Final Words...

It is with much pleasure that I inform you I will be writing the last blog; however, as it is the last blog, I write with some regret too since it means the trip is almost over. A lot of events have transpired over the past few days, so I will do my best to get everyone up to speed.

Friday, the team took a tour of Living Hope.  We had the opportunity to see other sides of the Living Hope ministry such as the alcohol and drug support group, the Health Care Centre, and we even got to glimpse the agricultural work that Living Hope does.  Seeing more than just the Holiday Club highlighted the multifaceted organization that Living Hope is.  The ministry is constantly expanding and actively seeking out ways to help the local communities.  Each and every day I am reminded of the inspiring and courageous work Living Hope does, serving the least of these with all it can.  If coming to Africa doesn’t get you fired up about being a Christian, then honestly I don’t know what else will.

Saturday, or more accurately Fourth of July, our team journeyed to Old Biscuit Mill, which is quite possibly the best market on earth.  Anything good to eat could be found there.  Crêpes? Check.  Paella? Check.  Kudu burgers? Check.  Full stomach?  Double Check.  If I lived in Cape Town, you would find me spending my Saturday mornings at Old Biscuit Mill enjoying the taste of fine cuisine and culture too.

Later that day, we took a tour of Cape Town Stadium, and I can tell you that for the first time I felt like a professional athlete.  We got to touch the field, and Caleb even pulled a Les Miles and had a bite of grass.  We also went to the media room (the site where post-game interviews are held) and Tucker and Anne Marie posed as players while Austin was their coach. New York Post and Boston Globe reporters, Caleb and me, respectively, asked them some challenging questions. 

Now we come to the portion of the segment and the real reason most of you are reading this blog: to see if we are all alive.  Do not worry, because all of us survived the shark cage experience (without blemishes I might add).  In fact, you were more twice likely to throw up (8 people), than see a shark underwater (3-4 people).  No one is still quite sure what Mac saw.  One thing we can all agree on is that the expedition brought us closer together as a group and unit, and in hindsight, growing closer with friends and fellow believers is more rewarding than seeing some animal with really big teeth.  Shark or no shark, everyone left satisfied with the decision to go in a cage with sharks.

I think I speak for the whole group when I say that this journey is one that no one will be soon forgetting.  The bonds of friendship that have been woven will last a lifetime.  More importantly, we have obeyed God’s calling by coming and ministering to the least of these, and as I write the last words of the final blog, I write with utter joy, because I know seeds have been planted.

Spencer Haynes

First Week in the Books

Today concluded the first week of Holiday Club. Claire Hand reminded us at the beginning of the day during our morning devotion how the Lord renews our spirit. Her words gave us just the burst of energy we needed to start the day. We spent the morning in our perspective camps, Capricorn and Overcome, and then again swapped in the afternoon to work in the other community. The morning in Capricorn consisted of a skit, bible story, games and praise and worship, which is my favorite. The joy and excitement the kids have to worship the Lord is so cool to watch and so inspiring.

After Kids Club, we ate lunch back at Capricorn. We were treated to gatsbys, a South African favorite. A gatsby is a sandwich made up of either chicken, steak or fish and cucumbers, lettuce, tomato, a spicy sauce and French fries. Stanley, an LSE, gave his incredibly powerful testimony and later we got the chance to hear from his friend Marvin, or No Jokes. He had an equally moving story and we all left reminded of the incredible work God is doing among His people in South Africa.

I had the pleasure of spending my afternoons this week with the teens from the Overcome community. We have had so much fun with these kids and their joy and laughter is contagious. From games to asking them questions about the bible story, they are some of the coolest and most amazing teenagers ever. It is so clear from my time spent with them that they really desire to know the Lord and to live their lives for Him. After a great afternoon, we said our goodbyes. It was so hard to leave them but it made it easier knowing they have the incredible leadership of the LSEs to support them and love on them even when we’re gone. We are looking forward to a fun and restful weekend of touring Living Hope and sightseeing. We are so glad to have one more morning with our kids Monday morning before we head out.

We appreciate your prayers and feel them here. Please continue to pray for our team, the LSEs, and the kids we’ve have the opportunity to get to meet this week.

Lots of love from South Africa,

Erin Rector

Day 3 of Holiday Club

Greetings from (basically) the bottom of the world! We’ve officially survived day three of our Holiday Clubs and have now eclipsed the halfway point for our trip, meaning you will get to see our tired yet joyful faces in the not-too-distant future. Since our last post, two more hectic days of camp have passed, filled with endless shouting, games, singing, and smiles. Claire D. and Clayton have kicked off the past two mornings with inspirational devotionals for our team and the LSE’s at Living Hope while Robin, Rebekah, and James have shared the daily Bible story with both the little kids and teens.

While spreading the Good News is our ultimate mission on this trip, we

received our own encouragement last night at dinner from the founders of Living Hope, John and Avril Thomas, who spent all of three hours inspiring and affirming our mission while telling unthinkable stories of despair followed by even more remarkable stories of hope found in the love of Jesus Christ. Citing Matthew 25, John and Avril urged us to think of all of the kids at Capricorn and Overcome as “the least of these” and called us to see Jesus in each and every child we serve.

            Our team has adopted this new attitude and has persevered through sickness, exhaustion, government-regulated power outages, and any other challenges thrown our way (like the rocks that have bombarded us at Capricorn the past two days). In other news, the rain has held off so far (knock on wood), we’re finally doing laundry tomorrow so our overall scent should improve, and most importantly we made a KFC run today which was incredibly clutch. That’s about all I got, and I’m missing out on what sounds like a really good conversation downstairs, so I’ll bug out.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers,

Mac Harris

P.S. Here is our updated sleep tally:

Tucker: 8  

Chad: 5 

Randy: 4

Claire H.: 2

Robin: 2

Erin: 2

Anne Marie: 2

James: 1

Caleb: 1

Rebekah: 1

Frans: 1

First Day of Holiday Club

Today was our first day working at the two townships, Capricorn and Overcome Heights. The morning began with a powerful devotion led by James Harris.  I think we all will “consider it joy” throughout the rest of this trip.  It was a joy to see familiar faces light up as we went on the call outs. Stanley went with us and gave a tour of Overcome. I forgot how much he is respected by the community and the children in it.  We have heard so much about these people and these townships in our training, but seeing them in person gives us a whole knew perspective.  After the call outs at Overcome, we played with the kids and made the most out of the muddy conditions. Later at Capricorn we  played soccer for two hours and Caleb, Reese, Stanley and myself went on a 4-0 run.  Today was a really good day. We have a tired group as we put an end to our fun.  Keep us in your prayers as we continue to minister to the kids in these communities.  We all can’t wait to share more stories with you.

The Chad Vianey

The Journey So Far...

      Hello, world! It seems like a week ago we boarded up the bus at BBC, still energized and psyched for the journey ahead and not the 48 hours that have really passed. On the back end of the traveling, I can tell you for certain that we are NOT still energized. Two flights in two days sandwiching a hectic tour of London really does take it out of you. But we are doing our best to catch up – everyone has fallen asleep on transport at least once today, and I have a feeling bed time will be right after devotion tonight.

      However, we are still so, so psyched to work this upcoming week with our LSEs, or Life Skill Educators. We met them this afternoon to talk over the next week and get to know them better, and I for one am really excited to work with such fun, focused, and godly people. Today, which happened to be Drug Abuse Awareness Day, we walked around Capricorn, one of the townships we will be working in this week, giving out informational flyers and balloons to the people to raise awareness of Living Hope’s rehab and devotion program. It was obvious from all the people the LSEs greeted and the stories they told us that they really love their community.

     After lunch, we hiked up the rocky beach right outside the Team House and had a few trust fall exercises, most of which succeeded. The landscape is so beautiful here. I fully expected a film crew to come around the corner with huge name celebrities in tow, but nope, it’s just another surfer. Both the landscape and the LSEs are present and real reminders of God’s power and love.

We know all of you are praying for our mission and us, so I’ll take this time to say thank you. You got us and our luggage here in one piece, so you can be sure that your prayers are doing something over here. Keep praying for us each day!

From Cape Town with Love,

Claire Davis