It SNOWED!!

Hello everyone! Okay, so another quick update!

Before I say anything I wanted to tell everyone that on Tuesday it snowed!!! Yay, the first time in JoBerg since 1989...we brought it with us...we played Christmas music in the car..it was a blast!

This week we spent a week doing a kids program! Half of us went to Soweto and half of us were at the church in Moroca. I had the opportunity to be at the church. During this week we spent the mornings going to people's homes and praying for them. One of the homes we went to had 2 sisters living in it both infected with HIV...it was really sad to see them in this state, but I was so happy to be able to pray with them. One of the saddest moments for me this week was going to pray for some families who live on top of a cemetery. The kids play on the cemetery...can you imagine? We literally had to walk next to dirt mounds of dead bodies to go to these people's homes. To make matters worse, the city was building a fence around the homes to put them outside of the cemetery grounds...How worse could you make someone feel..."Oh, well you cannot live on the cemetery, we are going to send you out." Another hard thing, but also a blessing this week: Two nights ago we had an evangelism program for the kids we have been working with all week and 36 kids accepted Christ into their hearts! The program went late, so the kids were going home after dark. A little girl went up to one of our leaders and said that she would be beaten by her parents when she got home because she was late. So, we prayed for her in the van on the way home. At church today we found out that she was not beaten last night and it was all okay!

Here is JoBerg witch doctors are very importnant. So, when people are sick, they go to them and the witch doctors pray over this rope called a Sangoma Rope....a "blessing" is put on the rope and is tied on their waist or arm....the theory is once the rope falls off the sickness will go away...well it's such a sad mindset...anyway, we have been around kids and young adults this week with that rope on and we cannot make them take them off or else they will be killed, so all we can do is pray against the curses put on the ropes....so sad! There is a lot of evil in this place and I can feel it all the time....I was teary-eyes the other day thinking of how this makes God feel...the curses, the beaten children, the drunk men, men raping women, women selling their bodies so that they can live.....

Amidst all the pain, I remember God's promises and faithfulness, I look at the kids that have chosen to choose God and I smile! I see the good that is here and I am blessed to be able to teach the kids and adults about God....I am glad our team can be here to give hope to these people!

This morning we went to the church we have been working at for an African Service. We danced and sang African songs...the service only lasted 3 1/2 hours...pretty good! It was a great message....I have been practicing my Zulu and got to use it in front of the church...HA!!!!

Okay, I need to let the others use the computer.....PRAYERS: strength for the team, unity with the team, that God would work through us, for the people here.

I hope to e-mail again in 2 weeks, if not, in 3....I will do my best! Lots of love!

Blessings,

Kristin