Greetings again from South Africa. We are supposed to be moving into our house in Gugulethu on Thursday, so this should be my last email for a few weeks. Of course, I have learned to hold on to things very lightly here in Africa. Nothing is guaranteed.

We have spent the past weeks doing various things. One of the highlights was our Christmas with the orphans. It was amazing. The kids were so excited as each of them got a bag full of toys, a pair of shoes, and candy! I am sure the mommas loved us for giving them candy. Seeing their excitement was priceless. I have some video and pictures I will try to put on Facebook. I can say with confidence that many of those kids got more in that one bag than they have had their whole lives. I think the thing that touched me the most was seeing them all share with each other. From a young age  the kids are taught what it is to live in community with one another. There is something to learn from seeing kids who have nearly nothing share what little they have with one another. It is in those moments that I realize I am being made rich by my experiences here.

Another highlight was my Bible study last week. Half of the girls are gone visiting family in the Eastern Cape. We have been taking the five girls that are still around out to have some fun. Last week we took them to get ice cream. Up until last week it has been very hard to get the girls to open up and talk. They are very shy and humble, and they are just not used to speaking up and sharing. They are also still getting to know one another. Well, last week we had a bit of a breakthrough. As we were sitting around eating ice cream, the girls began to open up about their families. I am not sure how it was brought up, but of course, some of the things they shared were absolutely heart breaking, and I know I didn’t even hear half of the truth. The girls were very eager to hear what the Bible had to say about many of the issues they face (rape, incest, broken homes, abuse, etc).  Of course, I told them that we would talk about this and discuss what God thinks of these things.

To you or I it seems obvious how God feels, but to them it is just a way of life that generation after generation seems to passively accept. Many of the pastors in township churches are very hypocritical, leaving many of the young kids very confused. Please pray for me as I feel that this weeks Bible study is very important and will be very life changing for the girls. The idea behind studying the Bible is to understand God’s love and grace for us through Jesus Christ, and through that understanding bring freedom from thinking that has been passed down from one generation to another. If the girls can understand what God intended for families, I believe this wrong thinking can stop with their generation and they can have healthy families. The township people have been dehumanized for many years, and it obvious by their lifestyle. But if this generation of young people can understand God’s word and how He views them, they can rise up to become empowered people that believe they have something to offer in their communities and churches. As I am sure you can see, I long for these people to realize that their lives have meaning beyond surviving everyday.  The people just need to be uplifted and empowered. It is not just the job of a few missionaries to do this, because as each person is reached and comes to understand their worth and purpose for life in Christ, they themselves become missionaries to their families and communities. If we can reach the young people of Africa, it can have an enormous effect on the generations to come.

I will do my best to let you know how things go before I move into Gugulethu, but it might have to be a few weeks later. Everything is else is going great. I am at a friend’s house today and I actually got to watch Oprah, I am sad to say that it made my dayJ  I hope that you all have an amazing New Year! I pray that nothing but blessings, laughter, and happiness come your way. Talk to you in a few weeks.

Christina