Journeys and Reflections

From Joey: South African News: Edition 4

scudderjourneys — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 20:00:11 +0000

Edibulisa u Tata u Mama u Bhuti u Sisi u Abu Undwani,

Nkosi Sikelela.

I just realised that I have yet to use any Xhosa in my email (for
those who are wondering, Xhosa is technically pronounced with a click
for the first syllable, but those who cannot pronounce the click will
often just say Ko-sa). I just said that I greet the fathers, mothers,
brothers, sisters, and little children, and may God bless you. Simple
enough, but seemed like an appropriate beginning to this letter, since
I am writing about a rural area of South Africa called the Transkei
and very little English was spoken there. I learned some basic Xhosa,
including greetings and words like Sorry and Come Here and Pass and
Well Done, all of which came about by playing soccer with the local
boys. Even out in these dusty hillsides the boys have remarkable
natural soccer skills… it makes me a bit envious. But I get ahead of
myself.

Sae-yun and I drove up to Transkei together, which is said to be about
a 12 hour drive (we made it in 10.5, seeing as how we often hit 160
km/h). I was allowed to drive, despite the switch to the left side of
the road, and I ended up driving during the hour that we were in snow.
Yes, it snowed in Africa, but you must realize that Cape Town is
about as far south of the Equator as Oregon is north, and we were
driving through mountains in the middle of their winter. At any rate,
Sae-yun was kind enough to let me drive in the snow, seeing as how he
had never done that before.

We were staying in a town or area called Qotubeni (another click in
this one), which consists of many round huts (made of mud bricks, but
usually plastered and painted a bright teal or pink color) around
several taps on the side of a hill. Most of the huts were in groups
of 2-4, based on families. The floor of the huts was compressed dirt,
covered in cow dung that had dried there (apparently it was good
insulation and protected against something– once it was dried it
didn’t smell at all). Strangely, nearly everyone had a cell phone,
even though some of them owned nearly nothing else. Perhaps it was
early materialism, or just the overlaying of modern on an area that
looked so tribal and primitive, but it didn’t seem appropriate to hear
ringers in every mud hut.

Sea-yun and I arrived early to help with the building of a clinic,
but the necessary supplies hadn’t arrived on time, so we spent time
preparing for the team and just enjoying the slow, quiet lifestyle.
The team would be staying along with us in the hut of a remarkable
woman named Mama Silvia. She was the pastor of a church in a
neighboring town, and was also helping the church in Qotubeni after
their pastor passed away several months earlier. She had an extra hut
in which she ran a pre-school, and this is where most of the team
would be staying.

The team consisted of 7 Canadians from Toronto (3 brothers and 4
girls, all in their 20s) and 4 translators, all of whom were coaches
for the netball league ran by AfricanLeadership back in Khayelitsha.
They were supposed to arrive at 2 am via bus, but it was delayed and
Sae-yun and I waited for 3 hours at the bus stop along with our “taxi”
(which is actually a small Nissan pickup with a cover on the back–
typical capacity: 12 people). The drive back in the dark with only
one headlight working alongside 40 ft drops was a bit harrowing.

The team and I were in Transkei only from Monday through Thursday
noon, so we did our best to maximize our time. Every day a 3 pm we
had a Sunday School (held in the local church building, built by
Pastor Ohm et al. several years before), then a Youth service at 4:30
and a church service at 6 pm. The first day was sparsely attended,
but at the 2nd and 3rd Sunday School we had upwards of 80 kids attend.
Playing games, learning new songs, hearing a Bible story, and making
a small craft were the typical activities, always followed by improptu
soccer sessions before and afterward. Jess, one of the girls from
Toronto, did a series on how God can make each of us a new creation,
using simple nature lessons as an example. I am not sure who enjoyed
the Sunday Schools more, the local kids or our team. Nonetheless,
seeds were planted. Pray that these may be watered and grown by the
faithful women in Qotubeni and later teams.

The Youth and Adult services were a bit more challenging, partially
because it would begin to get dark and many of the people had to walk
a considerable distance to get to the church. We shared songs and
testimony every night, as well as having someone preach the Word, but
except for one night, the number of local people was typically equal
to that of our team and the local ladies of the church. The church
that I visited in Transkei consisted mostly of older men, children,
and a few mothers. Very few young men and women were active in the
church– partly out of the need for looking for jobs, but also it
seems like they don’t understand the need and see church as something
for old people and children. The young men are often involved in
heavy drinking and marijuana is becoming a very valuable commodity–
this was all quite discouraging and needs our constant prayer– that
the ministry of the church could reach these young men and that the
children’s ministry could be effective in preventing these
self-destructive habits.

On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings we walked to a neighboring area (I
forget the name) and split into groups of 3 (2 foreigners, 1
translator) to do door-to-door evangelism. Going door to door meshes
quite well with the culture, as they are very welcoming of visitors
and love to talk about anything. I went with Jess and Nokuzelo to
several houses, and 3 in particular stood out to me. At one, a young
girl name Busiswa was there alone. We talked for a while and found
out that she and her mother were Christians, but her father was
indifferent. She talked about how he didn’t like them praying for
him, and that he simply was not interested at all in Jesus and what he
had done for her. She was only 16, and yet wanted badly for her
father to know the Lord. Jess shared some encouragement from the Word
and we prayed along with her. At a second house, there was a woman
who was injured in one leg (perhaps a stroke?) and another woman who
we quickly discovered was a witch doctor. She had been trying to heal
this woman, and as we talked with them both, the shaman kept
interrupting and subtlely opposing what we said and did. Jess and I
really had no idea what to do, so we just talked for a while and then
prayer over the woman. The witch doctor left after about 20 minutes,
so we were able to talk more freely with the woman, but pray for the
hold that spiritualism has on these people; they still live in fear of
spirits, and some native beliefs often get mixed in with Christianity
to make a strange, disconcerting religion.

The final house was a man who was a Jehovah’s Witness, and we engaged
for quite some time in debating (which was difficult to do through
translation). No progress was made on either side, but we left on
good terms with the man. But pray for this particularly: these people
are looking for something more than the materialism that is slowly
taking hold, and Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims are
moving in to try and fill that void. The harvest is very ripe, and
the workers are few. Pray that God will provide the messengers to
carry the Gospel, and that the laborers there already will be able to
show the local people the Truth and the Way.

One more very important thing: I am sharing a slideshow and will talk
about the trip this Sunday, the 3rd of September, at Sprague Community
Church in the town of Sprague, WA. I apologize for the short notice,
but the scheduling changed just yesterday. If you are in the area, I
would love if you came; many of you are far away so you will just have
to get by on these few words that I send in email. (if anyone wants
directions, email me and I will get them to you– it’s right off of
I-90). Pray that God will speak through me as a share several times
in the next month or so, at home and at Stanford.

And remember, even though summer is over, there is a bright spot: football.

For The Kingdom.

Joey Klein

From Joey: South African News: Edition 3

scudderjourneys — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 19:57:40 +0000

Hello again everyone, after a lengthy respite,

My apologies for having no email communication for the last month. My
last 2 weeks in South Africa were extremely busy, so that I only got
to use the Internet once, and once I arrived home I began working long
hours for harvest immediately. (For those of you who are not farmers,
harvest simply dominates life for the first 3 weeks of August for my
family, and I work from 7 am until dark or later).

However, now I am back at my trusty laptop, attempting to recreate the
last two weeks of South Africa and the important events that happened
then (much of this email is taken from my journals, so hopefully it
will prove historically accurate).

The biggest change during the last two weeks was that several
short-term teams showed up from Canada and the US. The first team,
whom I spent the most time with, was from Toronto and consisted of
seven people in their 20s. As soon as they arrived, pace doubled, and
David and I were caught up in the flow. Pastor Ohm spent a couple
days with us all as we visited preschools, began the digging for a
community netball court, and learned about the leaders and vision of
each of the parts of AfricanLeadership. (It was nice to finally have
a formal introduction to all of the ministries, even though I had
learned most of it already). The team was also finalizing plans for a
camp they were running that weekend for local high school students.
These students were the leaders of the Student Christian Organization
(SCO) at their respective high schools, and the team from Toronto
wanted to have a retreat to train and disciple them. However, I was
headed to Transkei (the rural Xhosa homeland) a couple of days early
to help SaeYun with the clinic and to prepare for the teams arrival on
Monday morning.

One very important thing happened during Week 3: The Toronto team,
along with David and I, had visited a high school hoping to talk to a
few of the students or share with a class or two. When we told the
principle that we were from Canada and the US, and that we wanted to
share with some students about life skills and reaching goals, etc.,
we were immediately told that they had 7 classes without teachers
during the next period and they wanted us to speak to them all. We
had 14 people, since we had brought several students from the Bible
College along, so we were split up into pairs and sent to our own
classroom to speak for 45 minutes. There was a lot of rapid praying,
since most of us hadn’t prepared anything, and then we were standing
in front of 50 rowdy high schoolers in maroon uniforms. I was paired
with Pastor Ohm, and he told me to talk first, so I shared a brief
testimony about how I was able to rely on God to overcome my problems
and that I didn’t have to face them alone. Pastor Ohm then talked for
about 40 minutes on all sorts of topics. The assistant principle came
in and listened for the second half, so Pastor Ohm spoke mostly about
life skills and weaved in some of his personal testimony. At one
point, Pastor Ohm was talking about changing your life and stepping
away from the bad things you have done in the past, and one girl in
the front row asked simply: ”How?” She asked with such sincerity and
honest frustration that it really hit me hard. That is the plight of
these high school students: they have dreams and aspirations, but no
hope of actually achieving anything. They have no role models or
guides or pathways to success, and so turn to gangs and crime and sex
and drugs to drown their frustration. You could see the hunger in the
eyes of nearly every student– so obvious that it hurt me as well.
However, I will tell more about the high schools later because I got
to visit them a lot during my last week in South Africa.

One other quick interlude before I write about my time in Transkei,
which was perhaps the most classic “short-term” mission experience.
But before I went I spent a day with Sae-yun, driving around Cape Town
trying to get together some supplies and get a new car registered for
another girl who was coming for several months. This included many
phone calls and visits to mechanics and me driving on the left side of
the road and lots of price comparisons, etc. The experience was
rather frustrating but it really showed me the other side of being a
long-term missionary: the nuts and bolts of handling money and dealing
with beauracracy and buying stuff. And this was just a car and some
electrical repairs– I can’t imagine dealing with visas and buying a
house and building church buildings, etc. That Friday really showed
me how multi-skilled and flexible and patient a missionary must be.

So, I fully intended to write about Transkei when I began this email,
but it is now getting late and my family requires my presence at my
younger sister’s 10th birthday party tomorrow, so I must end this
email here. I promise that I will send at least 2 more in the next 2
or 3 days– you don’t get a break from my unleashed verbosity now that
I have more time and computers at my command. But, from this email, I
ask that you pray for 3 things: First, for the long-termers in Cape
Town, specifically Solomon, Sae-Yun, Pastor Ohm, and Pastor Tong-Su.
They are the ones who deal with earthly problems especially, like car
repair and finances. Second, pray for the short-term teams. There are
3 in Cape Town right now, and several more have come and gone over the
course of the summer. The experience is as much about equipping the
young people from North America as it is to use them to help further
God’s Kingdom in South Africa. Several of the people from Toronto
were drastically changed even in the week and a half that I spent with
them, so pray that God will continue to guide their purposes and that
they will trust fully in His plans for their lives. Thirdly, pray for
me, a similar request to that of the other short-termers. Since I got
home I have been extremely busy, and I don’t want to lose my own
growth simply by being uprooted from Khayelitsha and going back to
well-trod ground. Pray that I can be focused on God’s purpose as I
speak about South Africa a few times and as I prepare to go back to
school.

Once again, I apologize for my tardiness in sending this email and
general lack of communication. I did arrive home safely and have seen
some of you in person. I really appreciated the notes that some of you
sent; I will reply as needed and time permits.

FTK (for those who forgot, For The Kingdom!)

Joey Klein
now back home in Edwall, WA

p.s. If any of you didn’t receive Edition 1 or 2, and therefore don’t
understand some parts of this email, let me know and I will forward
them on to you.

South African Dispatch, Final Thoughts

scudderjourneys — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 17:26:33 +0000

I want to leave you with a few final thoughts from South Africa after I’ve had a bit of time to mull things over . . .

What stands out most strongly is African Leadership’s motto, “For the Kingdom!” This is something we repeated, discussed, meditated on, struggled to live out . . . It applies not just to prayer or aspects of “ministry” but to waking up, sharing a meal, going to work – Christianity is about the holistic. For this reason, Pastor Ohm urged us to say it to ourselves when we woke up, when greeted each other, etc. – and as I reminded myself of it continually, I felt the idea begin to work its way into my heart and upset my very motivations – it’s THE Kingdom, not my kingdom we’re living for; I have no one to impress or please save the King himself, God; every person I meet is important when seen through eyes of Jesus; for that matter, even the most mundane activities are opportunities to worship God and live for his Kingdom – it gives a thrill to living. The Kingdom is what Jesus first preached wandering through the countryside of Israel, and its mysteries have occupied much of my thought this summer.

Beyond that, my mind is filled with a whole mess of impressions . . .

the little kids, smiling in the streets of Khayelitsha. Children are everywhere – this is why the Sunday School ministry is so important.
the African worship – feeling the room shake as the high schoolers on retreat sang the Xhosa songs – getting that small glimpse of what worship in heaven may be like
the high schoolers, reveling at being poured into for a weekend; loving God and craving mentors and discipleship
warmly welcomed into the churches and into people’s homes and lives – a living picture of Gal. 3:28
echos of the past – talking to Chris (who runs the soccer ministry) – still struggling with bitterness from years of injustice under apartheid – learning to forgive
Pastor Ohm’s joy – there’s no place in the world he’d rather be besides the mission field

Like any piece of life, it’s impossible to reduce five weeks of life to a few thoughts. I’ve posted a bunch of pictures from the trip that you can see in two places: picasaweb.google.com/scudderphotos/ or www.davidscudder.com/gallery/photos/. I’ll be adding more in the coming weeks.

If you are interested in learning more about the ministries, I encourage you to visit Pastor Ohm’s website (www.africanleadership.org.za) and Larry Warren’s website ( www.africanleadership.org). If you are interested in visiting South Africa yourself or supporting these ministries, let me know and I’ll help you in that direction.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! It’s been a blessing to hear how you’ve prayed for me and also to hear how these testimonies have been an encouragement for you. Please continue to keep South Africa and Khayelitsha and African Leadership in your prayers. And please continue to pray for me, as I enter my senior year at Stanford and also consider how God will use me for his Kingdom both at home and abroad in the future.

Again, many thanks to you all!

For the Kingdom!
David

South African Dispatch, Pt. 4

scudderjourneys — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 04:29:17 +0000

After 34 hours and 16 minutes in transit, I made it all the way from Khayelitsha to LA. Adam and Jenn Harris (that’s still a little weird to me) are happily married, and I’m back in Nashville for a few weeks, designing websites, recovering from being a bit sick, and reflecting on my time in South Africa. But before I share with you my impressions from the experience as a whole, I want to tell you about my last week there – it was probably the best yet.

We were joined by a team of seven from Toronto, and while I was only with them for six days, I was greatly blessed and encouraged by them as we prayed, worked, and ministered together. As usual, the team experienced a whole array of activities – playing on the kids at the preschool; praying and dreaming about the future of the retreat center; picnicking at the beautiful vineyard just 5 minutes drive from Khayelitsha’s shacks; digging through rock and debris to level the field for a netball court in the Harare district. The last was especially fun, because a bunch of kids from the community came out to join us, and soon none of us were left holding shovels as they joyfully attacked the job.

What the Toronto team got to do that was unique was to go into the high schools. For the first four weeks that I was in Khayelitsha, the schools were closed for winter holidays, but now they were beginning again. Angie, one of the girls from Toronto, had lived in South Africa for 9 months and had done some work in the high schools, and the team wanted to focus their efforts here. The first day, we were turned away from one school but allowed into the second to visit the Christian club. There we got to worship with them and encourage them from the Word and personal testimony.

The second day was even better. We arrived at another school, not really knowing what to expect but hoping to visit a couple classrooms. The principal welcomed us in and told us about the school. Then he invited us to speak in 7 classrooms at once (yes, 7). By God’s providence we had fourteen people, just enough to send two to each classroom. Angie and I were whisked off to a classroom full of tenth graders where we spoke about identity. To start, we asked them to finish the sentence “I am . . .” with something besides their name. The ice was quickly broken as one boy exclaimed “I am beautiful!” As Angie and I shared from our own stories and from the Bible, some kids nodded along while others cracked jokes. Afterward, one of the boys had some really good questions about the nature of prayer and transformation. Each pair had a different experience – one girl, after speaking to a rowdy bunch of eighth graders, was suddenly met with a piercing question: “Is God punishing South Africa with AIDS?” One of the guys, speaking to another wild eighth grade class, had a boy who decided to accept Christ. This is an incredible open door in Khayelitsha – what we did would never have been allowed in the States.

That weekend, we took 45 Christian student leaders from 10 of Khayelitsha’s 19 high schools on a retreat to teach on leadership. On Friday night there was a talk on God’s purposes, and on Saturday there were talks on leadership qualities and spiritual gifts. But even more than teaching, it was so good to bring all the kids together for fellowship and worship. Every service, the meeting room would be shaken by the chords of African song. Different students took turns leading different songs – they even let us teach them some songs in English. At night in the bunk room, the guys began to share their testimonies with each other, and afterward we all prayed together, praising and thanking God for bringing us all together.

I feel like I’m continually trying to learn how to let God be strong in my weakness, advancing just inches at a time only to thrown back a foot as I turn to my own devices. At the retreat, God gave me another lesson. By Saturday afternoon I was totally beat, exhausted from little sleep and trying to lead discussion across a language barrier, and as I entered lunch I was praying for God to somehow work through me. Then right as lunch ended, another counselor asked me to take lunch to a boy who hadn’t come because he’d been hurt by comments made by some other boys. Back at the cabin, I found two hurting boys instead of one – one struggling with his identity as a Christian despite continued tendency to sin, the other carrying deep wounds from growing up without a father – or rather from having a father who avoided him and wanted nothing to do with him. I had just shared in my testimony the night before about learning what it means to be God’s son, and God let me use this to encourage them with his promises – that they are God’s sons, and God is the perfect Father who will never fail them. I was so amazed how God had answered my prayer!

This was the story of the weekend – God working in weakness. Through failed (and successful) games, changed plans, language barriers, injuries, exhaustion – God worked. I watched him break the hearts of my team as they poured prayers for the kids. I listened to the kids share testimony of how God had worked in them in just the two brief days of the retreat. The kids have such a fire for a God, but also such a need for mentoring and encouragement – the work is still just beginning.

After the retreat, my time in Khayelitsha quickly came to a close. I had a couple days to get my things in order and say my goodbyes, and then the five weeks in South Africa were gone in the blink of an eye.

In the interest of space (and having a few more days to reflect), I’ll send out my final reflections in another e-mail a bit later. But I want to urge you to pray for the high schools in South Africa – pray that students would really know God, pray that God will provide mentors and leaders for them, and pray that God will heal the old wounds and give them hope for the future.

For the Kingdom!
David

South African Dispatch, Pt. 3

scudderjourneys — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 04:28:14 +0000

The time in South Africa is flying by – I’m almost down to my last week! The days have continued to be filled, hanging out in Khayelitsha, praising God in song, playing with kids, doing various odd jobs – we finished tiling and grouting the bathroom at the retreat center, and we are very proud of our beautiful creation. On Sunday we we went for the second time to Pastor Yeza’s church in Site C, one of the regions of Khayelitsha. It was so good to be there again worshiping with that congregation. One of the mamas let me look on at her Xhosa hymnal and actually complimented my pronunciation – it made my day!

This past weekend we traveled to the city of Port Elizabeth for a graduation of pastors. Back in Khayelitsha, our home base of operations is the African Theological College, a small school which trains pastors in an intensive two-year program. This is where Pastor Ohm’s ministy is most closely connected to the larger organization African Leadership led by Larry Warren which focuses especially on equipping pastors. Unlike in the States, most pastors in Africa do not have the chance to study at a seminary before entering ministry – like Apollos of old, they simply preach what they know with great fervor. African Leadership works to train these pastors, especially focusing on teaching them how to study the Bible.

This is why African Theological College was established. However, for the many pastors who live far away and cannot come to Khayelitsha to study, something else was needed, so satellite schools were set up all over southern Africa. We traveled to Port Elizabeth to take part in a graduation for one of these satellite schools. Pastor Ohm and a couple other pastors who traveled with us spoke some word of encouragement to the seven graduates. Joey and I sang “Be Thou My Vision” as a blessing over them. It was really special to be a part of such a significant day for those pastors.

Things are about to pick up rapidly. A team from Canada arrives today, and Joey and I will be working with them to do ministry in the high schools, which just recommenced this week after winter holidays (yeah Southern Hemisphere!). This weekend, we’ll be taking student leaders from Christian clubs at the high schools on a retreat for discipleship and training. While I am at the retreat, Joey will be traveling with Seyeun to Transkei to finish work on the clinic and later to do ministry with the Canadian team as I did with the team from Seattle. After the retreat, I will have just a couple days to wrap things up here, and then my time in South Africa will be over as I return to the States to celebrate the marriage of Adam Harris and Jenn Huang.

As my time here comes to a close, please pray: 1) For the ministry in the high schools and the retreat, that the Gospel will be shared and that we can be an encouragement to the young leaders. 2) For Joey and Seyeun in Transkei, that God will bless their work on the clinic and their ministry with the team. 3) For me, as my time here finishes, that I will have good time with the people here and that God will finish showing me what he desires me to see and learn.

For the Kingdom!
David

South African Dispatch, Pt. 2

scudderjourneys — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 04:27:43 +0000

The time here in Cape Town is passing quickly. Joey Klein arrived last Sunday and has been my partner-in-crime in Khayelitsha. After a day of sightseeing at the beautiful Cape Point, the team from Seattle said their farewells. They were soon followed by two other guys at the mission house, Steve and Jeremy, leaving just me, Joey, Solomon, and Seyeun (two longer-term missionaries). The great benefit in it all is that between the various departures and visiting pastors, we’ve enjoyed three Korean feasts in the last week

In Khayelitsha, we’ve gotten to see all different pieces of the ministry. Doing manual labor at the African Theological College and the retreat center, I’ve learned such practical skills as brick-laying and tiling – I feel like quite the handyman.

We’ve also gotten to be a part of the Rainbow Sports Ministry, which ministers to Khayelitsha youth through soccer and netball (a game resembling basketball). Last Wednesday, we went with Solomon to play in a small 3-on-3 soccer tournament he had organized for the kids in one of the neighborhoods. Joey shared his testimony, and we entered a team of our own that made it to the semi-finals. Soccer provides a great way to start relationships and expose the youth to the Gospel – it was cool to be a part of it in this neighborhood where it is just in its initial stage of contact.

African Leadership’s biggest ministry in Khayelitsha is the Sunday Schools. Every Saturday and Sunday morning, all over Khayelitsha, committed teachers meet with as many as 70 eager kids, ages ranging from 4-16. They sing songs, play games, teach Bible stories, and just love the kids. I got a glimpse of the impact of this as I saw a flock of kids run up to assault Joey with hugs as he came to help teach them – this is an amazing chance to show these children the love of Christ. I’ve gotten to be a part of 5 Sunday schools now, and each has been an adventure and a joy.
It is such a joy to see God’s Kingdom in other cultures – to be welcomed into churches where they boldly sing in Xhosa, to visit a Chinese house church and hear their passion for Khayelitsha, to meet Korean pastors who have come to see the work God is doing through Pastor Ohm – the Gospel and the Kingdom are not bounded by lines of nationality, culture, and race. I’ve been continually coming back to Galatians 3:26-28:

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

In Christ we have a new identity as children of God that breaks down all other boundaries – this is what lets me, a white guy from America, worship joyfully with my brothers and sisters in South Africa! I’m reminded of something Pastor Ohm said: in Heaven, people from every tribe and nation will be worshiping God together. As servants living for God’s Kingdom here on earth, this is something we need to be practicing!

The time here so far has been especially encouraging coming out of a spring where I was feeling more distant from God. It is forcing me to really dig into the Gospel and the incredibly good news that it is – news worth sharing and rejoicing over. I was especially encouraged last Sunday as we did door-to-door evangelism near one of the churches in Khayelitsha. One of the last homes we visited was a Christian family whose son had been at Sunday School that morning – the big hug he gave me as I came in totally made my day! I decided to encourage them with a passage from Ephesians (1:15-23) – it ended up being a great encouragement for me as well, and I urge you to dive into it yourselves – it exults over the fact that God’s power working in us is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead – this is pretty amazing to think about!

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue here in Khayelitsha. 1) Pray for the sports ministry and the doors that it opens for youth to hear the Gospel. 2) Pray for the Sunday Schools – that it can impact both the kids and the families. 3) Pray for Pastor Ohm and the other African leadership staff – that God will encourage them and continue to use their ministry. 4) Pray for Joey and I – that we will be growing in the Gospel and that God will be using us as his ministers and servants in Khayelitsha. I’m mostly healed from being sick, so thank you for your prayers for that. I look forward to writing more soon!

For the Kingdom!
David

South African Dispatch, Pt. 1

scudderjourneys — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 04:26:48 +0000

My time in South Africa has begun in a blur. After some long flights, I arrived in Cape Town last Thursday evening to be met by Pastor Ohm at the airport. One of the first things he told me was that my travels were not quite over – at 5 am Friday morning, we would be embarking on a 12 hour road trip to Transkei, homland of the Xhosa people. I spent the evening riding around with Pastor Ohm, learning more about his ministry and seeing the African Thelogical Seminary and one of the Sunday Schools in Khayelitsha. I also met a short-term team of Korean Americans from Seattle that I’m working with these first couple weeks. I had to laugh when my first meal in Africa was short ribs and kimchee eaten with chopsticks with Korean conversation flowing across the table.

Bright and early the next morning, we left for Transkei. A flat tire and finally a dead car turned it into a 17 hour journey, but we all made it in one piece. Transkei is a beautiful land of rolling golden plains running up to mountains, where the Xhosa people have kept their sheep, goats, and oxen for hundreds of years. It is closely connected to Khayelitsha in that many people in Khayelitsha have moved there from Transkei to find work. Pastor Ohm has been working there to share Gospel and plant churches for several years.

In many ways it is the Africa of imagination (minus the big animals) – most people still live in round, thatched huts; sheep, goats, and oxen wander through the fields; warmth in the winter comes from a “Xhosa heater,” a small fire made in the center of the hut; a morning shower consists of a bucket of hot water that you attempt to rub over your body with soap without freezing in the process. Two funny moments . . . in one of the huts we visited, the woman was scrubbing her floor with water and cow dung – amazingly it didn’t smell, and apparently it adds a nice polish to the floor. Later, we were visiting another hut, and the peace was suddenly shattered by a blaring cell phone ring – the Xhosa owner calmly answered her phone and then returned to our conversation – a striking juxtaposition of old and modern ways.

Our time in Transkei was spent doing a variety of things. The first day I did construction work at a clinic/church that Pastor Ohm is building in one of the villages – I mainly shoveled concrete and handed bricks to the local 22-year old master brick layer, Mkongoze Gcelu (I had fun trying to pronounce his name correctly with the click “c”). Other days we would do door-to-door evangelism (another cultural difference – this actually meshes well with Xhosa culture). Each night we would have Sunday School for the kids and a youth service, and then a normal worship service for everyone in the area. It was amazing worshipping there, singing Xhosa songs and realizing how God’s kingdom bridges such a wide cultural divide. The work in Transkei is only beginning – there is a great need for training for the leaders and for discipleship – but the seeds are being planted.

After several days in Transkei, we returned to Cape Town on Wednesday night. Yesterday, activities commenced again, now revolving around the ministry in Khayelitsha. We visited a retreat center north of Cape Town that Ohm has been establishing. It will be an amazing facility when complete, but for now it is blocked by a ghost of apartheid – the white neighbors won a law case forbidding Pastor Ohm to use the public road to bring in blacks. In the evening, Pastor David from Seattle led a teaching seminar for the Khayelitsha Sunday School teachers (I’ll write more about this ministry another time).

At this point, I am just taking in as much as possible, learning what I can and enjoying the people I get to meet. It has been great so far working with Pastor Ohm, the Seattle team, and the other folks at the mission house. As we now start in earnest into the ministry in Khayelitsha, a couple prayer requests: 1) Pray for the Gospel to continue to spread in Transkei. 2) Pray for me to quickly build relationships here in Khayelitsha. 3) Pray for the work in Khayelitsha. Joey Klein arrives this weekend (pray for his safe travel) and we’ll be laying out how we’ll be spending the next several weeks. 4) I came back from Transkei a bit sick – please pray for quick recovery. 5) Pray for God’s continued work in my heart as he shows me more of himself here in South Africa.

I look forward to sharing more with you soon!

For the Kingdom!
David

From Joey: South African News: Edition 2

scudderjourneys — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 19:55:30 +0000

Greetings once again from South Africa,

This last Saturday, as I got out of the car at the Sunday School that
I was helping at, 3 or 4 little boys ran up to me and gave me a huge
hug, even though I had never met them before. Perhaps they thought I
was someone else, but to be greeted with such enthusiasm was very
encouraging and enjoyable. The Sunday School ministry here is
extremely important and is continually growing. I helped out with two
such schools last weekend, and seeing these kids exposed to God’s love
and his Word is essential for them. The families here provide the
necessary food and clothing for their kids, but there is little
positive activities for the children to be involved in besides playing
soccer in the streets. When these kids are older they often turn to
crime out of boredom or frustration. The Sunday Schools provide a
positive, fun outlet for the energy while hopefully planting a seed
for future growth and involvement in the church.

At one of these Sunday Schools, our translator (a local teenager)
didn’t show up on time, so Eugene (a Korean college student) and
myself were left to manage 60 kids from ages 4 to about 12, most of
whom have spotty English at best. This was a challege, to say the
least, but games and songs are translatable to nearly any language.
One of my favorite moments was when we split them into groups and
helped them memorize Bible verses. Each group had their own unique
way of memorizing: one group used extravagant miming, another chanted
and stomped in rhythm. But their creativity and rapid memorization
was encouraging; the children have such fertile minds but the local
education system often lets them down. At another school I told the
story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and taught them a song. Pray
that the Sunday Schools and pre-schools can assist the minds and
hearts of these wonderful little balls of energy and set them on the
right pathway.

I haven’t written yet about the churches here, which is a shame
because they occupy the greater part of a Sunday. David and I have
been attending the same church as Solomon, a small Xhosa-speaking
church in an area of Khayelitsha called Site C. We have been there
twice, and each time there was about 15-20 adults and a restless group
of kids. The worship songs are great and I am beginning to know some
of them in Xhosa, although I don’t know what most of them mean. One
that is always stuck in my head is called Eli Gama… quite catchy.
Pastor Yeza was kind enough to translate parts of his sermon for David
and I, although much of the service we still don’t understand what is
being said. It is enough to know that we are praising God together
and hearing His Word. The service lasts for about 3 hours, and
sometimes we go to pick up Seyeun and get to hear another hour or so
from a Korean pastor. David and I shared our testimonies one week and
sang Be Thou My Vision the next week; it was nice to be able to
mutually uplift the local people.

On Friday, Pastor Ohm took David and I to see the graduation of seven
pastors from a Bible College in Port Elizabeth, a coastal town about 8
hours to the East. We traveled with two other Korean pastors, Pastor
Tong-Su and Pastor Jyun. The drive is considered one of the most
beautiful in South Africa, and it didn’t disappoint. The mountains
and the coastline are amazing. We stayed in a hostel in a small
coastal town and befriended a German college student. The trip was
meant to encourage and send out the pastors in the Bible Training
College in Port Elizabeth– they were the first class to graduate from
there. Pastor Ohm said that there are nearly 7,000 pastors preaching
who have no formal training, so the continued success of these schools
equipping pastors is key for the growth of the churches. David and I
sang Be Thou My Vision and were able to chat and learn from our
brothers and sisters. Even the time in the car was useful, as Pastor
Ohm explained the principles behind AfricanLeadership and his personal
mission goals. Hearing from 3 powerful men of God was enlightening
and really opened my eyes to the intense commitment and perseverance
behind a successful ministry.

This Thursday I will be leaving for the Transkei, a rural area in the
Eastern Cape from which many of the people of Khayelitsha were forced
to move during the enforcement of apartheid. Transkei is more in the
image of “traditional” Africa, in that they live in huts and cook over
open fires, etc. No showers, primitive laundry, the whole deal.
Seyeun and I will be working on a medical clinic there for several
days and then will be joined by a short-term team from Toronto.
Ancestor worship has a very strong hold in this area, and it keeps the
people living in fear and too often is mixed with Christianity to form
cult-type beliefs. Pray that these bonds can be broken and that the
Christians will take a visible stand against it, rather than trying to
compromise.

We have finished a whole bathroom at the retreat center, which is
getting closer to functionality. Continue to pray for the lawsuits
regarding the access road, as well as for someone to step forward and
take control of managing the whole center and the ministries there.
David and I were also able to teach some of the coordinators at the
Bible College some more advanced computer skills that they can use in
their ministries and pass on to the other pastors and students there.

Once again, I overflow my own limits for wordage. I thank you all for
your continued prayers and the little emails of encouragement– they
mean a lot. It’s easy to think that this is totally separate world
that people at home don’t really care about, so knowing that someone
does care and shares my hopes of making a difference is a huge
encouragement. Please pray for these things: The people in Transkei
and the concerns mentioned above; the retreat center, also mentioned
above; for the new teams coming this week, that their ministry can be
effective and lives changed; continue to pray for the Sunday Schools
(we are constructing a new building when we get back from Transkei);
for David as he returns home in one week; and for myself that God
could continue to reveal His plan and purpose in me being here and how
He will use what I have learned once I return. Finally, pray for the
pastors that are being trained and have just graduated: they will be
the lifeblood of the church here as it grows and begins to spread to
other areas and countries.

I end with some words from the hymn Be Thou My Vision:

Be Thou my vision, Oh Lord of my Heart,
Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art,
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

For The Kingdom!

Joey Klein

From Joey: South African News: Edition 1

scudderjourneys — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 19:49:05 +0000

Hello everyone,

Greetings to you all from the quite chilly yet very welcoming township of Khayelitsha (kai yeh LEET sha), South Africa . The winter weather here is early forgotten by the warm welcome I have received from the people in his town and the various missionaries located here.

After 31 hours in airports and on planes, I arrived in Cape Town on Sunday evening to find that my luggage had decided to do some sightseeing in New York and had not followed me to South Africa. David Scudder, a friend from Stanford who had arrived earlier this week, was kind enough to let me borrow some clothes, but I was still very grateful when my luggage caught up to me on Tuesday. David, myself, and a varying number of other short and longer-term missionaries are all staying in the African Leadership mission house, a very nice (and rather large) house in another suburb of Cape Town. This house was donated by a couple in Canada for the use of short term teams, and is the place of many comings and goings of those serving Christ here.

The first few days here were dominated by the departure of a small team from the Seattle area and two other guys, Steve and Jeremy, who had been working here with African Leadership for quite some time. I am now very grateful that I practiced chopsticks all the time as a kid, because three nights this week we had a Korean feast for those who were about to leave (Pastor Ohm, the main guy here for African Leadership, is Korean, and most of the teams who come are from Korean churches in America or Canada). Trying the anchovie/tofu soup and the raw fish has been interesting, but I have found that I like almost everything (except kimchi: spicy fermented cabbage). But the departure of these teams also meant that my first day here consisted of sightseeing around the Cape– and what sights there are.
The sea cliffs and beaches and mountains are all stunning, especially in the late afternoon sun. We also saw penguins (this is a winter nesting place), baboons on the side of the road, and an ostrich. Now there is only four of us in the house: Solomon, Sae-yung (both longer-term), David, and myself.

The ministry of African Leadership is all based largely in and around the African Theological College, which is located in the “downtown” area of Khayelitsha. It is here that Pastor Ohm and others train pastors and leaders to go out and serve. There are a couple of local coordinators as well: Parker and Chris, who run the local sports ministries. There is also support for the Mamas who run the local daycare center. So far, David and I have been doing a lot of manual labor, fixing up a couple of things at the college and working on the retreat center/campground, which will be quite a powerful ministry once it is finished. Pray for this right now, as African Leadership is involved in a lawsuit where the owner of the neighboring land doesn’t want them to be able to use the access road if they are bringing black people to the campground. This has delayed the progress of the campground considerably.

One morning this week, Solomon, David, and I went to a part of Khayelitsha and organized a soccer tournament for the local youth. Solomon has been playing with them for about a month now, trying to build relationships and provide them with a positive outlet. We played on a sand field next to one of the preschools, and afterward I shared my testimony and Solomon talked briefly. Pray that these boys would be impacted by this fledgling ministry.

Monday and Thursday mornings we have devotions with the coordinators at the College. I love hearing the passion and power with which the Africans pray– we often pray all at the same time, out loud, and it is very powerful to hear people speaking with God in 3 different languages at the same time (Xhosa, Korean, and English). We are now gearing up for the Sunday schools this weekend. David and I may be singing/playing guitar. We are also planning on teaching a guitar class at the college, although David will be far more helpful than me in this.

Next weekend a team from Vancouver will arrive, and at that point I will be headed up to the Transkei, the rural Xhosa homeland. Until then it is more local sports ministry and work at the college and campground.

Thank you all for being involved in this ministry with me. I have a challege to you from Pastor Ohm: Every night, at 10 pm, pray for South Africa. Pray for 3 things specifically: 1) That the local people can be united in helping each other, rather than just thinking of themselves. 2) The local people often live in the past and are not good at considering the future. Pray that they can have a more balanced view of their lives and consider how their present actions affect their future, rather than living in the moment (this attitude is one reason that HIV is so common). 3) Most people, even in relatively urban Khayelitsha but moreso in Transkei , are still involved in ancestor worship– not so much active, but they still live in fear and this often inhibits their employment or living conditions, etc. Pray that they can break free from these bonds. Pastor Ohm is promoting this prayer time all across the world, so please remember: Every night at 10 pm (your local time), pray for this country. There are strong evil forces at work here and only prayer can combat that.

This letter is far too long already, so I will write more next week. Please remember to pray for these things: the lawsuit with the campground; the relationships being built with the local youth; and the 10 pm prayer list for South Africa. Pray also for David and I, that we can have the Word of the Lord in our hearts whenever we are called on to speak to these people. Thank you for your faithfulness in this.

I end with the motto for African Leadership: For The Kingdom! This is our reminder to make every moment of maximum benefit to the Kingdom of Christ.

Warmly,
Joey Klein

Summer with African Leadership in South Africa

scudderjourneys — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 18:19:24 +0000

Summer is at last coming, even for those of us on the quarter system. Last summer, many of you supported and encouraged me as I went to San Pedro, Mexico to serve with Stephen and Marcela Tolman. It was a rich experience, building relationships and learning the language and culture, and really getting a feel for how God’s kingdom is advancing in northern Mexico. This summer I have the opportunity to take part in the work of the kingdom in a totally different context. Through African Leadership, a non-profit organization working throughout the continent of Africa, I will be traveling to South Africa to live and work with Pastor Young Ohm, a Korean missionary based in Khayelitsha, a township near Capetown.

Khayelitsha, established during the days of apartheid as a black settlement, is now the largest township in the area (~ half a million people) with a population that is primarily from the Xhosa people. Though apartheid is officially over, the township still faces serious issues with great poverty and crime. Pastor Ohm has been in Khayelitsha since 1996 working to share God’s love through all sorts of ministries: daycare, sports ministry, English school, business development, and a school of theology for training pastors.

With Joey Klein, another Stanford student, I will be spending 5 weeks living at the Africa Leadership mission house and working with Pastor Ohm in Khayelitsha. (I will leave on June 21 and return at the end of July). My purpose there is fairly simple: to learn what I can of the culture and the ministry going on there, and to serve the local church and Pastor Ohm however I can. Beyond that, I will be working primarily in their youth ministry which has an outreach to over 400 unchurched teenagers who are playing soccer under Christian coaches and helping with their Saturday schools where over 1000 children come to hear the gospel. Africa Leadership has a camp ministry I hope to participate in, and I may be able to work some in the Transkei homeland where most of the residents of Khayelitsha came from and AL has a church planting ministry. Many of the details of our work will be finalized as we work together with the local team and other summer interns. I am excited about this opportunity to see God’s work in a totally different culture, and also about the challenge of encountering the unique (and not so unique) hardships facing Khayelitsha.

Please keep me in your prayers as I travel to South Africa. Pray 1) for God to prepare my heart for the trip and draw me closer to Him 2) for God’s grace as I strive to understand the culture and learn the Xhosa language 3) for God’s protection as we travel to South Africa and live in Khayelitsha 4) that God will use Joey and me to bless Pastor Ohm and the church and Khayelitsha.

Missions is never an individual activity – the whole body of Christ participates, whether by sending or going or praying. I need your support in this endeavor, and I want you to share in the blessing of the work. To that end, I will be sending out e-mails during (and after) the trip with updates and prayer requests, and depending on internet availability, I will post periodic journal entries to my website (as I did in Mexico and Australia). Here’s how you can be a part of this: 1) if you are willing to pray for me during the trip, please let me know by e-mail. It is a great blessing for me to know that you are supporting me in prayer, and I want to be sure to let you know how those are prayers are answered. 2) if you would like to support financially to help cover the costs of the trip (~$4000 with airfare), donations can be made through African Leadership, a registered non-profit. Make checks payable to African Leadership and mail them to my parent’s home at 204 Burnt Leaf Lane, Brentwood, TN 37027. 3) While I am in South Africa, drop me an e-mail with encouragement from Scripture or testimonies from your life or whatever you like.

If you are interested in learning more about these ministries you can check out the African Leadership website (www.africanleadership.org) and Pastor Ohm’s website (www.africanleadership.org.za). I look forward to sharing stories of what God does.

Now, as they say at African Leadership, For the Kingdom!
David Scudder

“Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him – to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ. Amen.” – Romans 16:25-27