i dont know where to begin to describe the last two days.
it was incredible being back at walk in the light. it feels like home there. i am so excited to be back and i am excited to see what God has in store for me over the next 5 months.
last summer while i was here i saw a lot of brokeness throughout Haniville. i am still seeing that brokeness but God has been so faithful in providing me with an unexplainable joy and hope. i have seen so much joy and hope in the last two days.
on thursday our group spent the day weeding the rose geranium plants. the rose geranium is one of the bigger income sources of the ministry. we worked with about 10 of the ladies. after that we spent the afternoon just hanging out at walk in the light, getting to know the ministry a little better. there are 19 APU students working at walk in the light for the next 3 1/2 weeks. we have split into three groups of 5 and one group of 4. each day one group will go on clinic runs with phindile and bruce while the others work around the ministry. Mason's clinic is at the bottom of the hill of the township. it provides medical care for HIV/AIDS and TB patients. each day Phindille, Bruce, or Neels drive patients to and from the clinic. Clinic runs are what expose us to the most. it is during this time that i found myself asking God where he was the most last summer. we pick up patients dying of AIDS. it is really hard. it is a lot to take in. These drives are also some of my favorite moments. it is a time where we get to interract with the community. i spend alot of the time praying during clinic runs.
yesterday was an incredible day. i dont know where to begin to explain it. i wish i could explain the joy i have. i am exactly where God intended me to be. it is incredible. i feel so content. as i sit here typing, i am smiling. it is ridiculous. i wish i could begin to explain my passion for the people of Haniville. Yesterday we met with the senior youth (ages 15-21). it was wonderful. when i was here last summer we had a difficult time motivating the senior youth and they were closed off at first. the senior youth group has grown SO much. there were about thirty senior youth last night. we spent the night hanging out. there was a lot of laughter. we played games and talked and then worshipped. The holy spirit was there. God was moving. i was so encouraged.
i have been hanging out with one of the senior youth, Sihle, alot lately. i met him last summer. He is 19 and from haniville. he has been going to walk in the light for years. he was fired from his job a couple of months ago and has been doing nothing since then. he is so bored. this is the story of so many of the youth in the townships of south africa. he finished school, but doesnt have enough money to continue on to university. jobs are nearly impossible to find. people are bored. boredom leads to nothing good. eventually boredom will drive these individuals to do something negative with their time. i have been talking with sihle alot trying to figure out some options for him. yesterday we got to talk for a bit about life. i asked him what his dreams were and what his dream job would be if he had one. he turned to me and said, allie, i think that is the problem, i dont know what my dream is. no one told me to dream. that hurt my heart. i am beginning to learn that more about the community as i spend more time in south africa and i have discovered that that is one of the hardest challenges here among the youth. it is rare that they are told they are worth pursuing something bigger than what they see daily. they are never really encouraged to dream and to believe that their dreams are possible. i know that may sound corny, but it is so true here. they are not given the freedom we have to dream. the youth are not encouraged to see things outside of the routine. it is hard to see. my prayer is that i will purely be an instrument of encouragement to these youth. i want them to know their worth. i want them to know their potential and realize how loved they are by their creator. i want them to realize the power of the creator that lies within them. i want them to see how beautifully and wonderfully they were made. my passion for haniville and for the youth is growing more and more with each day.
i know that i have talked about Alfred before in this blog. He is one of the senior youth my team got to spend some time with last year. he is 21. well he applied for this program called foxfires in august and got it. foxfires is a ministry that sings/dances/preaches and does various ministries all over south africa. he is a foxfire now. so last night we went to his commissioning service. it was unreal. all he needed was one opportunity. he is doing incredible things. the transformation that has occurred in his life is beautiful. it is a testament to God. i was able to bring four of his best friends from haniville to come watch him. i was moved to tears multiple times throughout the night. watching them watch alfred was incredible. watching alfred perform and speak so boldly in the Spirit brought me more joy than i can explain. i wish you could see the smile he had and the joy that was flowing out of him. to see a guy who has experienced some heavy and painful things, find so much joy in Christ is such a testament to the power and redemption our God offers.
last time i was here we drove this woman, Zandille to the clinic to receive her TB and HIV meds daily. she was really sick. you could see every bone in her body. anyways, i visited her yesterday and i didnt recognize her at first. she looks incredible. she is healthy. she is fighting HIV. it was very encouraging to see the impact phindile and walk in the light has had within the community.
i feel like last year i saw so much hurt and brokeness and it was overwhelming. i had no idea how i was going to handle it again. i know that i will be seeing hurt and brokeness over the next five months, but i saw so much joy and hope yesterday. praise the Lord. God is so clearly moving in this community.
i am overwhlemed at his goodness. truly.
our group is going to spend some time rebuilding a house for a man named Mandla. Mandla was stabbed by his daughter's boyfriend three years ago and was paralyzed from that. we are going to be spending some time working on his house and getting to know him.
pray that we are purely instruments of God's goodness. pray that our hands are his and his alone and that they will be used to bring his healing. pray that our words are not our own, but that they are rather HIS. pray for a transformation and renewal of our minds.
i am just learning so much. i am experiencing so much. God is so present.
i am rediscovering joy in HIM.
i am learning so much about the Holy Spriit. i am speaking boldly in his name. i feel him. it is incredible.
i am blesed to be here.
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