Today we began sharing our testimonies in class. I think mine was more on the humourous side, especially when I said that just before I left, someone had called and said that they couldn't believe I was becoming a missionary - and I remembered that I had been banned from visiting their house because I had beat up their kid when I was in Yr 6!
Anyway, a definite theme through the many diverse people's lives has been the power of God transforming. There's another aussie here called Matt, and I couldn't believe it when he said he's been sick (mitochondria problem - sound like star wars) and had low self esteem right up through to yr 12, cause he's the most hyperactive and confident boy.
Then it was lot and lots of having my hair braided and teased with the kids. It's a little weird going to visit them because they live in cottages with 'mama's' - carers that rotate through the week, and you have to greet the mama first. Some are friendly, some are a little harder to decipher. Apparently if you don't greet them they become very offended.
hope I'm doing okay on the greetings then.
I'm on classroom, courtyard and rec room cleaning. Can't drive here cause I don't know how to drive a manual which is annoying. Now I will be driven around by Americans who aim for the wrong side of the road.
We can't take photos of the kids for child protection reasons but I will try to get an official photo to put up.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Not the usual Sunday morning...
At home I would probably have slept in till now...
Instead, today our ride to church broke down so we had a little service on base with a few songs on the guitar and I ended up giving the message - nearly a 3 point sermon on the temptation of Jesus!
Then we played with the little kids after their service. There's been a lot of holding little african babies and soccer lately (last night my team got whooped, the world cup rematch is prob on monday). this morning a little boy asked to shake my hand, then when I did I felt a little prick of pain. He was holiding a scapel blade in his palm. The little boys thought it was a good joke - they can be brats just like kids anywhere. Luckily only the top layer of skin was broken and so I should be alright. It was just a bit of a scare, although I guess everyone here lives with the possiblity that they could contract aids, especially the 'mommas' in the cottages who live with the kids, they all just count it part of the cost of enriching these kids lives.
As it turns out, they use the scalpels to sharpen their pencils, so I am thinking I'll try buy them all pencil sharpeners.
The welcome BBQ or 'braai' - half a drum of hot coals - is about to begin. This is the official start to the school.
Instead, today our ride to church broke down so we had a little service on base with a few songs on the guitar and I ended up giving the message - nearly a 3 point sermon on the temptation of Jesus!
Then we played with the little kids after their service. There's been a lot of holding little african babies and soccer lately (last night my team got whooped, the world cup rematch is prob on monday). this morning a little boy asked to shake my hand, then when I did I felt a little prick of pain. He was holiding a scapel blade in his palm. The little boys thought it was a good joke - they can be brats just like kids anywhere. Luckily only the top layer of skin was broken and so I should be alright. It was just a bit of a scare, although I guess everyone here lives with the possiblity that they could contract aids, especially the 'mommas' in the cottages who live with the kids, they all just count it part of the cost of enriching these kids lives.
As it turns out, they use the scalpels to sharpen their pencils, so I am thinking I'll try buy them all pencil sharpeners.
The welcome BBQ or 'braai' - half a drum of hot coals - is about to begin. This is the official start to the school.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
relax
Hi one and all, I got a new sim card today. We went to the mall where I unsuccessfully tried to buy an adaptor and sunnies.However, we did get to play with all the little kiddies this arvo after dinner. Apparently a guy named Cam on the team looks like a wrestler called John Singer, so he got tackled the entire time by little boys doing rather provocative wwf wrestling moves. I ended up carrying a lot of little ones, then starting a soccer game and then ended up with a little monkey boy on my head.All that youth leading is coming in useful.
Here's a pic of us relaxing afterwards playing this game called Quim which is basically like go fish with special codes to alert your partner who has to call out if you have 4 pair. My esp wasn't really working tonight and Cam was my partner but it was funny.G'morning
The posts are coming thick and fast cause right now there's not a lot to do before school starts. Thanks to everyone who's already written me an email, it's so nice to to feel totally disconnected. I haven't been able to use the phone yet, can't seem to connect to australia.
Today I feel much better after having slept most of yesterday and until 4am today. More people are arriving on base. I'm having a lot of fun playing texas hold-em with crayons and just chilling out. I need to learn to drive a manual here - the only other driver for this side of the road is Matt, an Aussie still on his P's, though he's driving anyway.
We have some required reading, one of them is a book called 'foreign to familiar'. It's basically about culture clashes. It generalises and divides the world up into 'cold' climate culture- people who are task-oriented, individual rights focused and privacy respecting (US, Aust, North Europe), and 'hot' climate cultures - relationship focused, group focused and without need for 'personal space' (Asia, Indigenous cultures, Africa). It'll be interesting if this book is right, since nearly everyone on team is 'cold' cultured while South Africa is 'hot' although there is a lot of western influence here.
Today I feel much better after having slept most of yesterday and until 4am today. More people are arriving on base. I'm having a lot of fun playing texas hold-em with crayons and just chilling out. I need to learn to drive a manual here - the only other driver for this side of the road is Matt, an Aussie still on his P's, though he's driving anyway.
We have some required reading, one of them is a book called 'foreign to familiar'. It's basically about culture clashes. It generalises and divides the world up into 'cold' climate culture- people who are task-oriented, individual rights focused and privacy respecting (US, Aust, North Europe), and 'hot' climate cultures - relationship focused, group focused and without need for 'personal space' (Asia, Indigenous cultures, Africa). It'll be interesting if this book is right, since nearly everyone on team is 'cold' cultured while South Africa is 'hot' although there is a lot of western influence here.
Friday, January 26, 2007
First day on base
So I arrived after about 24 hours of travel to see Beth and Carrie (team leaders) calling out my name at the airport.
Crossroads turns out to be near the airport. It is a shanty-town, but the Beautiful Gate base is absolutely amazing. It's a new compound - only 2 years old, so running water, electricity, nice bunk beds e.t.c. I'm not really slumming it at all.
Had a lunch of mash potato, peas, carrots and meat, so I haven't exactly had to acclimatise to the local food yet. Weather is like Sydney - hot and a little humid.
Just walked around the base. There are 43 children here. They have a pre-school, a medical centre where there are tubs of each child's medication - the kids eat up to 20 pills a day and that's normal for them. The children stay in cottages that have bunks and a couch area. They're at school at the moment, but the set up looks like they are really well taken care of. The last child who died here was in 2002, in 2004 some sort of HIV medication became available and since then they've been getting better and better.
I'm a bit out of it at the moment, walking around just mumbling and trying not to sleep. hopefully tomorrow my brain returns.
Crossroads turns out to be near the airport. It is a shanty-town, but the Beautiful Gate base is absolutely amazing. It's a new compound - only 2 years old, so running water, electricity, nice bunk beds e.t.c. I'm not really slumming it at all.
Had a lunch of mash potato, peas, carrots and meat, so I haven't exactly had to acclimatise to the local food yet. Weather is like Sydney - hot and a little humid.
Just walked around the base. There are 43 children here. They have a pre-school, a medical centre where there are tubs of each child's medication - the kids eat up to 20 pills a day and that's normal for them. The children stay in cottages that have bunks and a couch area. They're at school at the moment, but the set up looks like they are really well taken care of. The last child who died here was in 2002, in 2004 some sort of HIV medication became available and since then they've been getting better and better.
I'm a bit out of it at the moment, walking around just mumbling and trying not to sleep. hopefully tomorrow my brain returns.
Stopover in Singapore
Ahh, the free internet here is great!
After running a little late due to having a broken bag and needing to repack when I should have been going to the airport, and also having a few kilos over the bag limit, I caught the flight in time and have landed here with a 4 hour stopover.
Luckily Singapore also has free local phone calls so I have will have a good chat to Hock at midnight when he gets home from band practice.
Now I'm getting excited about going. I was sitting in the plane thinking 'this is surreal'.
After running a little late due to having a broken bag and needing to repack when I should have been going to the airport, and also having a few kilos over the bag limit, I caught the flight in time and have landed here with a 4 hour stopover.
Luckily Singapore also has free local phone calls so I have will have a good chat to Hock at midnight when he gets home from band practice.
Now I'm getting excited about going. I was sitting in the plane thinking 'this is surreal'.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Just about to go away...
Hi guys and girls, it's been a very hectic January.
I actually haven't really had time to pack properly or think about going yet, and I leave today. I have one massive suitcase with most of my things stuffed in, and luckily mum bought me three pairs of jeans while she was in Thailand (I picked her up yesterday morning) so now I have more than 1 pair of pants without holes.
I guess being so busy has meant I really haven't had time to worry either. A couple of days ago I got my yellow fever injections, but couldn't get the rabies or typhoid with that so I'll have to get it in South Africa. I've been loading photos of friends onto my ipod to combat the homesickness (so if you want to send me a photo of you please do) and some of the guys gave me a journal filled with pages that they had decorated and photos, so I read that a couple of nights ago and cried a little. I know there's going to be a lot of changes while I'm away...
Instead of preparing, I've been away on our youth group camp at Wee Jasper (population 65). It's drought affected country and we were in the 'Tin Huts' - no running water, no electricity.
We had some brilliant moments so here's some pics of that camp.
I actually haven't really had time to pack properly or think about going yet, and I leave today. I have one massive suitcase with most of my things stuffed in, and luckily mum bought me three pairs of jeans while she was in Thailand (I picked her up yesterday morning) so now I have more than 1 pair of pants without holes.
I guess being so busy has meant I really haven't had time to worry either. A couple of days ago I got my yellow fever injections, but couldn't get the rabies or typhoid with that so I'll have to get it in South Africa. I've been loading photos of friends onto my ipod to combat the homesickness (so if you want to send me a photo of you please do) and some of the guys gave me a journal filled with pages that they had decorated and photos, so I read that a couple of nights ago and cried a little. I know there's going to be a lot of changes while I'm away...
Instead of preparing, I've been away on our youth group camp at Wee Jasper (population 65). It's drought affected country and we were in the 'Tin Huts' - no running water, no electricity.
We had some brilliant moments so here's some pics of that camp.
Andy pulling Jingy through a hole...or is it proposing?
Our fearless leader (so cute!)
The boys at work
Tiff and Phillip (the croc)
Next posting...either from the free internet at Singapore during my stopover or from South Africa!
Thursday, January 4, 2007
WWW up and running
For the last two days, while waiting for my crashed computer to recover (I had to totally reformat it and it still doesn't work!I had to use dial-up!) I've been working on my mission website and here it is! www.jazng.com
It's pretty simple but it's a way to keep in touch and let everyone be updated. I'm still working on a photo gallery...
It's pretty simple but it's a way to keep in touch and let everyone be updated. I'm still working on a photo gallery...
Monday, January 1, 2007
Past the first post
It's New Year's Day and I have no resolutions. However, I do have this new blog...
So the background on this is that over the last few years I have been getting more and more certain that God wants me to work for Him in this organisation called Create International. However, to get there I first have to get through about a year's worth of training. Create is an offspring of a worldwide organisation called Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and everyone has to go through the basic course called a Discipleship Training Course (DTS) which in my case, takes 6 months in Crossroads, South Africa. I'll be studying there and also helping out at an aids orphanage called Beautiful Gate.
So if you have survived all the abbreviations and still want to come along for the ride, visit again later...
So the background on this is that over the last few years I have been getting more and more certain that God wants me to work for Him in this organisation called Create International. However, to get there I first have to get through about a year's worth of training. Create is an offspring of a worldwide organisation called Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and everyone has to go through the basic course called a Discipleship Training Course (DTS) which in my case, takes 6 months in Crossroads, South Africa. I'll be studying there and also helping out at an aids orphanage called Beautiful Gate.
So if you have survived all the abbreviations and still want to come along for the ride, visit again later...
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