Hey everyone-
We just wanted to say that we are having a blast over here but are looking forward to coming home for the holidays! We have great stories to share when we get back. For the last few days we haven't been able to get Internet access and we won't be able to again before we leave so pray for us. Pray that the last two days in South Africa go well and the trip home is a safe and fast one. We will continue to write more of our stories when we get back to keep checking and keep praying.
Peace
Kwezi & Nokwezi
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
We have had the blessing of Dwight Carlson, a psychiatrist, visiting this week to run anger and forgiveness groups in Philippi for CHE (Community Health Evangelist) workers and the youth from the church. This last week he left the people with some great tools on how to deal with their anger and this coming week he will share about forgiveness. It was very freeing for the people of Philippi to hear that anger is an ok emotion. After processing that anger is ok, Dwight gave the people healthy steps to finding a solution to Anger.
His steps include:
Recognizing your angry, waiting before responding, praying, identifying why you are angry, evaluating if you have the right to be angry, confronting the person, forgiving the person and then hopefully finding resolution.
The hope is that the information he shared was received in such a way that the people who heard it could share it with more people. Already we have had reports that people are talking about anger and how to resolve it with their families.
It has been so encouraging to be with the people of Philippi, they are so intelligent and are so open, there is so much growth here!
(CHE is the health ministry that teaches AIDS awareness and other health issues. The CHE model is to train people who will train others, who will train others, and so on. The goal is multiplication.)
The end of this last week we had the opportunity to lead games at the Orphan Support Group, before Dwight did his talk on anger. The youth were so much fun! Matthew began the time with his announcer voice and got some great reactions from the youth. Some of you are familiar with the "sit" game, where you get everyone in a tight circle all turned the same direction and then have them sit at the same time. We all had a lot of fun playing and falling as we found it difficult to support each others weight. But eventually we got it to work:)
During Dwights talk with the youth the kids asked a lot of great questions, including if it is ok to be angry with God. Many of these youth have parents who had died of aids and some of them respond to that with anger towards God. We think there are many different ways people respond to this question. As we talked about it we found that we wanted to know what others think, please share your thoughts with us by clicking the comments link below.
The camera saga continues as we just got the camera working and then somehow deleted all the pictures we had managed to take!!
Thank you for sharing in our adventure.
Matt and Leslie
His steps include:
Recognizing your angry, waiting before responding, praying, identifying why you are angry, evaluating if you have the right to be angry, confronting the person, forgiving the person and then hopefully finding resolution.
The hope is that the information he shared was received in such a way that the people who heard it could share it with more people. Already we have had reports that people are talking about anger and how to resolve it with their families.
It has been so encouraging to be with the people of Philippi, they are so intelligent and are so open, there is so much growth here!
(CHE is the health ministry that teaches AIDS awareness and other health issues. The CHE model is to train people who will train others, who will train others, and so on. The goal is multiplication.)
The end of this last week we had the opportunity to lead games at the Orphan Support Group, before Dwight did his talk on anger. The youth were so much fun! Matthew began the time with his announcer voice and got some great reactions from the youth. Some of you are familiar with the "sit" game, where you get everyone in a tight circle all turned the same direction and then have them sit at the same time. We all had a lot of fun playing and falling as we found it difficult to support each others weight. But eventually we got it to work:)
During Dwights talk with the youth the kids asked a lot of great questions, including if it is ok to be angry with God. Many of these youth have parents who had died of aids and some of them respond to that with anger towards God. We think there are many different ways people respond to this question. As we talked about it we found that we wanted to know what others think, please share your thoughts with us by clicking the comments link below.
The camera saga continues as we just got the camera working and then somehow deleted all the pictures we had managed to take!!
Thank you for sharing in our adventure.
Matt and Leslie
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Working on the Farm
When we are not helping in Philippi, we are out on the "farm" that will become Bridges Academy and Bridges Retreat Center. The idea is to have a place for the orphans and children of Philippi to gain an education and skills they otherwise could never receive. The purpose of the retreat center is to have a place for orphans and adults from Philippi to escape the outside world, to learn leadership skills, receive discipleship, to experience new things and to try new challenges.
It is so encouraging to see the Philippian leaders rising up and taking over the the work that Bridges of Hope started. As the empowering of the people of Philippi to help themselves comes to a close, the focus of our ministry will shift to the Academy.
Currently on the property there are 6 buildings that have been used as a retreat center and Bed & Breakfast. It is a beautiful property with 360 degree views of mountains and 12 acres of blessing. There is a guest house that will be able to house 6 couples and the kitchen facilities. A bunk house that will have beds for 30 and a "shed" that is being converted to a rec room. These will be the facilities for the retreat center. We are spending most of our time at the farm getting this facility ready for the first retreat in December. There is a lot of work to be done but we know that it will be a one of a kind experience for the children who will visit.
On the other side of the property the three remaining buildings will be the start of the academy. Over the next year there are plans for a main house that will both provide permanent residence and rooms for instruction to the children who attend. It is BHI's hope that in two years the retreat center and academy will be up and running year round.
We have posted the location of the farm on a previous entry. Please enter the coordinates into Google Earth or other satilite program to see where we hope to spend the next few years of our life.
Molo (this means hello in Xhosa/ we don't know how to say goodbye yet:)
Matt and Leslie
When we are not helping in Philippi, we are out on the "farm" that will become Bridges Academy and Bridges Retreat Center. The idea is to have a place for the orphans and children of Philippi to gain an education and skills they otherwise could never receive. The purpose of the retreat center is to have a place for orphans and adults from Philippi to escape the outside world, to learn leadership skills, receive discipleship, to experience new things and to try new challenges.
It is so encouraging to see the Philippian leaders rising up and taking over the the work that Bridges of Hope started. As the empowering of the people of Philippi to help themselves comes to a close, the focus of our ministry will shift to the Academy.
Currently on the property there are 6 buildings that have been used as a retreat center and Bed & Breakfast. It is a beautiful property with 360 degree views of mountains and 12 acres of blessing. There is a guest house that will be able to house 6 couples and the kitchen facilities. A bunk house that will have beds for 30 and a "shed" that is being converted to a rec room. These will be the facilities for the retreat center. We are spending most of our time at the farm getting this facility ready for the first retreat in December. There is a lot of work to be done but we know that it will be a one of a kind experience for the children who will visit.
On the other side of the property the three remaining buildings will be the start of the academy. Over the next year there are plans for a main house that will both provide permanent residence and rooms for instruction to the children who attend. It is BHI's hope that in two years the retreat center and academy will be up and running year round.
We have posted the location of the farm on a previous entry. Please enter the coordinates into Google Earth or other satilite program to see where we hope to spend the next few years of our life.
Molo (this means hello in Xhosa/ we don't know how to say goodbye yet:)
Matt and Leslie
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