I cannot believe that it has only been two days since we began our ministries here in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa. The locals call it Jeffrey’s or J-Bay so I’ll follow their lead and call it J-Bay 🙂 Our twenty-two member team is divided into five ministry teams, mine is team five and there are five members on my team. In the mornings we work at a Care Centre run by the Victory Church here through a program of theirs called Victory 4 All. For the three hours of the morning shift there we do manual labor outside in the cool, breezy, sunny, amazing weather of a South African winter. I’m working on my incredibly spiffy farmer’s tan. In the first two days we already planted ten trees and have dug holes for several others in the rockiest soil ever encountered by me or by the Alabaman, two Texans and Alaskan that are my ministry members. But I’ll come back butch and bronzed from tree planting, picking up trash, or rubbish as they call it, piling rocks, and bonding with the Dutchmen who run the site, Erik and Harmon.
After we eat lunch around noon, we drop off our teammates at their respective sites and then my team goes to a site called Ithemba–which means hope–and we help in the after school program there until five. The kids’ ages range from toddlers through maybe fifteen year olds and we just play with them, sing songs and dance, give them piggy back rides, and let them braid our harre lanke, which means long hair, because they are used to their own harre korte. I’m learning Afrikaans quite well, as I have a lot of bemused children patiently drumming out the days of the week and nommers 1-10 and simple phrases for me while we play together. I’m loving the kids, and particularly one girl named Masintha has run to me and clung to me for the whole duration of the two five hour days that we spent at Ithemba. I’m used to a little more structure in programs, but God’s teaching me flexibility to be willing to dance for 3 hours straight if that’s what the kids want!
In the evenings, all five ministry teams come back together and walk home, make dinner, hang out and debrief, and just bond. Even in the first week of training camp that we had in Gainesville, GA and in this first week here in J-Bay we’ve become a family. Having just said goodbye to my family for the next six months as they move back to Japan, it was such a blessing to be welcomed into a surrogate family of peers with common passions and totally diverse giftings that complement each other beautifully. I’ve been so blessed by the way that God pulled this team together, and how it has shown me how smoothly and beautifully the body of Christ can work together.
Christ has blessed me so greatly with work to do that I love that brings me joy, and people who get my sense of humor and laugh with me instead of just thinking I’m crazy, and good eats that doesn’t make my intestines churn with food poisoning, and gorgeous weather. He’s also been pushing me just beyond my limits. Only four days here and I already hate the sound of my alarm beating me out of bed at six in the morning. My hands are getting callouses in odd places from hoeing, raking, and using an incredibly hefty pounding posts to break the rocks in the ground. My head is sore from being whipped about by the hands of little African children saying who knows what. And I have to pray for a good attitude CONSTANTLY.
But God is teaching me to have a malleable heart. So often I treat sites, problems, and people as PROJECTS, and when I do, my heart is cold and hard towards them. I’m being taught a heart of compassion that is willing to see past the harsh words of another and see the hurt that caused it, or the past that hardened them, or the inattention afforded them by the largeness of a twenty-two person team. Even though it can be draining to feel their pain with them, I’ve been repeatedly reminded of Romans 12:15, in which Paul exhorts followers of Christ to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” Though it drain my pool of energy to feel all the hurt of those with whom I interact, if it lightens their burden and lifts their spirits, what an opportunity for me. And though now I am feeling brought down by exhaustion and the burdens of others, I’m learning to give it all over to God and not try to function on my own strength, or let my own compassion be enough for others, but to let God’s strength and compassion fill me and move me.
Please pray for J-Bay! Some of the teams are encountering difficulties at their worksites, both with the directors and the participants, so pray for open hearts and the eyes to see opportunities to serve. Pray for sustaining energy for us all, and wisdom to discern between what we can and can’t do, and how not to commit cultural faux pax! Please also pray that we learn the two languages most common here, Xhosa and Afrikaans, and that we learn quickly to be able to better communicate with the people!
Love to you all! And mom and dad, I hope your trip to Japan was good and if possible, could you send me a phone number through a blog comment or my email so that I can call you on Skype? Thanks, love you guys!
Hi Amanda!
It’s great to hear how things are going there. Daddy’s keitai number is 090-9329-4332. We’re still in Hawaii but arrive in Japan on the 17th. We’ll be at Uncle Wayne & Auntie Margo’s for the first few days – maybe until that Sunday if we’re not jama-ing them too much. Their number is 0424-72-7341.
It’s been great visiting with all the folks at the Waimalu church. Shu & Manami and a few kids from OCSI are here right now, too, so we got to see them last night. Jeremiah taught Ian how to surf, so Ian’s been having a blast! Scullys are moving to Zama. Do you remember Erica and Katie? Erica just graduated. (Kelly remembered they were the ones with the trampoline and the dance-dance-revolution.)Anyway, they’re moving over there at the beginning of August so we’ll get to see them more often than once every four years now.
Some of Emily’s counts that were at an all-time low are up high enough not to be considered severe anymore. If all her counts stay up they will start the next phase of her treatment on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday they will find out the results of all the tests and which protocol they’ll be using. Please pray that they’ll be able to use the one that will be least hard on her body. She is already covered in bruises and sore inside and out.
We love, love, love you! You are in our prayers every day!
Love, Mom
Amanda, I do not know you and of course you don’t know me, but my daughter Samantha is in JBay with you. Anyway, I’ve been reading the blogs and just wanted to tell you that yours has really moved me. I love your writing style and your descriptions are wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing with us on the “outside”. I will revisit your blog and any more to follow with geat anticipation. Again, Thank you and God Bless. Prayerfully, Meg
Hey Amanda,
It’s good to hear how you’re doing. Every struggle we meet and overcome builds us up and pleases God.
I read James 1 a while ago and it keeps dwelling on my mind. It has helped me through many things.
Anyway, you have missed quite a bit back here. Nothing to important, but still news. I’ll write to you about it.
Miss you and still praying for you,
Nathan
Hi friend,
I’m praying for you! Your smiling face is missed, but I’m excited for what your doing. Sounds like you have some great oportunities for relationships that matter.
Hi Amanda. I am so glad to hear how you are doing and what you are doing. God is teaching me too about compassion driven by His love pouring into and out of me. I am learning that the more I yield and am cleansed of myself the more He can fill me and pour me out in the lives of others. I’ll pray along with you for His compassion and strength to fill you. He is the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way. I am reading Colossians much these days and Colossians 1 is such encouragement to allow God to do in me what He did in Christ. “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things.” 1:19-20 I will also pray Ephesians 3:16-20 that you will be filled with the fullness of God as He pours out the love of Christ in your heart. Great to hear how you are doing. I look forward to seeing you when you get back.
amanda,
i’m encouraged to hear that things are going well and that you realize that your heart is malleable. praise God! you are learning so much. you have so much to offer through Christ who makes it possible. keep leaning on Him. no one, no thing satisfies more.
so, now that ian has learned how to surf, how about you? j-bay is known for it’s epic surf conditions. not sure about this time of year.
please post a pic or two of you/team.
i’ll continue to pray for you through your time there as well as when you return.
lots of love,
amy
Amen Hallelujah, Sister!
Keep on 1 Peter 4:7-11ing.
Grace and Peace,
Andrew