First, here's the way it came about (a funny story):
We went one afternoon with Gabriel Mwamba, a Zambian missionary who is on staff at the YWAM Muizenberg base, to a nearby township called Mfuleni. He wanted to take us there because he had been coordinating some soccer clinics with boys in the community, and he knew some of our team was interested in doing some soccer ministry. By ministry, I just mean that they are doing more than just soccer- the leaders can share the gospel, and their major goal is to raise up future leaders in the community by teaching them good skills like responsibility and teamwork.
So, Gabriel knew that some of our team doesn't play soccer (the girls mainly), so he said he'd take us to do "door to door evangelism". Okay, so just that phrase makes me nervous. But, I thought, hey, why not? So we start out at the home of a woman who is a church leader. Gabriel knew this woman, Mama Sandra, because he pastored the church where she is a member. So we mainly just went to talk with and pray for her. A good start! As we went outside, we noticed that the gate for the house across the street was open. Gabriel took this as a sign that we were welcome to go in, so we did, and we talked with the girls inside. They were all around my age, with tons of little kids running around as well. We started talking with them and realized that some of them were Christians, others weren't, they were all sort of wishy-washy with God. So Gabriel just randomly told them that we were starting a Girls Club that would meet every Thursday at 4PM to talk about girls issues and struggles that we all face. So we invited them all to come along. And that was where the idea was born!
The next Thursday, and every one since then, we've been meeting with these girls and talking about issues like poverty, sex/purity/marriage (an interesting topic because a couple of the girls have children and are not married), alcohol/drugs/peer pressure, dreams/hopes/goals. It has been so fun/scary/crazy to meet with the girls every week because we never know what their responses are going to be. I remember the week we talked about alcohol, one of the girls was like, "I don't even know what to think anymore", putting her head in her hands like she was really confused. I think it was just because she likes to and wants to drink (get drunk) but she knows it's wrong. So I'm hopeful that they are actually listening and taking some things in. This girl's club is all about planting seeds and just trusting that God will water and harvest. But it's just been a lot of fun getting to know the girls and spending time with them. It's been an awesome privilege. One week it started raining and because their houses have tin roofs, the rain sounded like hail, sooo loud, and I had to keep our lesson going. It was so hot because we had to shut the door, so there I was, sweating, yelling above the noise about what the bible says is right and wrong - - I felt like a tv preacher. So crazy.
This past weekend we took all the girls and their kids to the beach for a fun day. It was really fun to get out with them (something they definitely don't get to do often) and just do something special. Then they came with us the next day to Gabriel's church (in their community) where we were speaking that day. It was so nice to have them there supporting us - - however, the service was 4 hours long!! In a room with no AC in the middle of summer probably 100 degrees outside! WOW!
This week, our last week, we're having a little graduation ceremony for them and made them all certificates and printed pictures from the beach to give them, and some gifts that they need, like school supplies, that kind of thing. It has definitely been a great opportunity to try to "disciple" some girls, and has been extremely messy, unpredictable, and everything you would imagine. Something I won't forget.
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