Mamelodi Stories

Vugani’s Struggle

Nathan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:37:06 +0000

As many readers already know, I am a documentary photographer. And while it was a pleasure to teach and develop courses in the Powerhouse’s skills development center, I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t carve out some time to do some serious documentary work. There were many many stories I could have [...]

Just In Time for Christmas: Cape Town Pano

Rebecca — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:28:02 +0000

Scratching your head about that one-of-kind Christmas gift you are having trouble finding? To help fund the printing and framing of a 12-print black-and-white exhibit we recently developed for Africa Revolution, we are selling a limited number of large format panoramic prints of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The print itself measures almost six feet [...]

MADE IN AFRICA

Rebecca — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:28:34 +0000

Well, we made a little something in Africa… That’s right, we’re pregnant! God blessed us with this discovery the day before we left Mamelodi, which was very special as the month before, the news that “a child—the child you have been praying for—is coming” was prophesied by two of our friends in the [...]

Departure Day…

Rebecca — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:13:28 +0000

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. —Philippians 1:3-5 Today we say our final goodbyes, then head to the airport to fly out tonight to [...]

Guest Post: Megan Clarke on Zim Day

Megan Clarke — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:41:16 +0000

The two weeks that we recently spent serving and learning in Mamelodi proved to be two of the most well-spent, most obviously God-ordained weeks of the past year of my life. I was faced with the endearing joy that is so prevalent in the Powerhouse Church, and it made me face the lack of joy [...]

Guest Post: Rebekah McInnis On Engaging In Spiritual Warfare

Rebekah McInnis — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:18:46 +0000

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.—Ephesians 6:12 People say that traveling abroad changes a person, that traveling gives one a better, more rounded and realistic view of life. [...]

Vision Trip 2009: Experiencing A Taste of God’s Goodness in Mamelodi

Rebecca — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:02:51 +0000

For two weeks in late May/early June, 19 individuals from our home churches in North Carolina (our church: Grace Community Church) and Atlanta (Will’s church: Atlanta Westside Presbyterian) experienced a taste of what life is like in Mamelodi, South Africa, in service alongside our brothers and sisters at the Powerhouse Church. Simply put: the trip was [...]

Introducing Vukosi Nyathi!

Rebecca — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:53:31 +0000

At long last, Baby Nyathi is here! Vukosi (pronounce Bu-koh-see) Nyathi was born naturally without complication to Gloria and Vincent last Friday, June 5th, at 8:05 a.m. He weighed 2.98 kg (6.6 lbs) and measured 50 cm (19.7 in) in length. June 6th was the final day our friends from Chapel Hill and [...]

Campus Outreach in Mamelodi

Nathan — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:35:56 +0000

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.—James 1:27 Last Saturday about 20 college students from Georgia who are spending two months working with Campus Outreach in Johannesburg came to Mamelodi for [...]

Celebrating Women In Business

Rebecca — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:23:06 +0000

Last Saturday afternoon, the Powerhouse Women’s Ministry hosted an event celebrating women in the township running small businesses of their own. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.—Proverbs 31:30 In Powerhouse style, the event kicked off with worship and a devotion, which I had the honor [...]

Mamelodi Stories Wins A 2009 Horizon Interactive Award

Nathan — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:59:22 +0000

We are very pleased to announce that MamelodiStories.org took best of category for Blogs in the 8th Annual Horizon Interactive Awards. The Horizon Interactive Awards is “a prestigious international competition recognizing outstanding achievement among interactive media producers.” The contest received more than 2,000 entries from 32 countries and nearly all 50 states. We [...]

Back to Bulembu

Rebecca — Sun, 10 May 2009 20:04:03 +0000

This past week, the AR team, along with Vincent & Gloria and potential AR staff for the coming year, returned to Bulembu, Swaziland, where we visited in December. A few things struck me on this second visit. I loved Bulembu the first time but was secretly [...]

Siyakubonga (We Thank You, Lord)

Rebecca — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:25:53 +0000

The following is one of my very favorite worship songs. This one was sung recently at church, led by our friend Pinky. The dancing that usually accompanies this song is always so much fun. Thanks to Brenda Leeuw for translating the lyrics into English from Zulu. Entsungwini zokuphila kwami (x6) (For the days of my life) Baba, [...]

Malealea Music

Nathan — Sun, 03 May 2009 09:32:51 +0000

For our final post on the Lesotho trip, we share a video from the performances put on by local musicians at the Malealea Lodge. The singing and dancing was superb, complete with homemade musical instruments.

3D Pano: Malealea Band, Lesotho

Nathan — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:00:45 +0000

The guests at Malealea Lodge in the tiny country of Lesotho enjoy watching the local band play their homemade instruments and dance just after sunset. Instructions for Viewing the 3D Panoramic Image: The image above is a three dimensional panoramic image. Click on the image and drag left, right, [...]

3D Pano: Ribeneng Hut, Lesotho

Nathan — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:00:49 +0000

This pano is of the inside of a traditional Basotho hut where Rebecca and I slept a night. We shared the hut with a couple of birds all night, who took shelter from the rain and cold. Located deep within the mountains, the village of Ribeneng is only accessible by horse or on [...]

3D Pano: Ribeneng Village, Lesotho

Nathan — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:17:29 +0000

This pano was taken in a remote village accessible only by horse or on foot, deep in the heart of Lesotho. The hut with the two white chairs just outside the front door is the one we stayed in overnight. Instructions for Viewing the 3D Panoramic Image: The image [...]

Lesotho: The Kingdom In The Sky

Rebecca — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:13:17 +0000

This past weekend, Nate and I traveled to the tiny landlocked country within South Africa called Lesotho (pronounced Le-soo-too). The trip was nothing less than a real African adventure! Called “The Kingdom in the Sky,” Lesotho is a spectacularly rugged, mountainous country populated by a hardy people, the Basotho, who live in isolated communities [...]

People Over Task

Rebecca — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:00:31 +0000

It’s a little crazy that we can now count on 10 fingers the weeks that we have left here in South Africa. In these final two months, with so much still to wrap up before we can begin to feel closure, it’s tempting to kick into high gear and do, do, do in order [...]

Powerhouse Photo Class Covers Election Day

Nathan — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Instead of canceling class today (since almost everything else it closed today) we decided to go out and cover the presidential election. We broke up into three groups of three and spread out to various polling stations in the township. It was a lot of fun and great to see so many people [...]