Our Last Night and Transition Home

Hi friends and family! It's Karissa and on behalf of the entire team we can't thank you all enough for your prayers and support! It was so encouraging to read your comments on the blog every day. We have been back for 4 days now and it has been a difficult transition. Sweet Home, the Bridges staff, and students are constantly on our minds and it is a great reminder to continue to pray for them.

Last Friday night we had Girls and Guys night and it was so much fun! The guys played Minute to Win It and they had a blast spending more quality time with the boys at Bridges. Girls night was a huge success! We played music, danced, laughed, and enjoyed watching the girls work the runway all in their pajamas. Our last night couldn't have gone better, and it was refreshing to leave on such a positive and memorable night.

The next morning we packed up and prepared to say our goodbyes to everyone. It was heart breaking to leave and say goodbye to our dear loved ones. We formed lasting relationships with the students and Bridges staff, and they became a part of our lives. God moved in BIG ways while we were in South Africa and He truly blessed every conversation, after school program, prayer time, and much more. We pray the students would grow in their faith, for boldness to step out in faith, and for safety and protection for the Bridges students and staff.

THANK YOU again for your amazing support and prayers while we prepared to leave and when we were in South Africa!

Love to you all,
RHZA13 team members

The 713 RH South Africa Team is back in the USA!

After many hours of travel the team arrived safe & sound at LAX this afternoon. Please continue to keep them in prayer as they adjust to being home and process all that they experienced.

Last Day in Sweet Home

Hello Friends and Family! Kim and Rachel here to update you on our day!

Today was the team's last day in Sweet Home. We were able to train the CHEs on a couple of different topics. Taylor walked the CHEs through how to build an effective resume, and was able to answer questions about where to look for employment. He really emphasized the importance of building relationships with people in the community. At the end of this training, we were able to pray for God's provision in employment within Sweet Home.

Next up, Karissa and I (Kim) got a chance to provide some training for teachers from the informal school. We started the training off with a hands on experience to help them understand the importance of learning through play. I passed out some paper plates, and then, I gave each CHE some playdough. I thought I told everyone to start creating, but somehow there was a little miscommunication and a CHE may have eaten some playdough. Not to worry. She's fine and we got it all sorted out. The rest of the training went well. We continued to share information with them through hands on activities. They learned how to encourage students in their language/literacy development as well as their math skills. During each activity, I could see how much fun they were having as they took on the role of a student. I'm praying that they hold on to that memory and create an environment where their students see how fun learning can be too.

I want to give a huge shout out to Rachel, Kate, Julie, Sarah, Danielle, and Jeff who did an awesome job entertaining over 40 kids while these trainings were going on. Again, it's been so encouraging to see how our team supports one another. Their willingness to sing songs over and over with the kids kept the distractions to a minimum during the trainings. That was a huge gift to the CHE's to be able to focus like that.

Back at the Academy, we continued with our same after school activities as yesterday. Apparently, the Bible Rap Off's were even more intense today. These students can really throw down the Word of God to a beat. They were also able to learn some more hip hop and fitness moves today.

Tonight, it was another great night with the students. We were able to pray over another Matric (grade 12) and spend some time learning about how God is our Confidence. Danielle led an encouraging devotion about this and it opened up lots of discussion about how we can sometimes doubt God's plan for our lives. Again, you could see the Spirit moving and encouraging the students to ask questions about their future and God's truth for their lives. After ending the night with the students, the team had the opportunity to have dessert at Clive and Di's house. They have blessed the team in so many ways while serving as Academy and Retreat Center Director, and they have become our team's South African mom and dad. We were able to pray over them and just affirm how important their role is here and how big their hearts are for serving this school.

We wanted to share a special moment the two of us had today. Both Kim and I were able to spend some one on one time with our students that we sponsor here at Bridges. It was a great opportunity to bless them today with some ice cream and conversation. We're both so thankful that God has called us back to Bridges again this year to continue to build these relationships that have been growing over the past few years. It was a time of laughter, but also, a time for us to go deeper individually with these girls and encourage them. This afternoon was a gift and answer to prayer for us. Oh, yeah, we let Russell and Goodwell crash girl time too (but not our photo shoot). The three of us just wanted to celebrate how God has brought these three specific students into our lives. We're very thankful for the special time we got with them today.

Answered Prayers and Rainy Days

Hey people it's Russell! 

Hi Dad and Mom, I love and miss you guys! Driving has been a blast, and I can't wait to tell you how amazing it has been here!

Well, needless to say God has been moving powerfully over our team and over the academy kids! Many prayers have been answered, but more to that later!

The day started off with an early and rainy morning. Although it was gloomy, we all enjoyed the rain and time to bundle up in warm clothes! We all headed over for the Wednesday chapel meeting down at the academy where Kim spoke about anger and forgiveness. She did an amazing job, and you could feel all the kids paying attention and staying attentive to what she had to say. We spent the day tidying up the retreat center, and then, it was time for us to begin our after school activities with the students. Danielle, Taylor, and I headed up the Bible Memorization/Rap/Sing off battle where the students had a set amount of time to memorize a Bible verse, and perform it for us, the judges. It was so rad! A couple of the groups really brought the heat by rapping, playing beats, and danced with the limited time we gave them. We had to have a tie-tie breaker because they were so great! A double tie breaker! The students also brought the heat in their hip-

hop dance class with Ellen and Rachel. Students also participated in a fitness class with Sarah where they definitely learned how true, "No pain. No gain" is. Finally, in true rainy day activity spirit, Abby led the students in a game of Spoons.

After dinner, Sarah taught the nightly devotional with the students and did amazing! She also shared on anger and how God is her Healer. The kids responded positively and asked some great questions during response time. After that we headed into a classroom to pray over one of the grade 12's (matrics). We've been doing this to bless the students that are soon going to graduate from the academy. We prayed over one student tonight and got some powerful words and pictures for him. After we prayed, he asked if he could receive even more prayer. The prayers for him then shifted into a time of asking God for inner healing for him. It was just another example of how the Spirit has been moving here in the students. Please continue to pray for students hearts to become responsive to the Spirit and for our team to step out in obedience to what we're hearing during those times. 

Finally, I just wanted to share a personal story with you about a prayer that has been answered in my life. I have been praying and journaling for God to appoint me a younger high school guy that I could hopefully connect with, in hopes that I could possibly pray for or just simply hang out with during the two weeks we are here. Well let me tell you, He answered! 

First off, each grade was assigned to write welcome letters to a couple of our team member and the grade 8's ended up writing a welcome note to me. Remember that for later. This kid, Goodwell, came into one of the group activities I was helping in and I could notice there was something different about this kid. Different in a sense that he reminded me a lot of myself. We started to hang out during the week and throughout the daily after school programs. I finally had to ask God what He was up to, so I prayed and journaled about it. Kim then got a hold of a list of students that were not sponsored yet, so I frantically asked if Goodwell was on that list. He was! I was super excited and prayed about it that night hoping God would answer me quickly! After talking to the staff about the opportunity and further confirmation, it couldn't be more clear that Goodwell was placed in my life for this exact reason! I soon got to tell him that I needed to have a "talk" with him and he got a weird look on his face but agreed. Let me tell you, the excitement was building! That next day I reminded him that I needed to have a talk with him. I said that hanging out with him and getting to know him has been awesome, but there was a certain something that God has been putting on my heart lately. I then told him that I knew he didn't have a sponsor, and that from now on that I would be sponsoring him! His smile and expression was literally indescribable. He then gave me a huge hug and said that he had been praying for this moment for years! After walking back to the academy, we said our goodbyes until dinner, and he started jumping, skipping, and screaming! Being the emotional wreck that I am, this made start bawling my eyes out. The feeling and immediate effects I was having on this amazing kids' life was, and still is, unforgettable. 

Remember how I said that the grade 8's wrote me that welcome letter, yep you guessed it. Goodwell is in grade 8! Coincidence, I think not!

GOD IS GREAT!

Please continue to show the love by responding our posts, and continually praying for our team! We love you all and thank you for the constant support!

After telling Goodwell that I was going to be his sponsor 

Kim and Yanga, one of the Matrics

Rachel and Nwabisa, one of the star performers from the Bible Rap Off

God Is My Rock

Hi Dear Family and Friends- This is Jan and I am the Senior member of the team by several decades!

We have had another day here to Trust in the Lord and not lean on our own understanding. Some of us went into Sweet Home today (I keep calling it Sweet Water in error due to my incredible ability to mess up words). We met with some of the CHEs and Danielle did a very informational workshop for them on First Aid and CPR. We also had the opportunity to do a home visit and pray for a man raising his four children after the death of his wife.

Our spirits are good and our prayer times together are encouraging. We have found our prayer times to be really moving and we are trusting on the power of the spirit more and more. We have made prayer a even bigger part of what we are doing here and as a result we are praying for students, staff, house parents, each other and anyone that we encounter. The remainder of our team stayed here at Bridges to do some organizing and chores. We had our afternoon workshops with the great Bridges students. Russell led us in line dancing and we all had a blast. The big hit dance was the Wobble and we got everyone up for that! We also had an Art workshop for the students and offered a Spiritual elective for students who wanted to dig deeper with the Rock Harbor prayer model. A couple students showed up for the elective and it was encouraging to see their desire. Even after the elective ended, some students came to Kim and Danielle and asked for more prayer. It is amazing to see their willingness to pray for one another and also receive prayer.

Evening Devotional was taught by Taylor and he did a great job sharing his story with all of the Bridges Kids. God is my Rock was his theme and he was on fire! The students were receptive to what Taylor was speaking about and God's words appeared to resonate in their hearts.

Each day is fast and sometimes the pace is a little furious, but our team holds each other together and the Lord is giving us strength every day. Your prayers and comments mean so much to us.

P.S. I have to wish my sweet daughter Hannah a Happy Birthday! Happy 20th Hannah, I miss you and love you. Have a super great day!!!

Church and Prayer Training

Jared here!  

Sorry for the delay in reports but we were all so tired last night!  

Let me start by saying yesterday was one of the most unforgettable days for me.

Due to transport issues the students do not attend a church on Sundays so when teams come we have the privilege of doing church service together.  I had the opportunity to give the message, which was something I had been looking forward to since we got here.  My message was about suffering and how we serve a suffering savior who came to this earth and experienced pain just like us, for us.  I had planned to speak on this topic already but throughout the past week it became apparent how relevant this topic would be as we had a student lose a brother, another an aunt and another share with me about anger and thoughts of suicide.  The topic was relevant and very sensitive and I began to feel that weight.  Before starting the service the team prayed over me for about 10 or 15 minutes and I experienced the Holy Spirit in a way I never had and just started to cry.  We were already behind schedule so I tried to pull myself together and get the service started.  Worship just made me feel more emotional and as I started to speak and explain why I looked like a mess I started crying AGAIN!  You're probably all feeling as awkward reading this as I felt standing up there.  Eventually, we got to the message and the Spirit really moved!  All of the students were so attentive and at the end we had a response time where about 8 students made either first time commitments to follow Jesus or rededicated their lives!  It was AMAZING!

That great morning was followed by an unbelievable afternoon.  We did a two hour prayer training where we walked through the Rock Harbor prayer model and then practically pray for one another.  We talked through the "Why?" and "How?" of prayer and then before starting the practical we did something pretty unconventional for academy programming.  We told the students that this next portion was completely optional and we only wanted students to stay if they were fully committed to confidentiality and really going for it in the practical.  Thus far this has been the only optional class they've had and the room cleared out.  There were about 5 students left and I was left feeling disappointed.  As we began to circle up students started to come back into the room until there were 25 students (half of the student body)!  The culture here is very private and repressed and no one shares about their feelings or likes to show vulnerability.  We took a leap of faith and asked if there was a student that would like to be prayed for as we go through the prayer model.  Silence... awkwardness... more awkwardness... finally, Unathi, a grade 12 volunteered and stepped into the middle.  We explained that this is not practice or just pretend but we are actually praying for Unathi and invited everyone to participate.  As we started to pray it was mostly just our team at first but then a student shared a very powerful picture.  It was tough to see how Unathi was responding to the different pictures, scriptures and words because she was hiding her face so much but then she just started sobbing.  The room completely changed after that.  Most of these students have been through such incredible hardship and have shared how they don't trust anyone to share this stuff with and it was like hearts were getting cracked open and there was a huge release.  We then split up into groups of three where students and team members took turns praying for one another.  One by one they started to receive and then cry.  It was one of the most powerful times of ministry I've ever been a part of and to know how important it is to them to hide their emotions and vulnerability made their reactions that much more significant.  As we concluded there was such a joy and excitement that filled the room!

Sunday concluded our first full week of ministry and we enjoyed dinner with some of the long term missionaries, the Kamalskis and the Babbs.  We also had today off to stop by one of the local game parks to see some animals - it was a much needed day of rest as our team was really run down.  Tonight as we all reflected on the past week we were all struck by the powerful ways we've seen God move, especially through prayer.  Prayer has been such a significant marker for us ever since we all went through prayer training together and has continued to unite us as a team.  I would ask you guys to please pray against spiritual attack and spiritual warfare in the community of Sweet Home and at Bridges.  I've experienced spiritual warfare here unlike anything I've ever felt before and know that there is a battle for this place.  I can see God softening hearts and I just pray that there continues to be an openness to the spirit.  Back in Sweet Home tomorrow!

Thank you for your words of encouragement and for praying for us!  Your comments make our day!  :)

Here is a team pic from a day off!

Quick update / Full stories tomorrow!

Hi family and friends!
We have had an AMAZING and crazy busy day filled with Church, prayer training, and dinner with the chaplain and long term missionary from Rock Harbor- Chris Kamalski. We have a 6:30AM call time tomorrow morning...eeeek so early... so, we will wait to tell you ALL about our day in tomorrow's blog. Thank you for your prayers and support! We love you all!
Mom, Dad and furry friends how's it going?  I miss you! <3

Julie

CHE Retreat

Hey family! Chalane here. Someone apparently made a mistake because with the weather we're having there's no way it's winter here! God blessed us with another beautiful and warm day to start the CHE retreat. Late last night the CHE's arrived, army of kids and all. The team split up to speak to the academy students and the CHE's while others took turns attempting to occupy the CHE's children. Though the kids were a handful - the language barrier didn't help - they are so cute (pictures to come!). There were moments when all the kids were crying for their mamas but we wanted to offer the CHE's a chance to relax and feel taken care of. I'm not sure how we would have survived without Ellyn's magic way with kids and all Jeff's experience. The first block of the CHE retreat was awesome! Russell's lesson in encouragement came with a feet washing for the CHE's from him, Rachel, Sarah, Jared, Danielle and Karissa. The women were so overwhelmed that they decided to then return the act of washing feet. Rachel mentioned it was a highlight moment of the trip so far: to see the body of Christ serving one another. Jeff and I spoke at the second session of the retreat: I spoke on identity in Christ and Jeff on spiritual gifts. At one point we gave the women a discussion and share time which led to an interesting debate about animal sacrifice. Just FYI many Christians in South Africa struggle giving up ancestral worship and traditions, including animal sacrifice. Since the topic is clearly important but also very sensitive, it was awesome we could open the door to addressing rituals. And even though I was leading the session at the time, I was so grateful that Taylor, Jeff and Kate were there to help answer questions and offer scripture to back up our claim that animal sacrifices are no longer necessary. It was clear the Holy Spirit was with us helping us because things were a little tense and intimidating but I'm so glad we pressed into it together. You can be praying for the CHE's (and the students) to find a balance between culture and following Christ!

While the CHE retreat was going, Abby shared her testimony with the academy students and talked with them about trusting God with your body. This is a really big topic for the students so Abby's openness in sharing was really impactful. Jan did a great job speaking later with them about trusting God and how each of us as Christians are leaders (the kids adore Jan). After hanging out with the kids later at the bon fire (we even had s'mores!) they unanimously expressed how much they enjoyed the speakers and their stories they shared. We pray all the devotions and lessons we do with the students really gets their wheels turning. And we want to continue to pray that the students can learn to trust each other and the staff enough to share personal things so they can receive prayer and guidance.  Plus there's healing in talking and many of the kids don't feel they have anyone they can really share big stuff with. But we're gettin' there! 

We ended the night in a really neat way by getting to pray for Sisanda, who recruits and trains CHE leaders and runs after-school programs and support groups for orphans in four different townships. In other words, she does A LOT to serve God and is still incredibly joyful and kind despite her enormous work load! AND she's a mother. She just looks at you with the love of Jesus. It's truly been a blessing meeting her. Please pray for her! Pray that God would continue to be her strength and would bless her abundantly for all the good work she does. Being the saint she is, Sisanda expressed how much this retreat meant to the women and even said they feel like "princesses." Pause for tear. What a day of blessing and being blessed!

Thanks for all your prayers and support! And please do comment - we all love to hear from you :) The encouragement means so much!

Love you all,

Chalane.

True Talents

Hey Everyone its Jeff,

      Today marks a week from leaving home and also the big talent show. (FYI our team has been working on a dance routine for weeks and we Brought It!) Ill get to that later.. We put together an appreciation lunch for all the staff here at Bridges. We had all the students take time to write words of encouragement to each one and gave it to them over salad and pizza. It was the first time we had the opportunity to really meet and get to know the staff. This team of teachers and administrators not only sacrifice many comforts, but have devoted themselves to these kids to give hope in Christ and a future outside the townships. They give them confidence to move beyond their own expectations. Long story short.. THEY ARE AMAZING and deserve much more than what we can offer.

 As I mentioned, tonight was the big talent show. So much fun! We have been practicing a dance routine to One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful". We received a standing ovation (even though I personally stood in the back and pretended to know what I was doing) The students got to share their talents tonight with us and blew us away! These students have talent that needs to be seen and heard beyond the gates here at the Academy.

      After the talent show we had a dance party in the dining hall. Taylor and Russell led the kids in the "The Wobble" and the students started a drum line on the tables. I joined in to show my mad table drumming skills until I found out there not supposed to drum on the tables.. Sorry Bridges Staff! While the others were dancing I looked around the room and found one of the students who wasn't dancing. When I asked him why he wasn't dancing he didn't respond. I could tell that something was wrong and didn't feel apart of the group. I picked up a notepad and a pen and sat next to him and in my best Simon Cowell impression I said "Absolutely Dreadful!" I got a smirk and he joined right in. After he grabbed his own notepad, we turned the dance floor into an audition for our own talent show. We had the best time scoring everyones dance moves and even pulled people aside to ask "Why do you think you should be the next star of our new show?" Definitely made a new connection tonight and cant wait to follow up with him these coming days.

    Tomorrow marks the first day of the CHE retreat and we spent the rest of the night getting together notes and materials for the weekend. We would love prayer for all of us who are teaching The CHE's and the students this weekend. Pray for open hearts and open minds to the teachings. That we are filled with the Holy Spirit while we deliver the wisdom and hope of Jesus Christ. We love you all and love your comments and encouragement. Please respond so we can hear from you. We look forward to reading your comments every night.

Cant wait to write about tomorrow! Talk to you soon,
Jeff

 

     

Day 4: Building Bridges

Hey there! Karissa and Danielle here (we both want to shout out to our loved ones...We miss you and love you!). Today was another beautiful day in South Africa. God has truly blessed us with perfect weather so far, we were all in t-shirts (and some even in shorts)!

This morning we went to Sweet Home again, and this time Russell, Karissa, Sarah, Rachel, and Danielle shared about Jesus' Life, Death, and Resurrection. After hearing the story, we invited the kids into a prayer to accept Jesus into their hearts! For the rest of the time in Sweet Home, a group of us stayed with the kiddos and enjoyed singing songs, dancing, playing games, and just having a good 'ol time. We have been blessed with a team that works well together, willing to help out whenever needed. While they stayed back, the five of us, Kim, and three CHE's (Community Health Evangelists) went on a home visit to one of the shanties a few blocks away. This shanty belonged to a man and woman and consisted of a small "home" with a dirt floor, wooden benches, and one twin mattress in a corner. With next to nothing in their possession, they were so welcoming to us, inviting us to sit on all their benches and chairs. Here we were able to pray over a woman with a lesion on her right knee and a man who was still feeling ill after a major surgery. Their openness and vulnerability with strangers was a special moment where we could feel the Lord's presence. The people in Sweet Home are very receptive to us and in deep need for love. Even the smallest acts of kindness mean the world to them. During the past three days, even with a language barrier, our team has been able to form special bonds with these children. After two days of searching for the unforgettable smile, Rachel was reunited with her "screensaver" kid from two years ago. Kate too made a special bond with a child, Azele, who has come back each day to Kate's arms to hear about Jesus (she might just come home with him in her suitcase). As we left the township, our hearts were broken as the kids ran after the cars crying.

This afternoon was filled with another day of after school activities, including baking, latin dancing, dodgeball, and of course, BUNCO! Needless to say, it was a very fun and tiring (for us leaders) afternoon! During our devotions tonight, Jan shared her testimony and was able to break through to some of the students. She provided an opportunity for the students to open up to us and talk about how faithful God is during hard times. Through her powerful story, God was definitely at work building trust between us and the students. We (Danielle and Karissa) were talking to a group of girls during small group time, and when we asked them questions about times in their lives where they saw God's faithfulness, they shut down. We have no idea about the constant struggles and hurt they face. Tonight we also learned that in the South African culture that it is unknown to share feelings and talk about what is going on in one's life. In fact, journaling is foreign to South Africans because of the fear of someone reading their stories. In a further attempt to break down these barriers, Danielle asked them, what they think about us when they see us? They told us that we have perfect lives, we drive nice cars, and have a great place to live, and this hit us like a ton of bricks. I think all of us would agree that these kids have asked us "the right questions", the questions we ourselves don't want to answer. We have come here to minister to them and yet they are the ones ministering to us. Please pray that seeds would be planted and that we would not be discouraged but rather rejoicing in the fact that God is victorious!

At the Academy, they have "house parents" who look after the kids, cook meals for them, and speak into their lives. Since we arrived here on Sunday, we have all noticed what a difficult job this would be. These house parents are in charge of enforcing the rules and thus are under appreciated. However, despite their challenging role, they exude joy and love the kids with a Christ-like love. Our team has been blown away by how well they care for these students. Tonight we had a unique experience to pray over the "house dad", Mthobeli as he headed home for some much needed rest. In one of our activities, Karissa had the students write encouraging notes to the staff at Bridges. One student said that Mthobeli "seeks God until the end of this universe". It is such a blessing to be able to support the staff and come along side them in prayer.

Our last thought to share with you before we try and grab a few hours of sleep is a request. We ask that you would pray for Bridges. Pray for the spiritual battle going on here for both the hearts of its students and for the work that the Lord is doing here. God is reigning in this place and with that comes unhappiness from the devil. He is hard at work to try to thwart God's plan. Pray for our team as we face these battles and pray for the students. They have gone through more than we can even imagine and the wounds are deeper than any of us can see, only God knows the depths.

Tomorrow is the start of a busy weekend full of retreats for both the CHE's and students! God has so much planned and we cannot wait to see what He does! We have so much planned and would greatly appreciate a showering of prayers- for strength, health, energy, and more of His Spirit. We are so thankful for your support and prayers! We miss you all!

Day Three: "A Visually Beautiful Day"

Ben Maxson here, apparently Sweet Home has a best actor of the day award and it appears I have won it! Best supporting actors were Abby and Ellen Taylor. VBS today was about forgiveness which was conveyed through the story of Joseph and the technicolor coat and it was indeed a technicolor coat until Joseph's (Ben) brothers (Abby and Ellen) ruthlessly ripped it off. After the story we helped each little tike to make their very own technicolor coat. Afterwords we blew colored bubbles into the air for all the tikes to catch on white paper, in the words of Jarebear,"It was a very visually beautiful day". We were all taken aback at how the kids could be so enthusiastic and excited about something that we thought was so ordinary for over 30 minutes. The whole experience really put the cultural differences into perspective and I think we all feel incredibly grateful to have all that we have back at home. I was personally shocked at how the little tikes held onto every word of God's story as it was acted out and then translated into Xhosa. The power of worship was clearly evident in Sweet Home today as we all sang Father Abraham and many other classics. With each song that we sang more kids poured into the small shack wide-eyed and ready to experience God, maybe even for the first time.

It was a great start even before we headed out for Sweet Home with Jared leading morning devotions. His message was focused on being the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It reminded us all to step out of our comfort zones, to not lead double lives and challenged students and staff alike to be examples of Christ. By the end of the night we had amazing conversations with the students that the message resonated in their hearts and in their minds. (Happy 7 months Kiana! ok you can go on reading now)

Hey y'all it's Sarah here! Being able to spend the past three afternoons with the Academy kids after school has been such a blast. They bring loads of energy for every activity that we drag them through and we exchange laughter the entire time. One thing that we have been praying for as a team is that God move in these kids' hearts to feel comfortable to share with us as strangers. And man has He! It's easy for us, or anyone on a missions trip, to go with the expectancy that we will minister to them but today was a sweet surprise. During dinner time I sat with a 12th grade boy named Sibu, who was interested in hearing about my family and all the names and faces of my siblings. As I began talking about my family, thinking that I would be speaking into his life, Sibu jumped right in and spoke about his culture. He shared how they have to do absolutely whatever it takes to make their relationships work. Hearing him phrase it just that way hit me hard and caused me to take a look at my own life. It challenged me to evaluate my relationships and ask God to help me pursue restoration and forgiveness. Sibu continued to talk and ask me if I felt that any broken relationships were hindering my walk with God. Boy, was he asking all the right questions haha! Sibu told me that he would be praying for me and my relationships and that he couldn't wait until tomorrow to spend more time talking about God. It's crazy to think that I walked into dinner ready to be a listening ear to someone, but yet God had other plans, and this amazing high school boy was challenging my own faith.

Hey everyone, it's Ellen T. now (hello to my loved ones out there)! Tonight after I dinner I was able to share my testimony and how God has been my strength these past few years with the students at the Academy. At the beginning of the trip I was scheduled to share my testimony on this particular night, but God revealed His perfect timing in a way I didn't expect. In high school I lost someone close to me, and this difficult time pointed me to Christ. I've grown to trust that God is sovereign in all situations, even when we can't always understand why bad things happen. Today, only 3 or 4 hours before I was to share my testimony, our team learned that one of the 12th grade girls just found out her brother passed away. Finding this out and knowing that each of these kids have experienced some sort of tragedy at a young age compelled me to spend a couple of hours praying and preparing to share how God is our refuge and strength during times of heartache and struggles. After I shared my testimony, the students broke into small groups led by the team members. Some of the groups shared that we wouldn't need God is everything was perfect and easy, and that we have to trust that God has a perfect plan for our lives, even when we don't understand why bad things happen. After the small group time, the girl who lost her brother today came up to me and quietly said, "Thank you for sharing". It took everything in me to not cry! She was there at the devotion time and even through the pain, she praised God through singing the worship songs. It was one of those simple, yet powerful moments where I felt that God was using a very difficult time for a greater purpose.

Everyone on the team is looking forward to the rest of our time both at Bridges of Hope Academy and in Sweet Home! It has been incredible to to see these kids and students push forward in life with smiles on their faces despite all they've been through. Please keep Yanga, the student who lost her brother today, in your prayers.


We love you all, thank you for the continued support!!

Day 2: First Day in Home Sweet Home

Hello all! It's Chalane here :)

Good news...we survived our first day in Sweet Home! Thank you all so much for praying over this day, it was definitely a blessed day! For starters, the weather forecast for today had predicted a high of 60 degrees but after a prayerful night and cold morning we arrived in Sweet Home to blue skies and warm sunshine! It was awesome to see nearly 60 kids pour into a small, one room shanty house eager to sing and play at the Vacation Bible School we put on.  Ellyn did a great job telling "The Big God Story" of creation to the kids while Jeff got super into the sing-alongs.  Even though most of the children don't speak English (we had the help of a translator to tell the story) the entire team jumped into the madness as kids laughed, jumped and climbed all over us.  Since we were severely out-numbered by the army of little ones we each had three or four children hanging on us at all times.  You could really feel how desperate the kids were for attention and affection.  One little boy in particular made me his best friend! This cute little 2-year old boy with busted shoes and tattered clothing had the most joy and energy! Though he left my side a few times to jump on the other team members he always seemed to come back to me, melting my heart. Even when my arms were dying and I put him down, he would sit on my feet and just lean against my legs. I'm not the only one, though. We all had kids literally cling to us, refusing to let us leave. It's my prayer for these children that even in their poor living situation and unstable households, they would know that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them so much. We may not be able to fix all their problems but I pray we can communicate the hope of Jesus to them.

Later, back at the Academy, I had the pleasure of teaching a Latin dance class! The students and I had SO much fun being silly while gettin' down! It felt so great to have a love of dance in common with the kids. All the while Kim led a baking session, Julie led dodgeball and Jan ran bunco with the students (Bunco was a surprisingly huge hit!). After dinner, Kate headed up devotions. Her vulnerability in sharing her testimony heeded great discussion and openness from both the students and our team. Needless to say, we all bonded :) I have to take a moment to brag about God because He totally pulled me through a potentially awkward conversation with a student: the student expressed to me how he felt bored in his faith. He was honest about not feeling blessed and feeling like his prayers are pointless. At that moment the Holy Spirit brought encouraging words and one of my past situations to mind to share with him. I recently attended a conference where they spoke on boredom in your faith - crazy God coincidence! I just felt so blessed tonight by how God has prepared me for this trip - He is SO good!! Thank you again for all of your prayers! Love you all!
PS - To those of you who know how much I love the outdoors - the mountains here are GORGEOUS!! (You know how happy that makes me:) )


What's up guys, it's Julie!

I was really hesitant to write on the blog but we had such a great day I decided I had to share some stories!  As Chalane said, all the kids were jumping and climbing on us and I loved every minute of it even the minute when a kid got so excited he pee'd on my lap!  And I know Chalane was too embarrassed to share it earlier but I HAVE to tell you that she was a victim of a toddler's excitement as well!  But in all seriousness it was so good just to sit and pour our love into each and every one of these children.  It seemed like these kids were just really starved for affection and we were all so happy to share God's love!

Later that afternoon Jared pulled Jan, Abby, Ben, Ellen and me to go do some home visits and pray for people.  As we were leaving the first house a woman started shouting at us in Afrikaans and honestly I thought she was crazy.  After we passed her we asked one of our translators what she was saying.  He said she was asking why we were visiting other people and not talking to her, so we decided to turn around and asked if she wanted prayer.  She immediately started opening up and shared her requests and problems that she wanted prayer for.  Her main requests were her son who has been missing for 8 months, needing a job and how miserable she was dealing with her struggles.  As we laid hands on her and started praying she fell to her knees, started wailing and collapsed in our arms.  We all held her and I was literally weeping with her in the middle of the street.  We affirmed her of God's love for her and I kept telling her how she is God's beautiful daughter and that He would never leave her or forsake her. My heart broke hearing her story and seeing how she owned nothing. It was so amazing to see how she was so overcome with joy just from being comforted and prayed for.  I know that God placed us in that exact place just to be with her in her pain. I would love for you to keep her in your prayers.
Mom and Dad, I love and miss you so much! <3


Hey it's Sarah here!!! Just wanted to say a quick HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my baby sister Molly!!!! I hope you enjoyed your SWEET 16. Love you to death :)

Day 1: Travel Bloopers and Purity Rings

Hey Everyone

Jared here!  First off, let me apologize to all you parents who have been anxiously looking to hear how your kids are doing!  After 38 very long hours, a delayed flight and a missed flight... we made it!  In our exhaustion there were some pretty funny things done and said.  Julie asked her travel buddy, Danielle if "people still make fake passports?" in front of the TSA.  Kate took over handling Julie's passport after that.  Taylor fell asleep on Russell's tray table.  Julie cuddled her non-english speaking stranger seat neighbor lady.  Ellen was almost the middle of a luggage cart sandwich.  Kim ran over a large sign with her luggage cart that then fell on a man.  Jan fell on the luggage scale.  Kate and Sarah were practicing their "tripod headstands" and "downward dog" IN THE TERMINAL (Yoga Moves).  I made the poor decision of watching "The Call" on the flight and had to take a few laps (I hate scary movies and home invasions).  Jeff left his guitar at every airport; sometimes twice (taking bets on if he comes home with his guitar or not).  Chalane tried to force her coloring book onto a crying child.  Not interested.  Some people eat when they're bored; Ben shops.  At Muji (great Japanese goods with gel pens).  Karissa watched SEVEN movies.  Ellyn's water bottle exploded at 30,000 feet (think fountain) all over Rachel.  All the while Abby had a great couple nights sleep and feels quite rested.

In reflecting on it, we actually had a great time traveling!  The team is in great spirits and the kids have really embraced everyone right away.  My favorite part about coming back is getting to build on relationships that I've made over the last few years and I've been blown away at how much they remember from my last visits.  One girl at dinner asked me how my brother Kenny was?  I was really confused and asked how she knew my brother and she just said she remembered me telling her about my two brothers last year!  Very excited to be heading into Sweet Home tomorrow!  Handing the keyboard over to Ellyn now to share about some ways we've begun to see God move!

Airport Shenanigans.

////////

Hi everyone! It's Ellyn. (Dad, I am safe!!) So, we've finally made it to Bridges. The country of South Africa is so beautiful and totally not what I expected of Africa. It is very green, there's no smog, and so far we haven't seen any lions (haha!). One funny moment so far was when we were walking back to where we are staying from the school and we looked up at the stars. Most of us haven't seen that many stars before and some people were thoroughly convinced that some of the stars had to be satellites (Southern California people).

Anyways, this morning during our devotion time, the counselor at the Academy shared with us that because of the culture in South Africa, sexual promiscuity is common and it is almost unheard of to save sex for marriage. The Academy has enforced strict rules with the kids about maintaining sexual purity, but they have still had a few issues arise, especially in the past three weeks. So, the counselor asked our group to look for opportunities to share with the kids about sexual purity. Our group began brainstorming of ways we could incorporate this important issue into the programs we had planned for the students. We did not expect, though, that the topic would come up so naturally in conversation.

As many of the girls on our team do, I wear a purity ring on my left ring finger to symbolize my commitment to maintaining sexual purity. I have worn this ring since I was thirteen and I cannot recall someone ever asking me what it meant. However, today, I was asked about its meaning twice! As I was sitting at lunch with three of the academy students, one of the oldest boys randomly asked me, "Ellyn, why do you wear that ring on your finger? What is it for?" My jaw almost hit the floor. I was absolutely shocked that I did not have to do anything to bring up the issue of maintaining sexual purity! From there, I was able to share the reason behind my ring and my heart behind it - I have made a commitment to the Lord to stay sexually pure until marriage. The same thing happened at dinner - this time I was sitting at a table with five girls. Although the rules at the Academy encourage the kids to stay pure, I could tell that they were touched by my commitment and I pray that it would motivate them even more to refrain from sex before marriage. This is just a sampling of how we have seen God working through us here. If this is day one, just imagine what He is going to be doing by our last day in country!

Also during our devotion time, the counselor shared with us how all of the students ended up there. Every student at the Academy is considered an "orphan or vulnerable child", meaning both of their parents have passed away or they were abandoned by their parents. She also told us that every single child here has been a victim of some sort of abuse. Obviously, hearing this broke our hearts and opened our eyes to how important our time in South Africa had the potential to be. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would give us the words to say as we help these children cope and listen to their stories. Because of the focus on academics and limited staff at the Academy, the staff shared how difficult it can be to program fun activities for the kids. As a result, many of the students have complained that they don't have enough fun. So, as a team that loves to have fun, this has been a great way for us to support the staff and students. Oh, the fun we have had so far with these kids!!!

Last night and today we have had such a great time connecting with the students at the academy. Thank you for your prayers in that area and please continue to pray for those relationships to grow! We quickly bonded over Justin Bieber, celebrities, and imitating each other's accents. We started our first day of after school programming with the kids today and had a blast. Rachel taught a Zumba class (I wasn't there, but I heard that the kids were MUCH better than us leaders, surprise surprise), Karissa led the kids in a craft, Kate helped the kids decorate their own personal frames, and I was in charge of field games. One of the highlights of the day for everyone at the field game station (but not me), was watching me run around when I was "it" during link tag. I could not catch anyone for 5+ minutes and one of the girls even told me that I should wake up and run laps tomorrow because I was so slow (embarrassing!!). Needless to say, it was so much fun getting to know a little bit about these kids' lives and loving on them for the day.

Tomorrow, we start VBS in Sweet Home, a township in Cape Town. This will be the first time most of the kids will ever hear the Gospel, so pray for the Holy Spirit to move supernaturally in that place!

Please comment on our post - show some love!! We would love to hear how you are praying for us and what the Lord is doing in your heart as you support and pray for our team. Also, most of the girls (and Taylor) are dying to hear about what happened on the Bachelorette tonight.  :)

We love South Africa!!

Classic "girls picture"

Jumping for joy!