the students.

Sweet Home is always a difficult place to be. The whole place is just cardboard and tin shacks built on a pile of dirt and trash. Stray dogs line the streets. People essentially go to the bathroom wherever they please. There's nothing quite so awkward as trying to teach a lesson on Noah, only to have a student stand up, turn around, and go to the bathroom against the wall right in front of you.

However, God has personally blessed me with a nice turn around from my emotions yesterday. Whereas I was frustrated and angry yesterday, God totally replaced it with hope and joy today. During one of our house visits we stopped by an old woman's house who was suffering from HIV. She told us about how much pain she is, and the weakness she is experiencing, and asked us to pray for her.

We finished praying and went and stood against a wall without saying anything. My heart sunk as I began to feel the same frustration I felt yesterday. I started feeling a conflicting vibe of "Ask one of the CHEs to ask this woman if she felt anything while we prayed" and "Don't ask that, that would be stupid... and then if the woman didn't feel anything you'd feel like an idiot."

But the urge to ask got greater, so I did. The CHE asked the woman and with tears in her eyes the woman looked up and started to say "Yes! I feel like stones that were on my back have been lifted. I haven't felt this refreshed and energized in years!" And then she proceeded to dance. There is no way to know if she was fully healed today, but something in my heart tells me God removed the HIV from her. Lets continue to hope.

Here are two stories from guest bloggers, Deb and Mitch:

"Today I was spontaneously asked to lead the senior bible study. As I walked in, I prayed God would show me what he wanted me to say. Since being here I've been overwhelmed with the desire to show these kids that God has an amazing plan and purpose for thier lives. So, I taught on what God has been revealing to me over the past few days. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecreatd you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations...for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliever you, declares the Lord" Jeremiah 1:5,7,8. The kids eyes widened as I explained that before they were born God knew who they were, what they would be like, there is an incredible plan for each one their lives and that through it all God would never leave them.

After reading the passage the room was silent, so I suggested they all pray out loud what God was revealing to them. Their prayers brought me to tears as they said things like "Dear God, thank you for knowing me in my mother's womb and for having a plan for my life" "God, help me to stand up for my faith when I go home on the weekends and to boldly speak to my friends about you" "Dear God, I'm so thankful for my life and for the plan you have for me, please reveal it to me so I can live the life you want me to live." Tears filled all of our eyes as we finished praying. There was such a sweet spirit in the room no one could speak. We all sat there, starring at each other and smiling. We finished the hour with all of them telling me their dreams for thier lives and what they want to be: Politician, lawyer, nurse, teachers, social worker, and a hair stylist. I cannot begin to explain the look on their faces and the overwhelming joy in my heart. There sat before me our future, kids who had come from nothing, with no hope of a future who finally understood that God has a plan for each one of them and now they are so excited to live it. This is why we are here." -Deb


"[The Power of Children]
There I was, 5:30 in the morning, mind racing with the thoughts of children licking glass and stinky diapers; wondering what my day at Sweet Home would be like. If it were to be anything like the stories I had heard the night before, I was going to be in for a heart-wrenching experience. Thankfully, my day in one of the many impoverished townships here in South Africa turned out to be something all-together different.
"Hey Mitch....why don't you play some rugby with the boys." Sounded harmless enough, especially when rugby consisted of tossing a nerf football around a circle of shoe-less 8 year-old boys. As we began playing, children started appearing from the neighborhood and joined the game. What started out as a group of 7, quickly swelled to 15. Even though we were surrounded by utter destitution, the shear joy these kids were sharing with me was astounding. I was blinded by their energy and passion for just being 8....so I joined the party. I did not see the heap of trash being picked at by the dog and goose odd couple...nor did I smell the stinking "sewer" and outhouses; all I saw was beautiful smiling faces and all I heard was laughter.
"How about three flies up?" Michael (my RockHarbor teammate) grabbed the ball and the lead the charge. The rag tag group of kids burst into excitement over a game they had never played, let alone even heard of. All Michael and I could do was laugh as we began heaving the ball into the air and watching the kids dive to make catches in the rocky, glass riddled sand. Of course this kind of fun was infectious and Michael and I found ourselves surrounded by 30+ children, all itching (literally and figuratively) to join in the hilarity. Whenever a child made a catch, they got to throw the football until it was caught by another child. Naturally, some were better than others, but the joy was equally shared.
In between tosses, I remember stopping and taking a look at the sight that Michael and I had created. Shoe-less, clothe-less, empty-bellied, and unbelievably happy children were scurrying about all around us. We were their instruments of joy, their jungle gyms of delight and I was stunned at what was taking place in front of me. Was it something that we did or were they showing us how South Africa always does it? Unfortunately, it was days end, and Michael and I were being called back to help pack up cars with our gear and leave. Michael and I slowly made our way back, hugging and high-fiving the kids, in no rush to leave. Just before I made it into the building, some little guy jumped in front of me and tried to rip the football out of my hands. Of course I took the opportunity to play with just one more kid before I had to leave. Mistake???....You tell me. The next thing I knew, I had two children hanging onto my legs, one climbing up my chest and another spider monkey crawling up my back; all stretching their arms out to reach the football I had in my one free, raised arm. I was unaware of the power of children as 10 more came flying out of the bushes and soon enough, I lay face down in the sand, smothered by 30 giggling children. There was no escape and I had no choice but to cry uncle and be rescued by my teammates.
I went to Sweet Home worried about the sorrow I would see and I left energized and filled with Hope. It was my job to bring Hope and Love to the kids and yet, they ended up working in me. I have always underestimated the power of children, but the kids of Sweet Home have shown me otherwise. Their jubilation in the face of poverty and heart-ache is truly inspiring and I only hope I can bring back just a little of that positive outlook. South Africa is truly an amazing place and it's people are astonishingly beautiful. Thank God for bringing me here and allowing me to play a tiny role in the lives of these people." -Mitch


Thanks for reading, everyone! Continue to pray for us, please. Also, feel free to leave comments. Comments and affirmations left for the team will be shared during our debrief time.

Photos from Day 3

Sorry! We had a bit of trouble uploading photos the past few days, but here they are...

The VBS team and some of the kids at Sweet Home.

This is one of the boys from our Sweet Home VBS. I love him and want to bring him home with me... I think he might fit in my luggage...

The performance the girls put on for us for Culture Night was awesome!
They did a little traditional dance for us. So rad!

Proof that we really ate chicken feet!!

The kids from Bridges practicing scenes from Romeo and Juliet.

Day 3:

Hey guys,

Today was yet another day of learning, hearing and experiencing God in new ways. One group stayed back at the Academy today and taught classes and spent time with the kids from Bridges.They taught everything from math, to prayer, to Shakespeare. (Such a diverse group, right?)


Here is a short blurb from Miranda about an ongoing conversation she's had with one of the Bridges students:

"Last night I had a conversation with 9th grade student about prayer; he said he didn't believe that people should pray for one another but only for themselves. I referenced the bible and stated the Lord asks us to pray for one another and that it's pleasing to God. He then stands up, walks to another table, grabs a bible and comes back with it. Pointing to the bible he says, "Show me." Another team member & I looked up verses on prayer and continued to discuss the topic, not really having convinced him that God wants us to pray for one another. This was my motivation for teaching my 3 classes on prayer today. His class was my first and he sat front row in the center. The first verse I asked the class to look up was referencing God's greatest commandments (Matthew 22:36-39)- that we should love the Lord our God with all our hearts and love our neighbors as ourselves. We discussed prayer using the acronym A.C.T.S (Application, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) including the concept if we love our neighbors as ourselves, we should pray for them. I was grateful that he was engaged in the conversation and I pray that God continues to work on his heart. It was encouraging for me to know that at least he is getting this information and knows our team from Rock Harbor comes here to speak truth and to love."

Then another group was sent out to serve at the first day of VBS in Sweet Home. A huge praise to God, it ran so much smoother than we expected. Today's lesson and all the activities centered around Creation/Adam and Eve/Sin.

We also got an opportunity to go with the CHE's to go on house visits. It was absolutely devestating to be in those run down little cardboard-and-tin shacks, and to see how these folks live day to day. Completely overwhelming. We had a chance to pray over them, which was a blessing despite how difficult it was.

For me personally, experiencing Sweet Home was just frustrating. On one hand, praying for the broken in Sweet Home was disappointing. I just wanted to badly to see God work and perform a miracle in that little run down town. It got discouraging to think of the ways that the early church saw miracles and healings happen regularly, and yet here we are praying our hearts out and... nothing. There is such a weight and heaviness in this town. In addition, the level of injustice that surrounded us, combined with children in absolute poverty was more than I could bear. I kept asking God why these sweet, innocent little children had to live in these conditions, where their parents were and why nobody was caring for them, or loving them like they deserved. It was such a challenge. None the less, I definitely felt God's presence surround me and comfort me and remind me that He is good. I will continue to pray for miracles and wonderful signs, but it was a good reminder that God's goodness is not dependant on the way He "performs" for us, or the things He does.

Tonight, the Bridges kids put on a cultural evening for us to experience some real South African traditions. The food was great, and the most interesting part was that we got to try eating chicken feet. Yes. Chicken feet.

We also ate Ostritch Eyes... but apparently this turned out to be nothing more than a joke. (They really just gave us lychee.)

The kids performed some songs, dance and skits for us. They are so wonderful and talented.


Another praise, Kristy seems to be feeling better today. Praise God!

Please continue to pray for us.

Day 2: Jesus is SO at work in South Africa.

Day two has wound down for us here at South Africa. We had another incredible day, and are just totally on a Jesus-high as we are in the middle of witnessing God's love, passion, commitment and work in this country.

Tonight I'd like to share with you two guest bloggers, as they share just a small glimpse of their personal experiences, to give you an idea of what we're knee deep in.

"Today was a reminder of past experiences that I have had on mission trips from previous years, and once again I found myself in awe of the people we are here to assist and a little disappointed in my own community. As I walked the streets of Sweet Home, I could not help but notice within the dirty, unpaved, and trash filled streets, among the shacks that have been constructed of whatever wood, metal, or debris that could be scavenged, were a people filled with joy and passion. Laughter and endless smiling filled the faces of the children and adults that walk the streets as they engaged in their daily lives. How could they be so happy living in such extreme poverty? Are they completely unaware of the world that surrounds them? This is all many of them have known and they have found a way to be content and even joyful with what God has provided for them.

In sharp contrast to this world that I am now living, I find myself disappointed in my own community. Why is it that Orange County, the place I call home, has so many people that require pain killers and anti-depressants to find happiness? Why are there so many complaints and unsatisfied people? We live in a region of privilege and excess, yet we find every opportunity to complain. I have learned a valuable lesson here in South Africa, and it is only my second day here. I need to value the things that I have, I need to be grateful for the people in my lives, I need to complain less and give more. God has blessed each of us in a different way. The people of Sweet Home, South Africa, have realized it. I hope the rest of us learn to see it as well." –Michael

"I woke this morning to a Beautiful country filled with amazing People! Today I had the opportunity to open up to the students in 8^th and 9^th grade and share a little about my own life and encouraging them in theirs. My theme for the class was WHERE is God in the mists of Pain / Trouble? Do you believe God is really there? For these students at the academy they know pain. Some like me have lost loved ones and some like me have grown up with not knowing one or both parents. It was an awesome experience to be able to focus on the good that comes from the hard times and to encourage them to “Just be”. I left them with this question, do you think that God can use your pain and would he change your current pain so that you can share and bless others?

Dinner tonight was also amazing and I got to sit amongst the beautiful children of South Africa! I still can’t believe I am here. I washed dishes after dinner with 3 boys, Julius, Bulelanie and Odwa, they are all so amazing. Julius however was one who wanted to talk and so we did. We had wonderful conversation and he shared some poems with me; which he told me Wood (who couldn’t be here) taught him how to write poems last year and was so thankful to be able to have something to go home with in order to connect with his friends. His poems were so amazing and real. I felt honored that he would share them with me. I love being amongst these Beautiful people who only know raw and real! God is doing amazing things here in South Africa and this is just the beginning!" –Cassie

Furthermore, we would always appreciate your continued prayer. Here are some specifics you could help us out with:

Please pray for:

-Kristy's health. She was slightly ill today. We're praying that she is fully recovered by tomorrow!
-Our team as we daily head into our partner community, Sweet Home. This can be a dangerous region (both safety and health wise) for us if we are not careful. Pray for our protection and health as we dive into ministry with them.
-As always, pray for the Sweet Home and Bridges of Hope Academy ministries. In addition, pray for our VBS as we kick it off in the Sweet Home community tomorrow. We will be in contact with hundreds of kids, I hear. Pray that we dispense the gospel well and that the Spirit moves from within us, and that the children receive it well.
-And of course, continued health, protection, intimacy with God, and team unity.

(Though we welcome most any prayers, gladly!)


Thanks everyone for keeping up with us. Love!

Just a few photos from our first day!

Here we are in the airport. Look how joyful and refreshed we look!
(Mind you this is before we ever got on a plane....)

Here's Cassie with some of the girls from Bridges. Look how adorable they are!
We love them already!

Be jealous...
This is totally the view we have to wake up to every morning.
We are so blessed to be here.
So rad!

Day 1: We've Arrived!

Hey everyone,



After many hours of traveling, we made it! The drive in was beautiful. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking. Each of us is super excited to be here and anxious and expectant to see how God is planning to move and work.

After arriving, we had some time to take a tour of the Bridges of Hope Academy grounds. After a short orientation we got to meet and get to know the kids. They're so dang cute and fun! We had a pretty relaxing day with them; simply sharing meals, talking and laughing, and in the evening we spent some time in worship. You have no idea how beautifully and loud these kids can sing!

We are having a great time so far! Thank you for your prayers, and please join us in continuing to pray. Tomorrow a team is going out to Sweet Home for the first time. Please pray for their safety, boldness, and love to overflow.

We love each of you!

Team arrives in london

The team arrived in London. The have a few hours to lay over there, but the flight to South Africa looks like it is on time and the will be on their way.

Team departs

We returned home from taking the team to the airport. There was the usual controlled chaos of getting bags checked-in and some extra gear that was received after the packing meeting last week lead to some extra shuffling, but all the bags were checked in. We prayed with the team and they headed to the gate. The plane was delayed two hours, but it looks like that will just reduce their layover time in London.

Jessica broke here leg in soccer practice (the Africa team soccer practice) last Sunday. She did not have to get a cast on her leg so she was still able to go on the trip with crutches. Our friends at Free Wheelchair Mission were able to supply her with a wheel chair for the trip and we will be leaving the wheel chair with Bridges of Hope in South Africa for someone to have more permanently.

Expectations: If you are watching this blog during the trip, you should expect only one or two updates. The teams always have a crazy schedule that goes from 6am to 10pm. Getting the blog updated is usually left for when the team returns.