A local musician in Ithemba, the church that the team has attended the past few weeks, sang an original song the other day, the lyrics of which have been circulating through my head (and apparently endlessly out my mouth much to the amusement/irritation of my teammates).
“Heaven will be sweeter all the time.
Heaven will be always on my mind.
I’ll be leaving, leaving this world behind.
Heaven will be sweeter all the time.”
When you have the privilege of watching the sun rise and set every day, you begin to get a taste for the majesty and creativity of your Creator. Every time I look up at the breathtaking Jeffrey’s Bay sky over the Indian Ocean, over the townships, or wherever we walk, I’m reminded of Psalm 19, and also made a little homesick to be with God because he is so amazing. But I’m also reminded then of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter one verses twenty-one through twenty-five.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith
God has truly blessed our team with very fruitful labor in the ministry. I have made close connections with several of the Dutch missionaries who run the Victory ministries at Victory Care Centre and the Victory School, and I have also bonded with many of the children at Ithemba’s after care program. I wish that I could post my pictures for you all, but I unfortunately neglected to bring my camera cable. When I return, I promise some pictures!
Yesterday, Harmon and Johann rented a jackhammer that I and all my teammates used to break through rocks! It was a cakewalk compared to the digging in the rocky, merciless soil that we labored over for the first two weeks with pick axes and shovels. Today my forearm is sore and I could hardly grip a pen, but it made for some wicked pictures 🙂 We were also able to work twice as fast at landscaping for Victory’s care centre than we’ve been able to, and have now planted over 50 Potatoe Trees around the edge of their property. We also laid sod at two of their sites for the kids to have gentler ground on which to play, we built a sandbox and filled it with sand, and worked for this week on the preparation for the VBS to take place next week and the week after. Called the July Holiday Programme, it is the winter break opportunity to keep the kids off the street, show them love, get them at least one meal a day, and teach them about the unequaled power of the love of Christ to heal and to save. Pray for energy for my ministry team and the other 17 volunteers working at the VBS, as we’ll have between 180 and 280 kids aged 3-15 every day for two hours, with song, dance, drama, feeding, and teaching. The power of God will have to sustain us!
Working at Ithemba in the afternoons has both been challenging and rewarding. The kids love to teach me Afrikaans and some Xhosa, and I have now mastered a two-year old’s vocabulary! I’m so glad that I love languages and have been blessed with a desire to learn them, because some of my teammates find it frustrating to start over with another language, but I take it as one of those double-dog-dares that you can’t stand down. I’m loving the thrill of the challenge. As I learn more, too, the kids have begun to trust me, and content themselves with just sitting and talking with me and not needing to spin around or run and play. Yesterday I was able to have my first really evangelistic conversation with some of the girls, including one who has clung to me from day one, Masintha. It was entirely foundational, and I realized they know far less than I had assumed because of their Christian afterschool program. Sadly, they know the phrase, “Jesus loves you and I love you”, but don’t even realize that Jesus is a person, and truly the only person who it matters to know. Pray for many more opportunities to speak truth in their lives and that I don’t become wearied by communicational barriers or by the short attention spans of the kids.
Another point of both frustration and satisfaction is Viktor. This three year old boy has stolen away my heart. I ache for him, knowing that he is beaten at home by his stepfather. He is so numb to physical pain that no punishment works on him, and we just have to make him look at us and tell him when he is naughty. He is always fighting with the kids, taking balls from others simply because they have them and he doesn’t, knocking others’ food off their plates, and generally being a nuisance. But he also runs into my arms every day and wants to nestle his little head in the crook of my shoulder; he loves to chant boom chicka boom and let me rock him in my arms while I sing to him. Every time a team member holds him we pray over him. At first, when someone said, “I hope he becomes a man of God and comes back to teach here someday” I thought to myself that that was impossible because he has some mental problems due to his mom’s heavy drinking during her pregnancy. Then I realized I was questioning the power of God to overcome all things. I now pray with confidence over him, knowing that the love of God is higher than anything else. Romans 8:35-39 reminds me that God holds us safe in his hands through all things. I am so assured that God can heal his mind and heart and make little Viktor whole in every way. Numsa asked him if he loved me and wanted to fight me anymore–he often pinches, bites, kicks and hits me–and he replied that he loved me and didn’t want to fight me anymore. I don’t know how much a three year old can understand that, but it touched me anyway and I know that God is working mightily in this boy.
Blessings and God’s peace,
Amanda
