Brandon & Julianna Jones

I thought it was time for another post about how similar, yet different things are here in Cape Town. Hope you find it interesting!

First off, there's the used book shops. No Hastings here, people. Actually, not many massive chain bookstores in general. Instead, there are a lot of small independent bookstores. On the one hand, we like that, but then again we also miss Hastings' coffee shop. Most of these small book shops don't have coffee shops. And the used book stores? The selection is rather different. Not as many American authors, and a whole lot more that we've never heard of.

And then there's the plugs. It's sort of complicated here. In addition to the fact that our U.S. plugs need a converter, there's also the fact that there isn't one standard plug here. There are five that I know of. The basic one is three large round prongs. But if you buy appliances here, they may also be the two small round prong Euro plug, which may have a large plastic casing around it or a skinny plastic casing. The plug sockets aren't standard, so you have to have a converter in order to make sure it all works. But there are different converters for the skinny casing and round casing, even though the prongs are the same. It's pretty confusing. The above picture is our power cord.

Pictured above is the electric heater we bought last week. It's fall here, in case you didn't know. And although the temperature never actually moves very close to freezing, there's no indoor centralized heating (or air conditioning, for that matter). So most South Africans stay bundled up for the entirety of winter, not even taking their coats off inside. I couldn't resist buying the space heater when I saw it in the store, and it's made a big difference in our room.

This is my shoe. It's waterproof. That's because winter in Cape Town is filled with rain. All kinds of rain. Mists that slowly soak everything in sight. Gentle rains that never let up. Torrential gusts that pelt you with cold. I'm getting my money's worth out of these rain shoes I bought at Bass Pro Shop.

Another big difference between Cape Town and Oklahoma is the view. Seriously, this was the view out my window last week. We're in a valley surrounded by mountains with beaches in both directions (we're on a peninsula). Sometimes I'll turn a corner and see an awesome view and think to myself, "Wow. I live in Cape Town. God is so good!"

That brings me to my next point: with great views come great photos. We've been taking a lot of them lately, especially Brandon. You can check out some of his photos on facebook if you're friends with him (which you should be).

From this picture, you can see two differences. This is a view inside Pick and Pay, one of the major grocery stores we have here. One thing I love is these small shopping carts they have here. They still have big ones too. But they also have these little ones that you just put two hand baskets into and push them around the shop. They're the perfect size for a quick trip to the store for Brandon and I. America needs some of these. Another interesting thing with shopping carts here is that people take them farther from the store. You'll see people pushing P&P shopping carts all over the mall here, which seems a bit strange to me. We also have a P&P just a short ways away from where we live. There, you can get one of the parking lot attendants to push the cart all the way back to our house. They'll definitely expect a tip, but they don't mind pushing a cart full of groceries over the field, across the road and down the street.

Another difference you can see from this picture is all the flags that are already up in preparation for the world cup. It's a BIG DEAL here. I feel really left out sometimes that I don't have a Bafana Bafana jersey. They're bright yellow and EVERYONE wears them, including the staff in all shops. (Bafana Bafana is the national soccer team. Don't know what the name means, but it's important enough to repeat itself.)

Okay, one final point from my excursion to the grocery store earlier today. This is a picture of someone having their produce weighed. You can't just pick up anything you want from the produce section and take it to the check out. Instead, you have to bring it to this weighing station and have someone weigh it for you. Then they print out a label that shows how much it costs. They also tie the bag closed to ensure that you won't add any more after you've had them weigh it. Then you take that to the checkout and have the cashier scan the sticker. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten to the cashier with my produce and had to go back to have them weigh it.

So that's all for this installment. Let me know if there's any more you want to know about here!

The past week has been an eventful one for the Masi team. First off,
we've moved out of Africa House and in with Ro at her place. (A YWAM
group rented out all of Africa House for a week and a half.) We'll be
moving back into Africa House Monday, but until then we've been
enjoying staying in one house together. Our time together has seemed
more focused than when we were in Africa House, sharing with a
short-term team, permanent staff members and some of the Ocean View
team. I (Julianna) imagine it's felt more comparable to other outreach
teams who are all staying together.
Last weekend, most of the Masi team (Mel, Pete, Lifa and Sbu) helped
out the Ocean View team at a weekend camp for the Ocean View High
School prefects (or student council leaders). About 20 students came
and eight gave their lives to Jesus during the weekend! Relationships
were formed with the prefects that will continue during the rest of
outreach, including with several prefects who actually live in Masi.
The students were able to be open about the problems they had and our
team members reached out to them. They helped with team-building
activities throughout the weekend that focused on wisdom from the book
of Proverbs.
Here in Masi, we've been seeing some exciting things happen, despite
the start of winter's cold and rainy season. Sbu is meeting with some
gangsters to rap about positive things they want for Masi. Julianna
and Mel are mentoring some young women, teaching them how to pray and
hear from God for themselves. Lifa, Brandon, Sbu and Pete are
mentoring a young Zimbabwian bachelor to lead groups in Masi. Brandon
and Sbu are continuing to mentor a Zim couple who are leading a Bible
study among their friends.
Here is an exciting story from the past week:
• Masi Mama — Pete, Sbu and Mel met a Mama on the main road in Masi
that has proven to be a promising contact. This woman is a leader in
the Zionist church, and is respected throughout the community. While
Pete and Sbu were praying for someone on the street, this woman ran up
to them and asked to be prayed for herself. She was very insistent and
drunk, and called them into her home. She said she had lots of
problems and needed prayer. So the guys prayed for her, and set up a
time to meet her the next week.
At their next appointment, they found Mama sober. She said she hadn't
touched alcohol the past week. She also said she realized that she and
her husband had an awful relationship, she was fed up with his yelling
and arguing and it was time to leave him. She actually was packing up
her things when Pete and Sbu arrived, but agreed to sit with them for
a time. Pete and Sbu talked and prayed with both her and her husband,
and it was obvious that the spirit of God was moving in their hearts.
The husband had seemed very hard at first, but immediately softened
when Sbu told him, "We're going to pray for you, but God already knows
your heart." That's what made an impact to him, "God already knows
you." At the end of their time together, Mama said she would stay with
her husband.
A few days later, Pete, Sbu and Mel went back to Mama's. She was
bouncing off the walls, so excited because God had answered their
prayers. "This is a house of peace!" she said to them. "I've been a
leader in the Zion church for years, and God's never answered my
prayers. Now, I've stopped drinking and my husband and I's
relationship is so much better." Our team members spent some more time
with her, but as they were leaving Mama grabbed people in the street
and told them, "These are the Jesus people! They can pray for you and
God will answer their prayers!"
Our team members are following up with this mama, who is eager to
share what she has learned with others. They are meeting with her once
a week to teach her the discovery Bible study method, and then another
time during the week she is leading a group of her neighbors in a
Bible study. We are excited to see where this goes in the future.

Here's another great video of the kid's singing at Kid's Club. It was
shot by Whitney last month. Enjoy!

Thank you, to all who prayed this past week for Julianna's young
women's group she is starting. It went really well today!
Julianna and Mel started a Bible study and support group with young
women in very poor and vulnerable places in Masi. Last week, no one
showed up. This week, we asked our friends (that's you!) to pray for
the group. Mel printed fabulous official-looking invitations to the
group, too, that we passed out to those we wanted to come. We weren't
sure what would happen, but today four young women attended the group!
They were open and vulnerable with each other, sharing their loves and
skills with each other. I asked them to share about any spiritual
experiences they have had, and one girl shared how she became a
Christian. Another girl didn't have any spiritual experiences, and
when it came to prayer time, she said she didn't know how to pray.
After a short explanation, she prayed with us for the first time ever!
This week we prayed and just talked with each other to get to know
each other, but when asked what they wanted to do next week, the girls
asked, "Can we read the Bible together?" YES!!!

Here's an example of one of the small miracles that's happened to us
recently. It makes me remember that we are God's children, and he's
looking out for us.

On arrival back at Africa House Friday from Masi, Brandon asked to
borrow my phone.

"Where's your phone?" I asked.

"I think I may have lost it. I need to call it.," Brandon said.

"Did someone mug you?!" I asked.

"No, I put it in my hoodie pocket and I think it fell out," he said.

"You put it where? That's not a safe place for it, Brandon. Why would
you have thought that was a good place to put your phone?" (There's
was more, but I bet you get the picture.)

So Brandon called his phone and it was a no-go. We gave the phone up
for lost, and I think Brandon was secretly hoping he'd be able to
replace his cheapie phone with a smart phone. That night when Brandon
and I were praying like we normally do before bed ("protect us from
bad dreams," and the like), I added in, "And please help us find
Brandon's phone. I know someone's probably already found it and sold
it to someone else, but let the finder please return it to us. Please
do this miracle."

The next day, as we drove into Masi, Brandon was trying to call his
phone again to see if anyone would pick up. Then the whole car (who
hadn't been with us on our previous discussion) found out about the
lost phone. But Mel piped up, "Didn't one of the kids in Kid's Club
yesterday say something about finding a phone. I think she gave it to
Kalyn." Why, yes! Someone had in fact done that! So we called Kalyn
and she described the phone to Brandon and we found out it was his
very own!

A group of V.C. kids found the phone in the primary school parking
lot, where we always park when we go into Masi. Kalyn picked them up
there for Kid's Club and they showed her the phone. She took it and
hadn't done anything with it yet.

Someone up there's watching out for us.

_Praying with us:_

* _Aileen._ We are having a Bible study with a lovely and hospitable
Masi mama named Aileen, but we're hitting barriers in helping her see
that she doesn't need to be dependent on outsiders to learn about
God. Please pray that we are able to effectively communicate this truth
to her and that she rises up as a spiritual leader in the wetlands
of Masi.
* _Thank you for praying for our fellow CPx student, Vovo._ She
received her passport and visa to enter Zambia the final afternoon
before her departure. It makes no sense that she should have received
it, except that it was God who made it happen!
* _Young women's group._ Julianna is trying to start a Bible study
and support group with young women in very poor and vulnerable places
in Masi. Please pray God would lead her to just the right women and
that they would come and open up to sharing about their lives and
taking their problems to Jesus with one another.
* _Spiritual Darkness. _Masi is a rough place. This last week in the
wetlands there were several rapes, a murder and other unexplained deaths
indicative of witchcraft. Please pray with us for protection for all
those living there, as well as for us as we take the good news of the
Kingdom with us.
* _Steve & Daria._ These are fellow CPxers and today was an incredibly
rough day. They found out that a couple that they had been meeting with
who've seen drastic changes in their life took a torn for the worse as
the husband committed suicide. Pray for wisdom for Steve & Daria as
they continue to meet with the wife. Pray for their hearts as well as
they deal with this tragedy.

_Praying for us:_

* _Thank you for your prayers for Brandon's allergies_. They have
been answered to some extent, in that the cat is now gone from Africa
House (leadership found him a good home). There's still plenty of cat
dander all over the place, but we're confident in time that will
improve. In the meantime, please continue to pray for health for Brandon
and Julianna.
* _Flexibility._ As we launch into spending extended time in Masi
every day, both Brandon and I are realizing again that African notions
of time are different than our Western ones. When meetings are set
up, they can either last four hours (with lots of tea and chatting) or
it may be that no one is there at all. So please pray God would grant
us his grace to go with the flow and enjoy relationships rather than
be task-oriented.

The Masi team has a week of outreach under our belts at this point. I think we’re all feeling pretty encouraged by our time in Masi so far, even if there have been some challenges along the way.

We started off this week by introducing the whole team to any promising contacts we had prior to the start of outreach. Four of us have been working in Masi already, so we had a number of people to follow up on. The experience of meeting each other’s contacts was really encouraging — we saw people who had been touched by Jesus (either emotionally or physically healed), who had turned to Jesus for the first time recently, or who were experiencing the joy of learning about God for themselves in a Bible study in their home for the first time. God truly is moving in Masi! We’ve had several Discovery Bible Studies in Masi this week, and have many more scheduled in the following weeks. Our goal is to see the people of Masi empowered to lead those groups, with us only in a mentorship role to the local leader. Some people are ready and eager to take the position of leader among their friends and family. Others are having a bit more of a struggle with that idea, being used to a more dependent role with foreigners who come in and tell them about Jesus. Please pray that we would be led by God to really empower the people of Masi to experience Jesus for themselves.

One woman that’s caught the vision in Masi is Hope, a woman from Zimbabwe. She is married and has a two-year-old daughter. Brandon and Lifa met her during the first phase of CPx, and we are continuing to follow up with her. In addition to a Bible study that she leads in her home, she also wants to get together with Mel and Julianna this next week for more one-on-one mentoring. She’s eager to share with her neighbors and experience more of God for herself. Every time we visit Hope, she either shares a scripture with us that God has shown her or asks if we have something from the Word we can share. She is a strong woman, full of the confidence and boldness of the Spirit of God, who we hope to empower even more to reach and change Masi for the better.

Team life is going well. We’ve now all moved into the same house — Africa House. We’re enjoying the closeness, but also appreciate that we still get to use Silver Palms, the B&B across the street, for our group meals. Most of the Ocean View team members are still living in Silver Palms, and we’re eating all our meals with the Ocean View team as well. We’re also spending time in the morning on Tuesdays and Thursdays praying and worshipping with the Ocean View team. It helps keep up our energy in intercession to pray with this other team as well.