Day 1 in the books

Hello everyone!  Jared here.

Today was our first official day in country and as we have all come to expect, our plans were turned upside down and re-arranged.  As some of you may have heard there has been some "civil unrest" in the township of Sweet Home where we work that has made it to dangerous for us to visit.  Sweet Home is one of the more primitive of the townships and the people are demanding that the government build houses and deliver more services to the township.  Currently the township is made up of corrugated steel shacks with little to no sanitation.  Apparently, the people of Sweet Home think the most effective way to get more government services is to burn things.

We were all pretty disappointed not to be able to go into the township today but instead of going into Sweet Home, we met with Sisanda, the leader of our Community Health Evangelist program.  The purpose of our trip is to research how our ministry can invest more deeply into the townships and orient our future teams toward this.  It was so great to sit down with Sisanda for a couple hours to hear her heart for the community and figure out where we can fit in and add value.  From my perspective, Sisanda has one of the most difficult job's I've ever seen and she does it with such joy and grace.  Her role is to recruit, train and develop volunteer community leaders in all of the townships that Bridges of Hope works in and then develop individual programs to meet each communities needs.  Easy job for one person, right?

It was a bit overwhelming hearing the long list of needs and issues in Sweet Home but it was also very exciting as there were clearly lots of ways for our teams to invest.  It was also encouraging to hear the impact Sisanda feels the program has had on violence in the townships.  God is moving in Sweet Home!

After our meeting with Sisanda we met with Maxi who works in community development for Bridges of Hope.  Maxi came across an opportunity to potentially place township people into entry level jobs at a big clothing chain, but the issue is that they need to receive 40 hours of job training before August 12th to qualify.  Our team is now stepping in to provide basic job training over the next couple days!  The exciting part about this is that it seems like a program that we can build and continue on long term.  

Our night ended with worship and devotions back at the academy with the students.  We were also able to debrief the day and there was definitely a new sense of excitement as to how God seems to be shaping new paths for our ministry.  Please pray for the unrest in Sweet Home and that God would continue to open doors for us!  This morning's devotion was from Ephesians 3 and is something we want to proclaim on this trip. 

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.  To him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."  

- Ephesians 3:20-21

Thank you for your support and prayers!

Funny side note: the academy girls are trying to get me to let them cut my hair.  They said they'll only charge me $100 cause I'm a friend.  :)

Too beautiful not to post twice! A reminder of God's promises. :)

More arrivals in South Africa

Jared, Emily, Kim, & Keira all safely arrived in South Africa today (Monday, July 30th)! Please keep us in prayer as we settle in. Don't worry....more detailed updates & photos will be posted. :)

I am finally here

I arrived last Wednesday after getting settled in to Africa with a week's stay in Cape Town, getting my bearings on the urban culture surrounding the bucolic setting of the school. I did typical tourist stops: a climb up Table Mountain ; a tour of the botanical gardens; museums--including the District 6 museum; and a circumnavigation of Cape Point. I recovered from jetlag and set my watch to local time. Matt Andre met me at the airport to save a longer trip into the city. The hour drive enabled him to give me an orientation. I arrived to find students prepping for exams. They were quietly seated at long tables in the connected rooms that form the classroom building that is Bridges Academy. I delivered the packages of BIC pens and glue sticks that I had brought with me. The plan is for me to work with some students who need to develop some grammar and spelling skills. And of course build relationships, the easiest and most fulfilling part of teaching and short term missions.

On my wrist...

I wear these 3 items pretty much everyday. In a weird sense I feel "naked" without them...my left wrist is too light, something is off balance, essentially something is just not right. Let me share a little something about each of these items.

• My students often give me a hard time for wearing an athletic watch everyday, but it's practical for me & I'm always ready to time an event in class or out at practice.
• The wooden bead bracelet was given to me as a "thank you" gift and it used to have a mustard seed charm, but that fell off months ago yet I still wear it as a reminder of Matthew 17:20 "Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
• I can tell you exactly when I first placed the beaded bracelet that says "S. Africa" flanked by South African flag on my wrist, it was August 16, 2008 (the day I left South Africa). This bracelet has been a conversation starter with total strangers, an entertainment to babies & little children who have been mesmerized by the texture and color of the beads, it has also been a reminder of my time in South Africa at Bridges Academy and in Sweet Home, and perhaps it has also been a symbol of hope that I would one day return.

Nearly four years after putting that bracelet on I am returning to South Africa with a small team to  deepen and further develop not only our involvement at Bridges Academy, but to become invested in the township of Sweet Home in a much more significant way through our relationship with the CHEs as we aim to support them as they promote sustainable transformation in their community. Please keep our small team of 5 in prayer as we are gone from July 28th-August 16th. Specifically please pray for: 

• Obedience to God.
• Unity amongst the team members.
• Open hearts (ours and the hearts of those who we come in to contact with). 
• Safety and health.
• Wisdom, patience, and discernment in all situations.

Thank you in advance for keeping us in prayer & be sure to check the blog for frequent updates!

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