The Flores Journey

Lobola (The Brides Price) by Bryan

2010-08-09T22:49:00.003+02:00

The more I spend amongst the Xhosa people, the more I learn about them. I have been learning from my Xhosa friends in Khayelitsha about a tradition called Lobola. When a young man is ready to get married he must approach his perspective bride’s father. According to tradition, the father will ask the young man for the price of his daughter. The price of the daughter ranges according to her education and standing in the community. I questioned the young man telling me about this tradition as to why education would matter. He told me that, “If the girl can read and write, she will bring in more money. She could get a better job and contribute to her new family.” The price of the bride is measured in cows. The father determines how many cows that the daughter is worth to him and asks the young man for that price. Because, there are not many cows in the townships of Khayelitsha the price is the Rand amount of those cows.

One young man told me that his uncle was still paying off his bride price. The cost was thirty cows, which is equivalent to 12,000 U.S. Dollars. According to the guys, 50 cows are supposed to be the max amount of cows that anyone is allowed to charge. This is a very expensive price, especially to the poor of South Africa. It is common for young men not to even get married or even desire to because the price can be so high. I told the guys that it seemed to me that this would just keep guys from getting married and promote premarital sex and young men that weren’t committed. They agreed. This is a tradition that is helping to promote the broken homes that exist all over Khayelitsha. However, they also informed me that if a young man gets the daughter of another man pregnant, the cost of that is even worse. “You have to pay money for damages. It’s tradition.” They told me. Not much we can do about it.

Claire and I personally know one young man who has been saving up his bride price for some time and still has a ways to go. He is twenty six years old and couldn’t get married even if he wanted to because he literally can’t afford the price of his bride. When we talk with him about getting married, I can hear the frustration in his voice. For him, it is still very much out of reach.

I have now figured out how to make my fortune! Claire and I are having our second baby girl. Statistics show that the more children that you have of one sex the more likely it is you will continue to have children of that sex. I’ll keep producing girls and then all I need to do is find Godly, Xhosa men who want to marry my daughters. CHACHING!!! I’ll be making bank! LOL.

Scary Beliefs (Bryan)

2010-07-24T09:23:00.000+02:00

(Xhosa boys becoming men)

For the past two months, we have been working amongst the Xhosa people in the township of Khayelitsha. As we get to know the people in the community we have begun to uncover some very scary beliefs amongst the “Christians” here. One young man shared with one of our team members about his baptismal experience at his “Christian” church. He told us that a goat was slaughtered as part of the ritual and was given a goat-hair necklace by a witch doctor to wear after the baptism. He also shared very openly that prayers are made routinely to dead ancestors.

We talked with some people who have worked with the Xhosa for some time now and they affirm this practice. They told us that it is a very common thing amongst the Xhosa people, even the Christians. They also told us that when the young men go to get circumcised, (see this post), the people who actually perform this surgery are witch doctors. Prayers are offered to dead ancestors and every Xhosa boy has to perform this, or else they will not be respected in the community. When we heard this we were deeply shaken. Many of the young men we know in our Africa Jam group have performed these rituals. We ask that you would pray for us especially in regards to this matter. We are very much aware that to take on this issue we are going to take on a tribe’s sacred tradition. I am distraught that this is so widely accepted amongst the Christians here. We do have some hope in that we have heard of one church in particular that we have ties with in the community who we believe does not agree with the practice of ancestor worship. That said, the same missionaries who have been working amongst the Xhosa told us that some Xhosa Christian’s who don’t agree with the practice said this: “A Xhosa Christian must check their Christianity at the door when going to get circumcised. It’s Cultural and we won’t have any respect. We can’t even get married if we do not do this.”

During the ritual one of the teachings of the witch doctor is that after the circumcision the boy’s first emission is tainted. So they are told that the first girl they sleep with cannot be their wife because the girl would then be tainted as well.

I hope your heart moves for these people as much as mine does. Please pray for wisdom for Andy and me as we try to figure out how to shine light into this very dark area.

Stabbing in Khayelitsha (Bryan)

2010-07-03T15:06:00.000+02:00

One of our kids that meets regularly at the bible study in Khaeylitsha was killed a couple days ago. He was Stabbed by another guy from the township. We talked with Louiso, another A.J. leader about it yesterday and he said that the kid was killed over a drink of soda pop. A girl was holding another guy's drink and our guy asked to take a drink from the soda. The girl gave him one, and when the other guy found out about it he got very angry. The young man from our group told the boy that he would buy him another drink and he had only drank it because he was thirsty. At that, the kid got even more angry and said, "You don't think I have enough money to buy one myself?" He pulled out a knife and stabbed our young man who then bled out there on the ground.

I'm letting you guys know because of the seriousness of the situation in Khayelitsha. These things happen and are much more common that you would think. I can't even tell you how angry I was at this news. I was filled with a lot of righteous anger. I work with a lot of these young men and to think that another person would think life to be so cheap. By his action he told the world that this child wasn't even worth a soda pop. I feel helplessly angry. It's soo wrong! I feel a real sadness in the pit of my chest.

God Help Them!

The Break In (Bryan)

2010-07-03T14:48:00.001+02:00

Boy did we ever have a crazy night a while back. So all of you know everyone in South Africa has some sort of Security alarm on their house with an armed response. You see it on every house you drive past. Our security system is called Chubb. The reason that everyone has these kinds of security systems is because their tends to be a lot of break in's and armed robberies in South Africa. Every time I pick up the newspaper, there is another story about a robbery and break in that occurred during the week.

Claire and I just finished watching a world cup game and headed off to bed. Before I jumped into bed I armed the security system which secures the entire house. As we were drifting off to sleep, we heard a large crash downstairs and instantly the Chubb security system started blaring throughout the house. I was half awake when the alarm started blaring and immediately my heart was in my chest. Someone was downstairs!!! I told Claire to grab Peyton and jump on the other side of the bed away from the door leading downstairs to the ground floor. As I stared at the door my hands fumbled for anything that might serve as a weapon to protect my family. My hand rested on the large bedside lamp that was plugged into the outlet on the other side of the bed.

Our phone rang and Chubb was on the other line. They asked what was the problem and though my voice was shaking I told them what had happened. They told us that an armed response was en route to our area and would arrive shortly. They remained on the phone with me and as Claire recounts, "She was preparing herself to die. I don't know how to explain the terror that grips you when you are expecting men with guns or much more likely crude knives coming through the door. We have a window upstairs and we waited for Chubb to arrive the pulled up and the dispatcher asked me to go downstairs and let them in. I tiptoed down the stairs listening intently to hear if their was anyone else in the house. I opened the door to see three armed Chubb men completely decked out with body armor and weapons drawn. I was very impressed. One went outside to secure the grounds while the two others secured the downstairs. To Claire and my great relief, and yes embarrassment we saw our intruder that had us bound in fear upstairs. It was the T.V. It had fallen over from it's position on the couch. Claire had pulled the sandle that was propping up the T.V. when we had gone to bed.

If it had been an intruder I don't know what we would have done. I don't know how to communicate this but in that moment we felt like our house, the place of security, had been compromised. The one place that I feel safe in, My castle, My last defense didn't feel so secure in that moment. Praise the Lord it wasn't what we had thought.

I am grateful for Chubb though. They came very quickly, though it seemed like forever at the time.

Bryan

Income Generating Program (By Bryan)

2010-06-30T22:06:00.001+02:00

(One of the small businesses started in Khayelitsha)

Friday I was invited to go to Khayelitsha and visit several of the businesses that have been started through the Income Generating Program or IGP. I have been very excited about this part of the Africa Jam program and had heard some good reports leading up to it. For one, the program has been noticed by some people that can really take this program to the next level. We have been told by the South African Government that if we can raise a certain amount of money in savings then they will give us a very substantial grant. The South African Government wants to invest money in programs that are bringing funds into the poorest communities, and that is exactly what Africa Jam is doing. This is great news for the IGP team because, success from earlier ventures have created much enthusiasm throughout the community.

Like I said we visited several of the businesses that have been created in the community. First, one of the “African Momma’s “ took the money that she was loaned and invested it into purses and wallets as well as sweets and other snacks. She told us that she had completely sold out of all of her purses and was going to stock up on more from the money that she had made. Money is paid back on a monthly basis, with interest and she has been making all of her payments.
Another woman we visited was not there but the son showed us the things that had been purchased with the loan money. We saw some red flags here because there was very little merchandise that she was selling. Whenever there is so little merchandise in the home we need to ask, ”Where is the money that was loaned going?” We told our loan officer to make sure to check back on this house and inquire as to where the money had been invested. Every once in a while a need comes up and the money used there. This is discouraged because they won’t be able to pay back the loan, not to mention lose their ability to purchase other merchandise to sell and actually make themselves a profit.

There were several other businesses that had been started; Women sold aprons, purses, candy and treats, cell phone minutes, chickens, and eggs. I went to the meeting after visiting several of the stores and got to meet the rest of the business ladies. All the women are older. This is the third month of this loan and all of the woman have been able to make most of their payments. There was just one or two who owed a bit more rand and promised to pay it the next day.

I am very impressed with where this program is going and how it is really empowering the “African Mamas” to make a living from home. It’s incredible to see the lengths that these women are going to and the kind of entrepreneurship that is coming out from the townships. We want the IGP to be able to function completely on its own without funding from outside sources and are definitely on the right track.

We are very encouraged by the potential of the government grant which will open up many more loans and businesses. The best thing about this, is that every other meeting we bring in a pastor to have some time with the group. It is a Christian based program so before every meeting is prayer and a little talk. This program is going to have some serious impact, especially because Christ is at the very center.

Bryan

How A Xhosa Becomes A Man (by Bryan)

2010-06-12T08:35:00.000+02:00

Andy, Leigh, Claire, the two babies and I took a trip into Khayelitsha a couple of days ago to visit some of the young men and women there. We noticed that Mpepe, one of our friends from last year wasn’t anywhere to be seen. We asked about it and were very surprised with the answer.
The Xhosa people along with many of the other tribes of native South Africans in the area have a very interesting tradition that they observe. When a young man turns a certain age (late teens to early twenties) he is given the opportunity to “become a man”. That was exactly what our friend Mpepe was doing.
I asked to hear the story of one of the young men who had already done this, because I was very curious. He said that it was a very celebrated occasion in the community. Before he was taken into the wilderness the community gave him a party. They feasted on meat and other meals and danced and played music. He told me that He was led off into the wilderness by one or two of the elders in the village. They took him to a place in the wilderness where there weren’t any people and they constructed a shelter for him to stay in. He described the shelter as being constructed out of plastic and other makeshift items. During this time they circumcised the young man and left him there where he had to stay until he recovered. I was told that it took some of the young men several weeks, even a month for the healing to take place. The elders of the community would take turns coming out to the isolated location, where the young man was, to bring him small amounts of water and food. They weren’t allowed to eat anything for a few days and some were barely allowed to drink anything at all. This was all part of the tradition of becoming a man. “We were told that there are many poisonous snakes out in the wilderness and I was given a large stick in case anything came into my location.” Said the young man I was questioning. “For the first few nights I didn’t sleep at all. It’s fearful being alone in the wilderness in all that pain. With all the noises in the dark, who could possibly sleep. After I had been out there for so many nights in a row I just got used to it. I was too tired to care what could be out there, I had to sleep.” He continued, “For the first week I could barely get off the ground I was in so much pain. When wind or any sort of weather came in, I had to try and hold the shelter together. ” He smirked at that. I could tell he was reliving the experience that he had had.
When the boy comes back to the village, he is no longer a boy anymore. He is given much more respect in the community. When he speaks, he is listened to. His words carry much more weight in the community. If however, the individual doesn’t participate in this tradition and people in the community find out about it they are not given respect at all. In fact people from your own household, even your own children, don’t have to listen to you. I thought that was very interesting that he mentioned even their own kids will give them less respect if they don’t take part in this experience.
I have always been interested in surviving off the land. I had thought that this is what was required of them. However, it was mainly a circumcision that had taken place. I am very excited to talk with Mpepe when he comes back from the wilderness to get a fresh account of his story. I want to hear from him if he saw any wild animals during his trip or if the rain, which we have had recently, affected him at all. It seems like every day we encounter something new. The Xhosa people are a proud people. I am really enjoying getting to know who they are as a people, though I have only begun to learn. I pray every day that God will give me a love for the people and those I am working with. I don’t want to be a “sounding brass or clanging cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1)
(Bryan)

Upcoming Events (by Bryan)

2010-06-10T12:21:00.001+02:00

Yesterday we hopped into Andy & Leigh’s vehicle and made the ten to fifteen minute drive to Khayelitsha for an Africa Jam meeting. This meeting was primarily for us to get our feet wet and kind of know the schedule of events that are coming up with the organization. There are several opportunities that we will be checking out.
1. Men & Woman’s Bible Study/Prayer Meetings (This is held on Friday nights in Khayelitsha where men and women gather in separate groups and have their bible studies and prayer times.) We won’t be able to join them this week but next week we will be there.
2. School Outreach (We will be participating in an event that lasts several days at one of the local schools. We participated in a similar event last year when Andy and I visited the organization. Games are played with the kids, bible stories are acted out as well as discussed in small groups. Music is played and the kids get to dance and sing. We are praying that it is sunny and not rainy so that the kids aren’t stuck inside.
3. Parentless Kids (We will be working with some children that have been abandoned and or orphaned. I am really looking forward to simply loving young kids that have been simply abandoned orphaned or rejected. I can’t imagine what this communicates to a child. We really want to love these children by simply taking time and coming down to their level and hearing what their hearts are desperately crying out. I can’t wait to post some of the experiences we have in this area.
4. IGP (Eventually we are to meet up with the IGP or Income Generating Program to see how this is doing and how we can assist. We don’t have a set time yet but in the next few weeks we should know.)
These are some of the events coming up that will keep us busy in the upcoming weeks. There are also plans in the works for taking out a group of young men and women from the Khayelitsha area that have been coming to the bible studies and going on an outreach into the rural areas surrounding Cape Town. They have done it once before and saw a woman that was lame healed in front of them. They go into these rural areas sing and help out the poor with whatever they need. Cleaning yards, doing laundry etc… I am very excited about this! The kids are going to begin raising funds soon, which I am shocked at, because they live in such a poor community. But somehow they have pulled it off before and will do so again. It seems we have arrived in God’s perfect timing. There have been a handful of the Africa Jam leaders who have just left. One has gone to Minnesota to help out A.J. there and the American, Ryan, will be going to the States to work on getting some bible training. We keep hearing that our arrival is very timely. Though I was very zealous to get here earlier, the Lord had everything lined up perfectly.
(Bryan)

Vehicle! (by Bryan)

2010-06-10T12:20:00.002+02:00

A week has gone by and we have lost the usage of our rental car. Andy and Leigh now have a vehicle and we are relying on them to get us places. Our Aunt Penny’s boyfriend Tim has been very, very helpful to us in helping us to locate a vehicle. He has been online quite a bit searching for vehicles for us and was able to locate one at a good price. Vehicles here are very expensive. We are looking at used vehicles at the low end of the market and they start at 35,000 rand which is about 5,000 US dollars. Whew!!! That’s expensive! We took a look at the vehicle and made an offer on it but it wasn’t what the guy wanted. Tim is still in contact with the guy and trying to work out a deal with him. We would really appreciate your prayers on this. We are asking the Lord for His will. “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. The car that we are making an offer on we are stretching for and God knows! It’s such a privilege to rely on Him for everything! He is a faithful God. I know He can see a vehicle out there for the perfect price that will take care of us and our need to get around.
(Bryan)

Fear in the night! (by Bryan)

2010-06-10T12:20:00.000+02:00

The first two nights in our home were very testing for us. We had just finished dropping off Andy and Leigh at their home since to this point they didn’t have a vehicle. We only have this car for a few more days and don’t have another one lined up yet. Andy and Leigh do have a car lined up so they will be our only means of transportation until we get a car.
We got back from dropping them off and opened our door into our home. Claire was the first one in the door and from the garage I heard a shriek of terror. I came charging in from the garage ready for a fight and their staring back at us were three sets of beady little eyes. Cockroaches! Being the gallant, knight in shining armor, I gave chase. One darted down the stairs and two ran for the bathroom. I grabbed my sandal, which would be my weapon of choice, and quickly eliminated the one on the stairs. It was a bloody mess, not for the faint of heart. The other two had scurried underneath the bathroom door and I unlocked it, worried that I would find an organized army of bugs awaiting me. I drew the last bit of courage that I had left and flung open the door. I could only find one and disposed of it with one brilliant stroke from my sandal. I returned from my encounter to a very grateful wife and baby daughter. The gratitude in their eyes was all I needed as payment for putting my own life on the line. The next two evening were the same and we have figured out that they are coming under the door from the garage. I have since put a rug against the crack under the door and have not seen any more cockroaches since.
Ants are a real problem, they swarm any bit of food or sugar that is left on the counters. Not your average couple of ants on the counter, we are talking a literal cloud of ants in the thousands. We have since learned that if you spray the entrances of doors and any other area that you see them coming in you won’t have a problem and we have. They are definitely under control now. We have a chemical we spray that kills them on contact and everywhere I have sprayed we haven’t seen the ants anymore.
(Bryan)

Setting Up (By Bryan)

2010-06-10T12:18:00.001+02:00

Boy, I am very glad that Claire and I decided to take the first two weeks to take time and set everything up. I don’t know how to communicate to all of you how difficult it is for us to figure out everything here. I’ll take a couple of examples. First if you want to go and get groceries where would you go? Back in the U.S., Claire would take Peyton to Walmart or Cub and buy all of our groceries at once. You the reader, have your own routine that you have in place. For groceries there’s Walmart & Cub, You want to buy a vehicle, hop on Craigslist, read the paper, or go to your local dealership. You want to set up internet, no problem call up Comcast or Cox for a monthly plan. Heating, trash and water comes in a bill every month to your door and if had it like us call make a couple of clicks online and you pay your bill that way.
All those things I had figured out in the States. We knew what to do for everything. Here it’s like learning everything all over again. Where do I go for groceries? Wow veggies are expensive at this store! Oh, for veggies and fruits don’t buy it at this market you have to go across town to the Fruit and Veg City where you will find them much cheaper. Don’t buy your meat at the local grocery store. You are paying too much. Drive down the street, take a left and at the end of the road you’ll see a meat shop. Buy it there, it’s much cheaper.
In the States everything is a monthly expense. Phone bills, Electric bills, Internet, Water, everything is paid on a monthly basis. Here everything is prepaid. Andy and I purchased the cheapest cell phones we could buy. The phone cost us 190 rand which turns out to be 30.00 US dollars. In order to get time on the phone we go to your local grocery store called Pick n Pay and purchased “air time”. This will then last us whatever time we purchased. We only pay if we make a call, calls coming in are free. The same goes for our electric, we purchase electricity at the store and come back home and enter in the code which is on our receipt. We then have that much more electricity that we can use at the house. We have found that this is very, very helpful to us in that we can see how much energy we are using. I buy 500 units of energy and in a week we have used 100 units. This helps Claire and I make a very conscious effort to save our energy. We know that every unit used, we pay for.
The biggest cutback for us is internet. We prepay this as well per gig of usage and that’s why we haven’t been online as much as we would like to. We type up our blogs and emails prior to getting online, that way we can just get online and copy and paste our journal entries and emails.
(Bryan)

We're Here (by Bryan)

2010-06-10T12:17:00.001+02:00

We got to Cape Town without a hitch and gathered up all of our bags and belongings. Nothing was missing again, Praise Jesus. We got our vehicle that we would be renting for the first week of our stay and began the twenty minute drive to our new home. Driving is tricky in South Africa, most of the vehicles that a person drives are stick and they are on the wrong side of the car. Instead of driving on the left hand side with the stick on the right, I drove on the right hand side with the stick on the left. Not to mention the roads are opposite each other. Instead of driving on the right hand side of the road, I found myself driving the left hand side with cars merging from on ramps on the left. In my hurry to leave the airport, I had forgotten to pull out our maps that we had printed. Now you have to realize that driving in South Africa is a bit different than in the States. The people here seem to be 5 times more aggressive in their driving. Claire took her seat belt off and began turned around to try and locate the map in one of the suitcases in back. I didn’t want to pull over because we were alone and I didn’t know any of the area. It’s different if I had been alone, but because I had Peyton and Claire in the car and it was our first day here I didn’t want to just stop anywhere. Claire was able to pull out the maps and we made the trip without incident.
As we got closer to the area we would be staying we noticed hundreds of the makeshift tin buildings lining the road. I began to wonder to myself if I had gotten a location that would feel safe to us. We found our road and turned in. We traveled into the “Marina De Gama” and found the house that we would be staying at. Different than anything I had known in the past this home had sharp jagged pieces of metal surrounding it’s walls. The neighborhood of the Marina de Gama felt safe, Claire and I drove around it a bit waiting for our rental agent to show up. It was very quite at twelve noon, South African time and we felt a peace to be home. We want to let everyone know that we feel very safe and comfortable living in this area. We know that just down the street, literally a mile to two miles down the street was the township we had just passed. Welcome to the extremes of South Africa. On one block of the street there are makeshift houses built from tin and whatever else can be found and on the next block are modernly built homes with most of the conveniences that Americans have. What extremes!
(Bryan)

The Flight (By Bryan)

2010-06-10T12:16:00.001+02:00

We boarded our flight from Phoenix on May 30, 2010 at noon. We had packed most of our belongings into 5 large suitcases which we were going to check. We also had Peyton’s stroller and car seat in which Peyton was fast asleep. My dad dropped us off at the airport and I ran inside to search for some sort of cart to help transport all of our items. We also had our laptops, two backpacks and Peyton’s diaper bag. I was able to find a lone flatbed that was parked against one of the elevators. I brought it back to our mound of suitcases and began to load them up. We finally got everything loaded and I’m sure we looked like a couple of mules hauling everything to get the bags checked. I had taken a gamble and not insured the bags to cut back on costs. It was definitely a gamble as this was all of our life’s possessions that we could fit into the suitcases. We covered the bags with prayer, knowing that God knew what we really needed anyways.
We got to our plane without incident and boarded our 2 hour flight to Dallas. From Dallas we flew to Washington Dulles where we spent the night at a hotel there. We had to pick up our bags and haul them to the hotel via shuttle. It was about 10:00 in the evening when we arrived at Washington Dulles. One of the men who worked for the airport saw that we had a mound of luggage and offered to help us figure out where we were going. I told him the name of the hotel and he helped us get to the place where the shuttles came to pick people up. It was very dark outside on the street as we waited for the shuttle. We gave the man a tip for helping us and he said he would wait with us until our ride arrived. Claire and I were a bit on edge because it was very dark and we had all of our luggage on the side of the street. There were several other people in the shadows and I was very happy when the shuttle did show up. We got to our hotel and settled in for a very restful sleep.
Our alarm went off at 5:00 in the morning and we sprang into action. We fed Peyton some breakfast and poured ourselves two cups of coffee. We had showered the night before and were very excited for the day. We had to recheck our bags at the airport, but this time they would be able to go all the way to Cape Town, South Africa. The previous day we couldn’t check the bags all the way to South Africa because according to airport policy, they can’t have bags sitting at an airport overnight…. Because of this, we had to spend quite a bit extra for checking the bags. We spent 200.00 for our bags from Arizona to Washington Dulles. From Washington Dulles to South Africa the cost was 400.00. In total we spent 600.00 to get all of our stuff to South Africa. We had received an email the day before from Andy and Leigh, our teammates on this adventure, that someone they knew had offered them money for bags. Because they were set they referred them to us. So this individual decided to send us the hundred dollars that they were going to send Andy and Leigh. We are so grateful. God is good!
We boarded our flight from Washington Dulles to New York which took about an hour and a half. We had a couple hours at New York and finally boarded our SA flight nonstop to Johannesburg, South Africa. We were very happy to see that on this flight, there were small television’s mounted to the back of the seats in front of us. On this very long flight, Peyton slept for several hours but she definitely got a bit restless. I can’t blame here she was stuck on our laps for 14 hours and she didn’t know why. Claire changed all the diapers in the plane’s small bathroom. I have an amazing wife. (Please readers, don’t stone me for not changing any of the diapers.) Our seat partner was a young German girl who was very friendly with Peyton and understanding. There was one point that this German girl was sound asleep and Peyton was wide awake. Peyton was sitting in Claire’s arms and was determined to reach out and touch the girls face. With a coo, Peyton squirmed and lunged at the girl almost waking her up. Claire quickly grabbed Peyton and handed her off to me. Claire and I took turns taking walks with Peyton to the back of the airplane and fetching her apple juice. I’m not sure why but she drank more apple juice on that flight than she has in a week. Her diapers were loaded to the max and we were afraid that we might run out. I don’t know if it was boredom or what. We did offer her drinks a lot because she would get a little fussy and apple juice helped to settle her down.
Claire and I were able to catch some sleep while Peyton slept. I personally got two solid hours of sleep, but really didn’t feel like I was too exhausted when we arrived in SA. I remember thinking to myself how good I felt even though I had barely slept. I could just hear the prayers of my parents and friends. “Lord please keep Bryan and Claire alert as they travel, especially when they have to drive from the airport to their home in after such a long three days of travel.” Thank you very much!
We arrived at Johannesburg and had a couple hours until our next flight which would take us to Cape Town. We were directed by someone to a certain gate and began to wait for the flight. I sat real close to the gate not wanting to miss the flight at all. We were sitting with three other people who were also making the flight to Cape Town. Claire was in the bathroom freshening up and one of the girls commented, that she thought she heard our flight for a different gate. I shrugged it off and said that the screen showed us departing from this gate. When Claire came out I walked over to the woman who was standing at the gate next to us and she informed us that the flight was already boarding but at a different gate. We all hurried to that gate and were the last to board. I hate walking on to a plane as everyone is sitting staring at us with accusing eyes for holding up their plane. Praise the Lord that we didn’t miss that flight. That would have been horrible.
(Bryan)

Goodbye (by Bryan)

2010-06-10T12:13:00.001+02:00

We boarded our flight from Phoenix, Arizona at noon on May 30’th, 2010. Claire and I had just said goodbye to my side of the family. They had flown to Arizona for a Flores family reunion. That morning the twelve of us gathered together inside the living room to ask the Lord for His hand to be upon us as we began this life changing adventure. As family members took turns praying for us, tears began to fill my eyes and roll down my cheeks. Each one of these individuals, I had such a deep love and appreciation for. It was love that bound us all together in such a deep connection and it was love that allowed them to give us up. There was no resentment in their prayers, no angry bitterness towards the God who had called us to a distant land. As I stop and consider, I am impressed by what level of real love fills both Claire and my families. Through the willingness to give up their son’s and daughters, brother’s and sisters, and precious grandchildren their actions speak in similitude with Job’s. “The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I’m awed. Their pure love for God runs deeper even than their love for their most precious children.
(by Bryan)

Update on our Paperwork

2010-05-21T20:29:00.000+02:00

I want to thank every one of you for praying for us as we have faced some opposition during this last hurdle. We have received lots of feedback that you are all praying and wondering how things are going with locating our documents.

The package is still lost in the USPS but we have some better news.

We have been talking with the SA consulate in Chicago and because they were partly responsible for losing our documents they have been very helpful in trying to locate them as well as pulling some strings to go ahead and resubmit an application. They told us that we will be able to submit whatever copies that we might have of the originals we had lost. The head of the consulate is also on the phone daily trying to locate everything else. We are very grateful that they are putting the pressure on the USPS because I think it has a much greater affect coming from officials vs little ol' me. She even told me that she would push for the USPS reimbursing us for any costs that would be incurred because of their neglect... (e.g. airfare changes)

On another note. I thought I had sent my passports in that package to the Consulate in Chicago and they too were lost in the mail. I was so convinced that I never looked for them here at the house. I had checked off on my list of to do's that I had put them in the package with everything else. I was looking for copies of birth certificates, and anything else I might have, to send to the consulate and found all three of the passports in with the papers.... Because we do have them, the Consulate is able to pull some strings and use copies of Birth certificates for this application. (so our mistake became a blessing in disguise!!)

We sent the second application to them last night and it arrived this morning May 21. The head of the consulate said to put her name on it so she could see to it herself. I will be contacting her this morning to find out what else we need to do. I will keep you all posted.

Thank you very much for your prayers. Our plans remain to go on the 30 of this month. I can't tell you how good it feels and how much confidence we have knowing that all of you stand so solidly behind us. We have been encouraged by so many of you shooting us emails or posts on Facebook and Twitter letting us know that we are in your prayers. That means the world to us... and we know your prayers are helping!

James 5:16 The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Bryan, Claire, Peyton, and baby #2

www.missionminds.com

Good News & Bad News

2010-05-19T00:05:00.000+02:00

Hey friends! If you haven't heard the news yet, we are expecting our second child! We discovered this wonderful news on April 29th and are so happy to be welcoming another member to our family. At first we weren't sure how this pregnancy would affect our journey... but after much prayer, deliberation and wise council, we have decided that we will be having this baby without the help of insurance in South Africa. (Our Global Health Insurance won't cover maternity until May 2011) Thankfully, a pregnancy and delivery are actually much less expensive in South Africa than here in the U.S. We are looking at a grand total of between 2,000-5,000 including pre-natal care and hospitalization. We are praising God for this added blessing and the fact that He has made a way for us to have this child overseas. We actually heard of a woman who lives in the states but chose to fly to S.A. to have her baby because she preferred the care offered there!!!

Well, we are "down to the wire" as far as our leave date! Only 12 days until we are supposed to be leaving! Please pray for us because our visa applications are lost in the mail... and have been lost since April 22nd. The last "touch" that shows up on our tracking number was on May 5th in Chicago. We have called multiple postal services and everyone we've talked to seems to simply give us excuse after excuse to get us off the phone. We've been told that we would know for sure on Monday... then Wednesday... then Friday... and so on. But we've run out of time to wait. We called the South African Consulate in Chicago (whose addressing mistake caused the package to be lost) and they are very apologetic and have promised to rush our visa application when it finally does get found. The head of the consulate also has promised us she will be calling the USPS daily until we find this package.

WE DESPERATELY NEED YOUR PRAYERS. We need a miracle right now to be able to move forward. Without those visas, we cannot leave on May 30th. Please pray for us, because in that application are our birth certificates, passports, checks and marriage license. We need this package to be located THIS WEEK or else we won't have enough time for the consulate to process the application and return the envelope to us. PLEASE KEEP US IN YOUR PRAYERS.

We know that God is in control. We are trusting Him that this will all work out!

Be Blessed,

The Flores Family

Only 6 Weeks Left!

2010-04-19T11:36:00.000+02:00

We leave the United States in roughly 6 weeks. Reality is beginning to sink in as we realize that everything we know is about to dramatically change. We are excited, scared, curious, and a little sad. But each day we get closer to leaving, we are more and more sure that this is indeed what God is calling us to do as a family.

I (Claire) was encouraged to speak at a church in Connecticut in late March. Even though I only shared with them for a few minutes, I was so blown away by their spiritual and emotional support and their financial generosity. It's fellow believers like that who are our "cheerleaders", affirming us in our desire to follow the Lord.

We want to say a special thank you to all our faithful supporters. You have no idea how much of a daily encouragement you are to us!

Please pray for us as we are in the midst of the visa process. Pray for expediency and favor with the consulate.

Also please keep little Peyton in your prayers as we make this huge transition! She has to get a lot of immunizations before we go, and many of them she's not allowed to have before her first birthday... which happens to be the day before we leave. So that means Peyton is going to be having a lot of shots the day before we board a 20+ hour flight. Please pray that she has no side effects from the shots that would effect our journey negatively.

Also pray for us as we are still looking for housing in Cape Town. We have the opportunity to live with our teammates for the first month or so, and while we are grateful for that option, we are still looking for a place of our own in the meantime.

Remember to always check out our website for updated information!

May you all be blessed as you pursue God's will for your own life! Thank you for the part each of you play in our journey.

Together

2009-12-06T06:32:00.000+02:00

We were blessed enough to have the whole team together for Thanksgiving. At times, it's difficult to be apart during this season of preparation. It was so encouraging to be together and to be able to share some of our hopes, plans, dreams, and even fears with one another.

As we look forward, we know that God will continue to prepare us for this journey He is leading us on.

Waiting on the edge of something is never easy. But the anticipation can either motivate you, or cause you to turn back. Only by God's grace do we move forward.

We are at 20% of our monthly support and 57% of our set-up costs. We are praising God and knowing that He will continue to lead us forward.

Take a look at our website if you have a little time! Bryan recently revamped it.

Blessings on all of you... Thanks for keeping up with our journey! God is good!

Transition Time

2009-10-29T05:41:00.000+02:00

We have officially begun the process of transition. Just another reminder that this venture is indeed, a reality! In a week, Claire will be flying to Vermont and Bryan will drive just a week later. We plan to be there with Claire's parents for 2 months and hopefully depart for Cape Town in January.

It's a bittersweet time for us as we say goodbyes to everyone we have spent the past years with. We will greatly miss our friends, family and church body! But as we move forward, sadness is not our tune... we are delighted to be moving into the season that God has ordained for us.

As far as support, we are still at about 10% of our monthly and 65% of our set up fund. We are praising God for the support that we have received and believing him for the rest. In the meantime, Bryan will find work in Vermont to help those numbers increase.

We are so blessed to have been able to live with Bryan's parents for the past month and now to be living with Claire's parents for the next couple months. Both of our families have been so generous in opening their homes to us.

As we walk forward in this journey, we ask for your continued prayers. Transition is never a completely smooth process, but please pray for us that it will be as smooth as possible, especially for 5 month old little Peyton.

Please continue to pray for us as we strive to be trustworthy with what we have been given by God. Even in only having a 5 month old, we are walking forward in this journey of parenting with hearts desires to do it to the best of our ability. We want to make decisions even now for Peyton that will set her up for a life of godliness even now. We also want to hold her with open hands and release her to the Lord knowing that He and only He can protect and sustain her. Pray that we will walk in wisdom even as we parent on the mission field. Thank you for your prayers and for being the body of Christ alongside us!

Isaiah 45:2-7

2009-09-26T03:58:00.000+02:00

²"I will go before you and make the rough places smooth;
I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.
³"I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
⁴"For the sake of Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have not known Me.
⁵"I am the LORD, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God
I will gird you, though you have not known Me;
⁶That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is no one besides Me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other,
⁷The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing well-being and creating calamity;
I am the LORD who does all these"

Relinquishing Control

2009-09-25T13:46:00.000+02:00

We had reached a sort of an impass. It felt as though either we needed God to give us an obvious sign that we were to stay the course, or we had to give up. We had been support raising for a few months, working really hard at it--with no result. We felt defeated, disappointed and confused.

After several weeks of crying out to God for an answer, we gave up. Not that we gave up on God, but we gave up on being in control. We told Him that we couldn't do it anymore. That our support raising journey was completely in His hands. And then we sat back, and waited.

That same week at church a friend of ours handed us a check for a couple hundred dollars. It was a sign from God.

Bryan had a dream a couple months back about a truck bed full of apples. The back of the truck was opened, and a couple apples fell out. After those few apples, it didn't take long for the whole truck to dump out. He felt this was a prophetic dream about support raising.

After that first check, the ball kept rolling. We received monthly pledges that blew us away.

God has taken control. And it's a much better game plan than ours!

We are blessed to now be at 9% of our monthly support and 30% of our set-up fund. It may not seem like much, but to us it's monumental. It's God's assurance that this is indeed the path He has set out for us. And we anticipate the great things He will continue to do along the way.

Really, Lord?

2009-08-07T01:50:00.000+02:00

In our previous post, we talked about beginning the process of fund raising. Well, here we are, a few months into the process and we can't help but feel discouraged. So far we have received only one time donations and one "pledge" to donate monthly. We realize that we haven't been doing this for that long, but still it's hard not to wonder if perhaps this isn't meant to be.

Don't think that we're giving up at the first sign of adversity, but it's hard not to wonder if perhaps this is God's way of showing us that South Africa is not His direction. That perhaps we heard wrong.

We still both feel a burning passion for the people of South Africa. We still feel at peace with our decision to move there. But each fund raising appointment we go to bears the same result. "No, we're sorry. We can't support you at this time." or "We can give a little bit, but just this once." Believe you me, we're not judging. We know the time in which we live. We realize there is economic crisis going on.

But doesn't God make a way where there seems to be no way?

Not gonna lie, that's hard to believe right now. We know He is faithful. He has time and time again proved Himself to be just that.

But oh, it's so hard. Disappointment and discouragement are lurking at the doorways of our hearts. And so, we wait on God. Wait for Him to pull through. We are so far from our goal. So far from our need being met. We are working and doing our best to contribute ourselves; but it's so hard. So hard to believe that this is possible.

We are doing our best to walk in thankfulness. God has already provided in so many ways for our right now. But our future in South Africa seems distant and unattainable.

What is the Lord teaching us? Patience? Is He going to test our loyalty and then pull through at the last possible second? Or is He perhaps telling us, "Not now."

We will now do what we only can do. We will wait and we will pray.

Please join with us in prayer as we seek the Lord's face for our next step. Pray that if this is His will, that funding will come. Pray that if it is not, that He will reveal that to us quickly. We are living so in transition and it's trying on us as a family. It's difficult to not know where you'll be in the next 6 months. To be living out of suitcases. We've laid it all down for this calling... a calling that we can only pray comes to fruition.

We thank you for your prayers.

The Beginning of the Process

2009-06-20T20:18:00.000+02:00

We have recently begun the tedious process of support raising. It's not easy, to humble yourself and ask other people for money. It goes against everything we've been taught, and every ounce of pride we hang onto... but it's something that, in this case, must be done for the advancing of Christ's kingdom.

The funny thing is, when someone asks us for support, we don't blink. We don't look at them and think they are a mooch, or lazy, etc. but for some reason when it comes to us being the ones asking, we immediately conclude that those are things people connect us to. We have had a couple of appointments thus far, and they've gone well. We haven't gotten any support out of them, but they were encouraging even just through the comments people made and affirmation we received.

At the end of the day, we just have to trust that if this is really what God has called us to do (which we know He has!) then He will provide. After all, we serve a God who owns "the cattle on a thousand hills" who could literally CREATE money for us if necessary.

Why do we fear when He is the One who goes before us and stands behind us?

But somehow, we still find ourselves doubting that our goal will ever be reached.

But God. I had a pastor when I was younger who would often repeat that phrase. "But God." "But God." He would always say that the most dismal Scripture verses were followed by that powerful, revolutionary phrase. "But God." No matter how much we doubt, or how dismal things appear, "BUT GOD." God will accomplish His will. God will advance His kingdom. God will send workers into the harvest. God will reach the people of Cape Town, South Africa.

He doesn't need our help. But He gives us the opportunity to become involved for our benefit and His glory.

Faith isn't always the easiest virtue to uphold, but it is certainly the most relaxing one.

As we continue in this fundraising process, we know that God will prove Himself faithful. Even when we are faithless.

Welcome to Our Blog!

2009-06-15T05:15:00.000+02:00

Welcome to the Flores Family blog! Check here for updates about our journey to Cape Town, South Africa.