Hello! I hope that you are having a great start to your new year! Thank you so much for all of the prayers that have been prayed for the mission work here in South Africa and for myself. God has been so faithful in His protection and care since I landed here in South Africa on January 26th. I have spent the past two and half weeks living with an LCMS missionary family (the Rodewalds) in Pretoria and also with a Zulu pastor and his wife in Mhluzi Township. I am working on Zulu language and cultural lessons while getting real life experience within the Zulu community. Everyone has been very friendly and has welcomed me into their lives, and even though I am the only Caucasian or American here, I don’t feel unsafe or uncomfortable in Mhluzi.
The Mhluzi Township is a very large location with a mixture of African cultures. Pastor Khumalo is a very outgoing and dedicated pastor at St. Peter’s church who has connected me to several groups such as Love Life and Caring Friends. Love Life is an organization that reaches out to high school students about making good life decisions. This includes programs for recreational activities and a special unit about sexual health and HIV/AIDS. I have learned a lot about how to communicate about these issues in a way that is culturally relevant and appropriate in South Africa. I also went with the group to visit a female empowerment group that meets each week and learned about ways girls are encouraging each other to make good choices and reaching out to the community. I was asked to share a little about myself and share words of encouragement which is very commonly asked of me when I am out in the community.
The Caring Friends group that I worked with does educational outreach and palliative care for people who have HIV/AIDS. I have spent time with them surveying in a squatter community on what the residents knowledge was about TB in relation to HIV. I have met with several families, and many times resources were not available for children to be in school. The grants that families are given for school have to be used for food and the basic materials of shelter. It can be very hard to see the situations for individuals and their families, as even the basic resources for sanitation are not well established. Caring Friends continues to reach out and provide encouragement and support to people in every way that they can despite the great challenges that they face. They also provide care, such as cooking, cleaning or even helping to bathe those people who have become too weak to do so due to HIV/AIDS. A day in the life of someone dying from HIV/AIDS takes a great deal courage and strength. It has been a blessing to me share prayer with them and to see the strong Christian spirits of those who have recognized that their earthly days may be short, but their eternal home is awaiting them.
In addition to language lessons and working with these two groups I have also had the opportunity to work in a grade R (kindergarten) class. I love spending time with the children and they have taught me many songs and games. The language barrier continues to be great, and at times can lead to very difficult situations if I am without a translator. Thankfully, when I am out in the community people are very good about translating for me, and I even had a translator for the youth church service I went to on Thursday night. I have also done an hour long radio program the past two Wednesdays with the pastor that can be heard throughout the township. Pastor Khumalo interviewed me and especially had me focus on the importance of following Christ while you are a youth. It has been a great opportunity for me to share the Word of God and encouragement with people while I have been in Mhluzi Township. A woman from the church also asked me to go with a group of about thirty children who have been orphaned to the Pretoria zoo on Sunday, so I also got to help take some of the kids around and had a great day getting to socialize with the children and making good memories with them.
In addition to my work during the day, I have also made many friends here that I have enjoyed spending time with in the evenings. The church secretary, Mathuto, and I have done some shopping for some fun African style clothes and walk to and from work together every day. I also greatly enjoy spending time with the men who run the Love Life and the women who are in Caring Friends. The Rodewald family is a lot of fun and I’ve enjoyed meeting other missionaries and people from the seminary. I truly feel that God has blessed me with a strong South African Christian family and will greatly miss everyone here! I am going to spend one more week out in the township with my missionary partner Shara who I just met and is wonderful! I will then head to where I will be working in Shongweni with Shara after a few days in Pretoria. I will keep you updated more frequently once I have a regular internet source. God’s blessings on your day and I thank you again for all of your prayers, encouragement and support!
Love in Christ,
Julia Wehrenberg
