Hi there Africa Team supporters
I have been off-line, without access and time has been short, so this is very late. Here are the prayer requests, first, then an update on what we have been doing.
Praise:
• The difficulties that were starting to arise at the start and mid-second week seem to have largely evaporated. Our work load has decreased, so we have had a bit of pressure reduced.
• We have done well as a team, and have remained harmonious
• Carolyn has returned from Cape Town, although largely the day to day overseeing has been falling to Kristal.
• We have had a great day together on Friday as a group, climbing Lion Mountain together after lunch because of a problem with the de-worming program
• We have also had a great day yesterday in Kruger, with a great viewing of hundreds and hundreds of animals, birds, and water creatures. We followed that with a lovely BBQ with the couple who look after the
• We have also had a really good time with the US team over the past week, doing some things together that have really been great.
Requests
• We now need to do our final sessions, discussing the effect that African Christians and volunteers have had on us, and planning for how we can continue to be of assistance. We have sessions with Kristal, George and Carolyn, all separately. A fantastic closing opportunity to make the most of this last time.
• We also need to arrange the teams all leaving. At this time we have teams leaving early tomorrow, and around lunch time on Tuesday. There are lots of potential problems with lost things etc, so pray for good preparation for leaving.
• In particular our hearts have been drawn to perhaps assist as a group to support some orphans in Cork. Pray for that, as well as another project – to get George’s family built and located in Hands territory rather than at ASM as they must be out by the end of the year.
What has been happening since Wednesday?
We left for a community out of White River on Thursday for more de-worming. We left in high spirits ready to attack the day and met a lady named Ma Victoria, who is in charge of the centre at Siyabulela. 5 of us went to help with the youth camp up higher on the hill. Sharon was trying to get to seem someone at the ASM / ACTS clinic (it turned out she couldn’t get to see one till tomorrow). Did I mention that they had seen Zebra and Wildebeest up there? Anyway, they were there for the morning, and the US team were going to do another area as well as home-based care, which they hadn’t experienced as yet.
We arrived, and Ma Victoria – with 7 kids of her own, husband Charlie, and 2 orphans she has taken in, is getting a house extension to house them all more comfortably. The CBO centres on her house and she also has an orphanage that she oversees with the help of a house mum, who has four kids of her own, and that house has 6 more kids. We went down to see the centre, and I have photos of them for you all to look at. She is a lovely lady and as I was helping her up the hill, noticed how out of breath she was getting. I asked how old she was, and she was born in 1960, just 1 year before Tim, Sharon, Jenny and I, so it just made me think of how this sort of care can cost you in Africa, particularly with poor care. What a lady! Anyway, she forgot to gather the kids, and didn’t get a reminder. She was horrified that she had messed up and is going to reschedule for next Monday, which now will not be a restful day , but full on with 2 different de-worming centres.
That left us the afternoon free, we gathered back for lunch and then took of at 1 to conquer the lion-shaped mountain that dominates the area of Masoyi. We left with everyone except the ones who weren’t well – sharon and sharni, and took the bus (with Jackie, who also came with us to Kruger). We went to the carpark of Petra Bible College, and that gave us a head-start, and after a false start because Jackie didn’t get on the bus first time, we set off, lead by Sal Hunziger, who had just got over a dose of pneumonia, but still looked fitter than all of us. Tim was great, urging on the older ladies – Vicki, mum and Pat and Jackie, and encouraging them, carrying their stuff as required and more. The leaders were also very patient, letting them climb at their own pace. We had a couple of steep sections, but there is a last dome that is steepest of all, and we left Pat Ina and Jackie at this place with Steve for a little while, still with a fantastic view eastward over Kruger and westward, even north and south. The remaining 15 took off and Steve joined us after making sur that the other three went as high as they were able (thanks Steve). We had a very high section which Vicki made up after a great effort, and eventually all made it up to the top trig station. After a lot of photos, and looking around at the incredible scenery. There was a little white hut over towards the south, and an initiation camp that was running for a few months. These camps really are a burden on the community and are profit centres for the people who organise them. They can be known to kidnap orphans and then demand almost a ransom to get them back, supposedly for the tuition. They run in the school holidays and that is why we saw them. 11 kids have died so far from infections / fevers from the circumcision rituals that are unhygienic. I had a long talk with Robyn who has had her kids kidnapped this way. It is a real burden on the community and it happens with the girls as well, who are often used sexually as part of the initiation – horrible. Anyway, I might write that up more. Our telephoto picture revealed at least 28 people who could be seen, boys and adults. We are assured that they wouldn’t make problems for us in a big way, as long as we kept together.
We stayed up there for a long time together and then made our way down, getting sunset photos as we left the last shoulder of the mountain. I had an absolute ball wit hthe photos, as did everyone. It was a great time to spend together, absolutely great.
We came back and had dinner together. Pork chops and an incredible caramel mint slice for dessert. Steve had a night out with Robyn and Sal, for his birthday evening. Steve had a lovely talk with his daughter on the day of his birthday as well, so that was nice. Jenny, Tim and I had dinner with George, Carolyn, his mum Anna, Josh and Niki. A great night, where we talked through what we had done, and they reminisced about the wedding of their daughter the previous week in Capetown. She married a South African studying law, who really wants to make a difference.
The next morning was Friday, and deworming had been cancelled for a second day. We went up to another CBO and had a farewell to the other Kristal and Amy, who had been working in the evening. Lovely time in the morning and we went back relatively early from that, had lunch. After that we had brick carrying up the top, and working at the farm doing changeover chores for the new campers coming in on the weekend. I went down to help George with Bible software, trying to help him be more efficient in preparing the hundreds of messages he has to give every year. That all went well, and we met back up, all had showers (depleting the water, but more about that later), and then went out for our planned outing to Shangana Cultural village.
That turned out to be a riot. I will send another message after lunch, as I have some other preparing to do.
Thanks everyone!
God Bless
Clinton