From the Afternoon Valley to the Evening Mountaintop

by Cammy Brantzeg

It is 9:00 pm in South Africa.  Today, we had a brief visit to the valley before we climbed back up to the  mountaintop.  When you come on one of these trips, a few days in you get so tired.  You are overwhelmed by what you have seen.  You need to stop to process things but there doesn't seem to be enough time.  Your sleep may be off.  I need to mention again that you are TIRED.

Our Thursday morning started with a visit to the Ma's for Wellington ECD program (preschool).  These kids will be going to grade R (Kindergarten in US terms) next year.  Michele (Hopewell Christian Preschool Director) and Amy (Hopewell Christian Preschool Teacher) were soaking everything up.  You might think that we would be coming to South Africa to teach them how to run their preschool but that would be so wrong.  We visit their preschool to learn from them and find ways to make our preschool even better.  We humbly show up and God opens our eyes to show us things that we never would have thought of.  It was a great visit and thoughts and ideas were exchanged.

As the leader for this trip, I am constantly thinking, adjusting and praying to try to discern and move our group where God is calling us to go.  Today, I had to make some tough choices.  We just won't have enough time to do everything I wanted our group to do.  

I wanted to visit all the Mosaic families (around 27) and drop off the soap made by our youth and the Bible verse that I mentioned in one of my previous blogs.  My church Hopewell UMC also had money available for us to spend on this trip so we purchased a food parcel/package for each Mosaic family.   The food parcels cost $25 each and look like a giant Ziploc bag that contains canned goods, sugar, etc.  The kids will be on a school holiday that last 3 weeks starting on Monday.  Many families do not have enough to eat during this time when the kids are not at school or at the Mosaic programs.  The food will help them bridge the gap while the kids are not in school.  Unfortunately, I realized today that we just won't have time to help do the deliveries.  

I also wanted to visit families who are going through difficult times and pray for them with my friend Cornel.  This is always a blessing for our mission trip teams and for the ladies we visit.  Unfortunately, Cornel's availability and our teams availability did not overlap to make this possible.  The good news is that I have learned if God wants it to happen it will and if it is not meant to happen then it won't.  This wasn't a part of God's plan for this trip and I will trust his plan that this is how it was meant to be.

As I mentioned in my opening paragraph, we were tired today so I cleared our schedule after lunch until 4:00 pm to give our group some time to rest, relax and reflect.  We just needed a break.  I took a 30 minute nap, had a snack of cheese & crackers and felt like a new person.

After our down time, 2e met with a group of Mosaic high school students from 4-5:15 pm and then went to Stephanie and Kiffie's house to have dinner with some of the ladies from Ma's for Wellington.  

As you can see from our picture, we had an evening full of love and laughter.  When we left Stephanie and Kiffie's house, we were all back on the mountaintop leaving our afternoon in the valley behind.

The feelings here are hard to describe.  The relationships we have with the people we meet are so special.  You think you have had the best moment ever and then a new one comes along that is just as special.  It was a great night.

We will be heading to Port Elizabeth on Sunday.  Right now, the group kind of wants to stay here in Paarl Valley because it has been so special but I keep telling them wait until we get to PE.  I know it will be special there too.  I don't think they believe me but that is ok because they will see for themselves next week.

I need to get to bed.  I started writing this around 9:00 and it is almost 11:00.  I did have a nap today so I am feeling pretty good but I still need to get to bed.  :-)

To South Africa with Love

by Michele Zincone

I have been trying to find the words to properly describe my experience here in South Africa so far and I am just not able to do so.  A few words do stick in my mind though - beauty and tangible love.  

This place has beauty all around, even in some of the most unexpected places.  In the landscape, you may see some very hard living conditions but at the same time you see majestic mountains or a beautiful sky and it is like God is reminding you that he is always here.  The most beauty that you will find here, however, is in the people.  Everywhere we go, we are greeted with the warmest smiles and biggest hugs.  And this is where the tangible love comes in - you feel it everywhere, it's palpable.

We have been blessed to have shared wonderful days already at Ma's, Mosaic and Avodah and each place overflows with love, His love, and you can feel it.  There was a moment at Ma's Supersterre program that I will hold with me forever, I know we all will.  After a few upbeat praise songs, a quiet song takes place and this is a time for the children to be still and listen for God and feel His love.  These precious, beautiful children did just that but while doing so, most of them went seeking human touch and they curled up in our laps without even knowing us. We held each other, were still and listened together.  It was so powerful and beautiful and you could feel God's presence without a doubt.  It was tangible love.

There is a Bible verse that Louise shared with me and it keeps presenting itself - Isaiah 43:18-19 "Do not remember the former things or ponder the things of the past.  Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing, Now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it?  I will even put a road in the wilderness, rivers in the desert." 

I am trying to listen and I am trying to be aware, but in this beautiful place, it is not hard.  With the love and beauty that is shared here, you can only be present and feel God all around you.  My eyes and heart are open and I give thanks to God for this trip and this very special place. 

 

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.

Tuesday - SOAP

by Cammy Brantzeg 

Wow!  God was moving big yesterday but that is the normal when I am in South Africa.  

One story that will illustrate my point is soap.  Sherri Jarvis is a friend of mine in the US.  A few years ago I went to her house to learn how to make soap.  I thought it might be a possible business for Mosaic to employ their mothers.  I made soap and took it down to SA to give away to the Mosaic mothers and Ma's for Wellington community volunteers.  The opportunity for the business never happened but I love the soap we made together.  We were trying to make a simple soap with ingredients that were easy to get and cheap.

Sherri recently made soap with the youth at our church for me to bring to SA.  My son Seth helped to make the soap.  I took some of that soap to give to the Ma's for Wellington volunteers yesterday.  They gave me a moment to talk to the Tannie (Auntie) Mommas yesterday.  I also shared with them on of the Bible verses that I pray for them.  

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace

because you trust in him.  Then you will overflow with confident hope through

the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13

After that I went over to Stephanie (Started Ma's for Wellington) and she told me she was going to go buy the ladies soap and now she didn't need to.  SA schools go on school holiday (break) next week.  She created a Bible study of Genesis for the Ma's ladies and was going to talk to them about the SOAP  Bible study method.  

S - Scripture, O - Observation, A - Application, P - Prayer

As you read the Bible, you select a verse (Scripture).  Think about or write down our Observations about the verse.  You then think about ways to Apply the verse to your life.  When you are done with these steps you Pray to God.

Steph wanted to get the ladies soap to hand out as she told them about this method and then I show up giving the ladies soap.  

You might say this is just a coincidence but when you have seen things like this happen over and over in SA you know it is not coincidence it is God.  It is beyond humbling to be in SA again and to see these moments unfold.  So much joy!

Thank you to Sherri and the youth at our church for making this soap!  I am not sure how it came to be that Sherri was making the soap with the youth but each of us did our little part of God's plan to make something much bigger than all of us happen.  

As we prepare for our trip...

by Cammy Brantzeg

I am excited to say that a small group is planning to go to South Africa June 19th to July 1st!  

Tony and I went to South Africa in March and had a fantastic time catching up with our friends and partners in South Africa.  We are not comfortable planning a big trip yet but a smaller trip seemed more manageable.  God seemed to bring this group together so I am excited to go on this trip and see where God leads us.  

The group consists of:

• Pastor Vicki Pry - Hopewell UMC Pastor - I think Vicki said this would be her 10th trip to SA.
• Michele Zincone - Hopewell Christian Preschool Director
• Amy Straub - HCP preschool teacher & The Well After-School Program Coordinator
• Cammy Brantzeg 

South Africa is entering their winter season which is rainy.  The high temperatures will be in the 70s and the lows will be in the 40s.  Covid cases have been increasing in South Africa so please pray this to not disrupt our trip.  

I am still working out the details but, as of right today, the first half of our trip will be in Paarl Valley.  We will stay at our house with Meyer, Louise and family.  We are planning to spend time with the partners listed below:   

• Ma's for Wellington - Programs for preschool age children
• Mosaic - After School Program
• Ma's for Wellington - Avodah program for adults with special needs  
• Drankenstein Prison - I am hoping we can visit with Cornel but I haven't heard if that will be possible yet.  

South Africa schools will start a school holiday on June 27th.  Many programs will not be running in Mosaic Paarl Valley so our group will travel to visit Mosaic's third location Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) to spend time with a preschool that will be open over the school holiday.  Mosaic PE will also be running a holiday program for their after school program while we are there so we can also meet the kids and see their holiday program.  

We will do our best to post blogs while we are in South Africa to share our trip with you.

Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for our trip.