February Updates

February 24, 2006

Well, I've got a brand new list of things to do, and as usual, they involve me surrendering control of my daily life, and depending on others, ultimately on God, and generally learning that I am a big control freak, and God is much, much bigger than my tasks and problems.

It's easy to get so wrapped up in work, and goals, and all that stuff, that you forget who you're doing it for. Then something amazing happens, or you are blessed by the miracle of fellowship, or you take time out to meditate on scripture, and you find yourself saying "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it" (Genesis 28:16). I have been so blessed by those around me since I got here...in some ways my transition to life over here, while extremely far from complete, is going more smoothly than I could have even prayed for it to be, and all thanks to God's loving providence.

Today is the 2nd of three birthday parties at the Lambano homes. I have forgotten my camera twice, but hopefully.I will get Kerry's pics, and take some of my own at Monday's party. It's so easy to love these kids. I wish it were that easy to love everyone, but, such is the unwillingness of my heart, daily being transformed frm stone to flesh. God is faithful to love me, and I pray that I will love those around me.

In other news, a new intern, Ben, a south african seminary student, moved in today. He returned last month from a 2 month mission trip to India. He's a great guy, he really loves the Lord, and I am excited to have a fellow intern again.

I say this everytime, but I'll post more pics soon.

February 14, 2006

Hello,

I was writing a friend of mine, and i realized that what I wrote was a lot of information I hadn't reported yet. So...here it is:

The first task was to learn to drive. I've never driven manual, and I had to learn here on the left side of the road. It was bad at first, but after 2 weeks, I was good, and now after three weeks, I am very confident.

Next I drove around town and learned where all the important stuff is...I live in the suburbs of Germiton...the way it is set up, it's kinda like Seattle and Bellevue, where it's all under the category of Johannesburg, but really Germiston is a big city on its own.

There are two other interns but they are leaving next week...it's sad. They are going to be missionaries to Malawi. This church's first missionaries sent out, so that is exciting. And in March a new intern will be moving in, although he is also a full time seminary student, so he will be doing less than I.

The pastor meets with interns 1nce a week and other than that, I pretty much do everything I can around the church...We have a bible college class that meets on tuesdays, and I set up for that, run sound, powerpoint, open and close the church, work in the office, do admin and tech support, play with the kids at the orphanages, and organize and inventory the garage. Soon, once the rains slow down (it rains like crazy in the summer. The other day it actually hailed) we will start on construction stuff at the worksite.

The worksite is where our church has planted another church. It's right next to a huge squatter camp, and so they minister to those people there. We are in the midst of building an AIDS hospice/treatment center, and a proper church building (the church has about 25 members and meets inside an old shipping container...(the pastor used to also live in a container, but last year they built him a house) They speak zulu there, so I might get to go preach to them through a translator.

So, things are a little slow I guess...It seems like I always have stuff to do, but, I don't have THAT much to do, so, it is good.

Today I am replacing part of the roof on one of the AIDS orphanages. I built the roof, and just now I'm going to put it up.

By "just now" I mean, by the end of the day, as soon as I can get some help. That's a south african expression I learned, and I really like it. "Just Now" could mean next week, or next year. When you say goodbye, you can say "see you just now". Kondi told me that my first day in South Africa.

There are a bunch of shops right down the way from the church, so this week I've been exploring. There's a killer coffee shop that's cheap and delicious. Tuesday breakfasts are gonna be good there.

That's it for now. More pics tomorrow. And happy independence day, everyone.

February 6, 2006

Okay, now more about Jo'burg. As I mentioned earlier, there have been a ton of illegal immigrants. However, there are not a tone of jobs, or residences. The result is squatter camps. These are mainly black communities made out of scrap metal sheds. There are 5 main camps in Germiston, each holding between 10,000 and 50,000 people. These people are poor, jobless, and often sick, and usually illegal immigrants. It is always more dangerous in terms of crime in the vicinity of these camps. Joblessness is probably the #1 cause of the high crime rate in Jo'burg, second to the nations racially charged past. The other thing that makes it dangerous is the presence of shabeems, or illegal pubs. At night especially, people become intoxicated and rome the streets. Kondi was telling me how some people near the roads will attempt to get hit by a car, and then a small crowd of people will rob the driver when he stops, or perhaps beat him up. Don't misunderstand, it's not like that happens everyday, but, it's a danger to be aware of. Because I'm white, I can't really go into to the camps, and even if you're black, it's not smart to go in unless you know someone that lives there or used to live there. These camps also present a danger because they have illegal electricity hook ups, and should they catch fire, there is no fire engine access and the close proximity of the sheds causes disastrous results. Many children have been burned to death when fire breaks out. I took some pictures from the road.of what the camps look like, it's hard to get the scope of it all because they stretch across flat land. Pictures Also just to clarify, In south africa, common, accepted terms for skin color are as follows: White Black Colored (meaning mixed black/white) Indian So, if I talk about "blacks" or "coloreds" that is 100% how everyone does it here.

February 4, 2006

Well, the internet is screwed up here, and I can't seem to access some things, but I wanted to update. I am pretty much a driver now. It took me a week or so to learn to drive manual on the left side of the road, but, now I am feeling pretty comfortable (The interns here all share a mitsubishi colt bakkie - a bakkie is what south africans call a pick-up truck). I also was able to visit Makro, which is like South Africa's answer to Costco. I think it is actually bigger than costco, but, it might just be taller with less floor space. Great deals, and impossible to navigate. I know what you're thinking; Matt, what do you actually do besides drive around? Well, I open and close the church for any of the events, which are mostly sunday services, prayer meetings, and bible studies. Tuesday nights, Dr. Wayne Mack is teaching a class on biblical counseling, so that is exciting. I do most set up for these events, prepping the different rooms, and helping with any media, like running sound, powerpoint, video, etc. I am working at the church office pretty consistently, I've organized the old sermon recordings, various drawers and cabinets, and now, the filing cabinets. I'm also inventorying and sorting the work equipment, so that I will be elite in navigating the garage. the purpose of this is that I will be mainly responsible for the short term teams that are coming starting in june, facilitating their stay and managing their work, etc.. So I need to know everything before then. I also volunteer at the Lambano homes (AIDS Orphanages) 2wice a week. I have only been there to visit a little so far, but that is on my schedule, which will become regular starting next week. Mostly playing with the kids, and watching them so the women there can catch a break in the afternoon. I also do odd jobs, like I have to fix the roof @ Lambano home # 3 ASAP, so, yes. I have learned a lot so far being here, and will write more on culture and my surroundings later. I'm having problems uploading photos, but soon, i will post more.

February 1, 2006

more pictures to come soon, and more info.

I went to a conference for GMI missionaries and TMS grads this week, and that was awesome. Hearing about all the good ministries going on, and just the laying of the foundations of God's Word in the hearts of the reborn...it's exciting stuff...and there are some amazing men here doing God's work. I am blessed and encouraged by the men and women God has placed here in SA.

Other than that I am still trying to learn about Germiston, and how to drive around it. And Brian (the bossman) keeps coming up with stuff for me to do. It's pretty sweet, actually.

Super 14 rugby tournament is beginning soon, and that should be exciting. I've also been paying attention to the Africa Cup of Nations, now in the quarterfinals. I never watched Soccer, but now I like it.

I will write about what I am learning and post more pictures...tomorrow perhaps.

blessings upon all who read this.