I will go…

I have a video update in the works. Just filmed it. Need to edit it and post it to Youtube. Will have it up in a few days!

Thanks!

It has been 10 exhausting, life changing months! And the fun just keeps on coming! I don’t even have the words for to express how extremely sorry I am for not keeping up on here. I thought I would try by posting an almost 20 minute video blog!

It is in two parts (because no single video on youtube can be longer than 10 minutes).

Holiday Club update #1 link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheKendrajo#p/a/u/1/Ei8h0qViHOw

Holiday Club update #2 link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheKendrajo#p/a/u/0/wIqKe4cZQ9Y

You might have to copy and paste the links into your browser.

P.S. There is no good stopping place and I was in a hurry so the last few seconds on the first video are the first few seconds on the second video…sorry for not making a smoother transition but I just thought it was better to get this update on here as soon as possible!

Love you all and thanks for stopping by!

So! I honestly don’t even know where to start! So SO much has gone on that it seems daunting to try and tell you about it!

First things first! My car broke down! But that has been fixed and I get to pick it up this afternoon. I have been carless for about a week. You don’t realize how essential it is to have one until it’s gone! But praise GOD it has been fixed and it could not have come any sooner!

The second thing is that winter (your summer) has begun which means we have a lot of volunteers coming for the summer! The house is about to get crazy! By the beginning of June we will have about 20 people in the house! It’s going to be an awesome time of madness and ministry! I can’t wait!

And then there’s the WORLD CUP! It is insane how quickly it has approached! For the month of June we are having holiday clubs! As part of the morning teens team, we have been writing curriculum for 3 of the 4 weeks of holiday club which is always a process. A good one but a long and tedious one!

We are also in the process of organizing and planning the WAIT 4 ME extravaganza! Wait 4 Me is a bit like True love Waits. It’s an abstinence program for teens! We are expecting about 600 youth there so it’s a big deal event! We are busy partnering with the local churches to get them on board for follow-up and advertising! But more on that at a later date!

Then there is a lady coming to do music and worship workshops in July and I am busy getting her schedule together as well! It is going to be such a great opportunity to partner with the local churches and help give them resources!

And all that’s just the extra stuff! Thursday we have a global day of prayer here at Living Hope! It should be a great time of corporate worship as an organization!

This week in Teen club we are talking about weight and nutrition. I love the red hill youth! They have so much life in them in spite of their circumstances! There is one girl in particular who is really sticking out to me as a leader! She is smart and mature and only 13 and she needs some serious discipleship. She eats up everything that we do in club and loves the Word of God! Pray that God gives discernment as to what we can do come alongside her and walk through life with her in a deeper way outside of club.

I am not going to lie, it has been a rough couple of weeks! There is just so much going on! I am so immensely aware of my need for God and that I can not serve out of my own strength but can only serve for a cup that is overflowing with the wisdom and knowledge of God!

Thanks for sticking this out with me! I know that I don’t post as regularly as I should but I am so thankful for those of you who read this and who are walking this journey with me!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday in Red Hill we had teens and kids club in top camp. I have been sick for the past few days but for some reason I knew I needed to be in Red Hill for club.

Monday’s topic: Puberty.

So fun, huh? The thing is, these teens don’t have anyone to talk about this stuff with and the ones they do talk to about it aren’t able to give them accurate information.

Because it was so cold I had a small number of girls in my group. There were four of them. After we did our ice breaker with the boys and did some of our Bible drills we split up girls and boys.

I was worried about what whether or not they were going to be open with me and talk candidly about all their many questions.

I was shocked when question after question came from these four girls and even more shocked to find that I had the answers!

Club is suppose to end at 5:15 so that we can hand out the food and clean up but that is not how girls club went on Monday.

It takes a lot for these girls to open up. Part of it is culture and the other part is them being youth. Up until Monday, there had been some glimmers on openness with the girls but not full out.

Monday was like a wall had come down. Not only did they talk about all things puberty but they wanted to know about dating and boys and boundaries and on and on the list goes.

I have two reactions to there openness with me. 1. Humility. How am I suppose to be able to answer all their questions and take on the responsibility of giving the Godly wisdom? My prayer is always that God will be the foundation for it all and that His word will be where the answers are found. 2. Thankful. These girls need someone to talk to about all of this stuff. They are faced, at such a young age, with so much pressure. And they need a place to find answers and there is no one in their community! I am so thankful that God would allow me an opportunity to speak into the lives of these girls!

Everyone else ended at 5:15. We ended at 6. And if it had been up to the girls we would have stayed there longer but it was getting dark and they needed to head home.

I can’t wait to continue the conversations with these girls!

Please be praying that they would continue to be open with me and that God would give me the words to answer all their many, MANY questions!

These are the future leaders of their communities. Pray that they would continue to be in the center of God’s will for their lives and that we would have the strength, courage and patience to continue to point the toward God!

Thanks for stopping by!

Last week was Holiday Club! It went super well!

There are so many things to highlight but I will tell you a couple of stories that just made the week for me!

The first is about a pre-teen (or tween, if you will) named Lelethu. Here’s the back story:

We have had some behavior issues with her in Teen club and so I had to ask her to go to kids club if she was going to continue to behave that way. As you can imagine, that did not make me very popular with her. For about 2 weeks she would scowl in my direction and say things under her breath about me. I just continued to love on her in spite of her attitude.

She would walk by club hoping that we would see that she knew we were having club but that she was not coming. I continued to pray for her and pray for her attitude to change.

So Thursday of Holiday club she came right in to teens club and sat down. Al and I looked at each other and had one of those silent conversations as if to say, let’s see what happens if she stays.

She still wouldn’t look at me but I could tell something had changed.

That day we gave the Salvation message. We talked about John 13 where Jesus washes the disciples feet. We then put that into practice and Al, Mzo and myself washed all the teens feet.

Al had his camera out and Lelethu came over to me and said, “Kendra, let’s get our picture together!” She put her arm around me and smiled real big. I looked at Al and we were both in total shock! This was not the Lelethu we had seen  in the last two weeks!

After Al took the picture, she looked at me and said, “Now, Kendra, make sure I get a copy of that picture!”

The next day she showed up to kids club in the morning, came right up to me, greeted me, gave me a hug and smiled big. She sat beside me and leaned over me.

It was such an answer to prayer and an encouragement! Monday was her birthday. The day before mine!

She is a new kid! A leader even!

The other story is about a girl that we will call Alicia. She is new to Red Hill but before moving there lived close so most of the girls know her. She is 13. She has a multitude of kids to take care of because her mom is a substance abuser and we think prostituting herself in her house in order to put food on the table. She is in no shape to take care of her kids so Alicia has stepped into the mother roll.

She had not been to holiday club all week because she said she had to take care of the kids. Al ran into her on Thursday in the road when he went to pick up the bread. He told her to come to teens club and to bring the kids. They could play right outside the church while we had club.

She came.

That was Thursday. The day the gospel was shared. In Red Hill, we are intentional about sharing the gospel as often as possible. So out of all the kids in Teen Club that day, she was the only one who had never heard it before.

Al told the group that it was a personal decision that no one could force them to make and if they had questions they could come talk to one of us afterwards. We took them through a track and everyone got to take their track home.

The next day, during one of the activities at kids club, she came up to me and told me that she had gone home, and prayed that prayer in the back of the booklet!

At the end of kids club Al and I took her aside and spoke to her about what’s next. We are in the process of getting her a Bible.

God is so good!

There are so many other stories to tell but those will have to do for now.

On a personal note I had a birthday last week! April 13th to be exact! I turned 24! My friends here made it so special! One person baked me a surprise cake! Another friend put together a small surprise party for me! I was sung to about 15 times during the day! It could not have been better!

I also got a car last week! During the craziness of Holiday club the Lord lined everything up for me to buy a car! It cost less than I had to spend and it runs well! It’s a Toyota Tazz (Which they don’t sell in the States) and it’s a stick shift. Which I was nervous about at first but it feels like an old habit now! There is something empowering about driving a stick shift! It’s kind of fun even!

The process of buying a car is pretty intense here! I will have to write more about it at a later date!

Sorry it’s been so long since an update! It’s proving difficult to always put something up here every week! But I will continue to fill you in on all that God is doing!

Thank you so much for all the prayers and support! I know I say it all the time but it really is such a blessing to have all of the kind wishes and love sent my way!

Be Blessed!

Today begins our April Holiday Club! I am now working in Red Hill and will be leading the Teen Club in the afternoon this week along with Al and Mzo.

Our focus in Teen Club this week is on Leadership. Our goal is to use Biblical leaders to display the kind of leader we should be in our community.

There is a huge gap in this area in the communities. Most of these kids are expected to lead but they don’t know how. Our prayer is that this week will help them to know and become better leaders in their lives at home and school.

It has been a great couple of days resting up for this crazy week!

Also, I need a car. Bad. The story is long but I no longer have one and am now looking to buy one.

I have been looking and a lot of other people have been as well. We just haven’t had any luck yet. It is kind of stressing me out since this is a crazy week anyway and on top of that I need to find a car!

But I know that God is faithful and will provide me with all my needs.

Thanks for your prayers! They have really been felt this week!

The last three days I have spent under the trees, in the trees, and surrounded by trees!

It has been glorious, to say the least, to be in the midst of God’s beautiful creation! The Grade 7 camp was so nice and peaceful which, surprisingly, made the kids that way as well!

Taking kids from the kind of communities that I work in to camp is a much different experience than taking the ones from home.

I looked around our little cabin room, that no one would have mistaken for anything other than a camp cabin, and realized, this is more space and more comfort than any of these kids have in their homes.

And you could tell how grateful they were to be away from home.

We had so much fun doing all the different team building activities! We went canoeing and hiking and did the low ropes course!

What was great for me was to get a chance to spend some real time with the girls away from club. It allowed us a chance to really connect and have some great conversations.

I would do it again in a heart beat!

Today is a day of fun and then Easter weekend is upon us! At Capricorn Church we have a Good Friday service and then Sunday an Easter service. King of Kings has a sunrise service on the beach so I will be attending that as well!

Thanks for stopping by! And thanks so much for all the prayers and support!

Just got back from a three day camp with grade 7′s. Had a blast! Will tell you all about it soon! And by soon I mean…tomorrow!

Thanks for your patience!

I have this book called, A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie.

There are 31 days of prayers. A morning and an evening prayer

Here is day 27. The Evening Prayer:

I falter where I firmly trod,

And falling with my weight of cares

Upon the great world’s altar-stairs

That slope thro’ darkness up to God,

I stretch lame hands of faith, and grope….

Eternal God, who has been the hope and joy of many generations, and who in all ages hast given men the power to seek Thee and in seeking to find Thee, grant me, I pray Thee, a clearer vision of Thy truth, a greater faith in Thy power, and a more confident assurance of Thy love.

When the way seems dark before me, give me grace to walk trustingly:

When much is obscure to me, let me be all the more faithful to the little that I can clearly see:

When the distant scene is clouded, let me rejoice that at least the next step is plain:

When what Thou art is most hidden from my eyes, let me still hold fast to what Thou dost command:

When insight falters, let obedience stand firm:

What I lack in faith let me repay in love.

O infinite God, the brightness of whose face is often shrouded from  my mortal gaze, I thank Thee that Thou didst send Thy Son Jesus Christ to be a light in a dark world. O Christ, Thou Light of Light, I thank Thee that in Thy most holy life Thou didst pierce the eternal mystery as with a great shaft of heavenly light, so that in seeing Thee we see Him whom no man hath seen at any time.

And if still I cannot find Thee, O God, then let me search my hear and know whether it is not rather I who am blind than Thou who art obscure, and I who am fleeing form Thee rather than Thou from me; and let me confess these my sins before Thee and seek Thy pardon in Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

Allow it to not just be words that you speak with your mouth, but meditations that linger in your heart.

This last week was a fairly normal week but some fun crazy stuff did take place!

There was a team in Capricorn from Shades Mountain in AL. They were one of the first teams that I worked with when I first got here and it was so great to be with them again.

Their week was spent going door to door meeting the people of the community. On Thursday night we had a huge celebration for the community and the turn out was better than we could have ever expected! The place was packed!
A few of us LSE’s lead the worship and the kids from kids club sang a special song. Pastor Severo brought the word and 4 people accepted Christ that night!

Sunday morning they were all in church! It is so great to see the transformation in the lives of people!

Saturday, we had an outing with the youth of the church. We went for a hike! 40 youth came out at 7 AM! It was grueling but fun! I can still feel it in my legs! We had a great time among God’s creation and just getting to know one another better!

Saturday night the volunteers went to the Rugby game which I know doesn’t mean that much to you all but it was really fun! Rugby is held in high esteem here. Kind of like college football. The fans are like something I have never seen before! I would even venture to say that they are crazier that college football fans at the SEC championship game!

Yesterday was a public holiday here in South Africa (Which explains the why I didn’t post). But even though it was a public holiday we still worked! We took a bunch of our youth from the different teens clubs to the stadium in downtown Cape Town.

There was a program called Cape Town for Jesus. We spent the afternoon praying for Cape Town and for the world cup and the nations leaders. The place was packed! There were over 50,000 people there! There are no words to describe the magnitude of this event! And the fact that our kids, who never get a chance to come out of there communities, got to be a part of this day of prayer, just makes it that much cooler!

This week things will be a bit slower but just as crazy. The kids get out of school this week so we aren’t teaching. Instead, we are planning for our crazy Leadership curriculum that we will be putting on during holiday club for the teens.

Thanks for stopping by!