Something is smelling sweet

So I have a very sensitive nose.  It's both a blessing and a curse.  Smells trigger a lot of memories for me, and I'm a tad "scent driven" you could say.  Smells are important to me, hence why I put lemon extract in ice cubes for the kids to draw with in the bath...  and eat!

And scent should be important to us as Christians too, but in a spiritual way.

The Bible says: "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."  2 Corinthians 2:15

Did you ever stop and think that as Christians we have an aroma?!?   The Bible says we have a pleasing aroma, and it's surely not by ourselves that we got there (remember those corrupt hearts of ours?) but by the grace of God, we were given the sweet smell of Christ!  

In the Old Testament, the priests under the law would get anointed with oil, which was poured upon their heads, ran down upon their beards, and descended to the skirts of their garments, so that they were all over a perfume, a sweet smell!!!  A pleasing aroma.  (John Gill's exposition of the Bible).

As we do life with people, they ought to be smelling something different, something sweet.  And that's exactly what we hope to do at Hope Africa.  We hope that through our Life Skills program, where we give them tools to help them go through life and hopefully get a job, we hope they will smell something sweet.  We hope that their curiosity will be peeked in our Bible overview class, and that they will smell something sweet on all our staff, ultimately bringing them to a place where they want to know more about the origin of that smell.

And guess what???  The students ARE smelling it and wanting more.  Praise the Lord. So Mike started a Jesus discovery class that happens over the lunch hour for those students with particularly sensitive spiritual noses who wanted to know more about Jesus Christ.  Those meetings have been incredible and powerful.  The students get to wrestle with some really difficult things in a safe place, with Christians who care and love them.  And it all started with a sweet smelling from our precious Jesus.

Continue to pray for the students who are still seeking, the ones who have made the decision to commit to our sweet Jesus, and the ones who have a major case of blocked nostrils!!!

Thanks for reading.

Flying ain't so bad

Isaiah 30:41 "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

I've always wished I could fly.  I mean what kid hasn't tried to jump off their dresser to see if maybe (just maybe), they had super powers and they could fly?  Ok, maybe you didn't, but I did.  Turns out I CANNOT fly and I'm thankful my dresser wasn't too high.  

But there is something about flying that is so cool, so free, so amazing!!!  Just soaring.  Turns out my wishes came true, only in a better way than I had imagine as a child standing on top of her dresser.  I FLEW my friends!!!!  Off course I was a passenger, but I got a little ride on the wings on the Almighty.  I boarded the most amazing flight I have ever been on and went up to new heights, all the while my physical body hit an "all time low".  As you might have heard, I was sick, and very much so.  I was so sick I required help to do all the basic things.  I had to stay in bed and get better.  I say "had to", as if I would have been able to get out...  

If you are anything like me, that's about the toughest thing ever.  I am a pretty energetic and lively person.  I don't really do well with idleness.  I thrive on business, I define myself with what I accomplish.  I find purpose in doing things I can quantify and it's so very hard for me to sit still.  In fact I don't do still.  Except this time I had to, because I had nothing else left in me.  That's when He flew in, picked me up on His wings, and gave me a ride.  And I soared.  I felt more joy, more peace and more strength then when I was healthy.  My spirit was at peace (most of the time), my Savior was holding me tight, and there was nothing for me to do.  Just let Him take me for a ride!!!  

I don't think I really remember a time where nothing was expected of me, but this time there was NO expectation.  Except getting better and taking like 100 pills.  No one expected me to cook, clean, walk, look a certain way,...  Oh and the people of God, they rallied, formed an army around our family and prayed!  And cooked!  And cleaned!  All the while I soared.  

And did my hair!!!

And I thanked my Almighty pilot, my Comforter, my Everything.  Because for a while I hardly had any earthly concerns and just soared.  Just waited on Him who is Good.  I had no strength to read His Word yet He made His words alive in my heart.  Isn't He wonderful???  He was and is my everything.

When I was weak, He was strong.  And that helped me to never lose heart (at least not too often)!! Maybe outwardly I was sick, yet inwardly I was being renewed day by day for eternal glory that far outweighs the sickness. I still refuse to look with human eyes at this experience, but instead let us fix our eyes on what is unseen and eternal. This was far more a spiritual battle than physical.  When so many people unite and pray for someone, things are going to happen.  And I felt the prayers, so much so that praises where always on my lips in a way I have never experienced.  I could hardly sleep from excitement the night NCF held a prayer meeting for me!!!  Did I miraculously get new lungs?  No.  Yes I was disappointed (this is me being brutally honest), but I'm learning to trust God and to wait on Him.  And I am still waiting for the lungs :)

I found  laughter in what could have been complete sorrow.  I found joy in the darkness of night.  And that's when I realized joy is much more spiritual than we think.  Joy is a choice, joy is a mindset, joy is what we must claim: TODAY.  Because He won.  Off course He won many years ago so knowing the outcome is helpful!  He is the winner and we're on His team.  Yeah for winning!!!  Let's start the celebration TODAY, why wait for heaven?

Joyfully,

Marie-Eve

Train-ing chugga choo choo

 

Auntie Charlene taking Raph on the train

Our boys, Raphael (4) and Vincent (2) are obsessed with trains.  Vincent thinks all trains are Thomas (if you don't know why, you probably don't have little boys around you enough).  He can successfully identify the letter "T" everywhere we go because of trains.  The boys get so excited every time they see a train (or the letter "T"), screeching "Thomas! Thomas" which is often a few times a day (especially now that grandma made them Thomas the train pillows).  Vincent can actually see the train from his bedroom window, which makes nap time challenging.

Raph & Mike going on the train!

   

Turns out trains inspire me (stay with me on this thought).  Most of the time, trains have a purpose and they get the task done.  They stay on track (well again, most of the time), they move ahead, they move on, they move people.  How often as people do we loose focus, stop moving ahead, forget about people around us and have no purpose?  So trains inspiring me because I want to keep my focus on Jesus, I want to always improve myself, always MOVE people because of the Spirit that is inside me (call it steam if you want) and carry on the work God has set out for me: Love God, Love people.

Train-ing is part of the work God has set out for us to be doing here in Capetown (see how sneaky I can be with that train word??).  And training we are doing (when I say we I mean Mike) until I got all sicky, but we are not going to be talking about that right now.  I (Marie-Eve) am part of the support team headquarter here in South Africa, even though most of our cheerleader squad is in Canada.  You think I am joking with this cheer-leading business???  It's for real people!!!!  Red and white prayer warriors, supporters and friends, cheering us on in this and taking interest in this ministry.  You are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!  (Give me an A, give me a M, give me an A, give me a Z................)

If you are on Facebook, you saw the pictures of Mike getting ready to speak to the group of pastors September 26th, looking rather strange in his suit and sandals, pretty much making me a liar after I told you about his new shinny black shoes!!!

South Africans like signing!!!  And it's always a treat for us to listen to them.  It's so beautiful I had to share it with you all. 



Mike got to teach on discipleship, the topic was, "What is a disciple?"  This was a fun topic to teach on, and he used a lot of material from www.followtherabbi.com to learn more about what it meant to be a disciple in 1st century Palestine. 

One of the illustration he used was about how (in Jesus' day) Jewish boys & girls aged 5-6 yrs old would go to school for the first day at the local synagogue, it was common for the local Rabbi to put honey on each student's slate.  And as he did this the Rabbi would say, “May the words of God be sweet to your taste, sweeter than honey to your mouth” (Psalm 119:103).  He would teach his young students that the words of God are the most pleasurable, the most enjoyable thing you could imagine, sweeter than honey!  So Mike brought a "slate" from the kid's toy stash and well... the group laughed at him as he licked off the honey (I did too)!!

A few different people volunteered to read Scriptures, but we later realized that most of them didn't have English Bibles with them at the session!!!

On October 10th, Mike had to speak again, and with me in the hospital, this was really a challenge!!!  This time the topic was "What is a disciple maker?"  They looked a lot at the idea Paul talked about a number of times in the N.T. of "follow me as I follow Christ."  For each of you reading this, I also encourage you to consider your life and think to yourself if you are you able to say like Paul "follow me".  Because if you "follow me", you will be following Jesus?  What a challenge for you, me, and every other believer in the world!

Graduation

It's graduation time and it’s a serious business.  All the graduates dress up in robes, have speeches and celebrate together.  

Graduation from 6 weeks of intense programming at Hope Africa is no small thing.  It means overcoming all kinds of obstacles that would prevent most of us from doing anything, never mind achieving this exciting graduation.  It means facing fear, looking at it straight in the face and telling it to get lost.  It means believing who we are as people and rejecting the lies we have been told, the lies that we cannot do anything.  It also means attending the classes faithfully, learning and growing.  It means transformation of self.  As I said before, it's no small thing.

Mike started at Hope Africa with this group of graduate 6 weeks ago and participated in their 3 weeks Life Skills training class, learning right alongside of them and getting insight in what Hope Africa does.  If you haven't read about his experience, I encourage you to check it what he has to say here: http://hopeafrica.com/a-canadian-perspective/ Once the 3 weeks of Life Skills are over, students go through computer training, bible overview, etc... 

Mike didn't join them in those classes, but instead he has been keeping busy leading a class over the lunch hour for students who are "seekers", walking along side them as they consider the claims of Jesus and count the cost of what it would look like to give their lives to Him.  They met almost daily, and had lots of good, honest, authentic conversation.  They asked many questions, some he was been able to answer and others not so much.

One area specifically that he didn’t know how to answer was in regards to keeping or letting go of cultural practices after following Jesus.  Thankfully one of the other staff members at Hope Africa who is Xhosa and has had to travel this road himself came to class to talk to the group about these questions they were facing.  

Here are some of the questions they asked:  “What cultural rituals can I participate in after coming to Christ?”  “Why can’t I pray to the ancestors and go to the Sangoma (traditional healer) and also follow Jesus at the same time?”  “If your parents believed in the rituals, how did you get born again?”  “How do I follow Jesus when everyone in my family pressures me to participate in rituals?”   And the last questions which I thought was great: “Isn’t Christianity just a white man’s religion?”  Praise the Lord, Jesus was not white!!!  (even if in those pictures in Sunday school Jesus had long blond hair, blue eyes, a nice beard, white robe, and blue Miss America sash suggests differently).

We, at Hope Africa, are given 6 weeks of intense relationship with the students, precious time to impact their lives and show them the love of God - and then comes graduation.  It was so great to see the excitement on the students faces as they have new hope and skills for their future.   Many of the students thanked the staff for not just teaching them, but caring for and encouraging them as well.  Now these students will be working with our job placement coordinator to find work.  Please pray for them that they are able to get jobs.   Also, please pray as many in this class are still wrestling with the Gospel, pray that they would choose to surrender their lives and follow Jesus.

Off course at the same time as this is happening, we are raising children, discovering snails, celebrating Vincent's second birthday with our new British friends, moving our family to our new apartment, chasing furniture all over the country (and still chasing), losing our internet until we can get it connected here (which I don't even want to start talking about this crazy process), and this is when I realized writing a blog on a phone isn't too great!  So I hope you will forgive our delayed update!!!  

 

We have also been plagued by sickness the last couple weeks, and covet your prayers for health.  

Until next time folks! 

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 16:19

The students coming into the Life Skills course are coming from situations I can’t even begin to understand, and therefore the skills that as a Canadian I would see as necessary to getting a job are very different from the skills needed for these students to get jobs. To simply give them some technical training without dealing with their past and what is currently happening in their lives does not lead to any sustainable change. This is because even though they might have new technical skills that can get them a job, their lives are not in a place that has enough stability to maintain that new job.
For example, one of the students from this class shared her story: As a young girl, as far back as she can remember, she was living with her grandmother. They were very poor, so her grandma asked their neighbors for work, and they agreed to hire her. This went well as they now had enough food, but after a short while her grandmother passed away. Thankfully her neighbor decided to take her and her brother in and raise them. However, at about age 10, her neighbor also died.
At the funeral, she met her mother for the first time in her life. Since she had nowhere else to go, her mother took her and her brother to Cape Town. She lived with her mom for a couple of years, but then her mom got a job in Johannesburg. Her mom left her and her brother behind in Cape Town, with the promise of visiting every month and sending money for them. The first month she did come visit and gave her and her brother R600 (less than $100) for the month. However in the 2nd month, she did not visit and only gave R150 ($25). In the 3rd month, she gave nothing. This student then called her mother and asked what was going on. Her mother replied, “I have problems too, you know.” So as a young teen, this girl was left to raise her brother with no money, all while trying to stay in school.
She walked very far each day to go to school, and relied on the generosity of neighbors for food. Often there was not any food. After a few years, she dropped out of school and someone paid for a train ticket for her to travel to find her mother. When she found her in Johannesburg she told her she must come back and be a mom to her and her brother, as she was too young to be a mother and needed to be in school. Her mom came and they started to live together, but her mom quickly got into trouble gambling and owed many people in the community money. She would also often leave for days/weeks at a time and our student would not know where she was or when she was returning. She eventually left completely again.
Today, this student wonders if her father even knows she is alive. She dreams every day that he will come and hold her hand and walk with her in life. Her mom is no longer in her life at all.
She closed her sharing time by saying that she believes what God says, that He will not give you a burden beyond what you can carry. I could not believe her conclusion to the story. After all she has been through, and the unbelievable burden she has been forced to carry, she trusts God with her life. What a challenge to me to trust God with the challenges in my life!
- See more at: http://hopeafrica.com/a-canadian-perspective/#sthash.NXwOpvH2.dpuf

HURRAY for a successful Pastor seminar

 But wait!  When you and I (North Americans) think of a seminar, we almost all think about it in our North American way (sorry non-North Americans reading this, this may not be the case for you!)  Name tags, refreshment between sessions like tea and coffee or maybe some bananas and apples, goody bags with notebooks and candies, collective lunches, schedules printed on pretty paper and free pen (seriously tho, there are always free pen),... The list goes on!!!! Ok, now get that picture out of your mind and let me welcome you to South Africa, 2013.

On August 9th, Mike had a chance to teach at his first South African pastor’s seminar in the township of Gugulethu.  Bishop Lucas invited him and Terry (Hope Africa director) to come and teach to about 120 church leaders from the provinces of the Western & Eastern Cape. This was a 4 day seminar so it was worth the trip.  Bishop Lucas is something else: He has planted 40 churches in these 2 provinces and used to preach up to 15 times a week and he is only in his mid 50's (or so we're guessing)!  He is not part of any conference and he has discipled all of his pastors personally.  Talk about hard work and dedication to the work of the Lord.

At this time, Bishop Lucas is looking for ways to partner with Hope Africa to offer training for the pastors and leaders of his churches, as well as for some of the his younger people in his churches to go through the program EPIC (Equipping People in Christ), a one month intensive Bible School that Hope Africa offers, to those interested in going deeper in their faith. A few people from our staff are actually from one of his church and have come to us through EPIC. We are still exploring this partnership and it is very exciting.

Funny thing is Mike had to get a suit, tie and new shoes (apparently his running shoes were not nice enough for the occasion). Pastors here really "do it up" and the girls from staff told him to go shopping.  I've been telling him this for years without success.  I must remember to ask them for help more often.  He seriously might have looked better on that day than on our wedding day, or maybe I have grown to love him more??? Either way, he definitely looked the part!!!

Mike felt supported by all who prayed back home and well from all the "Amens," "Hms & Ahs," and "Hallelujahs," during his teaching time.  He will be expecting this when we come back to Niverville, just heads up.  Things went really well, despite having to cut his material in half "on the spot" as he didn't know he would have to speak through a translator. He spoke on faithfulness from the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, teaching that God is always faithful, God never promises to remove hardship (but he will not leave us or forsake us). He explained that faithfulness and success are not the same thing, and how to cultivate faithfulness in our lives and ministries. There was lots of passionate singing and worshiping, and the presence of God was very real as you can see in this video!!!



So as you can see, this is a whole different seminar than what we picture! Talking about picture, I don't feel I need any for this blog with this video. It is the next best thing if you can't be there. The Bishop and his wife sit in the middle of the stage, which is not something we are used to.  And I don't know the story behind all the matching outfits, but we don't have that at "our" seminars. All the women at the seminar are the pastor's wives who have come together with their husbands... to sit on the other side of them :)

After Mike was finished speaking (and had lost all his voice from YELLING his sermon African-style), the Bishop shared how he had not talked with Mike or Terry at all about what material to cover or talk about during their session, but what Mike had taught was right on the mark for what God has been teaching and leading them through this week. The power of the Holy Spirit I tell you!

An elderly lady was asked to close in prayer, and she shared how for the first time in her life, she was blessed to see white people and black people coming together for the same purpose. Halleluiah, God is breaking down walls of discrimination all around us. How beautiful to be able to worship the same God together! She was was probably 55 years old, and I believe that God did a little work of healing across racial lines and in her heart. Amazing.

July can fly

If July could fly...  wait, I'm sure it did!!!  How else do you explain that it's gone.  Over.  Extinguished.  Sigh.  I'm loosing grasp of time.

I hope this summer is treating you well and I'm pretty honored you are stepping out of the sun to read this blog post.  It's better for your skin anyway, so you can thank me later.  We were having a pretty mild winter by South African standards here, until I must have done something unforgivable and mother nature literally started testing me (until I rebuked it African-style and it has been behaving again).  I was in full survival mode for a while and a girl can drink only so much tea.

Luckly for her, little sister Charlene flew away to Manitoba for 5 weeks on July 21... just on time to not get punished by mother nature and to skip my birthday!!!  What is it with relatives and knowing they will get away with this kind of stuff???  Seriously tho, it has been great having her here and introducing us to people, and just catching up with her and learning more about the ministry she has been doing here for the last year.  It is also a great comforting feeling to be together with her here!!  She even introduced us to her version of Christmas in July.  So fun!!

Christmas in July

House
We love our house here and my favorite thing is that it has a bigger dinning room than our house in Niverville, and we have had people over more than ever before!!  

Hope Africa staff

The challenge for me is getting used to a smaller fridge while feeding multitudes :)  

I'm also very thankful to have my favorite helper becoming a brilliant chef with his magic pink apron:

Making pizza

Pray we find something similar as we only have this place for 3 months, and it’s been so good to host people!!!  We have been looking at a few other places, but have not secured anything yet.  Keep praying would you?


Jobs

One thing that we have learned since coming here is that people travel great length to get to work.  Can you imagine traveling 2 hours one way on the public train, bus or taxi to earn less than how much many of us in Canada earn in one or two hour?  Yet these people are so willing and grateful for the chance to work.  With such high rates of unemployment in this country, anyone can afford to pay their workers so little because there will always be someone willing to do the job.

There are often people who walk up to our house to ask if we need anything thing done, if they can wash our car, etc.  There are many people, including children, begging in the streets.  It's hard knowing that we cannot help everyone.

Garbage day
Garbage day for us means treasure hunt for others.  We bring our rubbish bin (I can't get enough of that word) to the end of the road and people walk around with stolen shopping carts and begin to dig through our trash in search for food and or any "treasures".  I have since learned to put the nappies (diapers) in CLEAR bags so they don't have to touch those or smell them too much.  I try to put some muffins on top in the garbage for whoever opens it first.  It breaks my heart.
(photo property Ralph Higgo - Cape Town)

 

Backing up is a "challenge"
People are really desperate for work and I believe this is how this job was create.  You park you car, go shopping and when you return, the car guards run to you to help you out with anything, hoping to get a tip.  They "guard" your car while you shop, help you park it, and direct you out as you back up.  We're learning to carry change on us to tip all those people who help us, whether or not we need it.  Can you imagine Mike requiring assistance to back up a car???  Thankfully for him, I realized that if you tip the person BEFORE getting in the car, they quickly go to the next car and you can freely back up at your own risk ;)  I on the other hand, gladly welcome any help I can get with this silly driving on the left side thing.  Sadly card guards have been banned in some areas and thus taking away jobs for people who really need it.

Cleaning with cow dung
Yes, with cow poop.  In the country side and other place in Africa (and the world), people clean with cow manure.  And cook with it too.  But clean?  That's the part I struggle with.  It sounds like an oxymoron...  Clean with poop.  They even like the smell (yes I had to ask for clarity...).  I admit I had a hard time eating my food while having THIS conversation.

Markets
South Africa is big into market.  There is probably a different market everyday!!!  It surely helps to get cheap goods (some goods were found in your neighbor's garbage)!!!  We have been able to get our produce pretty much all at markets and are enjoying getting to try different food.  At some market, you can purchase random expired goods that are clearly exported from North America or Europe, like deodorant, shavers, vitamins, feminine products, ...  It's quite something!!  There are also a lot of hand made things and crafts from all over Africa.  I like to support local business whenever I can and markets are fantastic for that.

Where are we???

Orientations, folks, is so important!!!  And orientation is what we have been spending most of our time doing since arriving to South Africa.  Things are going well, life here is becoming more "normal", we are settling, making friends...  The Lord is so good, so beautiful and it is so fun to let Him take charge and guide us on this journey.

The kids have been making friends:

We are making friends too!!!  We have been visiting different churches, and trying to decide which one to make our "home church".  It is a decision we are asking you to pray for!!!  Some have the bonus of cute little girls coming to sleep in my arms, lively worship and dancing...  Others are more like what we are used to back home.

That said, going to different churches like that has been hard on Raph (who hates changes), but the Jelly Beans from Pastor Chris on Sunday are really helping.

The first week of July Mike and I had one week of training at Hope Africa Collective, where Terry (the director) provided orientation on well EVERYTHING.  We have been so blessed to join such a well run organization.  We were given schedules even.  It's hard to believe this is Africa!!!

Terry Hilliard

Terry and Jeremy (program director and also Terry's son) spent time with us discussing the mission, vision and values of Hope Africa Collective with us, going over the organizational structure and development path.  We talked about ministering cross culturally, about servant leardership, about transitions and so much more.  Our time together was very beneficial and we learned so much.  These American boys really like their graphs.

Terry also organized for many of the staff to speak to us about the area they are working in, so we got a really good idea of how all the programs are run and how successful they have been!!!

We had Amanda, one of the life skills facilitator, speak to us about the culture and history of South Africa and also the apartheid, ...  She gave us insight we had never gotten before.  Amanda is a colored African and she told us of her family being forced to leave their home and being put into a township.  It still sounds insane to us that this actually happened.  Because she is colored, some of her relatives who looked more white were able to claim "white status" and were not sent to the townships, where others (in the same family) had to.  You can imagine how family were torn apart and the damage this caused.  Amanda is such a strong and beautiful woman.  She's loves the Lord so much and it radiates through every part of her!

Cindy & Bomikazi (Abongile too I think) attempted to teach us Xhosa.  Just saying Xhosa is a challenge, for some...  Never mind speaking the language!!!  All those clicks sound really cool and fun, but it has been a real challenge (and again, nearly impossible for someone I won't name) to make our mouth do those sounds.  They got a good laugh, we were humiliated.  Good start for a great friendship I think. 

Cindy

Franklin presented to Life Development classes and both Mike and I were blown away by the stories we heard from him of transformed life through this class.

We also learned about the EPIC program, which stands for Equiping People In Christ.  And it is just that.  I could try to sum it up, but this video of Thembelani, a former student of Epic and now staff @ Hope Africa does such a better job than I ever could!!! 

Lastly Asanda gave us great insight into the Xhosa culture:

Stay clear of doorways
It is rude to stand in doorways in the Xhosa culture.  You also must ask people to take off their coats, even tho they will not since everyone is freezing in this weather.  If you have food, you have to offer everyone some of it.  This culture is so relational, it's such a beautiful thing!!!  They shake hands, hug and spend time properly greeting one another.  They are so warm and free spirited.  Relationships are more important than being on time.

He also explained to us the difference between man and boys, and how it was okay for boys to be bad and people expect it because they are still just a child.  It is also strongly encouraged by their culture for boys to have many girlfriends and have sex with them.  Girls are simply to have fun with, nothing more.  It's viewed badly, however, when a girl gets pregnant.  It's very common for girls to have babies young and from many different boys.  Most students we have met at HAC are mothers.  Boys become men when they get circumcised and then they are expected to behave more seriously and to get married.    

Mike and I are learning so much and seeing people's lives being changed everyday.  We are so excited for what we will all get to experience during our time here.  Until then,
Cheers!

The keeping of the Fast family

How is the Fast family keeping?  Are they safe?  How are they adjusting?  What are they doing?  What are they experiencing?  How is the Hope Africa Ministry?  Well folks, find out all this and more in this blog!!!  Right here, right now.  One-stop-find-all for all-you-could-possibly-want information on the most recent happenings of the Fast clan.  The best part???   It is free!!  Caution is still recommended when reading this extremely random blog.  Consider yourself warned. 

The keeping of the Fast family
It's hard to believe it's already been 2 1/2 weeks since we arrived to South Africa.  Here we are, in this beautiful land, seeing some of the most gorgeous places we have seen in our whole lives and trying to take it all in.  There are large mountains and a beach 5 minutes from our house.  We knew the landscape would be pretty, but I think that we were all a little surprised at how breathtaking it actually is.

Main Road, Muizenberg, Cape Town

However as many of you know, that's not the whole picture.  I wish I could tell you that all we had heard about the state of the townships where people live before we came here wasn't true, but it is very very true and real.  I will touch on that later in this blog.

Safety 1st
Our first few days here were really hard in regards to security and those types of things.  We are far from Niveville, Manitoba where locking your doors is "optional" and going out at night is never an issue.  We are dealing with gates & locks to get in AND OUT of our house, looking over our shoulders and learning to be street smart.  It's a hard balance to find between being safe without becoming overly paranoid, to be smart and careful yet not become distrusting, etc...  

As seen in the Bible
2 verses that the Lord has already given me in this regards to fear:

Psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I will trust in You"
Proverbs 3:24 "When you lie down, you will not be afraid; you will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant."

The bottom line is that fear is not from God and we don't want to be overcome by it.  We want to defeat it and live by faith.  "See ya later bondage of fear, I don't need ya."  We would ask that you continue to pray for us in this area.

Where in the world is Hope Africa Collective?
The facility is in a rented space from an other ministry called Beautiful Gate, situated right in the township of Phillipi.  As we drove there, we saw townships that extended so far we couldn't see the end.  It is a sea of shacks or informal settlements side by side, many without electricity or sewage.  It was hard to see such poverty in real life and not just in pictures.  It is currently estimated that 3-4 million of people live in the townships.  Phillipi alone is 750,000 people, the size of Winnipeg.  It is considered a colored township.

Yet they have hope!!!  When we went to the HAC base the first day, we heard children singing in Xhosa (from part of a Beautiful Gate winter program that is running there is no school currently).  The singing is beautiful, and how amazing it must be for God to watch African kids singing and dancing in the middle of a man-made slum!

Unique Hope Africa staff
June 26th (on our wedding anniversary) we finally got to meet the Hope Africa Collective staff in it's entirety and see the facility.  Hope Africa has a variety of rooms and spaces they are using for ministry and Mike and I were so excited to finally see what we have heard so much about in preparation for coming here!!!  It sure looks like they do so much considering they are such a young organization.  We cannot wait to find out more about all the different aspects in more details.

Meeting the staff at Hope Africa was one of the most unique experience Mike and I have ever had in our whole entire life.  There is a lot of love & laughter in the air as people jest and joke with each other.  Most of the banter is in Xhosa (or English we can’t understand?), and it is fun watching the interactions in the room. 

Even during the introductions, you could tell this group likes to have fun.  It was great to hear everyone's role and what they loved most about the ministry.  Most highlighted things like they get to serve where they are gifted and how the ministry uses a holistic approach that makes a real difference in people’s lives and communities.

After the introductions, it was turn for Mike and I to share about how we felt called by God to come here.  Once we were done, they had a time of prayer for us where all 15 of the people pray at once.  It has always amazed me how prayer can so effortlessly cross through barriers that seem so large in other areas of life.

Words of truth
The staff prayed for us with a passion I'm sure can only be found in Africa, and spoke the most amazing truths into our hearts.  They spoke words we will always cherish, words only God could have given them as we had just barely met them!!!  We humbly received their words as if spoken from Jesus himself, letting Him minister to us in a new way, touching places in our hearts that needed healing, letting God strengthen us and prepare us for what is ahead.  They spoke of our children, they addressed our fears for them, especially in this new place, spoke of the care of our Heavenly Father and His love for them and of His joy in having us being obedient in coming here.  They also spoke on our need to completely trust Him on this new journey and the importance of a fresh start and freedom to serve Him with what He's equipped us to do.  I cannot really explain it well, and for that I am sorry.  It was simply an amazing way to be ministered to, a way our Father wanted to blessed us in, smiling on us the whole time I'm sure.

Adjusting 101: Ears
Life here is quite different, people talk with a really funny accent, and we REALLY struggle understanding people on the phone.  This made things like getting a car REALLY difficult!!!  We find ourselves getting people to spell out many things, using our expensive and precious cell phone minutes on trying so hard to communicate simple things.  Street names are in Afrikaan which we're not at all fluent in so even our Tom Tom GPS isn't much help if we can't spell things.  

Pit stop
That said, we found a good (hopefully) car, "understood" the seller, and went to pick it up last Friday!!!  It is by the grace of God (actually like ONLY) that I didn't crash driving the rental car home in a completely backward way than I'm used to!!!  And on a standard :)

For those of you who are interested, hint hint, it is a 2006 VW Jetta (silver).  I don't think you can tell from this picture much about the car, so I'll take the guessing game out of this blog...  What you can tell, is that Mike and Raph are happy about the car, and that's really all that matters.  We hope it will last us a long time.
 

Thank you for praying :)

I have so much more to say, but there will be more blogs, more chats, more time :)  This post is by far more factual than I intended, so you will have to stay tuned for the hilarious moments we have had so far in the next post!!!

Until then,
God bless.

All is well in the Cape

Waiting for plane in Montreal

June 13th, 4 sleepy heads from Canada arrived to Muizenberg, Cape Town in a complete daze-like/dream-like state after 2 long traveling days.  They do not recall how, but somehow they pushed all their heavy baggage through security and customs.  Yes, all of their baggage made it to South Africa in one piece (well 8)!!!!  Praising the Lord already!!!

They were welcomed by the most beautiful gathering of people who had come to greet them at the airport, including the dearly missed auntie Charlene.  Swiftly they were taken away by these angels to their vehicle where the youngest travelers swiftly fell asleep.

Driven to their new home (for the next 3 months), they found a huge mountain behind their dwelling.  They probably were dreaming.

They were given groceries and nappies (diapers) to sustain them until they could think again & go shopping.  Equipped with a schedule for the next 3 weeks, important phone numbers and critical house information, they knew they were indeed in good hands with these folks.  Blown away by the kindness already being showed to them and excited to get to know these people better, they began unpacking their suitcases.  Little did they know this would take a week...  or more (have yet to find out).

The most emergent was to find those jackets...  The travelers were COLD!

Thus is the story of Mike, Marie-Eve, Raphael and Vincent the day they came to South Africa.  So many thoughts & feelings have come to them since, and how would I ever begin to describe them was it not through a list (my lame attempt at not going all over the map).

Muizenberg
Talking about maps, I thought a little map would help you get situated as we talk about all kinds in this blog.  I reckon this would be a splendid idea.  So lovely Muizenberg is underlined yellow and it is where we are currently living.  Philippi is underlined in red and this is the township where the Hope Africa rents space to teach their classes.  It is about a 15 minute drive.  It looks like there are no road since google map doesn't have them marked as they are not easy to travel and well not really real roads.

As you can see, Muizenberg is a small suburb by the beach.  It is WINDY like you wouldn't believe (but not unlike other places by the water).  It's an adorable little place, a dream come true for surfers (which we are not, YET).  On our first day here, Charlene (Mike's sister) brought us to see the water front and we saw quite a few surfers.  So cool.  We also saw some surfers running on the street with their boards.  That felt like we were in a movie.  So cray cray crazy.

The down side to all this waterfront dealio is that Muizenberg has wet and cold winters.  And well...  it is currently winter here, so always the opposite of North America.  It doesn't get cold like Manitoba, but the houses don't have insulation and the nights get chilly at 7 Celsius!!!  We're thankful for warm blankets and hot water bottles!!!  I really wish I had gotten a fleece onesie for myself too!  I sorta think that Manitoba was mission training or something...

Culture
We have met people from all over the world so far and have had a hard time distinguishing between the British and the white South Africans.  I have this ridiculous urge to speak with the same accent as them, although I get worried they will think I'm mocking them.  I refrain until I can't take it anymore...  So I'm learning to filter (yeah, not really).

We had some Africans over for supper and I made some Fajita to highlight our strong Mexican culture you know???  I think they were confused but didn't want to say ;)

To shoe or not to shoes
Most people do go by shoes around town and well never take them off.  The floor is so cold anyway that I have already adopted this part of the culture.  I'm still NOT ok with my floors being dirty, so this poses a bit of a challenge thus far ;)

Baboons
Never mind dear innocent deer...  I'm talking BABOONS.  Aggressive baboons.  Bad idea to hit them on the road.

Backwards drivers
Not only does everything look strange, but the driving is confusing and well I'll continue walking thank you very much.  Or should I say much very you thank. 

Market
Friday night we got to experience our first market.  I wish I had more pictures, but it's not smart to show phones or cameras in public due to the high crime around here.  That said, when going in the market:
Men @ the door: "Mam, do you have a firearm?"   Me: "Scuse me?"
Men @ the door: "Mam, do you have a firearm?"  
Me: "Uuuum, no!"

The market was so wonderful, great food too!  I spotted sushi?!?!?  They have people from all over the world here, but I have yet to see Asians so not sure if I can trust that sushi just yet.  I might get desperate enough tho.

We were able to purchase such inexpensive produces there, it was really shocking! 


Raphael
Raphael had a big birthday since coming here and we were so glad to have a few friends coming over to celebrate.  He was so funny asking everyone he met if they would come to his birthday.  It meant a lot to him that people came and had cake with him and even played soccer (or should I say football?).

We found some Lightening McQueen hats, plates, napkins at the local grocery store.  AMAZING.  The birthday boy was impressed. 

Becky, Joshie, Thoko

He is adjusting slowly, the first few days were the worse with him being so over tired from the trip and really (I mean REALLY) cranky.  He did AMAZING during the traveling part tho and for that we are really grateful.

Vincent
Vincent is well...  still Vincent.  We have to keep an eye on him and the toilette at all times as it seams to be his ultimate goal to put everything in there.  If that wasn't bad enough, he eats all dirt he can see, or food he can find.  I feed him I promise!!  He has adjusted really well too, minus a minor runny nose and a few extra bruises.

   
Church
Our first church service we had the privilege of visiting Charlene's church (Mike's sister) and once again were blown away by the kindness of the people welcoming us here.  We loved worshiping with our brothers and sisters on this side of the world.  What a privilege. I miss our NCF people, but guys, look at that view!!!

Coming up...
This week we need to find a car and ask that you keep that in your prayers.  Until then...  CHEERS.