KCAfrica

Mr. President

2010-04-12T10:05:00.003-06:00

We just wanted to announce to everyone that we met the future President of the United States of America today here in South Africa! What an honor!! His name is Axolile and he attends Masiphumelele Daycare...make sure you remember that name because in 40 years he just may be Mr. President! :)

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T13:07:00.004-06:00

THE LORD IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!! We just enjoyed a lovely Easter! We got up super early for a sunrise service at St. James Beach, which was beyond breathtaking. What a way to start an amazing day of celebration! Then after our normal church service, we had lunch at our friend Melanie's home with all the other volunteers. We enjoyed such a wonderful feast! After having lots of fun and time for fellowship, Kenny and I finished the day off with a long afternoon nap. Gotta love Sundays. Happy Easter to all our friends and family!

TIA goes to camp

2010-04-04T11:16:00.004-06:00

This past week we learned that the Lord is still trying to teach us patience. I'm sure that the quest for true patience will never be completely reached, but after spending 10 months in Africa and dealing with "Africa time" we thought for sure that we had learned all that God wanted to teach us about being patient. Turns out we were wrong! This last Monday we went to camp with the 6th and 7th graders for three days and TIA (This Is Africa) came along. :) First off, let me explain TIA. Whenever things go a bit differently here than they might go back home, we volunteers always say "TIA, This Is Africa". The program is starting hours late...no worries, "TIA". We aren't prepared for what we have to do today...no big deal, "TIA". No one told so-and-so to be here...oh well we'll call them now, "TIA". Get it? Well, the morning of camp we were all told to be ready to go at 8 am. The buses would be picking up the first group of children at that time and then they'd be by to pick up our children in Masi around 8:15. TWO HOURS later, the bus finally arrives to pick us up for the three hour bus ride we have ahead of us. We then drive to our final stop, a community called Capricorn, to pick up the remainder of the children. We get there and load up so we now have 100 children in two buses. Finally, we're off to camp! Then the worst thing possible happens...the drivers turn off the buses. Oh no, now what!? Turns out that these drivers hadn't been paid and they refused to drive a single kilometer further without 10,000 rand cash! Why they decided to wait until we got ALL the children on the bus before telling us this information is still beyond me. Now, it's not that Living Hope didn't have the money. In fact, we had already paid it in full. But, the company that we rented the buses from didn't have enough buses that morning and contracted these two buses to do the job for them (which is why they were two hours late in the first place)...so, we had to track down the people from the ORIGINAL bus company to get the money to these guys. We were all sent on a wild goose chase to get ahold of this money! THREE AND A HALF HOURS later we have finally have the money and we're off, FIVE HOURS later than originally planned...Wow, This Is Africa. Another thing that some of the volunteers say is TINA (This Is Not America), and unfortunately TINA came along that day as well. None of this would have happened at home. We would never ever have been stuck in a place like this with drivers who refused to drive, especially with 100 kids already in the bus. Oh the joys of being in Africa...and constantly learning what it means to be patient!

Long Overdue...

2010-04-04T10:43:00.006-06:00

Wow, we haven't blogged in such a long time! Sorry about that. :) Kenny's parents visited us for the first half of March and here are some pictures to highlight our time with them. The say a picture is worth a thousand words...so here's 14,000!

The best surprise that they brought us was our favorite...Diet Coke!!

The penguins at Simon's Town. We went and saw them twice!

Praise the Lord that I was not for dinner that morning!

Kenny took this picture...amazing.

Our staff before going out to dinner together.

Kenny's parents with two of our preschoolers.

The kids LOVE to be flipped by Kenny. They all line up to be next!

Some of our mamas with the posters that Kenny's parents brought for them.

Our preschool team: Nandy and Natalie

Same hat...different size head!

Us with our beloved Table Mountain, from Robben Island.

Check out the teeth on this guy!

The original Kneezle's at our favorite beach, called Fish Hoek.

The Cape Argus bicycle race. Lance Armstrong is the 6th guy in red and gray, with yellow on his helmet. They all went by so fast that we could hardly see him at the time, but it's still super cool that we were there!

Mentos and Diet Coke

2010-03-02T00:52:00.002-07:00

We wrote about this in our February newsletter, so for those of you who are interested here's the video from our Mentos and Diet Coke experiment. We were trying to illustrate that on our own we cannot do great things with great love (we are the bottle of coke), but when the Holy Spirit (mentos) comes into our lives, his power can fill us to overflowing! The kids loved the illustration, especially the sip of soda that they got afterward...notice them rushing to get the bottle at the end. Definitely the highlight of last week!

The Hippo Song

2010-02-21T07:39:00.003-07:00

One of my FAVORITE songs from teaching back home is called "The Hippo Song", and Kenny and I have started to introduce it to some of our kids at the creches. It has been a huge hit so far, especially with this preschool, called Kiddie's Corner. The funny thing is that before singing this many of them didn't even know what a Hippo was (I naively assumed kids in Africa would know all about Safari animals). Now they know, and I love that maybe just maybe this song will stay here even after we leave!

The words go like this (in case you can't understand the cuties in the video):

A HIP

A HIPPOPOTAMUS

GOT ON

GOT ON UPON A BUS

AND ALLLLL THE PEOPLE SAID

"HEY, YOU'RE SQUISHING ME!"

Are You Kidding?

2010-02-08T11:57:00.002-07:00

Last night... or i guess this morning we watched the Super Bowl live from 1am-5am with our American volunteer friends. GO SAINTS!

After being up all night Carla and I had our normal Monday morning routine that revolves around Living Hope's pre-school ministry. To our surprise our normal venue was booked for an entrepreneurship training so we had to make do using the outside of our facility. As school after school came, we informed the creches that our program would have to be altered due to the unfortunate circumstances, but nonetheless we still had a great time visiting with the children and providing them with a morning snack. Unfortunately, to add to the events of the morning the toilet was locked and no one had a key. You can probably guess what happened next? One little girl had to pee, and when she found that the toilet was locked she began to pee outside! As you all know kids love to play follow the leader, so.... the next thing we knew 30+ children are peeing everywhere! I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like that before! All we could do was laugh and ask each other "Are you kidding?". Despite how delerious we were from from staying up all night it is always an absolute joy to be with these children and be a small part of their lives!

Visitors

2010-02-07T10:34:00.004-07:00

This week we were so very lucky to have two of Kenny's friends from APU--Anders and Jeff--come visit us for a few days. They had been working on some initial media and web-design for Jeff's non-profit, called Themba International, in George (about a 4 hour drive north-east from us), and wanted a few days in Cape Town before heading back to the States. It was so refreshing for us to be around people from college, and we had a great time sharing and laughing with them. Anders taught us a new card game (we love card games!!) called Smear and we are so very excited to introduce this fun game to our next set of house guests (Kenny's very special parents) who arrive in just 20 days!

Top of the List

2010-01-30T06:56:00.004-07:00

You've heard of a bucket list, right? (It's a list of things you want to do before you "kick the bucket"). Well Kenny and I have made our own list of sorts, but instead of being a bucket list, it's a "Things we want to do before we leave South Africa List". It includes places we want to go, things we want to see, how we want relationships to grow, and specific ministry goals...But, for a while the very top of our list has been to hike Table Mountain. We had planned to do it when we first arrived, but quickly realized that we were not dressed appropriately nor prepared to take on such a crazy task the day we went. The mountain has gotten bigger and bigger (in our eyes!) each time we've visited downtown Cape Town in the last 9 months, and I must admit I've been beyond scared to even attempt to climb it. But today we faced our fears and we climbed the crazy mountain! And do you know what!? It was absolutely amazing! It was extremely difficult, especially at the top, but the Holy Spirit kept reminding us that Christ's power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). He carried us when we most needed it, and it was incredible. What a day, what a hike, what an accomplishment!

Cape Town Stadium

2010-01-24T08:05:00.005-07:00

Yesterday we had the amazing opportunity to watch the FIRST EVER soccer game in the new Cape Town Stadium, built for the World Cup! We watched the Santos play the Ajax, and although it was a scoreless game it got super exciting when it came down to a penalty kick shootout. (For those of you who care, the Santos beat the Ajax 6-5). We also experienced our first ever South African vuvuzela "orchestra". Basically, it's just a bunch of super loud noise makers that are beyond popular here (see last picture), and there is literally not a quiet moment in all 90 minutes of play. It was definitely a super cool experience and we had a blast!

Andile

2010-01-19T12:09:00.002-07:00

We have sad news...on Dec. 23rd one of the boys from one of our Living Hope clubs in Masi died. His name was Andile and he was 11 years old. He had been playing with some friends in a nearby damn and apparently he got stuck in some mud and drowned. Because of the long Christmas break, we were not able to have a memorial service as a Living Hope community until today. We mourned his death, but we also joined together (over 100 children and Andile's family) to celebrate his life. As you can imagine this has been a very difficult time for all of his family and friends, and we ask that you would remember them in your prayers. Andile has a twin sister named Andiswa and we ask that you would be especially fervent in your prayers for her.

"Never again will he hunger; never again will he thirst. The sun will not beat upon him, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be his shepherd; He will lead him to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from his eyes. " Revelation 7:16-17

Diet Coke

2010-01-17T07:50:00.004-07:00

"Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord." Joel 1:14

As a church we began a 21 day fast today, a time to humble ourselves individually and corporately as we seek God's face. Our pastor asked us to give something up that holds a high importance in our lives, something that would take a sacrifice. So, Kenny and I have decided to give up Diet Coke (well, it's actually called Coke Light here) and all other sodas for the next three weeks. For those of you who know us well, that's a pretty big deal! :) We are expectant as we wait upon the Lord and seek to follow His will.

SHARK ATTACK!

2010-01-13T05:44:00.004-07:00

It's the hottest day ever here (100 degrees F), and although we may have wanted to go to the beach to cool off, we just found out that a shark attacked a tourist yesterday at Fish Hoek beach (5 minutes away from where we live, and the beach that we often visit). Check out an article at http://www.timeslive.co.za/news/article258359.ece or http://www.fishhoek.com/sharks.html

And then when we started researching we came across this picture of a shark at Fish Hoek beach in 2006...do you see how close to the shore it is!!!??? I suppose we may never get more than our toes in the water ever again. It might be a long HOT summer without air conditioning!

Happy Birthday Brian!

2010-01-11T11:50:00.004-07:00

It's already the 12th here in SA...Happy Happy Birthday to the best brother in the world! We hope you have an absolutely fabulous day. Love you and miss you!

Back to work...

2010-01-07T11:04:00.002-07:00

After two wonderfully relaxing weeks of lots of movie watching and laying on the beach, we headed back to work in the office on Monday. We both feel refreshed, ready to start a new year, and so very excited about what God is going to do through the ministry of Living Hope! This week we've both been working on curriculum--Kenny on a brand new parenting curriculum, and me on new preschool themes and lessons. Thanks to a quiet office and very few distractions we both got a lot done to prepare for what's to come. Could you please pray for us and for our team as we implement this curriculum? Please pray that we would use the resources we have to the best of our abilities, and that we would meet the needs of the people in our communities. Thanks so much and happy 2010!

Merry Christmas from SA

2009-12-22T05:21:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Carols By Candlelight

2009-12-18T02:22:00.004-07:00

On Thursday night we went to an event called Carols by Candlelight. The group of us all packed our dinners, brought our blankets, and enjoyed a festive evening. We sang carols and watched a nativity play, and most of us didn't even burn our fingers. :) It even got cold in the later part of the night, which made the event all the more authentic--it might not be a white Christmas here, but it's the closest we've gotten to feeling like home.

Christmas Parties

2009-12-10T23:06:00.003-07:00

No more school! It's summer vacation time! And it's Christmas! What a joyous time here in Cape Town...the kids are pumped! On Wednesday we had our Christmas party for the children and it was so much fun! Many of them were so excited that they waited for HOURS to get in. :) The kids performed songs, dances, and a nativity play; they got their faces painted; there were two jumping castles; and they all left with a meal, ice cream, and a gift. It was the most crazy day ever (we had 450 children between two parties), but at the same time it was the most amazingly joyous day ever. Merry Christmas!

Lion's Head Hike

2009-12-06T05:29:00.007-07:00

Lion's Head

View from 1/2 way up

Part of the hike had ladders...

After the 1st ladder you had the option to climb up a set of chains or go around the long way...we both climbed up the rock face by the chains and were so proud!

Kenny at the top with Table Mtn. in the background

Us at the top

We ate dinner and watched the sunset

More sunset

We hiked down in the moonlight (thankfully some people in our group had headlamps or else it may have been a bit difficult)

Talking Bibles Trip

2009-12-04T12:51:00.003-07:00

We had the opportunity to host three amazing people from Phoenix, AZ yesterday (Pastor Ramey, his wife Louise, and Jack). Their church sent them to SA because they helped sponsor the translation of the Xhosa Talking Bible. It's the New Testament in Xhosa, in the auditory form for people who may not have access to the written word or who cannot read. We shared Living Hope with them, and they donated two Bibles to us that Nolo (Living Hope's chaplain--the cute lady in the red skirt above) will use in the Health Care center with patients. What a cool ministry and such a blessing for our Xhosa speaking people! We had an amazing time with our three visitors and they blessed us immensely through their joy and their generosity.

Thankful...(Silly version)

2009-11-26T12:22:00.002-07:00

This Thanksgiving I'm very thankful that my husband is a super dancer! :)

No need to worry. What you see in this video is not an every day occurrence, we were at a Turkish-Kurdish restaurant for a friend's birthday...

Thankful...(Serious version)

2009-11-26T11:42:00.002-07:00

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

This Thanksgiving we are beyond thankful that Christ paid the ultimate price for our sins. Being in Africa away from normal life has made us even more aware of what a blessing it is to serve our mighty Jesus. What an amazing truth: by his wounds we are healed, and his sacrifice is the only way to peace. Thank you for the cross Jesus!

Sleep Driving

2009-11-19T04:45:00.003-07:00

I rarely drive here in SA because I'm always with Kenny, but Tuesday morning I went to the gym by myself (he had lifted lots of tables and chairs the day before and his back was hurting). So, I got in the car at 5:15 and tried to start it, but it didn't start...it is very common for the car to need the engine revved a bit before starting so no big deal. I rev it and sure enough I'm ready to go. BUT, somehow (I've tried to replay it in my head a thousand times but still can't figure out when or how or why), I put the car into drive still thinking it was in park (!). So I revved the engine yet again and zoomed, literally flew, forward out of our parking space BARELY missing a BMW parked right in front of me! Luckily the wheel was turned just slightly to the left. I jerked forward to a complete stop and the car died. What in the world just happened!!?? I was shaking and once I calmed down about 1/2 way through the drive I got to thinking... God is absolutely amazing! It's not like I would have been hurt physically had I hit that car from a parked position, but we certainly don't have a missionary budget for "stupid Carla moments". He totally protected me from absolute embarrassment and kept us from going broke this month. I am so thankful that we serve a God with a sense of humor who cares about the small stuff! Can I get an amen!?

The boot

2009-11-10T09:02:00.005-07:00

Just when we thought we’d seen it all, we were surprised yet again here. Yesterday we had a few too many people to fit into our car, and rather than simply take two trips or sit on laps in the back seat, our friend Des was elected to make his way into the trunk (called a boot here in SA). The BOOT, I’m not kidding, he got into the boot! Before this the only time I had heard of people being in the trunk of a car was in mob movies!...I tried so hard to hold the lid open so it wouldn’t happen, but he climbed right in as though it were no big deal, and the other girls fought me to shut it on him! On our way out of where we were coming from the entire back side of the car completely scraped the ground, which I imagine was not so comfortable for him. We were laughing the whole way wondering what he was thinking back there in the dark, tight space! At one point our team leader Natalie politely said “Welcome to South Africa, we do this all the time”. Not sure if we’ll ever get completely used to SA…but we will certainly have a great time trying and lots of stories to tell after!

The Big Walk

2009-11-08T08:38:00.003-07:00

Today we participated in a 5k in Cape Town, not so creatively called "The Big Walk". People walked anywhere from 5 to 80 kilometers. Originally the plan was that it would be an event where we could raise awareness about what Living Hope is doing as an organization. About 50 of us from Living Hope had matching T-shirts and we were ready to go, hoping to spread our vision all along the way with the thousands of people who walked. BUT, because it was raining lots and lots our 50 people turned into 20 and our matching shirts turned into rain jackets. The original purpose was lost...but we made the most of it. We had a blast walking in the rain the whole 5 ks and we even got a medal at the finish line. Then, we had so much fun when we realized we had to walk ALL the way back to the car (which was at the starting line). So, our 5k turned into a 10k just like that! This was the first time that our friend Danielle (pictured above) has done a walk this long, and she completed it beautifully. We are so proud!

Sharing Life in Africa

2009-10-30T10:47:00.003-06:00

The best part of the whole trip was having the opportunity to share our lives with someone from home. The kids absolutely loved my Mom and Dad!

The Smiths visit South Africa!

2009-10-30T10:39:00.002-06:00

We had such a blast with my parents while they visited us for 8 days! It was an absolutely perfect time. :)

Elephant's Eye

2009-10-04T09:58:00.002-06:00

Do you see the elephant (in picture 1 and 2)!? This is a hike we went on yesterday, about a 10 minute drive from where we live. Isn't God's creation amazing!?

Interbranch Soccer Celebration!

2009-09-20T10:25:00.004-06:00

Capricorn children stretching

Red Hill boys

Under 13 game

Ocean View cheerleaders

Masi teams

Ocean View teams

Kenny with Nathan (they were in charge of the entire event)

Capricorn/Overcome Heights doing their cheer for the pep rally

This was one of the big events that Kenny has been working on for months...It was an absolute success and we will share more of the details in our September newsletter. Just wanted all of you to be able to see some of the pictures before we send it out.

Will Dress Up...For Food

2009-09-16T04:47:00.003-06:00

On September 11th we were invited (along with about 100 other American volunteers in SA) to the US Consul General's home for an evening honoring community service. Above are all the US volunteers working with Living Hope right now, and Dr. Mayberry is the cute woman in the red dress. She was a wonderful hostess with a beautiful house, and an amazing view of Cape Town. Plus, the food was delicious...and free. (We never ever pass up an opportunity for free food)!

Fungisa

2009-09-14T10:26:00.003-06:00

For the past two weeks we have been taking this super cute girl home from school every day. Her name is Fungisa, she is 4 years old, and she is from Zimbabwe...she does not speak any English (or Xhosa), so a local preschool had offered to sponsor her in order to get her ready for kindergarten. But there was one problem: her parents do not own a car so there is no way for them to take her to and from school. When we heard her story at church we decided that we'd like to help. Fungi (the 'i' is pronounced like the letter 'E') has truly become the biggest highlight of our day! We only get about 30 minutes with her, but she has the most amazing laugh and we have so much fun together. Can't wait to update you all as she learns English and as our relationship grows!

The Little Things

2009-09-13T10:29:00.002-06:00

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." Mother Teresa

Sometimes it's daunting to see all the pain and suffering around us. Sometimes we feel like we can't make a difference because the world's problems are too big. Sometimes there is no solution in sight. But, if we choose to make a difference in the life of one person, we can change a world. We can fill an ocean, one drop at a time.

Spring has Sprung!

2009-08-31T10:07:00.005-06:00

On Sunday we went for an amazing hike with 6 other volunteers and 2 local South Africans in Silvermine Nature Reserve (about 10 minutes drive from our flat). It was an absolutely gorgeous day and it appears that Spring has finally sprung here in South Africa! Isn't it so crazy to even think it's Springtime here as Labor Day and falling leaves approach all of you back at home!? We still can't get over it...but we are certainly enjoying it now that winter is almost over!

Donated Dollhouse

2009-08-26T00:11:00.002-06:00

Yesterday an 8 year old girl that lives in Cape Town (and comes from a wealthy family) decided to donate her beautiful pink dollhouse to the children of one of our preschools, Masiphumelele Educare. It was great to see such selflessness from a little child. And even more importantly she had the opportunity to be exposed to the extreme living conditions of her neighbors just down the road. So often the people here forget about the townships and how much poverty surrounds them. It's so much easier to quickly drive by and forget about the pain that resides inside. We do this at home too...so let this be a reminder to all of us that one selfless act (that really doesn't take much out of you) can truly mean the world to someone who has nothing.

Choose Life training

2009-08-19T11:30:00.003-06:00

We just attended an excellent two day HIV/AIDS training workshop. The program is called Choose Life and it takes a value-based approach to stopping the spread of HIV. They (and we) believe that the only way to stop the AIDS pandemic is to start by helping people shape and change their values. Take this story for example:

A young 13 year old girl loses her parents in an accident and is left to take care of her siblings. She doesn't have any money so she drops out of school and starts to prostitute herself. She does this for one year and eventually a local non-profit hears her story and it breaks their hearts. So they get her a scholarship, send her back to school, find a local food pantry to provide weekly groceries, and even help her and her siblings find a new safer home. Two months later they go to the girl's school to check up on her only to find that she has not been attending classes and that she has gone back into the life of a prostitute. What went wrong!? She was provided all the right circumstances to have a healthy life! When they ask the girl what happened she explains that she had gotten used to selling her body and that it actually made her feel good about herself. At school she felt inadequate, but on the street she was sought after and she liked that. She had no intention of changing her behavior even though she was given so much.

This is a common story and one that we must learn from as we help people. Our values influence our behavior and without a strong foundation we will often be swayed by life's circumstances. The values that this course focuses on are: love, respect, responsibility, fairness, integrity, and service. The training also taught us a lot about HIV and the part it plays in South Africa's communities. In the end we acknowledge that it is a harder, longer process to help equip young people with positive values, rather than simply fixing their immediate problems. But the extra energy is well worth it if we have any hope in truly changing behavior here in South Africa.

Family Dinner

2009-08-15T02:56:00.003-06:00

We had our staff over for a spaghetti dinner last night and had such a blast. Kenny and I laughed the whole evening because Xhosa people (or at least the ones we know!) are so incredibly loud! They argue and debate over everything even if they end up having the exact same opinion. It got so bad that we had to pass around the salad dressing as the microphone...you could only talk if you had it in your hand. But, as you might imagine, that didn't last long. :) I'm absolutely shocked that we didn't have any complaints from our neighbors. We love our loud African family!

In the picture above: (sitting) Natalie, Desmond (standing) Sondi, Carla, Phelisa, Lwando, Yolanda, Vuyo, Mzo, Kenny (we were missing Nandy and Thembi)

Wait 4 Me

2009-07-30T05:59:00.004-06:00

Wait 4 Me is an abstinence campaign that our Life Skill Educators teach in the local schools. As the name suggests, it is all about purity and waiting for sex until marriage. We also emphasize purity from things like drugs and alcohol. Each child who decides to accept this challenge signs a commitment form and is then followed up with in later visits. On Saturday last week we had a big celebration/concert for all the children (grade 6-8) who had committed their lives to purity. It was such an amazing event with over 650 kids from all of Living Hope's communities. Each community did a skit/dance, leaders shared testimonies, and we all sang songs and had a blast. It is so cool to see young people committing their lives to purity because this is the only way we have any hope to change lives and stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Preschool Training

2009-07-26T09:37:00.003-06:00

We had three training workshops with the preschool mamas this week to teach them new ideas about curriculum and basic classroom activities. It was a blast and we had an amazing turnout (7 out of the 9 creches from Masi were represented!). A team from the States put this training together and it was an absolute success. The fun part is that, because I am here longer, I get to help create more of these sessions for us to do throughout the year. It's wonderful because these teachers simply don't have the resources we do back at home and this will give them the opportunity to learn and bring new ideas back to their children. Meanwhile my poor husband was entertaining 130+ preschool children...and loving every minute of the craziness!

Teen Talent Show

2009-07-19T09:46:00.011-06:00

The drama group...the video's a little long, but when you see how amazing the boys did you will understand that it's absolutely worth it! It tells the story of a young man faced with temptations in Masi, but in the end the only thing that can free him from his emptiness is Jesus.

The fashion show group. The girls made dresses out of different colored garbage bags.

The art group. They designed the backdrop for the talent show with spray paint and poster board.

The music group. Playing "twinkle twinkle little star" with bottles. Didn't Kenny do great!?

Dos Anos

2009-07-15T03:30:00.004-06:00

We celebrated our anniversary yesterday! We've been married for whole two years now! It's funny what a normal day we had playing soccer and going to teen club, but it was the best anniversary ever. We both feel so incredibly lucky that we were in South Africa for such a special occasion. The highlight of the whole day was that we made chicken tacos for dinner. :) We even splurged and found some tortilla chips from a local market...let me tell you, you really have to search for Mexican food in Africa. But, it was worth the searching and it was the most amazing dinner we've had since we've been here! Oh the things you end up missing from home...

Pray for Masi

2009-07-11T02:36:00.007-06:00

Over Thursday night and into Friday morning the people of Masi protested threatening to riot because of their living situations. Unfortunately this meant that our holiday clubs for Friday were canceled...Living Hope wanted to make sure to take all precautions necessary to protect their staff. It was so sad for all of us (the Masi staff, volunteers, and a team from London pictured above) because we had worked so hard all week in kids' club and teen club and we were heartbroken not to be able to spend our last day of holiday with the kids. The teens had even prepared a talent show that they were going to perform that day. So, we ask for your prayers for the people of Masi. Please pray for their safety and pray for peace. Pray that anger would not turn to violence, but rather to justice. We also want to make sure that you all to know that we are not at all scared for our own safety in the midst of this. We had a long prayer meeting in the morning at Masi Baptist and at no point did we feel threatened in any way. But, the community absolutely needs prayer and we covet that from you.

Balloons and Bubbles

2009-07-06T09:56:00.003-06:00

Today was Field Street's last day here...we are very sad to see them go. We have truly enjoyed spending time with them and seeing what God has for them with the preschool children. This is the first team with Living Hope to spend significant time in the creches, and we are praying that this could be a ministry that Living Hope plugs into for future short-term teams. Today we played with balloons and bubbles...a perfect way to start the week!!

Siyakhulisa Educare

2009-07-06T09:38:00.003-06:00

On Friday we visited a creche called Siyakhulisa Educare. It was by far the nicest school that we had the opportunity to see. There was a large (clean!) main room, a smaller side room, and a bathroom with a sink and running water. We are still so struck by how different each school is. This school was definitely a palace compared to others. We face painted today and the kids really enjoyed it. At first they didn't know what to expect, but Kenny was a gracious guinea pig and showed all the kids how fun it is to be decorated! Doesn't he look so cute with a heart on his cheek!

Kiddie's Corner

2009-07-02T12:38:00.002-06:00

Today we visited another creche (preschool) called Kiddie's Corner. This one met in a much smaller room (about 10' by 10') and had about 20 kids ranging in age from 2-6. Although it was much more difficult to do some of the planned activities, the children had an absolute blast watching the puppet show that the team had prepared. It was so great to watch as one little girl (the one in the third picture) screamed out of pure excitement the whole time the puppets were out. She was absolutely hilarious...wish we had gotten it on video.

Peacock Educare Center

2009-07-02T12:15:00.005-06:00

For the last couple of days we have had a team from Texas (called Field Street) visiting to minister to the preschools in Masi. There are 22 people on the team, so each day they split up into small groups and visit 7 of the different preschools that we work with at Living Hope. The fun part is that we get to go with a different group each day and spend time with the children and the "mamas" (teachers) at each "creche" (preschool). This has been especially good for us because on a normal week the kids come to us at Masi Baptist Church and we do our club in a large room there, so we haven't had a chance to see the actual buildings that the schools are in. The first day we visited a creche called Peacock Educare. There were about 20 children ranging from age 2-4 and three mamas. The team did a puppet show, we colored pictures, the kids learned how to wash their hands, and we sang lots and lots of songs. The children are absolutely beautiful and the mamas were so gracious and sweet. It's so clear that these little ones are such a big part of why God brought us here.

The legacy of a child

2009-06-28T10:29:00.006-06:00

On both Wednesday and Thursday this week we attended memorial services for Nolubabalo (we misspelled her name last week). On Wednesday the service was put on by Ukhanyo Primary School in Masi and the community center was full of about 500 children in school uniforms. Teachers told stories of her life, a little boy from her class read her obituary through tears, and the school choir sang a beautiful song in her honor. We learned that she was actually 12 (she was born May 23, 1997) and that she was in Grade 4. On Thursday the Living Hope staff got all the kids from children's club (about 150) together to celebrate her life and to talk about the painful reality of death. A chaplain from the community came and spoke about eternal life and the hope that we have when we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. The children all responded well and both services were equally moving. The above pictures were taken from our Children's Club service.

Children's Club

2009-06-24T10:50:00.003-06:00

Every afternoon we work at a children's club for kids between the ages of 4 and 14. We have anywhere from 60-100 kids on a normal day. The club starts with a couple games and some songs, and then each day we teach a Bible lesson in English and in Xhosa. The kids say the Lord's Prayer is Xhosa (which is so fun to hear in surround sound!) and then at the end of the time we pass out sandwiches or fruit. Although our first couple of days were beyond overwhelming (the kids all get absolutely crazy during club!) we are starting to really connect with some of the children. Not to mention the fact that they think we're much cooler now because we can actually understand and participate in some of their games. It's so fun to know that we get to play as a part of our job!

Kids, Kids, Kids (more pictures)

2009-06-24T10:46:00.000-06:00

Masiphumelele

2009-06-18T06:04:00.008-06:00

We have our official job titles now...I (Carla) am assisting in a preschool in the morning and then with a kids' (4-14) club in the afternoon. Kenny is helping organize a soccer (it's called football here) league within the townships and then in the same kids' club with me in the afternoon. We are primarily working in a township called Masiphumelele, which means "we shall succeed" in Xhosa, the official language of the Masi people. Masi is a township that was originally built in 1990 for about 750 families, but estimates suggest that as many as 30,000 residents live here now. There are lots of permanent cinder block homes scattered around the area, but around each of them are about half a dozen tin shacks. There are also large areas as you move to the outskirts of the community where there are just shacks. Most homes do not have running water so they share toilet facilities, but almost all have electricity which is absolutely necessary in the winter months. Our main points of contact are seven Life Skill Educators who both work for Living Hope and reside in Masi. Their names are Natalie, Nandi, Sondi, Phelisa, Desmond, Mzo, and Vuyo and they are beyond amazing! We spend our entire day with them and have been so blessed already to learn so much about culture from them. We imagined pouring our lives into children here (which we will!), but even more than that we have the opportunity to build relationships with the Masi staff and we truly believe those relationships will be more impactful than we imagined. We want to serve and encourage them daily and we know that empowering them will have life-long effects on the community. If you want to read more about Masiphumelele go to http://www.livinghope.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=27

Nulbabalo

2009-06-18T05:46:00.002-06:00

When we got to work today we found out that the day was going to look a bit different than we had planned (welcome to Africa! it happens all the time...). We learned that a little girl from the community had passed away yesterday. Her name was Nulbabalo which means "child given to us by the grace of God" and she was 10 years old. She had some sort of stomach problem which went untreated for too long and although she did make it to the hospital the doctors could not help her. The staff that we work with from Living Hope allowed us to come along as they went to share in mourning with her family. We were beyond honored to be welcomed into the family's house and worship with our African brothers and sisters. Although we could not understand everything (the entire service was in Xhosa), we felt the Holy Spirit moving within those four walls. It was a very emotional experience for us both, and we cannot imagine the grief that Nulbabalo's mother must feel. But ultimately we know that we serve a mighty and loving God who will never leave our side no matter what color our skin or what language we speak. God is always good, and He has just welcomed one of His precious daughters home. For that we praise Him.

Our First Rugby Game

2009-06-14T14:05:00.002-06:00

We went to our first rugby game yesterday. Vodacom Western Province played the British and Irish Lions. Although we had absolutely no idea what was going on for most of the game we definitely had a blast. Not quite sure it compares to American football in our eyes, but since we're here we might as well experience all that South Africa has to offer...

District Six Museum

2009-06-14T13:36:00.002-06:00

We visited a museum in downtown Cape Town to learn more about apartheid (forced segregation which officially ended in 1994) and how it affected families in the area. Without this background it is impossible to understand the culture and the people that we will be working with. Here is a quote from a wall-hanging when you first walk in:

"REMEMBER DIMBAZA,

REMEMBER BOTSHABELO/ONVERWACHT,

SOUTH END, EAST BANK,

SOPIATOWN, MAKULEKE, CATO MANOR,

REMEMBER DISTRICT SIX.

REMEMBER THE RACISM

WHICH TOOK AWAY OUR HOMES

AND OUR LIVELIHOOD

AND WHICH SOUGHT

TO STEAL AWAY OUR HUMANITY.

REMEMBER ALSO OUR WILL TO LIVE,

TO HOLD FAST TO THAT

WHICH MARKS US AS HUMAN BEINGS;

OUR GENEROSITY, OUR LOVE OF JUSTICE

AND OUR CARE FOR EACH OTHER.

REMEMBER TRAMWAY ROAD,

MODDERDAM, SIMONSTOWN

IN REMEMBERING WE DO NOT WANT

TO RECREATE DISTRICT SIX

BUT TO WORK WITH ITS MEMORY:

OF HURTS INFLICTED AND RECEIVED

OF LOSS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND OF SHAMES.

WE WISH TO REMEMBER

SO THAT WE CAN ALL,

TOGETHER AND BY OURSELVES,

REBUILD A CITY

WHICH BELONGS TO ALL OF US,

IN WHICH ALL OF US CAN LIVE,

NOT AS RACES BUT AS PEOPLE."

Table Mountain (more pictures)

2009-06-09T10:33:00.003-06:00

Devil's Peak is in the background

A woman was telling her son (and anyone else in earshot) that these animals are related to the elephant (really!?)...looks more like a marmot or a mole to us. Made us chuckle though.

Table Mountain

2009-06-09T10:17:00.003-06:00

V & A Waterfront

Table Bay

Lion's Head and Lion's Rump (Robben Island is in the background)

Table Mountain from the Lower Cable Station

Today we spent the morning at Table Mountain which is near downtown Cape Town. It is 1,085 m (about 3,600 ft) tall and it's Cape Town's most well known natural landmark. We had every intention of hiking to the top, but once we got there we realized that it was a bit more of a daunting task than we imagined (check out the steep slope in the last picture). So, we opted to ride the cable car up instead and enjoyed the views from the top. It was absolutely breathtaking! We could see for miles in every direction and we were so thankful to have such a clear beautiful day. God's creation is beyond amazing! The pictures don't do justice, but it's a start. Enjoy.

Iris :)

2009-06-04T11:54:00.003-06:00

Her name is Iris...She is a Corolla (Copa Cabana anyone!?) We got a car! And she's ours for the year. We rented from a really sweet couple who brought us into their home for tea and coffee and sent us off with a car. They name all of their cars different names from Betty to Patrick (they have 30 in all). Ours is named Iris, and luckily she has a bit more legroom than our short-term Atos so that Kenny's shin doesn't cramp up everytime he drives. And here's the coolest part...you ready!? I drove the car home! Yep that's right, I actually drove on the other side of the road and didn't make any crazy mistakes turning or anything. Although I suppose I did forget to take off the parking break at first which makes driving a bit more difficult, but all in all not so bad. I'm just so proud (and Kenny is too)!

Our First Job

2009-06-04T11:38:00.004-06:00

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week we helped paint three "wendy houses" for the False Bay Hospital. These rooms will be used by Living Hope as a place for pre- and post- HIV test counseling. Since the counselors have had limited to no space to themselves up to this point you can imagine what a blessing these houses are for them as they meet with people who have been tested. It was great to be a part of this project and do our first bit of dirty work for the year! We worked alongside three other volunteers who are here with Living Hope long term.

(Kenny with Jeremy, Ian, and Chris).

Penguins in Africa

2009-06-04T10:33:00.004-06:00

Isn't it crazy to think that there are actually penguins in Africa!? These super cute guys were in a nearby city called Simon's Town. We got so close to them that we could actually touch them (another guy tried and got snapped at!...so funny)!

Our First 36 Hours...

2009-05-30T13:25:00.004-06:00

we squeezed 7 bags in the back of our atos hatchback, which seats 2 1/2 comfortably...

kenny drove on the left side of the road without any accidents...

we found out that even English with an accent can "sound greek to me"...

we slept on our new double bed for the first time...

carla took two super cold showers before we learned how to work the water heater...

kenny had a very nice warm shower right after we figured it out...

the water heater then drained all of our electricity...

btw, you buy electricity by the kilowatt...when it runs out you are out of luck (and power)...

kenny blew up his hair trimmer (i guess the voltage really is different here!) oops...

we bought 200 rand worth of phone minutes in the checkout line at the market...

we learned that our internet works only when connected to our 3G cell phone..

we have found ourselves experiencing crazy culture shock..

we are so thankful to have one another as we experience everything new on this journey together...

Thank You!

2009-05-14T17:36:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much to all of you who have encouraged us and supported us through finances and prayer. This journey is only possible because of your generosity and we truly appreciate the sacrifices that you've made to help us live our dream. Your giving will directly affect lives in Africa and we will do all we can to bring your love to the people we encounter. Thank you! You are all amazing!

Our Big Move

2009-05-14T16:23:00.001-06:00

We are moving to Cape Town, South Africa on Wed. May 27th! This has been our dream, to spend time in Africa, forever...and now we actually get to do it! Please pinch us, this can't be real! Seriously, we're so blessed.

So here's our attempt at a blog to keep all of you at home updated on our adventure. Seeing as though neither of us has ever done this before and we consider ourselves far from internet savvy, we may need some extra patience as we learn the science of blogging. But, we promise to be real and to share our experiences with you (plus we hope to have lots of pictures along the way!).

We are moving to Cape Town to volunteer for an organization called Living Hope (www.livinghope.co.za) whose vision is to "bring the hope and compassion of Jesus Christ to the chronically sick and dying in a holistic way and do all they can to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS". The ministry is holistic, meeting people's spiritual, physical, and emotional needs. They offer a health care center free of charge, home based care, support groups, after-school programs, and they are a positive example of unconditional love in the townships of their area. We fully believe in all they are doing and are so excited to be a part of their ministry to the people of Cape Town. Only 13 days to go...!