After close to 33 hours of travel, the team arrived safely back in the US! Thanks again for taking this journey with us! Since we were not able to post many pics during the week- we hope to post a few in the coming days for you to see.
Blessings to each of you!
Well- the wind is howling and it is pouring rain and we are doing final preparations for our departure in a few short hours! It is been an incredible experience here and we are all leaving changed people. For our final blog, we wanted to share with you a bit of how this experience has altered our view of ourselves, of God, of the world. We leave with sadness...hope...joy...and a desire to fully put into words what this experience has meant to us.
Thank you for journeying with us through this blog! Your prayers have been felt and are greatly appreciated!
-Christy-
There are several things I will take home however one is the extent to which God is at work here. He is at work here and all over the world before we get here, while we are here, and after we leave. Our five days working with the children was an awesome chance to get even a small glimpse of the amazing things God is doing here. I know I personally cannot wait to see what all God is going to do. I am along for the ride and to serve in any way possible.
-Lindsay-
I'm not sure if I've processed enough yet to be able to tell you what the most important thing that I experienced this week was, but spending time with these children and seeing the most beautiful horizons of my life have me feeling as if my heart has been thoroughly washed out - a deep and powerful cleansing. I will never be the same. Praise God for that.
-Tim-
So it really doesn't seem like the end could be here now. I'm pretty sure we all wish we could have just a few more days with everyone (children and adults) we have been working with over the last week. From this most amazing experience in my life I know that God has opened my eyes to the beauty of His creation, being the nature and people of this great country, and shown me so much more than i could have ever imagined. My life will never be the same because of this and i will continue to thank God for that for a very long time.
-Noah-
I can't correctly put into a short paragraph my feelings/emotions/thoughts on this mission trip. Yesterday the Belmont Team and I finished our ministry time with the children/teens/leaders of the Ocean View Township and the Living Hope Staff. It is true when we say God was at work before we were here, while we were here, and after we leave here. What I got to be a part of was seeing Him firsthand through the faces of the children, songs of the teens, humility of the leaders, and the work of His hands at sunset or at the southern-most tip of the African continent. Praise Him for this "wrecking" me this week. Praise Him for giving HOPE to the future of HIV-affected populations, and granting me peace and hope just the same. What am I taking home? Emotional pictures and intense memories if what God is doing in South Africa.
Blessings,
-Cheryl-
Greetings from the team! So sorry about the absence the past few days...but we have been busy! :) Just a quick message to update you...
We finished our week at Holiday Club and found the whole experience to be fantastic. The team is still processing our time here and I have seen so many changes in each of us.
Today we are off to see the city before jumping on a plane tomorrow morning. Thanks for your continued prayers these past few days!
Please continue to pray as some on the team have gotten a little virus and the rest are just plan exhausted. We are all up and about this morning and looks like everyone is back to normal!
(sigh) Today was Day 3 of working in whats called a “township” here in Cape Town, South Africa known as OCEAN VIEW. Me and the Belmont team are working with a team from Vineyard Church in London, monthly volunteers from Living Hope, and volunteers that actually live in OCEAN VIEW. Instead of going through the specific logistics of how Monday, Tuesday, and today have been, I will describe the experience of what I’m going through and seeing with my heart.
OCEAN VIEW is a township of nearly 20,000 “coloured” people. We are putting on a Kids Club and a Teens Club at their Multi-Purpose center from 9am-12Pm, and Teens from 2pm-5Pm. We’ve been in contact with nearly 400 of the locals because of the Kids/Teens Club. The club is similar to what we know as Vacation Bible School in the states. It’s a place where the kids come to dance, sing, laugh, learn about the love, LIFE, and TRUTH of Jesus, and eat. Although we are only here for merely a week, I feel like this is a huge part of the kids’ “Holiday” (the 3 weeks of break before school starts back up). I also feel like it’s been a place where HOPE is taught and where the small amount of Hope that they currently have is rooted within them and multiplied.
I honestly don’t know where to begin. Let’s just start with the fact that Ocean View is known as one of Cape Town’s “poor” communities, or “under-resourced” communities, or “impoverished” communities. The lunches these kids are being given is the ONLY meal they will have the entire day, for most of them. Yet, these children have the most genuine smiles and transparent souls. When they smile, they glow. When they see me, they run to me. When they hug, they squeeze. When one of the leaders draws a picture for one of them, she/he will smile and show it off the rest of the day! They are attentive. They know more than one language. All this…and yet they’ve worn the same clothes since I first met them on Monday.
But what I don’t get, is the small bubble of outreach that is being done. Cape Town is an INTERNATIONAL city. There is alot of money and comfort here. But there are also families whose income is between maybe 200 and 300 USD a month. These 2 walls have collided in Cape Town and I’m seeing that collision. The families/kids of OCEAN VIEW may have “nothing” to us Americans, but they have so much. We, Americans, have so much and to them….we are royalty. Many want to just run away to America, but many want to become educated so they can change their communities, and many/most don’t DREAM big enough because they were told they were poor and the ones before them were poor…and they believed it. They are limiting their DREAMS!!!!! Can you imagine? I”ve been taught(as any comfortable American) to “DREAM BIG” and that I can “DO ANYTHING: I wanted to. These kids don’t have that. So they have no frame of reference when they are told to go to the University. They have no resources for finding a job. Shoot, their is one “township” that has absolutely no available PUBLIC transportation.
Their goals are nothing. Nothing. It more than hurts my heart and makes me angry just asking WHY! A local told us tonight that the time we have spent in OCEAN VIEW as a group of 5, is more than the amount of time that 90% of Cape Town locals have spent in Ocean View or any other impoverished township. WHY!?? When you are here, you see it….and u have 2 options…you can either shut yourself and those emotions off, or you can HELP.
This is not only the case here in Cape Town. It’s the situation around the world. Poor and rich. Unhappy and the joyful. Comfort and loneliness. Compassion and ignorance. It’s our attitudes toward the homeless in our cities. It’s the attitude toward the minorities in our city. It must change. WE CAN HELP! WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
As Julie ( a volunteer from Ocean View) told me in the kitchen as we were preparing lunch yesterday, “I am not going to give them a drink that I wouldn’t drink [we were mixing a kool-aid like drink]…it’s like you giving me clothes with holes and stains in them. Don’t give them to me. If you wouldn’t wear it, why would I? My preacher has been teaching us the past few weeks about Giving. If we are going to give, we need to give the BEST that we have”.
That is a struggle for me as well. That’s like giving your favorite/most expensive pair of shoes away. It goes along with the whole build your treasure up in Heaven, not on this Earth kinda thing. Where do you invest your joy/happiness? Makes you think, huh?
What is TRUTH is that you and I were BUILT TO LOVE. Jesus Christ has been sent before us and lived a life of perfection and we are called to strive for that. He died so that we could live for eternity….no matter our sin, no matter how bad we were last night.
One of the leaders from Ocean View gave her testimony in her native tongue (which is “Afrikaans”) yesterday during the Teens Club, I wrote down a few of the things she said in English during her 10-minutes, and I was brought to tears. She said, “Whether you admit it today, whether you admit it tomorrow, whether you admit it when Jesus Christ comes in on the clouds….EVERY KNEE will bow and EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord…..Once you come to know Jesus, your whole attitude changes. Your heart changes toward others. Your heart changes towards your family. God loves family and God loves you.”
Life is better WITH GOD, than without Him.
I am seeing firsthand what POVERTY is. I am seeing in physical form the term HOPE I so freely daily throw in the air. I am LEARNING what they both truly are…and yes, it breaks my heart…it absolutely wrecks me.
Don’t just admit that God is good, AND he died for our sins THEN sit in comfort. DO SOMETHING! LIVE out that LOVE!!!!!!
I hope all of you rest well and never take your blessings for granted. We seriously can change the world….one by one by one by one.
- Cheryl -
Today. Wow. So much has gone on today. We started with Holiday Club. We had probably close to 200 different faces there. Some new some old. All were glad for the opportunity to have fun, to receive a meal, and to be lavished on with affection. So many are starved for affection. It breaks your heart.
I know personally today was awesome but quite different. It was wonderful being able to minister to the kids and to the teenagers. However, don't get me wrong, they ministered to us just as must as we ministered to them. The organization called Mocha club has a shirt that says "I need africa more than africa needs me." This is so true. They have a joy that we do not know. They lack material things but they are still smiling. What is it? The American Dream says we need money and things to be happy. This is not the Ocean View dream or the dream of any other township. Their dream is to survive, to not be another number, to have joy in the midst of poverty. There are many lessons we can learn from them.
We went walking through Ocean View this morning doing what we call a "call out." It is where we walk around calling to the kids to come to the center and telling them about it. We split up and went through the majority of the community. This was really eye-opening. I walked through it with about five others, and I was the only one not from the commmunity. It was as if I was a fly on the wall watching them interact with their fellow community members. I got to see the township first hand. To see what it is like in the morning hours.
I can not write this without telling about what happened to me during kids club. There was a little girl who was upset during crafttime. I knelt down to see what was wrong and she said (in English with a very thick Afrikaans accent) that she didn't feel good. Once I finally understood what she was trying so hard to tell me I picked her up. About two seconds later she got sick. The next thing I realize is not only is there stuff in the floor but it is also on my back. The irony is I actually had on my scrubs today because today's theme was "Everyday Heroes." I took her to the bathroom before she got sick again. After cleaning up, she walked out to go home before I could tell her it was ok. I really hope she was not really embarrassed thinking I will have something against her. One thing that was different was the fact that she totally walked home by herself and she was no older than 2nd grade. Back home, we will be questioned if we let a child that young walk home by themselves, especially in that type of environment. However, that might be difference of culture and difference of parental avaliability. I really hope and pray she is feeling better and got home safely. She told me that she had not eaten anything yet.
We have found out that it is highly possible that the meal fed to the children and to the teens is the only time they eat during the day. What can we do? How can we help? How can we join on to what God is already doing here and around to the world? He is already working through so many organizations to feed His children. This is true even if has humans it is only one mouth meal at a time. Any difference however small it might be is a very big different to them.
Lindsay
Hey everybody, it's Noah. I'm going to be a sophomore at Belmont next fall and I'm from the small town of Sturgis, Kentucky. So it's another late night at the Team House and I'm sitting here blogging about the experience so far.
Coming to Africa has been the most unbelievable experience in my life so far and it has only been two full days! The words I have to say cannot even do justice for what we have already experienced. It's still hard to believe we are here and being able to experience all that this place has to offer. We often find ourselves asking, "Where are we?" and saying, "We're in Africa!" So needless to say God has truly blessed us in only the first couple of days of our trip.
We have just completed our first day of doing "Holiday Club" in Ocean View and our hearts have already been touched in beautiful ways while at the same time being broken. Before starting with the actual club activities our group of workers from all over the world (London, Nashville, Cape Town, and maybe more) had the opportunity to go out into the community and do a "call out" for all the children to come and have a fun day at Holiday Club. We were able to see firsthand the conditions that most of the children were living in and see a glimmer of how tough their lives may be. Despite these rough conditions when we made it back for the circle games all the children from these rough conditions were filled with so much excitement about everything that was in store for them.
There were over 140 children in the first day and they were all so wonderful to be around. Following the Holiday Club children up to 7th grade we held a Teen Club for the teens of the area to come and enjoy games and eventually they will participate in various small group projects. Though we about a hundred less teens than young children their joy in being there was just about as much. With the weather turning into something beautiful as the day continued we could not have asked for a better first day. We know it will only get better as the week continues.
I ask that you continue to pray for our team and the others who are working with Holiday Club in Ocean View, as well as in Red Hill and Capricorn. We have such a blessed week ahead of us but we will need your prayers to strengthen us, not only physically but spiritually and mentally, and prepare us for what the week has in store for us. Also pray for the children that we will be in contact with throughout the week. It is hard to think about the meal that we give these children being what might be the only meal they receive in a day. I know that myself and the other Belmont team members have been placed here for a reason and that God is going to be taking care of us in all that we do but please continue to pray.
Hello Friends! Greetings from the end of our first full day in South Africa. My name is Tim Wildsmith. I graduated from Belmont in 2005 and am currently living in Omaha, Nebraska.
This morning, my teammate Noah and I awoke to a breathtaking view outside our window. It was dark when we got in last night, so we headed outside to take it all in. We have mountains to our east, and the Atlantic Ocean to our west. I have honestly never been to a more beautiful place. The place we're staying at is called The Team House. Here's a link (don't get jealous): http://www.theteamhouse.com
After a wonderful breakfast we headed to King of Kings Baptist Church. We were greeted warmly; and experienced a service with heartfelt worship, great teaching, and a real sense of community.
We then headed to the township of Masiphumelele for another service. This was our first chance to see how the poor live in South Africa (later we drove through Ocean View, the township we will be working in this week). It was like we had crossed into a third world country, only blocks away from the suburban wealth and comfort. The church service there was incredible. Several woman led out in song from the congregation (the woman next to me actually startled me because she sang so loudly), and beautiful children ran around all over the place. I didn't understand a word we sang, but I felt a sheer sense of joy.
We spent the afternoon at one of Living Hope's properties having a Braii (South African barbecue) with all of the other teams working in Cape Town this week. We met new friends from the U.S., as well as a team from England, and more from here in Cape Town. Cheryl and I were asked to lead worship for the entire group. I'll tell you what... that was awesome! It was one of several moments today that I had a hard time keeping my emotions in check. I just keep thinking, “How did I get here!?”
At the Braii we got a lot more info on what we'll be doing this week at the holiday camp. It's gonna be an intense week of hanging out with children. I'm all kinds of nervous and excited. My hope is that I'll be able to give myself wholly to this place while I'm here. I didn't travel halfway across the world to be selfish, you know? I want to love these kids with everything I've got.
We got back to the house about 20 minutes before sunset. The five of us headed down to the beach to take it in. I could write a thousand words and show you even more pictures, but none of that would really do it justice. We stood on the rocks with the sun setting and the waves crashing up toward us, and my heart was full.
It's Cheryl! One of 5 members on the Belmont Mission trip in Capetown, South Africa. The plane has landed!!...along with all of our luggage. (wooh!) Let me just begin with thanking everyone for your support, whether it be financially, thoughtfully, or prayerfully. Thank you! This, I am sure, will be an experience that will wreck all 5 of us (for the better!). Again, thank you!
What a day it has been. We are now at The Team House where it is 1:15AM and 7:15PM back in Nashville. Traveling was as best as it could be. There were no conflicts with any of our flights...except that maybe my leg fell asleep during one of my many naps on the plane. Our longest flight today was roughly 16-18 hours and was broken up into 2 take-offs/landings. Our South African Airbus 600 stopped for an hour in Senegal to refuel so we could take on another 7 hours to Johannesburg. If you're like me, I don't know much about Senegal. From what I saw, there were many buildings/houses in the shapes of rectangles with square windows. Mostly the colors of white and burnt orange, and the town pretty bare. But beautiful in its own unique form.
Although this is not my first international flight experience (Belmont Study Abroad to Hong Kong, July '08), while up in the air I was reminded of how big the earth really is! I looked at the Flight Map and it's just a straight yellow line from Washington DC to Senegal to Johannesburg. As humans, we are so small! Of course, the view out of the airplane always overwhelms me with Gods creation of sunshine, clouds, and stars. I want to travel the world, singing, serving, and loving people from all different walks of life. I can thank Belmont for encouraging me to think globally rather than just locally.
Personal encounters:
As I was waiting in line on the plane today, I noticed a man in his 30s jamming to Michael Jackson's album, Thriller. I caught eye contact with him sitting in his yellow jumpsuit and shiny golden hat, and we shared a few head-nods to honor the late Michael Jackson's music. Pretty classic.
To pick us up from the Capetown Airport was our Team House Manager, Clinton, a warm and welcoming 23-year old South African native. He drives us to our final destination, on what is known as the opposite side of the road for us USA natives, the left side. It being night time, I could not get used to cars coming around curves of the mountains on our right and made me a little nervous just the first 15 cars or so. :)
The Team House is beautiful and I can not really believe we are here. I've only dreamed of seeing parts of the world like today. We got out of the van to the thick smell of the ocean and the sounds of crashing waves. We are not roughing it by any means. However, we are sharing the house with 22 Texans until Tuesday afternoon. :)
Off to a wonderful night of rest, where I will wake up on the top bunk to a skyline view of South Africa's ocean and mountains. Then, to King of Kings Church. Continue to pray for the Belmont Team: Christy, Tim, Lindsey, Noah, and myself. I am more blessed and more excited than I could simply convey through typed words. Good night Belmont!
Our team is finally all together and we are getting ready to board the plane for the VERY LONG flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. We will let you know when we arrive!
Please pray for safe travel!
It is hard to believe that we leave for Cape Town in three short days! We are thrilled to be serving with Living Hope in Cape Town. The mission of Living Hope is clear:
“To bring the hope and compassion of Jesus Christ to the chronically sick and dying in a holistic way and do everything possible to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS”