Africa has captured my heart.

Wow!!! Where do I begin. I guess one big thing here is patience, one must wait and trust that things are going to happen. To trust God, that he knows the bigger picture and it is not up to us. That a smiple hug or a fun song can make a difference. It is amazing how much some of the kids just want love and attention. One child at the nursary giggled and giggled, but when i left he just stared at me with thoes big, brown, sad eyes... I didnt want to leave him. When I came back later, the smile he gave me, I will never forget it. There is so much more, and God is working in all of us. Thank you so much for you love support and prayers. God will do great things through prayer.
Alanna

a thought from Kristal

the question ive been asking myself these few days in J.Bay, is why do people in Canada have it so darn easy
i mean...here, by the age of 16 a girl has been raped and inpregnated numourous times.
whereas in Canada, that hardly happens.
so many times in my life, ive taken it for granted.
but not even known it.
theres so many thoughts going through my head right now, i have no words to match it.
ive had an amazing trip so far, and ive learnt so many different things about myself.
like, i can bathe in completly brown water in a second after not being clean for 2 days
or ill meet people who have absolutly nothing, and are so unclean, and not even care about slappin on the hand san
or me being totally overjoyed to see little children who have the same joy for me a million times more. and all they want to do is just hug you and hold your hand.
but most of all... on this trip, ive learnt that the love of God is so much more powerful than doing a minor act of kindness
but instead showing Gods love through your every action, speech and thought.
sigh... my heart has been captured by those little kids.
God has touched my heart through these little kids, and filled me with such a joy and gratefulness.
going back to Canada might be the hardest thing to do, since ill want to yell at everyone because they dont know how lucky they are.
sorry mom and dad if i get on your case for certin things, its out of love, i mean it.
well... our trip is coming to a stop soon, but ill still take in everyday as if its the last.
i love you family, and friends. and i cant wait to tell you about my life changing exsperience.

from victor

whats up MOM wiens and PAPA wiens AND BEAR AND BEN how is it going. iam home sick but there is only one more day to go. this trip has been so fun with all the playing around with children and painting and digging. when I grad iam moving to J Bay. so I am out talk to you later.
see you in like 3 days love VICTOR WIENS.

A Playground for Kids

What a great last few days we have enjoyed! We have had the opportunity to work on a playground that was built by the church for a public school and all the neighbourhood kids. We've been pulling weeds, picking rocks, and removing a lot of garbage.(Thanks, Mom Maja for the gloves - I didn't even realize the size of the thorns on the weeds we were pulling until about an hour into it!) Some students on our team also worked on fixing some of the playground equipment that had already been broken.... :( We were totally amazed at how much broken glass we took out of the area wondering how could people do that underneath a children's play area.... Also, we were surprised by the amount of garbage that seems to be thrown about without thought.... It was so cool today, when the topsoil came and we were all busy shovelling, spreading, wheeling it around, or flattening it as Mrs. Bishop decided to get the local kids involved (there have been more coming each time we were working at the playground - I think they are excited and just plain curious about these 'whites' in their area). She asked them to help her spread out the piles of soil (not 'dirt' we learned!) and pat them down or flatten them with their feet. We ended up having a crew of a dozen or so kids all working alongside of us! It was lots of fun and so cool to work with, meet, then play with kids who will use the playground regularly. We also took the opportunity to pray for the area and the families around there. There are amazing things happening in that area but only some of them are amazingly good. The people here really need our prayers and help. Our students worked really hard today and I was so happy with how much they accomplished. God is good! :)

words from carly

hey everyone (mom dad gramps ug& ac mark)
It is so nice to hear from all of you guys! it is comforting to know that you are all remembering me in your daily lives. so the trip is almost over and we are all getting ready to come... many of us reluctantly though. mom you should be rpoud of me... iv been taking my vitamins everyday! i have no idea what to buy for mark as a gift from here!!! i am so excited to tell everyone about my trip and the experiences of Africa. we have many many pictures to show. it is hard for us to clearly show and explain all of the amasing things that we have seen.i am looknig forward to seeing everyone again and sharing the amasing things god has done in my life while on this trip! XOXO god bless see you soon! *i love and miss you all!! to the stars and back! * ps hotmail doesnt work very ofter here. ps say hi to romeo and spencer for me! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!your my favorite bro!

A couple of extra pics

A cute kitty that we met on the road.










A bit of Canada in Zambia. =)

A few pictures

Ben and his junior fan club. The kids never felt safer or more important!







Dedication service for the orpanage. The children in fromt are some of the ones who will get to live in the new orphanage.

Victory for All -Jeffreys Bay

We spent today working at the Victory for All Center (formerly known as the Joshua Project) The building that we worked on two years ago is finished and houses a community center, preschool, music therapy facility, and offices. It is already directly impacting the area. The community is hard hit by AIDS/HIV, and people refuse medicines stating that "What is the point of living another 3-5 years when life is already Hell." The center works to give people hope, and introduce them to the hope and peace that is available through a relationship with Jesus.

Our team then went to a second center that God miraculously gave them for free. Amazing story!! In this center they have a day care, Mother care, health services, and a school for handicapped children. Our team split up to work with the children and clean up the playground across the street. We had a warm, dirty, and rewarding day. =)

Tomorrow's visit to the school in Humansdorp has been changed and now we'll be going to a school here in Jeffreys Bay.

Victor/Victoria

Hello everyone back home
In Livingstone they call me Victoria. There have been some ups and downs as you have heard. But the best part so far has been in Maamba, painting the orpanage and playing with the kids. Hope to see you back in Kelowna some day.

Dylan,
I'm in love with a East Indian girl from Durban and I'm not coming home. Please send money and wedding gifts.

Sean,
This trip pwns. Mr H. bought my hat and I'm ticked.

Wells,
Hey everyone.... We're in Jeffrey's Bay now and I can surf....somewhat. I miss Maamba already. Specially a lady there named Michelle and Pastor Roy. Michelle was our cook and she's a great woman of God. It may seem unrealistic but I know if God wants me to I'll come back to Maamba. Say Hi to everyone for me in Kelowna.

Ben,
I'm famous in Maamba. They think that I'm a giant! At least they all love me and aren't slinging stones at me.

No Ordinary Life

The other day we were talking about "ordinary lives." It's pretty easy to feel like you are just going through life, maybe stuck in a bit of a routine, or trapped in a pace that requires your time, focus and energy.

The Bible talks about us being a peculiar people, and about the fact that Christ came to bring us abundant life. Not once we reach Heaven, but starting right now!

It can be easy to get caught up in daily "life" so that we lose sight of the fact that we are called to live extraordinary lives. For the team to realize that they have been able to travel over 20 000 kms, have five different currencies in their pockets, speak at a women's meeting under a tree in beneath the blazing sun, see children in a town of 12 000 where there are over 500 new cases of AIDS in the past year. Four days of no bathing, no flushing, and some of the team dealing with "intestinal challenges", we've held hands with filthy kids with huge smiles, and have carried kids on our shoulders who have smelt of urine, but who have also given the biggest hugs. We've visited a preschool with 170 children in the space of a Kelowna home.We've also stuck our feet in the Zambezi River, walked the edge of Victoria Falls, watched HUGE crocs fight with each other over food, bartered for goods, surfed in the Indian Ocean, been to six hours of church on one Sunday, and had many discussions about family, home, respect, spiritual warfare, walking with God, and living our relationship with Jesus Christ. And this is all just scrathing the surface.

Thanks for your many thoughts and prayers.

hi family umm mom by the way...

he family its wells. im in jefferys bay right now its beutiful here and i get to go surfing. yesterday we got to stay at the royal livingstone a five star in zambia for one noght it was fun. i miss maamba alreasy but im sure we will like jefferys as well. say happy bday to nic for me. i miss all of you guys and i hope to hear back from you. Say hi to nana pappy and the gparents and say hi to matt brown as well. ask him what happened at the movie theatre its pretty cool.love you guys. peace

wells

xoxo

p.s mom i lost my camera or it got stolen somewhere in joburg airport but dont worry about we get everyones pictures. i dont let it bother me iv never been a huge pucture taker anyway. now i can concentrate on africa more than taking pictures of africa. please dont be mad... just teasen. love you :)

We're still alive part two

Good Morning,

Yesterday we made the trip from Maamba to Livingstone, and Victoria Falls.
Today we travel to Jeffries Bay and tomorrow we should be able to get some pictures on line and have the team begin to enter their own words once again.

Two nights ago we were sleeping in a little lodge in Maamba with sporadic air conditioning, a cool evening temperature of 34 degrees, running water only from 5-7 am, and 6-8 pm (on the good days... can you say sweaty, sticky, smelly, team?)and the never ending worry of little critters.

Last night we slept in beautiful rooms. The missionary who organized our trip from the Africa end has amazing connections with the Manager of a resort right beside Victoria Falls, and because of this connection we are staying in a beautiful place at a fraction of what it costs everyone else. God is good!!

Victoria Falls are amazing. They are actually indescribable. There is no real way to put into words the experience. God had fun making this place! The power, the majesty, the size, the force of all of that water, plus the fact that from the "dry side" it's like having a fire hose pouring down on you. We had such a blast! Everyone should experience this once in their lives....or maybe more.

This afternoon we leave the home of David Livingstone and travel to Jeffries Bay. Continue to pray for our safety and that everyone would be touched in this final leg of our trip.

Keep the comments coming! They are SOOO encouraging!!

We're still alive!!

Hi Everyone,

We've just had an incredible week in Maamba. On our first day, we went for a walk that turned into a parade. Kids came from everywhere. I'm sure that some were even crawling out of the termite hills!! By the time we had walked to the orphanage there had to be at least 100 kids with us. We sang and played games with them, and then they walked us back to our lodge. Our whole team was totally pumped and forgot all about the spiders and creepy crawlies waiting beneath our beds....

The children in Maamba are really into WWE, and soon all of the guys had WWE nicknames. Triple H, John Cena, Oomaga, and Big Show. Something to laugh with them about.

We were able to share our "Tonga" song and skits in church. Ori even preached/gave a testimony, and Elysia did as well. They were all very well received. Even though we went as a work crew they wanted us to go on a Zambian song and dance tour. Ha ha.

We were able to get the orphanage completely painted (3 coats) outside, and 1-2 coats inside until they decided to change the color. (It was pink and a BOYS residence). We were able to be a part of the dedication ceremony and the church was so excited about the Bucks for Bricks campaign that we began in Canada that they were challenged to try to match what we had raised. They were BLOWN AWAY by the fact that people in Canada believed so strongly in their "little" project. We even were able to meet 19 of the orphans who will be living there. Please pray for the final red tape and finishing work to go smoothly.

This morning we said a sad farewell to our many new friends in Maamba as we boarded our rickety bus to travel to Livingstone. We had many people stop to wave at us as we left. Our thoughts, prayers and hearts will always remember the people of Maamba.

sights & smells

We were awakened by the sound of monkeys fighting and the smell of crocodiles. (Not a nice smell.) Only in Africa. Our lodging is on the shores of Lake Kariba. It's nice but at night you don't go down to the lake. We have a lot of monkeys by our huts, there are frogs and lizards living in the showers, Banana trees are growing a few feet away, and we've already seen some crazy looking spiders.

Yesterday we finished painting at Muuka, the clinic looks GREAT!! The people greeted us with singing and we sang to them as we drove away. Music really is a universal language. There were a couple of people who kept thanking and thanking us for what we had done there.

Some of the kids had the opportunity to help them butcher a goat (an optional activity, I sure wasn't going.) That evening we BBQed it. Today we move from Muuka to Maamba and will start painting the orphanage this afternoon. It should be a little cooler than yesterday's 45 degrees.

Before I left my Masters Technology prof showed our class a short video on the spread of technology around the world, and wouldnt' you know it, here in this little village was internet. I was even able to Skype my sister in New Zealand to say Happy Birthday. Well, gotta go.

Please leave us a comment. They mean A LOT to the kids on our team!!

Kristal, Erika, Elysia

Hello everyone!!!
we had the most amazing day today!! where should we start...? we woke up not quite knowing where we were heading for the day. our whole team met up at Kings School and from there went to the Lion and Rhino park. at the park the frist thing we did was go into a humungo cave! it was gigantinc. we went down 87 stairs at a 45 degree angle.. is you fell you would be a gonner.. then down a 20-30 ft lift. the cave was so cool. It was like a lost city underground. the rock formations were so large..it takes them 100 years to grom one cm. The cave was about 40 ft underground and 60 ft high and 180 something ft long..(or around those lines). NEXT the safari!it started out slightly disapointing only being able to see 2 rhinos, but htey were too far away to take decent pictures, and the grass was really tall. Although, we saw wart hogs, ostriches, zebras, and so on. it was rally exciting at frist but it got a little boring. BUT then, we entered the lion cage! sooo exciting, as we were driving through we all had our eyes peeled, and were searching for a while. then we drove up near a large tree where 8-9 lions were all laying ontop and around each other, and we werent able to turn around so we had to go right beside them, SO SCARY!! but also so exciting! and with all of our cameras together we proably got at least 300 pictures within 2 feet. HAH and then one guy stood right up and pee'd right on his buddy, hah it probably refreshing for him though! and then we were drivng towards the end, this other lion brushed up against our van, and he looked pretty angry! haha so then we headed on through the cheetahs and wild dogs fields. that would have been more exciting if the dogs were more awake and we if we could actually spot some cheetahs. okay now to the BEST part of the zoo, we went to like the village area where there were baby lions and tigers and cheetahs, and we found out that we could go into those cages and get pictures with them!!!! CRAZY EH!????? it only costed us 20 rand for each visit which was about 3-4 dollars. so amazing, Kristal, Erika and Wells all went together and Elysia, Elyse and Ben and Mrs bishop. we actually cuddled with the lion and kissed it, so the lion was pretty tame, BUT the tigers were prtty crazy. VERY ramboncious!! haahha umm, it chewed Wells, snook up behind alanna and jumped n her from behind, they chewed off carlys hair pretty much, and were not even going to discuss what they did to elysia. hahh so that day was pretty awesome as it was. so we headed out of the safari adventure nd went to the school and had lunch. we had african hot dogs that we werent certain about and when we were informed that we were eating lamb intestine, it wasnt bad though, we were just a little frightened. so after lunch we headed to this daycare/orphanage. this place held about 170 children. children whos parent dont always have the time or money to keep them at home or in shool for the day. it was really amazing and as soon as we stepped foot into it, children just jumped on you, hugged you and just wanted to be your best friend. the just did not want to leave your side, it was amazing, they couldnt get enough of you. and it was such a easily responsibility for us and it gave them so much pleasure. anyways! moving on that pretty much wrapped up our day. it was a great day, long day though, but totally worth it. this is a prety long blog though, so its time to get out of here, SEE YOU LATER!!! LOVER ERiKA KRISTAL AND ELYSIA!!



PS. KRISTALS PARENTS!!!! CHANGE MY LIMIT ON MY BANK CARD!!! I CAN ONLY TAKE OUT 100Rand a day which is $20 a day, SO CHANGE IT IT HIGHER THAN THAT!!!!!!!!!

Words from Ori

I can't believe we are finaly here! Its seems as if it was days ago where i was franticaly trying to catch my first plane in Kelowna.(haha oops!) The first flight to hongkong was slightly testy. After watching the first few minuits of every movie, scaning the radio stations, and loading up on snacks, most of us found nothing to do while still having 11 hours to go! Landing in HongKong was a different expierence. Withen seconds of entering the airport a wave of humidity wraped our bodies. Only 3 hours to stretch and back on another long haul. The second flight was easier, considering it was over night and most of us slept through it. Victor wins the "most sleep award" Theres nothing that got him up. The Food seem to get worse...We felt like cattle being told when to eat, when to sleep, and when to wake up. All flights where confortable. We landed in South Africa early this morning around 6:00 Am (SA time)

"Woa its hot! "Im so sweaty" "we're finaly here." These where some of the comments mentioned from our team as we set foot on this knew soil. A short bus ride from the plain to the customs terminal, here in Joburg, revealed some unique difference between our home country and this knew one. Some where as simple as such diverse ethinicticity. Other things really stood out, like driving on the other side of the road or strong accents. We grouped together once more at the "kings School"and the off we were to our host families. Mr.& Mrs. H with Victor welss and myself all are staying with Nick ( our exchange student) My first words stepping into this house was, "What?"

I was preparing myself to be bunked with these guys all in one small room and probly one bed. (Excluding mr.& Mrs H of course) However i was delightfuly surprised! Beyond the Long driveway, Thru the yellow cement walls you found yourself standing in the middle of a luxuries home. Each one of us got our seperate room which contained a large bed large Shower(extremly High tech, Still have to figure it out) and tile floor everywhere. The environment is very peacfull, large windows from ceiling to floor are found throughout the home. Cool breeze lifts the light curtains. The sun penetrates through causing the heat, yet theres the option of the pool to cool off.. Victor made a great first impression by breaking the trampoline haha. We recently just enjoyed a light breakfest here in there home. We split off to rest, play basketball and for myself to Blog for you guys. Right now im in my room enjoying siting in my swimshorts while having the sun warm my back.

We are so thankful for the hospitality this family has already showed us. We must be careful not to expect this for only a few nights here and we fly up to Zambia to begin our projects. This day will be spent getting use to the timezone, getting to know our host families and later we are invited to a barbeque.

I can't wait to explore this place some more..

We're here

We made it! 40 hours from the time we left Kelowna we now find ourselves in Jo Berg South Africa. We all made it safe and sound though quite tired! All of our luggage is here and customs was very smooth. The rest of today will be spent adjusting, sleeping, eating, and visiting with our new SA family.

Kelowna to Vancouver

by Ben & Bruce
It is now 6:05am Friday, Kelowna time and 11:05 pm Friday night Hong Kong time. Our trip began with Ori arriving 15 minutes before takeoff. Through a miracle of efficiency they checked him in, loaded his bags and got him on the plane before the doors closed. Only in Kelowna... As a punishment the steward made Ori hand out peanuts and drinks. But he wouldn't let Ori fly the plane.
After 7 plus hours in the Vancouver airport we got onto our plane and flew 14 hours to Hong Kong. It was Looooooonnnnngggg. So long in fact that we don't like watching tv anymore. My knees were crushed against the seat in front of me, and although I tried to get the people beside me to let me stretch out across them, the juice that they kept spilling in my ear ended that venture. Okay, they didn't let me at all, I just had to suffer and play hangman.
86 games 2 losses. I rock!
Gotta go, our flight to Johannesburg leaves in an hour. Hopefully there will be less people and more room to stretch out this flight.

Getting ready

Our team has been meeting in preparation of our trip. We've learned a song in Tongan and have learned a couple of skits. Today we met with the gentlemen from SODIS to learn how to present an amazing system for water purification. Over 2.5 million children die each year in Africa due to water borne diseases. It's very cool to know that we have information which could save a lot of lives. More on that later.

Time keeps ticking

I've added clocks for Lusaka, Zambia and Vancouver. I chose Lusaka since Zambia and South Africa share the same time zone. The Vancouver time is for the benfeit of our team members. We almost made it to the absolute opposite side of the world. =)