We have been blessed by the arrival of Africa Revolution Board Member Dave Clark and his dad, Dave Sr., who will be staying with us for the next two weeks.  Dave Jr., who does urban ministry in Chicago, will be leading us through some orientation training on how to walk with the poor, and both men will be leading our morning devotions while they are with us.

Vincent graciously led us on a tour of Mamelodi today.  While we learned a lot about the city, the Apartheid era and the almost unbelievable stigma here surrounding HIV/AIDS, we also encountered (as we are finding is the case everyday we are in the township) individuals who God is using in wonderful ways to bring encouragement to people facing tremendous circumstances.  Dave Jr. summarizes the day well on his blog post .

We are looking forward with connecting with a local community development organization based in Pretoria tomorrow, and visiting the Lion Park (!!) and Apartheid Museum on Thursday.  Both Daves are thrilled to be here.

Filed under: Summary by Rebecca on August 19th, 2008, Africa Revolution, HIV/AIDS | 1 Comment

Since our arrival, I’ve been intent on visiting the people whose lives I was privileged to document as part of my master’s thesis (HIV Stories) . During the worship service this morning, I got a tap on my shoulder—it was Selina from one of the stories, "Living Positively," smiling at me with a huge grin. If you’ve seen that story, you know she has been HIV positive for many years now and was on a downward spiral before she found Jesus at the Powerhouse and her life turned around. So it was just great to see her again, to hear her voice and to know that she and her family are well.

The church service was also really special today. Besides the joyful songs and a great sermon, seven babies were dedicated to the Lord. Vincent called the mothers up front along with any relatives of the children. He said, "I want these relatives to be here so that if in the future these babies are taken to a Sangoma (a witch doctor) you can say, ‘No! This child belongs to the Lord.’" There is a real danger here of babies being dedicated to Satan through ancestral worship practices as infants. Vincent’s dedication was powerful and it was beautiful to see all the little faces, held by their mothers. One little guy even clapped with the congregation as they cheered for him.

After church was over, I looked outside at two little girls standing on a wall together and recognized them from the "Facing the Future" story. One girl, Koketso, is the face featured on the fridge magnet we’ve given to our supporters and the other girl, her sister Maria, is sort of the "poster child" for the "Facing the Future" exhibit . It was wonderful to introduce them to Rebecca. For both of us it was as if frozen faces in a painting were coming to life before our eyes. When you see their faces, look into their eyes and hear their quiet voices, all the poverty statistics just fade away and you can see these kids are real. It just melts my heart with joy to see these kids again. The same tension still exists however—the tension between their innocent hope and their dismal situation in life. These kids are orphans, living with their fellow orphaned cousins in a house their uncle owns, yet he has little to give them. I really want to follow up and see how their situation has changed since I was here last in February 2006—yet I suspect their only source of support is the Powerhouse. I didn’t take my camera with me to church today (on purpose) but I’ve put up two photos from HIV Stories and I invite you to view their story, "Facing The Future," at www.hivstories.org .

Later, we had a chance to take the girls, along with Selina’s children, Thabo and Legato, and two others back home. With all of them piled into the backseat of the AR van, it was beautiful to hear their little whispers to each other, their excited giggles and then to turn around and just soak in the beautiful image of their shining little faces.

"Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." —Jesus (Mark 10:13-16 )

Filed under: Reflections by Nathan on August 17th, 2008, children, Facing The Future, HIV Stories, HIV/AIDS, Living Positively, orphans | 1 Comment

Part of our internship program this year means we are living in community with our fellow Africa Revolution interns. Along with daily devotions, prayer and worship we will be reading a number of books together. Each month we’ll read one book and discuss it informally as we go along, and then sit down for a final discussion the last Saturday of the month. I am personally really looking forward to reading all of them, whether again or for the first time. If you’re looking for some good reading that’s relevant beyond just spending a year in Africa, I highly recommend any of these books. Throughout the year you’ll see on our sidebar the current book we’re reading along with others that Rebecca and I are reading on the side (I usually have about 3-4 books going—and never seem to actually finish them, but I’m hoping that that will change this year!).

View this list and more info on the Africa Revolution website.

Filed under: General by Nathan on August 15th, 2008 | 2 Comments

After jumping some hoops and waiting a few days, we are finally hooked up with Internet at our house! So forgive this long post, but there’s a lot to catch up on. This first week, we’ve kept mostly around Pretoria—running errands, grocery shopping, getting the house in order, etc. On a couple of occasions we’ve traveled in an out of the township and each time, have left feeling thoroughly welcomed by the Powerhouse Church.

On Sunday, we were greeted at the Powerhouse with hearty handshakes, warm welcomes and huge hugs by people who knew us each by name. The usher wanted to seat us right up front, but fortunately we ended up more in the middle of the congregation. My first impression was, Wow, such joy! And the music and dancing! Within the first five minutes of our arrival, a congo line had broken out. The singing and praise was so heartfelt that I just closed my eyes and took it in, thinking, this marks one of the happiest moments of my life—to finally be here at the Powerhouse and to be surrounded by these people, who I don’t even know yet but who I already love. And to experience such joy at church!

About mid-way through the service, the four of us—announced as “very, very, very special guests”—were asked to come up to the front. Nate gave me a heads-up that we would probably be asked to say a few words. Vincent introduced us—”we have been praying for you to come—and now you are here!” which was followed by roars of applause. Vincent made it clear we are not to be considered visitors, but as part of the church family here.

I was prepared to be highlighted as special among the four because this was my first time at the Powerhouse, and sure enough, when I was introduced—”Ribs,” they call me as a nickname for Rebecca—the people rejoiced that Nate and his bride were both finally here (last time Nate was at the Powerhouse he and I were engaged, and the church prayed for our wedding, marriage, etc.). Such bright, smiling faces among the crowd, clapping and cheering. I felt so honored, so humbled, so thankful and expressed to the congregation when it was my turn to talk that I felt like I had been here already among them (more applause) given Nate’s love of the Powerhouse and Mamelodi and that I was really looking forward to learning from them this coming year (big grins from the crowd). The leadership of the church was invited up to the front to lay hands on us and pray over us.

The church service itself was a beautiful sight—to see the people so free and joyous in their worship of the Lord, to see people fervently praying for their neighbor when given the opportunity. And the lunch they threw for us after again confirmed their warm welcome. It was neat for me to see how happy people were to see Nate and hear people asking about Will, and for me to be introduced to people I had either heard of or recognized in photos.

A few nights ago, we were invited over to an elder’s (Henry’s) house in Mamelodi to meet with the church leadership to begin brainstorming about how best we might serve the church in the coming year. Going into the meeting, Allan expressed a bit of nervousness that they were going to look to us to take the lead. We really wanted to defer to the leadership of the church for ideas, based on the vision that they have for the church—this being Africa Revolution’s approach to ministry. God really honored our prayers offered up on the car ride into Mamelodi that evening, as we left the gathering feeling very much on the same page with the leadership, generating ideas together with them. Many, many ideas came out of the meeting, and needs were expressed—one theme being a focus on the youth.

Today, Henry and Vincent dropped by our house for lunch and we discussed more. Here’s a summary of ideas from the notes I took at both meetings:

• starting a more purposeful children’s ministry
• a more advanced computer course for those who’ve passed the beginning level looking for more—perhaps covering web design and/or photography
• instruction in personal finance—possibly as an outreach to the community
• a business expose for those interested in entrepreneurship, perhaps workshops in business planning, especially for the women of the church
• a cycling team for the youth? a soccer team?
• a sports clinic for the youth?
• music for the youth, donations of instruments
• kids with cameras—instruction in photography
• a holiday club, aka Vacation Bible School for the kids
• establishing partnerships beyond the walls of the Powerhouse (i.e. with other ministries in the area)
• establishing partnerships with companies in the area (e.g. asking local grocery stores to provide weekly for the Powerhouse’s feeding scheme)
• involving the youth in existing ministries, like the AIDS hospice prayer ministry or SOW Ministries (Strangers, Orphans & Widows), which happens every Sunday after church
• after-school tutoring
• and an exciting idea Vincent had: sharing whatever recordings/multimedia stories we produce for Mamelodi Stories with not just our readership on the blog, but on DVDs with the non-Powerhouse community—as a way of bringing hope to people who may not know what Jesus is doing in Mamelodi

That’s quite a lot! But we’re excited about keeping ourselves from deciding immediately which of these ideas to pursue and how we’ll do it. We are confident that as we get to know the different ministries and the people of the Powerhouse, the Lord will lead us into how we can be of best use. Vincent is giving us much grace to adjust and ease into being part of the church community, time to build relationships, etc.

As for story-telling, Nate and I are feeling the same way. We are trying to remind ourselves that we will be here a whole year, and while we already have a number of story ideas, we’re taking time to see what develops as we get to know some of the people.

God has been kindling much excitement in our hearts regarding this coming year working alongside the Powerhouse. Spiritually, the Lord is already deepening our understanding of Him as we live life alongside Allan & Annie, and we anticipate that understanding growing much more as we begin daily work in the township in the coming week or so. We can’t wait to update you with more as we get underway.

Filed under: General by Rebecca on August 14th, 2008 | 4 Comments

We had quite an uneventful flight and actually slept pretty well on it. We met up with Allan and Annie at the airport easily and were whisked off to the house where we’re staying, which is about an hour from Johannesburg airport. We’re spending the next few days getting things settled at the house - painting, unpacking, getting Internet hooked up, etc. Thanks for your prayers!

Filed under: General by Nathan on August 7th, 2008 | 9 Comments

We’re 99.9% sure we will be on the plane today (S. Africa departure 15 days ago), and we are as ready as we’ll ever be. These past few weeks have been a great blessing, full of rest, great friends and amazing food. God has answered our prayers that we wouldn’t take our break-neck pace with us to South Africa by slowing things down a bit. We visited family, starting with my sister in Little Rock and my dad who joined us there from Mexico. Next we had great fun in Dallas with Rebecca’s sister, our newest nephew Robert and toddler Roy who is a blast. We left our car with Rebecca’s parents in Birmingham and visited her extended family in Troy before being dropped off at teammate Will Brown’s in Atlanta to fly out.

Throughout this month we’ve had wonderful opportunities to share about what we’re doing and why, and have handed out our little cards with the link to this blog to all kinds of excited strangers, including cashiers, waitresses and friends of friends of friends. I also hung prints from my master’s thesis exhibit, "Facing the Future," at a coffee shop in Carrboro where it will be until November. Our church gave us a wonderful send-off service, where the congregation laid hands on us, praying and giving thanks. In that service we also took the opportunity to give God due credit for all the many unknowns He provided for to prepare us for this journey: for providing renters for our house and a cat-sitter for Pippy and Champ; for the fact that leaving our jobs and explaining our vision for this next year to our co-workers went really well; for providing the financial resources—as of yesterday we have raised 100% of our budget (though any future donations will continue to be put to good use!); for preparing our hearts, by forcing us to relinquish control over so many details; and for so many other things that just made it really clear to us we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing. Sunday night here with Will, we joined him at a prayer meeting held at his pastor’s house. Fittingly, the theme was thankfulness.

It’s a great feeling to embark on something we’ve prepared for so extensively. Yet I know that most of the preparations just served to tidy things up here at home so we won’t have to worry about them once there. Much of what we’ve blogged about so far has involved you in all those details—thanks for reading along and for all the prayers that we have felt. Now we look forward to sharing how God is working in us, and in the lives of the people where we are serving. We look forward to sharing about deep relationships formed, lots about learning how to live by faith and of course a lot of photos! I am actually very excited for the chance to photograph for more than just a few weeks in a place where I feel like I was most at home as a photographer . I am also looking forward to trying my hand at some video, and I know Rebecca’s eager to put her audio kit to good use. We hope the blog won’t be a one-way street, and that you’ll feel welcome to comment on our posts, make requests, critiques, share insights, etc. We hope you’ll feel as much a part of our community as possible.

Now I’m going to change this shirt I’ve been wearing for three days and get ready to head to the airport! See you on the other side.

Filed under: General by Nathan on August 5th, 2008 | 6 Comments

At long last, the day is here. We’re here in Atlanta at Will’s house and the preparations have come to an end. We checked with Delta this morning to investigate the availability of this afternoon’s flight—for us standby folks, it’s not looking so hot. Perhaps we’ll fly out today, or maybe we’ll just wait until tomorrow when seats might be more plentiful?

I remarked to Nate the other day, these last few days of the homestretch feel like what having a baby must feel like: nine+ months of planning, now expectantly awaiting, the knowledge that we’re about to experience a huge adjustment and that life will be completely different this time next week—but without a clear vision of what it will be like. My brother pointed out, too, that the flying stand-by part is just like what expectant parents must feel regarding delivery. Will it come today? Will it be tomorrow? We have no say in the matter.

Either way, the timing is in His hands and because of that, we’re excited.

Filed under: General by Rebecca on August 4th, 2008 | 2 Comments

Today I went to the dentist. Of course an explanation was required to the hygienist and receptionist why I wouldn’t be able to schedule a next visit in six months, and the reason—"I’m moving to Africa for a year"—I found, was met with excitement, their wanting to know more, my sharing a Mamelodi Stories business card, questions, more explaining, their pledging to follow along on the blog, etc. Overall, fairly uplifting support.

When the time came for my dentist to appear on the scene and do her thing, poking and prodding and inspecting, the hygienist excitedly shared my news. My dentist was excited, too, and asked similar questions; but interestingly, the feedback that she offered, I began to discern, was almost immediately and entirely that of pity for the continent of Africa. The situation is so sad there, I was sure to see some horrific things… as if the continent was a God-forsaken place.

Later, when I was switched to a different chair for a preventive procedure my dentist graciously squeezed in knowing I was due to leave Durham the day after tomorrow, she offered more feedback, again, reflecting on how hard it will likely be for us, how sad it will be, etc: "So little food, so little medical care, so little education there…" Alluding to what we’ve heard before: it’s just a mess. I was frustrated I couldn’t respond (the novacaine having set in and four hands and all sorts of metal obstructing any attempt at a response). I would have wanted to respond, "But there’s another side of the story. Yes, the situation in Africa is tremendous. But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are some amazing things going on there, too, in spite of circumstances we in America are completely immune to and do not have to face." I would have wanted to tell her more about the Powerhouse Church. I would have wanted to tell her more about Mamelodi Stories, how Nate and I have set out to produce something different with than what some covering Africa do—to show not just the hardship, but to show the triumph of the human spirit over immense tragedy and the manifestation of God-given hope and love in the midst of this tremendous suffering.

Here’s food for thought:

The continent of Africa has more orphans than any other continent in the world. The United Nations and UNICEF estimate that by the year 2010 there will be approximately 42 million orphans in Africa (that number I cannot comprehend), half of those due to HIV/AIDS. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is having a tremendous impact on South Africa, in particular. The country has the highest number of HIV-positive people in the world (5.5 million), and the prevalence rate among adults is more than 18.8 percent. Over the past few years, life expectancy has declined by nearly 20 years, infant mortality has risen and the number of men and women in their 30s and 40s has decreased, yielding the highest number of children left without one or both parents in any African country.

So, in one sense, my dentist is right in thinking that these problems are not going away anytime soon, despite global efforts that have been made to curb this tragedy. The HIV/AIDS and poverty crises are massive, and it will take the attention of the world to respond.

BUT, in Africa, I would argue, no one else is better positioned to help the widow and the orphan than the local church! And as part of our work with Africa Revolution with various local churches uniquely poised to help as the centers of community, Nate and I will attempt to document the harsh situations facing the people with whom we will live and interact as they struggle with disease and poverty, yet as they find hope through faith. I don’t doubt that it will be very hard on a daily basis to witness the realities of suffering in a third-world place, but I’m convinced that we will return to the U.S. with great admiration—not pity—for the people of Africa.

My first response to my dentist’s pessimistic outlook on the situation in Africa was to think to myself "I should switch to Nate’s dentist. He totally gets it." But as I sat there in the chair, jaw beginning to hurt, I thought, "No, this is exactly the kind of person whose heart God has in store to change. This is exactly who Mamelodi Stories is for." Besides, I like my dentist.

It’s a powerful moment when one realizes that the global tragedy the world regards Africa as being and the inconceivable stats she boasts has a face, and a voice. Those are the faces and voices of human beings, made in the image of The Creator and not be felt sorry for, but to be loved as Jesus would love.

"But from above, in the eyes of God, sorrow and joy are never separated. Where there is pain, there is also healing. Where this is mourning, there is dancing. Where there is poverty, there is the Kingdom." —Henri Nouwen

Filed under: General by Rebecca on July 24th, 2008 | 1 Comment