Newsletter

In Action in South Africa

This fall, a team of six people from Community Covenant Church and Rolling Hills Covenant Church spent two weeks working with Bridges of Hope in South Africa. The group joined a team of local volunteers and staff from Philippi to run two four day camps for the kids in Bridges of Hope’s 6 month After School Program (ASP). During that time, they worked directly with a group of “facilitators,” young adults from Philippi who serve for one year as leaders for the ASP. Facilitators are not paid, but receive training that often helps them find employment after the program ends. In what follows, the team from CCC (Brittany Jensen, Eric Lindberg, and Denise Bogard) share some highlights from their trip.

Q: Can you share a highlight from the trip?
Eric: One highlight for me was seeing how well some of the facilitators connected with the kids. It was a little hard flying to Africa, not really knowing what our role was at these camps. But then I saw how the facilitators (many of whom have been or are in the CHE program) are really making a difference in these kids lives on a daily basis. Especially for the rowdy boys in my cabin, it was neat to see respect develop by the kids and for the facilitators. Not out of fear, or because that's what they needed to do to survive. But out of love -- they really looked up to these older leaders as role models and friends.

Brittany: One of many highlights for me was getting to know the facilitators. I feel like I have a better understanding of South Africa and what it is like to grow up there from listening to the facilitators share their stories. I really connected with a few of them in particular, and am in awe that people like us with such different backgrounds could relate so easily and deeply to each other.

Q: What was one challenge that you faced?
Brittany: I had a difficult time witnessing how some of the kids live in such spiritual bondage. They have experienced and dealt with so much in their young lives, and it was sad to see the many ways in which they are affected by their past.

Eric: I volunteered to do a talk on the last night of the camp -- about God's unconditional love, and basically, the gospel of Christ. Now, this seemed straightforward enough initially, but it took quite a while to get what I wanted to say onto a piece of paper. How do share about love to kids that have been abused and neglected? How do you explain a father's love to those that don't have fathers? I wrestled with these kinds of questions for the first few days we were in Africa. Fortunately I had enough time to pray and work things out before the kids got there, and giving the message later in the week went great. People always say that there is power in the message of Jesus. I wasn't so sure about what that really meant, or if that was even true. But let me tell you, it's completely true.

Q: How did you see God at work?
Brittany: From the very beginning of the trip, I could see God had his hand on everyone involved. It was great to see how He united an unlikely group of believers from the US with a small community half-way around the world under one purpose: to see revival and change come to South Africa. It was evident through the interactions with the people there that God is actively bringing change to a community in need through the discipleship and health education programs BOH offers.

Q: What was your favorite thing about the culture in SA?
Denise: The signing and dancing. Music is so engrained in the culture, and even the youngest kids are remarkably proficient. And it’s not just a part of worship. I listened to the facilitators sing while they were driving in the car, mopping the floor, even washing dishes. Everything seems to have a rhythm and melody to it. It’s really a unique thing to experience.

Eric: Hot milk on your cereal! Kids that clean the bathroom and make their own beds! Two faucets on every sink! (Ok, not that one.)

Q: What are your thoughts on the work that BOH does?
Denise: Probably one of the most encouraging things about this trip was seeing a ministry that is genuinely changing lives. It was so incredible to talk with the facilitators and hear how passionate they are about changing their community. And because of BOH, they are doing more than just talking. These bright and passionate young men and women are becoming leaders and developing the tools to shape the future of Philippi and South Africa. When you speak to them, you really believe that change will happen.

Brittany: I appreciate the work BOH does. It is very holistic, addressing physical, emotional, and mental needs in addition to spiritual needs. I also like the fact that BOH focuses on providing services that are sustainable and easily reproducible, so that as the people are helped, they can easily teach and help others around them.

How have you changed as a result of this trip?
Brittany: One example is I have been made aware of just how real and powerful the spiritual realm is, and how as a Christian I should live each day taking ground for Christ, not passively ignoring the battle that lies in front of me. I have been challenged think more deeply about the consequences of my associations with things that may not be godly, and strive to keep my spirit from being desensitized by the things of this world.

Denise: In Africa, I saw real darkness and real change. I’m not afraid to imagine anymore; I’m no longer constrained to being “realistic.” Even in the darkest places I can see God beginning to work and believe that something significant will happen. That new perspective impacts how I am going to minister in our community, and even how I have begun to imagine my future. It’s as if all of the boundaries that I once accepted have suddenly disappeared.

Q:What are some ways that folks from our body can be praying for SA?
Eric: Pray for safety for the kids, both physically and spiritually. Pray for the continuing development of leaders for the ASP. The facilitators come from the same hard situations in life that the kids come from, and it takes an amazing influx of grace for them to volunteer to lead. Pray for Ted, the one-man retreat center manager who does basically everything. Pray for expansion of the ASP into new schools, or whatever new programs need to come out of it.