Can’t believe that today is the halfway point for our family’s time in South Africa. All of our team has left. The STINT midyear is over. And I have checked off the necessary partnership meetings for CCC - though will meet the Commmunity Director tomorrow and may still meet with other folks.
This window is about our family, meetign with people in the community and deepening our partnership and friendship with Louis and Erika of BEAM Africa.
I choose St. Lucia as a location for the midyear for the 8 STINTers because website said it was 4 hours from Jo’burg and not to mention it had hippos, crocs and the Indian Ocean.
People told us the drive was 8 hours and I thought they just don’t know. Well 8 hours was too conservative. The road that looked like an interstate on the map was mostly a two-lane road and often a one-lane due to construction. Once we sat for 30 minutes waiting for our turn to drive through the construction area. It took 10 hours.
But we made it. And had an excellent dinner where we are stating. The accomdations are excellent.
It’s warm here. This am we went on a boat ride in the estuary and saw crocs and hippos. This afternoon I dipped my toes in the Indian Ocean. And for several hours Robin and I had a great time interacting with the STINTers. We asked to share their highlight and then what has been the greatest challenge. It opened up a lot of things. Pray that we will be able to address some solutions that mostly deal with their ministry scenerios.
Tonight we have a braai (BBQ) and tommorrow a devotion followed by a game drive. Worth the ten hours in a car with cranky kids.
On Monday Drew asked why a little boy was sitting in my lap at BEAM. I said, “Maybe he doesn’t have a daddy to hold him and love him like you do. Drew, can he borrow your daddy?”
Drew answered “yes, he can borrow my daddy.”
Early this morning, I drove Kevin & Brian Cox to the airport. They flew to Zambia where they will be for the next 2 weeks. A former co-worker of Kevin’s and her husband are missionaries in Zambia. They work among HIV+ Women and the lowest strata of boys in Ndola. Kevin & Brian will also (jealousy alert) get to go to Victoria Falls.
After dropping them off at the airport in Jo’burg, I hustled back to Pretoria facing slow traffic because of accident/construction/rush hour. I arrived just in time for the rest of our group to load the vans and head over to Beam for one last time. We spent a couple of hours saying good-byes. It was a little easier for me because I could say I will see them next week.
The kids clung to us and little girls cry as we left (not accepted for the boys to cry). It was bitter sweet. It was sad that some will never see our team again. But a joy that we could impact their little lives in even a short time. God is good.
Then we drove to Jo’burg stopping by a mall for a late lunch before we checked into the guesthouse where the Dupras & McCulllough families will stay the night. We spent a couple of hours together debriefing – talking about preparing for reverse-culture shock, sharing about our time and encouraging each other. Then Brian Dupras and I took Cassie, Kayla, Jeanine, Kristin, Paul and Becca back to the airport. We returned one of the vans and tried to get the crocs released from customs. Turning in the van and checking in the six went okay. I did lose Paul’s van for a little bit going to the airport as I made a quick turn and they went straight but fortunately I had given him good directions of where to park and we hooked up with no problems.
Getting the crocs was okay I guess though we still don’t have them. British Air is sort of redeeming themselves a little in that Stephen at British Air baggage claim went the extra mile and took Cassie and I the back way through security to the customs office. (It was Cassie’s bag.) But the customs officer, just doing his job, says that we needed proof that Beam was a non-profit organization in order to get them without paying a lot of taxes. So I called Erika and she was going to fax proof. Instead of waiting and Cassie perhaps missing her flight, British Air says they will deliver the bag of crocs to BEAM. So hopefully I will not have to return to the airport and get it.
Brian and I hugged the six goodbye. What a great group of folks! What a blessing to serve with them all. I could go on and on about these people. We went through several little trials but they never complained. A great group of servants. So impressed with them all especially Kayla and Cassie who soon will be just starting college.
Tomorrow am, the Dupras and McCullough’s head to Saint Lucia to lead a midyear retreat for 8 STINTers. It will be the last WSN event I will ever lead after more than a dozen midyears/briefings/leader training venues through the years that I have had the priveledge of leading not countign all the others I helped lead or particpated in.
Quick update… (typing on s mini computer with fat fi9ngers so pardon the typos.)
I got a hold of the claims dept of volunteer card and they were really helpful in locating our baggage. I gave all the British Airlines claims numbers and she called back within an hour. At that time they were still in Heathrow but by the next am (yesterday) they arrived in JNB. All but about 20 of our bags arrived yesterday having visited Wimbledon, seen Buckingham Palace and speaking with a cockney accent.
The only bag we don;t have is on of donated Crocs. It;s held up in customs.
Sickness… a virus has slowly passed through our team… Charlie (two days ago), Isaac, Robin, Paul, Kristin, Jack, Luke again, Drew, Brian Dupras (all yesterday/last night) and (tonight) Jeanine. So those still left on the island: Kevin, Brian Cox, Kayla, Cassie, Becca, Ann (though feeling it) and me.
The Blessing… we have our clothes. We are enjoying the time i9n the township. The kids are a joy. Kevin & Brian C are leading some business training with a co-op of disabled people. Brian D is using his mad skills to solve network issues.
Most of all it is a reminder that our sufferings are light and momentary. So we are sick… we can get medicine and rehydrate. So some of our rooms are cold… we have a place to sleep and can buy heaters. We have food. We rewore our clothes for a few days but these kids wear the same clothes everyday with no other choice.
Today I met a lady named Claudia who runs a daycare in the township. We had the opportunity to talk about the need for healing among the people of this community. I got to prayer with her and for her that the Lord would heal his land as we humble ourselves and seek his face.
Oh Africa! (Though most of my frustrations right now are not African caused.) In fact most lie in a frustration with Brits and Americans.
We arrived yesterday morning. We arrived. Our bags remained in London. Blame British Air. Not only did our 21 bags not make it on the plane over 100 didn’t. I guess a 7 hour delay enables enough time to get bags from one plane to another.
So we spent a long time at Oliver Tamba airport yesterday – filling out claims forms, eating lunch, etc. I had a cell phone with minutes left over from last July when I was here but the battery was dead. I ‘borrowed’ an outlet from a store just enough to call the Van Rental place that was wonderign why it took me 3 hours to call them. I tried to explain I had no juice and was in an area without the prpoer outlet filling out forms. Anyway got the vans and we drove to Petroia sans luggage.
I have been here two other times and the hostel we are staying in would be on the bottom end of the 3. Sort of a diappointment to me but the group is a trooper and willing to make it a camping experience.
This morning I spent time in-between trying to solve the missing luggage issue and the fact that Luke (one day into age 7) was sick. He woke up this am dehydrated and through up several times.After multiple calls I finally got ahold of someone in claims department but no promises of baggage just that they would call me.
Robin and Anne stayed back with Luke, Jack, Drew and Isaac. The rest of our crew came to Beam. I played with the kids for a little bit but have spent most of day trying to solve baggage/sick kid issue.
Robin said Luke has his color back and is holding down liquids so that’s good. British Air called to say they were only sending 10 bags. When they arrived, Robin told me that it was only 4. I tried calling them back but their number is no longer working. Seems line is busy.
I decided to try and call the Volunteer Card over these two issues. Since my plan covers medical assistance and lost/delayed baggage. I finally got through but the guy I spoke with kept acting like their was no medical assistance though I was looking on-line at the printed version of my plan that says there was. It clearly says we speak with a one of their doctors for advice and he says I can’t. So I asked for a supervisor but she was busy and said she would call back. My cell phone doesn’t take international calls so she will have to call Robin at the hostel. good luck with that one.
I started to talk with the person in claims about my baggage but after being on hold so long over medical issue my cell phone died….
So I can’t call British Air or Volunteer card or my wife!
UGH!
As a family we head to South Africa tonight. It will be our first mission trip as a family. The first 10 days we are leading a team from our church to work in a township outside of Pretoria with a ministry called Beam Africa. We will be helping Beam as they serve kids in the neighborhood by helping feed them and hosting a kids camp. We also will be offering some business classes for adults to help those in extreme poverty rise above their situation. We will launch “Sekepe” and give micro-loans to empower them. (The CCC Project will arrive while we are there and we will overlap for 2 days working with the kids.) We will do a few fun things too like go to a Lion Park and celebrate the 4th with a braai (BBQ).
It’s with a little nervousness that I take my family. There is a lot of crime. I am not sure how my boys will do on the long flight or if they will want to go into the township every day. I am not sure how Jack & Drew will respond to ‘mom’ holding other kids. I have never lead a team with my family so not sure how divided my attention will be.
But on the other hand I am excited and have been looking forward to this for a year. I want us as a family to serve together among the least of these. (And do some fun adventures too.) I want my wife to live out her dream of ‘running an orphanage’ by caring for orphans who live on their own. I want Luke, Jack and Drew to rub shoulders every day with kids who don’t have everything and don’t complain about the food served them. I want to take the extra time we have by being there a month to sit and listen to the needs of those within the township and see how Cornerstone can partner long-term there to help bring about real change. I want to find other ministries like Beam Africa so ‘Sekepe’ can be a blessing to other ministries as well helping many be alleviat
ed from their situation and the Kingdom of God come.
Most of all, I want to experience Jesus. I want to serve sacrificially – my family, our team, Beam, the poor. I want to live as He lived loving the lost, the least and the last.
Earlier this year, Luke did a science project on worms so we had a huge bucket full of worms. (Were going to save them for a compost but most didn’t last the winter.)
Recently Robin found this list that we made at that time. It was little exercise we did at the dinner table one night in coming up with 100 pet names for the worms. Everyone participated…. feel free to steal any if your son/daughter/dog gets a worm for a pet. Or vote for your favorite in the comments.
Our June Letter shares about changes afoot for the McCullough family. One that in two+ weeks as we head to South Africa for a month as a family. And then changes that will happen when we return. Of course, if you are hear at Global Andy, I guess you can see that.
You can download or save a tree and view a preview on-line in ipaper at http://www.box.net/shared/1j580o3z41.
Yesterday Luke finished his year of kindergarten. (sorry not a current pic) No graduation but they did have a pool party. Robin and I are proud of him as he has learned a lot this year and really grown in terms of interacting with his class.
