Mamelodi!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010, 6:00PM

13^th Floor Headquarters, Pretoria, South Africa

Monday was a nice, relaxing day of driving and hanging out with Elsa’s family.  And I got to talk to Clancy (below)!  It was really nice to have a conversation with her after she had been in India.  I finally got to hear some stories (I’ve been bugging her for some over email since she got home).  It sounded like she had an amazing time.  If you would like to find out more for yourself, check out her blog: www.clancyosullivan.blogspot.com

The little white thing on the left is the 3G internet! Pretty cool!

Yesterday, I got to serve in the township here, called Mamelodi.  It was such a cool experience to see how God is working in this part of the country.   When we got there, the kids were all split up by age, doing different activities (right top).  We met the coordinator for the week and got the quick run down of how they do things.  She is also staff for a community building center that has sponsored the kid’s event.  The organization is called Funanani and is very similar to the organization that was a part of Keep Them Safe in Kayamandi called Kuyasa (I can’t remember if I meantioned it before).  Nonetheless, in a couple of minutes, I was hanging out with the kids.  They were doing an “obstacle course” where they ran under some string and through some hula-hoops.  They had a fun time doing it and were dismissed for snack once everyone completed the course.  I was so impressed with the organization of this program because before each major shift in schedule, the kids would line up at the bottom of a hill, settle down slightly, and then move on to the next event (right bottom).  From their lined-up stance, they all got snack, and then went to their small groups.  I joined a random group, trying to blend in with the kids and observe.  Unfortunately, I stick out.  Not sure if it’s from the beard, the height, or the white skin… or all of them.  I did my best to encourage the kids around me to focus on the Bible verse they were supposed to be memorizing, but they were much more interested in petting my arms and checking out my watch- classic.  A few of them did memorize the verse and by the time we finished up, it was time for lunch.  Lunch was a huge accomplishment!  Feeding 1,000+ kids was extremely impressive.  The leaders lined up tables for the kids to wash their hands at one station and get a cup of soup and bread at the next (below left).  It went surprisingly smooth and there was plenty of food.  And it was good too!  By 1pm the kids left and the teenagers came.  By 2pm the morning volunteers had left and a new set of volunteers from Ambassadors for Sport arrived.  The changeover of leadership was smooth and we got right in to the soccer workshops.  I found someone who needed some extra help with running a “header” workshop where we played a new type of volleyball (below right).  We set a row of teens in the middle of the field as the net and the opposing teams had to volley the soccer ball back and forth only using their heads.  They had a fun time playing and it was definitely amusing to watch.  After an hour or so, we had snack and sat down in small groups.  We went through the story of Jonah, focusing on how he couldn’t hide from God, and then related it to soccer when we make a mistake and get a red or yellow card.  We can’t hide from the ref or the video replays that show it over and over again.  This story paved the way for one of the leaders to talk to all of the guys together, unfolding the gospel and explaining it in one of the most majestic ways I have ever seen or heard.  As I was standing there I couldn’t help but smile as I could see how God was working in the words that the man was speaking to the teens.  I left there feeling very energized and encouraged.

Taking a step back, I was sometimes worried with the program in Kayamandi; it seemed to lack some organization or structure at different times.  I don’t mean to discount or bash the program there, but it definitely needed a little help.  The program here in Mamelodi was encouraging because it was extremely organized, having a strict schedule, driven leadership, and well-behaved kids.  After seeing how the two programs were lead and carried on, and having some background info explained to us, Lourens and I realized that money definitely plays a huge role in the organization of a program.  We also realized that implementing local leadership might not produce the exact product that we usually expect or hope for, but the long-term effects of that leadership could have much better, lasting impact.  The program in Kayamandi was lead by leaders from that community, local leaders that show huge potential.  The program in Mamelodi is lead by leaders that reside outside of the community, leaders that have a lot of experience.  Now the question commonly asked is “Which method is better?”  Well, I certainly don’t know.  Hopefully over the years I will figure it out.  But at the same time, God is still actively participating in both scenarios, and with him the results are exactly as they should be.  So maybe I shouldn’t try to figure it out and just invite God to lead my life more deliberately.  All in all, it is really the question of the century, something that may or may not ever have an answer.

And on a lighter note, after the program, I went with Elsa and Lourens to get dinner and meet up with another friend I met in Brussels.  We got KFC for dinner which is actually MUCH better in South Africa than the U.S.  I do not know why or how, but it was almost as good as Chik-fil-a… almost…  From there we went to the CEO of 13^th Floor’s house to watch the Netherlands beat Uruguay.  It was such a good game!  And it was very fun to hang out with those people and meet Flaps, the CEO.  Now I’m thinking and searching and trying to find reasonably priced tickets for the final game!  The chances of getting them is very slim, so I don’t have my hopes up too high.

Today, I spent the morning catching up on the blog, writing some notes, and doing the wash.  It’s almost time for dinner now, and afterwards I am headed to a public viewing park to watch the Spain vs Germany game.  Hopefully they don’t close this one down for high winds like last time!  Let’s go Spain!!