Posted in General Posts by Kayla Pollock on 11/1/2008
Wow! It has been awhile since I have blogged and I apologize! We have a "normal" (haha, I have found out there is no such thing as a normal schedule here in Africa) schedule now so I will be blogging regularly! Let me fill you in on all that has been going on here in Africa! Two weeks ago we traveled to a place called Somerset East, which is about three hours away from our home here in Jeffreys Bay. All fourty of us piled on top of each other in vans to do a program called Beat the Drum. Beat the Drum is actually a movie that is about HIV and AIDS here in Africa. Our job was to go into the communnity after showing the movie and educate people about the virus. We arrived on a Friday around noon and immediatly started training to teach the classes. Training lasted two days, and I found out that I would be heading off to a highschool called Aeroville. On Monday we showed the movie to about 500 students and they were suprisingly very attentive! The plan was to go back to Aeroville on Tuesday and teach in the classrooms but shortly after we arrived we found out that the students were on strike. The kids had decided to strike because of a new headmaster was coming, that they didnt like. So when we found this out we prayed and God immiediatly opened a new door. We decided that we would visit the hostel (dormatory) where the kids stayed. Visiting the hostel ended up being a HUGE blessing because the students were not in a classroom setting which made it a lot easier for the kids to open up and ask deep questions. The most interesting question that I got while at the hostel was "If I have AIDS do I commit suicide?". This question made me realize how little the kids new about the virus. NO ONE in the community talks about the virus that is killling tons of their people. We got several more questions like this and it was exciting to see the students wanting to learn more! All through out the week we talked about abstinence and at the end of the week almost all of the kids committed to staying pure untill marriage. We also got the chance to preach the gospel through out the week and TONS of teens accepted Christ into their lifes! AMEN! At the end of the week on Friday testing was offered and to show the kids that they didnt have to be scared about testing a few of our group got tested first, including myself. It was extremely nerve racking to know that you had about a hundred students behind you watching. The tests are confidential but we were in a hall that was rather large and a little loud. My test came back negative and then our students started the testing! This was extremely scary because several of them were scared they had it. I sat with about five of the students while they got tested and not one of them ended up being positive AMEN, but our hearts went out to the students who were positive. Couseling and the proper treatment were offered to the people who were
positive. Please pray for the people who did find out they were positive. Pray that God will hold them in his arms and that their families support and love them. I'm so glad I got this opportunity to promote AIDS awareness, it was heart breaking and amazing all at the same time! Please continue to pray for the people here in Africa! thanks!!
Posted in General Posts by Kayla Pollock on 9/23/2008
I have been in Africa for a week and I absolutely love it! Jeffrey's Bay is gorgeous and I feel so at home! Our first week was just exploring and getting to know J Bay. We are staying at a place called Ucsa. Its right in the middle of the town and we are close to everything. I walk outside the gates and make a left and I see HUGE gorgeous waves. It truly is a masterpiece that God created! The people here are so friendly. You can't walk down the street without being greeted. We are getting to know a lot of the local shop owners and I think they are happy to get to know some new faces. J Bay looks so gorgeous but there are so many hidden hurts and secrets of the locals.
We spent our first weekend in Africa camping in what they call the bush. (aka the middle of nowhere in the wilderness of Africa). I love camping, but the thought of camping in Africa made me feel a little unsafe, but when we got there the nerves let up and God provided. It was BEAUTIFUL! Just to give a mental picture...think of the lion king, or a typical picture of Africa and that is what the bush is like. We were able to do a lot of different things. I even repelled down a cliff!! AH! Scary but AMAZING! We cooked our meals over a fire and they were amazing! While in the bush I discovered African Ramen noodles....AMEN! Just stick the noodles and boiling water in your nalgene water bottle for two minutes and you have a delicious gourmet meal!! The only thing about the Bush I would change is how cold it was!! It was 2 degrees Celsius which is about 30 degrees Fahrenheit! FREEZING! I wore everything I brought and was still cold. It's the end of winter in Africa right now so it's still pretty cold. Over all though, the Bush was amazing.
On the beginning of the second week we started Ministry! I was placed at an after school program called Ithemba. I have to admit that Ithemba was not my first choice for ministry but I am so thankful God placed me there. Ithemba is a place where children can come after school to get a meal and learn a little more than they do at school. The education for the Afrikaans and Xhosa people is extremely poor, and most of the time the meal that is provided at Ithemba is the only meal they get for the entire day. Also a lot of children there have HIV or aids, but they are beautiful! As soon as we walked in the gates of Ithemba the children flocked to us. At one point I literally had 15 kids on top of me and hanging from me. It was like one GIANT dog pile! So amazing! They love our hair, and after I left for the day my hair was one giant rats nest from all of the braids the children gave me!! They also find our arm hairs really interesting because they don't have arm hair, in other words they like to pull our arm hair out! HAHA! We sang and danced and got to know the children a little better. PRAISE GOD! Ithemba is a blessing and I'm so thankful that I get to work there.
Thanks for your prayers and support! The lord is Good, and he does provide! AMEN! Keep reading the blogs because there is more to come!!
Posted in General Posts by Kayla Pollock on 9/18/2008
I am now in Jeffreys Bay...I have been here for two days and I have fallen in love with the area. GORGEOUS! Ministry will start soon and I cant wait! Our team is now on a scavenger hunt and one of our tasks is to write a quick blog so here is a quick blog! MORE TO COME!!!!
Posted in General Posts by Kayla Pollock on 8/4/2008
Wow, it's thirty four days before the trip and I still cant believe its right around the corner!! I cannot even express how excited I am! I can hear Africa calling my name!! I know that there is purpose for each one of us thats going on this trip!
God has blessed me in so many ways within the past few weeks! I needed two thousand dollars in my support account by last Thursday to purchase my plane ticket and I really didnt think I would have that because I had just sent out my support letters the previous week...I was so nervous and God showed me that he works in miraculous ways!! I prayed about it and when I checked my account last Wednesday night I had $2,005 dollars!!! AMAZING! It was Deffinately God saying "Kayla, I told you that I chose you for this trip, and I have a purpose for you!!". When I saw the money in my account, I couldnt help but cry! I am so undeserving of this trip but God chose ME!
Everyday is a little closer to leaving and I cannot wait to meet my team! I can tell that our team is going to be a close team! AMEN! I am so greatful for this team and this opportunity!! I cannot wait to step foot on that mission field!!
jumping for joy!