Last week with the kids :(

This school week has just been incredible in terms of interacting with the kids, getting to know them all really well, and seeing our work pay off. One beautiful thing that I’ve noticed about South Africa is their strong emphasis on the community. Today (Thursday) the drama workshop performed an outstanding play for the rest of the students. It was not only perfectly done, but the balance between the South African sense of community and the American’s focus on individuality was evident. Nate, the director of the show, told us that they didn’t want to perform unless everyone could be in it; Nate also really highlighted their individual qualities during the play.

Here's a picture of me, Dan, and Given, a student volunteer, in front of Lehlabile, the school that most of our kids attend. We visited these schools on our second outing in Mamelodi on Monday.

Tuesday was a very very busy day of learning. The kids were rowdier than usual, but still remained attentive when it came down to work. Faith taught us all about the diversity in South Africa and we all learned a lot about this unique culture.

On Wednesday, we held mock-interviews in class. I learned so much about my kids that day! I found out that I have two pairs of siblings in my class, and that so many of the student’s goals are to “get rich and then help the poor”, again with the awesome sense of community. What really made me excited was that every single student put down “go to University” as one of their top goals. These students work so hard in class, have a million other talents outside of school, love the Lord, and are serious about their big dreams. Today we also didn’t read the Bible in class for the first time, and Skumbuzo was pretty disappointed, and asked if we could read double the next day— how cute!

Here's a picture of a typical market on the road that sells fruits, chips, and other convenience items.  

On Thursday, we planned a review for the kids and bought a ton of candy, but the kids were so interested in answering questions like “Who wrote the Bible?” and “Do we have just one God even though Jesus is also a God?” that we put aside all lesson plans and just talked. I love how curious and intuitive these kids are! I pray that their curiosity for God will always be this strong.

Our team was also very blessed by having the opportunity to relax and see Harry Potter!! Not to mention it comes out 2 days early in South Africa! Pretty awesome! 

Here's one last picture of my class!  

Please keep the children that we work with in your prayers. Pray that we were able to show God's love to them in our actions and in our words. Pray that these kids will continue to be encouraged about their education, and that they will be able to pass the matriculation exam. Unfortunately only about 40% of students are able to pass this exam and be admitted into University. And please also keep our team in your prayers, that we may end healthy, and really connect with the Lord as we de-brief this weekend.

"Anything is possible if a person believes." - Mark 9:23

Dumelang!

Dumelang! (Hello!)

This is my last week in South Africa. I can’t believe time flew by so quickly! Let me tell you a little about what we did last week. :)

Day 15-17 Tuesday-Thursday

This week, Dan, Faith, and I taught the students a ton of cool things. We wrote letters to God, talked about our friends, learned about states of matter, fractions, and sentence structures.  We also had a talent show, Mamelodi’s Got Talent, in which all the teams performed. Not to brag but the piggies definitely got some major swag!

The kids are as interested and as involved as ever.  I met these two adorable kids (siblings of a student in the program). Here’s a cool picture!

They are 5 and 9 years old respectively. Due to malnutrition, most kids here are smaller than the average American children.

Karabo, one of our newer students, has even decided to lead a Bible study at her school! Praise God for her passion and courage!

Day 18: Friday 7/8/11 Date Night

After class on Friday, the boys in our team had planned a date night for the girls. I was so impressed with everything they had planned for us! We watched the sunset, were serenaded, received beautiful letters, ate a delicious home-cooked dinner, enjoyed desert in a cool hut, listened to karaoke, and danced the night away! They really made us feel like appreciated women of God. Yay boys!

Here’s a picture of the ladies before our festivities began!

Day 19: Saturday 7/09/11 Rhino and Lion Reserve

Today we went to a rhino and lion reserve and it was SO COOL! The reserve is very similar to the game park that we went to last week, but there were more opportunities to see African animals. We saw lions devouring a cow, a majestic tiger, wild dogs, wildebeest, huge rhinos, baby rhinos, cheetahs mating, snakes, and we even got to cuddle with some baby lions and tigers!!!! Check out a picture of me getting kisses from a tiger! (Ironically I introduced myself to everyone on the trip as Tati the Tiger haha).

In Rhino and Lion Reserve is also the 3^rd largest cave in South Africa, the Wonder Cave. We saw beautiful structures formed by the minerals in the earth. I can’t believe that each structure, stalagmites and stalactites, grow only 1 centimeter every 100 years! Here’s a picture of me and my friend Hilary in the cave. (Hi Hilary’s parents!)

Day 20: Sunday 07/10/11 Township church and walk through Mamelodi

Today we went to a church in one of the poorest areas of Mamelodi. The church service was held in a tent that the members of the congregation help put up and take down before and after the service. What struck me the most about the church was how filled with joy everyone is! All the African music is so happy and joyful. Here’s a picture of me with some kids outside the church.

The pastor ended the service 1 hour early to show us where they live. They said they wanted us to see the depths of poverty so that we can know exactly what to be praying for. It was really amazing that the pastor and other members of the congregation invited us into their neighborhood. We saw the poorest of the poor today, and it was really heart-breaking.  Here’s a picture of me with some friends in their neighborhood.

Day 21: Monday 07/11/11

After a busy day in class today, some of our South African friends wanted to take us around Mamelodi again. They took us to a different part than we had been to the previous day. We walked around a significantly more wealthy neighborhood, closer to the University that we work at, and close to many of the high schools. There is such a big difference in wealth in Mamelodi because the Apartheid forced all blacks, regardless of social status or wealth, into the townships. Our students come from both the more wealthy and the very poor parts of Mamelodi. Most of them did not know each other before the program began, but they make friends so quickly-- it’s incredible!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned to see how my trip ends!!

More in Mamelodi!

Day 11: 07/01/11 (Friday) Tshegofatso comes to Christ!

During class today we had a vivid discussion after reading the Prodigal Son. Dan and I put down the majority of our lesson plans for the day and just enjoyed this verbal interaction with the students. We also received some new students and a new co-teacher today! Faith, the new co-teacher, is an education student at the University of Pretoria. She’s so great with kids!

After class today, the American teachers stayed for one hour longer to share our faith with the students, and we invited any of our students that were interested to join us for that hour. Two of my students stayed, Tshegofatso and Ishmael. Dan and I went through the KGP (Knowing God Personally booklet) with them, and explained the gist of the gospel and how precious a relationship with Christ is to us.  Both Ishmael and Tshegofatso were very interested and asked a lot of questions. Dan asked if either of them were ready to receive Christ, but reminded them that there’s no pressure, and they could look over the booklet tonight and pray the sinners prayer at home if they wanted. Tshegofatso’s response startled me. She assertively said, “No. I want this now.” Ishmael had a few questions for Dan, so I took Tshegofatso away from the group and walked her through the sinner’s prayer. God is so good! She was so excited after we finished praying! She gave me a big hug and asked me several questions afterwards. I was so happy later that day to hear all of the stories of the other teachers, and their experiences sharing the gospel with their students. Our purpose here is to work with the current students in South Africa to better the education level in the townships so that more students will be able to go to college, but as a group of Christians, we never want to lose sight of our ultimate purpose in life, to share the good news of the gospel that changed our lives.

“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12

Here’s a picture after the piggies won first place in the challenge today!

Day 12: 07/02/11 (Saturday) Game Park (Happy Birthday Allie!)

Today’s Saturday adventure was a trip to one of the biggest game parks in South Africa! We saw a ton of cool animals and admired beautiful African landscapes. My favorite animals were the zebras, giraffes, and a baby hippo! For those of you who don’t know, a game park is a place that mimics the wild habitat of these animals, and we can spot the game as we drive by the park. Check out some pictures!

Day 13: 07/13/11 Sabbath

Today was a crazy Sabbath. Our team split up into two groups. I was in the smaller group, and we went to a township church in the morning. The church could hold 100 people, and there were about 60 in attendance. We had a great experience at the church; we sang and danced every minute, and the pastor even switched his message to be presented in English instead of Suthu to welcome the visiting Americans. Check out the picture of Amanda, me, and Ben with our new friend Violet and two women who sing at the church. 

After church, a local Campus Crusade staff, Jackie, invited my group for tea at her house. She lives in a government house in the township, right next door to Violet (from the picture above). I will never forget what they told us over tea. Jackie and Violet were invited to train a group of people on evangelism a few months back. Violet was aware of the spiritual warfare present in South Africa because of her crazy experiences a couple years ago with a teenager that was convinced she had to kill Violet. Jackie, on the other hand, was completely surprised. Long story short, it turns out this group of people, which I later found out were called Sangomas, invited Jackie and Violet with the hopes of sacrificing them. What most astonished me was Jackie and Violet’s reactions when they discovered the true reason for their visit. Neither were afraid, because they realized that this group of people are more afraid of Christians than anything else, because we walk with the power of the Holy Spirit. A woman asked Jackie if she was afraid of dieing tonight, and Jackie responded boldly, “Do I look afraid? I walk with the army of the Lord.” Sangomas, also known here as tribal healers, call upon ancestors at night to listen to what the ancestors want to tell them, and apparently also practice human-sacrifices. Spiritual warfare is a big deal here, and I didn’t even know this existed. I am thankful that I am now aware of this, and can better relate to some of my students that come from Sangoma backgrounds.

The rest of the day was just relaxing. Me, Amanda, and Michelle ran through the botanical gardens and watched the sunset when we returned. Here are some pictures. :)

Day 14: 07/04/11 Happy 4^th of July!

Today was a pretty normal day of classes, workshops, and games. We played multiplication-war which the kids really enjoyed. We also got a new classroom to work in, but the students preferred the corner of the room with make-shift desks that we had before, so we’ll be moving back tomorrow. Good news: the piggies are the champions of last week’s challenges! Here’s a victory picture!

 

I’m having so much fun here. We’re working hard, of course, but we gain a lot of energy from working with the kids and experiencing life together in our community. Being with the kids for over a week now has made me aware of their personal struggles, triumphs, and fears. Besides things like how to stand on my head, balance a soccer ball on my foot, and say hello in 11 languages, the kids are also teaching me things like how to get really excited about learning, how to make friends on a whim, and how to love each other regardless of where we all came from. Please continue to pray for all the kids in the program, that God will bless them in their education and in their personal lives.  Please continue to also pray for the teachers in the program, that God will keep us healthy, and that we may continue to love and encourage these students. Thanks guys for reading! Stay tuned!!

Tutoring Begins!!!

“Sawbona!” or “Hello!” in Zulu. South Africa has 11 official languages, and Zulu is just one of them!

Day 7: First Day with the kids! 06/27/11 (Monday)

Today we finally met our class! I only had 4 kids show up today, but we had a lot of fun! As I mentioned before, I was really motivated by my students' passion for learning. Dan and I asked the students to write a journal entry about themselves. Not only were we able to gauge their English level, but we were also able to learn a lot about them. We have future lawyers, policemen, pilots, and soldiers in our class. Most of them wrote about their hopes and dreams, which really got me excited about teaching them. In the afternoon I learned how to play netball, and then we had a limbo competition. Check out the picture of me limbo-ing!

Ben Bell really took it home though, beating the teachers by 2 whole rounds…pretty MAD limbo skillz! Today was my favorite day so far. Meeting the silly 8^th graders just for one day made the whole trip worth it. Not only do I love the passion in the eyes of my students, but I also love getting to know the other students in the workshops, and hearing fabulous stories from the other teachers. 

“The choice is mine, God made me to shine!” – the theme for these next 3 weeks 

Day 8: 06/28/11 (Tuesday)

What a fantastic day today! Today, Dan and I taught our students about nature. We went on a nature walk and collected several interesting items that we talked about later, and we learned about recycling. We read Genesis 1 together as a class, and the kids were so excited about it! Our journal entry today was “What do you want to learn in these 3 weeks?” I loved reading how almost every student wanted to learn more about God’s work. Ishmael, one of my students, wrote, “I want to learn about the atmosphere and planets. I like to talk about these things they are not man-made, they are natural things because no one can create natural things, but our God can.” After a fun game of soccer, my class, the piggies, competed in a wheel-barrow race! Check out our picture!

Day 9: 06/29/11 (Wednesday)

Our group increased to 9 students today! Woohoo! Today we read the story of David and Goliath, then wrote about how we over came a struggle. WOW! We received SUCH touching stories! Today was really the day that my heart went out for these kids. I really care about these kids, and it breaks my heart to hear about difficult things in their lives. One cool thing was that the kids shared their stories in class today more than any other day! It also fills me with joy to read about my students talking about God. Here’s something that my student Tshegofatso wrote, “I look the to the moutian where will my help come from? My help come from the Lord our Father, protecter, God your Holy Sprit bleesed me! AMEN!” Pretty awesome! The kids also taught us a South African version of hide and seek and we had a blast trying to hide in a pretty small room. Today our challenge was a gum-ball throwing game… and second place for the piggies!

Here's a picture of me with Tshegofatso (means blessing in English), and Skhumbuzo after they balled-out in the competition!

Dan and I bought our students Bibles. We asked them if they or their family owned a Bible, only one kid raised his hand. The most amazing part of the day was seeing their faces light up when we gave them each their very own Bibles with their names clearly marked on the first page. So exciting!!

Day 10: 06/30/11 (Thursday)

Today we had a pretty fun day learning about the planets in the solar system. During the challenge at the end of the day, I heard Ishmael saying “I’m as hot as Mercury!” and Reginald replied, “Really, I’m as cold as Pluto!” I’m so glad they enjoyed learning about our galaxy!

We joined forces with another class today for a massive game of duck duck goose! Wow I never knew that game could be so intense! These kids are just so much fun! I know this sounds cheesy, but I really do love spending time with them!  If you’re catching a trend, Dan and I like to start off every morning with a Bible passage and a journal entry.  The kids also seem to like it! Today we read the parable of the talents, and each kid was so excited to share with everyone all of their talents, and how they are going to use them for God’s kingdom!

Here’s a picture of my class!

I can’t express to you enough how fantastic my class is. Their love for learning and love for God will really prove beneficial for them in the future. Please continue praying for my class, and for all of the students in the program. Mamelodi is a township with such an incredible potential, and I am seeing more and more of it every day. On a sadder note, my partner Dan is starting to get pretty sick, so please keep him in your prayers as well! I thank God so much for the joy that these students are bringing to me and to the rest of our team, and I pray that I will have as much of an impact in their lives as they are already having in mine. I also thank God for all of the miraculous blessings that he has provided for our team on this trip.

 “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world” –Nelson Mandela

First Week!

Hey everyone! Sorry it’s been so long since my last post. It’s been just over a week since I left Boston, and I already have so many adventures to share!

Day 1: Paris 06/21/11

We had an 18 hour layover in Paris before flying to Johannesburg, and we enjoyed every bit of it!  We were pretty exhausted from the last flight, but still managed to hit all the highlights of the city. I got to know the group that was with me in Paris really well before even touching ground in South Africa! We marveled at the breath-taking Notre Dame, ate a fantastic cheese burger and crepe for lunch, took some pictures in fronte Eiffel Tower, raced passed the arc de triomphe, walked down avenue de champs elysees, and relaxed in front of the Louvre. One thing that I found really funny was the long line of people waiting to enter a palace-like building guarded by golden gates and attractive men…Abercrombie and Fitch. Returning to the airport was pretty chaotic due to an unforseen strike in the subway, but luckily we made it back with time to spare. 

Here’s a picture of my group in front of the Tour Eiffel 

Day 2: Touch-down in South Africa 06/22/2011

We are staying at a place called the Kilnerton Center (see the picture) , a very nice place in Silverton (the city between Pretoria and Mamelodi). We went to the Union Buildings and ate lunch in front of the buldings at the Conference Center,a beautiful park with an even more spectactular view of Pretoria.  We hung out, played some frisbee, and sun-bathed. After a great dinner (South African food is delicious!), Ron lead us in worship and we thanked the Lord as a group for bringing us here safely, and for providing us with so many great adventures and bonding experiences already!

Here’s a picture of the MIT crew!

Day 3:Life groups, HPC, meeting co-teachers 6/23/11

Today’s morning lifegroups were definitely the highlight of my day. It’s the first time we met as a life-group, and we were already so open and real with eachother. We are taking turns sharing our stories with eachother so we can begin to get to know eachother more personally. We also went to the University of Pretoria’s sports complex  and played basketball on their courts. They have such a nice complex! Later that night, we met the University of Pretoria students that will be co-teaching Mamelodi 8^th graders for the next three weeks with us. We played some get to know you games, and discussed our lesson plans over dinner. I am lucky enough to be able to meet all of the U. Pretoria students, but have the flexibility of discussing lesson plans with my partner anytime because my partner, Dan, is actually an American student on the trip with me! One of the goals of this project is long-term sustainability. We hope to see the University of Pretoria students take over this tutoring initiative in Mamelodi in the future, which is why it is so cool that the University of Pretoria students are so interested in the project already!

Day 4: trip to Mamelodi and Drum Circle! 06/24/2011

Today we took a trip to Mamelodi. Here’s a picture I took while driving by.

It was really nice how everyone would wave to us; they’re so friendly! We also visited the University of Pretoria Mamelodi Campus, where we will be tutoring next week. In their library I met a very clever (smart here refers to how you dress) worker named Sam. Sam revealed to me more about the perception of Americans in South Africa. He says that his dream is to one day visit the United States so he can tell people that it’s not what they think…and to meet famous people like Mike Tyson.

Tonight was probably the most amazing night so far. We went to a traditional African Drum Circle. 

The circle consists of people sitting around a fire and beating drums (which you can rent or buy) to a very addicting beat.  We got absorbed in the beat and left with very sore hands. What a night! As fun as the pre-tutoring week is, I really can’t wait to meet the kids and get started!

Day 5: Apartheid Museum and crafts market 06/25/2011

So the typical schedule of the week is work Monday-Friday, adventures Saturday, and rest Sunday. Today being a Saturday, we took a trip to the Apartheid Museum to learn a bit more about the history of South Africa that influences the racial tensions still prevalent in this society today. To really get the feel for how apartheid separated whites from non-whites, the museum randomly issued tickets to the museum that classified us as white or non-white, signifying which entrance we should use.  At the museum we learned a lot about Nelson Mandela, and as you could imagine, we loved learning as much as we could! We also visited a local crafts market, and bought some really neat hand-made crafts. After dinner we just relaxed because we started our sabbath at 7:30.

Day 6: Sabbath 06/26/2011

Today we went to Willows Methodist Church, the church that Richard and Dana, our good friends, attend. 

The church was very nice, and to be honest, very similar to the American churches I’m used to attending. We had tea and South-African cake bites as we met super sweet members of the church. The rest of the day was fabulous! We took the day to rest, praise the Lord, admire God’s beauty in nature, and hang out with our friends. After a nice run in the neighborhood, we found a little chapel on top of a hill inside the Kilnerton Center (where we’re staying). And with quite a view, huh? 

Not a bad place for worship. :P

Week 2: Tutoring begins

Looking ahead, we are starting our tutoring program. Our first day was on Monday, and it was really really great meeting all of the kids. They have such a desire to learn, and it just amazes me. For example, today Dan and I wanted to play a game with the kids for the last 20 minutes of class. The kids insisted that we don’t play games because they really want to learn more. That was so touching to see that the kids care so much about their education. We also read the story of creation to them today, and I was so happy to see how interested they were in learning more about God's work, and how engaged they were during the story. Most of these kids speak around 4 languages, which is amazing to me, and they all have big dreams for their future! They walk a few miles to come to class each day, and tell us stories about their homes. We have workshops in the afternoon of every sort. Kids play several sports, learn to dance, sing, act, and many more. I’m a part of the netball and  soccer workshops, and I love allowing the kids to teach me (they’re so much better than I am), and interacting with them. Please keep me in your prayers as we continue to pour out on the students, that we may show God’s love to them as we tutor them and as we interact with them inside and outside of the classroom. Love you guys and can’t wait to tell you about more adventures!

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27

Getting Ready...

I can't believe my journey to South Africa begins in less than 2 days! So if you’ve come this far, you probably already know that I will be going to Pretoria, South Africa on a Summer Project with Campus Crusade for Christ, a group that I love to be involved in at MIT.

Check out this 3 minute video that a team made back when this project was composed mostly of Harvard students.

 

We will be working in the black township of Mamelodi, just outside one of the nation's largest cities--Pretoria. Even though Apartheid ended in the 1990s, this country still struggles with a lot of racial tension. Many young, white college students in Pretoria have literally never stepped foot inside a black township. Because of the educational and economic disparities, many black students are struggling with poverty. Education can lift the youth of the black townships out of poverty, but their schools lack resources. In South Africa, the total admission to the University of Pretoria  from all seventeen schools in the Mamelodi township is about 200. The total admission from one regional white school is also about 200.

Our team is made up of college students, and we will focus our efforts this summer to work together with the University of Pretoria to launch a sustainable tutoring program for high school students in Mamelodi that the white students can continue when we leave. The goal is to get more black students out of poverty and into college.

I’m so excited for this trip! I can’t wait to meet the whole team in Boston on Sunday before we head off together. I’m excited to see God work in the lives of the students that we encounter, as well as in my life and in the lives of the other team members as we work for His kingdom. 

Stay tuned!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

In Christ,

Tati