Westside Family Church Missions Trips

Roy Armstrong, Gabby Bensel, Christen Bowman, Jonathan Bowman, Bradley Brooks, Becky Colin, Courtney Colin, Jameson Colin, Schaun Colin, Nichole Delich, Steve Dzur, Megan Eastland, Sherri Hultgren, Traci Johnson, Brooke Kelley, Teresa May-Teerink, Darren Miley, Brit Noack, Pam Noack, Tom Noack, Dereck Nunley, Stephanie Palmer, Zachary Panfili, Crystal Renaud, Jamie Roach, Pam Unruh, Jennifer Wagner, Kelsey Wagner, Dave Watson, Destiny Watson, and Margie Watson.

Crystal’s Blog

March 27th, 2007

Read about Crystal’s South Africa experience at http://pinkhairedgirl.net/.

my africa experience

First, THANK YOU for everyone who supported me financially and through prayer. You helped to IMPACT so many lives. Mine included. And below, you will see just how you did that.

Can anyone say life-change? That is all I would have to say to sum up my trip to South Africa, but I am sure that would be not be sufficient enough description for you, right? I’ve been on mission trips… local and in Mexico but have never experienced anything like what I experienced in SA.

Well, WOW. Where to begin? How about just my journal entries with a tweak or two? This will make for a long blog entry, but detailed! I really hope you are able to catch a glimpse into what I experienced. It’s a lot to look back and remember and I am still sifting through everything… I am super tired and a little jet-lagged – so please ask questions or whatever to help me tell you more – because I am sure there is LOTS MORE than this.

Pictures: Link to Flickr

Audio from Worship Night at Oceans

On Friday, March 16 after the 36 hours of travel time, we arrived at Port Elizabeth Airport in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Since it was late and already dark, we headed straight to our accommodation at Seaview Guest Farm. Our humble dorms consist of 4 sets of bunks beds, a showerless bathtub, a toilet that doesn’t flush well and a sink. Oh and complete with monkeys and HUGE spiders.

On Saturday, March 17 we began our day with breakfast at Seaview. Breakfast at Seaview was always interesting because we were never quite sure what dish we would be presented with. One example is when we were given what could only have been Sloppy Jo meat with shredded cheese on toast. Strange, huh? So we sort of ate that and left for the day. We spent most of Saturday at Oceans of Mercy Children’s Village. Working in the yard and playing with the kids. We had the pretty large task of pulling up wild grass, weeds and plants from around the electric fence on the property. Apparently, all of the junk touching the fence was shorting it out – causing it to be of little protection to the women and children living in the house. Since squatting is not illegal there’s a law in South Africa that states that any black African has the right to enter your property and set up a home, unless fenced in. It’s a law that followed the ending of the apartheid era. So, needless to say, pretty much every house has a fence. A rainstorm shortened our work day and changed our plans to go to the beach with the Oceans kids. We did however, go to the beach with just our team. It was cold and windy, but BEAUTIFUL.

On Sunday, March 18 we went to church at a black squatter camp. Unlike townships, squatter camps are non-government funded communities. Millions of South Africans live in these poorest of conditions where homes are made of anything that folks can find. Car hoods, different types of steal, etc. Our church was in a small steal building with nothing but rugs covering the dirt floor – cost of materials provided for by Oceans and other organizations. The power and presence of our Almighty God was the strongest I had ever felt in my life. Tears welled my eyes and streamed down my face for almost the entire service. Even when their native Xhosa was the only language spoken. Pastor Schaun (he’s SA native, our team leader and Westside’s Missions Pastor) was asked to preach to this squatter camp church. The most powerful part of the service was when Schaun told of his involvement in the apartheid and asked for their forgiveness for this role in it. He told them he was once a member of the South African Army. The cries from the congregation are something I will never forget.

To help explain what this means, we were told that this apology can be compared to a nazi soldier (active during the holocaust) entering a Jewish synagogue and apologizing for this involvement in the holocaust. Some may feel differently, but that is the example given to us.
The deep pain that remains in the lives of these black South Africans is evident. For those who don’t know… SO MUCH of the problems plaguing South Africa today, stems from the apartheid. The Apartheid was a social and political policy of racial segregation and discrimination enforced by white minority governments in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. There are generations and generations of black South Africans who are still trapped in poverty as a direct result of the apartheid. (more info on the apartheid)

I am not completely read-up on all of what the apartheid was so take any of what I say with a grain of salt. I am simply relaying information I was told. I encourage you research some to learn more.
Monday, March 19 and Tuesday, March 20
Side note: During breakfast on Tuesday, monkeys raided our room. When we opened the door after breakfast, as fast as lightening, 3 monkeys ran out of our room. Having chewed on one of my roommates toothpaste, ate our snacks and several left little presents behind. All this in maybe 30 minutes of time.

The main point to speak on for Monday and Tuesdays is that these were the days of HIV/AIDS teaching at township schools. Our team divided between 3 schools in the Motherwell and Markman township areas. Our lone purpose for going to these schools was for no other reason than to teach ABSTINENCE to help STOP the spread of HIV/AIDS… through knowledge and relationship… one child at a time. Weeks prior to our trip we had extensive training sessions to provide us with the appropriate information to teach to the kids we would encounter. On Monday, our first school (I don’t remember the name) would not let the team enter. Apparently our letter was “lost” and they had “assessments” that day. On Tuesday, they finally agreed to our team coming in. We later found out that this school was the hotbed for shady behavior. Teacher/Child sexual abuse, rape, physical abuse, 85% of the children surveyed were HIV positive, etc. HUGE problems. A very sad situation. A situation made worse by their attempt to cover it up.

My school was called Mfumisukoma Primary School. And is the largest township school in the Port Elizabeth area. In my situation, our teachers were incredibly welcoming and excited about us being there. In fact, they were already in the middle of HIV/AIDS unit in their Life Science classes. I had a class of 40 seventh graders. I taught the importance of abstinence – not just for the AIDS prevention but for the condition of our minds and bodies, physically and emotionally. I spoke out against rape and encouraged girls to be say NO and to respect themselves and boys to respect girls in the same way.

These kids broke my heart. There I was. In front of a class of students who were probably smarter and embodied more promise and potential than I have – yet don’t have a place to go or the opportunity I had at their age. There was one girl in particular who completely broke my heart. She had to have been accelerated in her grade because she was SO young. Her hair for done nicely with barrettes, her clothes were neat and she even help me translate to her class in Xhosa. You could tell she and probably her parents (if living) expected excellence from her. And it broke my heart because she has so much potential yet nowhere to go. Her only way out of the lifestyle she was born into is to become a foreign exchange student or something.

On Tuesday Afternoon we held a VBS for nearly 500 kids in the Motherwell and Markman township areas. I helped Megan lead worship songs during 4 rotations. This was probably the most exhausting task of anything else we did. The language barrier was quite evident and it was a struggle to keep order. But God was in control. I personally didn’t get to see any other rotation of the VBS so I don’t really know what went on… but it was awesome!!!! We handed out juice boxes and hot dogs to the kiddos. These are kids who are SO poor they might not have eaten for days. They came out in flocks because they knew we would feed them. But picture this. We handed out the juice and hot dogs to tiny kids and then in just a quickly, we saw parents stealing the hot dogs from their kids. Some parents beating their kids right out in the middle of VBS. Throwing their kids to the ground. Yelling at them. And no one from the community even reacting. We saw men grab girls in the street… dragging them toward the back of houses and into houses (most likely to force sex). Right in front of our eyes. With no remorse.

It’s all too much to grasp right now.

On Wednesday, March 21 we had a morning debrief that lasted for over 3 hours. During our debriefs we would go around the room and share what touched our hearts, what broke our hearts and would hand out beads to individuals on our team we deem showed risk, compassion, service or leadership. Surprisingly, I received 3 beads during our mission, one for service and two for leadership. Later on Wednesday, we went back to Oceans and hung out with the kids and caregivers. I decided to spend some time talking with Zo Zo who is one of the most amazing women I have ever met. She is only 25 years old and felt God called her to live at Oceans when she heard Mama Gladys (the lead caregiver at Oceans) on the radio of all places. She is devout Christian and has a passion to become a social worker. She loves children and has passion to do whatever she can to help children escape injustice and know their worth in Christ and in the world. After our team went to dinner we headed back to the Oceans to celebrate 2 birthdays of girls on our team. We had a final ‘goodbye’ celebration that consisted of cake and ice cream, singing and dancing. Megan lead American worship songs and Zo Zo (with a surprisingly powerful voice) lead us in some traditional African songs. There’s a link of audio of Zo Zo and us singing above.

Saying goodbye to Mama, Zo Zo and the kids was SO hard.

On Thursday, March 22 we headed 2 hours outside of Port Elizabeth to Kariega Game Reserve for our safari. Pictures are the best way of describing this which you can find on a link of on Flickr. We stayed at a B&B. And had an awesome candlelit BBQ outside with our team. It was an awesome way of closing out our time together in South Africa.

On Friday, March 23 we embarked on our journey home.

On Saturday, March 24 we arrived in Washington, DC. and quickly realized we had missed our Kansas City connection flight because South African Airlines got us in an hour or so late and had the wrong time posted on their schedule. SOOOOO we had to figure out something else. Needless to say we were all aggravated and just ready to go home but we couldn’t. Our only option was to split up into 2 groups and head to St. Louis and from St. Louis, rent vans and DRIVE HOME. Otherwise we would have to wait until Monday to fly out because everything else was full. So, finally after 42 hours of traveling… we got home at about 7pm when I should have been home that morning at 10:30am. SAA might be getting a strongly worded letter from me.

In a giant nutshell, that was my trip. I know that was a lot to read… so if you read it all, congrats! You should get a prize. But instead just comment with the words “GOOD LORD that was long”… haha.

Again, I love you and am thankful for your support during all of this journey. I think it will take days and even weeks to completely sift through and uncover all of what I saw. I know I will never be the same. And I will definitely go back again. In fact, throughout my time there I’ve felt God tugging on my heart in the area of missions. I had a peace and energy in SA like I have never felt before. I felt more alive in those few days than ever before. At this point, I know God will have me do more and more missions. That is both scary and wonderful. I don’t know what it means for the longterm but what I do know is – is that I want to be in the middle of God’s will and if moving to South Africa or some other country is His will… then that’s what I will do.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Africa Mission — Crystal Renaud @ 10:57 pm

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Zach’s Africa Wrap-Up

March 28th, 2007

Greetings,

The mission to South Africa was a huge success and exceeded all of my expectations.  Each of the ten days moved like a freight train and I had a great sense of pride watching each individual on the team step up and out of their comfort zone to share informed and valuable information about HIV and AIDS.  We stayed on the south coast near Port Elizabeth. 

            Every morning monkeys were outside my window, trying to get in to poop in my room.  Fortunately, they only managed to get into the girls’ room to leave their smelly presents.  I learned the excitement of driving on the left side of the road…with the steering wheel on the right side of the car.  I still have nightmares about it. There were many other enjoyable experiences, such as nearly running over a sleeping male lion on safari, eating worms (grubs, actually), and allowing a huge millipede to crawl on my face.  When I asked a waiter for a napkin, I discovered that “napkin” means “diaper.”

The trip focused on people affected by or infected with HIV.  South Africa isn’t just another developing country in poverty; it is a country that is literally being destroyed by a deadly virus that is spreading fast.  The virus is decimating the population, killing most infected people in less than seven years and children in one to three years.  The virus tricks the immune system into attacking and destroying itself, weakening it so ‘opportunistic infections’ (diseases the body can normally fight off) make a person deathly ill.  There are four experiences I would personally like to share with you; the Community Health Worker training, teaching at the schools, vacation bible school (VBS), and lastly the Children’s Village orphanage.

            After 36 hours of traveling, I was up early Saturday morning to leave for Mdengentonga
Primary School for the Community Health Worker training.  It was immediately clear each of the 12 workers has been directly affected by the pandemic.  In fact, two of them are HIV+ and all have seen loved ones and family members killed by the disease.  Progressing through the curriculum I asked questions of the workers to gain an understanding of the plight facing those living in townships. Townships are suburban areas outside city centers, grossly underdeveloped, and rampant with poverty.  They are where blacks were forced to live, segregated from whites, during the Apartheid era.  Each trainee stood at least once and bravely articulated a personal story.  One person talked about her husband’s death from AIDS and how his infidelity has transmitted the disease to her.  Once her status was discovered she has since been ostracized by her family.  It was deeply moving to see first hand how AIDS was affecting those I was teaching.  Empathetic to the predicament the workers faced, I understood the imperative of helping them comprehend the disease and how to treat and work with others who are suffering.  There were many Eureka moments for the trainees (myself included), revealing their wealth of knowledge, especially when discussing and looking at pictures related to opportunistic infections such as Oral Thrush and Kaposi Sarcoma, a type of cancer.  Teresa (my teaching partner) and I presented the information in a relevant way hoping to maximize the time.  Additionally, we took the new knowledge about local attitudes, from the Community Health Workers, to better prepare the team for teaching in the schools.

             Flexibility was clutch as little about the initial itinerary for the trip was followed.  I thought the team was teaching at three schools and it was four.  I thought I would speak with 600 to 800 students, but some principles insisted the entire student body attend the general assembly.  Nearly 1800 students heard about HIV and AIDS.  It was a beautiful thing—really.  Fluids and doors, the types of transmission and prevention (with a particular emphasis on abstinence), testing, and stigmas were all discussed.  Following the assembly the American volunteers dispersed to their respective grade level to debunk the mythology surrounding the disease and learn about the challenges facing the students.  We asked each child to write an anonymous letter so we could learn about their lives and directly address specific questions the second day.  Below is a sample of what the children wrote (keep in mind the kids are between 8 and 15 years old): 

Dear Mama,  I am writing today to tell you about my story as it relates to HIV and AIDS. 

AIDS has affected my life in this way:  

“I have dropped weight because I did not accept my status.  My family does not want to be with me anymore.  Also, my friends do not want to play with me because I am HIV+ and they say I will infect them”

“I have AIDS. People look at me like I am a dog and rubbish.  They say I wish she would die, or be killed, or get in an accident. My parents say they don’t want me.”

“My boyfriend said he loved me and wanted to have sex. We had sex, but he didn’t tell me he has AIDS. Now I have AIDS. I don’t understand why he said he loved me but didn’t tell me.”

“I am always hungry because we don’t have any money to buy things. I give my food to my momma because she is very sick. I am scared that no one will take care of me when she dies.” 

I wish I could change:

“The way people live.  I wish people did not die from AIDS.  I wish AIDS was not here in the world and my friend would come back to me.” 

My greatest fear is:  
“Being raped again.  Men scare and taunt me all the time as they try to get me to sleep with them.  I fear they will kill me.  What do I do?”
“In 2006 AIDS killed my mom and my aunt.  My brother is very sick too.  I am afraid, because I love him and I don’t want him to die.”            The team anticipated these types of letters, but we did not expect the high frequency in which misinformation, molestation, rape, and HIV+ kids would come up.  Rape is a huge problem in South Africa.  Most kids are sexually abused by the time they are six years old and sexually active by the time they are seven. The abuse usually comes from family and even some school teachers.  There is a commonly held belief that if a man has AIDS and sleeps with a virgin girl who does not have AIDS, it will cure him. As you can imagine, the men usually seek out the youngest girls to ‘cure’ themselves.  The rate of transmission is devastating. Some of the police officers we talked to said they lose count of how many bodies they collect every week to incinerate.
              Intervention and hope are essential to changing this disturbing trend.  You can see from the responses above the need for trusted and knowledgeable Community Health Workers, support from churches, financial resources, and social/cultural reform.  In many classrooms the kids skipped lunch and recess because they wanted to learn more.  Before we left, we passed out brand new soccer uniforms and balls to the schools.  In South Africa, sports and a free meal (one piece of buttered bread) are the main reasons the children stay in school.  The social wounds I saw in the Markman and Motherwell townships are raw.  Poverty, hunger, and despair are rife and these societal diseases became readily apparent during the VBS the team organized for the kids.
              Some 450 children turned out to hear stories about Jesus, play games, sing songs, and have a snack.  It was at VBS I saw the most disturbing manifestation of poverty and hunger in my recent memory.  With no hesitation a mother ripped a measly hotdog and juice box out of the hands of her own child—inhaling them quickly.  It was frustrating, but we were not in a position to give out two hotdogs to a single child because we were running the risk of not having enough for others.  I knew that child would go hungry and I saw this many times.  Eventually, we cordoned off the children into the brick square designs located on the ground in the school courtyard.  The Americans and trusted community volunteers protected the children-from their own parents-allowing something to get into their bellies.  I realized that in life and in love there are no shortcuts and that the anger and pain I had in defense of the children must be felt.  The alternative is much worse.  But isn’t the anger and pain of love accompanied by something else?  Hope.  And that is where I am, somewhere between agony, optimism, and prayer.  So, I am human and I am alive.  In the human tragedy playing out before my eyes, I saw hope just as clearly.
             The Children’s Village is an orphanage for those infected or directly affected by HIV.  It is an oasis that is thriving 30 minutes away from the Markman and Motherwell townships.  Twice, the team got to play with children who were extracted from their relatively difficult (i.e. terrifying) circumstances in the townships.  There the children get three square meals a day, education, and healthcare which are financed by American sponsors and Westside Family Church in Lenexa, Kansas.  One African child at a time, hope is bringing genuine smiles back to the faces of children and giving life meaning to those providing care.  The Village exudes a sense of family, right and wrong behavior, boundaries, and healthy living.  At the orphanage I learned more about the character of God.  God is someone who understands, loves, and gives me the feeling that I am not alone.  That he is personal—enough to speak to me—on purpose!  Doing it in a way that makes me feel human, prompting me to give thanks and continue fighting the good fight.
            This trip was immensely important to me (and the kids there), and even though the situation is desperate, I came away with a feeling of optimism.  There are definitely positive operations happening in South Africa.  I will never forget what I saw or experienced, and I know the kids won’t either.
          Lastly, I would like to speak about the American volunteers.  So often in “Churchland” people shy away from issues that are destroying lives, either because of judgment, ignorance, societal/moral relativism, or fear.  It was refreshing to see each of the 31 volunteers step out of their comfort zone to talk about the visceral nature of HIV/AIDS—particularly how it pertains to sex acts and body fluids.  Teresa and I presented the disease to the volunteers in four pre-field meetings.  After education most realized they can relate too those affected by HIV and the urgency of the situation in Africa.  Personally, I was not going to miss an opportunity to share my life with Africans and I challenged each volunteer to “leave it all on the table” –so to speak.  I warned that although the lists and information we would present about the disease are technically true, it is just not meaningful unless the students already understand the meaning inferred in the expression of those ideas.  Ideas have to sink deeply into a person’s soul, into their being, before they can effect change.  Lists rarely sink into a person’s soul, but information presented with a message of hope through a personal relationship with the Creator has universal appeal.  One challenge I faced was not to beat myself up over the enormity of the HIV epidemic in Africa or the many individuals I spoke to who did not hear a word I said.  I then remembered—one African child at a time.  I hope to go back to South Africa to continuing building relationships in the communities I worked.  Far more important than food, uniforms or education the team passed out is the message behind it – that God loves us more than we can possibly understand. 
Warmly,
Zachary Evan Panfili