A January 2010 trip has been scheduled and applications are available and are due at the ROCKHarbor office by August 29th.
If you would like to apply for the trip, applications are available on ROCKHarbor CORE.
Trip dates: January 7th - January 23rd
January Team Training Dates
Sunday, September 26th
Sunday, October 17th
Sunday, October 31st
Friday, November 5th (Evening Team Social)
Sunday, November 14th (Serve day-8:30-5:30pm)
Sunday, December 5th
Friday, December 10th (Evening Team Social)
Sunday, January 2nd (Packing party)
Sunday, January 30th (Team debrief)
Feb. 3rd/Mar. 3rd (SA community gathering)
*All training sessions are mandatory and will take place from 11:00am to 2:00pm unless otherwise noted. Team socials are strongly encouraged. Please take a look at every date and note that this is a very big time commitment, in and out of trainings.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Second Social
Our second group social was this past Friday July 9th at Erin and Parker’s house in Tustin. We had a fine smorgasbord of foods and simply enjoyed our time together as a team.
A few team mates shared their defining moments with the group as well. Defining moments are specific times in our lives when we have felt the presence of God. They are times when we have had to rely on God. They are times when the presence and reality of God are simply undeniable. It has been great hearing each others defining moments and really getting a sense of the work God is doing in our lives.
Although the socials are less structured than our typical trainings they are certainly just as important and critical to the growth of our team. While we are in South Africa, it will be the community developed at these socials that will hold us together when times are tough. It will be the relationships developed that will keep us glued together when our emotions have flared. Community is what will make us affective while in South Africa. As we share and eat together at socials we are not only feeding our bodies in a literal sense, but we are also feeding the growth of our team as a body of Christ.
A few team mates shared their defining moments with the group as well. Defining moments are specific times in our lives when we have felt the presence of God. They are times when we have had to rely on God. They are times when the presence and reality of God are simply undeniable. It has been great hearing each others defining moments and really getting a sense of the work God is doing in our lives.
Although the socials are less structured than our typical trainings they are certainly just as important and critical to the growth of our team. While we are in South Africa, it will be the community developed at these socials that will hold us together when times are tough. It will be the relationships developed that will keep us glued together when our emotions have flared. Community is what will make us affective while in South Africa. As we share and eat together at socials we are not only feeding our bodies in a literal sense, but we are also feeding the growth of our team as a body of Christ.
Training Four
We had our fourth training on June 27th. Our group is really beginning to grow and form into a cohesive team as we approach our final departure just twenty three days away. Anticipation and excitement for the adventure ahead and the opportunity to serve together are increasing as we begin to get into the thick of preparation and planning.
Part of our training on 27th consisted of a brief overview of Apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was a legalized form of racial segregation that was officially set in place as a national policy in 1948. Under Apartheid, each persons racial classification determined many aspects of their life including what type of education, medical care, and housing they would receive. Internal violence, cruelty, and repression was widespread as a result of the intentional separation and degradation. It is hard to fathom the devastation and hatred that took place during Apartheid especially in considering it’s relatively recent and official end in 1994.
Though the wounds created by Apartheid are deep and the damage immeasurable, God is moving through organizations like Bridges of Hope to bring lasting and sustainable change. As we have continued to learn about Bridges of Hope and their mission in South Africa through our training, we are all swelling with an eagerness to jump in and serve.
Part of our training on 27th consisted of a brief overview of Apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was a legalized form of racial segregation that was officially set in place as a national policy in 1948. Under Apartheid, each persons racial classification determined many aspects of their life including what type of education, medical care, and housing they would receive. Internal violence, cruelty, and repression was widespread as a result of the intentional separation and degradation. It is hard to fathom the devastation and hatred that took place during Apartheid especially in considering it’s relatively recent and official end in 1994.
Though the wounds created by Apartheid are deep and the damage immeasurable, God is moving through organizations like Bridges of Hope to bring lasting and sustainable change. As we have continued to learn about Bridges of Hope and their mission in South Africa through our training, we are all swelling with an eagerness to jump in and serve.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Watts Service Day
Expect the unexpected. How can you describe a day like this with out actually having to open up your chest and dump everything out onto the page? It will be impossible but I will try.
In the early morning on Sunday June 6th we all met in the parking lot, behind Rock Harbor, amped and ready to go. Much coffee was needed but we were amped on the inside. Need less to say, we packed ourselves into three cars and got on the free way, with two guitars and tons of food in hand, eager to get there in record time.
Today was the day where we would get to experience Pastor Todd’s world. We were on our way to Powerhouse Church in Watts. For those of you who do not know where Watts is, it’s a distinct downtown area located in Los Angeles. It’s our own backyard, only 40 minutes down the free way.
Powerhouse Church resides in an impoverished neighborhood infested with drugs, alcohol and gang violence. Props to Pastor Todd who has moved his whole entire family into this area because he feels led to minister to the people there. He is a beacon of hope in a very dark place. We went to Watts in hopes to serve in anyway possible, in any way needed.
As our team broke off into groups we all found a place we felt led to be. Some went into the neighborhoods to get to know and invite people to come to church. Some led worship. Some felt led to be active with the children in their Sunday school, playing with them and teaching them bible stories. Then there were the some like me, who felt led to cook. We brought enough food to feed 200 and it did indeed. Powerhouse Church provides breakfast for those who come to the morning services and it also provides lunch for those who stay for the late morning service. How awesome!
Getting to spend the day there meant so much. As we interacted with the children on the playground and spent time with the adults, either through prayer or conversation, we came to see that the people in Watts are just plain beautiful. They love God, they love you and they love what he’s doing in their lives. It’s aspiring and genuine. God is moving there and moving everywhere. This was our first chance as a team to really work together while serving for God and His people. It was a bonding experience and really helped make our team closer then ever. In times like these, we get to know one another’s personality and heart for God.
Our Third Training!
Our mission is eternal. Isn’t it? This is our third training yet and I can’t believe how much time has flown by! The more we all spend together as a team, the more you can see that we are slowly become one as a community. God slips into the room each time, connecting us all emotionally and knitting us together like we are all strings, tied together at the heart. What a cool feeling.
During this training, Pastor Todd led a devotional exercise cautioning all of us to be aware of how we build in South Africa. I Corinthians 3:10 says “But each one should be careful how he builds.” There were 5 stations set up in our cozy classroom and they each opened us all up emotionally in one way or another.
Station 1 had a long plank with nails dug deeply into its barred wood, and along side it was a box of hammers. We each had to come and “pull” anything out of our lives that is not holy or of God. Most of us just sat and pondered what it was that we needed to extract from our lives that does not give glory to God, before we took the pull.
Station 2 was a load of tape measures all piled on top of one another. We each had to take one, making a commitment to grow in our daily time with Christ. When I saw the time I spend with God each day, in inches, I knew there had to be a change and a commitment.
Station 3 was where we acquired a level. I need a workman’s belt now after this workshop. Here as we took a level, we reflected, asking God to help make Jesus the most important One is our lives. This is the only way to a truly balanced life.
Station 4 was where we had to kneel down and drive our previously pulled nails into the wooden cross, lain before us. Here, as we hammered away, we nailed our full devotion to God and preceded with communion together, giving thanks to Christ for nailing down His life on the cross for us.
Station 5 ended our round about with a reminder. Large pieces of cut up construction paper were shuffled and mixed, and as a team, we had to piece the puzzle back together to see what it said. Working as brothers and sisters in Christ we finished triumphantly. It revealed I Corinthians 3:9 “We are God’s fellow workers.” Amen.
After our wonderful workshop set up by Pastor Todd we all felt open to receive God and let Him in that day during our training. It definitely prepared our hearts for the testimony we were about to hear. Kathi Winter is her name and she more then opened her heart to us. HIV was our topic of the day because, as you must know, it is a disease that spreads like wild fire in South Africa. Many families and their children are largely affected. Kathi is an HIV carrier and proactive educator. She educated us on the disease and how it affects you physically, emotionally and spiritually. It has taken her on a road in which she is closer to God then ever and with that she is willing to be open and honest in order to educate those who need it most. Thank you Kathi.
By the end of that day, you could feel the love in that room. The heat in our cheeks and the hugs all around made it obvious but what was more obvious to each of us was what was happening in us individually. God was stirring in our hearts, making room for those we will come to love, more than life, in South Africa.
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