Be A Revolutionary! AR Now Accepting Intern Applications

It’s that time of the year! Africa Revolution is now accepting applications for its 2009-2010 interns. Time frame: September 2008—July 2009. Site: Mamelodi, South Africa.

Do you want to discover the face of Jesus in the world’s marginalized and poor? If so, consider committing a year of your life to serving in Southern Africa. Come explore what the Gospel lived out in intentional community and service can look like. Pour yourself into something that really matters, by building God’s Kingdom through the local church. Come and learn, ask and see what God is doing. Be part of God’s redemption in Africa by reflecting His love. —www.AfricaRevolution.org

The Africa Revolution internship is perfectly suited for young people interested in the experience of putting their faith into action beyond just a short-term missions trip without the commitment of becoming a full-time missionary. The yearlong internship combines the experience of working closely with a local church, daily pouring into meaningful work while being given the autonomy to figure out one’s purpose in serving throughout the year, living in intentional community and sharing devotions/book studies/meals/loads of fun together, traveling through Sub-Saharan Africa and much more.

If you are up for being a learner in another culture and want to grow enormously in your faith, we highly recommend considering committing a year of your life to the Lord in Africa. Already, we are having an amazing year and one that will, no doubt, be life-changing on many levels.

Check out more by visiting Africa Revolution’s website and by clicking the icon below to check out the Internship Application. We encourage you to contact us with any questions, too!

“The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us? When we begin to take the lowest place, to wash the feet of others, to love our brothers and sisters with that burning love, that passion, which led to the cross, then we can truly say, ‘Now I have begun.’” —Dorothy Day

Tour of Mamelodi

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.

Nyathi Family Visits North Carolina

It’s been an amazing week.  Not only was it the last real week we have to prepare for leaving, but we’ve had the privilege of having pastor Vincent Nyathi and his wife, Gloria and their two kids Mandla (19) and Busi (14) in town.  They were hosted by friends Ben and Anna Adlard but spent quite a bit of time with various folks in the community here—and indeed there are many in this area who know Vincent and have even traveled to Mamelodi at one point or another.  While serving as interns with Africa Revolution we’re excited to spend a good part of our time working with Vincent and his church in the community of Mamelodi.

As you see in the photos above, we had a great time with the Nyathis which included a Durham Bulls baseball game, traditional North Carolina BBQ with our pastor Ru and his family, and lots of great stories shared.  Our teammate Will Brown was also in town this week for business which made it all the more fun.  Also, Gabe and Rachael Dagani, former AR interns, visited from Austin, TX.  With everybody here this week, our final Info Session on Saturday was rich.  We got to hear a number of great stories from Vincent and Gloria and the Daganis about how God is working in Mamelodi and what it means to step out in faith.  We ended our time with the Nyathis with a great worship service at our church where Vincent preached a really challenging sermon.  He shared a lot of interesting background information about South Africa and what things are like now post-Apartheid, charging Christians to “represent to Kingdom of Heaven” in response.   It’s definitely worth a listen (just click the play button below).

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This is our last week of work— I finish Tuesday and Rebecca on Monday.  It’s bittersweet for both of us, both leaving jobs where we learned a ton.  But of course we’re also very excited about what lies ahead.  It will be nice to finally be there, after so many months of preparations.  And we get to be with the Nyathis again in just over a month!