August Week 1 and 2

(I ran out of time to post more pictures. I will update the pics when I get a chance to get to the internet cafe again.)





Week 1:

Day 1: Tuesday August 7th

When we arrived in Cape Town and went through customs with no problems. In the afternoon we went straight to Hareara to help build their 15th Preschool building. It already had the outer structure and roof built when we arrived. Sunni and I were in charge of measuring, cutting and nailing the middle braces on the walls. Later in the afternoon we were joined by a group from Stanford University. We worked with no breaks till 7 pm. It was a tiring day and rewarding day. We stayed up till 12 midnight to shake our jet leg and get ready for our Preschool and Sunday School lessons.







Day 2: Wednesday August 8th

We did a 2 ½ lesson with the Preschool in Philippi and then went straight to the construction sight. Our next job was to install the windows. Boy! I am sure learning a lot about construction. At 4 pm we did a Sunday School lesson on Daniel and the Lions Den while everybody else was putting up the zinc walls. We had at least 100 kids join us by the time we finished our lessons.










Day 3: Thursday August 9th

Today is a holiday called Women’s Day. We decided to take the holiday off too and in the afternoon we watched a netball concert. We were at the concert for 3 hrs and they weren’t finished yet. We then left to sightsee at the beach.




















(Stanford Team)





Day 4: Friday August 10th

We started our day at the construction sight and waited for awhile because we were missing so many tools. We then decided to clean the yard around us so that we can get ready for the Sunday School lesson in the afternoon (The land where the preschool is being built used to be the local dump). We were picking up broken glass, garbage and condoms. Once the equipment was here we started to level the ground, put black plastic down and then poured the cement foundation.


Day 5: Saturday August 11th

We had to pick up a lot of people today and there was 5 people in the back seats. We were stopped by the police and he was going to charge us 200 rand for every person who didn’t wear a seatbelt, extra people in the car and turning in the wrong lane. Eventually we sweet talked him into letting us off. Later on we discovered that they usually stop you so that they can just get bribe money for lunch. (Of course we forgot to give him any money after he let us go.)






(Angela from Brazil. She is a full time missionary)

Day 6: Sunday August 12th

At 2:00 am we had 4 extra girls stay in our room. They just came back from Transki (Eastern Cape). We went to church and it lasted for 2 ½ hrs. The singing here is incredible and amazing! It is full of passion and expression. Even though they sing their lungs out here they still have their sound systems on to full blast. In the afternoon we had a Barbeque at the campsite that they are building. Unfortunately they can’t use this site yet because their neighbours are fighting them. (My guess is that they don’t want the blacks in their white community.)











Day 7: Monday August 3rd

Each Monday and Thursday at the College they have a time of prayer and worship and we joined them there. We then went to Noah’s Ark Preschool to do a lesson and see the Mama’s Soup Kitchen. I had a good time fellowshipping and sharing God’s love with the older people at the soup kitchen. In the afternoon we did a prayer walk and gathered the kids for Sunday School in a neighbours garage because it was raining.





2nd Week:

Day 8th: Tuesday August 14th

Today we left at 7 am to help with their High School ministry. (African Leadership is allowed to go into all the High Schools to teach a course in Life Skills. The topic today was the Gospel. I had to share my testimony and I was totally out of my comfort zone. Oh well, I did my best. At 6:30 pm. our team left to Transki. (Transki is in the Eastern Cape of South Africa and most people here still live the traditional lifestyle.)


Day 9: Thursday August 15th

We left Cape Town at 6:30 pm and arrived in Transki the next day around 8 am. We put our stuff on a taxi (which was a truck). At 1 pm we did hut to hut evangelism. People here are very hospitable and willing to accept Christ very easily. At 4 pm we did Children’s ministry. Our home for the week is a typical hut and our whole team stayed in one hut together. (David 273-274




Pastor Masikani and the Chief at Santubee









Day 10: Thursday August 16th.

At 6:45 we were awoken by the owners wanting to get kitchen stuff in the hut. We had a traditional breakfast that was made out of corn porridge. This porridge sustained us for a long time because we had to hike to get to the next town to do hut to hut evangelism. It was quite an eye opener experience for me. I realized that I need to study my Bible more. It was 3:00 pm when we got home and we stopped to visit the Chief house to get two chickens for dinner. The only thing I didn’t like was the process of getting the chicken ready for dinner. Overall it was a good day.




Day 11: Friday August 17th

At 4:00 am we were awaken by a rooster crowing inside our hut. He was hiding under the kitchen table the whole night. As people were trying to get him outside I stayed in my sleeping bag and he kept on stepping all over us. It was quite a sight to behold. Each night we have to shoe away the rooster from under the kitchen table if we don’t want him to wake us up again every morning. They have no running water or electricity here yet, therefore, you have to do the bucket thing to take a bath.






Day 12: Saturday August 18th

This morning I woke up early and watched the sunrise as I was sitting in the outhouse with the door wide open. (It’s a great way to air out the outhouse and don’t worry nobody was awake yet.) Everyday this week we did hut to hut evangelism in the morning and at 4pm did Sunday School for about 100 kids and then a Youth service at 5:00 pm.



Day 13: Sunday August 19th

Today was our last day in Transki and we were invited to witness a funeral in the next town. During the beginning of the funeral the ladies and men are split up. We went into a hut where all the women were preparing the meal for the funeral. We helped by peeling and cutting the potatoes. We then were served tea and bread. Once the service started the men stayed to the left while the women stayed to the right. The men sat on benches and the women sat on the floor. I would have loved to have seen the whole service and experience the fest, but we had to leave early because we had to catch the bus back to Cape Town.

Day 14: Monday August 20th

We arrived at Cape Town at 2:20 in the morning. They let us sleep in and in the afternoon we helped put the walls up inside the preschool.