Good Friday

Handing out the sandwiches (we happened to run into Ricardo and Rizaldo).

Making the PB&J!

some of our team at the dam before Lu left.

Tumee with her blanket!

Cedrizia's handprint...they all traced their hands, colored them, cut them out and taped them to the cross painted on the wall.

Josephina and Patrick again, with their artwork.

Martha and Willemina with their handprints.

Patrick and Andreas.

The kids with their new blankets.

Larissa, Verooshka, and Zoe washing a combi.


My church’s (Evangelical Mission Church) youth group had a car wash last weekend. We started at 7am and finished around 4:30pm…Whew! It was a long day in the hot sun, and we washed TONS of cars, combis, and bakkies! It was a good time and we raised some money, so mission accomplished. The youth are working to raise money for the Farm Retreat we have coming up May 13—17 (the week before I leave—perfect timing!). We’ll be going to stay at a farm down south—where it is apparently much hotter than Rehoboth…is that possible?—and going to neighboring farms in the area to lead day camps for the kids there. It’s a ways off still, but I’m really excited. It’ll be a good way to end my time here.

Sunday evening, we made about 320 PB&J sandwiches, packed a bunch of apples and headed off in Heidi’s little bakkie (truck type vehicle—we crammed 13 bodies in it at one point, which is a new record!) for Block E. We met lots of kids and after had juice and banana bread at a friend’s house there. Monday I went to the preschool by myself which was pretty challenging for the second half of the day. One of the two teachers quit, so I’m going 3 days a week to try and help Selvia out since she’s alone with 30 kids. It was a rough day. I’m realizing that language barriers are one of my least favourite things in the world…I am so frustrated that I can’t understand the excited chatter of these beautiful children and that I can’t implement a consistent type of discipline that will help them all to enjoy school more. As it is, a large part of the day is spent with them running around wild, which makes playing games, doing arts, or learning very difficult. I have so many things I want to do but CAN’T because I can’t do something as simple as tell them the directions. It is wearing me down…I long to know the small things they say each day that show their personality and character—what they think about, what their big questions are, what makes them happy and what makes them sad, what they love about their family, school, and God. I have their smiles memorized, and I love their laughter—but I know I am missing so much. Thursday was a much better day with them. We had an Easter party and brought my teammate’s laptop with to watch “Ice Age 2.” The kids were so excited; we hung blankets over the windows to make it darker and after, we hid little bags of candy for them to find. The room smelled like sugar for a while, and their mouths were filled with blue, pink, and gooey chocolate as they smiled for the camera (: At the end of the day, we handed out a blanket to each child to take home. When Lulu left, she designated money for that as her parting gift to the kids. Their faces lit up as we handed a brand new blanket into their tiny hands—it was great. Thanks Lu!

On Good Friday night, we had youth group at church with a smaller group of kids than usual because of the holiday weekend. Jerome (the youth leader) is talking about relationships for the month of April, and last night, he focused on our relationship with Jesus. I had asked if we could do a confession activity we do at Camp where each person writes a sin on a piece of paper and then sticks it on a nail on the cross. Then someone lights the paper on fire and as it burns it forms into a rose, symbolizing how God forgives our sin, making something beautiful out of something that was so ugly.

Jerome began by talking about “The Passion of the Christ” and the scene where Jesus is carrying His cross to Golgotha to be crucified. He had the youth close their eyes and visualize walking down a long, empty road. Paved, dirt, smooth, rocky…Up ahead, you see a great crowd and in the middle of that crowd is a man carrying a huge, splintered cross. You run as fast as you can to reach the group, so excited to be near this man and to help him. When you get close, you step into the center of the crowd and stand beside the man. You can smell his sweat, see the blood on his back, and then he turns and looks right into your eyes…
We opened our eyes then, and Jerome said—what is the one thing you hope He couldn’t see when He looked right at you? What is the sin that you want to hide, that you are ashamed of, that you are haunted by? That. Confess that on this piece of paper. Why did you look away when Jesus turned his face to you? What are you hiding from Him—what do you wish you could cover up in His mighty presence? Jerome played some songs, and we wrote, and then moved outside into the dark courtyard where we pressed our sins onto the nail at the center of the cross. The moon was almost full, so it cast enough light for us to watch the paper burn and curl into a ragged rose. You’ve confessed it, you’ve placed it on the cross and it is finished. It is forgiven. You don’t have to think about it anymore, you don’t have to dwell on it or feel trapped by it anymore. When Jesus died years ago on this day, He did it to forgive ALL your sins—past, present, and future.
“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by others, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain…Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering…He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:2-5).

Jesus did not set himself above us. He was not a handsome, charismatic super-preacher. He wasn’t wealthy; he wasn’t popular; he wasn’t adored. He lived simply, he suffered greatly, and he sacrificed everything, that we may have LIFE. Sin, no matter how awful or shameful, can never be too big for God. You can never do something that is just too much for God to forgive. He loves you and longs for your heart—for you to turn from the sin that we all struggle with and allow Him to heal and restore you. He doesn’t expect you to be perfect. His love is so much greater than any sin, problem, or fear you have.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 8:38-39).

Jerome told the kids to imagine that they only had one hour left to live. He asked them, “What would you do, if you KNEW that in exactly one hour you will die?” Many of them responded that they would accept Christ so that they could go to Heaven. Then Jerome asked, “Why would you wait until you die to finally accept life?” God offers forgiveness and life NOW, He offers the amazing love described in Romans, chapter 8—love that can never be separated from us, love that is stronger than death, stronger than life, stronger than angels and demons, stronger than time, space, and creation. Nothing can separate you from God’s love if you believe that His Son died on the cross for your sins and then rose again, conquering death AND sin. Through that victory, you can be sure of eternal life spent with Christ. If you died right now, where would you go?

Tomorrow, on Easter Sunday, I’ll celebrate a risen Savior. God’s beauty, forgiveness, grace, and love have transformed my life. I am in AWE of Him. How could Someone so great treasure me—someone with faults, flaws, and sin? How can He forgive me time and time again? How can He look at me as I sit surrounded by my failures and still say, “I have a purpose for your life and a plan for your future—I will use you to have an impact for my Kingdom!” My pastor here talked the last few weeks on “What’s so amazing about grace?” Everything I just wrote.

Thank you God that you are the ultimate example of forgiveness and love. Thank you that you offer life to the fullest if we just believe in your Son’s death and resurrection and turn from the sin in our lives. Thank you for being greater than I can understand or express. You offer amazing grace in abundance.

Have a blessed Easter celebration, and I pray you will feel God’s presence and love wherever you’re at.