Trip to Madumaleng

Wow! Another rich and full-filling day has passed. It is so hard to know where to start writing. I guess that I will just start at the beginning.
We woke up this morning and had a short devotion time before breakfast. After a wonderful breakfast we went for a walk up the side of a mountain. We stopped at a cross that is at the top of the mountain and spent about a half an hour in prayer as a group. The time that we spent in prayer was an awesome way to start our last day of ministry. I really felt that God was in our midst.
      We all loaded up into the bus and went to a shack where two orphaned boys live. My heart broke to see what these boys are living in. Horizon International is working to gain support for these two boys.
 I am going to fast forward to our time at the drop in center at Madumaleng. The children are so wonderful and most of them warm up to you really fast. They will cling to you the whole time you are with them, if you allow them to.  The kids sang some songs, performed a short skit and sang more songs. We were also privileged to see the “drop in center” staff sing and dance for us. Another awesome experience was being able to hand out the bibles to the kids. Every single kid was so grateful for it. One of our leaders said that the bibles that we gave  them, might have been the first “brand new” thing that they have ever had. I was probably able to hand out 15 bibles and to pray over the bible and the child I handed it to. 
 On Thursday, we called all the kids in Matipane, that don’t have sponsors out of the crowd to get their picture taken. When I saw what kids didn’t have sponsors my heart broke. These were kids that we been interacting with all week. No one would have ever even thought that these were the kids that don’t have sponsors. They were so extremely joyful while we were there. I was able to tell that they were hurting, but they were so happy to be with us.
We arrived back at Ave Maria, ate dinner and had a wonderful debriefing time. We shared with each other about one or two or three people that have really blessed us during our time here.
A few of our team members have gone to bed. Most of us are still awake playing a very amusing game of “Catch Phrase.”
I think that if there was one thing in the world that I would want to do it would be to give an orphan a family. My time in Africa has taught me to love others in a way that I have never loved before.
I hope that everyone who reads this is impacted in some way or another. God bless you all.
-Jacob

Bible distribution day

Another rich day of serving the King of Kings, the first part of which included morning devotions with Doug. Sharing from Proverbs 2 we were encouraged to develop our spiritual lives as ‘bridge builders’. We then visited the Horizon office before going to the biggest tree any of us (except the Walkers) had ever seen. We had lunch there then went to Segkopo for a one day VBS. It seemed to go  quite well, especially as the teens from the youth retreat were reunited with our Northview team members. It is so apparent how important follow up contact is for the kids and their sense of worth. This realization together with the personal satisfaction of giving love became very clear to me today, and has stirred in me a desire to come back here as soon as possible in the will of God. 
The Bible distribution was also a real joy, as we prayed over each child receiving their Bible, and watched in wonder as they clutched their new treasure like it was the most precious thing they had ever held. In addition to actually being such a treasure, it very well may have been the first brand new ANYTHING they had ever owned. Thank you to all who chose to support the bible project. 
Dave

Leaving Matipane

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Today was a bittersweet day as it was our last day in Matipane. There were so many connections made in such a short time. We were supposed to work on the greenhouse but the ground was still too soft to place the supports so we learned how to plant spinach the African way  instead.  I pulled weeds with Agnes and Esther in the garden  and they laughed at me when I accidentally pulled up an onion shoot . We exchanged some Sepedi words like tola is a  toad and keepa is a shirt. One cannot be too proud here as my attempt at sepedi usually garners laughter! We were the first group to ever get to eat with the staff. We were all a little nervous as we did not want to offend anyone. Should we use silverware or eat with our hands ?  What if I say something that offends the others? All in all the group lunch seemed to build some bridges and then staff danced and participated in the VBS program for the first time today!  The Northview Indiana team arrived with Doug from Horizon after completing their program and the kids were so excited to greet 13 new arrivals that they ran nearly a mile to greet the bus. All these extra people certainly helped VBS run smooth. The kids colored a water bottle holder and got a bottle of water to emphasize that God gives us a clean start just as he gave Jonah and the Ninevites a clean start. Ellery and Dave got to serve the orphans dinner of sump (cracked corn) and beans-which was what we had with the staff for lunch. Afterwards, we got to take a picture with the FBC sponsored orphans and meet with our specific sponsored kids. Very special!  The trip back to the bus was incredible as 100 orphans and staff walked (some in the wrong direction) just to see us off. It looked like the Exodus out of Egypt!  Lots of hugs and goodbyes to all of these loving, hopeful little faces. We already can’t wait to return again soon!  
    Tomorrow, back to visit the baobab tree. Until then. . .
       Feeling blessed,
                 Lori

Matipane Fun!!!

What can I say except that this trip just keeps getting better and better! Today was amazing! We came at a great time since all of the kids are on holiday break so we get to spend all morning with them on top of the afternoon. We spent all day throwing the frisbee, playing soccer, singing, and dancing like crazy. We are so excited to go back tomorrow but we’re sad that it’s our last day in Matipane. Pray that we are able to connect with them and leave them with the love of Jesus. We want them to know that He is the Father for the fatherless and the hope to the hopeless. Talk to you all tomorrow. 
~Nick

Great beginnings

So today was the first day in Matipane and it was a blast for everyone! The second we pulled up there were already kids ready to say hi and to play. We played ring around the Rosie, duck duck goose, follow the leader, and many more games. We then started the VBS lesson teaching the kids about Jonah. We made a little boat craft which everyone loved, did an amusing skit, and played a fun game of red rover, then sang more songs and danced. We all had an amazing time and can’t wait to go back tomorrow for more fun! Love Everyone!!! Laura

Catwalk

Today is Monday. We had a bad thunderstorm in the middle of the night- it got a little scary. We got up bright and early to walk with Sheila, the 3-month-old lion cub.  We also had some visitors on our walk with Prince the “white elephant” (Labrador), Alf the bush pig, and  Namib the caracal. It was great to see the interaction between the big and small, the cute and the ugly. We then went on another safari, but still no elephants or lions. We did see plenty of hippos, rhinos, and other animals. It’s amazing here! The food is great and we all (except for Laura!!!!!) have tried it, even just to say that we did it. There was another storm tonight and we lost power, but we had a nice game of catchphrase by candlelight. Tomorrow we start VBS at Matipane- we can’t wait! Love and miss you all- Diane

Today has been quite a day. After all, it is the day that The Lord has made. After a delicious breakfast at Ave Maria (after a short sleep!), we drove to church in Sekgopo. Wow, do they know how to worship! 2 1/2 hrs later of singing, dancing, lifting The Lord up and a message from Doug Ehrgott, we were finally done. What a life-changing day it was Actually, the service probably was already going for an hour by the time we got there and we just joined in  

We then drove to Tshukudu for the safari. We got there late so we didn’t have as much time. Nonetheless, we saw rhino, hippos, giraffe, wildebeest and other wildlife. At our great BBQ, we were visited by Toombe, one of 2 yr old cheetahs and Alf, a bush pig. We had pictures and petted the cheetah; not so with Alf. After dinner we went back to camp and went across a suspension bridge to a platform overlooking a lake, away from lights and saw a great multitude of stars and an incredible lightning show on the horizon, complete with shooting stars. It truly showed God’s immense majesty and His endless creation. We do serve an awesome God! Tomorrow we walk with the cats <

The Journey

Greetings from South Africa!!!! 
Well, the term mission trip now has another meaning… We all learned that sometimes sprinting across entire airports with carry-ons is necessary in order to just make it to the destination. But, we all survived the track practice and even had time for a little chat (a few out-of-breath seconds) with an old friend from residency. Not only did we all make it to the plane (after some expert plane-holding by the Indiana group), we all survived the flight and actually enjoyed the relaxation brought by the 14 and a half hour ride. And, much to our surprise and delight, our luggage made it to South Africa with us, all 16 bags. God really does use the impossible to show his power! We are now on our way to Ave Maria to settle in, after a slight set back on the side of the road with a flat tire and then yet again getting pulled over by the cops checking to see if we had the correct permits on the trailer.  Tomorrow brings many new adventures with church in South Africa and the beginning of our safari… Thanks for following us on our mission to Matipane, and for all your prayers and support. If it was this hard to get here, then we can’t wait to see what God does. The view is going to be spectacular! Until next time- Ellery

5 hours and counting

Here we are getting ready to head to church to gather our belongings. We are all packed (almost) and have 16 bags topped out at 50# apiece, plus carry-ons. We are all so excited to go see the kids. The plane ride is long, but so what – it will be worth it. The 4 Walkers know that – the 4 others will soon realize it. We will talk to you all soon. Have a Blessed day.

Mark

So much of today was filled with the painful goodbyes of leaving this beautiful country. After a delicious breakfast that served as our last homecooked meal in south Africa, we had a great discussion about how we have been changed by the people we have spent our week with. We then took pictures of our team atop the sunland baobab tree and made a stop at the sekgopo drop-in center where new construction is under way to be completed by may. From there, we continued on our way to the Johannesburg airport. We are currently sitting on the plane ready to depart in a little while. Pray that our journey home is a safe one and we plan to see you all back in Michigan by tomorrow afternoon. Thanks so much for your support in sending us on this mission from Marshall to matipane. We are all forever changed. Nick