a busy week

This week was my 'catch-up' week. While the team was here, a mound of work piled up that I knew was waiting for me the week I returned to the office and Teens Team. The pressure hit me like a ton of bricks. It was the first time that I'd been in 'panic mode' since being in SA. I felt like I was running around making other people nervous and in a panic too. By Thursday I'd calmed down more. I HATE the stress of work and feeling like time is so short and slipping by. With Easter coming up, I'll have a few days off and can chill and take a deep breath. Looking forward to being still in South Africa!

Next week (Monday-Wednesday), the LSEs and Volunteers get to take the 6^th and 7^th graders on a Camp! Living Hope is allowing us to take time to just chill with these kids, build relationships, do 'camp activities' and just pour into them with Christ's love! What a privilege that is! The big controversy about this camp is there are two camp sites. One, called The Stables, has in-door rooms, beds, hot water… basically a nicer 'camp' area. The other site, appropriately named, The Bush, has no hot water, everything is open-air, and rumor has it the bugs are enormous and all over everything. To decide what leaders would be at what camp, Avril drew our names out of a bag. The suspense was killer. We were all rowdy and excited to see who we'd be with and what camp site we were assigned. As you can probably guess, I was drawn for THE BUSH CAMP. Thankfully, I'm with a LOT of fun people and friends that I know will make the time interesting. As in previous mission trips, I feel I might be going without a shower these 3 days; the Lord must have prepared me in Mexico all those years ago. I'm sure I'll have some stories to blog after next week!!!!

Then, once we get back from Camp, we have Easter Holidays (Thursday- Monday off) and the Tuesday after Easter is HOLIDAY CLUB. Basically this is a VBS week for the communities where we work. We'll do Kids' Holiday Club in the morning and Teen Holiday Club in the afternoon. We have 2 hours of curriculum, games, crafts, songs, etc. planned for each day and each age group. [Hence all the work and tasks I was stressed about.] So, the next two weeks are going to be wild. I'm really looking forward to them. Time-spent always brings memories and people closer… which is what I need right now!

 

On a personal note. My friend Meagan and I were working together one day this week and she casually asked me, "Are you unhappy here?" [I was concerned she thought I was unhappy because of my attitude or because of something I said, but Meagan knows me better than most here and knows a little about my life in AL and can see that life here is very different for me. Meagan is someone I can let my guard down with and I think she's seen the 'real me' more than others.] I responded, "No, I'm not unhappy." She said, "But, you're not happy." I told her it wasn't that I was unhappy or happy. I'm just trying to figure out life here and it's very different from the life I once knew. I explained … I was really loved in Birmingham. I had a ton of people that I knew deeply, that I LOVED hanging out with, that were great friends, coworkers and support. I don't have that here in SA. I'm building friends, I do love my work, but there's not a support here that I crave. I often feel like this 'mission' is too big, too wide, too long; yet when I feel that way, I'm comforted to know that I'm glad it's bigger than ME. I'm glad I must depend on the Lord for EVERYTHING here. I'm glad my life looks different and that I have SO much time to spend with the Lord- uninterrupted time where I can see and hear the Lord in my DAILY activity. Life here is just different. Not unhappy. Not happy. Just different right now.

 

Please pray for the upcoming Camp and Holiday Clubs. Pray that the LSEs have energy, passion, compassion, and a Word from the Lord each day to keep them going. Pray that I would see needs and be empowered to meet them. Pray for God's wisdom and guidance in each step.

 

sorry it's been so long...

The Shades Mountain team left on Friday. They were here for a week doing ministry –mainly in Capricorn in Cape Town, South Africa. We did door-to-door ministry, shared the Gospel, prayed for the people in their homes, conducted a 'Testing Day' (HIV, TB, Blood Sugar, Pregnancy), put on a 'Community Party' at the church where 5 people came to know the Lord, did Kids Clubs/Teen Clubs with the Life Skills Educators in Capricorn and Overcome. Pastor Severo and I have a lot of follow up to do in Capricorn; the team mapped out homes that need follow-up visits. There were 3 of the 'new Believers' in church this week- one came to Youth on Friday, the other 2 were in worship on Sunday Morning! Please pray with me that the church will minister to these new Believers and disciple them properly.

It was so great having loved ones here with me. I especially enjoyed having my youth here; it was a hard reminder that I had (have) their full trust and didn't have walls up like there are with the youth here. Seeing the teams' sweet faces all week was wonderful! It was nice for me to have people from home see and understand pieces of my life here. It's often lonely being here. I was reminded what sweet, deep friendship is and it made me long for that type of love and friendship here. I know I've only been in South Africa a little over 2 months, but it seems like an eternity when I'm alone in a 'mission.' Having the SMBC team was refreshing, exhausting and hopefully fruitful!

The Saturday after the team left, I spent most of the day in my new home (!!!) just chilling. I moved the Friday (just hours before) the team came. I hadn't been able to spend time in my new space. I'm such an introvert- needing time by myself to recharge – that having the team here was a bit overwhelming. So, I said NO to lots of things I could have done on Saturday during the day! I was proud that I had courage to say NO and simply spend time with God in the quiet of my home. I slept, read, did laundry, unpacked some bags, and enjoyed the silence. Then, Saturday night, I got the opportunity to go to my first RUGBY game: Stormers vs. Cheetas. I LOVED it! We had great seats. I learned the basic rules of this complicated sport, and enjoyed every minute of the crowd and roar of Newland Stadium!

Sunday Worship in Capricorn Church was just wonderful. Shagmie and Lauren and Kendra came to my house for Sunday lunch! It was sweet time with them, but we were all so tired that we went our separate ways for naps soon after we ate. Life in America is definitely busier than here, but not too much busier. I'm learning that there will always be time restraints to this world. There's so much to do, so many visions to put into practice, but never enough time to do it. Africa definitely has it's own 'time' but that doesn't mean that people aren't stressed and have no care in the world. Their schedules are still full.

Please pray for me as I have a LOT on my plate the next few weeks. Lots of deadlines, meetings, a Camp for grades 6-7 next week (Monday-Wednesday), Holiday Clubs- like VBS in each community (week after Easter), etc.

Pray also for my sweet friend Meagan (pronounced Meegan). She and I are trying to encourage each other through a lot of hard stuff; she has really opened up to me (which is a huge honor in this culture) and we're learning a lot from each other. Meagan and I are memorizing the book of Philippians together. We're on track so far, have tested each other and say our passage/section to each other at our LSE training time on Fridays. It's been neat to watch the Lord give us open hearts for each other. Pray that God will continue to build us up and use us for His glory!

And also pray for my friend Melissa. Her brother lives in Belgium; he's trying to move her from South Africa to Belgium so she can study and be with family. I took her to the travel center to look at plane tickets, Visa applications, etc. It's going to be a long, frustrating process. Pray that the Lord shows her patience and His timing through it all. As much as I don't want to see Melissa leave, I know that a better education and opportunity is ahead of her, and I want to help guide and support her any way I can. The Lord has big plans for her!

Thank you for your love and support. God is doing great things. I just need to be patient to watch His plans unfold.

SMBC is here!

The Shades Mountain Baptist Church missions team are here in South Africa with me. It's been so nice having familiar faces and love from home! 

Forgive me for not writing as often as I'd like... it's been busy with the team here AND I've been without internet for about a week because I moved into my new place (photos to come later). I'll write more as soon as I can. LOTS of stories to tell! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. 

culture

There are so many small things that make me laugh about South Africa. My last 2 months have been figuring out their dialect of the English language and the small differences in how words are used. A few examples below:

US vs. South Africa
trunk = boot
"really?" = "is it?"
dinner napkin = serviette
shopping cart = trolley
"Quit making that face" = "Quit pulling your face"
"My leg's got a cramp" = "My leg is pulling stiff"
marker = kokie
cookie = biscuit ... and there's NO SUCH THING as a southern biscuit here... sad.

update on Emmanuel's injury... part 2

Emmanuel was at Teen Clubs yesterday. He was all smiles! I pulled him
aside, gave him a huge hug and asked him what they did at the
hospital. He said, "They did xrays and I just rested." I asked if he
like the hospital and he replied, "YES! I loved it! It was so quiet
and they took care of me!" He told me he enjoyed the pain medicine
too.
He still has a pretty big bump on his head. He went for a check up
yesterday morning. The doctor said it's take another 2 weeks before
the bump went down completely. His head is still sore, but he's up
running around and being his silly self. It was so great to see him!
Thank you for your prayers for this little boy!

Just some things I'm mulling over these days...

"He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not
this to know me? declares the Lord." Jeremiah 22:16

"Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove,
rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching... be sober
minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your
ministry" 2 Timothy 4:2-5

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in
showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve
the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in
prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show
hospitality." Romans 12:9-12

update on Emmanuel's injury

He spent the night in the hospital for observation and pain meds.
Obviously had a pretty bad concussion. With his family not having
phones or a way for me to contact them, I'm going to have to find
someone at church and have them take me to his house in Capricorn.
Praise the Lord that Emmanuel is alive and will recover!

hurt in Capricorn

6 March 2010

The excitement of a youth is quite unfathomable, especially here in
South Africa. A game of musical chairs can bring more noise and
competition and utter excitement than I can actually describe in
words.
We began Capricorn Youth (last night) with a simple, yet loud game of
musical chairs, moved into Shagmie's illustrations of trust and broke
into groups where we did the "Trust Fall" with each youth. For some
reason, I (and another volunteer from a local church, Luke) was given
the group of mainly visitors, boys, and all of whom would NOT listen
to instruction. As we began letting each teen stand on a chair and
fall into the arms of about 10 others ready to catch the fallee, I saw
disaster beginning. For some reason a few of the boys decided that
after they 'fell', they'd continue to wiggle and push their bodies
down the line of those that were the 'safeties' behind the catchers…
as if they were in a mosh-pit at a Rave. After two boys did that, I
was in the midst of telling them they must stop when Emmanuel jumped
into the arms of the catchers, kicked his legs back over his head – as
if to do a back flip – no one was ready for his wild move, he was head
first upside down; I tried to lunge to catch him, the crowd was paying
NO attention until they heard his head hit the pavement. He curled up
into a ball holding his head and neck. I quickly got on the floor with
him, tried to ask him questions, get him telling me where he was in
pain, all Emmanuel could do was cry and convulse. Thankfully, Luke is
in Med-School in Cape Town, knew what to do and just took over. He
carefully took him into the side room and examined Emmanuel's head. I
hopped in my car and ran to Pick n Pay to get some ice. Once I got
back, saw Emmanuel's head, I became nauseous. There was a 3 inch
goose-egg on top of his head, there was so much swelling and Emmanuel
continued to shake and cry. Luke said he was complaining about his
neck, which concerned us. I told Abigail (Emmanuel's foster sister) to
go get her mom; when the mom came to the church, I thought she was
going to faint when she saw the injury. She kept quiet and let Luke
continue to examine the injury. Luke made some sort of brace for his
neck, and about 5 boys carried Emmanuel to the car and Luke took
Emmanuel and his foster mom to the ER.
The youth stopped and prayed for Emmanuel, prayed that the Lord would
comfort this little boy (about 12 years old), would take care of his
wound and heal his every hurt. The reality is… not every youth took
this seriously, which made me angry, but we're dealing with kids that
don't know how to act appropriately, don't know how to have
compassion, want attention more than anything in this world. I
continue to fight within about how to handle their irreverence, how to
teach them to care about others, how to show them the love of Christ
and enhance their view of who the Lord calls them to be.
I left the church around 9:30 pm, Luke was still at the hospital. I
don't have an update on Emmanuel yet. As soon as I do, I'll write
again.
On a more positive note, after the service was over, I was cleaning up
and was pulled aside by one of the youth girls. The whole night was
about Proverbs 3:5- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not
on your own understanding. This girl asked me "How do YOU trust in the
Lord?" On one hand, I wanted to say, "Were you not listening to
anything that was said tonight? Shagmie gave great examples and
explained trusting the Lord practically." However, I was honored that
she wanted to talk to me and was more gentle than that. I asked her
what specifically she meant. She said, "I gave my life to Christ at
grade 5 because I wanted to make it to my 21st birthday alive. I knew
that I needed the Lord and needed to change my actions; however,
there's been a lot going on since I was in grade 5. I turn 21 this
year and am not the person I want to be. All my friends have babies,
are sexually active and aren't following the Lord. I don't know why
the Lord has saved me from their lifestyles, their path, and I want to
follow the Lord better." I was so proud of her! I told her that she
wasn't believing who God said she is. She needs to be in the Word of
God, hearing His truth and love and truly believe Him. If she believes
that He died for her, believes that He expects more, believes that she
is called to be a witness to hear family and those friends, then her
life would reflect that. I told her that I wanted to her be in the
Word this weekend and pray about how the Lord wants to renew her life
and love for Him and then we'd talk on Sunday at church. She gave me
the biggest hug and said, "I'll do that and we'll talk some more."
Thanking the Lord for small things, great conversations, and planting
seeds in these young, lives.

new photos online

New photos uploaded today! Added to album: South Africa Jan/Feb 2010
 
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=melaniemdill&target=ALBUM&id=5436248192598551025&authkey=Gv1sRgCKb9zb7_0PX2IQ&feat=email

GREAT weekend

Best non-ministry weekend since being in South Africa happened this past weekend:

Friday (usually Life Skills Training day) was interrupted by a team from America (Rolling Hills Church). They took the entire Life Skills Team to Kirstenbosh Gardens; we broke up into teams for devotions, walking the gardens, lunch and team-building games. We even did a 'relay' with our small group and we all got so competitive… MY TEAM WON! Each of us got a chocolate bar as first prize!  The rest of the group went to the Team House for a Braai (BBQ), but Kendra and I had to lead the Capricorn Youth Night. Shagmie (Youth Pastor) was absent this night because he was getting married the next day. We set up a projector and showed a movie (17 Again). Again, the theme of my time here with any of the local South Africans has been 'testing' and yet again, the youth tested us because Shagmie was not there. I held my ground and got some respect after awhile.

Then… some of our friends (local South Africans)that were at the Braai wanted to hangout some more. Meagan and Melissa drove all the way to Capricorn to meet up with us, helped us clean up and then came back to the house to play cards till midnight.

Fun fact: I was Shagmie and Lauren's wedding photographer. They really must have been desperate. I went to Lauren's house at 7am to take photos of she and her sisters getting ready for the wedding. It was SO great being able to be part of their big day and intimately involved in the details of the ceremony. The wedding was at 9am on Fish Hoek Beach. The wind was ridiculous; it was so wild that it lifted the sand and as the grains hit exposed skin, it BURNED. I've never experienced wind and sand like that. The reception was at John and Avril's house in the garden; there were huge pillows and coffee tables all over the grass. There was a buffet line and lots of relaxing. There were only around 100 people invited. It was such an honor to be there and celebrate with them!

I was so sticky with sunscreen and a thin layer of sand and sweat all over my body, that I immediately went home and took a shower. Meagan and Melissa wanted to hangout some more, so they came over and we played more cards. They were loving the new games we taught them: Phase 10, Nertz, Dutch Blitz. Meagan and Melissa really opened up, gave us lots of laughs and built memories with time-spent.

Sunday morning church in Capricorn was AMAZING. Pastor Severo preached on spiritual gifts and how each had a part in the church. There was a baby dedication (grandmother with custody of her 2 grandchildren) and lots of honest prayers given by the congregation. I was so emotional the whole time. God was moving!

Sunday afternoon, Danielle and Elizabeth (American Volunteers from TN) and I went to a movie (for 25 Rand- about $3). We saw Valentines Day. Not my favorite movie, but a really fun way to spend an afternoon.

Life is becoming a little more settled and as normal as it can be. Spending time with the girls this weekend was exactly what I needed.