Life is Africa is. so. slow.. It's funny to see and experience what living life is like here because when people plan two or three errands in a day, it's a pretty big deal because that is a lot to them. It's kind of funny actually. Ali and I have gotten use to this slow paced life style, and we've found we enjoy it so much more than our hustle and bustle of America. When we plan on attending a 2 hour soccer game in the morning, lunch, and hour or two of computer work, and then running an errand to the mall or a quick trip to the grocery store, people think we are so productive. Ali and I will tell you thats not always the case, but it's just funny to see how people react to such a "busy" day.
Last Friday night was a great time of hang out and relationship building with the youth here in Ocean View. Two Fridays ago at youth group at Sarah and Casey's house, the girls agreed to a sleep over this past Friday at the house. Everyone was looking forward to it, and it was great to see the girls friendships that they have together in the group. During youth group, a young couple that are friends with Sarah and Casey came over to lead youth and give a lesson. The lesson wasn't a normal "lets go around the circle and share how great God was this week to us" kind of deal. They used a method called "storying" to memorize the passage of Jesus feeding the five thousand. Basically, all the girls got together in a circle and one by one would act out a sentence of that story. For example, one sentence may be "Jesus took the 5 loaves of bread, gave thanks, and broke the bread." One girl would make a sign/action for Jesus, act out taking the loaves of bread, maybe put her hands together to symbolize giving thanks, then act out breaking a piece of bread. They went around the circle acting out and repeating the entire story. It's such an amazing method of teaching because 1. it was so much fun seeing everyones funny creativity for things. 2. it brought the girls closer together because of humor. 3. it's something that they might joke around with later one, but it's not something that they'll forget because they repeated the story at least 30 times and acted it out with it, therefore it's stuck in their brain. I personally saw this activity as a great strategy for teaching the gospel. Another great part of that evening was seeing all the girls responses to the question of "What are you thankful for?". Out of the 9 or so girls that were there, at least 2, maybe 3 of them said that they were thankful for Casey and Sarah and were glad to have them in their lives. It's amazing to hear that. That's the reason why Casey and Sarah are here, as missionaries...to impact people's lives, to be an example to others, to share Christ with these people in Ocean View, to be a support for those in need, to be a home for those kids in abusive families who need a place to hang out at during the day....Ahh it's great to see that they are making an impact here and that people are thankful for them living in Ocean View. It's also great to see how people are accepting them in their community as well. For those who are unaware of the "apartheid" (i think i spelled that right...), google it and read up on the separation of the Blacks and Colors and the Whites. The area of Ocean View is a colored community, and there are no white people living in the community with them. The colored community here has really grabbed on to Casey and Sarah staying here long term, and doesn't see them as "while people" who are here to give them money or share Jesus then leave like everyone else has done. They see them as legitimate members of the community who can be trusted. Amazing, amazing, amazing.
One thing that Ali and I have discussed a lot since we've been here is the lack of extracurricular activities for children and youth in Ocean View. Every day after school, thousands of kids flock to the streets to hang out with other people because there is nothing else to do after school for these kids. It's so sad. When we ask some of the people who are older here what they did today, 99% of the time the response is "Absolutely nothing..". Throughout the day we will spot our hosts walking up and down the street multiple times just trying to get rid of the time. Kids are the same way. Not one day goes by that we don't smell Marijuana being burnt outside of the house or hear a group of kids crowding around one another in a group listening to rap music. The only constructive thing that we've seen the youth do around here is play soccer. It seems like that is the only activity that many of the kids do to keep themselves out of trouble. Thats one of the reasons why we are so supportive of the Prince family is because they saw how they could reach out to many of the youth here and they began a ministry through soccer to reach out to them. Ali and I are always having the conversations "What if...". What if we, or anyone really, came here to give these kids something to do. What if kids here had more extracurricular activities to be a part of. Really, at this point, anything that would get the kids off the streets after school and get them to do something constructive with their time would be a ministry opportunity. Imagine the endless possibilities that people could do here when the only extracurricular activity that there is is soccer.
This area is great and we love it. The people here are so kind and generous. They seek for lasting friendships and love, but for some its hard to find. Really, to make a change in this area, the change needs to start with the adults that are here now who are dedicated to leading up and raising the younger generation in beneficial ways.
Signing out from Cape Town, South Africa. More updates on the way.
Doug
Last Friday night was a great time of hang out and relationship building with the youth here in Ocean View. Two Fridays ago at youth group at Sarah and Casey's house, the girls agreed to a sleep over this past Friday at the house. Everyone was looking forward to it, and it was great to see the girls friendships that they have together in the group. During youth group, a young couple that are friends with Sarah and Casey came over to lead youth and give a lesson. The lesson wasn't a normal "lets go around the circle and share how great God was this week to us" kind of deal. They used a method called "storying" to memorize the passage of Jesus feeding the five thousand. Basically, all the girls got together in a circle and one by one would act out a sentence of that story. For example, one sentence may be "Jesus took the 5 loaves of bread, gave thanks, and broke the bread." One girl would make a sign/action for Jesus, act out taking the loaves of bread, maybe put her hands together to symbolize giving thanks, then act out breaking a piece of bread. They went around the circle acting out and repeating the entire story. It's such an amazing method of teaching because 1. it was so much fun seeing everyones funny creativity for things. 2. it brought the girls closer together because of humor. 3. it's something that they might joke around with later one, but it's not something that they'll forget because they repeated the story at least 30 times and acted it out with it, therefore it's stuck in their brain. I personally saw this activity as a great strategy for teaching the gospel. Another great part of that evening was seeing all the girls responses to the question of "What are you thankful for?". Out of the 9 or so girls that were there, at least 2, maybe 3 of them said that they were thankful for Casey and Sarah and were glad to have them in their lives. It's amazing to hear that. That's the reason why Casey and Sarah are here, as missionaries...to impact people's lives, to be an example to others, to share Christ with these people in Ocean View, to be a support for those in need, to be a home for those kids in abusive families who need a place to hang out at during the day....Ahh it's great to see that they are making an impact here and that people are thankful for them living in Ocean View. It's also great to see how people are accepting them in their community as well. For those who are unaware of the "apartheid" (i think i spelled that right...), google it and read up on the separation of the Blacks and Colors and the Whites. The area of Ocean View is a colored community, and there are no white people living in the community with them. The colored community here has really grabbed on to Casey and Sarah staying here long term, and doesn't see them as "while people" who are here to give them money or share Jesus then leave like everyone else has done. They see them as legitimate members of the community who can be trusted. Amazing, amazing, amazing.
One thing that Ali and I have discussed a lot since we've been here is the lack of extracurricular activities for children and youth in Ocean View. Every day after school, thousands of kids flock to the streets to hang out with other people because there is nothing else to do after school for these kids. It's so sad. When we ask some of the people who are older here what they did today, 99% of the time the response is "Absolutely nothing..". Throughout the day we will spot our hosts walking up and down the street multiple times just trying to get rid of the time. Kids are the same way. Not one day goes by that we don't smell Marijuana being burnt outside of the house or hear a group of kids crowding around one another in a group listening to rap music. The only constructive thing that we've seen the youth do around here is play soccer. It seems like that is the only activity that many of the kids do to keep themselves out of trouble. Thats one of the reasons why we are so supportive of the Prince family is because they saw how they could reach out to many of the youth here and they began a ministry through soccer to reach out to them. Ali and I are always having the conversations "What if...". What if we, or anyone really, came here to give these kids something to do. What if kids here had more extracurricular activities to be a part of. Really, at this point, anything that would get the kids off the streets after school and get them to do something constructive with their time would be a ministry opportunity. Imagine the endless possibilities that people could do here when the only extracurricular activity that there is is soccer.
This area is great and we love it. The people here are so kind and generous. They seek for lasting friendships and love, but for some its hard to find. Really, to make a change in this area, the change needs to start with the adults that are here now who are dedicated to leading up and raising the younger generation in beneficial ways.
Signing out from Cape Town, South Africa. More updates on the way.
Doug
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