Jodi's Work at Ithemba Community Center.....

ITHEMBA

Homework Time

As Marius continues to train the mission participants with Global Challenge, I continue my work with the orphans and vulnerable children at Ithemba Community Center.  Ithemba means “Place of Hope”, and I believe that it really is that for many of these kids.  I thought you might like it if I could paint a better picture of this place and about the specific kids I work with each week. This way you can know who you are personally affecting every week as you help us be here on the mission field! And if you know them by name and see their beautiful faces - you might pray for them even more than you already do!

Dancing with "Stomp" on Sesame Street

Mary, Sihle,Jodi & Tadiwa

Ithemba consists of a pre-school with 60 kids ages 3-5, a kindergarten class of 20 kids, and an after school program (which is where I’m involved) with about 50 children.  Each child receives a nutritious meal, medical care, Biblical teaching, education, and most importantly love! Auntie Ria, who is associated with DeoDoxa Church, is the co-coordinator and she is the one who really started Ithemba.

Auntie Ria’s link to Ithemba:

http://www.agsdeodoxa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16&Itemid=9

Interestingly, it is a couple from good ole Atlanta, Georgia who are helping to fund Ithemba though. They have a very unique way of doing this. Gavin (who used to play for the Atlanta Falcons!) and Lindsay come over to Ithemba every year and have all of the kids paint on canvases. They take the canvases back to Georgia and sell each painting for $250 at different places all over the country, which is the money it takes to provide the care for one child for a year. With every painting sold, the buyer also receives a picture of the child who painted it and their name. Below are two links that tell a little more about the paintings – one of these segments aired on CNN!

Gavin and Lindsay’s organization – Luo:

http://luo-setfree.org/partnerships/

The segment that featured on CNN:

http://youtu.be/iaZ4FMtbFk8

Mary, Tadiwa, Sihlesonke, Liyema, and Linam are my girls. They are all English speaking (meaning English is either their 2^nd or 3^rd language), and their ages range from 6-8. We meet each week, and I help them with their homework. I always bring along a nice snack for them at the end – a big bowl of popcorn, all kinds of fruit, and we even had an ice-cream party!  We have lots of fun while doing their homework and then we spend some time either learning a Bible lesson, a song, or even watching Sesame Street. Last year we worked on the fruits of the Spirit, and we studied a different fruit of the Spirit each week, as well as weekly tasting a new fruit that they had never eaten before.

This year I started out the year with a little different approach. I really want to know them better so I can relate a little more. I brought lots of different magazines and let them pick the pages that really “speak” to them and then they had to tell me why. Boy did that help me learn a lot about these girls and where they’re coming from.  The comments from these 6 and 7 year olds really widen my perspective, as well as my compassion level for them!

The next week I asked them to draw me a picture of their very favorite thing in the whole wide world. Three of the five girls drew huge bags full of money and had hearts all around it. They are from very poor backgrounds, and broken families. I think that in their minds they truly believe if they had big bags of money ALL of their problems would be solved. It is really quite a challenging road discipling these little hearts, and I’m so privileged to be the one with the opportunity to do it! I really know that we are making a difference in their lives.

Mary

Tadiwa

Sihlesonke

Liyema

Linam

Thank you so much for being a part of this with me!
Lots and lots of love from Jeffreys Bay, South Africa,

Jodi

Training Is a Joy!

The summer days here in Jeffreys Bay are long and hot, but not lazy… We are busy training our students to go out this year and impact the lives of many.  There are 48 students making up 5 teams: Explore Africa, North Bound, Work your Way, Distant Islands and Hidden World.  Each of these teams will spend this year traveling throughout different parts of the world, and the year begins with 8 weeks of training.  We are currently at the end of week 3.  It is extremely practical and hands on, and exposes the students to practical missions. They are already working in the townships doing Bible studies, praying for the sick, picking up 

trash, doing “house” repairs, and sharing their faith with so many.

Last week we were in the bush away from flushing toilets and electricity.  We camped in tents, prepared all meals on campfires, and bathing consisted of swimming in the river.  This was meant to serve as a real intro to what lies ahead for their year.  Part of the Bush consisted of 3 days of “Survivor” training. They didn’t have tents and had very little food, and it rained 2 of those nights – bless their hearts! But they made it, and that training has a way of bringing out the very best and very worst in people – which will happen all year long.

Emi came to visit me for 2 days in the bush and she loved it.  She is just an outdoor girl. She LOVED sleeping in the tent, and hanging out with the “kids” as she refers to all the college-aged mission participants. She helped "supervise" some of the Survivor challenges in her little 2-year old bossy manner.  I injured my back in the bush, so you can pray for me for complete recovery. I will be sleeping on the ground again for our upcoming two weeks in Transkei.

We are leaving in one week for a very rural region of South Africa called Transkei, where we will be working for two weeks. This will be the mission participants first cross-cultural experience and exposure to this kind of missions.  Week 1 there will be in Coffee Bay (where we were last year) and will be a practical project working at a Christian School. The 5 teams will be taking responsibility for the projects onsite (e.g. new roof, new fence, painting buildings and playing games with the school kids.) We will all be pitching our tents and sleeping in the grass patch in front of the school, and we’ll be eating our meals with the school kids. The second week will be at a different location in Transkei working at a mission station. Much more practical outreach and serving the local community.

I love being part of the team responsible for training these future leaders.  These young people really experience exposure to how the real world functions and they experience first-hand the extreme need and poverty around the world. What a privilege.  Their challenge, for example, this week is for each mission participant to survive on $1.50 per person per day. This is how 2/3 of the people of the world live, so they are plunging in to see first hand how it feels.

Thank you again for all your prayers and support. We are so grateful for your partnership in this work!

I will send more pictures when I return from Transkei so you can see our work there.  Please pray for me while I’m away training, and for Jodi and Emi who will hold down the fort in J-Bay, so Jodi can continue her work at Ithemba.

Blessings to all.

Marius (Jodi & Emi)

Debrief in Progress.....

Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to tell you all that Jodi and I are very appreciative of all of you who are so much a part of what we do. Please know that we love you and think of you often.

The Global Challenge Expeditions teams returned from their year-long journeys and we are all gathering for their debrief process.  The Teams worked alongside missionaries, building houses, planting churches and visiting and working very hard at orphanages. I visited two of these teams during the year if you can recall.

We are listening to the most incredible stories that are filled with the faithfulness, the love, and the kindness of God. So many of the young people came back forever changed. They have been especially touched by the plight of the poor, the orphans, and the widows they’ve met this year. They experienced how God uses ordinary people to be messengers of hope. I cannot help but notice how the guys from the “Work your Way” team left as high school boys and returned as powerful men of God.

I have been playing a large part in the debrief process and I absolutely love it. Swaziland has prepared us in a lot of ways to teach from experience. God is stirring my creative side for the first time in a long time and my teachings are becoming more 3 - dimensional.

My being in Jeffreys Bay is almost like I am experiencing Spring. It is as if God, the Gardner is spending a lot of time on me as plant. He enjoys gardening and takes great care in giving me water and nutrients and placing me in the best spot to catch the sun. The stuff that brings me life, my gifts and creative side seem to be blossoming again… I am happy to be here and be a part of the bigger story that God is putting together.

Jodi is also hard at work. She is hosting the international students, and helping to facilitate their debrief process with one-on-ones and lots of listening. She is also planning to cook a Thanksgiving Feast for all of the Americans she knows here in Jeffrey's Bay. Even Emi is helping out, as we had the teams over for dinner and she entertained them with song and dance! Thanks for being a part of all we do here.

Blessings,

Marius (Jodi and Emi)

Emi's Surgery A Success!

Thank you guys so much for praying for Emi during her tonsillectomy. Emi did well in her surgery, and today is DAY 3 and she is still doing great. We’re just staying on top of the pain meds and so far so good.

Thank you!!

Love,

The Deetlefs family

Please Pray for Emi's Surgery TOMORROW!

This is just a quick note to ask you to pray for Emi tomorrow (Thursday, October 20), as she will be having her tonsillectomy in the morning. The ENT recommends that with her recent struggles with her tonsils, this is the best route for us to go. Her surgery will be around 8am (2am for you guys in Georgia), so please pray for her before you go to bed.

It was such a blessing for us to see many of you in the States. Thanks again for helping us to get there with your sky miles! Thanks mom and dad for all of your hospitality and help with Emi while I was home. Emi had lots of great time with her Ouma, Oupa, cousins, and aunt and uncle!

We love and appreciate you greatly! Please pray that all goes well tomorrow.

Jodi  (for the whole Deetlefs gang)

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

There’s No Place Like Home!

Emi was released from the hospital on Sunday morning with an infection count of 10 (down from 94!), and the doctor was confident that she was ready to fly. So we did, and we landed safely in Atlanta yesterday (Monday) morning, after our 16 ½ hour flight.

She did great, and we are SO happy to be here! We had a late Happy Birthday party with Oupa (Afrikaans for Grandpa) and look forward to spending lots of time at Ouma and Oupa’s house, catching up on sleep, getting Emi’s appetite back, and recovering from this serious bout with tonsillitis. I pray these next few weeks feel like a long time.

Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support that helped us make this trip. There really is no place like home!

Lots of love from Jasper, Georgia,

Mama & Emi

Operation SkyMiles - TEMPORARILY GROUNDED!

OPERATION SKYMILES – TEMPORARILY GROUNDED!

Most of you know that I was supposed to be landing in the good ole USA this morning to surprise my dad for his 60^th birthday. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and we are still in South Africa.

Emi has been battling with tonsillitis for almost 2 weeks, and was on her 3^rd round of different antibiotics and still she had a pretty high fever. Emi and I flew to Johannesburg on Tuesday, and when she still wasn’t improving on Wednesday (the day we were supposed to fly) I decided to take her to the doctor to just make sure it was ok for her to fly in this condition.  After looking at her tonsils, he immediately admitted her into the hospital for IV antibiotics. She is scheduled to be in the hospital for 5 days! This was SO unexpected, but God has been taking care of us in every way.

This morning her fever broke (after hovering at 102-103 since Sunday) and she is just starting to feel a little bit better. Marius flew in last night, and that is a great help for me and for his biggest fan-Emi! We pray by Sunday she will be released from the hospital on schedule, and be feeling like herself again!

I am SOOOOOOO grateful to God for giving me the wisdom to go for that doctor’s visit. The pediatrician said that her tonsils were so big that her airway could have been compromised, and that is one thing you don’t want to happen at 30,000 feet! When they did her blood work, her infection level was sky high. They usually give kids antibiotics when their infection level is between 2-5, and Emi’s was 94! This is after being on Zithromax, Augmenten, and Orelox. Anyway, please pray with us that she continues to get better and better. 

We have really felt the grace of God on us in these last days; so many kind strangers, and wonderful nurses, and lovely friends encouraging us and praying. Thank you!

While I’m very disappointed that I’m missing dad’s actual birthday, we will still get to fly, possibly even Sunday evening. So, it will still be great to come home and celebrate, just with a healthy little girl instead. Thank you all so much for helping make this trip a reality, and we’ll see you a little later, ok? Keep prayin!

Lots of love from Pretoria East Hospital!

Marius, Jodi, and Emi