Testing Day

The mobile clinic counseling tents!

It was the team’s last day of ministry in Masi. Today they helped the Living Hope Health Counselors to facilitate a Testing Day. All week the team and church team invited people in the community to the Celebration last night and to the Free Health Screening today. People could come in for free HIV, TB, Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Levels tests. The Living Hope Health Counselors are individuals from the community that have been trained to do the screenings and to counsel people as they get their results.  The team brought a very cool craft activity for the adults to do while they waited for their results – people could decorate a pot and plant seeds in it. Such a great gift as it is something they could take and grow at home and not just something that would end up as clutter. The counselors invited us to get tested as well and I jumped at the opportunity for free tests… I’m a missionary now so anything free is good! LOL However, we do encourage our team members to partake in the testing as well as it breaks the stigma and fear in others in getting tested that it is something for the sick and poor. Not making a big deal about it will help break the stigma that we are still fighting.

The "Starter Pack" Ministry

The make-shift cross 

Dancing for Jesus! 

Testimony 

Everyone crammed into the house.

This evening we had the honor of being a part of a community Outreach with the team that is here from Colorado, US. They’ve been ministering in Masiphumelele all week doing door-to-door ministry and training the church leadership (that at this stage is only a few newly converted men and women). We asked our short-term volunteers, Mike and June, to join this small team of 4 for the week and it turned out to be a great experience for them. The team has been working tirelessly in visiting tons of people and inviting them to the Celebration Service tonight. The small church building – which really is someone’s small house that has been converted into a large room, didn’t look too much like a church. So we found some wire and a cross bean to turn the outside post into a cross. I also found some thick thorny bushes outside our house to shape a crown of thorns for the top of our new cross! The little room was packed to the brim. It rained outside, so people were squeezed in and it was amazing to see everyone worshiping and dancing in such a small space. The pastor would joke and say that this building is his “starter pack’! LOL Now that’s a visionary for you! Every single one of the team was called up to share their testimony… and true to African Church services, we were also called up to share our testimonies! Being that today is my birthday, the Pastor and our Chaplain asked everyone to sing Happy Birthday in first English and then Xhosa to me... so special! After our testimonies, the Pastor shared a message of encouragement and so many people were challenged. 3 and ½ hours later, we finally served dinner to the people – we prepared about 150 hot dogs earlier in the day, so we just had to hand it out. It is amazing how people were so hungry for the word that they didn’t mind having dinner so late. They truly celebrated with God tonight.

Small Group Kick-Off

Another part of our ministry is actually at home. That is, we know we’ve got many people coming from other parts of the world to serve with us in South Africa. They are away from what they know, including friends, family, and everything else that makes home. They are also each on a journey; self-discovery and personal growth is unavoidable in the mission field! So we believe we’ve been called to provide a ‘home away from home’ and a place where we (all as volunteers) can regularly come together and share our stories, experiences, and life in general.

Playing host to many

Natasha and I hosted the largest tour group (60 people) to date at Living Hope, according to others who have been here for some time. Because so much of what we do involves public relations, we often get the chance to welcome individuals and groups that want to learn more about Living Hope. Conversely, it gives us an opportunity to learn more about other like-minded individuals and organizations. This particular group was no exception, as it was full of Christian delegates and missionaries from across the world! We gave them an introduction presentation and then loaded up two buses and gave them a tour of some of our communities - trying not to make a spectacle of the people we serve in these communities. A hard balance between sharing the poverty with others so that they can get involved and not putting those we love and serve on display.

Partnering Churches

This evening we had a wonderful time getting to know a new team from two churches in Colorado, US. They will be partnering with a newer local church in Masiphumelele. Natasha and I had worked with Living Hope’s senior chaplain in the past few weeks to determine which church with which this team would partner. Through the process we’ve gotten to know Pastor Nevson and his wife, and his vision for his church.  After a few key discussions with Pastor Nevson, we were able to work out a plan in which the visiting team could “meet his church where it’s at” to help its leadership in an outreach initiative. Tonight we arranged for Pastor Nevson and his wife to meet the visiting team over dinner, discuss the plan, and pray for the coming days. It was an inspiring time to bring everyone together tonight. We are so excited to see what the Lord will do!