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Posted in General Articles
by Chelsea Short
on 5/3/2008
There are two official days left in our ministries. I can't believe the time is really coming to an end. Right now I can't imagine myself leaving Africa; my heart is here. I have fallen in love with the children, the singing, the beauty, the people, the culture, and the lessons I have learned. This next week is going to both emotional and exciting. We are having a carnival for Ithemba on Monday, at Deo Doxa the church Ithemba was planted by. We will drive the kids from Ithemba to Deo Doxa where they can play games, jump on the moon bounce, slip and slide, have their faces painted, eat popcorn, and get balloon animals. The money to fund the carnival came from people at Harvest Christian Center and from Rachel Wright's supporters. I am so excited for the carnival but nervous at the same time. I want things to run really well and I want the kids to have an experience they have never had. Pray that things will go well and the weather will cooperate. We have spent hours planning, raising money, getting donations, shopping, and preparing. When I am at home and have free time I am constantly thinking about what to do for the carnival. Remember me on Monday and pray that the kids will have en experience they will never forget.
On Tuesday this week we had one of the most hectic days this year. It seemed that we were all suddenly being attacked by the devil. When I walked in that day two of the kids were dragging another kid on the floor for fun, or so I thought. I was helping dish the food for the kids, when those same two kids started screaming for the ladies to come. Nomsa ran as quick as possible to find the child not really responding. He could only look out of the corner of his eye and his body was limp. He said he was hungry but he threw up continually. Luckily someone with a car was visiting that day and she quickly drove him to the doctor with Nomsa and Trinos. The doctor said that there was nothing he could do he had to go to the hospital. At the nearest hospital they said he needed to go to a bigger hospital because they couldn't give him the care that he needed. While all of this is going on we are making phone calls like crazy at Ithemba and Queen is searching for this childs mom. What breaks my heart is the fact that without my phone we would have no contact, and without our vehicle it would have taken a lot longer to get the child to any care, and without our money he could not have gone to the doctor. Without us there would have been no help for him. But we aren't going to be here forever. Keep this child in your prayers, his name is Lanki and he is about 8 years old. I have not heard word of how he is.
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Posted in General Articles
by Chelsea Short
on 4/9/2008
Currently right now we are still in Jbay. I know I said we were really leaving for Lesotho but it seemed like the Lord had other plans for us to stay here. As we were preparing to leave all of the plans seemed to be not coming in line. Our leaders felt at peace that the Lord wanted us to stay in Jbay, and this gave us a chance to stay in our ministries for the next two weeks.
This week we have been painting the classrooms at Ithemba which has been a really fun project. The color used to be peach and we are working on creating an ocean mural. The ladies are all really excited about the change and I am excited to bless them with the change.
We also went on a surrender hike yesterday which was really amazing, and God really spoke to me. I was able to reflect on all of the things that God has taught me this year. In order to get up to the mountain you had to climb through thorny bushes. As I started walking through the bush I thought I had chosen a good path, but it seemed to get harder and then end seemed farther. As I stood in the middle of the bush I looked around and felt desperate to get out! Why God did I choose this path. But when I made it through the bush I realized how there is nothing that we can't handle. God can teach us in every situation. Up on that mountain I was able to surrender my past and see how God brought me through it. God has really blessed me this year, and I am so excited for the lessons he is going to teach me.
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Posted in General Articles
by Chelsea Short
on 4/4/2008
So I know that posted saying that we were going to Lesotho, but there was a major change of plans and we are now going to Lesotho tomorrow. There was a major mix up with our visas and it required that we leave the country when they visas expired. The Lord worked it all out but the plans were still changed. The past two weeks we have spent hanging with people from our ministries and taking a little spring break. It has been a really relaxing two weeks and it has made me realize how much Jeffreys Bay has become my home. One of my favorite moments was sleeping at Nomsa's house in the township. It was really awesome to see how she lives her life and how I take so much for granted. Water is a luxury in the shack houses. Everytime I wanted to brush my teeth, wash my hands, wash my face, or have a drink, the water had to be brought from down the block and then boiled to purify it. Nomsa did all of those things for me as though it was no big deal. I really appreciate our friendship and the way she was willing to invite me into our home. It is hard to keep the noise out when the walls are made of plastic and wood. I could hear the neighbors music all night along with the mice that were eating away at the walls. It was nice to spend the night away from the craziness of the house.
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Posted in General Articles
by Chelsea Short
on 3/19/2008
Our team will be leaving for Lesotho this weekend and we will be gone for the next few weeks. We will have no water, no electricity and definitely no internet to be in contact. When I get home I will update my blog from the time there and also what has been going on at Ithemba the past few weeks.
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Posted in General Articles
by Chelsea Short
on 3/9/2008
My kids are at the age where their bodies are starting to transition from children to teenagers. Sex is a topic that is avoided by most schools and families in this area of the world. It is easier for people to avoid the consequences that come along with choosing to have sex. AIDS is so rampant here that people have started to think that it is so normal. Nomsa and I decided that it would be important to have the sex talk with the students. We split the kids up by boys and girls, and talked about sex. It was pretty hard to start the discussion, and the girls were slightly embarrassed, but once it got going it was apparent that they had many questions. We had the girls write any questions they had about sex, AIDS, boys, or puberty. While we were discussing Nomsa felt like it would be important for the kids to feel like they really had a baby. She decided that we would give each child an egg and they take care of it for a week. So they next day I brought in three-dozen eggs, and they kids went to town painting their "babies". It has humorous to watch the kids come in each day and tell their stories of broken eggs, or to see the kids with their egg wrapped in a blanket with a bottle. When the week was finished there was only one egg left, but the kids realized that their whole life changed when they had to carry around a raw egg with them all the time. Raw eggs cannot be easily left next to the fence when you go to play soccer, just the same with babies.
If you are looking for some way to support me, or these kids, they could really use hygiene products. Things like deoderant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, feminine products, and even soap. These are some things that we take advantage of in the states, we assume that we will always have it, but these kids don't have the same resources. I would love to be able to provide the kids with these things while showing them how important their hygiene is. Also if you could pray for me right now that would be great. I am waiting to hear if I got the leadership position for a team that will come here in June. This will give me a chance to stay in Jbay for another three months! But right now it is really up to God.
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Posted in General Articles
by Chelsea Short
on 3/2/2008
One of the ladies that we work with at Ithemba told us a few weeks ago that she never had a birthday party. On Wednesday night we realized that her birthday was on Thursday. Automatically we started planning a birthday party that would be special for her and fun for the kids. We baked 90 cupcakes, made a banner made play dough, filed water balloons, and planned a few games. Two of the girls took her out to lunch while the rest of us set up the room for a birthday party, sort of like the ones that we have in America. They arrived with Lusanda just at the time when the kids were sitting down to pray before lunch, and we had them sing happy birthday to Maga Aya (Lusanda's formal name in Xhosa). She had such a big smile on her face, and it was only going to get better. We had a water balloon toss, which f course turned into a fight, we played our own African version of pin the tail on the donkey, and then there was a limbo contest. Lusanda had such a blast and she said that the day could not get any better. She told us that no one had ever planned anything for her birthday, and we really made the day special. The day was such a blast and I went home wet from the many water balloons that hit me.
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Posted in General Articles
by Seth Simonson
on 2/29/2008
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 Awaken to the Adventure
Disciples aren't born; they're made. It's a process that takes time,
discipline, and God. In reality, it looks more like waking up than
attending a class.
As part of The Awakening, you can undergo a discipleship program
like no other, experiencing four months of intense training in another
country to prepare you for the ministry that awaits you for the rest of
the year.
Join The Awakening
 Your
mornings will be spent in training and your afternoons ministering in
local communities, activating what you've learned. In the context of
experiential learning, you will be discipled by mentors who want to see
you grow deeply in your faith.
You will be part of a community of other individuals who share your
passion and desire to come alive in Christ. This time will challenge
and stretch you in new ways, and you will never be the same.
 Become a part of The Awakening in either Latin America or Africa and discover your role in the kingdom of God.
You
were made for greatness, to experience the abundant life and freedom
that Jesus promised. As they awaken, current participants are saying:
I don't think that I will ever have such an opportunity to give up all of myself and all of my expectations as I do here. (Emily Tissot, Latin America)
 The
Bible study has... turned into a church. So, we have church at noon
Tuesday-Friday under the tree in front of the market. I love watching
as people just bring their stool/chair/water container... and join in
the singing. We are going through the book of Galatians, and it is cool
to see how freedom is effecting their hearts. (Denise Eckert, Africa)
For more on The Awakening, visit the First-Year Missionary website.
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Posted in General Articles
by Chelsea Short
on 2/23/2008
Community has been one of the most challenging and fun experiences that I have had in Africa. Don't get me wrong, we all have those days where we just have to go into our rooms, well actually our bunks, and pop our earplugs to have some alone time. Today was one of those days that I was so glad to live with eighteen people. Every Saturday night we have a "family night". This is where we all get together and do something fun. Activities can be bowling, movie night, a picnic, a Halloween party, football at the beach, or a dinner out. But this Saturday was by far my favorite. House Olympics 2008 was the theme for the night. For those of you who don't know me I am very competitive person. I always want to win, even if it is just a game of tic tac toe. I think I picked this trait up from my brother Cletus, who is probably the most competitive person I know. Before we started the night, I prayed that I would not be too competitive because then I tend to take my anger out on my teammates. God went ahead of me in allowing each event to be with a different team or just by ourselves. This allowed me to ignore the idea of the points we gain. God has really been working on me to accept the fact that it is okay to lose sometimes, and it is even greater when other people can win. The games were all over the place; there was a three legged race, a ping pong tournament, a paddleball tournament, an egg race, an eating contest, a candy bar guessing contest, and an interesting game of spinning and jumping (you will have to ask Matt Spainhour if you want more details). It was great to laugh and have fun with my team. I never would have imagined myself living in Africa after college having an egg race with my teammates in my front year, the year after I graduated college. When I look back at this year, I can barely remember the hard times because the amazing times seem to be so much greater.
Ministry also went well this week as well. The students in my class were able to make scrapbooks with pictures of themselves that I have been taking all year. They loved to see themselves in the pictures, and it was so cute how they decorated the pages. We also had quite a dance party at Ithemba, where the kids dancing skills never cease to amaze me. If only I could move my body like they do with no effort. Thursday was a sweltering day, so at the last minute we decided to take the older kids to the beach. Jenny, Rachel and I rounded up the kids, but Nomsa did the directing (it helps a lot when you can speak Xhosa). The walk to the beach seemed to take forever, but the jump in the water was so worth it. I love how kids in Africa can go to the beach in their school clothes, swim in their underwear, and walk home completely barefoot. I had a blast, as the kids were calling my name left and right, so they could show me how good they were at diving into the waves. I really love Jeffreys Bay, and when I leave a little bit of my heart is going to stay here.
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