still in Pretoria....

Adam Speas on Mar 05, 2009 05:08 AM

Thursday May 7, 2009

This evening was our flight to the UK.  We are heading to visit some friends on the Logos Hope and to check out OM's ministry ship.  We will meet the ship in Belfast, travel with it to Dublin and then fly out from London.  It worked beautifully because our layover was in London anyways.  We are so excited for this last adventure before we will arrive home.   

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Tonight was our final coffeehouse.  A few prayed for our ministry back at home and we got to say our official goodbye.  Fritz told us he is going to miss getting coffee.  Kennedy will miss having breakfast with us and going to the movies.  And many others, it was a sad goodbye and I hope that the next volunteers will be as concerned for the guys on the stoep.  They are difficult at times, but we truly enjoyed the chance to get to know them and help to meet some of their physical and spiritual needs.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Today was our last official evening with the boys.  We were going to throw them a party, complete with a slide show, a video of them dancing, ice cream and cool drink.  Little did we know that they had something special planned for us.  Once we arrived, they began singing and had a drama, song and and a few other things prepared for us.  Two of the other volunteers printed a picture and the boys made a few cards, it was a special evening.  

Monday, May 4, 2009

The guys at the coffeehouse missed us a whole lot.  I woke up to Kennedy and Terrance wanting to take a bath and eat breakfast.  I joined them as they couldn't believe that we will be leaving soon.  I am going to miss some guys quite a bit.  Terrance is 19 and is trying to support his family even though he can barely get by himself.  Kennedy is a bit older and wiser, but still struggles to make a living do odd end jobs while trying to make the best of a difficult situation.  We are truly going to miss the guys from Zimbabwe.  I feel for them and their country.  Jo and I had a chance this evening to have a little fun with our other close Zim friends as we had a pizza party this evening at Lucky, Fungai and Shepherd new one bedroom apartment.  


Saturday, May 2, 2009

Today we experience our first South African wedding.  Let's just say it ran on African time.  It all started with the groomsman showing up an 1 and 1/2 late for their pictures in the morning.  Then the ceremony began an hour late once the groom's mother did not have transport.  The ceremony though went off without a hitch.  Jo even did her step down the isle.  They did spend quite a bit time during the ceremony signing papers, but otherwise, it resembled on much like ours.  The reception on the other hand was quite different.  Their was much singing, much Xhosa (one of South Africa's 11 languages) and a little disappointment from our part.  We enjoyed the evening, but were disappointed that Megan only received 5 gifts at the wedding.  It is customary still to give gifts, but we think that because she was white, other people must have decided that she was rich and not in need of gifts.  Also, only a 150 people came from their expected 250.  Overall the day was beautiful, but we wanted the best for our dear friend.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Today we had the opportunity to catch up with an old friend.  Flo, who actually was the oldest and one of the funniest ladies on our training team.  We met her in a nearby town, East London.  Flo was driving a Volkswagen Beetle that looked like it was from the 70's.   She actually commented how many men find the car attractive, she often asks them how is the women inside of it.  We had a blast catching up with her and she may be heading to Swaziland to help out with the ministry we worked with in the fall.  As for the rest of the day, we helped set up for Megan's wedding.  The reception hall looked beautiful.  We even had KFC for the rehearsal dinner this evening.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Today we traveled 11 hours south to King William's Town.  Johanna will be a bridesmaid in one of our co-worker's wedding.  Megan is the bride, she is from Oregon and marrying a black South African.  We love them both and are so excited to be a part of their day.

 
Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The OM team had a great finish to their outreach.  Today we sent home 3 prostitutes.  It was amazing to see.  The previous evening, it eventually happened that 3 ladies came to the coffeehouse.  I don't know if it was the word had gotten around that their was a way out or something miracoulus, but 3 came back last night and all of them met us this morning and went to the bus station.  We made them a care package and a ministry was there to pick all three of them up in Cape Town.  It was so exciting to see these girls leave the lives they know in hopes of a better life.  One was dating her pimp, another had only been on the streets for a day or two.  I am sometimes amazed to see God's work.


Monday, April 27, 2009

I feel like we are really on the home stretch now.  OM is about to finish up their outreach with us.  I want to tell you about the highlight of my day.  A few months back, I met a girl named Bella.  She is 19 years old and homeless.  She lived under a tarp with her boyfriend in a dangerous area.  She broke my heart.  She was one of very few women who lived on the streets instead of turning to prostitution for a roof over her head.  I had many talks with her over the months and each time told her that I would send her home if she wanted.  She had family about two hours away.  I did not fully understand the situation.  So all I could do was pray for her.  And I did...for months!  Recently an OM team went to a girls shelter and she had checked herself in and she sent a message for me to come and visit.  So today, I went to visit my friend.  She looks great and very happy!  My heart was so full of joy...my prayer for Bella was answered!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

I am amazed at the hospitality that we have been shown.  We have meet some of the coolest people.  This afternoon we were invited to lunch by one of our favorite families.  They have been so generous with their house and inviting us.  They have wonderful food, but better fellowship.  Also, another couple offered us their house while they are out of town.  So we have gotten to stay in a house with a toilet inside!  We had a friend from the States come and stay with us for a night.  We had a wonderful time visiting with them and it was so nice to have a house to stay in.  What a great day and great examples for us on how to host!  

Friday, April 24, 2009

I love going over to people's houses.  It doesn't really matter if I know them or not, I just enjoy it.  Usually it is more comfortable than where I am staying (one room in a house that currently has 55 people there).  We visited with an older couple who is friends of our ministry and really takes care of the volunteers here.  We enjoyed coffee and some tasty treats.  Its good for an afternoon.  Tonight was a record high I think!  Not in temperature...in plates served at the coffeehouse.  We sent out 170 plates of food for "firsts."  I think the some men must have lied about getting a first plate of food...but there were a lot of guys out there.  It was a bit crazy with guys everywhere!  Adam did a great job of keeping the control.  The guys will get a bit demanding.

Wednesday April 22, 2009
Today was a Public Holiday for South Africa.  It was voting day and it needed to be.  The lines for voting booths were extremely long and I was reminded of how thankful I was to be an American around the time of casting our ballots.  One of the ladies in our ministry stood in line for 5 hours just to cast hers.  Johanna and I had a full day.  We helped move a family into their flat.  It was great to be a part of.  The Jones family has three daughters, two of which have been living in a shelter for the past few months.  Now they can be a family again.  For the evening, we had great news from the ministry of the OM group.  2 prostitutes came off the streets.  They are staying with us at the coffeehouse for the evening and then we will try and sort them out for the future.

Tuesday April 21, 2009

Today was a fun day with the boys.  We created a music video.  We once had high aspirations of having them create a storyline for this video, but settled on having them dance.  It was fun.  They have been a bit crazy high strung lately.  We can't figure out if it is the amount of candy that they seem to be taking home from the tuck shop or the fact that OM is here.  

Sunday April 19, 2009

As we move into our weekend, our normal weekend activities change quite a bit since we have the OMers here with us.  This afternoon I was in charge of the coffeehouse where we served bread and coffee.  It was a nice setting because I really got to talk with a few of the guys.  Willy just turned 40 on Friday and their was no celebration.  He has two children and an ex wife that seem to want nothing to do with him.  He has been at the coffehouse for over two years and though he tries to convince me he has only one or two drinks a day, he is drunk most of the time that I see him.  Fortunately this week he has smiled more and been talking more than he has since we have been here.  That is a good sign for me.  Kennedy, the guy that I wrote about in our last newsletter quit his job.  It was frustrating to hear, it seemed that he was wrongly accussed of stealing, was jipped on tips and was working long hours.  He washed cars today and made more than he would have at the restaurant.  His spirits were pretty high, so he took me out to KFC for ice cream.  I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to have met some many guys that call our porch their home.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Tonight is the big "street sleep."  Adam is very excited about being homeless for one night.  I (Jo) am not going.  However, I ended up getting sick from my parasite pills so it was better that I stayed home.  Overall, it was a good day.  Since, it is actually Saturday as I write this, I can tell you that the street sleep went very well.  Adam came home a bit cold, but he slept most of the night.  He was thankful for the person that gave him a cardboard box! 

Thursday, April 16, 2009

I (Jo) have not been feeling too well recently.  So this morning, I went to the doctor and she thought that I might have a parasite.  Let me tell you...parasites stink...only because the medicine is so gross.  I have never taken a worse pill in my life.  I take 5 pills after dinner and it takes me about 25 minutes because I have a pity party about each one.  They make me sick and nauseus.  Please feel bad for me.  Just Kidding. 
On another note, Adam and I went to the shelter this evening with one of the teams from OM for their evening program.  They played really funny games with teh boys and I don't think I have ever laughed so hard. I remember being in their shoe--doing a program for some boys and not knowing any names or stories...but now, I love that I know the boys and some of their stories.  I just love those boys.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

We are coming home soon, so it is time to start getting things in order for that. This morning we ran around trying to sort a few things out.  This afternoon we did one of our programs for the boys and we played bingo.  It is definitely a favorite of the boys because there are chocolate prizes.  If there weren't prized, I don't think bingo would be fun either. 

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Our schedule has changed a bit because of the team being here.  We still have to do some of our normal responsibilities, like pick up donations so some of our days are a bit different and feel unbalanced.  Since the boys had one last day of holiday break, they organized an OM vs. the boys from the shelter soccer game.  Tuesday evening, we needed to run our tuck shop for the boys because they had been asking.  So we squeezed it in right before OM did an evening program for the boys. 

Monday, April 13, 2009

This morning we welcomed OM training team to our organization for their inner-city outreach.  The team has 55 people on it and they are living with us.  The girls are sleeping on the floor in the coffehouse and the boys are sleeping in the parking lot under a big party tent.  It is a bit tight and crowded, but I think it will be a great experience for them as well as us.  The team had orientation this afternoon and then we went on a prayer walk around the city.  I think that the praye walk was a good reminder for me and seeing all that goes on in this city. 

Friday, April 10, 2009

Happy Good Friday.  This morning we took the boys to a service.  Following the service, Johanna and I took two boys, David and Blessing to KFC for their reward.  Both were able to say the entire books of the bible in order in English.  So, we get there and we told them that we would get them a good lunch within reason.  Time and time again they kept asking for a bucket of chicken between them both.  We eventually agreed on 2 pieces of chicken, a chicken sandwich for each of them and a boat load of french fries and a 2L of coke for them to share.  They seemed to enjoy it.  Also, Jo and I had to watch over two of our boys that recieved punishment.  They were fighting on Wednesday and so the agreed upon punishment was for them to come and help clean the coffeehouse.  Lastly, I was proud of one of our boys.  He was convicted at church about lying to me regarding looking at pornography.  I encouraged him and we will meet every week until we leave.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

After doing a safari-themed VBS for the past two weeks, we thought going on a safari would be the perfect close to the holiday break.  We were a bit worried because the truck that we put all the boys in broke down on Wednesday afternoon, but it was fixed by morning.  So after a bit of a rocky morning, we got moving.  We had to drive two hours to our game park.  One boy kept telling me it was too far!  I think that the boys loved it when they saw giraffe and elephant and rhino and crocodile so close.  We had a game ranger driving the truck for the boys and he gave commentary every now and again and it was just an amazing thing.  The Lord has His hand in the day...no breakdowns and the boys loved it! 

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

I think that this was one of the most hectic days that we have had in South Africa.  We ran from the morning until evening.  After devotions, we picked up a donation, ran VBS, ate one peice of bread, opened our tuck shop, went to do a program at an orphange, finally made it home, ate some pizza, then served at coffeehouse with a totally of 7 people serving (crazy night).  It might not sound so crazy here, but I feel into bed hope that I would have an amazing night of sleep. 

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Today was another field trip day.  We went to a natural history museum.  For what it was, I thought it was good.  It was nice because it was close enough for the boys to walk.  There were lots of stuffed dead animals in the museum.  Very unique to see a huge giraffe!  There was one boy who was so delighted to be at the museum.  He is a newer boy and he just loves life!  He will tell you, "I just love animals."  So this was a great day for them. 

Monday, April 6, 2009
Today was one of those days with the boys.  They call Mondays here "blue monday" and the boys must have all had it today.  They were to happy about the VBS and they were getting on our nerves.  One of the boys even slept through the program, so he will be missing out on going to the game park on Thursday.  We also issued a challenge to the boys regarding memorizing the books of the bible.  Initially we said that if anyone could say them perfect, we would take them to McDonalds.  Now, we have also offered, if more boys can recite them than staff and volunteers combined, we will throw them a pizza party.  I have been trying to motivate the staff a bit, but unfortunately many say they don't know them. Though Jo and I would rather not spend more money on pizza, it would be worth it if the boys took the time to learn them.  

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Adam and I offered to spend the day with some fellow OMers that are still on training.  We know one girl from home and then another American guy came along.  We decided to check out Cullinan Diamond Mine (partially owned by De Beers) not to far from here.  It is the mine in which the largest uncut diamond was found and also the largest cut diamond. So we got a tour and enjoyed learning about diamonds and the process of it all.  

Friday, April 3, 2009

It was another great day of Safari VBS!  The boys really seemed to be enjoying it.  They are great at participating.  I think that a change of pace does them some good, as well as us.  Adam has been wanting to watch the Cavs game all week.  We know a family that has DStv which has ESPN and would be showing the Cavs game at 2am on Friday night.  So late on Thursday night, I called and asked if we could come and spend some time at their place.  We spent the night and Adam got to watch the Cavs lose, but really enjoyed in anyway.  

Thursday, April 2, 2009

I wish you could be here to experience some of the funny moments with our boys.  Yesterday afternoon, one of our boys, Katlego said he had a flu and may not be able to help out at coffeehouse.  I (Adam) convinced him that we had some pills (ones for a runny nose) that would make him better, so he decided to come.  He took one last night and we wrapped one up for him to take in the morning.  Well when I got there this afternoon, the first thing he did was tell me that he no longer had a flu.  I asked him if he took his pill in the morning and he said no, i felt better, so I am keeping it for the next time I don't.  This is the second week in a row that one of the younger boys just needed a bit of love when they were sick.  The shelter is great at providing them some of the things, but helping and/or caring for them when they are sick is not one of it's greatest attributes.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Nothing like last minute.  That has been most of my speaking engagement in Africa and tonight was no different.  Luckily I had kind of worked on something about Heaven from my personal devotionals and a previous talk, so it went off pretty well.  Jo and I are, by default, in charge of the coffeehouse, the guy who normally runs it has marriage counseling now and nothing was planned, so we took up the loose ends.  As for the boys, we ran our second day of our African Safari VBS.  Jo did great at sharing the story and the boys are loving their craft, a creation box.  Today that placed water, dirt and trees in their creation.  It is fun to see them so excited about it.

Tuesday, March 30, 2009

We had great news today.  8 of our boys tested negative for an HIV test.  Jo and I also tested.  I can see how it may be a scary experience for anyone who has been sexually active or abused.  Even here, they may just inherit it from their mother.  I was proud of our boys for going, it can't be easy for them, there is a lot of pressure for some of the boys who just make fun of the idea.  We are taking another 8 tomorrow.  For the afternoon, we spent time at the local pool.  They really have trouble swimming, but they love wrestling around in the water.  It was a fun day.

Monday, March 29, 2009

Today we began a vacation bible school for the boys.  We are super excited about it.  It is an African Safari theme, and we will actually end the vbs next Wednesday and go on an actual safari.  It should be a lot of fun.  Over the course of the next two weeks we will go through the days of creations, have them learn the books of the bible, do some crafts, songs and a few games.  We are ready for a change of pace from our normal programs, so Jo and I are excited about running it.  We did find out today that the boys don't do well with paint.  They are late teenagers, but the paint was everywhere, including on their faces.  They are so funny sometimes, they act like they are 8. 

Saturday, March 28, 2009

We had a bachelor's party/kitchen tea.  Actually, a couple in our organization is getting married at the end of april and then did a combined event for their wedding.  It was a lot of fun, they had games and competition for each of them to play against each other.  Then we ate quite a bit of food and hung out for a while.  There was something interesting there though, chicken viennas (Chicken hot dogs).  They were o.k, but I prefer the beef.

Thursday, March 26, 2009
Today was our most emotional day that we have since we have been here.  It all started last night, early this morning, when of our two volunteers who work and live with us were kicked out.  This weekend was their last straw, they took princess, our former uno, without permission of the premises around 1 a.m.  Neither of them have driver's license and may both have been drunk as well.  The ministry has also caught them stealing things, some serious offenses, like a volunteer workers wallets, numerous ministry items and other minor things.  One of the volunteers left quietly after being confronted, the other eventually involved the police.  On top of that, one of our boys, Bongani was involved in a knife fight.  Sometime in the afternoon, he got in this fight over a mere $2.  The boy he fought wound up in the hospital with serious neck and side wounds. Bongani is back at the shelter and awaiting for a decision to be made by the organization of what to do with him now.  

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I have to say that this was one of the most exhausting days I have had in a while.  Adam and I needed to take a boy to the hospital to see a specialist, which we had an appointment for or so I thought.  We had to pick our boy up very early in the morning and when we get to the hospital after walking around a bit we find the unit that we need.  I had a note for the doctor on duty which didn't do me any good.  She asked if our boys name was on a handwritten list and when it wasn't she asked if I wanted to schedule an appointment for August!  The handwritten list did not have times of appointments, just 1 to 31 and some of the names you could hardly read.  Sometimes I forget that we live in Africa, but today was a wake up call!  I thought to myself, good thing that he doesn't have something seriously wrong because... August?!  

Tuesday, March 22, 2009

The tuck shop is getting to be quite a big deal.  There are a few things to work out of the system, but it is a very fun night for the boys.  The cook is very generous with how much she gives out and I don't think that we can afford to keep up with how much she gives out.  She will give $10 just for mopping a floor, while most people would give $2 at most!  Sadly, we had to cut her givings in half.  Most of the boys never found out, except one and he was very upset!  Did you have to do chores and help in the kitchen?  I did and I think it is part of being a family, or so my parents always told me.  I lectured a few boys on the importance of doing things just because you are apart of a family.  They did not seem to agree and thought they should earn tuck shop dollars for everything they did!  

Monday, March 23, 2009

Each week it seems like we try a different approach to Bible for the boys and I think that they really liked this week.  We are now in the book of Exodus going through the story of Moses.  So, we decided to show them a few pieces of the 1956 movie "10 Commandments."  I thought that they may not like it much, but they wanted to keep the discs so that they could watch it in the afternoon.  Either they are just dying to watch some television or movie, or they may have liked it.  For the evening, we went out on a double date to go and see Marley and Me.  Ya, that is right, a movie that came out around Christmas just began showing at the end of March.  So, when we get home, watching dvds will be just like going to the movies here.

The Weekend, March 20-22, 2009

Our weekend was blessed!  We were invited to stay with a family.  We were able to relax and get out of the city for a break.  We were able to watch the NCAA tournament a bit on ESPN and it was a blast for Adam.  Even though this was a highlight of the weekend, I think the fellowship was the best part.  We sat around the table and enjoyed talk of America (since they has been to Boston a few times).  We laughed hard and slept well.  

Friday, March 20, 2009

This morning, Adam and I went to visit another ministry called Bethesda.  This is an orphanage and school.  The orphanage is set up a lot different from others in that the children live in homes with two parents (a married couple).  Each couple has about 8 children that they are responsible for.  They have 4 or 5 houses right now and another house is in the works.  The school is on the same premises as these houses and it was a beautiful and well run place.  It was so fun to see.  


Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Today we had a soccer tournament with the school boys.  It was a little difficult to try and get the Adult Based Education (ABET) boys to go to their school, but it was a lot of fun.  We had to discipline two boys for being high, so they sat out, but otherwise, it was fun.  My (Adam) team's made it to the finals, but lost on penalty kicks.  I missed out on a second straight opportunity for chocolate, better luck next time.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009
We have really been blessed with relationships since we have started in the inner-city.  A few weeks ago, we met some Campus Crusade girls at our church.  Tonight, we went over to hang out with them and 2 other men who are working with them.  They are stationed at the University of Pretoria and Joburg.  They seem to have difficult tasks set before them, like working in teams who aren't all that appreciative that they are there and working at a university where their crusade is only five large.  They were very cool though and it is exciting to see how crusade is involved overseas.  Bye the way, bingo was a huge hit once again with the boys.  They are funny to watch when they play.

Monday, March 16, 2009

We had to suspend one of our boys from tutoring for looking at pornography on the computers in the office.  No matter how well you try to monitor them, they find a way to get around things.  I was somewhat surprised considering that many of them don't know how to google search, but this one boy is a bit smarter and more clever than the rest, or so he thought.  As for sport, we had a blast today.  There were fewer boys for our programs this morning, so we were able to play staff vs boys in soccer.  It changes the game dramatically.  The boys who normally don't play that hard, were into the game.  The boys won with penalty kicks, but I think it should help their pride greatly.  For the evening, we attended the boy's prayer evening.  We enjoy it, but I will say that I witnessed a first.  The boys would ask for prayer requests, but when they ended, they got the choice of who would pray for them.  It was interesting considering that some of the boys aren't believers. It was a cool sight though to see the deaf boys pray!


Sunday, March 15, 2009

A lot is changing in our ministry.  A new girl from Holland arrived and we also had a going away party for another girl, Alies today.  Alies has been with this ministry for about 2 years and she is headed back to Holland.  They threw a party for her at the boys shelter and the boys did a program.  Some sang songs, other did dances and some talked about how special Alies is.  It was awesome!  A great farewell for her.    

Saturday, March 14, 2009

SUN CITY HERE WE COME!  Sun City is a resort/water park about a hour and a half away.  As we drove in the weather kept getting worse and worse.  It rained for a bit in the morning and then we got an a few hours where the weather held off and we could hit the water slides and wave pool.  It was a blast.  We went with another girl from our training team and I enjoyed catching up with her about her ministry.  We ended up coming back in the late afternoon, but we had a lovely day away from the city.  

Friday, March 13, 2009

Today I (Jo) helped cook for the coffeehouse meal in the evening.  I feel that it is always interesting as I really wasn't sure what it would taste like at all.  I feel like it turned out just fine.  Adam gave the "devotional," which is more like a sermon and did a great job.  He spoke about justice and tried to hit home some of the points that they struggle with.  They will steal from each other and Adam tied that into the talk.  He also included points about loving the "alien" or foreigner.  He did a great job!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Some new things that we try with the boys flop and others seem to go over well.  Today we hit a home run with geography.  We decided that we would try trivia in place of maps and they loved it.  I (Adam) gave them mostly multiple choice, but I was impressed, they did pretty well.  Anytime that you can pin them up with a competition and with prizes, it changes the outcome of the game.  

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

I (Jo) was invited and helped plan my first "kitchen tea."  A kitchen tea is a wedding shower.  It is always supposed to be a surprise and we pulled it off beautifully!  There are two girls getting married very soon here and we decided that it was time for Megan's kitchen tea!  It was hosted at a beautiful home with a wonderful dinner.  Since Megan is a fellow American, I threw in a game just for kicks.  It was a special day for us all to celebrate with her!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

We are blessed!  We got a new car....let me explain.  This ministry, AL Harvest, needed another vehicle so we donated Princess to them and they bought a new Fiat Uno.  Thats right, it is the exact same car, just 15 years newer!  And it still has 1 windshield wiper.  It is the most basic car, but it runs beautifully and we will be the only drivers of it until we leave.  I think God really worked on our behalf and blessed us.  

Monday, March 9, 2009
I (Adam) have not seemed to get the timing right when it comes to touch rugby.  The first time that I went, there was a total of five people.  This week, around 28 to 30.  So, it was nearly 15 on 15 and we basically stand across in a line.  Sometimes the ball just stays on one side of the field for 20 minutes or so.  I don't want to give up completely yet, but it is definitely losing it's appeal pretty quickly.  

Sunday, March 8, 2008

A former homeless guy Ian invited us over for a braii this afternoon.  I understand his situation, but it was a braii where you bring your own food.  It is actually a common thing here.  You bring whatever you want to grill and sometimes you share your side dishes.  It was a lot of fun and it was great to see a bit of Ian's heart. Earlier in the morning he had run into a guy that had asked him for food and he invited him to the braii.  He even gave him some of his own meat, and Ian is barely scrapping by himself.  It was a cool moment.


Saturday, March 7, 2008

Yesterday, the Coffeehouse received some love, today it was the boy's shelter.  A local charity decided that they wanted to sponsor 35 boys and volunteers to a local rugby game.  They even included hot dogs, cool drink and goodies.  It was a fun event, the boy's don't necessarily love rugby, they would much rather see soccer, but they loved the atmosphere and the chance to see a professional game.  We had a ton of fun and feel like we are becoming some decent Blue Bull's fans.  This was my (Adam) third game since I have been here.


Friday, March 6, 2009

The Coffeehouse received some love this evening.  We had a special guest speaker who was a former gangster who talked to the guys this evening.  A local television station aired it, interviewed a few people and will give us some great press.  I am always amazed at the amount of volunteers that come to help.  On Wednesdays, an entire church rotates every six weeks with two of their cell groups.  On Fridays, we often have different groups and it seems like we are never hurting for people to help out.  It is a great ministry for people to plug in and flexible around their schedules as well.  


Thursday, March 5, 2009
Having a horn in South Africa is a necessity.  I would never use the horn at home, but here is a different story.  A horn can say so many things.  For example, (honk): you are in my way OR (hoooonnnnkkk): you are about to hit me OR (honk):  you have been driving in my lane for the past 3 minutes OR (honk honk):  could you please open the gate and let me in?.  A horn can say so many different things! As for our day, It was an okay day, we are just sitting in "study hall" waiting to see if any boys come and need help for homework.  Earlier today we found out that one of our boys stole all of the tuck shop dollars and I do not know what to do with him, we are a little frustrated, because we don't want to cause them all to loose out on privileges because of one boy's error.  We do have some informants though at the house, most of them keep quiet, but we have this little guy Tequiza who loves to tell us who did what.  Hopefully we can find out who and only take away his privileges.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009
I think today was the perfect day!  Do you ever have those days where everything just seems to go right?  I love them.  We picked up a donation this morning and then Adam and I decided to head to a the Union Building, which has a beautiful park, for some extra quiet time.  It was a beautiful day and seemed to fit perfect.  After this, we headed to the mall (our home away from home) to see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."  I have to say that it seemed a bit long, maybe make it a renter.  Then we went to our favorite restaurant and as we were finishing we got a call to say that we are getting a brand new car.  So we were both pretty excited about that.  We should get it in the next few days.  Princess has been acting up....well doesn't she always!  

Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Tuesday is our busiest day, but it felt okay today.  I like Tuesdays because we get to play games in the afternoon with the boys.  Today we played Uno and Phase 10.  I think that they enjoy this time as well because it is one of the fun programs that we do and it requires very little thought.  And Tuesday night is the Tuck Shop and I think the boys look forward to it all week!  Tonight's Tuck Shop was a bit more manageable because some of the boys got "grounded" from it this week for coming home late the previous night.  I think the boys that did get it really enjoyed it.  

Monday, March 2, 2009
One of our main job descriptions is to help the boys with tutoring.  We enjoy it, but it takes a great deal of patience.  I assume that the boys from the shelter are not the average student, but they are so far behind.  I know learning in English adds another element to their studies, but they are very slow to pick up on things.  For example, we help most of them with their math homework.  For most students, you can show them an example or two and then they begin to understand it.  For all of the boys, we have to walk them through each problem of their homework.  I don't know if it is confidence or what, but they struggle immensely.  Jo and I are fearful that most of the boys will fail.  We honestly don't know how they will be able to pass a test or exams.  Our smartest boys seem to be ages behind where we think they should be, hopefully we are wrong and hopefully they will continue to get better, but they could greatly use your prayers.


Saturday, February 28, 2009
Tonight we enjoyed yet another South African braai (a barbecue)!  Our ministry team got together with salads and A LOT of meat!  We arrived at 5:30 and by the time we ate it was 8!  It was well worth the wait though. We did get an appetizer called a cook sister around 7.  We each got a steak, a rib and a sausage plus numerous salads for dinner!  It was delicious, but it was more fun to hang out as a team.  


Friday, February 27, 2009
Lately we have felt a little more like the minority in reference to race.  We are pretty used to the fact that when we go to the movies, we may be the only white people in the theatre or that when we go shopping, most of the people may be black, but lately we have had a few experiences that have reminded us of the recent struggle that this country has gone through.  I have never really experienced racism much, but this week, were in line at a local pizza place, and the lady kept overlooking us as we were in line, and took the orders of other black people behind me. It was very obvious.  Also, recently, as we were in line at McDonalds, a black lady ordered about 10 minutes behind us who had nearly the same order.  She was given it first.  One of our teammates who is engaged to a black man says that she has it bad sometimes.  They may go as far to avoid offering her service in a restaurant.  Again, these experiences are few and far between, and really waiting an extra few minutes in miniscule, but it was just a reminder to me that past events and injustice take time to overcome.

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