Brandon & Julianna Jones

Although we're not in Cape Town right now, I have been getting updates about the Masi wetlands fire relief efforts and I thought I would update you briefly. Nearly all of the shacks All Nations was helping to rebuild are completed. There is still a lot of need though, to replace what was lost. If you would like to give, look back at a previous post on this blog for donation information. Our friend Mark Nehrenz visited Masi a few months ago and filmed it, especially our friend Mama Eileen, who lost everything in the fire. He made this video about the fire. Please view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aCtHdNzTlQ

Greetings from Tanzania!

I don't have time to write a very long post, but I wanted to let everybody know that we're doing fine. I've made my peace with the squatty potties here in Tanzania and we actually got spoiled by air conditioning and our own room at the place we stayed last night.

We're in Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. We arrived in the city at dusk yesterday after three days of driving from our team's location in Southern Malawi. Tanzania is definitely my favorite place we've visited so far. It's lush and tropical-looking with mountains and the ocean, and the capital city reminds me a little of Beirut, Lebanon. It definitely seems like a cross between the Arab world and the African, which I love. We will see even more Arab influence as we start to explore the coastal regions starting today.

We will spend four to five days there with our CPx team and visiting some friends who live there. We're excited to see how God is moving in the islands. You can also read more updates I wrote about Zimbabwe and Malawi on the All Nations Web site, www.all-nations.co.za

Asante sana!

Okay, seriously, this is one of the most beautiful countries I've ever
seen. Words like pristine, untouched, and stunning all keep popping
into my head. But this is also a country of extreme poverty. It's one
of the most densely populated countries in Africa. Every 50 meters or
so there's another little village with brick or mud houses and thatch
roofs.

We had a comical experience getting here from Zimbabwe. A major road
was closed, so our GPS gave us an alternate route. In the dark, we
headed down a narrow lane into the bush. The road got narrower and
rougher the longer we drove down it. We would pass people on the side
of the road and they just gaped at us like they'd never seen a van
before. Finally after about an hour the road took us straight into the
middle of a thriving village and dead-ended. We were immediately
surrounded by the entire village, shouting and pointing at us and
shining their cell phone lights into the van trying to see us. We
couldn't understand much of what they were saying but we're pretty
sure it meant something like, "Stupid white people! Where do they
think they're going?" We discovered the road ended there, and had to
turn around in the middle of the village and head back the way we
came.

The people here in Malawi are so generous and friendly. Embarrassing
cultural experiences didn't end with the detour in the dark though.
The first morning we woke up here in Malawi I decided it was time to
do some laundry. So I found an empty bucket and brought my laundry and
washing powder to the community water tap. I was pretty proud of
myself for completing my first-ever load of
hand-washed-in-the-outdoors laundry and was just finishing up when two
nice Malawian ladies walked up. They were equipped with bigger buckets
and wash tubs, and I greeted them and told them I was doing laundry
too. They didn't seem to understand me, and instead took my washing
from me and started re-washing it. The guy who we are staying with
walked up then and explained to me in English, "They said you are
failing, so they are going to help you." They proceeded to re-wash all
my clothes for me and then hand them back for me to hang up.

We're enjoying being with the CPx team here. I feel thankful we don't
have to stay with them though. They're camping out in the village,
taking baths in a bucket and using a long drop toilet or "squatty
potty." We are staying in town, in a run down compound. Brandon and I
get our own room and mosquito net and we share a bathroom with running
water (no hot water or toilet seats, but I'm still very thankful!). We
eat our meals with the team though, and for that I am extremely
grateful. Rhoda, the only woman on the team, cooks all the dinners.
She is a Malawian and cooks wonderful food. Last night we had rice and
curried beef and it was amazing!

We went to a nicer area outside the village yesterday to spend time
debriefing the team. Today we will spend here in the village with the
team — I am hoping to be able to attend at least one local Bible study
with Rhoda. Then we head off North the next day. We'll take two, maybe
three days to drive up through Malawi and into Tanzania and over to
the coast.

We arrived safely in Zimbabwe last night after a two-day road trip. The photo was taken by Brandon as we drove through Botswana.

We arrived after dark last night and were met with a dark house. The electricity gets turned off here for long stints for something called "load sharing." We determined the poor planning we made in not buying an LED torch. Instead, our lantern faded out after an hour or so of using it to light the kitchen as we cooked dinner. The electricity came back on around 11 as we headed to bed. It turned off this evening at about the same time.

We spent the day with Munyaradzi Hove, the All Nations family member here. He is a dynamite man, and took us to see some of the dozens of housechurches he has started in the past few years. The people here are so open and eager to hear about Jesus, to be prayed for, to read the Bible. It's amazing how smoothly the small group Bible study/housechurch model works in this country. We met one family on the street and prayed for them and that led to starting a discovery Bible study with them this week.

Unfortunately, Munya will be following up with them without us. We only have 3 nights and 2 full days here. Tomorrow Brandon will lead a leadership training workshop for the 25 or so local leaders that Munya has raised up here. Brandon will also be meeting with Munya to plan for his Internet Cafe. Today, I interviewed Munya for a feature on the All Nations Web site. Look for that next month at all-nations.co.za, as I've only got limited access to the internet on this trip.

Right now we're sitting on a deck, eating crocodile tail and listening to Victoria Falls in the distance. Zimbabwe is a beautiful country!

This week Brandon and I are setting out on a journey unlike any we've
gone on before. We're taking a 3 1/2 week road trip into the wilds of
Africa. We'll travel through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, a spice
island, Zambia and Namibia. We will be on the ground, seeing
everything, eating the local food and sleeping in tents much of the
time. We're thrilled about this opportunity to see "the real Africa."
I've only ever been here in Cape Town!

We're going on this journey with a team from All Nations — the
official pastoral visit to our CPx outreach teams and All Nations
long-term teams on the ground. We'll be encouraging the teams, helping
with any problems they may be having. Brandon will be helping a
long-term worker set up an Internet cafe in Zimbabwe, and help All
Nations come up with communications solutions in rural areas. I'll be
documenting the trip and collecting stories of what's going on
throughout Africa to share on the Web.

Watch this blog and our twitter and facebook feeds for updates from the road!

For those of you who follow us on twitter or facebook, you know that
there has been a huge fire in Masi. It broke out early Monday morning
and destroyed most of the Wetlands area of Masi. An estimated 1,500
shacks and 25 homes were destroyed, making 4,000 - 5,000 people
homeless overnight. It's the worst fire in recent memory in Masi. To
give you a frame of reference, the Boxing Day fire we told you about
in December only destroyed about 300 shacks.

Since Monday, we have been working alongside All Nations and other
churches, charities and government organizations to try to help these
thousands in desperate need. We have sorted clothing and food
donations, helped build shacks, prayed with people, and done basically
anything else we could think of.

The scope of the tragedy is tremendous. The fire affected the poorest
of the poor in Masi, because the Wetlands area was basically a
squatter camp for people who couldn't afford the $20-40/month rent in
Masi proper. Some of our friends on the far side of the fire were able
to bring most of their portable possessions to safety, but others
escaped with only themselves and the clothes on their back.

Despite the tragedy, there have been some glimmers of hope this week.
Last Friday — just three days before the fire — we had a volunteer
firefighter talk to our Vulnerable Children kids about fire safety.
(see previous post) One of the things he taught the kids was the
number of the fire department, which no one around here seems to know
(it's 112, by the way.) Little Lucy actually remembered the number in
the midst of the blaze and was one of the first people in Masi to call
the fire department.

It's been great to see the community banding together in this time of
crisis. We have seen people taking care of others in their
housechurches and Bible studies who have been affected by the fire.
It's been hard to keep our hearts set on hope, though, with the weight
of the tragedy.

We wanted to let you know how you could help with this disaster if you
are interested.
• Prayer — Please be praying for the victims of the fire. Pray that
they would get the help they need to rebuild their shacks quickly and
recover much of their lost possessions. Please pray also that this
would be a time that people turn to Jesus for hope and walk with God.
• Donations — If you are here in South Africa, there are a lot of
needs right now. The main thing is household goods, furniture,
bedding, pots and pans, etc.
• Finances — If you would like to make a donation to Masi fire relief,
you can send it to:

All Nations Family, Inc
c/o Walsh Washburn
5360 College Boulevard Ste. 100
Overland Park, KS 66211
**Please attach a note that says "Crisis Relief Cape Town"

For donations outside of the US:
"Crisis Relief Cape Town"
South Africa account: 076721051
Standard Bank, Fish Hoek
Branch Code: 03600980

We will be helping with crisis relief for the next week here in Masi.
After that, we leave on a 3 1/2 week journey through Southern Africa.
We'll be visiting All Nations bases, encouraging teams, helping them
practically and sharing their stories through our social media as well
as www.all-nations.co.za. Be sure to check our blog for updates from
the road.

The fire relief continues... Today we helped sort and package thousands of food and toiletry kits that will be given out to the fire victims. All the local churches and charities are working together, which is a beautiful thing.

There was a huge fire in the Masi wetlands last night. It's destroyed almost 1000 homes, and is utterly devastating. Please pray for the families who have lost everything.