Come and Get It!

We all awoke to the sound of strong winds sweeping across the plain and through our neighborhood. Although quite romantic sounding, we knew a dusty day awaited us!

This morning we had the opportunity to visit several of the social services the Orchard:Africa organization is involved with for a first hand experience of some of the challenges the people in Mafikeng face.

We started at the local government health clinic where people receive family planning counseling, AIDS and TB medication, and care for other chronic diseases. The tiny building was packed to beyond capacity with mothers and babies for immunization day. Additionally, many sick people waited their turn for daily TB shots or AIDS treatment.

In the face of the overwhelming disease and chaos, the staff of dedicated nurses served with sympathetic smiles and stern admonitions. A doctor only visits the clinic twice a week, so most diagnosis and care is done by the four or five nurses available at any one time.

From there we went to the local cemetery to gain insight into the generation lost due to AIDS. Long rows of white stone mounds, decorated with only simple markers are what remains of this village's former youth. It was a moving experience to view the sheer volume of people between the ages of 25-35 who have died from this disease. Most of their children now live with various family members and some are students of our VBS classes.

Finally, we joined one of the care givers as she visited the homes of sick or disabled people. We weaved in between houses, picked over barbed wire, and avoided thorns (though not completely). At each of the homes it was our privilege to talk with the individuals and offer prayers for them and their family. These people rarely receive guests, let alone from overseas, and expressed happiness that we would make such a long journey to visit their homes. Part of Orchard:Africa's goal is to instill a sense of pride and value in the forgotten of South Africa, and it was an honor to be a small part of that process.

The highlight of the day was our visit to one of the school feeding programs.. As we pulled up to a small house across the street from a school, two people hefted a huge vat of corn mush as big as a wash tub. Dozens of children raced across the street for what is probably their only meal of the day.

Food was slopped onto plates, rinsed in a bucket of cold bleach water and dished out again in a repetitive sequence. The members of the team caught in the frenzy of silverwear-less youngsters where subjected to grubby hands eager for hugs and games.

When it came time to leave our team leader, Papa Jo, had to trick the kids into a follow-the-leader game in order to clear the path for the van.

Our theme for Vacation Bible School in Dihatshwane today was "God has a plan for me!" We told the story of queen Esther saving the Jews from Haman's plot and the kids where thrilled to be Kings and Queens themselves, complete with the crowns we brought from home.

The next project was messy but will be a great souvenir for both our church and theirs. Each of us dipped our hands in paint and placed them on quilt squares. We have pictures of each of us that will be added to the squares and made into two quilts; one of our handprints and pictures for their church, and one of their handprints and pictures for our church.

As the sound of laughter and song faded away, it warmed our hearts to watch the gaggle of crown topped heads bouncing across the field towards home.

Shubab's Snack Shack

Have you ever been so wind and dust blown that you can feel the grit in your teeth and blow sand out your nose? After today, each of us can answer 'yes' to that question.

Dihatshwane is situated in the middle of a large wind swept plane at about 5000' elevation. The plane is so large that only the horizon is visible in every direction. The ground is extremely rocky and the shrubs are covered in large sharp spines that are oddly reminiscent of hypodermic needles!

However, in the midst of this hard and barren landscape, the 2000 people who live there have formed a community of hope and love. They may be isolated and poor, but today we saw just how important it is for them to know that they are thought of and loved by the outside world. We also experienced the wealth of joy and love for God that they have to share with all who might listen.

We began the day by visiting the village grade school where we introduced ourselves to each classroom and talked about the importance of education in our individual lives. Once these children finish the sixth grade, they have to walk approximately 10 kilometers one way in order to continue in school. The 20 kilometer round trip in cold weather is too much of a deterrent for many of them who choose to stay home and work instead. Kimberly encouraged each classroom to remember that an education is about more than making money or gaining prestige, but about the joy that can be had in a life devoted to serving others. When she asked how many wanted to do work that helped other people she was met with enthusiastic smiles and shouts! Here's hoping we inspired someone to become a scientist that will secure the cure for AIDS!

Afterwards, we went to the local 'preschool' to visit the smallest children. There were 21 children in the preschool which was housed in one room of someone's private home. The room was no larger than a large dinning room table with only a rug on the floor and a small table of supplies. There were several 'teachers' there but none of them are paid for their work. The preschool was started by an elderly woman from the local church and since her passing a few months ago these women have taken up her mantle for free.

If you can imagine the scene of ten tall white people walking into a crowded room of tiny black children who have never seen a white person in their lives, you might understand the level of apprehension and fear they had. Some of them even began crying. Thankfully the teachers were calm and had all the children sit down. We all squeezed down next to them and Kimberly told them the story of creation with the help of Papa Joe (one of our hosts) translating. This helped the children calm a little bit so we decided to take them outside to play a game.

The walk through the house to get outside was difficult because the children didn't understand what the purpose was. Many of them began to cry again and and clung to their teachers.

Children are always ready to trust though, and as soon as we had opened up a sheet and filled it with tennis balls their interest was peaked. We then spread the sheet out and had each of them hold it and begin to shake. Soon the crying gave way to laughter and shrieks of joy as they watched the tennis balls bounce and fly off in every direction. I truly believe they could have played with that simple sheet and tennis balls all day long!

By the end of our time at the preschool the children had sung us several songs and all wanted to give us hugs and thumb snaps as we left (they love to hold up their thumbs like a hitchhiker, put them up to someone else's thumb, then make a snap as they say, "chop, chop").

To finish the morning we walked all through the village meeting local church members, visiting the very friendly chief, and boosting the local economy by loading up on snacks at the only store in town (and our namesake for this post).

In the afternoon we held Day 2 of the Vacation Bible School at the church. This is the first time anything like this has been done at Dihatshwane and the kids are starting to relax and really get into it. Today, they taught us one of their songs, which they agreed to perform on video on the last day so we can bring it back and sing it 'with them' for you all! We also taught them the joys of playing Musical Chairs and the delicacy of a candy called Skittles.

There's no telling what tomorrow will bring, but there is no doubt it will be a blessing for us and them equally!

The Main Course

Once upon a time there was a very tired blogger, who despite a day's worth of incredible adventures found himself with nothing to say... and went to get his wife. From here the tale carries on:

Today was the first day of vacation bible school! In the morning we met the field staff of Orchard:Africa and then bussed over to the pre-school class in Top Village. Top Village was the first sponsored village by Orchard:Africa. A shanty town of 8,000 people, Top Village is located in a vacant lot next to an upscale neighborhood of government officials. With a cultural history of inequality and lack of educational opportunities the community struggled to feed their families and care for their sick.

Today we were inspired by 21 shining pre-school faces in a colorful and clean classroom, recently built by Orchard:Africa through their sponsorships. We told the story of creation, taught them a song about animals and while identifying habitats of various animals were told by one precocious boy, very clearly and in English, that the animal who lived in a spiderweb was SPIDERMAN!

In the afternoon we headed back to the tin sided church in Dihatswane for VBS. As a former substitute teacher, I can attest that I have never seen such a well behaved group of kids. Our entire group reflected that each of the students at their table was friendly, kind and helpful. We sang songs and they were amazed when Devon pulled out his iPad guitar and wireless speaker to accompany our theme song for the week. We colored, we laughed, we played tag and said a prayer of thankfulness. A seamless day thanks to the efforts of every member of the combined Victory and Orchard:Africa team. God gave us, although almost total strangers, all the right personalities to make VBS a breeze.

You would think that was enough, but considering the church where we held VBS is across the street from the game preserve, we saw even more animals up close along the fence today than during the tour yesterday; at least 15 giraffes, as well as many Kudu, Springbok, Gemsbok, Ostrich and all manner of horned beasts!

Rhino Roast

Kick-off Sunday! Right about now millions of people around the US are settling in for an afternoon/evening of good 'ol American football. To be honest, there are a few of us here who can't help but have a twinge of jealousy... especially when I (Devon) think about the Denver/Pittsburg game.

That twinge is short lived, however, in the context of what our mission team experienced today.

For those who have never experienced a worship service in an African village, be assured you are missing one of the treasures of human expression. When the van pulled up to a little tin lined shack in the middle of a barren dusty field, several of us were skeptical. However, as soon as the door of the van was opened the sound of joyful and exuberant singing bursting from the small space settled our hearts. What followed, was a powerful hour and a half of transcendent worship that wasn't perfect, refined, or sophisticated, but instead was pure, passionate, and potent. It is a humbling experience to observe a group of people, who have nothing more than a shanty, focus all of their attention on God's plan for them to witness to their neighbors.

At home we often talk about our global missions while picturing this place. What we fail to realize is that for them, this place is their local mission and they are excited to make a difference in it. Today we learned that they are not the recipients of our benevolence, but instead partners in ministry who can teach us many things about what discipleship means. At the end of the offering the pastor asked the congregation to turn to their neighbor and speak-and they reflected the responsibility of the community so clearly in these words spoken to one another: "Neighbor! You need to work so your hands can be blessed!"

From there the fun continued as we headed over to the Mafikeng Game Reserve just down the street from our host home. The weather is perfect this time of year in South Africa and the animals were out in force. Some of the highlights included two mother rhinos with their newborns and a herd of giraffe that crossed the road right in front of the bus. We also managed to enrage a Wildebeest who charged in zig-zags round the field as we followed.

Tomorrow will be our first day of teaching VBS and spending time with the village kids. We are all looking forward to interacting with such beautiful children, as well as the for the opportunity to tell them how special each of them is in God's eyes!

Roadkill Café

Wow, what a day! We arrived safely in Mafikeng where we will be based for the next week. The four and a half hour bus trip was fun and included a short stop for lunch at an eccentric outdoor grill. Delicacies included the 'John Deer Russian Sausage' platter, the 'Titanic Fish' platter, and their famous 'Road Kill burger'.

It took everyone a little time to adjust to the driver being on the 'wrong' side of the bus and careening down the 'wrong' side of the road! In fact, within the first 10 minutes of the trip we narrowly missed an oncoming car going against traffic... probably a tourist from the US :)

The highlight of today was our visit to Top Village where Orchard:Africa first began. As we walked around the village many children appeared to walk and play with us. Their beautiful smiles and infectious energy left us all feeling excited about the time we will spend with the children in our regular village, Dihatswane, this coming week.

We were also introduced to the village chief who was very welcoming. Please keep him in prayer because in the past two weeks his age has caught up with him and he is struggling with his health (although he doesn't know his own age, it is clear he is in his 80s). According to our host, he has dedicated his life and time to taking care of people with AIDS in his village. Not only would he ride his bike to each person's home for a personal visit, he often took care of them himself.

Let's get cookin!

Thursday Morning:
Packed and ready to go, we're hittin' the road for a long day of traveling. Prayers for seamless and safe travel!

Thursday Afternoon:
Made it safely to Atlanta where flat Stanley kept track of our luggage before the long flight to Johannesburg.

Friday Evening:
We have arrived safely in Johannesburg after a long but uneventful flight. This evening we ate a delicious meal together and are settled into our first hotel.

In the morning we head to the village!!

Off We Go!!

Tomorrow's the big day and some participants still aren't packed... ahem... But we're excited to be heading out and wanted to share a little information about where we're going. Click the link to find out more about the village of Dihatshwane: Orchard:Africa Dihatshwane Village