God With Us

Hello All!

Tatiana here, sorry for the lack of updates over the last week. We have been jam packed busy, tired, and most of us are sick. But God is good and the work has been meaningful! We plan to share more in depth with you about our week in R.J. soon, but for this post I am going to be telling you about our visit to a female juvenile center yesterday.

Sometime last weekend, we were told that on Monday morning we would be joining a Bible study that goes into Medium B to the female wing. This is a unit of young ladies who have received their sentences already. We were offered the chance to lead, or to follow the lead of the regular staff and volunteers. Hannah volunteered to lead, but later had to back out because she has laryngitis and lost her voice almost entirely. Therefore, after a brief prayer, I agreed to lead...and then I had to come up with a plan.

This was a facility I had never been into. I had never even been into a female prison, and I had no idea what to share with them. I did not even know how many would show up. So I went to the All-Knowing One and asked Him what He wanted shared. The inspiration I got from that conversation was sing Nothing but the Blood, and have a message about guilt and shame and how Christ came to set us free from that. Now to the day itself.

We were let into Medium B by some young men in a rehab program where they train to be wardens. Then after a logistics hiccup that needed to be sorted out, we started the walk down long hallways with fading smudged murals from years past. We eventually took a left turn into a huge hall with very high ceilings. We had been assigned The Mess (or cafeteria) as our meeting zone.

The normal leader opened with a prayer, and coffee and oreos were passed out while my team myself and Abiola introduced ourselves, and Thomas shared a five minute testimony. Then after five minutes of lively worship singing and dancing, Thomas read Matt 1:21-23, and Abiola shared a brief message with a few more scriptures including Psalm 34 that I had outlined and then asked him to take over. I want to note here that this was a group of nineteen young women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five. They like giggling and dancing and are a challenge to teach with their short attention spans, but Abiola had them hooked. They were totally silent and focused throughout his entire message. He told them that Emanuel, God with us, came for them. That Jesus, which means deliverer came to free them not only from sin, but also the shame of sin. He told them about David praising God for freeing him from his shame after he was rolling on the ground pretending to be insane.

When he was finished, I sang to them Nothing but the Blood, and again, they were silent. One girl in the front started to cry.

To finish the day, I had them do an exersize where they wrote down the things in their lives that have been shaming them that they needed Jesus the deliverer to set them free from. I then had them get in small groups to pray for each other. They finished by tearing the pages into small pieces while we sang Amazing Grace...But while all of this is true, I will also tell you that the full story included a lot more chaos after I finished singing. There were a couple ladies that had to use the bathroom even though they know they are supposed to go before we get there, and there is no bathroom off The Mess. Then there were some whose English was not as good who misunderstood the activity and started writing prayer requests instead of shames. But even in the chaos, God showed up. There were more women crying, and many in passionate prayer. At the end of the day, I believe we accomplished out job and gave them a little more hope and freedom in a place that is so often dark and confining.

We have not been granted security clearance to use any of the photos we have taken in prison yet, so the photos that follow are just a few shots I got as we went about our days.

 Nathan is not the biggest fan of selfies I have ever met, but he is the chillest baby.

The beach that half the team surfed at on Sunday.

We have the coolest chauffeur ever

After thirteen and a half months, it was amazing to be reunited with Auntie Charmaine!

I am excited to move in with this woman this weekend!

My teammates are a little crazy sometimes.

Abiola and Junior getting some needed rest and rejuvenation

First Day of Restorative Justice

Hello friends! After a relatively relaxing Friday and Saturday, we've spent the last two days in prison. On Sunday we attended a prison worship service, and on Monday we began the restorative justice.

At the worship service on Sunday, we were blessed by beautiful worship music and the exhortation of one of the leaders in the inmate-run ministry. He encouraged his fellow inmates that change is possible, and that they all needed to support one another to stay changed. He noted that while HPM staff, the chaplains, and other guests are in the prisons for a little while, the inmates are together all day, every day, and so they have the power to support one another, encourage one another, and persevere in faith together.

We had a strong start of restorative justice teaching on Monday. We spent a lot of time around the table getting to know the facilitators and the students, beginning to build the relationships of trust and mutual respect that are critical for us to deliver the hard teachings and press for honest answers.

In the days ahead, please pray for:

• Our students: Some of our students are beginning to open up and share their stories from a position of vulnerability, but many maintain distance as they share only selective details or not at all. Please pray that our students would grow to trust us and each other, and would grow in courage to share their stories honestly and transparently.

• Our testimonies: Thomas will be sharing his testimony with the class tomorrow, and Hannah may share her testimony later this week. Please pray over our preparation and our time of sharing, that we would share without fear or shame, that we would share the right words of encouragement, and that the Holy Spirit would work healing and restoration in our lives as well as the lives of our students.

• Our health: More than half the team is ill with a cold (running nose, sore throat, fatigue), and many of us are having difficulty attentively listening to our students and focusing on our work. A pair of facilitators were entirely unable to participate today due to a sudden illness during their travels. Please pray that we enjoy rest and a full recovery as we head into the heavier teachings of the week.

• Logistics: We had trouble getting started on time today - our students were delayed by the prison bureaucracy in arriving to class; the chairs, tables, and other necessary supplies were late in arriving to our room which delayed setup; and the power outlets and electricity worked only intermittently over the course of the day Please pray that all these logistical issues will be resolved tomorrow, so we can focus on relationships and teaching, and not on fire-fighting.

Safe in Cape Town the First Thirty Six Hours

Hello dear friends! We've had a fantastic day today - lazy Saturday breakfast, a hike up Table Mountain, making a music video with the little ones, and a braai with the Paradas to round out the day. Tomorrow we will be traveling to Wellington to attend our first prison church service of the trip and to get ready for the RJ starting on Monday. We're too tuckered out to write more, but here are some pictures from the day.

Thomas and Abiola at the beginning of the hike up Table Mountain.

The view looking back on the city as we climb above it

Auntie Hannah became a fast favorite of all the children!

Hannah drew a portrait of Cay-Lee

Fabulous!

The hike was essentially climbing stone steps for three hours.

Cape Town!

Finally made it to the top of Table Mountain! It only took 3 years. :)

The whole team reunited at the top. Hannah, Andrew, and the kids joined us via cable car.

Baby Nathan in Tatiana's hat.

Meet the Team

Standing, the team: Hannah, Thomas, Abiola, Tatiana. Sitting: Chris, Doug who lead pre-trip meetings and planning.

Park Street Church's 2018 Short Term Team to South Africa

Hello from Cape Town South Africa! The team safely made it here late this morning are are happily enjoying the Mays' fantastic hospitality. We were sent here by our church to serve with Hope Prison Ministry and hope you enjoy following our journey.

Abiola

Hello everyone!  My name is Abiola and I will be serving as the traveling leader of the short term team again this year.  I am eager to return to prison ministry for my third year alongside my new and returning teammates.  I'm excited to go out and witness the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of men the world has condemned, to encourage those men as they seek and encounter the liberation of the truth, and to share the story of their lives to those outside.

Professionally, I work in Boston as a software engineer at a technology company.  I also serve on the hospitality team at Park Street, and consider church hospitality and overseas missions and ministries different manifestations of the same responsibility - to invite others into further and deeper relationship with one another and with God.

Thomas

I work for Park Street Church as a front desk receptionist. I also am a media specialist for the church and help facilitate the radio broadcasts and online streaming. I'm a huge fan of Boston sports. In my free time I volunteer with the Friendship Bible Study, a study that goes at a slower pace to help people with disabilities to connect with God's word and fellow believers. I am also involved in the homeless ministry the church has.

I am excited to be returning for a second time to South Africa this summer, especially because it will be winter there and I am glad to escape the worst of the Boston heat. I am going back in part because helping to facilitate the Restorative Justice Program was so meaningful last year, and I want to be part of another. I also look forward to reconnecting with my students from last years class and seeing how they are doing now. I look forward to seeing how God will use and grow me through this. This year I will be returning with eighteen years of continuous sobriety. I hope that sharing my story will encourage the guys and be a positive example.

Hannah

My name is Hannah Rose. I am a college student and I double major in Painting and Apparel Design. In my free time, I like to connect with God through art- creative writing, painting, and sewing. 

The past few years, I’ve sat in the congregation at Park Street Church and watched the commissioning of the past South Africa STM teams. Honestly, I judged them based on my personal trauma history. 

As a survivor of rape and abuse, I couldn’t understand why anyone would voluntarily agree to visit a prison. I counted it an insult that Christians were sitting in the midst of offenders. Rapists and murderers lived in prison. Who wanted to be around them? Not me. I believed that they belonged there forever- without a question. Offenders had no feelings. At the time, I believed that they were careless, inconsiderate, unredeemable beings. I strongly believed that it was solely God’s responsibility to change them and that I had no part in the process. I was not obligated to help, but I was very wrong. Very. 

God really pressed upon me the topics of forgiveness, closure, and obedience. I can say that my eyes have been opened. 

The Holy Spirit has helped me realize that God is not a secret to be kept. He can handle the absolute ugliness in our lives. He can redeem and craft beauty out of destruction. This world is His. 

Please pray for me as I make the memory blankets for the women  (awaiting trial) and their beautiful babies. I really desire that God’s beauty and sovereignty be evident to the women and their lovely, vibrant babies. I am anticipating the visit to be very emotional for me. Please pray that I speak openly about trauma, abortion, repentance, and self forgiveness. Please pray that my openness will prompt the women to open up with God- in the best way.

Tatiana

I am a full time college student studying Human Services (which is closely related to social work) I also work two part time jobs. One is being a personal assistant to a retiree, the other is supporting a young adult with disabilities. When I am not at work or school, I love to be active outdoors. My favorites are hiking with my dogs and going to the ocean.

There are many reasons I am excited to be going back to South Africa. One of the big ones is because working in the prison ministry last year with Hope was the time I most clearly and dramatically saw the power of God to transform lives. I want to see more of this, and get to know the life changing aspect of the Holy Spirit. I also am excited because last year I was very impressed with a local woman, Auntie Charmaine, who I wrote about more extensively here. From when I met her, I felt strongly that she had (an) important lesson(s) to teach me and I would need to spend a lot more time with her to learn it. I am thrilled that after the rest of my team heads back to the states on August 24th, I will be moving in with Auntie Charmaine and staying with her until November 1st. You can follow my extended stay and more personal aspects of my trip at my blog TatianasChildren.blogspot.com. Thank you for all of the ways you have supported us!

Chris

If it wasn’t for my children, I would have been too afraid to venture into a prison. But love takes you where you are too afraid to go, and then Love, as in Jesus, surprises, by causing you to feel peaceful in prison instead of afraid. Andrew has felt a call to prison ministry since he was in middle school and heard David Bliss, a now retired PSC missionary, talk about his work in South African prisons. After a couple of years of marriage, Anne bravely embraced his call when they decided to stay in South Africa after a year in Cape Town studying with a Rotary International Grant. For more than twenty years, Doug and I have committed ourselves to being supportive parents and fellow Christians even in the midst of fear for and missing of them. It has been a privilege to hold the paradox of love that sends and love that misses.

This year we will not be traveling with the team, but rather “remaining with the supplies” here in the States (see 1Samuel 30:1-25 for the context of the quotation). It has been an honor and a pleasure to meet weekly with this group of committed men and women, most returnees, giving of their time, energy and resources to serve “the least of these” as Jesus commanded (Matt. 25:31-46). Pastoring an STM team is a new adventure for Doug and me, proving that even after almost 50 years serving in the same church, God can still create new adventures! And the fact that the team will be ministering to and alongside of our children and grandchildren, makes the adventure all the sweeter!

 

Abiola, Thomas, Tatiana, Hannah at the airport in Boston starting out on the grand adventure.

Prayer Points:

• Praise that the team made it safely to South Africa and are now enjoying the Mays' hospitality.
• For health and safety.
• For protection from spiritual attack, especially during the Restorative Justice intensive starting Monday.
• That we would be a blessing to the long term workers.
• That we would function well as a team, supporting and loving each other with lots of patience and understanding.
• For Hannah: That she would have wisdom and peace while finishing up her testimony that she will be sharing in prison. Also, that God will reveal more of himself during this time.
• For Tatiana: That she will have success in managing her health (she has some digestive issues and food allergies) That she will take the time alone that she needs to refresh her spirit.
• For Abiola: That he would have both the opportunity and the right words of encouragement to share to all of his former students who remain in prison.
• For Thomas: That he will find more peace and be blessed on this trip. That he will rest well and get over jet lag smoothly.

Thank you for your prayers!

Financials:

The team is still fundraising to cover our travel costs and support the ministries we are working with. We are about $2,000 short of our base goal at the moment. If money beyond our goal comes in, it will go directly to Hope Prison Ministry for their life changing work. You can donate by going here and selecting "STM South Africa" from the drop down menu. Thank you very much if you chose to support in this way!

JULY 29,2018 4PM SERVICE