Musings on self-absorption...

I was recently reading the book "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller. In it he remarks that all of the problems in the world could be solved if we were all less self-absorbed. This seems like quite a claim, but then when I think about my own life, I think that a lot of my so-called struggles are due to self-absorption, or are at least made worse by it! I have struggled to live in a house full of 19-21 year olds - always comparing myself to them and feeling like an old, fat lump on a log. But then I realize its all just me being self-absorbed and that comparing myself to others is just a scheme of the devil! Its such an easy trap for me to fall into though! Then this Monday evening we were doing our usual program at the SOS Childrens Village, but the Khanya team couldn't be with us, and it seems we just had no confidence in our own abilities...to control the kids, to plan the lesson...we seemed defeated before we even got there and of course it went badly!! I hope we learned from it, but I'm not sure....I know we were comparing ourselves to the Khanya team and feeling inadequate but again I think this is the devil whispering lies in our ears! Then, Rolf, our Centre Director, did a talk with us and talked about how we as Christians so many times just live in survival mode, just trying to get through life instead of living the abundant, victorious lives Jesus bought for us on the cross! The whole time he was talking I kept thinking "That's me!! That's me!!" I don't know how many times I prayed to God to just get me through this day, or that program...just living in survival mode! Why? And why do I feel inadequate all the time when the Bible promises that God will equip us for whatever we face? Again, I think self-absorption rears its ugly head...its always all about me and how I'm feeling! Hopefully now that I've recognized this pattern I can counteract it by adjusting my attitude and remembering God's promises.....something tells me this will be a lifelong battle!!

Goodbye Kate!!!!

Saturday we said goodbye to Kate as she flew back home to England. She is such a vibrant personality! She will be sorely missed in the house! She could always make us laugh. And she liked to cook, so we were always the beneficiaries of her culinary skills! She was also the planner for most of our parties!! Kate, what will we do without you?!?! This is a picture of Kate and I at the VBS in Belhar, she and I were the floaters so we hung out together most of the week...I miss you lots, Katie!!! Much love to you!!

VBS - More Than Conquerors!!

Last week we led a Vacation Bible School at the Belhar Church of the Nazarene. This is the same church we do the Youth Group activities on Friday nights, so it was an opportunity for us to get to know the youth even more and also to meet the younger kids. This was one of the challenges though, we had kids ranging for 4yrs old to 25! We recognized by the second day that we needed to separate the younger kids, so one of the volunteers took the younger kids and played with them out in the yard. Another challenge was that the kids didn’t show up on time, so we always started late, which meant we never got all our planned activities in. Everyday we were scrambling a bit and rearranging the activities and determining which ones we would cut, which we would leave in. But we persevered and by the end of the week we were going pretty smoothly! Our theme for the week was “… More than conquerors…” from Romans 8:37. Below is a short rundown of each day and some pics….

The yellow tribe doing their flag!
Day One: Olympics

We put the kids in tribes for the week, they were given a bandana in their tribe color, had to come up with a tribe name and design a flag for their tribe. Then we held our version of Olympics. We had a sack race, egg toss, get team in square, three-legged race, etc. Our original thought was to have competitions every day and keep track of points and have a winning tribe at the end of the week, but we had different kids each day and one of the tribes was mostly little kids, so it didn’t really work out, so we scrapped the points at mid week.

Olympics!
Day Two: Are You Free?

To start the day, we took away freedoms from some of the kids, some couldn’t talk, some couldn’t see, some couldn’t use their legs. Then we showed them a short movie we’d made asking people on the streets “Are you free?”, then they had to do an obstacle course as a tribe while some members still didn’t have their freedoms, so they tribe had to help them through. So if they couldn’t see someone had to guide them, if they couldn’t walk, someone had to carry them. Then we gave them their freedoms back. Then we did the Sin Chair skit and had them talk about freedom in their tribes and write a Freedom Speech, which they then read to the entire group. We ended with a challenge for them to really think about freedom in their lives and what areas they need Jesus to help them overcome.

The Sin Chair Skit!

Day Three: Fear and Trust

In their tribes they talked about fear, what they fear, who they fear and why; and trust, who do they trust, who should they trust, why? Then they did several activities, such as the Trust Fall and the Trust Run and they had to come up with a War Cry for their tribe and present it to the whole group. Then we held our version of Fear Factor. They had to make a sandwich with all kinds of gross ingredients that they thought the person next to them had to eat. But once they’d made the sandwich, we told them they had to eat it themselves! We had a relay where they had to plunge their face in water, then run down to then other end of the hall and put their face in a pan of flour to find a sweet in it. Every member of the tribe had to take part in this race. Then a member from each tribe had to put their feet in a bucket of gross stuff (spaghetti, oats and water) and then drink a cup of an unknown red liquid. Finally, one member of each tribe had to eat a plate of delicacies as fast as they could, the plate consisted of a whole hot pepper, capers and a herring! We had the throw up bucket at the ready! It was lots of fun! We ended the day with messages on both fear and trust, that Jesus can help them conquer their fears and that He is trustworthy and will never let us down.

Fear Factor!!

Day Four: Puzzled and Choices

We started off the day playing some games to get them ready for the day, then each tribe had to make a shield to represent their tribe and what they learned so far. Then we gave each tribe a puzzle they had to try to piece together, they had to make 5 arrows out the pieces they were given. Then they talked about how it felt being confused and having to try to solve it within a group. We made parallels to life and how it can be confusing also. Then we had the older kids go into the sanctuary and one of our volunteers led them in an exercise. They had to sit by themselves, close their eyes and just think through each question he asked them. He asked them to think about their lives, what were the best times, what were the worst times. Then he ended with the message that they have the choice in life to let life beat them down or to overcome. That much of what happens in their future depends on what choices they are making today. Then finally we ended with the "Change Your Choice!" game show. We had different volunteers from the audience come up and choose from 3 different boxes. The audience is also yelling out what box they think they should choose. Then once they've seen the prize, they decide if they want to keep it or change their choice. Again the audience is yelling out what they think they should do. Then we debriefed the games and ended the day.The red tribe doing their shield!

Day 5: Persecution

We started off the day with a game, then we went into the sanctuary to watch a short movie titled "Beyond the Gates of Splendor" about the 5 missionaries who were martyred in Equador in the 1950's and their wives who stayed with the tribe that had murdered their husbands and who taught them the gospel - breaking the cycle of violence that had plagued the tribe. Then we got into our tribes and talked about persecution, what it is, who is persecuted, etc. Then they were given a real-life scenario of persecution and had to do a skit on it and present it to the group. They all did a fantastic job! Then we ended the day with the Capture the Flag game. Where each tribe has a different tribes flag and they have to try to get theirs back but at the same time keep the other tribe from stealing theirs back. If you get tagged on the enemy's side you have to go to jail and your other tribe members have to come get you out. The green tribe doing their skit!!

Friday Night - Dance Party!!

We had a dance party for the teenagers to celebrate the week. We had a great turnout and everyone had a great time! It was cool to see how they dance!

Sunday - speak at the church service

They asked us to speak at the church service on Sunday to tell the congregation about the VBS week. So another group from YFC, a worship group called Khanisa, came and lead worship songs. Then several of us got up and talked about YFC, what the international volunteers do here in Cape Town and what the Lifeskills Dance team does (they also joined us for the whole week). Then one of us got up and talked about the themes for each day and we ended with a slide show of pics from the whole week.

Things didn't always go as we planned, but I think we all learned that its not about us and our plans, but its all about God and His plans! Once we surrendered the way we thought it should go, things immediately improved and the week turned out great! God is good all the time - All the time God is good!!

Goodbye Isabel!!!

Ok, the goodbyes are coming fast and furious now! On July 9^th we said goodbye to another German volunteer, Isabel! The group is getting so small, there are only 5 of us left in the house at the moment! Here's a pic of Isabel and I at the Cuban restaurant we went to for Tina's last day.

Isabel, we will miss you – your passion, your sense of humor, your craziness and your seriousness! And our house and office is so organized now – Thank you! You are a good friend! So cool that we share the same birthday! I’ll be praying that we can spend our birthday at Victoria Falls next year! Take care and keep in touch!! Love ya!

Goodbye Birgit!!!

On July 3^rd we said goodbye to another German volunteer, Birgit. We will miss her so much! She has such a soft heart and a compassion for the kids! She was also very outspoken (I think this is a German trait!) this helped us a lot in the house and with the programs, we will miss her honesty! I will miss her sensitivity and gentleness of spirit the most! Here's a pic of Birgit and I when we went to the Waterfront to listen to a Jazz band.
I hope we meet again! Love you, Birgit!

Goodbye Steffi!!!!

On June 27^th we said goodbye to Steffi as she flew back home to Germany. We’ll miss her a lot in the house. She had lots of energy, loved to dance and rap! She was also our spiritual leader and she was great in this capacity – such depth and openness! Steffi was also great with the kids; she had such passion for telling them about Jesus! Here's a pic of Steffi at the dunes in Namibia, a trip neither Steffi or I will ever forget!! I’m sure the Lord has great plans for you, Steffi! Keep in touch – love ya lots!

Christian Union

Christian Union is the name for a new program the volunteers have started with kids from the Vissershok Primary School. They started it with 8 kids from the 5th and 6th grades. They meet twice a week and go through the basics of the Christian faith with them. It runs for the same period of time as a quarter in the school year. So they are just finishing with the first group of kids this week and will start with a new group of kids after the 2 week break in July. They use a variety of methods to teach; skits, songs, stories, brainstorming, small groups....and they usually give them a challenge at the end of the day that they follow up on the next meeting. Here is a sampling of some the things they covered:

• God - who He is, what His character is, etc.
• Jesus - birth, ministry, death
• the Holy Spirit
  
• how to pray

I haven't taken part in this session's Christian Union, as we only need 4 volunteers at a time doing the program and I don't work at the Vissershok School. But I did take part in one of the skits they did on prayer. I think its a great program. It gives the volunteers more time to get to know the kids and to go deeper into what the Christian faith is and how to live it out in their lives. Tomorrow is their last meeting and they are having a party - giving them certificates of completion and Bibles, that one of us has sponsored for them. I know the volunteers very much enjoyed putting together the program and carrying it out with the kids. This is a picture of the first class with the four volunteers who ended the program with them....

Belhar Youth Group

Last Friday night we met with the Youth Group at Belhar Church of the Nazarene. They have asked us to assist them in making their youth group stronger and more appealing to the youth in that neighborhood. This first night we just played a bunch of games with them and did some introductions to start getting to know each other. This Friday we are doing a program on encouragement. We will be using games and small group activities to talk to them about the importance of encouraging others. How the Bible can encourage us and it commands us to build up others and not hurt them or tear them down. We have a couple activities to help them practice giving encouragement and will challenge them to look for ways to encourage others around them going forward. Here are some pics from last weeks meeting...some of the pics didn't come out very well, but you can see we are having fun!

Choices and Consequences....

Sunday, June 3rd, was a "Youth Day" at the churches around South Africa. So one of the churches in town asked us to come and lead a program titled "Choices and Consequences" during their church service. It was so much fun! We started off with a funny ice-breaker where we introduced each other, but had a glass of water that we pretended to drink from and then spit it back out, then we introduced the person next to us and gave them the glass to also take a drink! The congregation really thought we were drinking the water the last person had spit out! We actually had water in our mouths already and only pretended to drink....it didn't have any symbolism but was just a way to get the congregation loosened up...they thought it was pretty hilarious! Here's a pic of us lined up for our intros, that's my hand on the right of the pic as I did the greeting and started the introductions.
Then we acted like we all had different ideas of what we were doing next; one person started saying "ok, now we are going to do a skit." then someone else says "I thought we were doing a dance", I said "I thought we were going to sing a song!", someone else said "I thought we were going camping!" We were all speaking over top each other, then one of us said "Hey, guys! Stop it! What are you doing?" then went on to explain that we all have to make choices every day and obviously we have problems making decisions as a group, and sometimes its hard to make the right choice and we can be confused, etc... Then we did a game show titled "Change Your Choice" where we took volunteers from the audience and they had to choose between 3 boxes that had prizes in them. Some prizes were good, some bad and some just strange! The audience could participate, yelling out which box they thought the person should choose. After they see what prize they got, they then have a decision to make of whether to keep their prize or "change their choice" and pick a different prize, again the audience is yelling out what they think the person should do. The aim of the game was just to get them thinking about choices and how sometimes we are pressured into making a choice by others, but it is us who have to live with the consequence of the choice we make, not the other people. Here's a picture of Kate, one of our volunteers from England, who was emcee of the game...
Then Alicia, a new volunteer from the States , got up and delivered the message. She used the story where Joshua had to choose whether to follow what God told him to do about taking the city of Jericho - walking around the city for 6 days, then the last day walking around 7 times and then shouting and the city walls would fall- surely the people had to think this idea was crazy! But Joshua knew God was faithful and would do what he promised, so they followed God's orders and the city walls fell! We also have to decide every day whom we will follow with the choices we make. She shared some of her testimony about times when she prayed to God about a decision she had to make and how we sometimes don't want to listen to or do what God is telling us, but we will always find in the end, following God will lead to life, doing it on our own leads to heartache, disappointment, etc. However, even when we make bad choices, God is still with us, will redeem us and through Him we can turn our lives around. Below is a pic of Alicia speaking.....
Lastly, we went through the memory verse for the day, portions of Joshua 24: 15-17...but we had portions of the verse on 7 different cards and we stood up in the incorrect order and had kids come up and try to get us in the correct order - "If you decide it is a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you'd rather serve....as for us, we'll worship God!" Then we had the congregation repeat it with us a couple times. We finished with a prayer. We stood at the door to greet people as they left and they were very gracious and thankful to us for coming. After the service they invited us to stay for treats with the kids. It was really cool to spend a little time with them, again they were so thankful we came and they invited us to do a camp with them in September, hopefully that will happen! It was a great experience, we enjoyed it as much as they did.....here's a pic of the congregation......

Goodbye Tina!!!

So this is Tina and I at the airport. She was one of my closest friends in the house. She left to go back home to Germany on June 1st. It again was so hard to say goodbye! I told her I think she was the person in the house whom I was most like in terms of temperament and personality. We had lots of fun together - lots of great memories that I will always cherish!! Tina & I both hope we can do some travelling together in the future! Miss you lots, Tina!!