a good day
PREFACE: If you could listen to Mumford and Sons-Timshel-while you read this, it would greatly enhance your reading pleasure...seriously.
Timshel<<click here to listen
We have been meeting with two guys in a place called Bhobhoyi for the past 7 weeks. We meet to read the Bible together and talk about how we can become more obedient to His word. One of the guys we meet with is kind of a church goer, kinda not. When we met him he was in a "trial period" with God. He had tried some of his cultural things, ancestor worship, animal sacrifice, etc... and wasn't seeing any thing positive happen in his life. So he tried God...he's trying God. The other guy is not a church goer at all. His family goes to the Zionist church, but he doesn't attend. He wasn't really against God, but not really for Him either...neutral sort of.
Watching them read the bible and hearing their responses-what their learning, what they are doing in response to what they are learning, has been one of the coolest things I've ever seen or done in my life. Derek and I don't teach or tell them our opinion, we leave that part up to God-we figure He can do a better job than either of us. I'm watching them learn what it means to love from the One that created it.
One of the questions we ask when we meet is "is their any needs of each others we can meet this week, and if not, is there a need or stress in our community we can meet?" Today they told Derek and I they had been visiting a boy and his family that used to meet with us. The boy is 16 years old and his mother is really sick. He isn't going to school because he moved to Bhobhoyi after the school year had begun. They asked us if we would visit the family with them. Of course.
We walked into a little one room flat. It had a bed squeezed in one corner, a wardrobe in the other and a little burner in the other. The boy is living their with his mother and two siblings. They must have a mattress they pull out at night and sleep on the floor. Another neighbor was their visiting as well. During our conversation the neighbor told us that the boy is going to have to get a job and provide for the family sense the mother can no longer work. She reminded him that he had the brains and the physical ability to work and care for his mother. The boy stood their and shook his head and my heart broke...he's 16! 16! He needs to be in school and playing soccer and laughing with his friends... But that's not his reality. His story is the story of so many 16 somethings here...I hate that. I hate it.
But the two guys we were there visiting with piped up. They just said "we're here to encourage you, we're here to say hello and to sit and talk with you and visit you. This isn't the last time we'll be here, we'll keep coming." The boy smiled and shook his head again.
It was one of those moments.
Where everything stops for just a second. It's so bad, but it's so good. These guys we meet with have nothing to give. They have no money, no answers, not even a prayer (not yet, not yet, we're still in Genesis)...but they were there. They are just two twenty somethings holding arms with a 16 year old kid going through a hard time, a really hard time.
Tonight I was doing the dishes and that song came on, Timshel by Mumford and Sons...and my eyes welled up with tears-
Cold is the water
It freezes your already cold mind
Already cold, cold mind
And death is at your doorstep
And it will steal your innocence
But it will not steal your substance
But you are not alone in this
And you are not alone in this
As brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand
Hold your hand
And you are the mother
The mother of your baby child
The one to whom you gave life
And you have your choices
And these are what make man great
His ladder to the stars
But you are not alone in this
And you are not alone in this
As brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand
Hold your hand
And I will tell the night
Whisper, "Lose your sight"
But I can't move the mountains for you
Today reminds me why I'm here...what could South Africa look like if a few more people would crack their bible and begin asking, what will I do about what I just read? Would they stand with their neighbors, with nothing to give but to remind them they aren't alone? We stand with you, for no gain of our own. What would the world look like...now I'm getting a little extreme and sappy, but really??
We show up every Thursday morning to read the bible with a couple of guys from Bhobhoyi and our only hope is that He does too.
I couldn’t have done it without you, but I also can’t do it with you
Things have been super busy here in South Africa. We've been moving around a little less...meaning a little less driving long distances, but more short distances. We've been building a strong relationship with a group of people in an area very close to us...only 15 minutes away! This has been a huge success for us and the relationship is proving to be one that we feel led to invest in very strongly. It is a group of younger people who are passionate about reaching their community, KwaNzimakwe.
Most of them have come together through a program led by the team there called 'Life Skills.' This is a program that targets the unemployed portion of urban/rural communities along the eastern coast of SA. It gives them more skills, helps them develop a vision, and uplifts the community that they live in through challenging the students to action. It has had amazing results in the Durban area and here along the South Coast where we live.
Along with that team, we've been opened up to relationship with approximately 1000 people who've been through Life Skills along the South Coast. This is a huge opportunity for us to begin looking for People of Peace! People who will open up the community to us and be an entrance for the Gospel to change the community. When I say this gives 'us' the opportunity, I'm referring to more than just Shea and I. We've been facilitating discovery for the KwaNzimakwe team to begin looking for People of Peace to start some Discovery Groups.
Last week we saw some of our very first generational growth when a group of leaders went out and led their own Discovery Groups! This is a huge win!
Yesterday when I was driving through town, I had a thought that I couldn't shake. I've been trying to come up with a 'mantra' for our time here being catalytic in movement of making disciples. I finally came up with it and I like it quite a bit!
When I leave SA, I want people to say to me, "I couldn't have done it without you, but I also can't do it with you." This sounds weird right?! Shea and I are here to EQUIP people with a process through facilitating discovery...a process that we believe has the potential to transform communities from the inside out, but we can't DO that process. This also eludes to the fact that they will continue to do it long after we're gone. That process looks different in every community all over the world where it is being done. The leaders in the communities that we work in have to own the process...and even more than that, it has to become more than a process, but needs to be a way of life! When this happens, they adjust it to their context and culture. We're not here to impose Western Culture or Western Christianity.
This group of people has been doing an amazing job and we couldn't be more happy about what God is doing! Please keep praying with us as we continue to go where He leads!
snow…really…this is South Africa
We have been preparing for this week for awhile now.
We would bring in some of the guys that we work with from the old Transkei region to mentor, coach, and train a bit to help facilitate further discovery of this thing called CPM.
Where we live, Margate, it has been raining nonstop for the past 2 days. It's kinda like the scene from Forrest Gump where it just keeps raining and raining.
"We had every kind of rain there is, we had sheets of rain, we had little bitty stingy rain, we had"...you get the picture. Last night we hear on the news that there is snow in the Eastern Cape...Okay, so I've heard of snow on the mountain tops and even some frost every once in awhile...but snow that is enough to shut down some of the major highways...that's crazy! I think this is one area where I could be of service. I could even open an access ministry on teaching people how to drive in the snow...one thing a good ole Missouri boy can do!
South Africa is kind of like that though...almost like a box of chocolates...you just never know what you're going to get!
defining people of peace
Headed to Durban today to meet with a team that longs to bring healing and transformation to South Africa through discipleship and excited about how we may be able to add strength to their efforts.
We are also meeting and speaking with a small church mostly made up of brand new Christians who are longing to carry His message into where they do life. We are really excited to have the opportunity to work alongside of them and invest into their lives.
Found such encouragement through Him and His word this morning...
"13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us." Acts 16:13-15
"30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household." Acts 16:30-34
Just a little reminder that He is at work in the hearts and lives of those around me. Trusting Him to lead us to these kind of people, these 'people of peace' people who are open to discovering who He is, and eager for their families and friends and neighbors to do the same.
Praying for existing teams and individuals we are working with...Mr. Vumile, Ms. Vava, Mr. Bongile, Mr. Derrick... that they would be provided opportunity for relationships like these...that families and entire villages and communities would be transformed from the inside out.
a way out of the muck
Haven't started reading her book "Dead Aid is Dead Wrong" however I am really excited to-her views intrigue me. She's speaking straight to my heart with her hope and vision for the future...the 10, 20, 30 years from now Africa. Sustainability makes my heart sing. I love to see African's fighting for Africa, and a woman at that--get it Ms. Moyo.
Praying for more African's in every field to find the will and passion to fight for this place. Thanking Him today for the opportunity to fight alongside of them.
Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho off to Qumbu we go
Today we are driving through Transkei to Mr. Vumile's home town (or should I say Village) of Qumbu. He has invited us along with our friend & partner Raymond to come train his simple house church of about 15 people in CPM principals. We are so very excited to provide the support and tools for Mr. Vumile to lead his community in reaching those that are far from Christ within their village and to be the church body within their rural African community.
God has begun doing some exciting things within this area. We see a team of African leaders developing around Umthatha, all who have a passion for bringing their friends and neighbors into a life-transforming relationship with Him. It's beautiful-each of them have their own contribution to communities that also provide them access to other influencial leaders in these areas.
As we go this week we are praying:
-for clear communication and open receptive hearts and minds for the folks we are going to build relationship with and train
-we are thanking God for the team of African leaders He has begun constructing in the Eastern Cape and praying for their unity and relationships this week as they spend a bit of time together connecting with Him and finding ways of reaching their communities together
a day without dignity?
I hesitate to post this video because we personally do not find that attacking others attempts at aide is going to change the situation in Africa. We recognize that aide to Africa has become a controversial issue. However the statistics in this video are alarming enough to pose the questions are we often harming more than we are helping without even realizing it?
"Handing out free goods out competes local markets"
"Used clothing imports to Africa caused 50% of the increase in unemployment between 1981-2000"
"Between 1992-2006 543,000 Nigerian textile workers lost jobs due to imported clothes donations"
I enjoyed a few other viewers suggestions and thoughts about the possibility of Tom's sourcing locally to provide a bit more dignity and sustainable change??
build deep to build wide
What a pointless structure...sure it's something to admire as a great work of art, but it's mostly useless. Scaffolding is meant to help build something-to leave something that is much sturdier and far more secure behind. The point isn't the scaffolding but the structure.
"The mission society is like scaffolding that is used to build a building, and the scaffolding is designed to be moved elsewhere eventually. As long as it is there, one cannot really see what the building looks like. Sadly, the kind of scaffolding that some mission societies erect and maintain is the kind that actually holds the building up. Removing it could jeopardize the structure!
Have you ever seen a building or bridge made with poured concrete? The builders put wooden or metal trusses under the bridge, and then pour concrete over the top to form the road over the bridge. Suppose for a moment that the engineers and the construction people built such a structure with concrete so weak that they couldn't take out the framework used to hold it up. That is sometimes why mission societies hold on the way they do, because the structure they built is tied to the mission. And if one were to "take down" the mission scaffolding, the fear is that the entire structure would collapse. It may take a heap of Christian grace to acknowledge when this is the case and to do something about it."
We had an incredible week with Mr. Derrick and his wonderful family. He has built beautiful 'buildings' all over eSikhaleni. But he's in the business for a little renovating. We have committed to working alongside him and each of his teams and church body to plant the gospel through eSikhaleni and Zululand. Mr. Derrick has this inspiring drive and passion to see the church BE the church within their communities. To reach those in his neighborhood, places of business and surrounding communities that are so far from living out of their relationship with their creator.
Each night we were there we joined him and the church he leads at their "Easter week tent revival". Each night Mr. Derrick shared a bit of his vision for what their community could look like if the gospel was at the heart of life in Esikhaleni. He motivated his church body to "be" the church in stead of "doing" church. He even gave a brief training for how they are going to get there.
Mr. Derrick has a dream of planting 35 million simple churches over the next 7 years throughout South Africa. You may be laughing, and you wouldn't be the first. Each time he shares his dream and vision the room erupts into laughter. But Mr. Derrick doesn't mind because he has a plan. This year he is heavily investing in 12 people. The next year he's going to help each of them invest in 12 people and the year after that he'll help those 12 invest in 12 more... Mr. Derrick understands the principals of multiplication and understands even more that he could never build a building big enough to hold, let alone attract 35 million people to himself--beautiful isn't it?
Scaffolding was made to support a structure so it could be moved to help build the next building. It was never meant to be the building. There is no way for it to function the way a building ought to. Plotting, planning and praying as we support Mr. Derrick and his enthusiastic endeavors to bring a bit of heaven to earth throughout South Africa.
This way to Zulu Land
We are spending this week in Zulu Land with new friend and partner Mr. Derrick-what a name, huh?
We met Derrick at a leadership conference earlier this month and his passion for his community is evident from the moment you meet him. He is easily excitable and has a beautiful grasp of vision mixed with hope for the area in which he lives. Mr. Derrick has started a handful of Discovery Groups in the last month and is eager to see more of his friends and neighbors begin the journey of discovering who God is...
We're headed about 3.5 hours north of us to see what he has going and offer to serve him and his team in any way we can.
Won't you spend a little time this week joining us in praying for Derrick and his team there, for his friends, neighbors and community....
This week we are praying for:
-eyes for specific needs within the community that may uplift the community and provide opportunity for relationship between Mr. Derrick and his team and other community leaders and/or people of influence that are open to discovering who God is
-our relationship with Mr. Derrick and his family and team, that we might have hearts that serve them in a way that sharpens, strengthens and adds value to their team
-as always, a community with a growing hunger and desire to know God...really know Him, in a way that changes the way people think and live
We are incredibly privileged to be here-to see, smell and taste what God is doing in the hearts and lives of the people here, thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement.
em-pow-er
1. the giving or delegation of power or authority
2. the giving of an ability
so often we, as Westerners, take that from local African leadership. We come to do jobs that they can do and send a message that says we think we can do it better. We are on a journey discovering that our role is not about “doing” but being a reminder, a mover, a voice that encourages the dreams that people dare to dream for their own communities here in South Africa.
Like our dear friend Ms. Vava. She is a retired nurse. She uses her skills every week by filling her nursing kit, with supplies from her own pocket to serve mama’s and children in rural villages that don’t have access to meds and or adequate health care. Ms. Vava knows better than I ever could the challenges and the heartache that mama’s and children face in these rural areas. So she takes it upon herself to not only care for their physical needs but to lend an ear and a prayer to each patient she sees.
And she doesn’t stop there. She longs to give the people she serves the freeing relationship she’s found with her Creator. That’s mostly what makes her do what she does.
That’s a woman I want to get behind…whose effort I want to support. This week we are accompanying her at a “Health Builder conference” hosted by a couple of Doctors from the states who are passionate about the same things. They are working to train local leaders in testing for HIV/AIDS, high blood sugar and high blood pressure…the most common health issues in rural South Africa.
We’re hoping to sharpen her skills and give her a tool she can use to train other leaders she may come across in her work. This provides her with access to new villages all across the Transkei. She can use her skills in nursing and caring for the sick to find people who are open to Discovering who God is and what a relationship with Him is like.
Won’t you join us in praying for our time with Ms. Vava, for her heart and vision…that she might encounter people who are open to Discovering Him and would join her on her journey of inviting life-giving change to the Transkei…
Blogroll
- Church Planting Movement
- Discipleship
- Hunt SA
- meaningfulchurch.com
- Mercy Alliance
- roymoran.com
- Shoal Creek Community Church
Categories
Archives
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009