Soccer the ultimate uniter

This is a picture of friends after a recent soccer game. This game was planned as a result of the fun we had in our front yard, see A little bit of soccer, pain and friendship. We had a lot of fun. The game ended at 9-8, after multiple golden goals (next goal wins) and the girls shouting on the sideline that the game time had run out 20 minutes ago. We all had a great time, had fun and figured out that we need to train.

Those who made it to that evenings discussion group at our house all were limping and complaining. It was all worth it though, we will have to do it again.

It is great to have a group of growing friends who can have serious conversations about race, money and following Jesus in South Africa and then run around chasing a leather ball together.

The Davies Update July 2009

The Good the Bad and the Ugly in only 8 months!  

Through this last 8 months we have already experienced so much! We thought it would be good to take a little time to reflect and look back on what has happened since we have been here.  

The Work.   

Emthonjeni Staff Bible Study: Every Wednesday Trevor this time to help invest in the Emthonjeni leadership and connect them to Jesus. It has been a fruitful time that has provided the staff a place to grow and learn together. They are learning to be real and trust God and each other. Pastors Gathering: Once a month Trevor has helped gather Pastors from the different churches in Zandspruit. There has been much division and competition in the past and it has been great to see the Pastors catch a vision to work together for the transformation of their community and to support each other. 

Discussion group: We are really excited about the diverse group that meets at our house each Sunday evening to discuss what it means to be a Christian in South Africa given its sordid past. The intention of the group has been to provide a place to talk about real issues in South Africa and figure out what God’s call is for us who claim to follow Jesus. We have committed as a group to keep it real and honest.  We know God is moving among us as we talk about things most people don't talk about; money, privilege, poverty and what Jesus has to say about all those things. It is crazy but we are excited to see fruit and the relationships that will be built out of these conversations. 

 

Friendships.  I can say that we have a few relationships that are budding.  Trevor particularly has begun some very real and admonishing relationships that, I am as excited about as he is.  These men are really a gift as they journey together, wrestling with what it means to minister to the poor. We continue to have people over often and plan occasions in efforts to keep on the hard task of building and initiating friendship. 

Language has also been a bit of a roller coaster journey.  It was so difficult to sit in on conversations and not know what was being talked about or to be spoken to and then receive strange looks when I said," sorry I only know English".  Since we have taken a Zulu course we are glad to be able to communicate the basics and have at least a few words that we can pick out to get the gist of different conversations! That is exciting progress! We would however like to get more practice and are looking into doing a homestay to accomplish this.   

Finding a Church is hard especially when we would love to be in a diverse church that is actually pursuing reconciliation. We are still searching and at times are weary and miss our home church communities very much. It seems like many people we know have the same struggle in finding a church that is diverse and has solid teaching.  We know God has a place for us, we are just still looking for it. 

When I look back on what has happened so far I see a lot of wrestling, questions, a few exciting things and still a lot of questions.  Eight months seems like a long time but we are still so new and learning a lot.   

Funding Update: We continue to be incredibly grateful for your financial support and prayers.  As economically the times are hard, we feel privileged to be your hands and feet in Africa.  Thank You.  If you are aware of anyone who would like to know about our ministry, please be in contact. We need to raise an $200 a month to meet our budget. 

We covert your prayers! Blessings, Chrissy for the Davies

Expecting in December 2009

Hi all,

Not sure if you have picked up on twitter or facebook but...

We found out that we are expecting another little girl to join the Davies family on December 13th. 

We are excited for the new gift from God. 

As a friend said to on Facebook, "A girl?!  You are sooooo outnumbered.  

Very fun!" Of course I would have taken a boy, but I have had so much fun with Keira, I am looking forward to holding the next one. God does have a sense of humor though.

Thanks for celebrating with us, 

Trev

Yes, I am American

I know I have mentioned before about people speaking to me in all sorts of languages, assuming that I know one of them, but I think I have gotten a little bit used to that. Lately I have been getting really frustrated with people that I am not even interacting with. Often when I go out I am stared at, I checked my nose, my hair or if Keira had smudged something down the front of my shirt and everything seems fine. Even stopped at a robot (stoplight) I get strange looks. Now if I run the possibilities; if I am with Trevor, sure that makes more sense, if I am with Keira, that also could raise a questions or two; is she the nanny, is the baby’s father white? But what I really don’t get is when I am by myself. Some days I really have to hold back the urge to scream “ Its rude to stare!!!” But then it is also rude to yell at people . . . so I am stuck. Just a strange thing that I have yet to figure out! One of these days I will ask someone why they are staring and maybe engage in an enlightening conversation . . . we’ll see.
Anyway, we had Keira’s Birthday party last weekend, and it really hit me that we are in South Africa, I was missing my mother so much that it was hard to breathe at times. I attempted to bake Keira a butterfly cake at her request, and my Mom is way better at making character cakes and I needed to be able to call her quickly. But all that really mattered is that when Keira saw the cake she said “ Thank You Thank you Mommy!”
At the party we had a nice diverse group of kids and I realized that if we had been in the states, the demographic probably would have been flipped (more white and/or Latino, and a sprinkle of Black children) I loved that Keira played well with all these children regardless of color or language, although the thing that Keira remembers the most when asked was “ I ate cake!” Heehee.

What could life in South Africa look like?

Check out this blog post by Tom Smith, a friend who is part of the discussion group we are having on Sunday nights about following Jesus in South Africa; dealing with race, money and other issues with a great diverse group of friends.
What could life in South Africa look like? Click http://www.soulgardeners.com/2009/07/bending-our-lives-towards-others.html to read the blog.

Let me know you thoughts,

Trevor