Final Day(s)

Our Final Day(s)

We gathered for our final breakfast this morning as we prepared to leave for the airport via some stops along the way. It gave us an opportunity to say goodbye to the hotel staff who has aided us so well; we also gave them a gratuity as a way of saying thanks. Just when we thought we could get going we hit a major snag – the man who could get into the safe that contained our passports was no where to be found. Finally they found him – asleep! – and we got our documents and got going.

We set out to visit the Victoria Street Market in downtown Durban. Near the market is a stark reminder of the need for the Church to be active in mission – the largest mosque in the whole southern hemisphere. It has beautiful architecture but behind the building lies a theology that does not promote the world’s only Savior, Jesus Christ.

We quickly found some parking spots at the market and all jumped out with money in hand to do some souvenir shopping. This is a fire marshal’s nightmare. Shop after shop is stuck in this market and each shop is overflowing with all manner of craftwork: wood carvings, stone carvings, beadwork, fabrics, spices, artwork, jewelry, all sorts of things, including illegal ivory (none of that will be coming!) and that is just scratching the surface.

We next went down to the beach area north of downtown Durban. This is a picturesque stretch of beach on the Indian Ocean. Again there were all sorts of crafts and souvenirs … and ice cream! After a little time there we finally put all our purchases in the vans and headed out for King Shaka Airport. We said our final goodbyes to Alf and Carl, our very capable guides, and began the long trip home.

Today some of the world waited with some nervousness concerning whether Jesus would come today. Apparently the prediction was off the mark. But we can honestly say He has been coming to us and through us this week. We have seen our Lord in the “least of these” (Matthew 25:40) and have served Him with joy. And we have been blessed to be the means of His coming to those whom we served and with whom we have served. But, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you don’t have to come to Africa for this. There in your homes, at your workplace or school, wherever you are placed, serve the Lord with gladness and rejoice in His gifts to you. And know that He comes as you speak His Good News of salvation and life.

God bless South Africa and Ntshongweni! And God bless our ministry at Martin Luther Chapel and Christian School! Amen.

 

Day 6

Day Six

It seems to us that God had His hand in the weather this week. Again today we set out under a beautiful African sky to go to the work we had at hand. It was a day of FINISHING TOUCHES. This week has gone so well. We have been truly blessed and we pray that we have been a blessing to both the people of Ntshongweni as well as to the guides who have been with us.

We began our work today all up at the orphan homes. These houses were begun five years ago on Pastor K’s first trip. As you can see from the photo, these humble homes are a great blessing to the orphaned children who live in them. Not only are they warm and dry, but they offer a spectacular view of God’s finishing touches on the region. The two 2200 liter water containers were delivered this morning and then the plumbing was added to them. They will collect God’s good rain water to aid the people in the homes.

After that brief work on the ridge, we headed down to the community center to put a few finishing touches on the chicken run. The chicken run was attacked on all sides! We had to put the finishing paint on the coop building, to attach a drain that would catch runoff from the chickens into a drain field and we had to put together the final nesting boxes and the roosting poles. It was great to see the final rush of activity that put the finishing touches on the project. And God was gracious, we brought our work to an end. Our two young ladies from Pittsburgh even painted a sign that hung over the entrance. How great it was to see the project we begun brought to its finish.

After our lunch break, we had some odds and ends to do but several of us took the time to sit on the ground and make ourselves available to the little kids. They love this so much! They crawl all over you, placing your hat on themselves and hugging, tickling, and generally enjoying you. Our own guitarist, Ken Wunsch, took some time at this point in the day to entertain the students of the crèche. Using a borrowed classical guitar, he played guitar for a good half hour with the children. They sat so quietly and were truly transfixed by his God-given talent. There was applause after every piece. This also brought about some guitar playing from Musa, one of our Zulu friends. It was a true finishing touch to have the crèche filled with the sounds of music, including a video of our own MLCS kids singing Siyahamba.

However, there was one more finishing touch hat made our work even more enjoyable – CHICKENS! Fifteen laying hens were brought in and were put into their new homes. The man who delivered them told us our chicken run was like a chicken Hilton Hotel. We spread out straw in the yard and filled the water containers and feed boxes and enjoyed watching them settle into their new homes. It was such a joy that even the kids of the village all enjoyed petting and watching the chickens. It seemed like the proper end to a week of hard work.

As always when you come on a trip like this the finishing touches that are hard to do are the goodbyes that are exchanged with people with whom you have spent the week. Hugs, handshakes, and waves were exchanged. And we wondered who put the finishing touch on whom. We know that God has used us to bless them but we know that they have blessed us with their faith shown to us in worship, working side by side with them, and their love shown to us in help, food, and hugs. Perhaps it is best said that we both put the finishing touches on each other.

In your prayers please include our team’s journey home. There is a lot of miles for us to cover, both in a plane and by car; ask for God’s holy angels to attend us. Pray for the congregation in Ntshongweni that they might ever grow in reaching out to their neighbors. Pray also for Martin Luther Chapel and its ministry, as well as our brothers and sisters of Peace Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh et al., who were our companions of faith. May God help us to see our callings and our ministry to those whom God has placed us near.

 

Day 5

Sorry for the delay. The internet went down at the hotel but was brought back up just as we were leaving for dinner on Day 6.

Day Five

The morning began grey and overcast but the Lord provided again for us and we had a beautiful day, albeit, on the cool side. Today as we served the Lord, it was a day for CRAFTSMANSHIP. It began with a beautiful devotion led by our own Fred Schuck who got us motivated to get back to serving.

We began by visiting the Hillcrest AIDS Trust. This is a ministry started by the Methodist Church here in this area. HIV/AIDS is a devastating disease in South Africa. Many children are orphaned by it and many wives and women are infected by their husbands and other men. This ministry provides not only medical attention; it offers a venue for women to provide much needed income. There is income generated by arts and crafts works, mostly beadwork, as well as a plant nursery, sewing, and a thrift store. This ministry is seeking to share the love of the Lord with those who are truly hurting. The tour was an eye-opening experience and served to confirm the work we are doing through our own Christ’s Cupboard Food Pantry. We finished our visit by shopping in the craft shop. We took a lot of time there because there was so much to look at and we knew our purchases will go to helping those in need. Folks, perhaps you have some trinkets coming!

Because our morning was taken up by our trip, we didn’t have lots of time to accomplish things before we found ourselves confronted with lunch. Pastor K did some repair work on the work that he had done last year and was helped by Milt and Christie from Pittsburgh. At the Zonke, a playground of tires, some tires needed to be recemented into the ground and they were all given a fresh coat of paint.

Then the lunch bell rang. So we buckled down to eating the delicious food delivered to us. We have been very blessed by an incredible catering company here that delivers all our luncheons. The food for the most part is like our own, but with a definite South African touch. South Africans eat lots of fruits and vegetables but it goes down with lots of meats. Our luncheons have included wraps and sandwiches, but also lasagna and low mein. The ladies who deliver the food are incredibly gracious and kind. We were also visited by local craftswomen and craftsmen who displayed bead work and weaving. Perhaps you will see some from your loved ones once they get home.

The afternoon was time for our craftsmanship to be used. Team MLC got to work finishing the chicken run. It took some time to stretch the shade cloth over the top of the project, using zip ties to connect the edges to the fencing, the overhead cloth to the tension wires and nailing it down. Again we were blessed to have the hard work of our team as they stretched, pulled, nailed, and zipped! Another group completed the first of two nesting boxes for the chickens. During that time the sheathing was put around the chicken coop itself and the team at the houses poured the final cement pad. True craftsmanship was done by all.

At the end of the day we all split up into several small jobs – painting primer on the sheathing, moving some sand pile to a new area, and doing some finish work. We were so far ahead that we were able to call off work early and go to visit a local artisan’s house. Andrew Walford is a world famous potter. His house and studio are set in what is an exquisite setting with beautiful views, artwork, and some pretty neat dogs. Andrew’s art is unbelievable but a bit pricey (don’t look for much coming from there). His craftsmanship is truly a gift from God.

After returning to the church grounds we set about playing with the Zulu children who visit the community center everyday. They are hungry for loving attention and nobody minded giving it out in huge amounts. Julia and Shara also brought out some of the crafts of the sewing group at the community center which meets every Wed. although we missed them due to the voting yesterday. Afterwards, the ladies of the village church treated us to a feast of chicken, beef, maize meal, rice, spinach, butternut squash and fresh bread. We were blessed by their cooking craft!

Truly we have been blessed with the craftsmanship of our Lord God. We have seen today the beauty of His artistic powers through the hands of artisans and craftsman, the hands of cooks and how He has blessed our own hands to serve His children. May God bless you too as you go about your daily work, knowing that you are His craftsmanship in Christ Jesus.

In your prayers pray for Andrew Walford, he knows of Christ but has been led astray by Buddhism and Hinduism. Also include the women who come to the shelter to be served as well as the women and men who serve them. Also include our excellent guides, Gavin, Carl, and Alf, ask that the Lord would bless them as they are a blessing to so many. And pray for Pastor Thwala who travels tomorrow to a different region.

Internet Issues

We have been having internet issues but we should be able to post later tonight.

  Sorry

Day 4

Day Four

It was another absolutely beautiful day in Ntshongweni and we were richly blessed to be here serving the Lord through the “least of these” (Matthew 25:40). Today is voting day here in South Africa; you can see the lines below as people awaited to elect their local officials. Even though the cumulative effects of hard work are beginning to be felt, we were WIRED today.

We were again broken up into two groups today. The work continues on the orphan houses. The gutters were finished today and one of the pads for water containment was poured, again, in true Zulu style. The last slab for the water tanks will be poured tomorrow morning and we will install the water tanks on Friday.

Your MLC brothers and sisters were still hard at work on the chicken run today. And we were blessed to see it finally come to shape. It began with the final framing on the coop building itself but quickly proceeded to putting up the fence for the chicken yard itself. That means that we begun by putting tension wires to which the fencing itself would be attached. It was a true learning experience coming to grips with wrapping the wire in just such a way that you then could insert a screw driver to manually tighten them. The darling of the trip (i.e., our only lady), Pam Wunderlich, was right on top of the whole process of stringing, wrapping and twisting the wire. And you should have seen His Honor, Judge Schuck, who had a hammer (closest thing to a gavel here) in his belt loop and staples between his teeth. He showed himself to be a really working man!

In the afternoon, we were able to run the wire fence that was attached to the tension wires. It was quite a job to unroll the fencing and then to attach it again by adding tie wires to tie the two together. Pam and John started the project but an old friend of Pastor K’s, Fahne (pictured in a picture below with Jim Wolf of Pittsburgh), came in and blew us away. Fahne is a Zulu worker that pastor first met five years ago on his first building trip. Fahne is extremely gifted as a builder, one of those guys who works well with any tool, whether it is the right one or not. Fahne also is incredibly patient with unskilled workers, always showing us the right way to do it and with a caring style. Today, however, we let Fahne do most the wire connectors since he could do it with a simplicity of style and ease. Pam, however, connected the rest that will be underground after tomorrow.

The corrugated tin roof was attached to the coop itself as well. Ken seems to have found a niche for himself with a chisel in hand. He and a fellow from Pittsburgh put on the pole supports and then added the tin on top. Today it is visibly a chicken coop, even though the only chickens it held today were us!

We had dinner tonight at the hotel. The food was altogether good but it was the dessert that wired our own Pastor K. We had Malva pudding, a rich, gooey, sugary, mass of pure ambrosia covered with hot custard. The chef has promised the recipe to us; perhaps you will get to experience soon!

In your prayers today, please pray for Fahne. He is a great guy but a follower of the Shembe religion. Ask God the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to him through our witness. Also pray for continued good weather that we may complete the work that we came to do. Also, keep up the prayers for our sore muscles, they really have kept us going.