molo.

I love everything about everything here. That is all I have to say about that. I am constantly reminded that each day is truly a gift and that we as Christians must continually shine our light. My sweet kids just bring me so much joy and they remind me that the simple things in life are what matter the most. Their smiling faces and sweet bits of laughter just warm my heart. Most of them come from broken homes and backgrounds and it is so encouraging to see them rise above the pain with a sense of hope. I think it is something for us to all think about....so often when we face trails we cover ourselves and hide from the pain. We hide in our materialism and hope for it to all go away. I will be the first to tell you that I am so guilty of this. But here I have learned that there is not much room to hide...you just have to grab life by the horns and deal with it. And that mentality has made me a stronger person. If we continue to hide ourselves from the pain, I think we might start to lose sight of life. What its all about. And how as Christians we are called to bring one another up, encourage each other and hold each other accountable. If these kids can do it...I know I can...and I know you can. Life is a beautiful gift and one that must not be taken for granted. So I encourage you to hold your head up high, no one ever said life was going to be easy...but I can assure you that its alot easier with Christ. Take some time today and laugh...its the best feeling in the world...tell your family how much you love them...smile at someone random, it might just make their day...and grab life by the horns, its not easy but its quite rewarding...

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
Hebrews 12:1-2

Washed by the Water

It has been quite some time since I last updated this bad boy, and quite frankly I’m not sure where to start. These past 4 weeks have been so busy and my ADD has not been my best friend when it comes to sitting down and writing. So I guess I will just attempt to give you a quick rundown of last week…

Monday-Wednesday:
This was our last week of “holiday club” and this week was a bit different because it primarily focused on soccer and netball ministry. We had the Kids in the mornings running a program called Upward and in the afternoons we had the Teens doing Ubabalo. The girls all played netball, for those of you who don’t know what netball is…it is basically like basketball except you cant dribble and its all passing. To be honest, I still haven’t really figured it all out yet. The boys all played soccer and had designated teams. We had this amazing team of Brazilian soccer players who helped us out with the drills and games…they were wonderful to work with, and not to mention they weren’t too shabby looking…But all week the kids were preparing for the Two Oceans Soccer Festival which we had on Friday, so they were touching up all their skills to get ready for the games that they would be playing. One of the devotions that really stuck with me was when we talked about the word “Ke Nako”…for those of you who watched the world cup games, that word came up quite often. Its literal meaning is “It’s Time” and we relayed it into the message by saying that “its time” to find Jesus, that this is the perfect time to find him and rest in him. That word meant nothing to me every other time I had heard it, but once it was relayed to the gospel it just kind of took on a whole new meaning.



Thursday:
This was a day that I will never forget. I truly felt so humbled. The kids came in the morning to what they thought was just an ordinary day of club, but little did they know they would be washed by the water…This amazing organization, Samaritans Feet, came to Red Hill and basically gave away a new pair of shoes to 154 deserving children. For 2 hours I got to wash numerous kids feet and as they shared their dreams and worst times with me…I got to share the gospel and gods grace with them. I never thought I would be so willing and eager to wash dirty and stinky feet. But as I was talking to the kids there were so many things going through my mind…and I was simply thinking about how I got to my position in the chair washing feet…why was I getting to take part in such a unique experience? There were 2 particular people who stuck out to me…one was my 10 year old boy, Ronald, who shared his dreams with me of becoming a Police Officer in Fish Hoek. Ronald dreams of helping people one day and stopping violence, he wants to make a difference in peoples lives. He is one of my favorites, every day I see him he comes running to me and jumps into my arms calling me “mom”. I love him. Then there was a 22 year old young lady, whose name I cant remember, but she talked to me about how she has never felt loved before. That broke me. Yet again I was reminded at how much I take such a simple thing for granted. I cant imagine a life without love…I mean to be honest, without Love I wouldn’t be where I am right now. We prayed together and she told me it meant the world to her, I reassured her that we loved her but most importantly that Jesus Christ loves her so much that he gave her this amazing gift of grace and eternal life. And that my friends is the best gift we will ever receive. So by the end of the day, 154 feet had been washed and there were new shoes running around Red Hill. We prayed with each of the children and I know that their hearts were touched that day…just as much as my heart was touched. These new shoes will take these kids places, and I pray with all my heart that they will take the big man with them to those places.



Friday:
We had the Two Oceans Soccer Festival…it was mental. We had almost 1000 kids from all the surrounding townships taking part in various activities as well as playing proper netball and soccer games. I was the coach for my under 9 Red Hill boys…so just imagine 8 crazy boys running around and me chasing them to keep them all together…my patience was definitely tested but I just kept reminding myself that this was probably some of the most fun that they were going to have for a while. My boys unfortunately lost their game…but they played hard and had fun, so that is all that counts. It was so encouraging to see all the kids from all different backgrounds come together in one place and to participate in the same activities.

Saturday:
This was a cold and rainy day and a pretty chill day. I went down to the Waterfront with a few friends to go to the aquarium and that was quite exciting. It’s a beautiful place and they had everything from penguins and tree frogs to sea turtles and sharks! We stayed there for a few hours and then moved onto the Craft Market. This is where I met Rose. You see Rose is a hair braider and she kind of got me at hello. She started talking to me and next thing I know she is weaving some kind of orange, blue and purple stuff in my hair. So now I have 3 little colored braids in my hair…total spur of the moment deal. But Rose and I bonded so I got the purple one fo free!

Sunday:
Oh what a day…a beautiful day! We went to Cape Point and let me tell you it is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. It is breathtaking. We hiked up on the rocks and just watched the waves crash over and over…it was stunning. The water and the sky were crystal clear. This place literally seemed like heaven to me…as I stood there with the wind blowing through my hair, I just couldn’t imagine life getting any better. I am just so happy and content here, its amazing how the big man works in his divine ways. “God of wonders beyond our galaxy, you are holy”…those words kept running through my mind…he is just so holy and just…and its so amazing to think that we have a lifetime to spend with him. In his perfect kingdom. God is just so real down here, he doesn’t give us space to hide from anything here. And that my friends has made me stronger…I have realized that I constantly try to hide behind materialistic things back home but here I have just had to face life…its not always easy, but I LOVE it!




xoxo
H