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A taste of freedom

A taste of freedom

Stories from South Africa 2:
A taste of freedom
07/08/21
Written by Maddi Metzler 
Painting, painting, and more painting! Whether it’s a small brush painting the cracks between bricks, or the roller covering a large space on a wall, our team has been diligently painting day after day. Caroline J. says that she is sure she will be a professional painter by the end of the summer. We have completed 2 buildings on the base, just adding some finishing touches, and we started 2 more buildings this week. The property is really starting to look good with all of the fresh paint. A few team members have gotten the adventure of getting on a roof to reach the hard to reach places with a paintbrush. The wall that we are fixing is prepped with new re-bar and braced with plywood awaiting to be filled with fresh concrete. Megan K. and Faith P. have done most of the prep work for the wall and they are very proud of themselves.
On Tuesday, we had our first taste of freedom. We loaded up the TMI bus and went into a little store down the road in groups of 3-4 people. Everyone loaded up their baskets with snacks like Coke, chips, chocolate, etc. One of their favorite purchases is the “billtong,” a kind of beef jerky. The snack purchases and trip out of the base was a great boost for everyone’s spirits. That night, though, was hard to get everyone settled by 9pm because of all of the sugar!
The weather continues to be very cold for most of the day and we think we just may be beginning to miss the heat of Boot Camp, lol. I served hot chocolate during Bible study the other night to help warm us up and it was a big hit. The kids have also been enjoying sipping hot tea by a fire every morning at 8am while a Bible Student or staff member gives a short chapel service before work. We are continuing to faithfully pray that on Sunday we have some evangelism opportunities.
From the team:
Faith P.-
Good morning from South Africa! 
This past week I’ve enjoyed using the skills we learned at Boot Camp, such as steel tying, carpentry, etc., to repair two walls in one of the main buildings here on the base. God has really been showing me the power of working together as a team, and encouraging one another to be joyful even when we feel discouraged. A special shout-out to my beautiful mother who has a birthday coming up! Happy birthday mom, I love you! Don’t worry dad, I didn’t forget about you, I love you too ;) 
Till next time! 
Caleb H.-
We have now been in South Africa for a week. I have really enjoyed it so far. We have done a lot of painting. I have especially enjoyed playing with the kids that live here on the base. Seeing God work in my life and the people around me has been really cool. I’m excited for the rest of the trip and coming home to share how my summer went with you!

Greetings from South Africa 2!

Our team has learned to adjust quickly right away, having had to switch from Uganda to South Africa a week before Boot Camp. Because of that, we decided that our team call before we count off would be:

South Africa II

It is the fifth day of Boot Camp and we are all getting the hang of things. Everyone has been getting to the classes and getting up on time. The team has been doing really well on the morning Obstacle Course (OC), The team has continued to get everyone over the Wall. All of the classes have gone great and the kids have been learning a lot of things they can use in South Africa and later on in life. They have continued to grow as a team and have been bonding well together. They had a fun cheer to share at rally last night for all of Boot Camp and everyone loved it.

Our first week of Boot Camp is complete!

Woot Woot! We have learned all of our construction skills and are now focusing on evangelism skills such as puppets, balloons, drama, Sunday school lessons and advanced evangelism.

Greetings from South Africa

Greetings from South Africa . Both teams have arrived at the base they traveled good and are in good heath. They are now sleeping.
Robert and Dorah Yoder
Is 41:10

We made it!


Our team project has changed, as the South Africa president closed travel between provinces. That means we can’t go to the school, but that we will be serving alongside the other South Africa team at the Teen Missions South Africa base. The kids adjusted well to that news, as they’ve had plenty of practice adjusting to changes in plans.

Stories from South Africa 2!

Our team has been knocking out the work projects here on the base! We’ve almost finished painting the large guest house, so we’ve begun painting several other buildings on the base. They are painting the concrete a maroon color and the bricks grey. We are waiting on supplies to finish construction on the building we took the roof off of, but it is prepped and ready to go. The ladders we use here are different than the ones we use in the USA, so some of the team members, like Abby S., are a little nervous to go up the ladders to paint. They are all conquering their fears though.

Walk, walk, walk, in the light

There is plenty of painting waiting for us to tackle today. They did, however, make progress on their memory verse strategies! Caleb H. and Faith P. made it a point to memorize not only the verse and reference, but the number on the cards so that they can keep track what numbers the quiz master hasn’t used when we practice quizzing. Simon S. memorized over 20 verses in the book of Ecclesiastes to share for his turn on night devotions. Seth D. is very into his library reading book and has a hard time putting it down!

Healthy and Strong!

Coming to you today healthy and strong! Everyone is feeling great and working hard on the job site. While we are (you guessed it) still painting away at all the buildings on the base, we’ve also had a few side projects to break up the painting. A big tree was presenting a problem with where it was growing, so some professionals came and cut it mostly down. We had a fun time watching them take the tree down!

A Fun Filled Weekend

The ban on large groups is still in effect here in South Africa and our team has been itching to get out and evangelize

Safari Trip

The excitement was tangible first thing Tuesday morning as the kids tried to keep themselves focused on working. They knew that after lunch, we were immediately leaving to have our sight-seeing adventure!

The Roof is on!

Friday morning, our team stopped painting and began replacing the roof we took off the first week we were here. Each team member took a turn screwing in the metal sheets. They worked hard and finished the entire roof project in one day! They were so excited to get to do something different and to try out new construction skills.

Sunday School Circuit

We were blessed with the wonderful opportunity to go on a Sunday School Circuit on Tuesday! Now that the president has opened the country, Teen Missions in South Africa has resumed their outreach programs.