Bev's Story

Our wonderful trip leaders did their best to prepare us for our time in Sweet Home… the shanty town in Cape Flats that Rock Harbor is supporting. They described the filth, squalor, poverty and disease (40% HIV/AIDS). They described the hopelessness, 75% unemployment, severe alcoholism, children orphaned by or infected with HIV/AIDS…they described the danger and violence and the injustice, no utilities, running water, schools, paved roads or health clinics…a population seemingly ignored by the S. African government. Our team made our plans, prepped our materials and prayed…but I was not prepared.

I was ready to feel horror, anger, sorrow…but completely caught off guard by the love and joy that exploded in my heart. We were hoping to have 40 kids, young children identified by the wonderful local ministry partners (the CHES) as having the deepest needs---OVC’s, orphans and vulnerable children…instead we had 150. Our plans changed minute by minute as small, beautiful, barefooted kids filed in to our VBS one after the next until we had a huge crowd…one our crafts supplies could not accommodate…but the love of Christ from pouring from each team member did. Oh these kids were so excited we were there and though they didn’t speak English communication just was not a problem. They were precious, filled with joy and jumped wildly into each activity. 9 team members, and five CHE’s to 150 kids…every arm and lap overflowed with children.



My mother’s eyes locked on to one special little guy. He was one of the youngest (maybe two), and seemed to have wandered in alone. He was standing still and looking lost in the happy chaos of the games and crafts. He did not look happy. I picked him up and he tilted his beautiful face back to look at me. I have no idea what he thought (these children rarely if ever see a white person)…but one thing I knew, he was a sick little boy. He had a fever and I could feel the rattling infection in his lungs. His nose was running and he was exhausted. His little pants were wet with urine. The wonderful and fulfilling demands of our time didn’t allow me to go sit and rock him to sleep as I would have wanted to. I held him through the games, directing a play, and telling those little ones so dear to Christ, the story of a great King, who came from the greatest most glorious riches and power to be born in the dirt and filth of a barn, so that we could know and love His Father, and have all eternity with Him. My little buddy stayed quietly and contentedly in my arms, until it came time to line up for a half,(yes we only packed enough food for 70 children) a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, he hungrily ate his half, and then our camp was over and that little, sick, barefooted toddler walked off alone. After the children left, our team walked in the rain (how appropriate), to the home of one of the CHES whose son had just committed suicide so that we could pray with her. On this walk, through the squalor, in the rain…I began to process and my prayer was simply “Lord, what is this joy? I should be bawling, overwhelmed by the suffering, angry, full of despair…numb at least…but love, joy…how? Why? What is this Lord???”

God’s voice and answer came to me the next day, in the gentle, quiet way God usually speaks to me. Staring at an amazing, South African horizon the Holy Spirit reminded me of Matthew 25:37 ‘Lord, when did you we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ In my mind, somehow, I had always translated that verse in a way that said…”whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, it is LIKE you did it to me. How wrong. In Sweet home, handing out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and cuddling that little boy in my arms, I was with Christ, feeding Him, visiting Him, loving Him DIRECTLY and that was my joy. My time in S. Africa and was truly the one of the most powerful and real ways that I have ever experienced the love, joy and fullness of life that I have longed for and too often missed as a Christian.

Neliswa's Story (by Heather)

Neliswa, a 17 year-old girl (orphaned) from the township of Phillipi in South Africa, was chosen to be one of the first 30 students at the Bridges of Hope Academy - a boarding school for orphans. She is quite a young lady and will certainly be a leader in her community and to the ends of the earth for her Savior. She was one of our campers at the 2008 Christmas Camp our Rock Harbor team put on for these kids. Our message theme was "Sons and Daughters of the King" The messages we delivered each night and focused on throughout the days were Behold (a Savior is born, the King of Kings), Believe (Have courage to believe in Jesus as your Savior and live for Him); Beloved (a Father's Love); Bejeweled (Blessing of each young Prince and Princess) and Battling (giving the tools to walk the narrow road).

On the last night of camp we had a talent contest and Neliswa wrote this poem and read it to us with passion, I couldn't have been more blessed by her words (English is a bit broken but most beautiful as it was originally written):

It Was a Good Timing
It was a good timing for
You and I to be here,
For me to be saved
For you and I to know
That there's hope.
As we sing, the Lord is
Mighty to Save.

It was a good timing for us
To be saved so that we can tell them that,
Them that tell that
On Christmas day the savior
Is born for me and you, for
Everyone worldwide

It was written that 2008 will be
The greatest year, for you and I to say God reigns forever.
For you and I to be here in Franschoeck
To praise God.

You and I from different places but we have
Something common which is in Christ Jesus
Our awesome God.
You and I are the children of the king
Let us voice out and be heard
Because It is a good timing.
It a good timing to know that
God loves us and that He is our father.
~By Neliswa

-- Heather

Shannon's Story

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.

Serving the Lord and giving to others is such an honor. I feel so blessed to have traveled to Africa twice, during the three and a half years that I have been a Christian. Both times have made a huge impact on my life, and opened my eyes to how amazing our God is. These three verses stick out in my mind when I look back on my trip to Cape Town. One day in particular really brings these verses to life. After a long week at the Summer camp, our team had a chance to go and serve in the town of Sweet Home, a township of thousands of people who have close to nothing. Our goal that day was to have a Vacation Bible study for local children. When the kids arrived I kept asking God, " What can I do for them?" and so kindly and gently as He always does just replied" Just Be with them." I think sometimes as short term missionaries we want to do it all.... bring them to Christ, end their poverty, teach them skills to succeed, and so on. God continued to tug at my heart and tell me that I didn;t have to do it all, just being there was enough. So that's what I decided to do. Most of these kids didn't speak English, so talking as a form of communication wouldn't work. I wanted so badly to tell them that I loved them and God loves them even more, but didn;t know how. I learned very quickly that non verbal communication is sometimes better and more useful then words. When I would hug these kid I could actually feel their poor little bodies loosen up, it was like they had never been hugged or touched like that before. I also noticed that when I would smile at them, their whole souls would light up and I could see the love of God in their eyes. My heart soften so much with each child that I encountered. These verses continued to come to mind, because they are the meek and poor in spirit, but God moves through them just as much as He does me. These children expected nothing from me, they didn't beg or cry, they were perfectly content with the only thing I had for them and that was my love. I think I realized that day how real He is.... He allowed me to sit in the dirt and praise Him with children who have nothing and feel His presence stronger then I ever had before. I believe with all of my heart that He was there that day sitting with us. I pray that these children realize that they are the ones that He speaks of in the Bible. He doesn't love them less because of what they have or dont have. I was moved by His presence that day, and know that my life was forever changed that rainy day sitting in the dirt with those kids. I hope that one day I see all of those children in Heaven so I can thank them for showing me how to love.

-- Shannon

Lacie's Story

From the moment we stepped off the plane directly onto the tarmac in South Africa, I knew this was going to be the trip that would change my life. After loading up all of the many bags of donations that we brought from Orange County, we were on our way to the Academy.

The drive was beautiful. The hills were so green and the sky was so blue. It was amazing driving through such beauty and having to remind myself that I was on a mission trip. We pulled up to the Academy and it was like driving into this secluded bit of heaven. The grounds of the Academy were so beautiful and inviting. There was a huge soccer field and beyond it were the most amazing mountains I had ever seen. We quickly got settled and then got to work preparing for the kids to arrive.

All of the months of planning and preparation were unfolding as we eagerly anticipated what the kids would look like and how they would respond to us. The bus pulled up and slowly the kids start to come out. They looked shocked at the group of Americans forming a tunnel for them to walk under and cheering as they exited the bus. Their faces are beautiful and full of anxiety mixed with anticipation.

We welcomed them in and gave them name tags, and from that moment on, we were hooked! These amazing kids captured our hearts and showed us what it means to love others the way Christ loves us. Our team gave everything we had and more and left feeling much more full of the Holy Spirit than we ever could have imagined. Each laugh, each high five, each conversation and each hug was a small victory in our quest to unite two sets of people and become a family.

As the week went on, I was inspired by some of the kids stories, and prayerful about the ones who never spoke. I was hugged by a five year old for six days straight and after she left my heart ached to be hugged by her again. I went with anticipation of being fully used by God to "save" these kids, but they ended up saving me.

I returned to Orange County with a greater understanding of my purpose on earth and a willing and open heart to allow God to fully reign over my life and make me a complete vessel to be used by Him alone. This life is not my own and it took a group of kids in South Africa to remind me that life spreads far beyond Orange County and God works in lives of those with broken stories and painful pasts. I will forever be changed by this journey!

-- Lacie

USC Quarterback Shares His Experiences at Bridges Academy

Matt was on the December trip with his family and his story was written up yesterday.

Check out this website for the whole story...
http://www.petecarroll.com/index.cfm/pk/view/cd/NAA/cdid/412974/pid/400025

More Christmas pictures

Nativity Pictures

The trip begins

The whole team left for South Africa this afternoon. After a hectic morning getting all the bags (everyone was allowed three 50lbs bags) and people in cars we headed off to the airport. As they were leaving one car had a flat and we did a quick switch. Then leaving the neighborhood there was a small collision which caused a short delay but no visible damage to either car. Surprising since there was a distinct "crunch" heard in the vehicle in front of the two that collided.

After that the trip to the airport went very smoothly. A lot of (heavy) bags were moved from one location to another in a coordinated chaos of sorts. All the bags were checked in and the team headed into security after a group prayer to send the team off. The team will be flying directly to London where they will have a 6 hour layover, then another flight to Cape Town. All in all it was a very smooth trip to the airport.

The kids will be arriving for the summer camp the same day the team arrives so you may not see a lot of posts during their trip since they will be very very busy and hit the ground running at full speed. Please pray for team unity, protection, health and for the development of deep connections with the kids at the camp and people in the townships (Sweet Home, Philipe, Lower Crossroads, Samora, Franschhoek).

Watts Service Trip

The December team served in Watts together yesterday. It was an opportunity to give the staff at Powerhouse Church an extra helping hand for the weekend. We split into three groups. One group helped in the Sunday school with the kids.

Another group lead worship and prepared the congregation for Pastor Todd's message.



The other group cooked a meal for the congregation to eat after services. It was an amazing time to bond as a team and spend some quality fellowship time with our brothers and sisters in Watts.

We also did some driving to pick up members in the community and one group went out into the local community on foot to tell the neighborhood about the service and the meal. We know there was at least one new visitor to the church from that walk.

Overall, Watts is an amazing place with a great need in our own community. I highly recommend a visit and a service trip to Powerhouse Church.

December Trip Interviews

The core team, including the leaders leaving this Friday, have been interviewing applicants for the December 2008 trip to Cape Town. It might seem strange to be adding an extra level of stress on top of the last week before our summer trip, but the schedule for ROCKHarbor requires that the first training occur while the summer trip is in Cape Town, August 10.

As usual we have very few slots and many great applicants. It looks like we are going to have another amazing team. We will have the final team decided by Friday and notifications to be complete by Friday.

December Trip Training Dates

Here are the training dates for the December trip.

Sunday August 10
Sunday August 31
Sunday September 14
Sunday September 28
Sunday October 12
Sunday October 26
Sunday November 9
Friday December 14

Interviews will be going on over the next two weeks and the team needs to be decided before August 1 when the Summer trip leaves.