House of Laughter

One of our primary ministries here has been with Ditshego House - a place of safety for children who have been orphaned, neglected, or abused.  Ditshego means "House of Laughter". 

There were 9 kids there when we arrived.  The two littlest ones have since gone to stay with other family members (much to our selfish sadness!).  Any given afternoon you will find us helping with homework, reading Roald Dahl books aloud, and racing around the yard playing hide-and-seek and 'Monster'.  

Below are some of the photos from the past two months of laughter.

The back of our 'bakkie' (truck) is a popular hide-and-seek location.

 Three of the youngest kids at the home

 Will and L., playing 'Monster'

Amanda and B., age 13

F., age 6, one of the siblings who has moved to a new home.

Hair-styling help for Will

Pajama Party!

The whole crew (housemothers, kids, social worker 

and local pastor) at a 2-day retreat for the children

Harvest

As winter approaches, West View Methodist Church celebrates the tradition of a "Harvest Festival". On a dedicated Sunday, church members load the front of the sanctuary with bags full of fruits, vegetables, grains and a huge assortment of other groceries.  We had the joy of sorting through the massive pile in order to help deliver the food to Mooiplaas Settlement and the Ditshego House (a children's home sponsored by the church).  It was a beautiful picture of generosity and God's provision for those in need:

Welcome to Mooiplaas

Welcome back to the "Miracle Work" blog!

Will and I have returned to wonderful African soil as he takes part in a 10-week seminary field placement.   We are working with West View Methodist Church in Centurion, South Africa, from May through July - which puts us here in the dead of winter!  Having exchanged summer shorts for beanies and fleeces, we've spent the past few weeks finding our place at West View and the numerous ministries they support.

A key ministry that we have become involved with is their outreach to Mooiplaas informal settlement. 

[A view from Mooiplaas]

There are roughly 16,000 people living in Mooiplaas settlement.  Since it is an informal settlement (not officially recognized or sanctioned by the government), there is no electricity or running water in the community.  It is, in effect, a giant shanty town about 10 minutes outside the city of Centurion. 

West View church runs a preschool there for 140 kids from the settlement.  The teachers are all residents of Mooiplaas, untrained, but trying their best to educate their classrooms full of children.

Will and I go to help out in the classrooms, lead an assembly for the kids, and lead a Bible study for the teachers once a week.  The kids speak essentially no English, so we muddle our way through with silly songs, acting and dancing, and translations from the teachers.  It is often a chaotic mess during breaks and free play time, but we're getting used to breaking up fights and having at least 5 kids clinging to us at a time.  There is much to learn from the settlement, and it's a privilege to be able to serve there.

[The kids watching Will lead a song]

[The preschool playground]

[The water source at Ditshego Preschool - 

water is trucked into Mooisplaas daily 

and then collected for each home]

A 2010 Family Video - Child Haven

A year-end family video capturing the hearts of these 12 beautiful children. Here's to all the growing-up they'll keep doing in 2011, and here's to our very special family!

An Ice Angels Farewell - Sparrow Village

Two weeks ago I said my final farewell to Sparrow Village and the fabulous teenage girls of "Ice Angels". During our last youth group meeting we had a pizza party complete with gifts, letters and a time of sharing. It was tearful and painful, but - in true Sparrow fashion - it was topped off with singing and dancing!

Each girl received a letter, photos and a gift of jewelry or clothing.

Afterwards everyone had a chance to say goodbye:

The year's journey with these young women has been life- and faith-shaping for all of us. Seeing them grow in confidence, knowledge and hope has been a priceless treasure that I will forever carry from my time in South Africa. I will miss them dearly.

SPARROW: The Soundtrack From Sparrow Village

SPARROW VILLAGE IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE RELEASE OF THEIR FIRST CD!

At last, the Sparrow CD is finally here. On November 20th, we celebrated the launch of their CD, Sparrow: The Soundtrack from Sparrow Village. The kids loaded all their instruments into my car, piled into the Sparrow bus, and off we drove to a local church where they performed for a small but very impressed audience. I was SO proud of them and their stage stardom!

A highlight of the night:

W. performing her very first composition.

The evening ended with the Sparrow Marimba Band

performance of Waka Waka, to which the crowd of Sparrow kids

and housemothers alike got up and danced around the sanctuary!

The Sparrow CD is now on sale in the USA for $15 (and in the RSA for R100). All proceeds go directly to Sparrow Village. If you are interested in purchasing a copy, please contact me at amanda.brill@gmail.com and I'll get one to you right away.

Many thanks and blessings to you who have supported this project from across the oceans. The kids and I are forever grateful, and we hope in return that you are greatly blessed by their music!

In the Name of the Father - Sparrow Village

We have seen an incredible year of breakthrough this past year at Ice Angels, the youth group of teenage girls at Sparrow. By the grace of God, many hearts have begun to heal from scars of the past, lives have changed, and girls have encountered Jesus.

To celebrate and commemorate the decisions several of them made to follow Christ, we held a baptism service at Sparrow today. Twenty-three girls showed up to be baptized!

Rev. Corine McClintock, the founder of Sparrow, pulled out robes for all of them, had the baptismal pool filled up, and then she and I had the privilege of baptizing each girl. On this beautiful summer morning in Joburg (in freezing cold water), we prayed for and blessed each one of them. It was a beautiful day of new life, full of God's promises for them. They walk with Jesus from here out. Their lives will never be the same. Amen and amen!

[Rev. Corine and me baptizing

L. and her mother (a former patient at Sparrow)]

[Me and S., a girl in whom I have seen the greatest transformation

over the past year. I nearly cried when she got into the pool to be

baptized! Jesus has done so much in her life, and I cannot wait to

see all that she is destined for.]

O Lord, Think About Me - Sparrow Village

This past week I had the amazing privilege of hosting 3 great friends from the States (including Will!). In the midst of our adventures, Gretel Truong and I got to spend time filming and recording the music at Sparrow Village.

The following video is a clip from one of the new songs, plus a few of Gretel's photos from Sparrow. Looking forward to revealing the first official Sparrow music video (Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu) in the weeks to come. Thank you, Gretel!

"Lost" - A Preview from Sparrow Village

This is the final week of recording and editing. The kids have been super-stars: editing for hours, re-recording parts, discussing new ideas. I can't say enough how proud I am of them!

Here is a preview of one of the latest songs. It was a last-minute addition to the album, but it has become a gem. It is written by a 16 year-old poet, and she poignantly conveys the hardships these kids have endured and the hope they have to carry on.

[Note: the background for this video is the Sparrow album cover, drawn by Michael]

From the Studio - Sparrow Village

Tonight was the studio wrap-up night for our newest Sparrow song, Umuntu Umuntu Nga Bantu. It is written by 16 year-old W., and I had to post this clip of her last recording session tonight. It left me floored. I cannot wait to have the final mix for this song by the end of this week. Put on your headphones and crank up the volume!