We Need Friends!

Guess what?! We have officially launched our 1000 Friends for South Africa Campaign. I guess you could say we are social media missionaries of sorts. If we can find 1000 Friends who will commit to just $10 or more a month, we will be fully funded for our first year in South Africa.

You can read about the budget, and why it costs so dang much in South Africa, on our website, www.thequists.com.

Truly, the more voices we carry with us to a country whose children have been discarded, the louder the message will be. We care about you.

Please consider supporting us. It could be the best $10 you ever spent.

You can sign up on our blog, www.thequists.com

Thank you!

Take Away

I had  a dear friend ask me last night, “Why don’t you just go into the inner city and work with kids there? They need hope also.”

She’s right, they do need hope and love and attention. We had the privilege of helping at a church-sponsored sports camp for kids just off 5th Avenue in Columbus. There was about 130 kids  running, kicking, yelling, singing, dunking and having a good time. The camp was free, as was lunch. They heard about Jesus and God, and hopefully felt love from his followers who were there running the camp.

At a certain age, when you look into their eyes, especially the girls, you can see hope diminish. Abuse, poverty, hatred. They all start crushing their world at a young age.

This is what is looks like in the townships we visited in South Africa. Except,

-TAKE AWAY RUNNING WATER. Having a sink, faucet or refrigerator in your apartment would be a luxury.

-TAKE AWAY INDOOR PLUMBING. Add a port-a-john. But not one for each family. Add one for the block. And don’t count on it being clean.

-TAKE AWAY HOUSES. Take out the kitchen and the bathroom and the bedroom. In fact, take away the houses. Add cardboard and tin, maybe some barbed wire. Add one room, for everyone to share. Lock your house to keep out criminals? Ha!

-ADD AN 80% UNEMPLOYMENT RATE. Take away all government sponsored assistance. There are no food stamps. There is no free medical care. In fact, medical clinics at all will be hard to come by. But that’s ok, you won’t be able to afford it anyway.

-TAKE AWAY EDUCATION. Right next to the park where the sports camp was being held in Columbus, was a brand new elementary school. Stained glass window, LED display on the grounds, modern layout, huge playground with trees and green grass. In some townships, kids walk to school for miles, others don’t bother going at all. That’s ok, there’s too many kids and too few teachers. The teachers are underpaid and exhausted. There are no levies to pass or government funds to help those schools. “You get what you pay for” is the motto. And if parents can’t pay than you’re out of luck.

-ADD APARTHEID, HATE and RACISM. The townships are an eyesore on a beautiful city. The haves and the have nots are blatantly obvious. Painful. Palpable. The wealth is impressive; the gold and diamond industry has been good to some in this country.

-ADD CRIME. Yes, the urban environment is rough. We saw some 9 millimeter shell casings scattered on the ground at the corner store. But, Cape Town was recently labeled as the 5th most dangerous city in the world to live in. If you know 1000 people in your area, expect 17 of them to be murdered this year. There is a saying that in Johannesburg, a “girl is more likely to be raped than to learn how to read.” Murder, rape, assault. It’s life.

Big News!

We FINALLY have a 'lil website that tells of our journey to South Africa. It also gives some background about the township communities we will be working in. I would be honored if you would share it. We are in the midst of the not-so-fun-fundraising. We are looking for people who would like to join us in the work in South Africa.

Kevin will be pioneering a sports ministry in each of the the 5 townships. We have so many rec leagues here, I can't imagine that 100,000 live in a place where there are very few organized sports for the kids! Imagine the potential to reach kids and the harder to reach teens.

I will be building relationships with the teen girls, who live in an environment where sexual assualt and sex trafficking is a common occurrence. I will also be working with Living Hope; helping to write stories about the wonderful work that is being done in Cape Town.

Our projected departure date is Novemnber, 2011. Of course, we need to raise about $98,000 to do so. EEEK!

The website is www.thequists.com

Thank you!!

Jesus is on Twitter

For the last few months, we've been wrestling with how exactly we are going to move our family to South Africa. I mean, living in Africa is way more spendy then we thought. I've been bombarded with doubts and disappointment and fear. 

Fear can overtake a person and make the most clear messages become garbled. Sure I'm afraid of moving my family half way across the world, relying only on the income of generous people. I mean, that should give anyone a little but of jitters. It got to the point where I thought, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Maybe it's a dream I forced into reality." 

But then, low and behold, I check my Twitter account today.

Tweet #1: "Why fear when God's already given you, in Christ, everything you need to be what you're supposed to be and do what you're called to do?"

Tweet #2: Why would you be afraid when, in Christ, you have been completely accepted, eternally forgiven and richly supplied?

And for good measure, my friend on facebook posted this today: 

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives." (Psalm 37:23)

AND 

"What if you lived today without any fear? Try it. Most common command in bible = fear not. "

 Jesus is a friend, even on facebook.

 

It's the Little Things

I believe in signs and miracles. As it becomes more and more clear to us, that we are about to move our family of seven across the world to another continent, I wanted to share just a few of the little things that keep us going. In the winter of 2009, we shared our plan to take a short term mission trip, with our pastor. I laughingly said, "Maybe we will be Terra Nova's first missionaries." I wasn't really joking. He laughed and agreed. He wasn't joking either.

After a fitful night of flying the red-eye to London, Kevin and I found ourselves in Heathrow with a 12-hour layover. Being an Anglophile, the obvious choice was to forget sleep and see London, baby.

South African High Commission

We took a train into central London, not having a clue where we were going. Beware: the bathrooms inside the train station cost money to use. That's another story. We were told by a helpful Londoner to take the Tube to Piccadilly Circus. From there we planned to walk to several iconic sights. 

South African Embassy in London

Here's something interesting: one of the first sights we see is not Big Ben or Trafalgar Square, it's the South African embassy. I made Kevin stand beside the plaque that says "South African High Commission." Let's face it, after almost 16+ hours of traveling, I'm NOT getting my picture taken.

When we arrived at The Team House, near Cape Town, where we we would be staying for two weeks, we spotted this llama farm down the road. We passed it everyday. Hello...We are from OHIO!

Mike Talley, one of the volunteer coordinators with Living Hope, gave us some advice on how we might know that God is calling us. One of those was Scripture. He said God would lead each of us to a passage in the Bible that would confirm our calling. Earlier that day, unknown to each of us, both Kevin and I had read the same passage in Isaiah 43.

18"Do not call to mind the former things,
         Or ponder things of the past.
    19" Behold, I will do something new,
         Now it will spring forth;
         Will you not be aware of it?
         I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.
    20" The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
         The jackals and the ostriches,
         Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert,
         To give drink to My chosen people.
    21" The people whom I formed for Myself
         Will declare My praise.

That same day we were scheduled to go see the Cape of Good Hope at Cape Point. In the park, we were shocked to see an animal we didn't expect to see in Africa: Ostriches.

To top it off, the following Sunday, Pastor John Thomas preached from, you guessed it, Isiah 43.
Some will say these are a series of coincidences, nothing more. But for us, these are tangible signs from a Creator who is orchestrating our path.

Before we left for South Africa, we had an inkling that we might be back. But to everyone else, this was just a mission trip. It really was not a shock to us to learn that Living Hope is interested in starting a sports ministry; that basketball, volleyball and soccer are popular sports. It really was not a shock to learn that Living Hope could use a PR type person to help bear the load of the full time staff. In fact, there are so many beautiful stories to tell, they need someone to simply display the work of God in written form.  I should point out that these are the exact jobs that Kevin and I do on a daily basis, here in O-H-I-O.

When we met Living Hope's volunteer coordinator's, Tim and Natasha Hoffman, what a blessing to discover that Tim is an engineer who briefly considered attending the same engineering school that Kevin attended. It was pretty funny to be driving down a road in Cape Town, South Africa, to hear two men compare their thoughts about Flint, Michigan.


Last week, I got a text message from a number I didn't recognize. It said, "Many O Lord my God are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us; None can compare to you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare. Psalm 40:5. The verse was from my college assistant volleyball coach, whom I haven't seen in 15 years. Why he decided to text me that particular verse on February 10th, 2011, I'll never know.

But indeed, many are the wonders You have done O Lord. The things You have planned for US..

Because There’s More to Life (South Africa Update)

"Sometimes I'd like to ask God why He allows poverty, famine and injustice when He could do something about it. But I'm afraid God might ask me the same question."

We spent a lot of years chasing the American Dream. Then we woke up. This isn’t what we want in life. What we want is to “give hope, ...to loose the chains of injustice, ...to set the oppressed free” (Isaiah 58: 6).

In August, 2010, Kevin and I found ourselves on the other side of the world, in a country that is both beautiful and horrifying.  And it felt like home. For such a long time, we tried to play God like He was a cosmic wish list. Now, we are longing to play a more significant role and be the hands and feet of Jesus, to bring hope and love to neglected, hurting people.

We are late bloomers, we know this. We’ve been married for 17 years and have five kids. But like Jonah, we’ve learned our lesson and don’t intend to live this life with regrets. For years, we carried around the puzzle pieces of our lives. We’ve finally found where we belong. This is a monumental task; in fact, we will need a miracle. 

Some think we are crazy, some will be moved to help send us. We’re hoping you’ll join us.

Wake Them with a Kiss

I wrote this while we were in South Africa this summer. I'm just now posting it.  I know, I have issues.
************************************************************************************

I want you to meet  Jennifer. We spoke briefly in passing last week but I got a chance to sit down and get to know her last night. She's very quiet until you get to know her and then she's goofy and open and wonderful. I had not seen Jennifer with any kids during the week so I assumed she was single with no kids. During conversation, the topic turned to kids.

With a tilt of her head and eyes on the floor she told me that she had not seen her kids since January 17th. And that she would not see them again until December, and even then it would be only for three weeks. Our casual conversation turned quickly into something too painful for one person to bear alone. Which is why I believe in God's timing. I was there in that kitchen with her, at a time when she was ready to share her burden. And by God's grace, I will help her carry it.

I learned that her children are at home, in Zimbabwe, with Jennifer's mother. Because of the civil war and political turmoil, Jennifer was granted asylum into South Africa to look for work. At home, there is no food or work, so when her daughter was just four months old, Jennifer left. Look at a map. Cape Town and Zimbabwe are a 3-day bus ride away from each other. That's three days away from her babies. Her son is 6, her daughter 3. That's right, Jennifer has been apart from her children for 3 years.

"My first year, I cried everyday, but now, this is a good place, a good job," she says. Her first year she does not speak about, but she was rescued from a township lifestyle and is fortunate enough to work for a partner of Living Hope. Even though they pay her fairly, provide a safe place to live and treat her well, it doesn't erase the longing of a displaced mother.

Can you imagine what your life would be like if you were forced to leave your son and daughter and move to a different country in hopes of survival? The money that Jennifer earns she sends back home to her children and mother. And waits for the precious 3 weeks each year she spends with them.

"When I left, she was not talking, but now I can talk to her on the phone sometimes. My son will be in grade 2. My other sister left to go to Zambia for work. She left in July. She hasn't come back."

I know my tears did not help. But I had no other reaction than to weep for Jennifer and her sister and ultimately for all mothers separated and displaced. There are some things in life that should not be. There are things in life that make me angry.

Joy and Kim see their father once a year.

She didn't ask for help. She didn't volunteer her story. She bore it alone. Horrific circumstances that would crumble my spirit, she wakes with and sleeps with and lives with, every day. There are some things in life that should not be. There are things in life that make me angry.

Why must a mother suffer in silence? What can I do? She saves up her money all year for the 3-day bus ride across the country. For three days she will ride an unsafe, crowded, foul smelling bus across the country. She won't fly because the money would better be spent on the children rather than herself.

Do you want to know the price for an airplane ticket? $600. She's never been on a plane. It would take her all year to save. It will take us a few weeks. I'm willing to forgo souvenir shopping if it means I can help her out. Big deal. What else can I do? What can WE, the privileged moms and dads who hold and kiss their children every day, do, for women who don't have that luxury and for children who have yet to feel that luxury?

The frustrating fact is that Jennifer is not alone. Abigail also works with Living Hope in Cape Town. She and her children fled Zimbabwe while her husband stayed to work. Her daughters, Joy and Kim, see their father once a year at Christmas. Can you imagine only seeing those beautiful faces once a year?

People are suffering. Children, mothers, fathers. We could do something. We can't save everyone. But we could help someone. And that someone is a beautiful, quiet woman who should have the chance to see her children, tuck them in at night, and wake them with a kiss.  One mother, one child, one family at a time.

From One Continent to Another

I can't believe it's been almost 6 weeks since we returned from Africa. We arrived on Tuesday and started school that Friday. Yikes! To say I've been in a free fall would be accurate. Schedules, soccer, jobs and laundry all awaited my arrival.

Too bad I didn't come back the same person. 

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

This video got me thinking about fathers, and being able to lean on someone. In the township of Masiphumelele (Masi) it's estimated that 87% of the children have no male figure in their home. Notice, it's not even a FATHER figure, just no male figure. Can you imagine living your life without knowing the security and comfort of a strong arms? There is something about the male embrace that is key to childhood development.

I used to love watching Kevin hold the kids when they were babies. Don't you love how new dads form a cocoon around their new little ones and the tiny blankets of new baby get snuggled against their chest?

When the boys get older, the snuggling gets replaced with wrestling. The bear hugs and the sleeper holds are more rambunctious and often break something in the house. But, you know deep down, that is affection in real time.

Whatever our kids do, there's an embrace that corresponds. Whether we are saying good bye, saying we are sorry, or saying congratulations, there are a strong pair of arms to seal that moment. Sometimes its grandpas or grandmas, aunts or uncles, a teacher, a friend.

There's that moment. There's a connection. There's a past, present and future promise. There's an unspoken pledge.

Living life in the 'Have-Not' column means not having the luxury to dream. For the kids in townships in South Africa, making it to the next day is as much of the future as they can plan. For many, there's no promise of security, so there's no reason to take a risk. There's no celebration, so there's no reason to achieve.

Imagine what one set of arms could do:

Arms to lift,
arms to hold,
arms to shield,
arms to beckon,
arms to guide,
arms to love.

Often when I pray, I feel like God is wrapping His arms around me. Sometimes I can hear Him saying, "I know what you're feeling. I've got you."

It's my prayer that God would allow me to be the arms that wrap around a child and say, "I've got you. We're in this together."

Kevin with a group of boys in Mountain View, a local township in South Africa.

Behind These Walls

Behind these walls is a future, that lives with a past.

Behind these walls are beautiful faces, laughter and heartache.

Behind these walls are young women who own a business, lead children's church, who see needs and fulfill dreams.

Behind these walls are young men who want to lead, pastors who are messengers; Who see the absence and strive to provide a glimpse of the Father.

Behind these walls are people brazen enough to say, "Lord, break my heart for the things that break yours."

Behind these walls are the broken.

Behind these walls are musicians with talent unrivaled; athletes with skills unknown and minds unchallenged.

Behind these walls is the future of a country, the pride of a Heavenly Father and the love of community.

Outside these walls, people are blind to the beauty within.
Outside these walls the judgment is cast, based largely on fear of the past.
Outside the walls are the poor and ignorant, those who will never know the inspiration that lies within.

God sees His children as they are, Not who we want them to be.

And He is pleased.











                                                                                   *photo by jenny kopczynski

Weird Smells, Selfish Thoughts and Beautiful Views

A warning against human trafficking in the homeless shelter. It's in Afrikaans.

Jose, the "Mad Portuguese." Notice the stove he's using. The kitchen is quite small and outdated but they happily serve two meals a day. Jose does not have a home but is currently looking for work.

Living Grace offers the homeless a locker to store their belongings for security so they can go to a job interview or rehab without it being stolen. Living Grace offers drug and alcohol counseling.

Clapping, stomping, dancing and singing. Not exactly what I expected at a homeless shelter. To be honest, when I saw Living Grace on our schedule, I wallowed in shallow selfishness. I toured Living Grace the day before. It had a smell. You know the smell. I didn't want to spend the day there.

But when we arrived in the morning, I was greeted by Joan, a gregarious and ornery Afrikaner who made us feel like were the guests of honor. Within minutes of meeting Kevin, she asked him to lead singing and devotions. So he did. That's when the joyous noise began. Mind you, they hadn't eaten yet! When I'm hungry, I don't feel like a raucous worship service. But they did; 50 men, women and children. I fought to hold back the tears as they sang loudly and boldly and truly worshiped. They took me off guard and put to shame my stereotypes.

In this video, they are pretty tame, but how can you not smile when they sing, "Give me petrol for Ford, keep me truckin' for the Lord?"  They want someone to teach them how to sing, but seriously, doesn't this sound good?!

The lunch crowd was  maxed out at 50. There were men, women and children. My primary job was to hand out two pieces of bread to each person. As the people came through they would reply, "Thank you my lady," or "Thank you my sister."

They were so grateful, and I had done absolutely nothing.Then I think about a Savior, who paid with life in exchange for mine. And I can sometimes manage a thank you...

 *This video may have trouble loading, it's on my facebook. South African high speed is not always so high speed. I'll try again when I return.

Kevin and Carol (a volunteer) chop lettuce for the next days lunch.

When I told Jose that he should have his own cooking show, he gave me his best Martha Stewart impression.

Kevin talking before lunch at Living Grace.

Beautiful view of "Surfer's Corner" in the Indian Ocean, looking through the security bars on the window. Notice also the ringed barbed wire on the fence. This is a standard security measure for those who can't afford electronic security monitoring. 

Doing Their Best, But Am I?

One theme that I've noticed since being in South Africa, is that, "South Africa does its best." So very true. It's a  tenacious, resilient country. They've endured so much already yet there's so much to overcome. Our first afternoon we went to an after school kids' club in a township called Ocean View. Ocean View is a 'better off' coloured community. I say better off because part of the community has been provided permanent dwellings by the government. Most have electricity and public bathrooms.

I say coloured because that is there official name, it is not a racial slur. The coloured community falls between the white South Africans and the black South Africans, who, in this community are largely Xhosa.  There is understandable resentment in Ocean View because it was part of the Group Relocation Act of the Apartheid Era, where people were forcibly removed from their homes. Ocean View looks similar to an American project. There are about 30,000 people living here.  Read a short history of Ocen View here.

The after school kids club runs four days a week, all year long. It's longer during holiday. Although the majority of the kids speak Afrikaans, they can understand and speak English. Today, the kids were doing a craft and having a meal. For some kids, it is the only nutritious meal they will have that day. Meal=sandwich and a piece of fruit.

 

There was no tables, no chairs, no fancy paper. Just a pile of broken crayons dumped on the floor. Can you imagine the outcry if this was your craft for Sunday School? Unthinkable! Yet, Living Hope does what it can. Meeting in a one room abandoned Catholic Church, with teachers who are willing to donate time each day will make a difference in someones life. I think it was mine.

Five Days...

Five days.
Five days until I understand how 1.1 bilion people live on less than $1 a day.
Five days until I start to understand how African countries can barely afford to focus on their own development because they are paying off debt owed to rich and unforgiving countries.
Five days until I meet the faces claimed by the disease I know only as AIDS.
Five days until I meet the people who will change my life.
Five days until I see an African sky.
Five days.

Follow Me?

Through a series of providential twists and turns, I'm going to South Africa. Just my husband and me. No, it's not a holiday or exotic trip. We're going to change our lives and the lives of our children. It's a long story, almost 40 years in the making.

Have you every thought, "There's got to be more to life than THIS?"

THIS is wonderful, I mean it's the American dream: house, kids (lots) cars (some that work), family and friends and good times. Even church on Sunday. Life is planned, categorized and is prone to run like mostly everyone else's life. But, what if THIS is not what's ITS about?

God comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable. We've been disturbed out of our comfort zone. So we are taking action. It's a miracle that both my husband and I are of the same thought process. Usually, when he's on some kick (like drinking goat milk) I'm not on the same page. But, I do believe that God brought us to the same point in our lives, together, yet distinctly apart so we both know, apart from each other's influence, that things are about to change.

To paraphrase Francis Chan, "We should be living in such a way that if God didn't come through for us, we would be in trouble." No THAT'S faith. Big Faith. 

Some people might call it living radically. I call it living like Jesus asked us to live. Based on what Jesus tell others in Luke 9, here's what He asked us to do:

1. Expect to be homeless. Shelter is not always guaranteed. (Luke 9:57-58)

2. Follow Me, even if it means not saying good-bye. Jesus told the would be disciple not even to bother burying his own father. (Luke 9:60, 62)

3. Jesus say what? "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26)

4. "Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:27) Wait, I thought I learned in Sunday School that our burdens were lifted and thrown away. I distinctly remember the flannel graph stone being lifted off the shoulders of the flannel graph man! But a cross--how do I carry a CROSS?

5. "Sell everything you have and give to the poor then come...follow Me." (Luke 18:22)

6. And the painful..."If anyone does not give up everything he has, cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33)


Wait a minute, where the 'sinner's prayer?' I prayed it once when I was little (so says my mother) and once in first grade to impress the teacher. That was sooo much easier! Admit, confess, believe and pray this prayer after me. Shazaam! You're saved. I didn't find that anywhere. And that scares me.

More about this later, but I wanted to say that I'm both crazy excited and pee my pants scared about going to South Africa that I can barely stand to live with myself.

"Never forget what Jesus did for you. Never take lightly what it cost Him. And never assume that if it cost Him His very life, that it won't also cost you yours." Rich Mullins

Awake and Alive

Have you ever read Heavenly Man by Brother Yun? When I read the book last summer, it changed my whole thought on prayer. Have you ever heard the statistic that we only use 8% of our brain capacity? I think I was only using 8% of my prayer capacity.

Brother Yun’s story is a complete affirmation that miracles exist and prayers are answered for those who have faith. And I’m not talking about, ‘Please Lord give me patience as I have to work with that crab today’ prayer. I’m talking about life changing, supernatural prayer where you would be in trouble if God didn’t come through for you.

There’s a chapter in the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan when he asks, “What are you doing right now that requires faith?” According to my comfortable lifestyle, nothing. In fact, besides the fact that I go to church and try not to cuss in front of my kids, my life isn’t that much different from an unbeliever.

He also wrote this, “God calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through.” In my current lifestyle, the only risk I was taking was driving too long on an empty gas tank.

The Chinese Christians in the underground church are thriving because they believe God, no, they expect God to do the miraculous, the supernatural. In my Christian life, I expect God to be there for me when I need him, like a boxing manager, waiting outside of the ring. What would our lives look like if we were guided by the supernatural? It’s a scary thought because God does some crazy things, things we can’t control.

I’ve finally realized why I was never quite content with my life. I am comfortable. I pretty much live the American Dream. House, husband, kids, dog, sports, family, church, shopping.

My spirit was not content because I was comfortable. We are called to something greater; some people call it radical. Jesus would call it being obedient. I’ve been living the American Dream, which turned out to be a nightmare.

I’ve finally been awakened.

“Jesus came to comfort the disturbed and to
disturb the comfortable.”

So, yeah...

It's been so long since I've posted anything, I think my blogger background expired. And there's still a Christmas tree on the front page. That's a dead giveaway that I haven't been posting. Nothing says lazy like leaving your seasonal decor up year 'round. I feel like I've been in hibernation and I'm gradually being coaxed back into the blogging world.

The truth is, I've been on a passage of sorts, and while I should have been writing about it, I've been keeping it to myself. Turns out, there's more to life than comparing weekly coupons and exchanging YouTube videos.

Of course, I knew this in my head and this is not a slam to those who thoroughly enjoy that sort of human documentation. I still do. But my internal drive has shifted significantly and the things that I loved or loathed, I  still do, but they affect me less significantly.

So, I thought I would recap in a a few different posts. Here's a synopsis:

1. I believe in prayer. It's an unbelievable story.
2. I'm restless. I'm going to South Africa.
3. I'm on a journey. Join me.
4. It's not all about me; in fact, nothing really is.