Durban

During the month of December, things slow down here in Joburg. Most people in Soweto go home to their families in the village. Others go on vacation, which is what we did.

For the first part of our trip we went to Durban for two nights which is on the west coast about 7 hours from Joburg. Durban is the second largest city in SA and is the busiest container port in Africa. It was founded by a Portuguese explorer who came to the KwaZulu-Natal coast while searching for a route from Europe to India. He landed on the coast on Christmas in 1497, thus naming the area "Natal" which is Christmas in Portuguese.  There is much history here between the British and the Zulu tribe. Later the British established a sugar cane industry which led to the importation of Indian labourers as the Zulus were not interested in working on their plantations. Durban has the largest population of people of Indian descent outside of India in the world.

Durban is one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. One of our goals was to see the Moses Mabhida Stadium which we found after getting lost :)

This is the view from our bed & breakfast that we stayed at... you can't beat looking down the street and seeing the blue ocean.

My one request was to go to the Indian Ocean which Amber sacrificially went along with. I only got into the water up to my knees. Durban is known for sharks (including great whites) so I wasn't too adamant about swimming. I found out some interesting facts after doing some research... South Africa has the highest number of shark attacks in the world with 214 including 42 fatalities. But Volusia County in Florida has had 4 less attacks but all these attacks have occurred in a single county. No thanks!

We went to uShaka Marine World but we ended up getting their too late and not able to go to the aquarium. But it was worth it as we got to see some Zulu women sing and dance! uShaka is named after the great Shaka Zulu warrior who is proudly celebrated by the Zulu people.

We went to one of the largest malls in Africa... it was definitely the biggest mall I have ever been to. It had four levels and even had a rock wall, a wave pool for surfers and a skate park.

roomin' with rach

I have missed my pets from home so often times I get my fix by coming over to my bossman's house to love on their animals. Currently, he and his family are in the States for the holiday season so I have had the privilege of dogsitting. Gotta keep those skills up to par. It truly is therapeutic to stay here and enjoy their company!

I had a photo shoot with Kate, Dorothy (the cat) and Snickers:

Christmas in Africa

Let me just say that I am a big fan of tradition... And Jensen family tradition requires opening presents as soon as you get up. So, Amber and I opened our gifts that were sent to us by our awesome moms.

In South Africa, people go to church on Christmas Day unlike in the States when we go to a Christmas Eve service. We sang, gave testimony, prayed and heard the story of Jesus' birth. It was a great way to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. These sweet girls are the daughters of our newest team members.

We had a meal together with some of our team members as two of our families are in the States right now. We miss you Holidays and Lockes! We played the white elephant game with African curios where everyone wins :)

And this picture is for dad... Every year for breakfast on Christmas he makes tinapanakaga which is a Norwegian pancake. I decided to carry on the tradition and make it for Amber and Zach. I don't think it was as good as dads but I enjoyed having a taste from home.

And what better way to end the day then by video skyping with my sister and brother in law. And then with my mom, dad and the Burchettes getting to open gifts together. It just wouldn't be Christmas with out "being" with your loved ones!

Merry Christmas

Grams

Doris Ann Bennett

15 June 1932 - 18 December 2009

My grams passed away on 18 Dec after a battle with cancer. I can't even begin to tell you how heart sick I am... as I was not able to say goodbye and I don't know whether I will see her in heaven. But I have prayed for the past 4 years for her to come to know the Lord as Savior. Now, I don't know if she accepted Christ but I can rest assured that God is in control and desires for all to come to salvation but each person has to make that decision.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

For many years I have made a big effort to keep in touch with her. I would call her every Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm. This obviously changed when I came to Africa but I would still send postcards and letters.

My Grams was one good looking lady :)

My grandma lived in NYC but for as long as I can remember, she would come visit us in NC and stay for a couple months out of the year. She was such a big part of my life growing up. She was a loving and caring person and was always there for us.

This is the last picture I have with her from Dec 2008. Please take note of her sweatshirt - Grandma Appalachian State. 

I love her so much and she will be greatly missed!!

Staff Lunch

We had the awesome privilege of being invited to the Mayibuye Primary School end of the year staff lunch. We were excited about this opportunity to get to know more of the teachers and build relationships.

The celebration was located at Country Boma which is outside of the city and surrounded by beautiful scenery of mountains and fields.

Okay you might be wondering why I took a picture of this. Take a look at how you have to take a large step up to reach the toilet and how you have to flush it. This was a very nice hotel and restaurant... I'm not used to fancy and upscale facilities!

They had a small program that included gift giving... I didn't really understand the rules of the game but someone would come up and call the name of the person they were giving their gift to. I'm assuming it is much like our secret santa.

This is Amber and I with Rosina who works with the Grade 7s at Mayibuye. She is always responsible for helping to organize the girls for Girls Club and is a pleasure to work with!

It's Beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!!

Okay not really... it's in the 80s in Joburg. But Amber and I are trying to get into the Christmas spirit. We have a 3 ft tree and some lights strung up around the flat. And we have been playing Christmas music for the past month. So, we decided to go see the African version of the Nutcracker.

To make a long story short, we headed out with directions but for some reason we still got lost. Along the way we found Soccer City! This is one of the two stadiums in Joburg that will be hosting games for the World Cup. The design of the stadium is inspired by the African pot known as the calabash. Soccer City is famous for many reasons including the hosting of Nelson Mandela's first rally after his release from prison in 1990.

We actually have tickets to the Round of 16 at this stadium. Can't wait for World Cup 2010!

We also got to tour part of downtown Joburg, which was not in the directions.

Finally, we made it to Gold Reef City. The GRC theatre, amusement park, and casino are centered around shaft No. 14, which was started in 1887 during the start of gold mining in Joburg. I'm excited about going to the amusement park to take the tour of the gold mine shaft... 220m (721 feet) underground.

It was beautiful inside and we were just happy to see any sign of Christmas! The Nutcracker was filled with Africanisms that we were able to catch and understand, which was exciting. Not the same performance I remember seeing as a child but nevertheless the music and dancing was excellent.

Ukubhabhadizwa

Praise God! We have had 2 baptism services, one at Lehae Baptist and the other at Faith Baptist in Snake Park.

This is Jerry who has professed Jesus as Lord and was baptized in the Klip River in Lehae.

This is some of the members of Lehae that came out to support Jerry. Please note the bunny ears held up by Mehluli... they are a fun group of people. 

We had a beautiful day and great attendance at Snake Park! Before being baptized, they each came up to testify to the church how God has worked in their lives and confess Him as their Lord and Savior.

There were 8 women who were baptized in a blow up pool... how cool is that? 

This is a video of the ladies singing and praising God before getting baptized. There is nothing better than hearing people praise the Lord in their native tongue! Makes me look forward to the day when every tribe, tongue, and people will be singing before the throne.

Revelation 7:9

And behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb...

How I Spent Thanksgiving

• Not in the cool of winter ... Rather sweating in the heat of the summer
• Not watching the Macy's Day Parade ... But sliding down a mountain in a cardboard box
  
• Not eating turkey ... Enjoying chicken and dumplings
  
• Not with family ... Instead with new friends who are sisters and brothers in Christ

Johannesburg is also called "Egoli" which means City of Gold. Gold was discovered in the region in 1884 and active mining operations began 2 years later. Up until recently South Africa has been the world's largest gold producer. Mountains of gold deposits can be found all around Joburg which are the result of decades of gold extraction. They are actually being mined again because there are still minerals that the old machinery left. 

This is a snapshot of what we see everyday walking around Snake Park, Soweto.

This is Amber and I with Lorraine and Sibongile... anytime we do something whether ministry related or for fun, we always try to have our friends come with. They thought we were crazy for wanting to slide down the mountain but they ended up having such a good time and want to do it again!

This is Sibongile and I sliding down the mountain on cardboard boxes. I'm so thankful for Sibongile who has such a sweet spirit and truly loves the Lord. She has taken over teaching Sunday School at Faith Baptist which is an answer to prayer. She has become one of our really good friends!

This is the view from the top of the mountain overlooking Soweto.

This is the group minus Sibongile who was taking a nap on the side of the mountain when this picture was taken. It was certainly a workout climbing up.

Mlungu Dance

Go ahead and laugh it up...

This video is from our "Talent Show" that we had at our last Girls Club meeting at Mayibuye. Can I just admit that I don't know how to dance nor do I have any rhythm? BUT all that matters is that the girls had fun, right (even if it's at our expense)?!

They enjoyed our attempts to dance South African - the first move is "vuma" and another move is "cut the cake" which are both moves we have adopted from here. Kwaito or House Music is very popular in SA and is what we are dancing to.

This video is dedicated to Courtney who requested a video of us dancing.

Homestay

We had the awesome privilege of staying with a Zambian family for 3 days in the village. It was the highlight of my 40/40 experience, hands down.

This is Amber and I walking to our home in the village. I'm so thankful to the Chapanga family for opening up their home and hearts to us.

This was our hut for the weekend... we brought mattresses to sleep on and mosquito nets to create our "happy place" at night (according to Kevin our program director). Bambo Henry built this hut... the floors were made of some sort of concrete and the roof was made from branches found in the bush.

Below is my happy place... playing with children. News spread that some mzungu (white people) were staying in the village so it wasn't long before kids came to see us. Here you can see that Sandra and I are the entertainment as I'm trying to cut and eat a mango. I had fun teaching them games such as paper, rock, scissors and trying to learn Nyanja. I made the phrase "nipasekoni nshawa" into a song which they loved... it means pass the ground nuts... and sang it with them while we shelled ground nuts.

The Chapanga family treated us as honored guests... but they also allowed us to work. We shelled ground nuts, helped cook nshima, washed dishes, planted maize in the fields, shelled maize, and drew water. I learned that living in the village is not an easy life. Can I just say that I have a new appreciated love for Joburg?

We also had the opportunity to go to the maize mill. Maize is a type of corn that they use to make nshima (which is called mealie pap here in South Africa). We had to walk about 30 minutes to the mill where Daisy worked hard to grind the maize. What I found interesting is that they use every part... they use the leaves to feed the cattle, the cob is used for burning in order to cook and the kernels make animal food and lastly the nshima which they eat everyday for multiple meals. I am so impressed with how smart and resourceful these people are and have to be in order to live.

This is Amai Daisy and Bambo Henry who are now are Zambian parents along with many children who live in the village. This was our hang out spot... on a grass mat under a mango tree in the middle of the bush. Loved it!

Bush Camp in Petauke

Here are the top 5 things I learned at Bush Camp:

1. Scorpions and giant camel spiders come out at night.
2. It takes about 35 pumps at the well to get enough water for a bucket shower.
3. Your body begins to adjust to going to bed at 9pm because its pitch black.
4. Zambians know how to use a sling shot to kill snakes.
5. The squatty potty is not that bad.

We had an 8 hour bus ride from Lusaka which was not so much fun but the landscape was amazing... over the mountains and through the bush to the small town of Petauke.

It felt like two worlds were colliding as we drove in a luxury tour bus (with no a/c) through the bush as far as the eye could see... with small villages alongside the road in the middle of no where. It was a surreal experience as I thought about how many of these people have never seen what life is like outside of the bush. Makes me thankful to God for the many comforts I have and the opportunities He has given me.

Our humble abode for 2 weeks. I have never been camping before so this was a new experience for me. Overall, I enjoyed it but could do without the big 3: spiders, snakes and scorpions!!

The kitchen staff helped in Lusaka and then traveled with us to bush camp. I had a good time talking with these ladies (and 2 guys) and learning about Zambian culture. It was such a blessing to get to know them! I'm going to miss their smiling faces as well as the singing and dancing.

We had the opportunity to go out into the villages and just be with the people. We talked with them about life in the village which will be helpful to our ministry in Joburg. We have found that even though we live in a large city, many of the people still have connections to the village.

A New Found Love For Zambia

We have met a lot of awesome people here in Zambia. Each day we go out into the community and just visit with people and talk to them about their lives and what it's like to live in Zambia. This is a family that invited us to their house to chat under a tree about the Word of God. This man even shared some Scripture with us and prayed for us. What a blessing!


This is our helper Mutale who takes us around Kalingalinga to meet with people and learn. She is so funny and has really been helpful in teaching us about African culture. I'm going to miss her!


Mutale even took us out to eat... you may be wondering what this is a picture of. Yes, I ate caterpillars and no they weren't too bad. I would eat them again! We also had whole fish (with head and tail), kapenta (little whole fish that you eat in one bite), nshima (like pap in SA), rape (greens almost like spinach) and chicken. It was a very interesting meal to say the least.


This is Sandra and I drinking mukoyo. This drink is made out of maize that is boiled. The interesting thing is that if you set it out for 7 days it becomes beer. It had a bitter taste to it but I'm thinking it was only at day 5 or 6.


The Zambian Vocal Collection came to sing for us... they are amazing! You should check them out. They have awesome voices and truly love the Lord.


And of course I had to take a picture of some kids... aren't they too cute?!