April Days in South Africa

For my friends not on Facebook: here is a running commentary on the kinds of things I comment on which pretty much sums up my days since I last wrote. A couple of things to note: Betty Lou is a beat up VW van that should have been retired a long time ago, the Grannies are a OneHope 10-day team that is an annual event to South Africa made-up of Grandmothers, the Nomads are OneHope’s three-month ministry internship team and if you can’t tell, I live on a game farm and my current assignment has me taking lots of photos and doing quite a bit of writing—but I manage to get in a little bit of ministry now and again.

Lizzy praying with the kids that live on the farm after a teaching on the true meaning of Easter.

April 8, 2009 ...hanging out with the Nomads.
April 11, 2009 ...woke up to the sound of monkeys on the roof. (tin roof, 6 am, Sat. morning)
April 12, 2009 ...Happy Easter ...a service and dinner on the farm and then drove to the Jo'berg airport to pick-up some friends. There where monkey prints on the car!
April 13, 2009 ...praying for the situation in Thailand and friends who are there.
April 14, 2009 ...finishing up my photo project. OneHope teams media internship project is next...
April 16, 2009 ...said goodbye to the Nomads today. The grannies come tomorrow. But for me its writing, writing, writing...and watching the horses, kids, dogs and monkeys out the window.
April 18, 2009...Betty Lou, you make me blue...broke down at a toll booth...thank God for His protection and 24 hour mechanics.
April 19, 2009 ...tin shack church in the middle of a corn field. God showed up and so did a lot of people.
April 19, 2009 ...the sound of children praying never gets old...in any language.
April 23. 2009 ...South African elections today...pray all goes peaceably...
April 23, 2009 ...last night was quite cool (winters coming) and dark but I sure could hear the wildebeest snorting in the back field...I finally got to see the baby giraffe...still writing, writing, writing, we have our first media interns...
April 25, 2009 ...is extending my stay in South Africa another month...and driving the Grannies around this weekend.
April 27, 2009 ...learned two new things yesterday...where to park an oversized vehicle with a trailer at the Johannesburg airport and where to check the oil in a Toyota Quantum (under the passenger seat).
April 28, 2009 ...being stocked by a Gemsbock (pronounced Hemsbuck as known as an Oryx) & a family of Warthogs every time I go for a walk...

Giraffe family at the farm....look at the baby!

Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/kimart4ch/

"The Learners are All Right"

South Africa--It was a full school assembly and the teacher chants to the crowd, "What's wrong with the learners", the students chant back, "The learners are all right". He then chants, "What's wrong with the teachers?", they answer, "The teachers are all right". Then he says, "What's wrong with the guests", they answer, "The guests are all right". (It's a good thing because I was one of them).

The morning started off by attending staff prayer and then we proceed to a full presentation about how the Book of Hope has effected their lives. Learners read from the book, sing, dance and recite original poems. My favorite was entitled, "I am a book of hope". This was truly a school that had embraced the message of hope!

But were these learners all right? It was a black township school with a village of shacks where the illegals lived on the outskirts; joblessness greatly effecting the community. There were six confirmed cases of HIV in this primary school of 783 as well as several orphans and rape victims. Kids trudging to school through thick mud, a constant fear of fire because when one house goes so does the whole block. Life is not easy in a township, but at this school they knew who brought hope. At this school the learners are all right, at this school the teachers are all right, at this school the principal is all right...but what about the rest of the schools? Not everyone is all right...

I've just returned from a whirlwind photo tour of South Africa in effort to see where transformation is taking place through the ministry of OneHope (our new name). I've attended Life Orientation classes in Rustenburg and Welkom in the middle of the country, interviewed students on the southern coastal towns of George and Mossel Bay, and followed an evangelist around some rough schools in Cape Town. It was a joy to see students using the Book of Hope as well as a companion book created for Southern Africa called I-Matter. These scripture based books are being integrated into the classrooms to help teach good moral values as well as addressing some of the issues that face South Africans today. I got to speak to many classes as well as address whole schools. I spoke with small groups of kids even leading a few to the Lord and praying with several for various needs. All of them seemed pretty hopeful about their future.

I learned much about the educational system in South Africa and while I do not want to bring criticism or judgement there is a great disparity. Some of these learners are all right but not all of them. Which is why we work so hard to bring transformation everywhere we go, through every open door possible.

Pray for South Africa. Elections are April 22nd and much could be determined for the future of this country and even continent. The world economic situation effects the poor more that you could imagine.


Photos posted at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimart4ch/
Check often as many more will be posted in the coming weeks.

Greater Things are Still to Come

Madagascar was one of those places I never even dreamed of going. It was so far off the radar that I had to look it up online to even know where it was. I think all of you were intrigued by it from your comments although most of them had to do with the animated movie.

I'll be honest with you. It is a very poor country and it's one thing to visit for ten days, another thing to live in the culture for an extended period of time. It was a learning experience to see people living on a daily basis in ways so foreign to my own way of life. We took public transportation, negotiated cab fare, and walked. Illiteracy, sexual promiscuity, poverty, and family problems are all very big issues there. We were there to help form new ministry partners and so we did a lot of relationship building and I have to say that was by far the most rewarding. My newsletter talks about some of the precious people we have forever embraced. It was also a joy to leave knowing many kids will be reached by a wonderful dynamic person that we helped to train.

I decided the best way to tell you about our work is to show you so click the link below to see a short bit about our work the last several months.



More Madagascar stories from my co-worker Andrea can be found at http://andrearmoore.blogspot.com/

Photos can also be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimart4ch/sets/72157607176696373/

Have a wonderful Christmas! And a great 2009!

Heart of Madagascar

I am convinced that the heart of Madagascar lies deep within its people. I have never experienced a more warm, fun-loving and friendly group of people. Contrary to the animated movie, Madagascar is inhabited by over 16 million people and most lemurs live in national parks. 65% of the people are under the age of 24. And the average life expectancy is around 49 years. To say that this is a very young population is to put it mildly. Whenever we go out people are always saying Bonjour Vaza (hello foreigner); of course four blond white girls kind of stand out here. Despite that, we have had tea or dinner with several Malagasy families. Relationships are very important and we have learned much during these times.

Madagascar is where Africa meets Asia infused with a little French. This is a place like none other. Technically Madagascar is part of Africa but it is very Asian. Many of the people look like they’ve come from the other side of the Indian Ocean (above Australia). Rice is a staple. There are animals and plants here that are found nowhere else on earth. The official language is Malagasy, but a lot of French is also spoken, especially for business.

The challenge: To reach over 8 million kids with the gospel. Many of those children do not go to school or read very well. Many of those children do not live in areas that are easy to get to. Book of Hope has been in Madagascar for several years and distributed a lot of books but the task is huge. Madagascar is the fourth largest island; the length of California and Oregon. The roads are winding and few. Many places require 4 wheel drive, planes or boats to get to.

Andrea, Kate, Mindy and I are here to help train a new national coordinator and help expand the partnerships with groups already doing ministry in some of the remote places. This first month was spent getting to know some of our new partners and learning about the culture. The next two months we have many trainings scheduled where we will also be doing a little bit of traveling. We are excited about our coordinator; she has the vision and the connections to get the job done. And while our time is relatively short here, we hope to train many leaders who can carry out this task so that the future of Madagascar will be bright. These people are absolute gems, they definitely have captured my heart.

Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/kimart4ch

Tarantulas, Scorpions, and Geckos

A summer spent in Honduras has taught me many things:

1. Never judge a team from first impressions (they're not quite themselves the first few days
   
2. Honduran heat is relative to US geographical context. (No problem if you are from the Southern half of the US, a big problem if you are not)
   
3. When someone asks you to “come kill a bug” in the bathroom, beware it could be a tarantula or scorpion.


4. “God’s Word, Every Child” including the naked one that walks out of a classroom.


5. Cross-cultural communication often involves a lot of negotiating for things as simple as dinner and how many schools you will visit that day.

It was a blessing to have three teams from Arkansas, Missouri and Washington this summer; each one of them unique. Each one of them taught me something new. Each ministry location was very different. I literally traveled the entire country: First to San Pedro Sula, a city in the North East; then Choluteca, a small city, very hot and poor to the South West, near the Nicaraguan border; and finally Copan, a very small tourist town in a mountainous jungle area up in the North West by the Guatemala border.

It is impossible to show the beauty of Honduras in pictures: long winding roads, mountains, jungles, mud slides, small villages. I’ll not forget the children of Honduras; all eager to smile, shake your hand, hi-5 and laugh. I played basketball with a group of 4th grade girls, improved my Spanish, but most of all told thousands of kids about my best friend Jesus.

Many more Honduras photos are posted @: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimart4ch/

What’s Next:
I finally stopped thinking in French and have been able to converse in simple Spanish this past summer; but all that is about the change. I will be bringing the French back, my next stop is Madagascar, an island off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. I leave August 22 and will be back in the states December 1st. I don’t know much about it just yet but will be sure to let you know next month.

A Place Called Mango

It was a day that makes your heart full and your feet hurt. It was a day that you dream missions is all about, but to live it was special. We drove in as far as possible on a dirt road by a raging river. Then we loaded up our sound equipment, books, and lunch in our back packs and arms. Then the real journey began.…

The place called Mango was only accessible by a narrow steel cable and board bridge suspended across a very full and fast river below. The bridge swayed with each step and gaps revealed the waters below. Once the team made it across we began our trek to the first school. Up and down the dirt path by the smells of cows and chickens and pigs; the sights of lush tropical flowers and trees and the steep hillsides all around; metal and cinder block homes hidden here and there in the hillside, some brightly painted. Curious children (sometimes naked, all barefoot) would gather by the side of the path, watching us. Sweat pouring out of us by the bucket full in the hot tropical weather. We arrived at the first school, unpacked our gear, took a moment to rest, drank water and motivated ourselves to do what we came for.


The children were all sitting in the shade around a tree, we told them about Jesus, handed out the Book of Hope and salvation bracelets. Hugged several of them, high-fived others, interacted a little bit and then it was on to the next school. This time we went up the hill to a blue building perched on the hillside. We stopped many times to catch our breath, and drink more water. It was a challenge in the heat of the day for all of us, even though this was a very fit group. But the reception at the top of the hill was worth it all: Children hearing and responding to God’s word.

We returned in the evening to a church cut into the hillside to show the GodMan movie. The only advertising we needed was to blast music out of our sound system and curious villagers came near to see what was going on. The screen was positioned towards the hillside creating a natural amphitheater as boys perched high on the hill to watch as the younger ones sat close. In the end the pastor was overjoyed with the response of all those around that came by to watch; seeing the life of Christ perhaps for the first time.We packed up our equipment and made our way back over the bridge in the dark. Very tired but also very happy at what God did through us that day because we were willing to go where few would.

More Photos can be seen at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimart4ch/sets/72157606452447816/

Global Impact in the UK schools

England is always interesting and different. It was refreshing to partner with a group that is already in the schools of York, UK: Global York. For a week we came alongside and boosted their already growing program even more. The exciting thing is that they will still be there long after we leave making a difference one child at a time.

I spent the week with a team going into primary schools. We taught one of the lessons from our teacher’s edition of the Book of Hope about handling conflict. I found myself talking about anger to 983 students, in groups of twelve all week long while the rest of my team did dramas and role playing in stations around the room as new classes filtered in and around every hour or so. (86 sessions in all) It was eye opening to hear some of the responses. It was easy to spot those kids that were in crisis mode and those that were well adjusted. Our High school teams found kids who were very apathetic and wanted proof for everything.

I love having dialog with the students. The common language allows for this to happen along with longer time spent in the classroom. The challenge is that these kids keep you on your toes and you had better be prepared for the hard questions because they really want to know why you believe the way you do.

At the end of the week all the kids that were old enough for Global youth were invited to come out to a loud and vibrant youth meeting. Many of the Year 6 students that we saw came out and many responded favorably. I remember one boy in particular who was struggling at the beginning, left with a wide grin on his face: the results of true transformation.