South Africa Trip - February 2010

The team arrived at spent a day getting settled and meeting our contract people within the community. The first week, we hosted an after school program for kids 8 to 12, about 90 of them, where we did face painting, a puppet show, soccer and crafts. We managed to complete some physical projects at the Legacy Center as well and since we have a podiatrist and a counselor on the team, were able to minister in those areas as well.

Over the weekend, we completed a Purity First here in South Africa! We initially planned for 25 teens and ended up with 41 so the team was quite busy! All of the teens lived in Kayamandi. They shared openly about secrets, trust, disappointments, vision and their families. The team was touched by the struggle and beauty of their lives.

Sunday, Jean had the privilege of speaking at Pastor Theo Geyser's new church plant InVia in Capetown. Their music minister woke up that morning with a new song on her heart and wrote it for the service. It was a perfect match to the message - the scripture verse used and everything! (we didn't find this out until after the service since the song was in Afrikaans and we couldn't understand the words J) It was about the longing to leave a mark being the fruit of 'deep crying unto deep' in our spirits.

Our verse for the team is Col 3:1-17 and we are contemplating what it means to have our lives 'hidden in Christ'. It's been a deep and wonderful journey together so far.

On Monday, we went to Robben Island where Mandela and many political prisoners were held until 1991. The tour guides are all former prisoners who have elected return to the island to work and live, alongside their former guards, as a testimony to the power of forgiveness - truly staggering and inspiring.

On Tuesday, we completed the training for the HIV/AIDS support group today. What a courageous and open group of people! We spoke of responsibility and one man shared his interpretation of responsibility was like 'being your own soldier'. We watched as another man, barely able to stand, sang and praised God with a hymn "Never, Never, Never Give Up".

On Wednesday, we sent half the group to work with the local day cares in Kayamandi while the other half bought groceries for the food bank ministry. One of the team was also able to do some rape crisis counseling for young girls there and visit a safe house for children ages 0 to 4 yrs old who've been raped. We then went to the children's hospital and hospice which provides medical care and rehabilitation for abandoned/orphaned/abused children ages 0-12 yrs old and donated baby shirts and teddy bears.

As part of our fundraising, we allocated $250 to each team member to sow as they saw fit during the trip. (For perspective, $250 is about 1,875 Rand and the average person in Kayamandi makes between 1,000 and 1,200 Rand in monthly salary). Here are some of the ways the team sowed their money:

• sponsored primary school education for 1 year for 5 kids
• donated money to the children's hospital and hospice and rehabilitation
• abandoned/orphaned/abused and HIV/AIDS ages 0-12 yrs old
• donated money Legacy preschool
• donated groceries to the food bank in Kayamandi - 15 families for 1 month
• bought clothes for needy children
• sponsored 6 weeks of after school snacks for 45 kids
• donated to the rape crisis center
• bought for glasses for a child
• local day care aid
• diapers and wipes for day care
• donated clothes to the Kayamandi consignment store
• supported college education for a young man
• funded project at the wellness center
• first aid kit for the rape crisis center

Again, we couldn't do any of it without your generous support so thank you for leaving a mark on this nation!

with gratitude and love - the 'team',
Jean-Marie Jobs, Adelina Stateva, Todd McNeive, Allen Marshall, Gary Demian, Amy Maxwell, Robb Farrell, Cheri Meadowlark, Chris Esquivel and Chantal Monique Duson

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Contact me at jjjobs@sonic.net