Wednesday - Avodah

by Cammy Brantzeg

I woke up early so I thought I would try to write a quick blog.  Hopefully later today someone else will have time to blog.  Our trip is busy like always.  There is always so much to do and see.  

Meyer and Louise (co-founders of Mosaic) are leaving on Thursday to go on vacation so we stayed up until midnight talking to them.  We shared a lot of laughter as we ate our dinner by the fireplace in our kitchen.  Meyer braaied (cooked over an open fire) chicken kebabs and roosterkoek (grilled bread/roll).

We visited the Mas for Wellington's Avodah group on Wednesday.  (Avodah means work, worship, serve in Hebrew.). Avodah is a group of close to 20 adults that have mental and physical challenges.  This group started with two members a few years ago and just keeps growing.  Time with this group is always filled with joy, love and a lot of smiles and hugs.  My church Hopewell in the US has a similar group.  I connected the leaders of these two groups in June and they have started communicating back and forth and praying for each other.  

The group from my church sent a poster and a craft to their South African friends.  I was carrying the poster around and they all wanted to look at the pictures of the kids on it.  Below are pictures of Surette showing the kids the poster from their friends in the US.  By the time we left, the poster was already hanging on the wall.

While we visited Avodah, the members did relay races, made crafts, played games, and just spent time together with their friends.  They loved having us take their pictures and hugging us.  We participated in some of the games with them.  It was a special uncomplicated time to love and be loved.  

It is hard to describe all the miracles that happen in South Africa.  These kids prayed for a Bible for one of their members and a Bible was gifted to their organization.  They prayed for mattresses for a handful of their members and mattresses were donated.  They prayed for boxed springs for the mattresses and boxed springs were donated.  In many of these situations, Avodah was not asking for these donations and someone was able to meet their need.  Instead, people reached out to Ma's for Wellington saying they had these items could they use them.  It is just crazy how that happens all the time in SA.  Their faith and trust in God is an example for me that I will never forget.

Before we left, Stephanie (founder of Mas for Wellington) had an exciting announcement.  The Avodah group had been praying for a bus for their transportation.  Transportation is a BIG deal in South Africa.  People DON"T have cars like we do in the US.  Ma's just received the donation of a bus so now Avodah will be able to meet for longer periods of time and it will be easier to get them to their meeting place.  You should have heard them cheer as Stephanie told them about the bus.  After the announcement, one of their members said a prayer.  It was in Afrikaans so I didn't understand it but I know it was filled with thanksgiving.

I will admit I cried multiple times during our visit.  The group and the way they care for each other and the love they so freely give to people they meet is an example of God's love for all of us.  

The place they were meeting at was new for them.  It is a little outside of Wellington.  It has grass and trees and space for them to be outdoors where it is safe.  Before joining Avodah, many of these adults were locked in their bungalow (shacks) all day because it was not safe for them.  It is easy for them to be abused by others in their community.  Avodah gives them a safe place to go and a community that loves them.  

The picture above is the ladies that run the Avodah program.  They share God's love and shine God's light into the lives of this special group of adults.  We were blessed to be able to spend time with them on our trip.