Inner-city Pretoria
Thursday, February 26, 2009
I feel like I am becoming authentically South African. I played touch rugby with a few guys this evening. It was pouring down rain, so it kept quite a few away, but I enjoyed the workout. It is actually a pretty easy game, the main rule is you can only throw it backwards. Once you are tagged, the possession switches. I felt like I improved quite a bit from when I first stepped on the field. As for the boys today, one of our classes was geography. They almost all knew where South Africa was, but a decent percentage who were from Zimbabwe, could not even tell me where their country was located. A little disappointing, but it does make us feel like we are significantly helping their educational process. By the way, the tuck shop dollars are working miracles. The kitchen worker said that they boys have never volunteered to help as much as they do now. The guys who checks for cleanliness, also shared the same sentiment. Nothing like giving them a little incentive to earn a cool drink and sweets that begins to change the culture of the shelter.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
We received Princess back with open arms. She had a lot wrong with her and cost quite a bit, but it is nice to have our own transportation back. As for ministry, I was assigned to bath duty this evening. I am proud of our ministry for giving the opportunity for people to come and bath. Actually, they will be using the bathtub for a few baptisms this weekend. As for Jo, she was in charge of the kitchen. She really enjoys the time that she gets to spend with boys from the shelter who serve every Wednesday and Friday. A quick funny story from Michael who was serving there. Michael owns two dogs at the shelter, Tiger and Snoop Dog. He says that he is their father. As I pulled in the shelter today, I saw Michael with a field hockey stick. I asked him if he was going to play and he say, no, I am going to beat up the people who stole my dogs. He promised not to use it, but keep on walking and sure enough, he got his dogs back from another shelter down the street.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tonight was the opening of the tuck shop (concession stand). Every boy was given 10 dollars to begin, but most spent all of their earnings on their first night. We did have a rather interesting sub plot to the tuck shop, a boy acquired a good stack of money without earning it. Many around the house began stealing it and bargaining for this money. However, we cut a little corner in the real money, so slight to the naked eye, that we were able to recognize counterfeit. So, when they came in line, we gave it to them, like a normal bank, they looked surprised. Overall, they really enjoyed it. It has created a nice buzz around the house, boys do extra things that they normally would not do for the chance of earning some dollars. Also, for those who are willing to save, the likes of a new pair of tennis shoes, t-shirts and other larger items are available for purchase. All we have to do now is get them to form a correct que (line) so that it is not as chaotic. Based on what I have seen in fast-food places though, we are facing an uphill battle.
Monday, February 23, 2009
We thought that we had a brilliant idea for sports this week, but it fell flat on it's face. A semi-professional rugby player has volunteered to help with the ministry. We thought that the boys may like to the sport of rugby. After explaining the rules to touch rugby, chaos began. They apparently did not want to play touch and started tackling each other. Also, the one rule in rugby is that you must throw the ball behind you, well, they didn't care much for that, and they were throwing the ball everywhere. Quickly, we realized that this was not going to work. I decided to be creative and we would play a new game, instead of passing, they would kick the rugby ball and try to get it to their end-zone and if they could catch the ball in the air passed the goal-line, it was a score. Nothing happening with that, so they got they got to play soccer for longer. It honestly may have been there intention the whole time. As for those of who are curious about our marriage, we had a great date tonight. Maybe because we had a nice meal and avoided ramon noodles and the like, but we to a really cool Japanese restaurant and saw Changeling, which was probably out at home months ago.
Friday, February 20, 2009
I have to say how surprised I was with how busy the day was. We had plans to tow our car African style into the mechanics this morning. We had help from another guy who knew what he was doing, but the whole thing just made me nervous. We used a Land Cruiser with a lot of power and tied a tow rope on the hitch to princess. Then we just drove. The only thing is that since our engine wasn't running the brakes on our car didn't work that well....or hardly at all. I thought we would have a very crunched Princess by the time we got there. I was very thankful when we made it with no problems into the mechanics. We made it back to our place just in time to leave again for the boys to play soccer. They have a special match every few months where they play against a prestigious high school. The boys love it and I think a lot of our boys skipped the afternoon of their school to come and play. We drove the cruiser with about 13 boys piled in. It is a highlight for the boys though. I think the highlight of the day for me though was to hear Tony Campolo speak. We attended a conference called "Missions Fest" and he was the keynote speaker. He was so funny. It was so refreshing to laugh so hard.
Thursday, February 19,2009
This morning we had English and Maths. We only had about 7 boys attend our program because the rest needed to go to the dentist. It was a nice small group and I (Jo) got to focus specifically on one boy who did not even know the alphabet. We learned it and I am hoping that he remembers it next week. We changed up the program from last week and decided to teach geography. We learned the 7 continents and 5 oceans and colored maps. The boys seem to enjoy coloring a lot!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
This morning, Princess (our car) must have felt our lack of affection. This was the first Wednesday since we have bought her that she did not go in for repairs. So while we were on the highway, she just decided to stop working. It stalled, no longer did my gas pedal work and we safely made it to the side of the road. Eventually we got a number for a tow truck and made it safely home. And it was a reasonable rate of $25, so we were extremely thankful. Be praying for our car, it has just been a pain in the rear and we are ready to kick it. I guess we got what we paid for. As for the coffeehouse, nothing to special. I did have a rather interesting conversation with one of the guys about witch doctors who have meetings under water. No joke, apparently, many witness them going into the river and coming out days later. Honestly though, the conversation was very much hit and miss because of his broken english, but most live with an entirely different view of the spiritual/demonic world. I am always left curious and questioning.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
For games this week, we tried teaching them Yahtzee. It did not work quite as well as I (Jo) thought. The boys just didn't seem patient enough for their turn or they would cheat and try to get high numbers on the dice by rolling a certain way. Tonight was the introduction of the "tuck shop." This is a store that sells little candy, cool drink and other random goods that we might get donated. We made fake money for the tuck shop which they can earn by helping out or doing something special during a program. The boys are very excited about this. I had put some of the money into a pencil case for "safe keeping" to give to the caregivers to give out. At some point during the evening a boy stole the pencil case with some of the money we had made. In order to find out who took the money, we cut the corners of all the other money we made and so now we will be able to find out who stole the money because it will have all four corners. Hopefully we can find out next week.
Monday, February 16, 2009
This evening I (Adam) lead a Zimbabwe prayer night. We had 7 fellas who joined from the porch and they all happened to be from Zimbabwe. It always amazes me to the condition, as a guy Kendall asked for prayer regarding his mother-in-law who had no other choice but to drink contaminated water. He was fearful that she was contracting cholera. The evening was great, I treated them to a little coffee and cool drink (kool-aid) and they were truly thankful. I also decided that I would spend some time with the guys on the porch by playing games. Tonight, i taught them Yahtzee and Uno. We had a lot of fun and I hope that it was able to get their minds off of the many other things that consume them. As far as the boys, we had our normal bible and sport programs today. They both went well, but we senses a uneasy spirit among the boys. Their are many new ones, maybe half of the 17 that are now in our program. Their was so much more fighting, jawing and trouble than previously. I never realized how much of a struggle in can be to develop a christ-like spirit among the house with the amount of turnover that exists in the shelter.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
We have found a church home! It took us a while, but today we visited a very friendly and welcoming church that had great biblical teaching. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the two pastors were Americans. I know that this is not always the case, but we have visited so many African church where the preaching left a lot more to be desired. We are thankful though to have a found a place where we can grow, not only in community but in knowledge which will lead to action of the word. For the evening, we went to Emmanuel, the church where the boys go, and watched the movie Fireproof. It the a movie done by Sherwood Church in Atlanta, they also did facing the giants. It was great and even the boys enjoyed it, which says a lot about a movie.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy Valentine's Day! I (Jo) was pleasantly surprised this morning with flowers and McDonald's breakfast! I was not planning on celebrating but it was great! We had an early morning because we decided to join a team that was going on an outreach today. The outreach was to a place called Stinkwater, which is a township about 1 hour away from Pretoria. We played with about 50-60 kids and gave them juice. A lot of these children are orphaned and/or live in child-headed households. We had the program at a community center where the kids receive meals three times a week from a lady named Suzanne. It was a really cool morning. It was good to spread the love on Valentine's Day.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Adam and I relaxed a bit this morning because we had coffee house (the homeless meal) tonight. We went and saw "Seven Pounds" and I thought it was alright. I have been busy organizing tutors for the boys that attend school and I finally made some progress on it this afternoon. Then I helped cut vegetables for the meal tonight and it was very therapeutic. And finally we had the meal. I jumped around from the kitchen to outside talking and enjoyed considering that we had over 50 volunteers, many of which from a local church, that helped out this evening. Also we received some good news on one of the boys who ran away last week. Thomas has decided to go home, so we were ecstatic, his home visit, but have made him feel homesick.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Today was a day full of programs. We had English and Math in the morning, then showed a movie in the afternoon. On top of that, we picked up a donation that ended up being so large we needed two trips to pick it up. We are really thankful for the church Emmanuel, not only for donations like this, but their involvement with the boys. They shuttle them to church on Sundays and soon will be offering to take them to youth group on Fridays. I (Jo) am really enjoying the boys from the shelter. For example, today I got to help one boy with his homework. I had a chance to to comfort another while he cried because he didn't eat breakfast and another boy came to me to tell me that a boy was throwing clothes out the window to go sell in town. I couldn't help but laugh and then I went to get the clothes. This is my life and I like it.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
So Princess, our car, seems to have trouble weekly. Our tire has been making a funny noise, it sounds as if our tire is going flat, but it isn't flat. So we asked the mechanic of our ministry to check it out. He referred us to another place because our CV joint was broken. We took it in and they checked it out, but said that everything was fine. It absolutely is not though, so we called the first mechanic again and asked for his advice and his response was "drive it until it breaks." So until something else happens, I think that is exactly what we are going to do.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
This morning we were surprised to see that four new boys had come to the shelter. I know that at least two are from Zimbabwe. Today was supposed to be maths day, but since the attendance has been low we thought it would be good to rearrange a bit. So we now have games on Tuesday afternoon. We played Uno and Phase 10. I think that games will be a good thing. One of my favorite things about Tuesdays is the movies. We go to the movies on Tuesdays because they are half price (a whole $0.75). Tonights movie was "The Secret Life of Bees." I thought it was alright, a bit slow at times, but a good movie with a good message. A movie that my mom might really like.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Today was a normal Monday. We had Bible in the morning and I (Jo) think that Adam did a great job on the lesson. Then we played sport with the boys. We played kick ball for the second week and I think that the boys seemed to catch on a bit better this week. Then we played soccer, of course! I am enjoying soccer more every time that we played. The boys tease me because my skills are not up to their level, but we have fun. It is one of our favorite times to hang out with the boys. We did however recieve some sad news, three boys ran away this past weekend. Two were there only for a short time, but one, Thomas, has been there for a month or so. His English seemed to be improving and it just seemed like he was getting comfortable in the shelter. Adam had just gone on his home visit last week. I hope that he comes back!
Friday, February 6, 2009
The coffeehouse was a little crazy this evening. Their is such a lack of leadership, that I (Adam) don't know where to begin to help. I want to be of service and help, but I also don't want to step over my boundaries. For example, the guy who shared the service tonight went on way to long. Nearly 1 and 1/2 hours later, should I say anything. The guy in charge of the coffeehouse was there, but not doing anything. And Jo and I keep getting numerous questions since we live at the coffeehouse. People asking for clothing, bathing, food and especially money daily. Pray for wisdom in these decisions and especially in how to lead from the bottom up considering our role within the coffeehouse.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Jo was a champ today and let me skip out on English in the morning so that I could go on a home visit. For each South African boy that arrives in the shelter, a hope visit is required. They try to access the boy's living situation, if he has a parent and whether it would be wise to send them home. Thomas' house was our visit today. It was a very sad situation, the family of 7 lives on $14 a week. Alies, the volunteer social worker, said that this is one of the poorest houses that she has visited in the 2 years that she has been here. Also, Maths class was a bit of a struggle today. We tried having them plan a vacation anywhere in South Africa. Many of them got stuck on figuring how much gas would cost and then kind of gave up on the whole project.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Today was errand day. We went to pick up a donation after devotionals because it was not ready yesterday when we went. Honestly, calling ahead does not seem to be part of their system, but I am going to try and make sure that it doesn't happen again. We also bought some text books for the boys. Quite a few are required by their school to buy their own. It was a blessing though, because the organization does not have that much money, so we received a donation from a friend for the boy's shelter. It could not have come at a better time, because a little of our money can go a long way here. For the coffeehouse this evening, I (Adam) enjoyed a great evening chatting with new of my new friends from Zimbabwe. I am just saddened to hear their stories, but it urges me to pray so much more.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Today was donation day. I (Adam) spend most of the morning collecting food from two churches in the area. I take a few boys with me, so it is a good chance to get to know them. Where would we be without Princess though, she runs quit a bit. For Maths class, Jo was a bit creative, she had them work on budgeting. It amazed me to see how little they really expect to spend on food. Most our content with a loaf of bread and some soap for a day. Honestly, I think their perception on eating is so different. Going out for a nice meal has not really been an option their entire lives, so when they are given some freedom to choose how they would spend it, it never really enters their mind. Kind of a gift I think.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Jo and I have obtained a visitor for the next week and 1/2. He will pretty much be doing everything with us, eating, traveling, spending his free time with us, so pray for a good connection with him. This morning we taught the boys how the play kickball. We didn't have a regulation kickball, but the soccer ball worked just fine. They seemed to enjoy it. The care givers really loved it. The one thing that was difficult to teach them was to go back to the base when someone in the field caught the ball. I guess I will try that for next week. Oh by the way, Princess recieved her 4th flat tire. In a little over one week, we have had a leaking rim, one tyre (their spelling) with a nail and the most recent with multiple nails. I have looked all around where we drive to see where they are coming from, but to no avail.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Today was a day at the office and to catch up on things. We searched again for school books for the boys and did not have any luck! I am also trying to set up tutors for the boys as well. Tonight, we had another good coffee house (homeless meal). We let 2 or 3 of the boys come to the meal to help serve and I have found it is a great time to get to know them better. I have really enjoyed my time with them!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
I (Jo) taught English class this morning. Since most of the boys are at a very low level of English, I read the book "You are Special" by Max Lucado. Then we practiced the alphabet. Only a few short hours later, I had my math class and only 3 boys came. By the end I had a total of 5. The rest had slipped out of the gate while it was unlocked. I was a bit disappointed, but I think that this might become a norm. I offered to take the boy that turns in the most homework out to lunch, but apparently that wasn't enough of an incentive. Right after our program, the caregiver got Adam because a boy needed to go to the hospital because he was throwing up blood. We went to the ER (or casualties) and our boy had to go sit in the waiting room for the sick people, which smelled like vomit. Then he got a bed and slept for a while. When I went to investigate about him, I was told by the doctor that she had done some tests that would take 4 hours to get back, but that he looked perfect. So thankfully, she let him go and told me she would call my cell phone when she got the results. So our trip to the ER was only 3 hours, instead of 6!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Today was a very rainy day in Pretoria, which exposed another small flaw of Princess. Apparently our one windshield wiper was held together by a small wooden stick. Well after a few minutes of the hard rain, our wiper began to fall off. Fortunately the five of some times that it came off, it still stayed attached to the hook on the one end of the wiper. So, we stopped at the store and now she is bandaged with some tape. Jo and I also attended a parent's night for one of the shelter boys. Unfortunately the teacher seemed to know who he was and was able to pick out shortly into the class that he was probably not from a family. So many of boys struggle in school and our heart breaks for them. They seem to have a hard time fitting in, and also a hard time with Mathematics. For example, we helped a boy Solomon yesterday who is in tenth grade and he stills counts on his hands for addition.
For the evening we served at the coffeehouse. I am still a bit perturbed regarding their organization. The guy who runs it was sick all day yesterday and five minutes before they opened, they asked me to share a message. They had quite a few visitors yesterday, so the number of people was somewhere around a 100 or so. And I desire to do things with excellence and I agree with people's argument about depending on the Holy Spirit for inspiration, but the situation could have easily been addressed at our morning prayer meeting. So, I agreed to share but still struggle with the balance of them being stuck from a lack of organization to wanting things to go well and the homeless men to be exposed to the word of God.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Princess is getting a work out. It is a good thing that we got a car, because now we are doing quite a few errands. First we took James, the boy who was raped, to his counseling session at the local hospital. After that, we took him with us to finish school shopping. Then we grabbed two other boys and went to pick up a soup donation. A nice catholic church has donated soup to the shelter for years, but the boys hate it. Since, no one is able to tell them they would rather not have the donation, each week, someone is required to go and fetch it. Then we taught Maths for the afternoon. Jo does really well with them, i am a little rusty as I accidentally mislead a boy in finding the area of a right triangle this afternoon. We enjoy the time, though it is rather difficult. Our spectrum runs from a few boys who struggle with easy addition to someone who is working on algebra and right triangles. Jo has her work cut out for her. Then for the evening, we were off to see our 75 cent movie. Tonight was "Make it Happen," we were glad that we didn't pay anymore.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Jo and I are becoming quite involved and loving it. Megan has gone home for a few weeks, so we have picked up a few responsibilities. We spent the morning teaching bible and then running sport. After stretching, which was pretty funny because I made them do some old football drills, we had them partake in a relay race. They seemed to enjoy the crab walk, the wheelbarrow and the three-legged race. They were a bit tired after though and even though they can run for miles around a soccer field, they are not in the best of condition. As for the afternoon, we went stationary shopping. Did you know that white out is called teapeaks? Neither did we, so we will be back again tomorrow. Oh by the way, princess decided that she wanted to look at her gas gauge differently. No longer is the glass empty, but it is 1/4 full. For no sane reason, she moved up when we started the car. We haven't filled up in a few days, and our tank is no where near 1/4th, so we have no reasonable conclusion.
Friday, January 23, 2009
This afternoon, I (Adam) had the opportunity to travel with Alies, our volunteer social worker. Our goal was to try and enlist two boys in school. They do schooling a bit different here. You are not assigned by districts, you can go anywhere you want, as long as they accept you. So, we were in Mamelodi, a large township, which will take the boys nearly an hour to travel too. They choose Koketso, a 17 year old boy to begin 8th grade, but would not accept Edwin another 17 year old who has no paperwork of where and when he last finished school. He was highly disappointed and most likely he is left with attending Adult Education (ABET) and potentially a two week skills enrichment course.
As for the evening, I was asked to speak at the coffeehouse. It went rather well. It is a little more involved than what it was while we were on the inner-city outreach. Nearly a full sermon is expected, but I enjoyed sharing. I choose contentment and shared from Phillipians 4:11-13. I can only imagine how tough a message it would have been for them considering that they worry daily about food and clothing. As for conversations, be praying for Thomas. He asked me quite a few questions after the talk, but a guy by the name of Jethro was initially trying to confuse him. He knows his Bible well and kept trying to aggrevate me and even called me a false teacher. I held my tongue, but my prayer is that the truth would stick with Thomas.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Who knew that I (Jo) would become a parent at such a young age?! Tonight, I attended a parent's night at one of the local high schools. Nelson was so excited to have myself and another girl, Alies, attend. We were the only white people there, except for the principals. He was so excited to sing the school and national anthem, but I am not sure how many of the words he actually knew. Earlier this afternoon, Adam and I had our maths class, but only 5 boys attended. Unfortunately, most of the boys had "escaped" because the gate was left unlocked. Two boys came back later in the afternoon, trailing behind one of the workers who had caught them begging at a street corner (which they are not allowed to do). It ended up being a good maths program because we got to focus more on each child that attended. One boy even asked for homework at the end of it. It was a good day!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Princess (Our 94' Fiat Uno) is starting to look more and more like a princess each day. This morning we fixed her breaklights and blinker. Friday we have it scheduled to fix her window. And soon, we will take the nail out of her right rear tire. And we have figured out the engine. Apparently, it is imperative to let an Uno's engine heat up before driving it in the morning. We found out by trail and error because Princess tended to putter for us and stall quite a few times until she got going. In other news, we hung out at the boy's shelter this afternoon for their Art program. Then we tried to gather the one's that go to evening education, it is a quite a chore, because most would rather avoid it. For the evening we were serving at the Coffeehouse. The message tonight was given by a missionary and he concentrated on being born-again. It was great timing because I (Adam) talked with Robert a guy on the street for quite a while last Friday about that very same thing. We prayed last week, but I wasn't quite sure if he understood everything. He was there tonight, front and center, so I was extremely thankful.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Today was Math day, or as they call it here: Maths. As anticipated, the boy's level of math was a little low. Most all of them struggled with easy multiplication and division. Most also had to count on their hands. Jo is currently setting objectives and goals for what we desire over the next four months. The boys seem open to learning, so we hope that our time here will make an impact in this area. As for our other duties, we are beginning to pick up some random activities. We will run a boy named James to the hospital for the next few weeks for counseling. James was dropped off last week at the shelter from the police, he is from Zimbawae and was raped in one of the first few nights here. I also learned the route to pick up donations. To churches in the area donate soup for the coffeehouse and the shelter weekly. Jo and I also planned to attend a cell group of a white church that we like here, but were a little disappointed once we called them for directions and they told us that they moved from Tuesday to Wednesday. With the coffeehouse schedule, we are not quite sure if we will find a smallgroup to get involved in.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Today was our first program that we did at the boys shelter. Every Monday Adam will be teaching God's story line to the boys. The boys involved in the day programs are not placed in schools. We had about 10 boys this morning- two are deaf and one did not speak English. They are a fun bunch of boys, but understanding material can be difficult for them at times. We were talking about creation today and asking the boys what days different things were created on. We asked what was created on day six and one boy responded, "houses."
Sunday, January 18, 2009
This morning we attended the nearby church that Megan and the boys call home. It is right around the corner from us and they shuttle the boys in weekly, so they have a place that they can call home. The experience was a bit interesting. We were definitely the minority, being only Jo, myself and Megan as the white folk. We also struggled with the worship as nearly every one of the 12 or so songs was in another language. We did have fun dancing along though. At one point they sang a song where numerous people came out of their seats to dance down front to the electric slide. No joke, it was the exact same! This was also a lady who blew here whistle constantly in the crowd and the worship leader wore black leather pants. Most wore their Sunday best and genuinely seemed happy to be there. They did not seem to care that the service went for 2 and 1/2 hours.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Today we joined the boy's soccer (futbol) tournament. It sounded like a great idea, but with the hot African sun and the lack of consistent activity that Jo and I have been doing, it made for a soar evening. Overall, it was a blast. I happened to be placed on a winning team, I can't say that I contributed a whole lot, I was personally just trying to hold my own and not do anything stupid. I can't say I know a whole lot, but though they are excellent, their fundamentals aren't quite as sound. I volunteer to play on defense because I thought it would be the best use of my skills, but they said they don't really have positions, they just run after the ball. Though Jo did not enjoy playing as much and only recorded a few minutes of actual game time, it was a great chance for us to get to know the boys. We think we have about 2/3rds of the boy's names down by now. Not too bad considering that some are pretty tough for us Americans.
Thursday, January 15, 2009 and Friday, January 16, 2009
We need a car. So today we went car shopping and since our budget is low, our options were limited. However on the way home, we spotted a white Fiat Uno that was under our price. It must have been a good deal because there was another buyer that was supposed to beat us to it, but they didn't. So on Friday morning, we went with a mechanic to check it out. He gave the go ahead and we snatched it. I really feel like the Lord lead us to this car. He opened a lot of doors that looked closed. Once the car was ours, I followed Adam home and noticed a few things about it, that gave me concern...like the burnt out tail light was just a start. My excitement died a bit. And in an email to my brother, this is how I described it:
"It isn't cool. I question whether it will work in a month, but I think if I pray it will work. So I will be praying a lot for our Fiat Uno (sorry I didn't introduce you). Yes that is right, a Fiat Uno. It is a 94 and it has a plaid interior and no radio at all. Very simple. I was excited about it at first, then when we drove it home...I think my excitement died a little bit because when you dream of a car, you dream of something cool, like Norah my Honda Civic." But we are praising the Lord for how He has provided.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
It is moving day! We moved all of our stuff into "the coffeehouse." It is not what you are thinking. It is more like a soup kitchen that serves two dinners a week on their porch. Many homeless men sleep on the porch of this building. We are living in one of the spare rooms in this building. It is a simple room, but we are doing our best to make it home. It was our first night and we both heard lots of city noises though out the night, but I think we will be able to tune them out soon.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Adam and I spent this morning at the boys shelter. Megan, who is in charge, wanted to go over the rules again with the boys there. Then we helped pass out their school supplies and uniforms. Only 15 out of 30 boys go to school and it is very difficult to place them in schools here. The school boys go to eight different schools and some are very far away. Most schools are government schools, but there are a few private schools that the boys attend. These schools are expensive though and require sponsorships. The boys that do not go to school are at the shelter all day and attend programs run by people like us. Then these boys go to an adult education for about 2 hours a day. You can be praying that all the boys would be placed in schools.
Monday, January 12, 2009
This morning, OM was having three days of prayer and fasting. We attending this morning and I (Jo) enjoyed it very much. The speaker focused on Nehemiah and how he had a burden for rebuilding the walls. He related this to us and asked what is our burden for? What makes your heart break? I encourage you to think about this in your life. This afternoon, we started packing for our move into our new room.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Only a few hours after our friends departed, we were beginning the next step. This morning we met with our organization AL Harvest regarding our role for our time while we are in the inner-city. We were a little unsure of how our time would be spent, but Jo and I both walked away very excited about what we would be doing. I (Adam) will be teaching a weekly bible class for the boys. I am going to go through God's Storyline or what I am calling His Story. Jo will also be teaching, Maths, as they call it here twice a week. We both will hold tutoring sessions twice a week as well. We will also lead a cell group for the boys and are excited about the chance to get to know a few of them very well. Jo and I will also create and run a tuck shop for the boys. It is kind of like a concession stand, where they will be given an allotted amount monthly to buy things and can also earn or lose this money by their actions. We will offer this when we run a movie/fun night once a week. They don't have television or see many movies, so we are excited to share this with them. They just loved Evan Almighty when we showed it last week. As for the coffeehouse, we will serve nearly every Wednesday and Friday and be there to assist in any way that we can. As you can see, we walked away feeling like we will be using our gifts and talents and are excited about our next adventure.
Comments
Robert Huff on Jan 18, 2009
Wow you guys, this is really awesome. It is so cool to see that you are just now getting some things settled, and you've been there around seven months! It just gives such a voice to global missions, and is a real testament to both of you. I still enjoy these very much and cannot wait to hear more. As always, my prayers are with you.
Emily C on Feb 12, 2009
Thank you guys so much for putting in the time to write on this blog nearly every day. I'm glad to have a little window into the things that are happening in your life there. I love you guys and will continue to pray that you guys can continue on with strength and endurance, even in the face of disorganization and tough situations. Grace and peace. :)
Anne Siviour - Australia, from all those years ago on Feb 23, 2009
Johanna & Adam, you continue to be an inspiration to all you meet - just like the rest of your family Johanna, a true Helin!
Our thoughts and prayers remain with you both as you spread the love of God around those so less fortunate than ourselves. May your time in Africa be also a blessing to each of you & I gather you are certainly calling on the strength of God to overcome many setbacks & problems.... Princess being just one of them!!
Love to you both & GHod Bless
Anne, Jamie, Matthew & Damon