Ntshongweni in September
Heritage Day was celebrated with lots of dancing, singing and traditional Zulu food at Ntshongweni Lutheran Church. The youth from our church and youth from the community came together to perform dances while raising money to help with the funds needed for the Women’s League Conference. The beautiful outfits and bright color beads made for a very fun and special day! Even I joined in for a dance.
Shara, Rejoice and me at the Heritage Day celebration for Ntshongweni Lutheran Church.
The youth in our church practiced for many days before the big celebration. Kicking the leg high is an important part of the dance.
During the traditional dances young girls often wear beautiful bead necklaces on top instead of the full outfits.
During VBS the children love looking at Bible books. Many times the children do not have books at home, so reading and looking at the pictures is a special activity.
I enjoyed spending time at Isiduduzo Crèche and learned many new songs to sing with the children. *
Sawubona family and friends! Throughout this month although Pastor Thwala, Shara and I have been excited about the future, we have spent a lot of time remembering the past. On September 24th South Africa celebrated a holiday called Heritage Day. Throughout the month and especially this day the country highlights the different cultures, traditions, music and art of the nation. It is a time to recognize how people from the past have affected who you are today and where you will be able to be in the future. As we continue to share the love of Christ while serving the thirty six families in our Orphan Project and the local community we have the blessing of looking back on what Christ has done for us and looking forward to what He has promised in the future. We are able to share the life of Christ and that through His death and resurrection we are God’s loved and forgiven children. We get to love, because God first loved us.
Sawubona family and friends! Throughout this month although Pastor Thwala, Shara and I have been excited about the future, we have spent a lot of time remembering the past. On September 24th South Africa celebrated a holiday called Heritage Day. Throughout the month and especially this day the country highlights the different cultures, traditions, music and art of the nation. It is a time to recognize how people from the past have affected who you are today and where you will be able to be in the future. As we continue to share the love of Christ while serving the thirty six families in our Orphan Project and the local community we have the blessing of looking back on what Christ has done for us and looking forward to what He has promised in the future. We are able to share the life of Christ and that through His death and resurrection we are God’s loved and forgiven children. We get to love, because God first loved us.
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“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live though him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:9-11)
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Through the joys and challenges of the mission work here, it is the hope, love and faith that we have in Christ that encourages us. This month our orphan caregiver support groups have continued and the ladies have given it the name Tholokahle, which in English means “we have found a good thing.” Whether the ladies are sharing laughter, joy or tears it has truly been a great opportunity for the ladies to build friendships and learn about helpful resources. Our sewing classes have also continued and the ladies are now able to make items to sell both in the village and to short-term teams from overseas. The church ladies even have a nice chicken project going where eggs are sold to help support the church. It has been a joy for Shara and me to see these programs expanding and making more people aware of the church.
Through the joys and challenges of the mission work here, it is the hope, love and faith that we have in Christ that encourages us. This month our orphan caregiver support groups have continued and the ladies have given it the name Tholokahle, which in English means “we have found a good thing.” Whether the ladies are sharing laughter, joy or tears it has truly been a great opportunity for the ladies to build friendships and learn about helpful resources. Our sewing classes have also continued and the ladies are now able to make items to sell both in the village and to short-term teams from overseas. The church ladies even have a nice chicken project going where eggs are sold to help support the church. It has been a joy for Shara and me to see these programs expanding and making more people aware of the church.
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Our third round of Vacation Bible School took place the last week of September and was run by our future teachers for the Ntshongweni Crèche. It was great to get a glimpse of what it will look like to have children there every day starting the first of November. Many new children came for our VBS, so we continue to thank God for creating opportunities for us to teach about Jesus in a fun and safe environment when the children are out of school. It was especially nice having Cindy Rodewald who is the LCMS World Mission Volunteer Coordinator for South Africa and her son Jacob Rodewald here to help and play with the 70-80 kids we had each day.
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As beginners in the world of opening a crèche Shara and I decided that we needed to spend some time this month in other crèches to learn how to get started. God has been very faithful in opening doors for us in the process of opening our crèche, and the willingness of the other crèches to have Shara and I come has turned out to be a huge blessing. We now have very good relationships with the local crèches who have helped to answer our questions and guided our steps. I get to spend my days surrounded by little faces that love to sing about Jesus. I am truly blessed and thankful that I get to serve here in such a beautiful community.
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I want to thank everyone who has been supporting me in prayer and through efforts to raise the support I need to stay another year. LCMS World Mission has a new computer system, so records of donations are taking longer to process and are behind several weeks. I apologize for the delay in getting back to anyone, but please know that your gifts mean more than I can express and that I will let you know when I get a more up to date list. Thank you also to everyone who helped with the garage and bake sale. It was a huge success and could not have been done without a large group effort. May God give you strength, wisdom and discernment as you continue to share about the love of Christ!
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Blessings in Christ,
Julia
Hamba kahle!
(Go well!)
Hamba kahle!
(Go well!)
