Healing Vingerkraal

At first glance Vingerkraal looks like any other small village in South Africa-- tin houses, kids playing soccer, dust, and some trash lying around. But this village has a tragic story...

About 2 months ago 17 children were caught between a bush fire and an electric fence. 10 of the children died from burns, 4 are still in the hospital, and 3 have made it home to Vingerkraal. This is not the only problem Vingerkraal faces. The village is without electricity, with the exception of the one school, they frequently run out of water, and there are practically no jobs there. The unemployment rate is about 80%. The people of Vingerkraal are all from Namibia and other African countries and have pretty much been used by the government and forgotten by everyone. They purchased the land that the village is on; however, the government insists it's theirs and the local lodges aren't too fond of them being near their high-end estates. Rumor has it that someone started the bush fire that resulted in the children’s death.

When we heard about Vingerkraal we decided to spend a week working in the community. We simply tried to show them that we care about them, but more importantly that God cares about them and there is always hope! We did school presentations, soccer clinics, surveys, and service projects throughout the week. It's evident that the people are still mourning the death of the children, and that they are desperate for God. Several of the people surveyed said that they needed bible study leaders to help them.

Among all this pain and tragedy I saw hope. I met a young man by the name of Hilarious (yes, that's spelled right). He was 20 years old and got saved about a year ago. I could see the hope in his eyes. He cared about the people of his village, and unlike many young people, had a plan for his future. He had a true understanding of who Jesus was and the cost of being a disciple, something that is rare to find in Africa, and America for that matter. I took the opportunity to encourage Hilarious and let him know that God could use him as the leader that Vingerkraal needed. I shared my story about how I had started leading bible studies at KSU when I was the same age as him. I didn't feel qualified and was a pretty quiet guy, but I told him it’s not about what I could do, it’s about what God could do through me, and that the same applied for him. He was hesitant about it at first, but he said he was willing to give it a try with the help of his friend Antonio, who is planning on studying theology next year at University.

I also saw joy among other members of the village. It’s crazy to think that they can be so joyful when they have so little, but most Africans I meet are very happy, much happier than many of the Americans that I know- even though they don’t have a computer, Ipod, car, house, or even very many clothes.

I feel like most of us have missed the mark when it comes to joy and peace… Recently God has given me a lot of peace and joy in my life. After years of being saved and hearing how God cares for us and has everything under control, it’s finally starting to sink in. In many of the books I’ve been reading recently it talks about how Christians are supposed to have a peace and serenity about them, so much so that anyone who doesn’t have it instantly longs for it and asks themselves “What’s different about that person?”. I realized that is something that is not displayed in my life very often. I spend hours fretting about what’s coming next in life, and am I really doing God’s will, and what is His will for my life anyways?... The truth is, God is more concerned with our love and friendship, and doing what He wants us to do today, than what our 5 year plan is. The only way we can have this peace, joy, love, and the other fruit of the spirit is by allowing The Holy Spirit to work in our lives! If you are saved, then you have the Spirit of God living in you! He’s called our Comforter and Counselor. He’s there to help you, but you have to listen to Him…. And then do what He asks of you. Sure, it may be out of your comfort zone, but don’t you think that God knows better than us? I mean He was able to create the whole Universe without our help; certainly He can help us make the right decisions in life.

My question for you is this… Is your life so directed by the Holy Spirit and so filled with peace, joy, love, self-control, and the other fruit that someone who met you would ask themselves what was different about you? And are you allowing God to take you outside of your comfort zone to the place that your friends know that what you are doing has to be from God?....... I’m not there yet, but I’m asking the Holy Spirit to help me. I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to you and that you will do what He asks of you. If you read this and feel something tug in your heart, know that it’s straight from God, not me. It’s for His glory that I am writing these words, not my own praise.

I ask that you would please pray for Vingerkraal, and especially for Hilarious.

I hope you all have a blessed week, and that the Holy Spirit will speak something to you today.

Paul Cook

Fall Semester... Or is it Spring?

Our time of rest in Cape Town was incredible to say the least! After being there for one day I was ready to become a permanent resident. We got to stay right on the beach and had a great few days seeing the sights and just relaxing. The weather was kinda cool and the ocean was freezing, but that didn't stop me and Theo from taking a few swims. We got some odd looks walking around on the beach in just our swimming trunks when everyone else had on jeans and coats, but who cares, we enjoyed it!

We returned to Shikwaru and started Bush Camp 2.0. The new team had been up there for a few days when we joined them. Once again the Bush Camp experience was great. It's so nice to just get out in nature and spend time with Jesus.... The new team is great, although there is quite a bit of estrogen around the Hope Lodge now! Josh and I are outnumbered 8 to 2.

Although back in the States summer is coming to an end, it's just beginning here. It's definitely starting to warm up again, and we are starting to see some green coming up out of all the brown around us! We're hoping it will start to rain again soon. I think its been a good 2-3 months since we've had any.

The past few weeks we've been doing a lot of training with the new team. We plan on spending a lot of time in the local communities this semester investing in just a few schools. Most of our plans have been put on halt for the moment though. All of the schools in SA are on strike demanding an 8.5% increase in their pay. Since about 90% of our ministry involves working with schools, this is an obviously throws a monkey wrench in our plans. But God has other plans in mind... OneHope has a new curriculum they've recently come out with called 17 stories. It's 16 different stories from the Bible starting with creation and ending in Jesus' resurrection. The stories are displayed as pictures on a card that children will collect. When they get all the 16 cards and put them together and turn it over it shows the 17th story, a summary of all the 16 stories. With all of the children out of school with nothing to do, we've decided to start training some of the mothers and grandmothers in the community on how to use the curriculum so that they can simply gather up the local kids around their house and have story time.... We've also been continuing to do research in other communities.


God's been showing me a lot lately that all He really wants from us is our love. So often we worry about what God's will is for our life. I can tell you what it is, simply love Him! We complicate our lives and spend countless hours trying to make sure we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, when all along God is in complete control and He just wants us to spend time with Him. Although spending time with Jesus seems a simple task, many times it can become quite difficult. The last thing the devil wants us to do is to become closer to Jesus, so he will try everything he has to get us away from him. We live in a world that's in an epic battle; however, much of it we are blind to. There are angles and demons both fighting for us, and this is something we need to be aware of. We know that the ultimate victory lies with Jesus, but we need to pray God's protection over our lives and continue to seek after Him... I challenge you to seek after God with a new passion and conviction! If you aren't reading His Word, I encourage you to do so. And if you are already reading His Word on a regular basis, read more. Take aside 30 minutes to spend in prayer with Him, or just go for a walk and enjoy His creation... When you take the time to be with Him, even when you are tired and may not feel it it, you will become more and more aware of how much He loves you. Jesus died for you, and He would have gladly died on the cross if you were the only person in all of humanity that He could save!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and in some way I hope that God will speak to you through it. It's not because of anything I've said, I normally don't even write like this, but I just felt like God was calling me to do so... It's been so awesome getting to know Jesus better, and I just want you to experience to same.

Please continue to keep me, the team, our ministry, and the children of SA in your Prayers!