December 18, 2005
Dear Family and
Friends,
Where do we begin? Our
trip to South Africa was amazing. We experienced every possible emotion – joy,
sadness, guilt, conviction, despair, hope. The people we met and worked with in
Africa were so gracious and humble, the children’s smiles so contagious. We got
a glimpse of how big God is and how amazingly blessed we are. Most important,
the trip convicted us to do more.
First, we want to thank
you so much for supporting us with your finances and prayers. You made this
trip possible and you made a difference in people’s lives in Africa. We wish
you could have been with us to see the joy in the faces of the children. We
were truly the ones blessed by our trip! (Please check out the pictures on
Jason’s website – www.atlantaclimber.com)
We planted gardens in
several locations all over the White River area of South Africa. In total, our
group of 26 put over 84,000 plants and seeds in the ground! During the
afternoon, we helped give Christmas parties for orphaned children. The parties
had 300, 500 and then 700 children! There were hundreds if not thousands more
who had to be turned away because of safety issues and a lack of space and
gifts to give. We gave out Coke squeeze bottles (full of Coke), donated by Coca
Cola South Africa, a small toy donated by members of past trips and a small bag
of snacks. It was amazing and convicting to think that this was their Christmas
and they were thrilled by it!
During our first few
days there, we felt overwhelmed by the needs of Africa – the poverty and
sickness, the millions of orphans, the devastation of AIDS. It felt like a
losing battle. What could we possibly be doing to make a difference by planting
vegetable gardens? Everywhere we went, crowds of children would slowly appear. They
would reach out to touch our hands, thrilled to receive a piece of candy or to
be taught a new song or game to play. Slowly God began to open our eyes to not
only the physical needs and hunger in these children but their hunger for love
and attention, something they so eagerly received from us. When we drove away
from their area, they would run after us, waving and smiling. You couldn’t help
but be moved.
We had a couple of
encounters that we won’t forget. In one of the first villages we worked in, a group
of kids wanted to touch our hands. They felt our skin and examined our
“manicured” fingernails with wonder. They wanted to touch our hair and hold our
hands. I (Gina) saw a young girl carrying a toddler and offered to hold him.
Seconds later, he was sound asleep on my shoulder. We wondered how long it had
been since the young girl had someone else caring for her younger brother. We
also wondered if this child had become a victim of AIDS, as he appeared very
lethargic and thin.
AIDS is orphaning the children
of Africa. It is killing in staggering numbers, leaving children to care for
themselves. Everywhere we went, we saw kids, not even in their teen years yet,
carrying younger siblings on their sides and back. They keep alive with the
little help their extended families can provide and what they can scavenge. If
they have no one to help them, they are forced to walk to larger cities in the
hope of finding food and money. There they live on the streets, where they
become victims of violence and sexual abuse. Here’s a staggering statistic from
the latest UNICEF report: (http://www.unicef.org/sowc06/pdfs/africas_orphans.pdf):
Today, over 11 million
children under the age of 15 living in southern Africa have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. Seven years from now, the number is expected to be 20 million.
These numbers are hard
to comprehend. Even being in South Africa, it was hard to grasp that so many of
the kids we saw were orphans and were sick with AIDS themselves. You just
wanted to assume they are out playing and would return to a home. If they are
fortunate, their home is a small hut without electricity or running water, and
often without food. Hundreds of thousands don’t have a home or family to return
to.
Despite all the pain
and despair we saw during our time in Africa, God did not leave us with a
spirit of hopelessness. Jesus said ‘What is impossible with men is possible
with God’ (Luke 18:27) and He is faithful to show us the next step in how we
can help if we’ll just trust Him and have willing hearts.
One of our teammates
left us with a quote that will remain in our hearts forever:
“All that is necessary
for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” - Edmund Burke
We are each called to
do our part in rising up to help our brothers and sisters in Africa. We hope
you'll consider asking God to show you what your next step can be and encourage
others by spreading the word. We give you sincere thanks for your generosity
and pray God will bless you for it!
Love,
Gina & Jason
(Return to www.atlantaclimber.com)