Funny How Time Flies...A Look Back at the Past Few Months

Where has the time gone, I just came back to South Africa in March and here it is the middle of July already. The end of the July makes 2 years in South Africa for me. It seemed like yesterday when I arrived. This place has become my home and I am enjoying being fully immersed in the culture.

The past few months have whizzed by. April... had it’s share of ups and downs. Julia and I went to several funerals. That is one of the hard things about life here in SA. There is too much death. I think that I have attended more funerals in one month than I have attended in the past 10 years. It was a sad time because two of the funeral were for mothers that passed for children that are very special to me and it broke my heart to see them cry. They made me think of my dad who went home to be with Jesus only 6 months ago. I miss him very much, but am filled with joy knowing that he is with our Father in heaven. One of the highlights of April for me was getting to be special guests along with Julia via Skype for a volunteer lunch at the LCMS International Center. I always the opportunity to share about the work that I am doing in SA. I also got to travel to a new place..Empangeni in Richard’s Bay with our sewing instructor Gori. I am going places..woo! hoo! The creche also had it’s final inspection from the Dept. of Social Development. It went very well and we got some good feedback. Even so, it’s still a waiting game. It’s all in God’s hands.

(The children at the creche during playtime)

April showers bring May flowers....not in South Africa. The weather is getting cooler as winter approaches. We are looking forward to the first team of the year from Pittsburgh and New Jersey. The team will be installing rain catchment systems of two of the orphan project houses. This will enable them to use the water from the rain as we are still waiting for water to be connected to some of the houses from the local municipality. They will also build a chicken run. The chicken run will enable us to move forward with the chicken project. The hope is to use some of the eggs for the creche and to see others throughout the community. We will start with 15 chickens. It was wonderful serving side by side with them. Pastor Jamison Hardy led devotions at the creche and shared a message using John 3:16. Deaconess Jenny shared a lesson from 1 Kings about the prophets of Baal with about 40 kids that came to hangout at the center. Afterwards they had to write or draw about the ways God provides or shows Himself to them. I enjoy working with teams, it reminds me of my days going on short-term mission trips. Both projects were successfully completed and the team had a great time getting to know the children at the creche. The social workers from Christian Social Services received some funding that enabled them to have a 3 week course that would train and certify a person to be a security guard. Twenty youth from the orphan project and throughout the community enrolled. They were able to use the church. Julia, Pastor Thwala and I attended the graduation. They all did very well and had a new confidence after a job well done. We pray that God will provide jobs for them.

There may not have been many showers (we did have a little rain) but there were opportunities to share about the ministry in Ntshongweni. Julia and I video skyped with a school in Ohio. We got to answer question from the kindergarten class. They were so cute and asked good questions. I think my favorite was....” Is there a Mc Donald’s where I live?” Julia and I visited the town of Piet Retief with Pastor Thwala. It is where he grew up. We spent time with his family and heard lots of great stories about him as he was growing up. It was nice getting to see him with his family. During our time in Piet Retief we took a day trip to Swaziland. We visited Pastor Thwala’s family and they spent the day showing us around. It is a beautiful country. I am still amazed by the fact that Swaziland is it’s own country inside of South Africa. We finished our time in Piet Retief by attending a mission festival at the Lutheran church in Salaam. There were folks from Lutheran churches from the provinces in South Africa and also from Botswana. The body of Christ in action.

(Some of the team members with our chickens)

(In Piet Retief with Pastor Thwala and his family)

The moon in June....There was a total eclipse of the moon on June 15th and I totally missed it. How often does one get to see that, not very often at all. We had a very important meeting at the Hillcrest AIDS Center Trust with Gogo Cwengi. She has been instrumental in putting together support groups for grandmothers (gogos) and she works with 27 in the Valley of 1000 Hills. We told her about the support group that we have in Ntshongweni and she was going to join us for the upcoming meeting on June 27th. We were blessed to have the Harrison family from Jacksonville, Florida join us for week in Ntshongweni. They came with hearts, hands and feet ready to serve. It was a busy week but awesome at the same time. They helped out at the creche, helped to dig and pour the footings for an upcoming house build and we were able to visit many families. Thanks to donations from Bethlehem Lutheran church we were able to help provide food to some families in need. It was a blessing to be able to share God’s love with them and the smiles on their faces were priceless. One of the families that we visited is made up of 4 orphans who have been on their own since their mother passed away 2 years ago. As we talked with them and they shared that, I could feel the tears welling up.... it just broke my heart. The children are 19, 18, 16 and 12 years and the amazing thing is that they all go to school. The 16 year old plays soccer for the team at our Lutheran church. We will do all that we can to continue to help them.

We had a support group meeting on the 27th and Gogo Cwengi attended along with some friends that assist her with her groups. They were very pleased with all that has been going on in Ntshongweni. Gogo Cwengi shared with the ladies the importance of supporting each other and good health/keeping fit. She led them in a round of singing and dancing. What joy it brought to my heart to see the gogos dancing. The school winter holiday break will start on June 24th so Julia and I have been planning and preparing for VBS that will start on June 29th and end on July 14th. We have been asking for volunteers from the church and community and God blessed us far more than we could have imagined. At our planning meeting they very excited about it and came up with songs and activities for the kids. The topics for VBS will be the 10 commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer. We will use stories from the Bible to talk about our Triune God. VBS started with a bang on June 29th and there were 90 kids on day one. YAY!!!!! God is good!

(Gogo Cwengi and her friends visit Ntshongweni)

(Some of the kids from Day 1 of VBS)

A Look back at March in Ntshongweni...

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

It was so great being back in the USA and spending time with family and friends and most importantly sharing about my ministry in South Africa. But the time came for me to return to South Africa. I arrived back on March 9th and was excited to be in Ntshongweni again. I missed my home in South Africa. It was an easy readjustment since I was staying in the same apartment and all of my stuff was there. It took a few days for the jet lag to wear off so that I could get back to work. Then it was full speed ahead. There was much to catch up on. The creche now had 80 children enrolled and at some point I would need to visit with the teachers to assess the needs of the creche. Pastor Thwala, Julia and I met to discuss two new orphan families that needed our help. In the first family, the children lost their mother only 3 weeks prior to our visit and they were now being cared for by their uncle. These 4 children are now living with 5 others in one house. The eldest boy has epilepsy and stays home, the other three are attending school. The only source of income is the disability grant that the eldest boy is receiving from the government. We were able to help them with some food and toiletries. Their greatest need is a home for the 4 children. The second family will be receiving a new home in July. A team is coming from the USA to build it. There are 3 orphaned girls who lost their mother to AIDS a few years ago. The youngest, age 3 is attending our creche. The caregiver is struggling to provide for them and the current house is falling apart. When we visited them and told her that they would be getting help with a new home she was so happy, I was almost in tears. She said that “God is looking after them.”

In addition to visits with these families we had meetings with the sewing teacher to get back on track with the sewing group, the social workers to schedule a time to start groups again and we visited some of the project families. During our visit many of the caregivers greeted us with hugs and told us that they were happy to have us back. It felt good to know that the relationships that we have developed remained strong. One of our big meetings was with the ECD (early childhood development) coordinator for the Department of Social Development. We wanted to follow up with him on the process for funding and to help us track the NPO (non-profit) certificate for the creche. He made some calls and it was returned to the office in Pretoria. He then informed us that the business plan for funding for 2011-2012 was due the next day. Yikes!!! So Julia, Pastor Thwala and I spent the day in his office filling in as much as we could. Julia and I stayed up until 3 am doing even more. The following day we had to open a bank account and get affidavits from the police department in addition to what seemed like a 101 other things. God blessed us with a few days extension. So we were able to finalize it and get it turned in. Now we wait and pray that we get funded.

The highlight of March for me was finding out that the soccer team has been doing so well. Last October the some of the boys came to Pastor Thwala and said that they wanted to form a team and they needed help with uniforms. Little did they know that their request would be granted. The team from Arizona brought uniforms for the boys. There are currently 3 teams: the under 13, under 15 and under 17 all coached by Sandile Mzobe, the lay pastor at the Ntshongweni Lutheran Church. A few weeks ago there was a tournament and the boys 15 and under made it to the finals and were the tournament champions. It was a very exciting game that went to penalty kicks. So far they have only lost two games. I asked two of the boys and the coach what the soccer team has meant to them:

Simphiwe Cele - Defender: “I have learned a lot from other people and and I am learning more about being a better soccer player.” He is currently in confirmation class.

Menzi Mzobe - Defender: “I have learned how to play with other people and have made new friends.” He is currently in confirmation class.

Sandile Mzobe - Coach: “The soccer team is very important. It keeps the boys out of trouble and keeps them fit. The boys are coming to church.”

There are only 8 teams in the soccer association in Ntshongweni and there are usually 15 teams in an association. Coach Mzobe hopes that in the future there will be more teams and that they can play some away games. The soccer team has been such a positive activity for the boys. You can see that the friendships are strong and most importantly they are attending church. God continues to pours His blessings on this ministry in Ntshongweni.

Thank you for your prayers, love, support and encouragement as I serve in Ntshongweni.

Salani kahle (stay well)

Love in Christ,

Shara

The kids at the creche are praying before lunch

I am having fun dancing with the kids.

Me and Nomonde... one of the orphans who will be receiving a new home

The Dludla family (Nana, gogo, Gugu, Nomusa & Nomonde): they will be receiving a new home

This is where the Dludla family currently lives

The soccer team after winning the tournament....smiles all around

Proudly receiving the trophy....we are the champions

I am standing with Simphiwe and Menzi... both defenders on the soccer team

A Dream Come True....a look back at October

The Ntshongweni Center and Creche was the dream of Pastor Senzo Majola, the previous pastor of the orphan project. Before his passing in May of 2008, he dreamed of having a place near the church where the little ones could be cared for during the day and a center where the youth and young adults could attend workshops to learn new skills. Construction for the center began in August of 2008 with volunteers from the United States and South Africa.

As many people got involved with the project the dream got bigger. They worked very hard in the USA talking about the project, encouraging people to go to South Africa on teams and holding fundraisers to be able to support the project. The project also received support from partner churches in South Africa. The pastor and many of the youth and members of the congregation of the German Lutheran Church have participated in programs for the children in addition to helping with the orphans homes. The Indian Lutheran Church has donated food and clothing for the orphans.

In May of 2010 a team from Jacksonville put the finishing touches on the buildings. Julia, Pastor Thwala and I were very happy and we started using them for VBS and other programs. The kids enjoy coming to the center. It is a place where they can have fun, learn and be safe. The ladies from the sewing group were happy to have a new place to meet.

As we looked toward the future there was the task of getting the pre-school registered as a NPO (non-profit organization). Julia, Pastor Thwala and I prayed daily for guidance. God lay the path for us which took us to the Department of Social Development, then to the director of the pre-school association. With the help and support of many in the community things were coming together.

Friends from Phoenix, Arizona joined us the week of October 11th - 17th. They worked alongside partners from South Africa to finish the playground and to equip the creche so the buildings would be ready for the dedication. The floors were painted, decorative art painted on the walls of the creche, curtains were hung, they wanted everything to be perfect and so it was. They also had a very special surprise for the soccer team. The boys were gifted soccer uniforms and gear. The look on their faces were priceless as they received them. Their dream had come true.

The dream of a community center and creche has come true. The Ntshongweni center and creche were dedicated on October 17th by the bishop of the LCSA ( Lutheran Church in Southern Africa). There were over 300 people in attendance including guests from the USA, Pretoria, the community and throughout KwaZulu-Natal. It was amazing to see everyone and to be a part of the ceremony. On October 26th, the application for NPO status for the creche was approved and the creche opened on November 1st with 36 children. Thanks be to God.

Pastor Straueli joins Pastor Frank, Ken and John to finish the playground

Julia, Pastor Thwala and I with the team from Arizona

Kat is surrounded by new friends in the creche after painting the wall

Mrs. Zulu the cook, Hlengiwe the principal and I cook up a batch of food from Feed My Starving Children

The soccer team all dressed in their new gear that Ken brought. Don't they look good....

I am getting my face painted in preparation for church and the dedication

Julia and I with Ken and Pastor Frank. We are dressed in traditional Zulu attire.

With over 300 people in attendance, the church in Ntshongweni is packed.

Jim Wolf and Bob Funk unveil the plaque on the newly dedicated Ntshongweni center and creche.

Bishop Weber of the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa blesses the buildings.

The kids eating lunch on opening day of the Ntshongweni Creche.

Hlengiwe the principal teaching the kids.

Many prayers have been answered and God has been faithful. He has blessed us with more than we could have ever imagined. I continue to be thankful for the blessing of serving Him in Ntshongweni.

Yours in Christ (Owakho eNkosini)

Shara

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

A Look back at September

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Thanks be to God for the many blessings he has bestowed upon us. September has been a great month. We are very much in preparation mode to get the creche (pre-school) opened in November. In addition to that we had our third session of VBS but only for 4 days. One of the major things that we had to do was to spend time at a few of the local creches. This helped us to see how things operated on a day to day basis. Since this is all new territory, it really helped me get a good picture of what to do.

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During my day at the Khulakahle (grow up well) Creche I decided to help out in the kitchen. It was fun but also quite hectic. There were about 200 kids to feed and I was on rice duty.

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I had the privilege of observing and assisting in the Grade R (kindergarten) class. The kids were very excited to have me there and asked lots of questions. They also enjoyed posing for the camera.

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Getting to take pictures like this is part of what makes me love serving in Ntshongweni. This is one of the students from the Isiduduzo (to comfort) Creche.

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I am standing with the principal (Thuleleni) and former principal ( Gloria) of the Isiduduzo Creche. Also pictured is Hlengiwe, she will be the principal of the Ntshongweni Creche. I spent the day observing and learning a lot from the ladies. They have been a great resource for me.

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This is the 3-4 year old class at the Isidudzi Creche. They welcomed me with open arms. I really enjoyed my time with them.

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The caregiver support group is coming together nicely. Julia, me and the social workers from the Christian Social Services have formed a great team. The ladies are beginning to support each other. During the last meeting they decided on a name for the group. It is called “ Tholokahle” meaning, we have found a good thing.

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We had our third session of VBS. I am happy to say that we were blessed with 70 to 80 kids daily and with lots of new faces. In this picture the kids are starting the morning with a few songs and prayers before breaking into their groups.

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This is the 2-7 year old group led by Rejoice. She will be one of the teachers for our creche. She worked alongside the other two teachers and they will be a good team. The ladies taught the lessons and my part was simple, I helped with the crafts. A far cry from the first time that we did VBS when I had to do much more. I am glad they were there and the kids enjoyed their time at VBS.

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This is the 8-15 year old group led by Hlengiwe. She will be the principal at the creche. She taught the kids about the seasons and nature so for their craft they did leaf painting.

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The kids in the community came together to do a fundraiser to celebrate Heritage Day. In this picture they are practicing one of the Zulu dances that they will perform.

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My supervisor Cindy Rodewald and her son Jacob (in the orange t-shirt) came down from Pretoria to spend a few days with Julia and I. They joined us at VBS and helped out with the kids. The boys really liked having Jacob around.

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Cindy is helping Mrs. Maduna (one of the teachers) trace some fish shapes for the craft of the day. Since we don’t have a copy machine, we had to make copies the old fashioned way by tracing.

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Cindy and Pastor Thwala are spending time catching up.

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Julia, Cindy and I are watching the girls take part in a friendly dance competition in preparation for their Heritage Day performance. It was so much fun and they can dance very well.

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This was taken on the last day of VBS. The kids are standing with the craft that they made after hearing the story of Joseph.

They are great kids and it is such a joy to spend time with them.

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Thank you all for your continued love, support and prayers. Please pray for the children as they are back in school.

Love in Christ,

Shara

A Look back at August

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

August was a bit of a hectic month with trying to get the NPO (non-profit organization) application for the creche finished and submitted. We have been working hand in hand with the folks at the local Department of Social Development. I was able to submit the application during my time in Pretoria. One of the highlights of the month was the visit that we received from Mrs. Nokuthula Zulu, the director of the pre-school associations. Once the creche is operational, we will have to be associated with them. She was very pleased with the buildings (both the creche and center) and the playground.

*Pastor Thwala, Mrs. Zulu, Shara, Gloria & Hlengiwe (principal of the creche)*

*I am standing with Eldah and Primrose from CSS*

In collaboration with the social workers from the Christian Social Services (CSS) we have planned to start doing workshops/support groups with the caregivers both from the orphan project and throughout the community. We had the first caregiver support group and it was a success with 31 caregivers attending. Julia, myself and the social workers were filled with joy to see them. The session started with an ice-breaker that talked about the importance of communication and how we are all connected. The group decided on the topics for future meetings. They include parenting skills, budgeting and issues affecting the children. For the second meeting the social workers talked about how to become a foster parent. The ladies have been very excited about the group thus far.

*The caregivers during the ice-breaker*

*I am standing outside of the Dept. of Social Development in Pretoria*

*I am presenting my Bible study to the ladies, part of the deaconess course*

*The deaconess class*

Julia and I were invited to the deaconess course at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Pretoria. We were part of a class of 9 ladies. The women came from South Africa, Botswana and the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Deaconess Grace Rao from LCMS World Relief and Human Care was the instructor. A deaconess is a servant of the Lord who teaches the faith through Bible study and catechism, does spiritual care by means of counseling, visitation and mentoring and performs acts of mercy by working with the youth, orphanages and even battered women.This course was a great opportunity for me to continue learning.

*Me and Mama Sheila (from Botswana)*

Since the course was held at the seminary, I had the opportunity to get to know many of the seminarians who have come from all across Africa (Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda) to study. One of the fun parts of the day was getting to play volleyball and just talking to them about life in their countries. It is such a blessing to be in fellowship with the body of Christ.

*I am standing with Minka (Germany), Noxy (South Africa) and Julia*

PartyLite Fundraiser

In an effort to continue raising support for my service in South Africa I will be participating in the PartyLite Fundraising Program. How the program works is that I will receive 50% of the total sales. Those funds will go toward my financial support for my term of service. I will be working with my dear friend and PartyLite consultant Virginia Handrich. To receive the brochure, email me at shara004@gmail.com. Please consider supporting me. Check out PartyLite at www.partylite.biz/vhandrich

Sala kahle (stay well)

Yours in Christ,

-Shara-

VBS Round 2

Since the schools were on holiday for the world cup, Julia and I planned another round of VBS. We asked for volunteers from the church and school to help us. The teachers were excited the we had something for the kids to do. The overall theme was the trinity and we used Bible stories to answer the question who is God, follow the life of Jesus and talk about the Holy Spirit. The volunteers picked out the stories and planned the lessons and Julia and I supported them by putting together crafts and supplying the resources for them. We were also there to assist them.

Julia and I didnʼt know what to expect. We prayed that the kids would come and that they would enjoy what we had planned for them. On the first day we had 70 kids and day 2 we had 100 kids. WOW!!!! As the weeks went on we average about 60 kids per day. We were very happy to have such a great turn out. The day was suppose to start at 9:30am but when Julia and I arrived at 8:00am there were always kids there waiting to play. The kids ranged in age from 2 yrs to 14 yrs. We broke them into two groups.... ages 2-7 and ages 8-14. I was brave enough to take on the older group. The day started by gathering the kids together for singing and prayer, then we split the groups, the Bible story and lesson, craft time, snack time, play time or movie then a final prayer before leaving. Some of the older boys always stayed behind to play soccer or to help us lock up.

We were blessed to have volunteers from the German Lutheran Church. The pastor, the vicar and some of the youth came on twice to lend a hand. One of our colleagues from Pretoria spent 3 days with us and a good friend who is a Mormon came out to see what we were doing on one of the days. One of the pastors from the seminary was with us as well and he taught the kids a worship song in English. I had the opportunity to teach many of the lessons. The volunteer who initially did it had to take some time off for medical reasons. So with the help of my dear friend Ntokozo, who translated for me, I was able to pull it off. We did stories like the Good Samaritan, David and Goliath and the life and Miracles of Jesus. The kids even acted out the stories and did a great job at it. One of the things that I did was to give ten spelling words in English from each of the stories we did and rewarded those that got 10 out of 10 with sweets. I also found word finds for them to do focused on each of the stories. The kids got into groups of 4 and they loved...loved...loved doing the word finds. On one of days we went through the

Salvation Story and then made the bracelet. That day my Mormon friend came to volunteer and he was great with helping the kids put the bracelets together and even made one for himself. He also spent time with the boys playing soccer and getting to know them.

It was an amazing 3 weeks and I feel more connected to the kids. One of my boys, Nhalhla invited me to come and see his home and I am looking forward to the visit. Another of my boys, Mlondi said that I needed a Zulu name and so called me Shaka after the great King Shaka of the Zulus. God blessed us with wonderful volunteers and children. We look forward to planning another round of VBS for the next school holiday.

Pastor Eboro from the seminary spends quality time with one of the kids

Sanele the student becomes the teacher and shows Nhlanhla and his friend the rules of chess

The kids with the lions they made from the Daniel and the Lions Den lesson

Me and my boys after a soccer game. They let me play and showed me a thing or two

Shara, Coral and Julia on the last day of VBS...