some Burlington
This is just outside Stella’s house, close to the center of the small community
Burlington, a township like many other’s here in South Africa. With its 7000 inhabitants it’s a small township, but it still got fairly high criminality and poor living people. They speak Zulu and are said to be prideful warriors and you can feel the hot cultural way of living by walking the streets in for example Burlington.
This is Stella
Stella is one example of all women brought up in a hot cultural climate with a slight touch of warrior instinct. She became a believer of Jesus Christ two years ago which made her life change path. Her past is a mess, as she would describe it herself. Stella is a woman with four kids, all different men, and when the last one cheated on her she went over to his house with a bottle and beat him up so bad that he went to the hospital and she to the prison. She and people in her surrounding say she was known to be a hot tempered woman who had huge attitude problem and difficulties to bring up her kids. But two years ago she decided to follow Christ, not just like that but after getting in contact with one lady connected to YWAM Durban she got help and principles of how to live life. This lady became a safe place to go to when things got messy for Stella and an interest for Christ was born as the lady openly showed who Jesus was.
Stella is now famous in Burlington and she’s their social worker. She takes care of the sick, she takes kids to the hospital, and she gives elderly the help they need at home. She’s a woman of initiative and she takes care of her family and is loved in the community. The other day a guy said she should get an award for being a hero in Burlington.
This is my friend Benjamin teaching at the recently started community development course
Stella’s radical change of behavior and the way she was taking care of people opened up other women eyes and some wanted to do something similar. As Stella now is a part of YWAM and has done a course in community development we realized that a need for a course like that was needed. With short notice we had five interested ladies willing to give up four days a week (8.30-13.00) to be ready to serve the community. Benjamin and Johanna who are long term workers and experienced took the lead to develop a course that could fill the need.
Here we’re singing, praising and praying before going through the topic of the day
Kids waiting in line to have their hands washed
The women are also equipped with leadership skills and the idea of the course is to encourage them to take more initiative in the community for everyone’s best. The feeding scheme that has been under the supervision of YWAM for five years is a great platform for the women to take their first steps to be in charge of something.
Hands being washed
The great thing with this feeding scheme is that just in two weeks the program has gone from being a thing that a DTS (discipleship training school) team has been in charge of and organizing to now become something that all locals are taking care of. The only thing we still need to do is provide money to buy the food, but other than that they’re taking over it all. It’s great!
After washing hands they are all put on the floor to participate in planned program. It could be songs, dances, teaching, dramas or whatever comes up
As the course is now in charge of the feeding scheme they operate, delegate and take responsibility for the whole event to take place and it’s encouraging to see that these women after just two weeks are ready to serve the community. It’s not because of the course, but they’re all longing to make a difference.
Kids lining up to get food
Another hero in Burlington is Aunt Elsie. She’s preparing the food every week and just said the other day that she wants to try to get the money to provide for the feeding scheme by asking different companies to support it.
Aunt Elsie preparing the food
So a big part of my ministry in Burlington is now focused on the development course - To get the classroom in order, some teaching prepared and also to serve the women whenever I can. When I’m not part of that I’m trying to foremost hang out with my manly friends around the community and have an impact by just praying, being and living life with them.
This is me and Sanele cutting down bamboo
One guy I’m spending time with now and then is Sanele, a carpenter who also is the landlord of the classroom/office we’re renting in the community. He’s like an answer of prayer. I really thought God had a carpenter and that I would get to reach out through that. Helping Sanele with this house has already opened up the eyes of especially the guys in the community. They get curious and wonder why a white guy would help out without charging and connection with new friends take place
Stella’s new house
The process of building a house is pretty simple. You get a few stable poles, stems to stick into the ground as corners and strong support for walls. Then you use for example bamboo to place parallel bars all around the house. Fill it with bricks, rocks and some cement and then plaster on the outside and it’s all done and can last for decades.
The beautiful view from the inside
The ministry in Burlington is exciting and I love spending time there. Prayers, money and lots of love is needed to see the community change. There’s still people going to witch doctors and both alcohol and drugs is common to get away from reality, family and responsibility.
We are now praying and fasting for a change and believe one way to go is through the course we set up. Hopefully the course next time or the next one after that is run by locals.
Have a great week
Blessings
southern and easter(n) SA
We decided to go rope skipping the other night. We used a garden hose to make it happen and sure it was fun, but hurtful as well – at least if you weren’t fast enough and got the heavy hose on your back.
I still live on base and I enjoy it, I really do. At times it’s a bit too crowdie and difficult to get enough space to think, pray and be alone. Adding to that you don’t really want to be outside the base when the sun is set, cause even if Malvern is still kind of safe – there are things happening at night. Luckily I’ve now had some time to travel outside Durban and the base as a nice change.
Base director Wilson in full capacity teaching students at the classic DTS in Worcester, a city outside Cape Town
My first journey as an intern at YWAM Durban was with Wilson the other week and I got to observe him teaching and his way of being a leader in a class setting. I had four great days be his side and as good leaders do, Wilson challenged me to teach at the DTS – just a short session at the topic “Mission, God’s heart for the nations”. I was nervous but really enjoyed the opportunity to share my thoughts on mission, because mission as a word sounds negative to me. I don’t get all excited at once, hearing the word mission. But this opportunity made me think why I’m actually at a school of mission right now. I shared my struggles of mission as a misused term of going abroad to help others and changed focus to Jesus, Jesus as the ultimate missionary. I gave a few key points how Jesus brought the good news to people, friends and enemies around him and the class was gladly satisfied. A proud South African guy even said he was judging me before starting and wasn’t really open to listen, but was really thankful for what I taught. YEAH! It was such a good day.
Papa Mats and Mama Elisabeth posing at the southern coast of the continent Africa.
My two awesome parents could not help coming and visit me in SA. They picked me up in Worcester and we did some travelling for a week and a half and begun in Cape Town
We paid a visit at Robben Islands and the prison where Nelson Mandela was locked in for 18 years out of total 27.
Being in SA without touching base with its history and apartheid was close to unavoidable. We really enjoyed the tour and all we got to know throughout the visit. We spent more time at water front and admired the beautiful harbor with its nice setting and all the inviting restaurants. We also went for tourist sightseeing with one of those double-decker buses.
It was a time of relaxing, with a different language, familiar culture and nice people but I really missed my dear sister Matilda who wasn’t able to join. Luckily it turned out to be a really good vacation despite her not present. After Cape Town we went by bus for 24h to reach Durban and the surrounding I’m more familiar with. I showed my parents the neighborhood and some of the highlights in Durban.
My family love travelling, especially my mom, so we couldn’t settle with only one stamp in our passport but two. Therefore and also because of interest we went to Lesotho. The picture shows a classic village in the country at the height 9000f.
We got the chance to visit these villages thanks to a great guy called Steven who is a ministry director at Harvest Times Ministry. He took as alongside and we got to meet awesome people with amazingly open hearts.
This village had about 15 houses and according to tradition every village has their own king and queen. The queen is the one in charge and every decision has to go through her. Here she is to the right. When we went there we gave the kids a soccerball, and I started to play for a while when I realized the queen first had to give her approval. I gave her the ball, she touched it and nodded and it was all peaceful again.
We finished our short vacation by visiting my cousin Stefan with family and we celebrated Easter and Jesus way of defeating death! My cousin lives in Johannesburg and it was a nice final destination before split apart as a family and go back to “normal” life, whatever that means.
I’ve been recharging my batteries and I’m SO PUMPED to continue my work in Burlington and the other ministries I’m involved with. I want to be a part of giving hope to the hopeless, a future to the poor and the criminals. So these two last months will be great! Prayers and ministry will therefore continue and I will share more what’s it’s all about next week.
Bless ya! Christ is freakin alive!