Happy Birthday, Denzil!

Today was a good day. It started with a little birthday celebration breakfast at this hip place called Mugg & Bean – the coffee was good and bottomless. Denzil (Pete and Fran’s son) turned 12 today and although we weren’t able to get him anything more than a card with a few rand as an insert, it’s been fun filling in as an ad-hock spend-the-night-party for our new friend. Since 8:00 am this morning we’ve been singing Happy Birthday to him every hour, on the hour, until 8:00 pm tonight! Funny stuff.

The Sun Also Rises
Thank you for yours prayers and encouraging notes on the blog – our time at the Thembalethu VBS was like daybreak! Per last night’s debriefing meeting, we made some minor adjusts that yielded major results. We left tonight’s gathering more energetic and confident of our efforts. All of the children, save a few rowdy ones, were very compliant and interested in what was going on. Stefanie taught on Jesus being the only void-filler for our hearts…enough said.

Let us not give up in doing good…
Terri led us on a journey through Galatians 6:9 for morning devotions, encouraging the entire team to put faith in God that he will bring fruit from our labors. This is a very tough thing to do, being the instant-result people that we all are. Sometimes you can leave a township VBS, a small group, a Bible study or a conversation over coffee and wonder if anything mattered. Paul reminds us in this passage that God will work things together, whether we’re around to see it or not. Good stuff.

Pictures
There wasn’t really any time to take pictures today…sorry. VBS jumped another 80 tonight, topping out at 400 hundred! One more day to go!!!

South African Lingo:
Full Stop – phrase meaning the end of it; final say.

This will be short (wink, wink)

We’re learning how hard this is. We’re getting the vibe that ministry in the townships is less than predictable and anything but gated. There’s a since in which you feel ineffective and it makes me think about how the day to day trudge taken by the Laughren family must, at times, take it’s toll. Tonight was a rough go. It was simply laborious just to settle the room, much less guide them through any sort of project or lesson. True to form, more kids showed up tonight than did last night. To be exact, 321 children framed out the room, with more coming tomorrow night, no doubt. But the room was vigorous and almost forceful in nature. Kids were booting craft items left and right, taking more than they needed, leaving many children with nothing. And it’s hard to blame them – they don’t have anything to begin with. Running a lesson through two different translators is a very tricky thing; the rhythm of communication is lost and you have to reboot every time you start to speak. And tonight was tough because the translators spent much of their stage time trying the chill the room and quiet down the kids. As I glance back, I know that my words are insufficient in helping to paint the picture for you (it might be because it’s terribly late here) but, in our debriefing earlier this evening, it was apparent, even from missionaries Pete and Fran that tonight was tough. It’s like, I know I’ve had those conversations about significance in ministry many times over, however, it was weird and somewhat comforting to hear Fran wonder aloud if things were working. There’s resonation in that conversation for me, and the others here, because we’re all involved. But those feelings only come from a caring heart and a burdened soul. There’s no discontent in a jaded life, but those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they are haunted by the idea of people not being helped or the thought of injustice never crossing paths with Jesus and his saving message.

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it written, ‘how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.’” –Romans 10:14-15

Team Update
Despite the night’s difficulties, the team worked very hard. Joy and Brittni did an amazing job at telling the story of Jonah (and the big fish) to the children. Terri was super-good and leading the kids in singing tonight. Scott and Lindy are now involved in the bus runs with the children. (Scott’s doing pretty well at driving on the “wrong” side of the road!) Eric is taking some amazing pictures of the children, our team and the scenery. Stefanie is running crafts like a pro. And I, of course, am teaching teenage boys how to play my guitar! But all of us are busy with the ministry here and also very tired. Thanks for your prayers and your comments – we’re reading them over and over. We miss you all.

PS – Tomorrow is Denzil’s 12th birthday! He’s the son of Pete and Fran. If you get an extra second, send him a birthday comment on the blog.

So there's a button...

With Pete at the airport picking up more help from Hampton, GA (small world), we were left with the remaining van and 300 hundred kids bus home. The sun was setting and the rain was starting. After the nightly load-out of equipment into the van, we all piled in and…nothing. Scott turned the key and nothing happened. He turned the key again. Nothing. Again. Nothing. “Let’s get out and push!” (The van is a stick-shift, by the way) So we all leaned into the van and started to push. Nothing draws a crowd in a South African township like 6 white people shoving a van down the street – help soon arrived from out of nowhere. With the locals on our side, we all pushed the van while Scott kept trying the jump the engine. It never happened. So Fran called Pete and we waited on the side of the road for rescue to come. I played a little impromptu soccer with some children on the sidewalk and was schooled, once again, by some 7-year old. Pete showed up some 15 minutes later, climbed into the van, pushed a button, and the van started up, like new. “So there’s a button?” Oh well. There’s a phrase we learned in Panama a couple of years ago that goes, “Flexibility is your friend; rigidity is your enemy.” Double true!

From 110 to 283
Our opening night of VBS become a memory as the second night trumped its attendance by more than double, leaving us to adjust immediately to more kids, more noise, more crowd control problems and less room. We were getting close to the seams in the one-room Church building as more and more kids came in during the worship. The scary thought is that more will come throughout the week. However, Lindy did an awesome job with the story of The Good Samaritan, creatively teaching from the aisle, walking up and down the room, holding the attention of the kids like a pro. We all weighed in and helped by acting out the story alongside her teaching; this helped visualize the story for the kids. The Good Samaritan is one that resonates with everyone – all around us people are needed help and more often than not, we “pass by on the other side,” leaving family members, friends, and strangers to survive on their own. It’s one of those things that reminds of what Rob Bell said in Velvet Elvis, “I believe the Bible because it happens.”

Like I said earlier, night two of VBS was more than double from the night before. The kids are as full of energy as any in the states, and very eager to hear about this Jesus and his love for all people. Save a few disruptions from the older kids in the back of the room, our gatherings are awesome to behold. The singing is unreal, especially when the song calls for dancing. The building shakes as the 300 children jump in unison, similar to fans at a soccer match cheering on their team, all with one voice and rhythm. Terri is now in charge of worship – I think Fran got wind that Terri leads the preschool worship back in the states and the rest will unfold this week.

In Closing
Mission trip Vacation Bible Schools are tiring. Following Jesus is tiring. Our devotion this morning (Lindy G.) was from Luke 10 when Jesus quoted the Shema in answer to the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) is the call to give your whole self to God; not a piece here and there but, the whole being. It’s easier to hold it together for an hour on Sunday than it is to live a life of worship. Seeing all parts of life as a service to God is rough sledding, straight away. Our vocations, conversations, free time, etc. they all count, or, we must make them count. To love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength is a life-long journey to turn our whole lives into worship. So that’s our prayer. That’s our goal. That’s our stumbling block.

I ended the day with buying a local paper, all excited about reading the articles and such. Here’s the first line of the front-page story:

“Mnr. Riaan Loots (24) se lewensonderhoudende masjiene is Sondagmiddag afgeskakel nadat ‘n speller van Delicious hom Vrydagaand met ‘n stywe arm op die strot geslaan en daarna teen die kop geskop het.”

Your guess is as good as mine.

Good Morning

We had a pretty bad windstorm last night that knocked out all of our technology, leading to the delay in updates. Sorry about that. That being said, please check back in the mornings from this point forward; our days are just too busy to pause and spend a couple of hours on bloggin. The internet is very, very slow here and it takes a lot of extra time to simply load pictures and script. Thanks for your patience.

Fana noYesu

My flannel board flew away. Terri worked all morning piecing together the best reenactment of the Zacchaeus story anyone had every seen on a flannel board but, it was all for not. Right out of the gate, I was talking about Jesus being in Jericho and how the whole town came out to see him, including Zacchaeus, and it was right about that time a wind blew through the Church building, taking out Jericho quicker than Joshua, leaving me, the nervous teacher, to look at the children and say, “Hang on, I have to pick up Jesus.” (Zacchaeus, somehow, stayed on-board, though)

To Be Like Jesus (Xhosa: fana uYesu)
The township of Thembalethu is the spot for our vacation Bible school this week. It’s much like Conville, the streets are lined with one-room houses and hundreds of people just walking somewhere. It reminds me of the Apache reservations out west, without the graffiti. Our theme for the week is Be Like Jesus, or, in Xhosa (The language of this township), fana uYeshu. We arrived at the church building around 2:30 pm to set up and ready the room for, by the end of the week, will be some 500-600 children. Feverishly hanging some homemade decorations and trying to find an outlet that worked took up most of our first hour there. News travels fast in Thembalethu and soon kids were hanging out in the field by the church. With 30 minutes or so until VBS start time, I tried my feet (and lungs) at some South African soccer with some of the children. Pointing to a middle school aged boy, I turned to Eric and said, “That kid is really good.” The kid’s friend turned to me and said, “No, he’s excellent.”

Most assuredly, the building filled up, as we sang song after song with the children. They love to sing. And they sing very well. They would sing in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa, all in the same song. It’s really good on the ears. Once again, Joy and I played guitars and taught the children the song All We Need, as we did in Conville at the Church. They, too, loved it. We’re going to try and teach a new song every night at VBS. After the Zacchaeus story, the children spread out around the room and we all dove in on the crafts we had prepared. Each of us grabbed a handful of craft items, found a spot on the floor, and waited for the children to come gather around us. Surprisingly, it was very fluid, with no real hiccups. As always, the children pile into your laps, on your back, around your neck and anywhere else they can find. Brittni had a little girl hanging onto her neck for the most of the evening.

These are the moments you remember, though. They’re really the reasons why you come.
We are having such a great time here, with Pete and Fran (and Denzil), as they guide us through their daily lives – the mission work and all. They have been in this town for 10 years now and their influence is obvious. They seem to know everyone that works in the local restaurants, the exchange offices, the banks, etc. They definitely are not missionaries waiting for the people to come to them.

Spiritual Update
Our devotion this morning was from Esther 4. The back story on this passage is that Esther had been made queen of Persia through an impulsive beauty pageant sponsored by the king and his staff. Esther was one of the many Jews that did not return to Jerusalem in the late 6th century B.C. and was left to live her life in a different culture under different ideals. Her adopted father, Mordecai, gets wind of the king’s plan to exterminate the Jews and sends message to Esther, encouraging her to stop it. Esther nervously denies the challenge, to which Mordecai sends these words back:

“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” -Esther 4:13-14

Mordecai was saying, “Listen, you’re not the only hope but, don’t you want to be? And who knows, maybe God has placed you here to do this very thing.” Our take-home: Don’t overlook daily opportunities to share God’s story with someone.

Continue to be in prayer for all of us. We appreciate all your comments on the blog – we’re reading them! So, keep ‘em coming!!! We all send greetings back home.

The Day Before VBS

Did I mention that it's winter here? Well, it is. In fact, we carried blankets to Church this morning! And we used them, too. Of course, I forgot to pack "dress" shoes which led to a suit and flip-flops. Go figure.


Church at Conville: Singing in English & Afrikaans
Our day started in the township of Conville, a place of streets lined with one-room houses and wandering residents. It's a town of "colored" people. See, there are three races here in SA: (1) white, (2) black, & (3) colored. The first two are obvious. The third is a mix of the first two, leading to all kinds of social acceptance problems; they're like a population group that can't find it's way, sort of left out to dry. The Church we attended this morning (Conville Church) is a colored Church. The preacher's name is Calvert and he's very short. We had this contest after the Church service to see if Eric Hoover may have found someone shorter than him. Calvert lost. Eric was super-excited! There was much rejoicing. (Sorry, had to)

The service, although totally unplugged, was simply electric. We sang so many songs in Afrikaans that we almost learned the language. Conville meets in a school building, having to move desks to make room for Church members and guests. The children are quite behaived and spend most of their time singing, dancing and starring at the white visitors. (We may have been the best childcare in a long time) At the very last, Joy and I were asked to sing a couple of songs using our guitars. So we tuned up and sang Here I Am To Worship & All We Need. All We Need is a new Charlie Hall song, with almost no exposure in Conville, I'm sure. So I taught them chorus and they outsang us! (We're going to try and upload the video soon) The most memorable part of the day was when they introduced Scott as the guest preacher for the day and the congregation stood up and sang, followed by a dance around the communion table (Oh, no!), which we later learned was a way of welcoming the preacher. It went over five minutes and it never grew tired. The service ended with a hug and a song from every member. Very unique. Will never forget it. Will always miss it.

On Deck: VBS
Tomorrow begins Vacation Bible School in the African township of Thembalethu, just outside the city of George. This endeavor will, no doubt, involve nearly 600 children from the surrounding area. Our whole day has been framed in preparing crafts and lessons for the children. The VBS will take place in a one-room Church, housing the whole gig, including craft time. Tonight we watched a video from a past VBS in the same town and got a good read on the situation. In one part of the video we counted 57 children empty a Volkswagon van. Fifty-seven. Five seven. Way over the recommended capacity. We're very excited about the coming days with these children and your prayers for us are greatly appreciated.

Team Update
All is well! Everyone is working hard and getting to know each other better and better with each passing day. We're all still a little tired but ready to get to work this week.

UPDATE NEWS: I will try my hardest to update this journal every day at 3:00 pm your time. So check back before you leave work! Thanks again for your prayers.

No Sleeping In The Aisles

Trip to the airport: easy. Ticketing: right on. Customs: breezy. Movie screens on the back of the seats: nifty. The announcement from the flight attendant that there will be no sleeping on the floors in the aisles: perplexing. This only means someone has done it. It's one of those rules that makes the list after the fact; like everything was fine and normal and then some flight crew member made their way into the cockpit and said, "Um, excuse me, Captain. There is someone sleeping on the floor." "Really," the Captain says. "Where?" "In coach, of course." "Yes, right. Well, make a note of it and drop it into the announcements on the trip back."

Sorry for the delay
First of all, sorry for the lapse in communication; it really took us nearly a day & a half to get here and unpack. But here we are and it's awesome. Flying into the George (our third flight) looked like the opening scenes from The Sound of Music - mountains that touched the sky, based with huge green fields, connected to small streets and farms. The airport rivals Savannah's, with one terminal and a baggage claim. We hooked up with this German boy making his way to George. I took 4 years of German and thought "I hang with this kid, no sweat." His English was about as good as my German so, we just sort of looked at each other while I said ridiculous things like, "I have a friend in Munich." He asked me what my French name was, which seamlessly ended our conversation. Pete, Fran & Denzil met us at baggage claim and we loaded up in a couple of vans and made our way to their house, a few miles away. It's very Euro here, which, to an American, means, it's all backwards! The steering wheel was on the "wrong" side. I was riding shotgun. I flinched the whole the way there. (So that's what it felt like for my parents as I learned to drive?) Once arriving at the house, we settled down for a dinner out at a place called Nando's. We hear it's Mark & Annette Tuttle's favorite spot. It was very choice! The table was covered with baked chicken, French fries and ginormous rolls. (That's not a real word for all the scorekeepers out there.) After dinner, we met as a team for 30 minutes or so and then all went to bed by 7:00 pm, sleeping well past sunrise.

Saturday: Team Glue Gun
We had an official sit-down orientation this morning, learning about our tasks and duties for the week. Pete shared some interesting things about South Africa and its culture, not the least of which was how 11 different tribes inhabit the country, with as many languages, to boot. Our job this week is to help run a vacation Bible school in a township just outside the city of George. We're planning for nearly 500 kids with two interpreters. Most of today (Saturday) is being spent setting up and preparing all the crafts for the week and various others items for the VBS. I'm actually operating a glue gun! My wife would be so proud.

So be in prayer for our time here. Be in prayer that we are able to help Pete & Fran in their endeavors with the African peoples. Be in prayer for our team, as we all are getting to know one another, some for the first time. I will post pictures very soon; our trip thus far has been all travel.

A 17-Hour Flight Looms

Africa is a long way away. It's like tomorrow away. (I heard there are two flight crews on one plane...) If we had those signs in the skies, like in The Jetsons, it could read "Welcome to Savannah! Next Town: Cape Town, South Africa." Seventeen hours in the sky is a long ride. We're all praying for good movies! Anyway, despite any fears and uneasiness about the long, 17-hour flight across the ocean, our team of 8 is quite ready for what God has laid before us. After leaving Monday night's meeting, there's a real sense of purpose and mission within the hearts of our team, as well as in the hearts of those family members staying behind. Months ago we all decided to lean into this project and raise the funds to spend nearly 2 weeks partnering with missionaries Pete & Fran Laughren as they work to push the story of God forward in a different culture, serving the peoples of George, South Africa. So, we're ready. And in less than 12 hours, we'll be in the skies, crossing the world, to carry the hope of God to His people.

There's traffic in the sky...
-Jack Johnson, On and On