Final Days Now...
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Rebecca Clendenin
Jun 13, 2009, 6:38:19 PM6/13/09
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Family & Friends,
It's very hard for us to believe, but in only a week-and-a-half we leave South Africa... On June 22, Nate and I fly to Zurich, thereafter spending eight days in a tiny town called Huémoz at Swiss L'Abri (www.labri.org ), where we look forward to taking some time to process this incredible year in Africa. We can think of no better place to reflect after such a meaningful and challenging year than high up in the Swiss Alps at a place that's all about critically considering the Christian life. After L'Abri, we'll spend some time exploring southern France, then spend our final days and nights abroad in Paris. Provided we make our standby flight, we are due back to arrive in my hometown of Birmingham, AL, July 9.
As time winds down here in South Africa, we find ourselves completely impressed by God's continued goodness to us. The weeks of May and early June were among the fullest weeks we've experienced this year, but also among the very best. Starting with the most recent, here's an update of some of the wonderful happenings we enjoyed:
Baby Nyathi Arrives!
On Friday, June 5, at 8:05 a.m., healthy Vukosi (pronounce Bu-koh-see) Nyathi was born! An answer to prayer, Vukosi was born naturally and without complication only hours before Gloria was scheduled for a C-section. The name Vukosi means “Kingdom” in Shangaan, and there is no doubt in anyone's mind that God has a very special purpose for His kingdom with this tiny baby's life. For an account of our how our friends from home got to meet and pray for Vukosi before their departure, and for photos, visit:
Vision Trip: 2009... Wow
For two weeks in late May/early June, 19 individuals from our home churches in North Carolina (our church: www.gracecommunitync.org ) and Atlanta (Will’s church: www.atlantawestside.org ) experienced a taste of what life is like in Mamelodi, in service alongside our brothers and sisters at the Powerhouse Church. Their time here was awesome, and of course we loved having familiar faces from home here and loved meeting Will's friends as well. Over the next few days, we intend to feature entries authored by a few of our friends on the Chapel Hill team accompanied by photos and such, but in the meantime, here's an excerpt from an email by Megan Clarke, the leader of the Chapel Hill team:
I have never encountered a more welcoming and joyful group of people than those who make up this church. I have been hugged more times in these past two weeks than ever before in my life! In addition to lots of hugging, there was a whole lot of singing and dancing. Any situation could erupt into a dance party at any moment. Painting a kitchen, sharing a meal, having church-- all ended in singing and dancing. These people are joyful people who love celebrating the goodness of life and the goodness of God. Their joy was impossibly contagious... To sum it up, this trip was a wonderful blessing to me. My burdened heart was lightened by the joy and celebration I was surrounded with. I was encouraged by how the people I met poured out their lives for their neighbors and for the poor. I was challenged by their faith and by how much they truly believed in God and the promises found in the Bible. I was blessed by how much they loved us, not because we did anything or had anything to offer, but just because we were there.
Additionally, we encourage you to take a moment to read an account of the weeks' activities and our initial reflections:
Zim Day: Hundreds of Pounds of Clothing Donated!
I want to highlight one project the Vision Trip team participated in simply to say "thank you!" Thank you so much for responding to the request for donations we included in our last email update. The collection of donated goods that the team hauled as checked baggage was overwhelming. We praise God for this, as the day turned out to be a huge blessing to our brothers and sisters from Zimbabwe. Be on the lookout for a forthcoming blog post recounting this day.
Campus Outreach Day of Service
On May 23, 20 college students from Georgia who are spending two months working with Campus Outreach (www.campusoutreach.org ) in Johannesburg partnered with the Powerhouse in cleaning/painting/restoring the houses of widows in the community. The day was a huge success as the two groups partnered in doing the Lord’s work. This day also served as the start to many of the projects (walls being built, driveways being paved, etc.) that the Vision Trip team and the young men at the Powerhouse (who are so talented and tireless!) later completed. For photos for the Campus Outreach day, visit:
Celebrating Women In Business
On May 16, the Women's Ministry at the Powerhouse hosted a Women's Business Expo event, celebrating women doing business in the township. The day gave women running small businesses the opportunity to promote their product or service, with the entertainment being a fashion show featuring many of Gloria's bridal gowns. To see graduates of and current students in our business class -- alongside other women and men in the township -- so encouraged by the opportunity to promote their business enterprise was wonderful. For the fashion show, we transformed the sanctuary of the church into a runway, and equipped with studio lighting, Nate did a professional photo shoot with each of the models. Check out Nate’s photos and you’ll see for yourself how beautiful these ladies and the dresses were!
Mamelodi Stories Wins First Place Award!
On May 18, we learned that our blog, www.mamelodistories.org , took best of category for Blogs in the 8th Annual Horizon Interactive Awards (www.horizoninteractiveawards.com ). The contest received more than 2,000 entries from 32 countries and nearly all 50 states. Of course we are very happy to win the award, but more than that, we are excited for the exposure the award brings to the wonderful things God is doing in Mamelodi. This is really exciting as we reflect on the fact that this is exactly what we set out to do with Mamelodi Stories. To God be all the glory, for it is He who is doing everything through us.
Back to Bulembu
In early May, the AR team, along with Vincent and Gloria and interviewing candidates for staff positions with AR, visited Bulembu, Swaziland. I loved Bulembu the first time we visited in December but was secretly prepared for a less-romanticized experience, simply because we were already familiar with the place. But I was surprised; in no way had Bulembu lost its luster. In fact, it was even more clear to us how God is using this village and drawing the right people into His mission there. Simply put: we love that place.
And as always, we covet your prayers:
- Please join us in praising God for all the wonderful ways He has continued to prove faithful to us this year! From our experience this year, we feel like we now truly understand why the Lord is worthy to be praised.
- Vincent and Gloria's first week with Baby Vukosi at home has been good, but please pray for mom and dad as they adjust and for little Vukosi as we grows daily.
- Tomorrow, the AR team leaves for three days on the South African coast, where we will debrief and attempt to make sense of all that we've learned and gained this year. Thank you for your prayers as we wrestle with applying all that we've experienced to life back home and as we seek closure as a team.
- Annie and Allan have wonderful news: they are currently 11 weeks pregnant, due late December! Pray for Annie's health, for the tiny baby growing inside her and for this year of adjustment within their family.
- Nate is working hard to train and equip as best he can the team heading up the Powerhouse's newly-formed web design cooperative, Ikamva (www.mamelodistories.org/2009/03/12/web-design-cooperative/ ). Please pray that he would feel peace about leaving the cooperative, whether he's able to do all that he hopes to do training-wise or not. Pray that we would be reminded and feel peace with the fact that this and the other work we've attempted to do this year is not our own work, but God's, and He's the one in control.
- I hate goodbyes and feel like the ones in store for us in the coming days will be genuinely difficult and emotional... Above all, it's been the people and what they've taught us that have made our year here a watershed one in our lives. We will no doubt be heartsick for Africa once home. Thank you for praying for us as we begin the painful process of leaving this place and transitioning Stateside.
- While we have felt covered in prayer and God's protection, we don't underestimate that the enemy still seeks any opportunity to rob us of joy. Please pray against anything -- sickness, theft, an accident, etc. -- in these final days we're in Africa.
- Lastly, please pray for our safety in travel to Switzerland and France. Our teammates will also be traveling via Europe on their way home and appreciate your prayers as well.
Finally, for fun, we share with you a photo taken yesterday, when the two of us and Allan and Annie visited a nearby guest lodge/game park called The Farm Inn. Perhaps one of the coolest things we've done all year, we got to pet cheetahs (blog post to come)!
We are immensely grateful to each of you for following along with us so faithfully this year. We love you and can't wait to reconnect upon our return to the States.
Much love,
Rebecca & Nate
"It is a beautiful thing when folks in poverty are no longer just a missions project but become genuine friends and family with whom we laugh, cry, dream and struggle." --Shane Claiborne
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