More pictures!

So...here are some more pictures from our first camp.

Worship time...

Lowering the paralytic through the roof:

Soccer on the Academy field:

My Kudus! (Zizzy, Gcobisa, Ongaziwe, Asiphe, Veliswa, and Oyama)

 

Camp 1 Facilitators

Eric, Mike, and their wild Rhinos

Asiphe....probably one of the cutest kids ever:

Craft Time.

Silly group picture.

The Zebras showing off their style...

and ok, I'll put some pictures up too

Here are some of the kids from the second camp!

Rhinos -- looking good on the trampoline.

Kids getting ready to watch the slideshow

Brittany getting ready to give her talk (Allen is translating).

... but praise God that you bear that name.

The subject above is from the end of 1 Peter 4:16. The section talks about suffering for being a Christian. And it not so subtly implies that life doesn't make sense sometimes. Today was one of those times.

I'll try to keep this relatively short -- we have a little packing to do before our flight tonight. Today was the kids' last day of camp. Breakfast this morning was interesting. The plumbers were here yesterday to fix some drainage problems we were having, but as of this morning *nothing* in the kitchen drained properly. So the sinks were out of commission, and by convenient coincidence, it was the leaders' turn to do all the dishes. I was out back with a couple of big tubs washing things from a spigot. Not quite what I was expecting this morning, but aside from wearing my back out a bit it wasn't too bad.

Then later this morning it was my turn to give a talk to the kids. It's sort of a culmination of the different parts that we learned about during the week -- unity, compassion, humility, courage, and encouragement. So my talk was on "God's love is unconditional".

It went over pretty well, I think. It's always hard to tell from up front. But anyway, I get to the end and close things out in a prayer. Just before we're through, there's some mumbling and rustling around in one part of the room. I look up, and one of the girls (14 years, I'm told) from Brittany's cabin is on the floor having a seizure.

Fortunately there were a lot of people around here when it started, and people helped out trying to hold her still and make sure she can breathe. One of her classmates said that this has happened before, but it's still very scary. And normally seizures in kids only last a couple minutes -- I've seen one or two before -- but this one kept on going. We found a hard surface to put her on and moved her outside for some fresh air.

Meanwhile, Ted is on the phone with a number of doctors in the area. He talks to an ambulance service, but they're 45 minutes away. So after talking to a doctor in (relatively -- ~20 minutes) nearby Paarl, we load her (still seizing, by the way) into a van.

Denise, Mike (the younger), Ted, Brittany, and one of the facilitators went along in the van to keep her stable.That was at about 11:30am.

And then the kids left on a bus at 12:15pm or so. Quite a way to end a camp.

At about 1:30pm I get a call from Denise saying that the girl (I don't actually know her name) is up and walking around. And smiling and talking. After having a 2-hour long seizure. How these sorts of things work... I have no idea.

All of that said, the last part of this trip has been an emotional roller-coaster. Even for me, someone who doesn't display much emotion externally. Someone grabbed my laptop and hid it in our cabin yesterday, so we had some hard talks with the kids. That's still unresolved, but at the same time I want to build up unity and the relationships among the kids. And I was stressing out about doing my talk last night, but then I was pulled into two (rather uncomfortable, but funny) acts in the talent show that we put on. Then I went to bed late, woke up early and groggy, and tried to review what I needed to say for the talk... but then got roped into doing dishes from a faucet on the back corner of the building. And then I actually give the talk, which went well (I had props!), but then that's burdened by this girl and the seizure. The day started with a million kids here screaming and running around all over the place, and now there are three of us on the property and it's nearly silent.

It's funny, actually. The devotional book that I try to read through every day has been sort of repetitive recently. The last three or four days have all been about how there are mountaintop experiences where we really feel close to God, and there are dark valleys where hope and encouragement (and logic) are harder to find. What I've seen from the past 48 hours is that those can definitely happen both in the same day. And even in the same hour. Peter writes "Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed". It brings a song to mind, in a new, 24-hour-a-day sense:

Where I find joy, where I find joy...

I'm alive awake alert enthusiastic!

I thought I'd jot down a few of the cultural idiosyncrasies I've noticed while over here. Because... some of them are pretty amusing, and I wouldn't want to forget them :)

1. Warm milk. Yes, you heard me right. Especially when put on cereal. Think of taking a bite of corn flakes... but when it hits your mouth you don't even notice the milk because it's already body temperature. We tried buying cold milk for breakfast with the facilitators one morning, but a few of them took their bowls and zapped them in the microwave for a couple minutes. I guess that's just the way it is.

2. I must go outside. Even Ted (from the US -- camp manager/facilities guy) has started using this one. If you need to go outside to do something, you don't say "I have to go outside and do something," you say "I *must* go outside and do something." Not too strange, I suppose, but interesting nonetheless.

3. Biscuits are cookies, and cookies are biscuits. It's the same way in Europe, but it always gets you when you go to the store looking for oreos.

4. Napkins, curiously, are called serviettes. Which is the French name for a napkin. I don't think it's the same way in (not France) Europe, but I'm not 100% sure. And for some reason, it's very hard for me to say the word 'serviette' with a straight face. It's just so... French.

5. Hot and cold taps. Now I don't claim to know too much about plumbing. But most of the hand-washing sinks over here (even the really fancy ones -- like on the safari) have separate hot and cold faucets. Call me utilitarian, but is it really that soothing to wash your left hand with scalding hot water, and your right hand with frigid cold water? This one I don't really understand, beyond the fact that the plumbing might be a little cheaper to set up.

6. Switches on electrical outlets. Why didn't the US think of this? All the plugs in the walls also have an on/off switch. It might take up a little more space (silly American efficiency), but I think it's worth it.

7. Exit countdown signs on the freeway. So say you're speeding along and you see a sign for the exit you want to take. Here in South Africa, you get three more signs before the actual offramp -- "///", "//", and then "/". It's like a countdown until you have to turn! Genius.


Ok, that's all I've got for now. Now for our leaders meeting and our last full day of camp!

camp #2 underway

Hey -- just a quick update while I have a few minutes.

56 new kids arrived yesterday (down from an initial estimate of 72), and things haven't slowed down since. For some reason Allen decided to have everyone get up at 6am today, so by this point the kids are running around like crazy with nothing to do! Hopefully somebody's watching them out there...

We met the new facilitators yesterday too -- there are 11 of them this time (I think that's the same count as the last camp : 7 guys, 4 girls).

The kids colored their goody bags and painted the butterfly suncatchers yesterday afternoon. And we had a talk on courage done by one of the facilitators + Allen in the evening.

Denise is finally getting over her cold/flu/sore throat she had earlier in the week, and I think most of our team is finally healthy (though I didn't see tall Mike for a while last night). Thanks for keeping us in your prayers -- it's really a privilege to be here working with these kids. There's a song that the kids sing that really rings true. Hopefully I'll get a video of it up here at some point, but it basically goes like this: "The ASP is the best! You need to join us now!"

Day of Rest and Reflection

Hi Everyone! This is Brittany writing (finally). Today was our second and final free day of the trip, and it was much needed as we are about to gear up for the second wave of campers to come. We had the opportunity to go on a safari in a private game preserve called Aquilla. It is about 2 hours from where we are staying, and Eric drove us there and back (he's getting really good at the whole left-handed shifting!). The preserve is 11,000 acres big and full of really cool African animals. We drove around the perimeter in open-air jeeps for 3 hours, and managed to see 12 different types of animals (including an African Dung Beetle... despite the fact that they hang out around piles of dung, they really are quite cool to look at.) Even though the place was pretty touristy, it was neat to be able to see so many animals close up!
After the safari we drove back and spent the afternoon relaxing and reflecting on what has happened and what we have left ahead. I managed to have a solid hour of quite time walking the Bridges campus. It was nice to have time to thank God for the great things that have taken place so far. Last camp I really connected with a few of the kids and enjoyed seeing changes that took place in their life over the course of the camp (both big and small.)
I was in a cabin with four other 12- year-old girls and a fellow leader from the after school program the kids attend during the school year. One night, a girl in my cabin was unusually talkative. She was conversing with the other girls and leader in Xhosa, when all of the sudden the leader doubled over in laughter. When she caught her breath, she translated for me and told me that the first time the little girl saw me she was shocked to see how white I was; apparently when she saw me take off my shoes that night I was wearing white socks, and she thought that was the color of my skin! The second day I had a handful of kids come up to me and pet my hair; they called it "soft" and wanted to brush and braid it. It's so funny to see what the kids think of us!
Anyway, it's been a great experience so far, and I am so glad God paved the way for us to come on this trip. I can't wait for the next group of kids, although I am nervous about the number of kids that will be here. There will be almost twice as many as there were last time. We'd appreciate your prayers for continued strength and energy as we gear up for this next camp. Most of the members on our team have experienced some form of illness now, and are trying to quickly recover before the kids come in two days. Please pray especially for Denise who is battling a cold and has pretty much lost her voice. She'd like it back before camp starts!
Well, I think that's it. Here are a few pictures from last camp and our safari today. Enjoy!

Denise and I with some of the other leaders. We all had a lot of fun together!

The girls in my cabin loved playing with my long hair!

We saw an elephant on our safari!

And a giraffe too!

camp pictures

Hey -- here are a few pictures from camp! I'll put up more when we have some more time to upload.


These kids have rhythm! And they dance too! More than we (normally) do.

These are some of the facilitators that helped with the camp.

halfway

Well, the first camp ended today. And we're pretty tired, so we'll update more later. (Hopefully I'll convince Brittany to write something -- but she's asleep right now).

And it finished great. Nobody got seriously injured, the kids had fun, and more importantly, the story of God's unconditional love was well received this morning. I did that talk. It was a little intimidating when I signed up for it a few weeks ago, but with all the practicing that I did it wasn't so bad. Even good. Which is cool, because it's quite plainly God working through me to speak into these kids lives. I used an analogy of a pot -- which breaks to pieces because of sin. And though it is broken, it still belongs to and is loved by its creator. Good stuff.

And as Dennis mentioned to us before we left, the first group of facilitators was really, really great. They were great with the kids, were nice enough to interpret for us, and were good role models for the kids. I just wish they would have gone to bed earlier :)

But camp is not about rest. That's what the days between camp are for. And that's what i'm going to do now.

camp is on!

The bus showed up yesterday morning, and since then it's been non-stop camp action. They have so much energy it's crazy. The boys in my cabin stayed up until well past 11 chatting and being noisy boys -- and somewhere during that process I threatened to wake them up early the next morning if they wouldn't go to sleep. But that didn't work out at all because they woke up (all of them) at just after 6am.

And I think I'm learning that Xhosa is a very loud language. Aside from all the clicks and tones, the people that speak it are just very verbal and like to talk about things. The male facilitators that were sleeping in my cabin the night before seemed to be like this. They stayed up watching music videos and talking about... basically anything... until about 4am Thursday night. So all that said, this week is going to be an exercise in staying energized and staying awake!

Camp food is great. I just had to throw that in there. There's just something about it that I love. Even in fI have to spend two hours washing every single cup and plate-holder that we used for dinner.

And, well, the kids are on an unorgaized free time right now. Most of my guys (we have 6 'rhinos' + Mike (the smaller) + 2 facilitators) are out playing soccer. Something makes me think my guys could play soccer until the end of time. They just don't get tired! Or maybe I'm just getting old :)

So pray for energy, and for connections with the kids!

Prayer updates

Hi friends,

Just a quick update.  The facilitators arrive in 30 minutes and then we start camp planning.  The kids come tomorrow.  Please pray for our connections with both.

Brittany and Ted (BOH staff) have both come down with colds.  Pray for quick recovery and that no one else will get sick.

Thanks!

Denise

Philippi + Penguins

Time for some more pictures!



Here's a suitcase full of the stuffed turtles that we brought down from Santa Barbara. Thanks everyone for writing all the notes! In case you're wondering, there are somewhere around 170 of them?

Now on to Philippi. We drove over to meet up with Mama Lulu and see what the bridges ministry was like in the township. These wonderful women were downstairs making lunch in the soup kitchen. (PS, it smelled fantastic down there)

Then next door we saw CHE training in action! These are all CHEs learning about influenza.

This is the inside of St Paul's church. We got a group shot with mama, who made sure that we got the lettering in the picture (in Xhosa, it means "glory to God").

Then later on in the day, Ted took us on an adventure. And we found penguins! Just hanging out near the beach. Quite a place, South Africa.


Then we had to make sure that they weren't under our car.


Here are a couple shots from Cape Point -- very close to the very southwest point of the continent.

On the way out of the park, we saw baboons! Even a little baby one.

The Reality of Race

Today we got some of our first exposure to the community around the retreat center.  We went into two nearby towns to purchase food and supplies for the camp.  Beyond the major things that stand out in a new country (clockwise round-abouts, signs in Afrikaans, prices listed in Rands), the one thing that really struck me today was just how deep the racial divide continues to be.  Yes, Apartheid itself has come to an end, but the cultural and socio-economical boundaries continue to create much of a divide.  I spent a lot of time today talking to Ted about the reality of racial relations here.  We talked about the fact that churches remain largely segregated, that "colored" (mixed race) and black people living in the same community might not even speak the same language, that someone like Ted who wants to minister in Phillippi must live out side of the community in a white neighborhood lest he become a target for thieves.  I am still processing these facts, but am struck with the reality that history leaves its mark.  And cognizant of the fact that the issue is far from simple: race, economics, history, theology - all are are deeply intertwined. I imagine I'll have a much deeper understanding of this complexity tomorrow after having visited Phillippi and Robben Island.

day of rest

So today, much to my surprise, is basically a day off. There's very little on the schedule other than buy some groceries and go out to eat later tonight. I'm not sure if the lax schedule was intentional or not, but I think it's a good things. Partially because we're physically still a little bit wiped out from traveling (whether we realize it or not), and partially because it's a chance to connect with the rest of our team and prepare ourselves for the week ahead. So much of the trip up to this point has been go go go go -- it's quite a relief to have a chance to spend good quality time in the word, or read a book, or go out and take pictures, or just grab a nap. Way to plan things, team!

Also, today I had my first experience driving on the left side of the road. And sitting on the right side of a car while doing it. Really it wasn't too bad. The driving itself is pretty straight forward, and there's pretty good motivation to stay in the right (left) lane (eg, oncoming traffic). The part that probably confused me the most was the turn signal. It's on the right side instead of the left, and the windshield wiper control is also switched. Something in my brain just wants to reach out with my left finger when I'm turning left to hit the signal. Bah. But I only messed that up twice, so I think that's pretty good :)

This time we just went to a grocery store in a mall to get some food for the week, but I'll also be driving to our mini-safari and then into Philipi to pick up our facilitators. It's a little unsettling after signing a waiver today that mentioned getting mugged and robbed at gunpoint, but you know, that's what faith is for. Faith that my God is bigger than all the sin that goes on in this world, and that he "works all things according to the counsel of his will". How cool is that.

we made it!

After some shuttling to and from LAX, three flights, and a 45-minute vanagon ride, we finally made it to Bridges of Hope in South Africa! And because we're all jet-lagged to pieces, we're up writing updates to our blog.

And what better updates to add than pictures!? So here we go.



(lots of luggage)




(excited about flying?)


(arrived in Amsterdam)

(our ride in South Africa from the airport)



(woohoo! made it to the Academy)

leaving soon!

Hey everyone!

Wow. We'll be in the air in less than 5 days. Things are really busy during our last week of preparations -- here's some of what's been going on.

Last Friday we opened up the church for a showing of the movie Red Dust. Wow. It's particularly violent (not so great for kids), but also just gripping and powerful. If you want to get a sense of what apartheid did to SA, this is quite a movie.

And during the movie we had some of the kids (with Carolyn's help -- thanks!) stuff over 150 turtles that we're bringing over. Each turtle gets a note to go with it, and the entire congregation helped out on Sunday writing notes to the kids. I think we have most of those covered now. It's been amazing to see how many people have been willing to help out with all the details on this trip -- a huge blessing when your team is only three people and has six weeks to prepare.

Oh, and there's all sorts of other trip prep also. Let's see... where to start... This weekend we printed a cool informational and prayer update for those of you that want to know some more details about our trip. There are some in the mail, but if you're itching for a copy, I put it online too.

All three of us are signed up in one way or another to give a short talk to the kids during one of the nights of the camp(s). And yes, that includes me :). Surprisingly, between taking typhoid pills and trying to learn Xhosa, I've been able to spend at least a few good hours getting things together. But I'm sure I'll be stewing over it at least through the first plane ride.


Ah, and here's a helpful hint (since I got stuck on this a couple weeks ago). The Bridges of hope website doesn't work very well with Mozilla-based browsers and newer versions of Flash player. So if you do a reasonable job of updating your computer and you use Firefox, you're out of luck. Have to use IE for this one. Now you know!


And no, this picture has nothing to do with South Africa. But when we get over there I'll hopefully be posting pictures from Bridges. So I'm just testing it out.


(bonus points if you can tell where this was taken!)

Online giving

Hi friends,

We've noticed a small error with our online giving function through the church website.  For some reason funds that were designated to our Africa account have been showing up in the "general" category and thus have not been correctly credited.  If you gave online and received a notification that said "general donation" please contact Denise (dbogard@comunity-covenant.org) so that the error can be corrected.  Sorry for the mix-up. 

Getting closer...

We are now 12 days out from our departure from LAX. Things are coming together quickly, but you can pray for all three of us as we tie up ends at our jobs and work out final details for the trip. It seems hardly possible that the trip is happening so soon!

One huge blessing is that we are no longer concerned about raising funds.  We've had such an overwhelming response of support that all three of us already have all of our travel expenses covered. At this point, any funds that come in are being used to cover the cost of the camp itself (i.e. pay for food and supplies for the kids).  To be able to even consider giving funds toward the camp is amazing given how quickly this all came together.  Thank you to all of you who made that possible!

Car Wash and Market Today!

Today, starting at 10am, we'll be washing cars in the parking lot at Community Covenant Church to raise funds for our trip. Bring us your car and whatever donation you'd like to give.

We will also have a market of handmade African items on sale after service on the back lawn.  We'll be selling bowls, servers, Christmas ornaments, jewelry, and more - all made by folks in South Africa.  Come browse our market while we are washing your car!

A suffering people and a suffering God

A few nights ago, we watched the film "Red Dust," which sets its story in the midst of a Truth and Reconciliation trial in South Africa.  The story is a difficult one to watch because it pulls no punches in revealing the evils of apartheid and the darkness of human sin.  After watching the film, I was struck with the enormity of the task of faith for kids growing up in that country.  These kids live in a world that was crushed by apartheid for decades.  And, as if that weren't enough, in the years before the nation celebrated its first free elections in 1994, the monster of AIDS began quietly claiming its first victims.  As I thought about this history, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed at just what a significant thing it is for these kids to believe in a God who loves them. "How can we," I thought, "enter this world and tell these kids that they are loved?"  How can those words not echo hollow when proclaimed beneath the dark shadow that is South Africa's history?  And then Eric said something very simple and yet profound: he reminded me that the message of God's love starts with the cross.

I don't know what these kids have experienced.  I can't fully understand the hurt and anger and loss that probably still scar the people of this country.  But the God we worship does.  He looks upon them through the bruised and bloody eyes of a man beaten and hung on a cross.  And only such a God can really say to his broken people, "I understand."  Only a God who faced evil and injustice in its greatest measure, and overcame it on our behalf - only that God - can rightfully and authentically say "I love you" in such a way that the words ring true.

As I reflect on this truth, I am humbled by the power of the cross.  In some small way, I've seen a glimpse of the gospel through the eyes of another, and now it's beauty comes across in even richer vividness.  

"But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor beacuse of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone" (Heb 2:9). 

Paton quote

Hey everyone,

I was reading the introduction to Alan Paton's book Cry, the Beloved Country and came across this quote from the author in 1949. And, well, he hits it on the head. So here it is:

It is my own belief that the only power which can resist the power of fear is the power of love. It's a weak thing and a tender thing; men despise and deride it. But I look for the day when in South Africa we shall realize that the only lasting and worth-while solution of our grave and profound problems lies not in the use of power, but in that understanding and compassion without which human life is an intolerable bondage, condemning us all to an existence of violence, misery and fear.

Love, understanding, and compassion. Three things to consider as we prepare to head out on our trip.

What we will be doing

On Sept 20th - Oct 5th, our team of three people from Community Covenant Church will be joining three others from Rolling Hills Covenant Church as we head to Franschhoek, South Africa, where we will help Bridges of Hope International run a camp for 120 third through seventh graders.

            Bridges of Hope International is a non-profit organization devoted to “building bridges into suffering nations in order to create long-term, self-sustaining solutions to the deep problems of our world.”   The Bridges of Hope South Africa Project, with which we will be partnering, was developed in response to the AIDS pandemic that has ravaged the nation of South Africa during the past two decades.  Bridges of Hope’s After School Program was developed in cooperation with local leaders in South Africa as a means to empower kids with leadership skills and give them the resources to make wise decisions for their futures.  The six-month curriculum emphasizes the need for sexual abstinence until marriage – a practice in South Africa that is, literally, a matter of life and death.  It also provides kids with discipleship and life skills training.  Halfway through the program, the children are invited to attend a camp at the Bridges of Hope Retreat Center, where their facilitators and camp leaders can help them to dig deeper into the truths they are being taught.  The kids also get to experience the joys of camp – many of them for the first time.  

Our role as a mission team will be to work alongside local volunteers and staff to help make this camp possible.  We will be assisting local facilitators as they run two four-day sessions, each of which will involve 50-60 students from elementary schools in the township of Philippi.  

      Here is a picture from the last After School Program Camp 

Join our team!

We leave for South Africa in just under a month...and we can use all the help we can get!  We are especially eager to find people who can join our prayer team.  If you'd like to committ to regular prayer for our team during and leading up to our trip, please let us know.  We hope to have at least 20 people praying for us daily while we are on the trip (Sept 19 - Oct 5).

We've also got some great ways for you to get involved in the coming weeks:

August 30th Car Wash and Market
During and following Community Covenant's Worship Service on Sunday, August 30th, we will be washing cars and selling hand-made African goods as part of our fund raising efforts. We'll begin at 10am and keep scrubbing until we run out of cars.  Come browse our market and drive away with a clean car!

September 11th Africa Movie Night
Join us on this evening for a South Africa themed movie night.  We'll also have a Veggie Tales movie for the kids and a chance for them to make a craft project that we will deliver to the campers in South Africa.  We will accept donations, but admission is free!  Stay tuned for details on time and movie title. 

Our new blog!

Hi everyone,

Here is our new blog for our 2009 South Africa trip! We'll be posting info and updates on our trip, as well as prayer requests before, during, and after our time in Africa. Please check back soon to see what we've added!