The little girl next to me kissed my hand again and melted my heart while we played a big game of "Duck, duck goose!" on a sunny, South African afternoon. I had to laugh out loud as "Goose!" was exclaimed over my head for the fifth time in a row. Running round and round that circle of kids, I was reminded of Jesus' words, "The Kingdom of God belongs to children such as these."
South Africa was a delight!
As I begin this letter, I feel I may again be missing another part of my heart. I'm afraid I've left it behind in Johannesburg, South Africa. July 2 17 was spent living at Refilwe Community Center on the outskirts of Johannesburg. This was the start of our team's 3-month outreach to Africa. The ministry we served and lived with was one I am truly passionate about. This is a center that approaches community challenges holistically. They don't simply pass out food or clothing, but they work to teach the people skills, responsibility, and discipleship.
Refilwe's mission began with one woman seeing a great need for simple healthcare in the 'informal communities' (often referred to as squatter camps). She would visit the people on a weekly basis and help them in any way possible. Soon this small outreach came across orphaned children that could not simply be ignored. They began a program that makes it possible for a couple to provide for 6 children. The mission provides their housing and food, but also helps the family sustain a small business. Some of these include tending goats, raising chickens, building bricks, sewing clothes, and running a pre-school. The Refilwe community also hosts classes and equips people from the local settlement with practical life skills. All of these ways of reaching out is motivated by the personal relationship the people at Refilwe have with Jesus Christ.
Our work at Refilwe consisted of brick making, helping construct a compost bin (laying concrete where they keep the pigs), playing with the children, teaching a Bible study, and assisting anywhere else we were needed. Making bricks was a learning experience. All sifting of the sand and mixing of the concrete was done without machines using simple shovels. Needless to say it made for a great workout. And of course after we set a few thousand bricks to dry in the sun, they had to eventually be moved and stacked as well. The hard work proved to be a task my team and I embraced. The guys of our team seemed to really bond with the local men working on the project. These men have been commissioned to produce the 40,000 bricks that are needed to construct the new community center. We helped them to reach around the 9000 brick mark.
One of the flourishing ministries at Refilwe is Noah, a pre-school that serves over 100 children daily. I enjoyed being a part of these kid's lives as we had opportunity. I had the privilege of being a part of the birthday party of one of the 2-year-old girls while I helped out in their class one morning. The princess birthday girl was set as head of her royal birthday table, complete with crown and subjects with party hats. I had never seen a table surrounded with 14 well-behaved children ages 1 to 3 waiting patiently for their cake AND once served, continued to wait until all others had been served and the prayer of blessing said before enjoying their cake. Amazing! The children were so loving. Many of them simply wanted to be held. Often mothers and fathers are so busy with their workdays or don't take the time to hug and hold their little ones. A few times there was a little line if children waiting for a turn to sit on the lap of one of my team members.
God has given me a terrific group to travel with. They have been consistent in their hard work and giving love. Each member has such strengths! One of my biggest thrills during this season is to simply see these students step out into the gifts God has given them. Examples of this could be seen when we were given a task of tearing apart a pigsty and preparing the ground for pouring of cement. As you can imagine, the concoction of decomposing food, mud, and pig waste made for a smell that is difficult to put into words. We had to sludge out this area before cement could be laid. My teammates didn't grumble at all and simply set to work. Each gave their best effort until the job was completed well. A different day we went to a youth group, not sure of how much we would be a part of it. As it turned out, they wanted us to tell testimonies the entire time. Half of the team was not able to make it, so those that were present quickly said a prayer as we went before this group of teenagers. Heidi, Isai, Alison and I shared different aspects of the things God has done in our lives. I talked about my passion for dreaming big and how I never imagined that God could employ me to disciple young people while traveling around the world. God is so faithful to do much, much more than we dare to dream! Afterward we spent time one on one with these passionate, friendly youth talking about the Lord. Hearing about their dreams and visions for the future gives me much excitement for the future of their country. God is doing awesome things in the hearts of those kids! I am quite proud of my team through all of the ministry opportunities.
As for lessons I am personally learning
Serving in leadership is a challenge. Simply serving others before myself has been a pretty radical life change over the past two years of my life. In YWAM we seek to lead by serving, so I'm learning quite a bit about humility. The hidden secret is that there is great joy in putting others first! I have found such a freedom in focusing on the needs of those around me instead of being worried about my own self.
God is consistent. This is a lesson I love to learn again and again. Through every country, every culture, every government and society God does not change. He truly is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The fellowship we share as believers with one another is priceless. Such a deep joy and connection is shared between people that passionately follow Christ. God is GOOD all the time!
Please pray for:
Continued health of each team member.
Protection as we travel.
Direction for our time in Morocco. (We don't have anything specific planned for that time except to pray and ask God where to go!)
Wisdom for when and how we share God's love and message with others.
Team unity humility, joy and love for one another.
Again, THANK YOU for your prayers and support. I truly reap great blessings from your prayers and am so grateful for it! I have had an abundance of joy and been in great health even though I try every new food I find. This email comes to you with blessings for you and your family may God show His unfailing love to you this week in new ways!
Sending love & grace,
Julie Anna
P.S.
If you are wondering about the poverty I have seen, I can tell you that yes, it is there in abundance. I have seen with my own eyes hills covered with shacks that are home to 1000's of people. I visited a medium-sized settlement that is believed to have a population of over 43,000. Their one-room homes are about the size of a walk-in closet. They don't have running water or electricity. You might be thinking at this time 'I can't even imagine that.' But these people are like you they have hopes and dreams of a better future. I spent time talking with a 14-year-old boy named Isaac who hopes to go into business professionally and, with God's help, make a lot of money so that he can someday help build a proper homes for people like himself that live in shacks.
There is a very great need for other community projects like Refilwe. As far as I was told, it is one of a few ministries in the Johannesburg area that serve the poor and homeless in ways that help these people help themselves. Refilwe is working to break this cycle of poverty by equipping one life at a time. If you would like to check out more please visit: http://www.refilwe.org/ Or better yet, quite literally go visit them. Jaco (the director) would love to have you come to volunteer there for a week or as long as you're willing to stay!
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