South Africa Feb 2024

by Karen Ross As we begin our long journey home, I am reflecting on how this goodbye is different from the last time I visited. My first trip to South Africa was in November of 2022. It was the beginning of something beautiful. I met so many wonderful people and began to build lasting relationships. I felt a new purpose as I walked alongside my new friends at Avodah, a Christian group of intellectually and physically challenged young adults. This time together provides them with a safe place for fellowship, a home cooked meal and an opportunity to learn and cultivate each of their God given gifts. Simply put, here they receive unconditional LOVE.  When it was time to say goodbye, I struggled. I wasn’t sure if I would see them again and they had already woven themselves into my heart. From then until now we continued to grow our relationship, to connect them with our group in the US, the New Life Rock Stars. Across 8000 miles countless prayers were shared, cards and small handmade g...

by Katie Siewert I can’t begin to describe the feeling of seeing an individual, smiling brightly, and hearing their shack burned to the ground less than an hour later. It was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday and very, very dry. We were doing some home visits, both in concrete homes and shacks. I had asked our friend the likelihood of shacks catching on fire during similar weather events. Soon after, I could see and smell the smoke from this individual’s house. In South Africa, there are over 100 shack fires a day with at least one death every other day. In the blink of an eye, everything can change. Those living in the shacks already have very little. They struggle to have access to basic human needs. I was happy to hear that organizations, including Ma’s vir Wellington (Ma’s for Wellington), jumped into helping her. They provided clothing and a place to stay as everything had burned to the ground. They are now working to build a more stable shack, with help from donations. It’...

by Betsy Siewert It is always a blessing to spend time with the Mosaic moms. They have so much joy and faith in God.  We had an event for the moms to show them how much we appreciate and love them.   I noticed one of the moms was collecting all the plastic cups and knives from our soap making craft.  She said that her daughter was getting married in November and she needed them for the wedding.   I was able to scavenge and find her more cups, and knives, which we would just have trashed.  She was so happy.   Later, during the meal,  I observed many of mom's eating only a few bites of their meal, or none at all.  They packed away all their leftovers to bring home to their families.  I had no trouble finishing my meal.  These mom's would even ask to take our leftovers home with them.   I tried to throw out my trash from my boxed lunch, and one woman asked if she could have my box.    There was no food lef...

by Becky Brain When the seven of us from Hopewell arrived in Cape Town, we met Deon, a member of the Mosaic staff who kindly picked us up at the airport.  As we neared Wellington and the place that we would temporarily call home, we decided to quickly stop and say hello to the Mosaic ma's.  ("Five minutes!" said Cammy.) By the time we left (five minutes x 3!), it was dark.  We were making the brief trip to the house when I noticed that the traffic lights were not working.  "Load shedding," said Deon. "No power for the next two hours." Load shedding, regular widespread blackouts of electricity supply, occurs in South Africa to prevent the failure of the entire system when a demand for electricity strains the capacity of the country's power generating system.   This blog is NOT a commentary on the rights and wrongs of load shedding.  It's just that the words "load shedding" perfectly describe one of my intentions in preparing for my tri...

by Sherri Jarvis I am often surprised by God's sense of humor and the everyday objects used to teach me something. This week I learned a lesson from lip balm. Since we are long time Hopewell members, I have known about and supported Mosaic since our church community began partnering with them. A number of years ago, Cammy planted the seed for me to travel to South Africa and perhaps be able to share my joy in creating soaps and skin care products.    The timing and the desire to go did not align that year, or for a few years after that, but when a small mission trip was planned for February it seemed that God was really paving the path for me to make the journey.   There are too many stories to share even in my first 6 days here, but one afternoon stands out to me. We were getting ready to make soaps and lip balms with the older mosaic students and mama Estelle asked the students to give their best kissy lips. The room was filled with the sound of smooches. Everyone laugh...

by Karyn Ross It has been a busy first few days filled with many different emotions but none compare to the indescribable joy I feel to be back with my Avodah friends! The welcome I received and their gracious hospitality has warmed my heart once again.  At each meal I am asked to join them (a different table with different members each time) and my place is set with a glass plate, a glass and utensils wrapped in a purple napkin. This is significant because they eat on plastic plates and use disposable plastic plates that are washed and reused. They serve me first and offer me my choice of coffee, tea or water. I am a guest and they make me feel special.  Another leader and I have also had the opportunity to visit several members in their homes as well. Many of these homes are metal shacks with canvas tarps for waterproofing. It is very hot in South Arica right now with temperatures occasionally reaching 100 degrees and the homes get extremely hot inside with little to no air ...