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?!

Welcome to Zambia

Well, Amber and I have made it to Zambia for our month long training. Can I just say that they have the biggest spiders I have ever seen... and I am not a fan of spiders in case you didn't know. We will live in the city for 2 weeks, move to the village to live in tents and then for 3 days we will live with a Zambian family. I will not be able to update my blog as regularly but keep checking in to see more pictures of Zambia and the people.

The trees and landscape of Zambia are gorgeous. It is summer therefore it is extremely hot. But the good news is that all the plants and trees are flowering.


I am excited to be with some of our people from training back in April, which means.... game time! We have already started playing card games and farkle every night. Amber and I are excited since no one in Joburg will play games with us (Zach). We miss everyone else from training who used to stay up late at night to play farkle.


On Sunday, we had church and then were given the rest of the day off. We decided to go to the market to buy some Zambian souvenirs. I always enjoy bartering with people. And I just love after the transaction usually giving them more than what I said and telling them zikomo (thank you in Chichewa) and seeing them smile.

Tebogo

This is one of our sweet Grade 7 girls, Tebogo. She goes to one of the four schools were we have a Girls Club. She has been faithful in coming each week even when this is the only school where Girls Club is optional. This school has been the most difficult and discouraging because the girls have not seemed to be tracking or interested at times... how wrong we were. I'm so amazed and humbled to see how God is working in the lives of these girls and allowing me to be a part of what He is doing for His name's sake in Soweto!

Praise God for Tebogo who is now His child!

Creche Visit

We were invited to a creche also known as a daycare by a mother of a child who comes to Sunday School at Faith Baptist in Snake Park. In South Africa, the children have to be 6 1/2 in order to go to primary school which starts with Grade 1. The school year starts late January and goes until early December. They have a few breaks during the year that are a couple weeks long. 

The creche is the tin izozo or shack to the right of the playground. Many times people will run a creche out of their home.

This is the owner of the creche. She was very sweet and appreciative that we came to play with the children. She asked us as we were leaving when we could come back.

They provided us with chairs to sit on while the children sang for us, said their abc's (in English!) and danced. We taught them a few of our favorite songs - Jesus loves me remix and My God is so Big.

Some of the children were a little nervous around us as we were the first abamlungu (white people) they have seen. But as you can see they opened up to us when we sat on the floor and played with them. They enjoyed playing with our hair.

The kids were looking at my Gospel bead bracelet that we make at Girls Club. They all took turns trying to guess the color of the beads. Too cute!

a taste of soweto

What will you find driving around Soweto?

Shops. You will find people who set up shop on the side of the road. They sell anything from inkuku (chicken), cow heads (and every part including hooves and intestines), fruits, veg, sweeties and other snack foods.

Animals. You not only have to avoid the crazy taxi drivers but animals and people in the roads as well. You can find goats, pigs, chickens, cows, donkeys just cruisin' the streets. You will see many women carrying things on their heads, amazing!

Landscape. You will see the beautiful gold deposit mountains which are not liked by locals because of the dust blown into their homes. The cooling towers which were used to power white areas during apartheid can be see from many locations in Soweto. We may be bungee jumping off these towers... I'll keep you updated. 

Children playing. You will find children and adults sitting on the side of the road under the shade of a tree. Young children play different township games, soccer or find anything to play with hence the broken shopping trolley. This boy with a stick is walking barefoot through sewage. He was helping us retrieve our soccer ball.

iholide

During the school holiday, we have had two abatwana (kids) clubs and have been visiting with people in their homes and even at the hospital. It was a tough week of ministry and I am looking forward to seeing our girls on Monday. My heart is aching for the people of Soweto to know the Father and His love for them. Continue to pray for Soweto.

We went to our friend Refilwe's indlu (house) to help his mother with her school work. She is taking a computer course so we went to teach her Excel, hence Zach's macbook sitting on the table. They cooked pap (maize/corn), chicken with tomato and onions and cabbage. It was delicious! Please notice we are eating with our hands - I love it.

We went to a museum to learn a little history of Soweto. The establishment of Soweto is, like Joburg, linked directly to the discovery of gold in 1885. People from around the world and South Africa came to the new town to seek their fortunes or to get a job working in the mines. More than half the population was black and lived in shanty towns. In 1905, the Johannesburg City Council took the opportunity to establish racially segregated residential areas. 

In the early 1900s, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer a German diamond and gold mining entrepreneur went to South Africa. He was appalled by the housing situation of the people so he arranged a loan for the construction of houses and the demolition of shacks. The Oppenheimer Tower was built in the 1950s by mine workers. They used the remains of shacks to make bricks for the tower to honor him.

We also went to the Credo Mutwa Cultural Village just beside the tower. Credo is a writer, sangoma (witch doctor) and playwright who built this village of buildings and sculptures that depict African culture. It was interesting but a little shocking to learn about some of the beliefs.

This is Bossman, Zach, myself, Amber and Refilwe at the top of the tower overlooking Soweto.

We went to Baragwanath Hospital to visit a friend whose baby is sick with leukemia. I can't even explain the sadness that I felt walking by the many beds of sick babies and children...

This hospital is one of the largest in the world. It is the only public hospital that serves the population of Soweto which is estimated to be around 5 million. More than two thousand patients check in to the hospital daily and nearly half of them are HIV positive. 

This is just one of the many buildings that make up Baragwanath hospital.