God is At Work in South Africa!

By Donna and the team

It has been an amazing summer of learning, growing, and serving. There have been moments of feeling hopeless about the many challenges here, and yet we see how God is working and how He allowed our team to have a small part in that work. As our team discussed our time of ministry before heading to debrief, our team wrote these comments…

Participating with Lighthouse Youth Group…

“The worship was one of the highs of participating with the youth group. A God moment was when I met a girl at Youth who really felt alone, and God touched my heart, and I was able to really get to know about her and her life.”

“I loved how excited the youth group was here to worship, and I loved the connections I have made with students.”

“Their energy filled me up. It was overwhelming, but I had an opportunity to experience a new style of youth worship. I remember the students going to the stage and playing with the leaders. Just watching them made me cry as I could feel the love between each other and God.”

Schools ministry…

“A high was going to Nobamba high school and seeing a girl who is a student there who I had met at the recent National Women’s Day event. She was in the class where I was and I was able to give her name to the local staff here to follow up. She has recently moved here after losing her Mom.”

“I really enjoyed the elementary school and how the kids were willing to go to the program to learn more about God. I also appreciated the hugs and innocent smiles.”

“Watching our students engage wholeheartedly and choosing to get out of their comfort zones.”

“I really liked Nobamba high school, probably because I was able to initiate there easily compared to other schools.”

Genesis Community Health Care Team…

“A high was seeing God using ordinary people to have such a big impact in their own community was an encouragement.”

“I loved getting to experience the community care with really hard-working staff. I learned so much about how to show love and how to respect others. The tears I saw sometimes overwhelmed me and sometimes made me sad or angry. However, I saw their love towards God, and I was so thankful to see them.”

“One hard thing was learning about elder abuse from the community care team and seeing one Gogo (Granny) neglected because of her son taking her money to feed his drug addictions.”

And last but not least, the various other ministries along the way…

Baby Home: “Getting to love little children and babies by holding them and spending time with them.”

Refugee Workshop in Durban: “A high was the refugee from Rwanda who led the workshop and sharing his story. Hearing Tito’s story really was heartbreaking but encouraging to know God was still with him.

Murchison Community Center: “I loved this ministry the most and was able to connect with two teens there and I was able to share the gospel with the FOUR bracelet with one of them.”

We are leaving with a great sense of hope that God is working in this country. The pastor of our partner church, Norwegian Settlers, came to our ministry debrief time and had this reminder for our team. We hope that we have many opportunities in the days ahead to take his wise advice:

“The worse thing you can do is feel sorry or sympathetic for South Africa. Get angry instead, that life shouldn’t be like that. See the crisis as an opportunity. We have to take Jesus to the people, not just food. That needs to be our motivation. Love God and serve people. Then get up the next day and do the same thing.”

Trevor

A Holy Moment

By Donna Kushner

The sun was shining brightly as our van made its way up the steep dirt road.  Our first stop was a small home with a tiny garden on the side.  We were visiting a woman whose name means ‘rain’ in Zulu. One of the care workers mentioned that the woman was in a wheelchair, however she managed to tend her garden on her knees.  We were invited to sit down and the care worker asked if she would like to share her story. Initially she said she didn’t know where to begin so we encouraged her to start wherever she wanted; the middle, beginning or end.

It was a holy moment for our small team of four as we sat with Rain.  We all sensed it. We were feeling the weight of the story and the bit of healing she experienced as she shared. Mama Penny, the care worker, told us that they encourage patients to share their stories like this because it is healing to be listened to and feel cared for. It seemed little to be able to offer but it mattered to Rain.

She told us that when her son was 12 she began to have problems with her leg. When she went to the hospital for treatment she learned at that time that she was HIV positive. Eighteen years ago in South Africa that not only meant the person would have medical problems, but that they would be shunned. That is what happened to Rain. She was rejected by her family, and she and her son had to move to a shelter. She was hospitalized several times and eventually met the staff at Genesis Care Center (a hospice that used to treat people with HIV and TB and other illnesses).

As Rain spoke about the many challenges she encountered over the years, her tears flowed.  Several of her family members had passed away, including her daughter, granddaughter and sister-in-law. She cried, but she also said that the staff at Genesis were her new family and she was blessed by that. She experienced the tangible love of Christ whenever she would have to receive medical care.  

We had all made cards to give those we visited that included a verse chosen by a student. Alex, a student on this visit, had chosen Joshua 1:9 “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Tears were in our eyes as he read the verse to Rain because it was clear it was just what would encourage her heart.

We all feel so privileged and honored to be welcomed into homes in this community. Spending time with a person matters here in a way that is different than most of us have experienced.

Hope for the Displaced

I felt like I was with a celebrity as I walked next to Tito. He took our team on a walk to explore a few blocks in an immigrant neighborhood in Durban yesterday. He knew so many people and they were clearly glad to see him. At 6’ 5” our team experienced him as a gentle giant.  But most importantly, he loves Jesus and cares deeply about people, no matter where they are from.  

We had the privilege of spending two days in Durban with Tito, who is director of UpSkill Africa Initiative (www.upskillafricainitiative.org/). He and his colleagues, Vicky, a white South African, and Proceed, a Zulu South African, presented an interactive workshop for us about refugees and immigrants, (commonly called “foreign nationals” here), and their situation in this country. They talked about the many challenges experienced by people who have fled for safety from Somalia, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, Eritrea and other African countries.

Tito himself came here over twenty years ago from Rwanda because of the genocide. He lost his parents and five siblings during the conflict. He witnessed unspeakable atrocities. We were moved by his testimony of coming to Christ as a young person, suffering the genocide, working for the UNHCR and, most recently, starting Upskill Africa Initiative. This organization brings South Africans and refugees together to forge greater understanding and provide vocational training.  As they connect with people to meet tangible needs, they share the gospel and are engaged in discipleship.

Tito and his team also discussed the very real problem of xenophobia here and the need for South African society to work towards greater social cohesion. Xenophobia is defined as a fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign. Tito and his team are doing incredible work to counter xenophobia here, taking seriously what the Bible has to say about the stranger,

 “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt. (Exodus 23:9) and Jesus own words, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Matthew 25:35).

A highlight for our team was having Tito’s two teenagers and their friend join us for the day. The teens are all children of Rwandan refugees, but were born here in South Africa. They shared about what life is like here for their families and the challenges they face because of their status of not being South African citizens, even though this is the only place they have ever lived. All three of the teens were excited to meet our team and they all had such a great time talking and spending time together. They could identify in some ways with each other’s experience of being ‘the other’ in their cultural contexts. But even more than that, we all got to experience sweet Christian fellowship across cultural and ethnic lines. It was a beautiful picture of the hope Revelation 7:9-10 speaks about:

“After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”

Here are some of the things our team had to say about the experience—

I learned something new about things like how there are people who don’t have any legal documents to live here. I have never thought about it. I also learned about people’s lives in Rwanda.

AY

It was so interesting to learn about the stories of the teens we met who have no legal documents to be here, and struggle with a broken system and racism.”

M

I was so impressed and somehow overwhelmed by listening to Tito’s life story and the work that he is doing. Experiencing the real life of refugees made me feel sad that they are a bit isolated. Also, their neighborhood streets’ conditions weren’t so good. Overall I was able to learn new parts of South Africa.”

E

It was a great opportunity to learn about xenophobia and the experiences that refugees have when living in South Africa.

AS

This was the first time for mk2mk to engage with a refugee community on a project but we don’t think it will be the last! Tito would love to spend more time together with mk2mk next year. Stay tuned!

(To learn more about this topic: www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/07/south-africa-un-experts-condemn-xenophobic-violence-and-racial)

Goodbye’s and God’s work

After a wonderful four weeks together, everyone is home and settling back into normal rhythms and routines. We had an amazing time learning and growing together, getting to have spiritual conversations, and serving communities in Orlando and Venezuela. It was a truly unforgettable summer. God worked in so many ways and taught us so much.

Hear from our students about a few of the things God taught them this summer.

“God taught me that doubts are normal, that I have a long way to go, and that relationships are quite valuable.” -Anonymous

“He is always with you, He listens, He works through people.” -Anonymous

“I can share with others about God. I have so many testimonies to share, have a desire to learn more about him.” -NB

“I really thrive within a community of people who want to see me grow, I have people to connect to who truly understand my struggles, and that God really is in my corner and he is always with me.” -AK

“God taught me that it is not as scary as you think to share the gospel and have meaningful conversations with strangers. God also taught me that I can’t do everything myself, although I’m still working on that. I also learned that not all ministry looks the same, but God can still work through it.” -MM

“He taught me to love myself more, to trust Him more, and to be more open to those outside my family.” Anonymous

“He can give me the confidence to talk to others. He is working on everyone’s hearts whether we can see it or not. I can bring the gospel to others without even meeting them.”

“That He loves everyone unconditionally, that He is all that will ever satisfy me, and that He always forgives me.” -MM

“I’ve learned how change in our lives comes from God, I have learned the importance of QT at the beginning of every day, and I have learned useful evangelism skills.” -IE

“God loves the underappreciated and the downtrodden. I already knew that, but it really hit home during our second week. I learned that teaching the next generation about God and his attributes is essential. I’m really glad I got to be a small part of that.” -EP

A Walk of Mourning

Written Friday 6/5/2020

“This is not a march. This is not a demonstration. This is not a protest, this is a walk to mourn those who have been the victim of injustice in our nation. We must mourn together to heal together.”

Pastor Tim Johnson

All pictures taken by Zack Van Dyke

Today I walked. A walk of Mourning and Restoration. Mourning the 400 lives that have been lost since 2014 to police brutality and because of racial prejudice and injustice. As we walked 100 of these names were read out loud.

I walked with my sister, my friends, my church, and many people from our organization. And as we walked I mourned. Mourned the centuries of oppression, mourned that people are seen as less than because of the color of their skin instead of celebrated for their diversity and culture, mourned with the families who have lost loved ones due to a broken system.