Rock Harbor South Africa

And the first day of academy is in the books! Mykl here, filling you in after a long and tremendous day at the academy. We started our day off at the Sweet Home township, and then concluded our teachings and group activities at the academy.
One thing that really made an impression on me today was our morning visit to Sweet Home. It was amazing to see the way God was working through the township and to actually feel the hope that was present through out the township. As we were walking to our cars to go back to the academy, we noticed two young boys no older then the age of 8, playing with some pieces of cardboard and having the time of the their life. It really got at me seeing how these kids could have nothing and still yet be filled with joy and hope. It is definitely something that humbled me and made me think about the blessings that God has already placed in my life. On a side note, with this lack of communication thing I am really hoping my mother is reading this so she knows that I am alive and loving South Africa. I love you mom! :) I can't wait to see how God continues to show up and use the team here to make an impact on these kids lives.
P.S. How about them Seahawks?????? :)

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Wood Here.

Just want to say how much I miss my beautiful 5 month old baby and wife. I brought a bunch of pictures with me and they help, but I miss his giggles and laughs. It was a long day today. We went to Sweet Home first thing in the morning as the rest of the staff went to pick up the kids for camp. We met some of them when we picked up Sisande, our CHE leader in Sweet Home. She drove with us the rest of the way into Sweet Home. We got to tour the new creche (pre-school), the kids come back this weekend from holidays so it was mostly empty, and the new St. Barnabus church. The old creche buildings, the only real brick buildings in the entire township, are now vacant just next door.

Please pray for the local political leader/mayor/prefect that he can work to better conditions of all the residents and use the resources for the community instead of personal gain. That said, the new plot behind it is just as functional as the old one and now includes a church. I had seen some early pictures of the church and it looked like and empty shell of a makeshift building. I don't know what I was expecting, but walking into it I felt a calming peace come over me. A large cross painted on the far wall, a single pew against the back wall with a rainbow and kids hand prints on the back wall. Prayer cards nailed to the barely 7 foot ceiling framing holding up a hodge podge of corrugated metal for the roof. A small "building" only about 12 feet across and 20 feet long. In the center, two small kids sleeping on small pieces of egg crate foam reminded me of my own baby at home. This was a holy place....This was a holy place.

As we left the creche, we passed three young men at 9am in the morning carrying three very large bottles of beer. We said hi as they passed and our way back to the car down the dirt road filled with glass and debris. I prayed a prayer of thanks for this place of peace in the middle of brokenness.

On the leadership side, tons and tons of schedule changes and unexpected duties. The principal at the academy is in transition and things are in a state of flux. We don't have the facilities we expected and there are a lot of extra duties we had not planned for. Add to that a few tons of unknown and welcome to Africa. We are getting through just fine, but please pray for the academy during this time of transition and pray for our team to have extra strength to power through the next two weeks. The first day is always the hardest and this was no different. Everyone is tired, everyone is in great spirits, no one is sick (except me and my sinuses are getting better...hopefully...please pray), everyone is looking forward to what God has planned for tomorrow.

I'm teaching about Sex and Marriage as I have done on all my previous 3 trips to Africa. I talk with the guys and my teaching partner Mykl is spending the group time with the girls. I left my students with Proverbs 5:3-14. The perfect verse, for the perfect moment. Amazing how a few lines of text can teach a life time of wisdom. God is great.

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Siobahnne here to sign us off for the day.

Today was a big day for us as Wood and Mykl addressed. We hit the ground running, but a lot of new and interesting (and by interesting I mean somewhat stressful and confounding) hurdles have been tossed in our way. There's been confusion, exhaustion and a little bit of chaos too.

We definitely could use some more prayer:

Emily, please continue to be on spider duty.
The kids need a lot of prayer. Coming back to all these transitions has been tough, and they seem restless and are pushing boundaries. Pray for adjustment and peace. Also pray for relationship and honesty. The curriculum we're working through with them addresses some heavy topics, and they are topics that can't really be properly handled without a lot of blatant honesty and a willingness to discuss.
Pray for the Academy. This have been really up in the air and crazy, and the folks here could use the prayer support. Pray that good decisions are made, and the energy and heart is there in everyone to move forward and persevere.
Pray for the team. We're already feeling tired and a bit emotionally drained. It's been a rough day for a few and we could really use prayer for patience and endurance. We're been truly learning the meaning of the "best laid plans of mice and men," and could use some peace and purpose in the chaos.

There's been a lot going on in all of our minds and I pray we look beyond the internal battle to God's truth.

If my first thought is
"I'm weary"
Let my second be
"God sustains"
If I think for an instant
"I'm weak"
Let me remember
"God is strong"
If, even for a moment, I hear
"I can't do this"
May I pray that
"God's will be done"
And when I kneel in awe
"How wonderful"
Let me be thankful because
"You've already won"

Let our team respond to every moment, good or bad, by turning it over to the Lord.

Tomorrow is another day, and its fast encroaching on this side of the world! Thank you again for all the comments, love and prayer.