Macia

The following are some notes I made while interviewing a girl from Zakhele Carepoint. I figured I'd share it so all of you could see that the children we (Children's Cup) help in Africa are real indviduals. These kids go through some unimaginably tough things but also similar struggles (and very difficult struggles) that kids in America go through. Macia's extended family is slightly better off than the homes where most of our CarePoint kids come from but just from talking with her I could tell that she carried a lot of pain around inside her....here are the notes:

Macia Ndlangamandla

Double orphan Mom died – 2003 Dad died- 2001
9 years old
Grade 3 @ St. Teresa’s School
Lives past Two Sticks in Zakhele area with 2 Aunts, 2 Uncles & Grandmother (Gogo in Siswati)

Favorite color – red
Favorite food – Cake
Favorite subject in School – Maths

She has not been to camp with us, her uncle won’t let her come…she wants to come

- Macia has lots of half brothers and sisters she doesn’t know well…she is the only one from her mother. Her father had lots of children

Dreams – Wants to be a police woman
Likes – songs, dancing, playing with dolls

Granny is the most important person in her life, she is nice, caring, understanding

Aunts & Uncles give her problems

*Doesn’t have friends at school – does not want to get hurt (been burned)

Perfect Day – play freely with other children all day long

Worst chore – cleaning the house, Aunt gives her problems…her cousins get preferential treatment…Cinderella type situation

Does not like school but seems really smart

She wishes we could provide playground equipment at the CarePoint

- She's the girl to the left, only half of her face is in the picture...sorry this is the only picture I could find on my laptop

New Orleans

About a week ago on our way back from Passion, Rick & I stopped in New Orleans to help with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. We were amazed at the lack of progress seen in the redevelopment of New Orleans. Large sections of the city were deserted and in shambles. I’ve heard the city’s population is at least 200,000 people shy of pre-Katrina levels. Whole neighborhoods are empty; there are piles of trash & building debris everywhere. I was really amazed to see the damage done and how slow recovery has been.

Rick & I were able to help out for a day through a relief center set up by Celebration Church. We hooked up with a work team from Rock Harbor Church which is based in California. They were in the middle of gutting two houses and we jumped in to help them finish the job. Gutting consists of stripping a house down to the framing. We knocked out ceilings, tile floors, dry wall and pretty much anything else you can think of that is in a house. Rick and I even helped shatter a bathtub and toilet. It is a nasty job but it significantly reduces the costs for the homeowner to either renovate or tear down their house. We finished gutting two homes before heading home for Baton Rouge.
What I can say is that if you are looking for ways you, a group of friends, co-workers or your church can volunteer a great opportunity is to head to New Orleans to help clean it out and hopefully rebuild communities or at least the lives of people who are affected. This tragedy brought about a lot of community spirit and unity but I feel we’re suffering from Mission fatigue…the problem still exists even after we’ve come together to donate/give/work/pray so much.

SO BLESSED!!!

I've been so outrageously blessed the last month. Here are some pics of my travels.

- Christmas present from my parents....ski trip to Copper Mtn. with my brother Rob



- Christmas morning with my family and the Schimmel Family



- Passion 07' in Atlanta, GA...it was awesome, God is on the move in our generation


- Rick & I were able to stop in New Orleans to help with Katrina relief efforts

Next 6 months or so

- These are the children I got to serve for 15 months!








I had a moment to think about what the next 6 months hold for me. It is a time of uncertainty and questions but surprisingly I am quite ok with that. I’ll be in Baton Rouge for about 6 months working part time as I travel around to raise some more support in order to get back to Africa for two years. I need to expand my support base, find churches who will support me and get individuals or groups who will be monthly supporters. Two years ago this would have been immensely intimidating but for some reason I have a quiet confidence about the whole thing. Then there are the questions of how to reconnect with old friends, how to forge new relationships, how to adjust to life back in Baton Rouge after about 6 years of being away. Once again I feel like God will take care of these things. I realize some of the adjustments will not always be easy but I know that God will walk with me. I look forward to the doors that open, to the people I’ll reconnect with and the people I will meet. My prayer in all of this is one thing, to know God more. I think I find God in change, whenever I’ve had a major change in my life, God becomes so real to me. I can’t wait to move to the next level with God, to move to a deeper level of intimacy, to be filled and to pour out. Pray with me as I embark on a journey of uncertainty with the certainty that God will walk me through. 

Boards

My brother and I are going snowboarding in Colorado next week. I hope we fare a little bit better than when we went wakeboarding. I've been snowboarding twice before but both times were short trips and it was a while ago...hmm, we'll see.

Yes I am blessed and just want to say thanks to my parents for a sweet Christmas present and to John for organizing the trip. It'll be fun, I'll share pics

Heading Home

I am sitting in the Joburg airport waiting for my flight home. I am heading back to the states for some time to see family, get filled up with vision from God and hopefully to raise finances to come back to Africa. I'll be on the move the first month I am home and then hopefully I'll be working part time as I travel to raise some more support.

I am happy to be heading home and know that this is what I should be doing right now. Can't wait to see some of you again and hopefully meet some of the people who read this blog who I haven't met. Thanks for reading and praying with me!