Albertine…
09 Aug 2010 4 Comments
There is a song that has powerfully affected me since coming to South Africa. Brooke Fraser, wrote this song after a trip to Africa. Some of the lyrics reflect my own experiences here. They drive me to take in what I see here and do something about it…”now that I have seen, I am responsible…” There is a big part of me that wants to shut off from experiencing the feelings that arise when I look at a child and know the trouble they are going through, but I want to take these feelings and use them productively…take them and initiate some sort of change. I just thought I would share the song with you as well, I will try to upload the song if I can figure out how to do it!
“Albertine” by Brooke Fraser
I am sitting still
I think of Angelique
her mothers voice over me
And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent
And on a thousandth hill, I think of Albertine
there in her eyes what I don’t see with my own
rwanda
[CHORUS]
now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are
I am on a plane across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
and the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet
Rwanda
[CHORUS]
[BRIGDE]
I will tell the world, I will tell them where I’ve been
I will keep my word
I will tell them Albertine
[CHORUS]
I am on a stage, a thousand eyes on me
I will tell them, Albertine
I will tell them, Albertine
Firsts…
08 Aug 2010 3 Comments
I have been in South Africa for a month now and have experienced several firsts! I have started working in the schools in order to counsel children in need. Structure here is very different than I am used to. We have had some trouble getting counseling starting following the winter holiday, and now the teachers are planning to go on strike next week. I have had to learn to adapt to changing circumstances and just try the best I can, even when I am unsure of what is going on. I have had to depend on God for wisdom and strength through it all. There are times when I feel inadequate in my counseling skills. There are kids with horrible circumstances and life experiences; it is hard to know how best to work with them. I know that after this year God will have taught me so much about how to reach kids with all kinds of problems. For now, I know God has called me here to work with these kids and so I just have to continually pray for his wisdom, power, counsel, knowledge, and strength.
On a lighter note I ate my first chicken feet the other day- something I had never planned on eating. Chicken feet are actually a common dish in some cultures here. I got to work on Friday and a friend asked me if I was feeling adventurous…she then informed me we would both be trying chicken feet! They taste like chicken…in case you were wondering!! But the toenails and everything are still attached, which made them a little hard for me to eat. Next they want me to try fried worms…..we will see how that goes!
I also went to my first rugby game last Saturday. I had a little bit of trouble following everything that is going on because I am used to American Football. I was able to sit in the front row and take pictures with the mascot. It was a great night!
God is continuing to faithfully provide. The women I work with are amazing and becoming great friends. They have taken me under their wing and are making sure I don’t get too homesick. I feel blessed by them and by the children at the Bethany house who I get to see everyday. Overall I am excited to be here and see what all God is going to do.
God is Faithful
13 Jul 2010 3 Comments
So I have arrived safely in South Africa. The last few days have been a whirlwind of events. God has been faithful in many ways since getting here…but I want to start from before leaving the States. I wrote about the change in my living situation here how in less than two weeks I needed to raise double the amount of support I had already raised. I knew God would provide…after all He had called me here so I needed to trust Him. I can tell you know that He provided…in amazing ways….more than I was asking for or expecting. He placed a desire to support me on people’s hearts without me asking and without them knowing the change in my circumstances. I don’t know why I was ever discouraged or doubtful, but I can tell you today He is faithful and a provider.
Since arriving I have continued to see His faithfulness. A friend of mine was able to pick me up from the airport and take me with her to Pretoria for a few days. This gave me the opportunity to relax a bit with people I know…which was a comfort. I then arrived at the Bethany House in Krugersdorp on Friday afternoon. A couple from my church in Virginia Beach had arrived to check out the Bethany House on Thursday and was staying until Sunday. I felt relieved knowing I again had people I knew around me. In this way I saw God provide yet again. The couple had a car and was able to take me shopping for food and anything else I needed. I don’t know what I would have done without them here…and I don’t have to know because God knew exactly what I needed.
I spent the first couple of days settling in, getting things I needed, and then spending time with the children at the Bethany House. They are just amazing children. Of course they fight and cry and all, but they also have a great ability to show love. I can’t tell you how amazing it is to see their faces when they hear I will be here for a year, which is confirming for me. Saturday night they had a dance party with hot dogs and we also roasted marshmallows to celebrate the end of their five-week holiday. I love that I get to spend a year at a place that throws a dance party for their children. I had a blast dancing with the kids and went home to bed hours before they finished the party!
For months I have been praying that God would provide a social support for me right when I arrived. Today we went to church, which I found to be a comfort. They sang songs I knew and the preaching style was similar to the last two churches I have been involved with. After service was over a girl greeted me and told me she had spent a year in Virginia and just got back six months ago. After talking further we discovered she spent her year in my hometown…not five minutes from my house. She offered to show me around town and help me get acquainted with the city. I knew right as we started talking she was God’s answer to my prayer…he was providing yet again for my needs. He is faithful!! I know I will see His continued faithfulness throughout my time here.
Snags and Setbacks
25 Jun 2010 2 Comments
Throughout the process of getting to South Africa has been the kind of scary experience of support raising. Although I have to say God has provided in really big and unexpected ways that have blown me away. Then I had a little setback…the Bethany House informed me that they no longer had room for me to stay with them while I was there, I would have to stay somewhere else instead. This meant I would have to raise double the support monthly that I was expecting…and with less than two weeks to do this.
At first I was discouraged, disappointed, and well just overwhelmed. There is so much I don’t know going into this that another change hit me harder than I thought it would. I decided that instead of dwelling on this I needed to seek God. I was drawn to Luke 12.
Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear….Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.” Luke 12:22, 25-29.
I realized how little my faith was in that moment. Why did I worry about where I would be staying or how much more support I needed to raise? Instead I need to trust that God cares about me, he has called me to South Africa, and I need to continue to trust Him to provide! He has already showed me He will provide for me in unexpected ways but yet when a setback came I began to worry and take it on myself. I realized I need to take my shield of faith and make sure it is secure!
11 days…
25 Jun 2010 2 Comments
So I am heading off to South Africa in 11 days…crazy! You can read a little bit about me and my decision to go to South Africa…in the “about me” section. If you want to know more details about my journey through deciding to go to South Africa you can also go to http://vimeo.com/12591559 and see a video two awesome friends made of my testimony.
I am hoping to blog when I get to South Africa in order to share my exciting adventures there…and the not so exciting ones as well!
Last time I was there, the Bethany House had both geese and hogs! Just thought Id share these pictures to give you an idea of some of the adventures ahead of me.
Thanks to all of you who have been amazingly supportive and encouraging through all of this!!
