Last week I was reminded of how crazy life can be for some of the kids we work with at Ithemba.

Bulalani (pronounced Boo-La-La-Knee) is a 12-year-old boy with a soft gravely voice and deep self-confidence that makes him steady like the rhythm of a freight train.  Last week he was held at gunpoint while going to one of the little township shack stores, for his mom.  Bulalani, completely paralyzed with fear, stood with his hands white-knuckle clinched in his pockets.  He finally snapped out of the trance when one of his friends pushed the guy from behind and they escaped running like mercury on the wind.

I am thankful that he is okay, but the whole ordeal got me thinking about the environment in which these kids grow up.  How do you change environment?  How do you change culture?  How can you empower people to want to change social atmosphere?

I have a lot more questions than answers.  What I do know is that every kid we impact through Ithemba is another solution puzzle piece that has gently slide into place.  So for now, I’ll just hold onto my questions and my hope that change WILL come one child at a time.

LOVE. JOY. PEACE.

Zach

I recently heard someone speak about human’s search for significance.  I think the message really hit home with me because greatness is something we all long for; it is written on our very hearts.

But often times we don’t know how to achieve greatness.  How do/can we even measure significance?

When we look at a sampling societies across the centuries, kings, aristocrats, generals, the upper echelon, crème-of-the-crop, all seem to teach us it’s how many people that serve you that makes your great.

But Jesus offers us a different measure of greatness in Mark 9:35.  He says, (I paraphrase) that if you want to be great, you must be a servant.

So maybe it’s not how many people that serve you that makes you great, but how many people you serve that makes you great.

Then he says that when we welcome/serve people as if they are children, we are welcoming God himself.  (verse 37)

Which begs the questions, if they are children, whose children are they?  Which brings up the next question, why are we welcoming God, if we welcome them as children? Which might be the point, to create an association between people/children and Father God; to remind us that all people are made in God’s image, innately valuable, deserving dignity, not because of WHO they are but because of WHOSE they are.

When we serve people we acknowledge, through our actions, that they have worth. In the process we spend our lives on things that will outlast our lives, the greatest use of life!

So may our eyes be transformed until we see people as God does and with new vision may we seek to live lives of service therefore GREAT LIVES!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.’ We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” (Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love)

LOVE. JOY. PEACE.

Zach

Have you ever noticed that some people’s name just seems to fit them?  Like, “He couldn’t be anything other than a Bob- he’s just a Bob.”  Well let me introduce you to my friend Gloria- who is glorious!  She is the sunshine, raying down contagious smiles, and radiating warmth from her inner being.  Like the sun, you know if you’ve basked in Gloria’s presence because she is one of the most genuinely joyous people you’ll ever met and she gives world-class hugs!  Gloria is also the cleaning lady at Ithemba.  She’s tremendously hard worker and we are so blessed to have her!

A little while back we found out that Gloria’s small shack had been flooding due to an abnormal amount of rain we’ve had in Jeffrey’s Bay this winter (northern hemisphere readers just remember the season are opposite).   Just imagine how terrifying it must be to wake up in the middle of the pitch-black night, feeling as if the cold water beneath you was destroying and washing your entire existence away. If you are lucky, the driving rain will subside the next day and the sun will come out to dry your world. If not it will be another cold wet night.

And so, while we can’t always “change the world,” we can change someone’s world.  That’s what we endeavored to do, HOME MAKEOVER, ZA EDITION.

The project mainly consisted of waterproofing her shack’s roof, one of its sidewalls, tiling her floor, and building a cement barricade around the exterior of the house to divert water.  With the help of the group from Brentwood, TN, and with the help of the “Tarquinio men” (Gavin, Luke and Father Tom), Gloria is officially sleeping in a dry home!

How tremendously blessed it is to give, especially to someone as wonderful as Gloria, who constantly reminds us what it means to serve others.

LOVE. JOY. PEACE.

Zach

Over the years surfing has become a mega industry.  The rise of surfing has been accompanied by thriving surf apparel companies such as Quicksilver, Billabong, Rip Curl, and Hurley, to name a few.  These companies have brought money to professional surfing and have helped make a surfing world tour, which literally chases the best waves around the world, possible. One of the tour’s 11 annual stops is right here in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa.

The Billabong Pro JBay brought 35 of the world’s best surfers to town, July 14-24.  Lights, cameras, and lots of action went down as the surfers dialed in their best moves on JBay’s world famous Supertubes break.  And right in the middle of it all were the kids from Ithemba! It was an awesome opportunity for the kids to see world-classed athletes demonstrate expertise in their craft.

They even had a chance to meet and talk to Mick Fanning, a two-time World Champion, and second place finisher at this years competition. True to form, they didn’t cut Mick any slack, joking with him like a close friend.  For the kids, it was the highlight of a lifetime! Heck it was pretty cool for Gavin and I too!

Hopefully the kids got a little inspiration from seeing the pros living out their dreams.  But as we reminded the kids, first come DREAMS AND HARD WORK!  As far as LUO goes, we’ll keep working hard to build and foster dreams at Ithemba.

Love. Joy. Peace.

Zach

LUO means to set free; to break barriers, and that is exactly what is happened when a group of 12 high school students from Brentwood, TN gave two weeks of there summer to serve in South Africa.

When the group arrived at Ithemba the first day, you could see them examining their surroundings, the smiling faces, the roar of children’s excitement, and the soft touch of little hands.  But underneath it all there was something else going on, a secret war waged inside each person.

At Ithemba we take pride in caring for our kids, mentally, physically, and spiritually. However, most of our children come from very humble circumstances; bluntly, they live in abject poverty. Some of our children only have one set of clothes that must be worn every day leaving them dirty and smelly.  Sickness is also prevalent in the community, and it’s not uncommon for kids to come in with runny noses, croupy coughs and the like.  And then there is HIV…

This is reality, poverty isn’t pretty.

Upon arriving at Ithemba, the group of 12 students was met by this reality as swarms of children came running to get hugs.  When a child runs and jumps on you, the strong smell of dirty clothes and a runny nose can be overwhelming.  Often the gut reaction is to think gross don’t touch me or to constantly put on hand sanitizer.  Thus a war is waged between fear and love.

During the last night of the trip, some of the students opened up about the ways they had been transformed throughout the trip.  Jesse tenderly and transparently told of how his “gross” barrier was broken down as he got to know the kids and see their beautiful spirits.  He was moved to the point where he no longer cared about whether he was going to get dirty or sick but used every opportunity to love and dignify each child.  They had become precious to him.

As I listened to him talk I was reminded of the story of the prodigal son from the Bible.  In the story there is a son and a father.  The son decides that he wants his inheritance; the only problem is his father is still living.  He effectually says, Dad you are as good as dead to me, therefore I want my inheritance now. The father gives the son his inheritance, which he turns around and blows in a foreign land.  When the money is gone and his “friends” have abandoned him, he desperately becomes a hired hand, feeding pigs to survive.  The lowest low for a good Jewish boy.

At the pinnacle of the story, the boy decides to go home and beg his father to let him be his servant.  As he crests the last hill overlooking the father’s land, he takes a deep breath and rehearses a speech he had prepared.  When the father sees his son in the distance, he starts running.  When he reaches the son, he grabs him, at which point the reader is not sure if he’s going to kill him, or just shake him silly for being a fool.  But instead he does the unimaginable; he gets out his hand sanitizer because eww gross.  No, that’s not what happens at all.

He sweeps up his son in a loving embrace and plants a kiss right on his face, a face that is covered in pig muck.  The father disregards all his filth, internal and external, out of his great love for his son.  He loves him.  No strings attached.  No conditions to be met.  He loves him.

But this is more than a story, it’s reality.  It is the way God loves us; he sweeps us up dirty and sick, and embraces us.  Instead of being overwhelmed by how dirty we are he is overwhelmed by how much he loves us.

I’m so encouraged by Jesse’s transformation.  What a powerful reminder of how we are loved and how we are called to love.

May the barriers, keeping us from loving in this way, be broken, LUO.  May our hearts be set free to love completely, LUO.

Love. Joy. Peace.

Zach

I just wanted to take some time to address how you can get involved. We have been getting that question a lot lately, which is awesome. We want to invite you to be a part of these kids stories so here’s what we need.

We. Need. You.

That’s right. You are the missing piece in our LUO family. We need to get the word out about who we are and what we are doing. You are in the perfect place to have those conversations. Start talking. Give ‘em a run down of what we are doing in South Africa. To stay up to date check our blog regularly, or you can follow us on twitter. If you want to do even more bring us to your church, organization, school, or university. We would love to have these conversations with you as well. Liz hosted one at her university last semester. (Check out our blog entry to see pictures from ISU.  http://luo-setfree.org/luo-isu-collide/)

You can also sport our apparel. Every time I wear my luo shirt someone asks me what my shirt says. I mean it, every single time. Lucky for you our shirts are on SALE right this second! So what are you waiting for?? Go get one!! After you buy one of every style just wait until August when we are going to be launching a brand spanking new line of LUO apparel. We might even have a zip up hoodie for those of you who live in cold climates. (ahem…Illinois State) Layer up with LUO. If you are of the creative type you can submit some shirt designs to be considered in our new line. All you gotta do is send it in to info@luo-setfree.org by July 15th. Seriously, how easy it that? The bar has been raised so you better bring your best. We are prepared to be blown away.

If you are a college student you could start a LUO chapter at your school. Liz started the VERY first college chapter at Illinois State this past semester and found that enthusiasm and purpose caught like wildfire on a college campus. If you think your school would be a great place to start a chapter just contact info@luo-setfree.org

For those of you who are able to support us financially we have made it even easier! You can now donate online. Forget about writing a check and finding a stamp. If you want to partner with us you can choose to have your donation recurring monthly so you don’t have to worry writing it in your calendar. Find it here–> http://luo-setfree.org  then look for the black box labeled “make a donation”. If  you would prefer  you can send check, cash, or money order to:

LUO, Inc

729 Princeton Mill Run

Marietta, GA 30068

Remember every little bit helps. So even small donations are VERY much appreciated.

Thank you so much for believing in LUO and joining us as we try to change lives. We want to to become a part of these kids stories. YOU are our greatest resource. We could not do any of this without you. Thanks for partnering with us.

-LM

“Never stop dreaming”-The Alchemist

Whenever someone comes to visit us in South Africa, we spend most of our time at Ithemba- getting to know the children, helping in the classrooms, planning fun events (like field day!) and trying to show the kids how much we love them…and how much Jesus loves them.  But, we also think that it is important to understand where the children come from.  When you pull up to Ithmeba, you are greeted by mobs of happy, healthy children…children who are eager to give you a big hug and show you their amazing personalities.  We strive to make sure that the children at Ithemba are well fed, clean, clothed and happy…but when you see them like that…its hard to remember where they came from.  Its hard to imagine the way that they used to look…its hard to wrap your mind around the fact that they used to be malnourished, incredibly dirty, often very sick, and living in abusive situations.  Its hard to imagine that when these children leave the happy, encouraging, colorful, safe environment at Ithemba, they go home to a tiny (very cold at this time of year) shack.  So, we spend a day in the township that these children call home.

This day is one of my favorite days of each trip.  It gives people a raw, very real picture of life…the unpaved roads, the lack of plumbing, the houses built of tin and scraps, the piles of trash…the joy and brightness in spite of it all.  The hope that shines through the smiles of the innocent children.  The day in the township is powerful…and this trip was no different.

The experience of being in the township was powerful…and a LOT of fun!  It was raining, the roads were flooding and muddy…and a soccer game broke out.  Americans vs. South Africans…game on!

One of the girls in our group, Anna was willing to share her journal entry from that day, and some wonderful pictures that she took.  This is an excerpt from her journal:

The whole experience of walking through the township, and playing soccer with the kids was so amazing and eye opening.  While we were walking through, there were so many people coming out into the streets from these houses that were shockingly small. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that some of the houses had more than eight people living in them.

Even though those people might not be living in the best conditions, they have these smiles on their faces that could make my day at any moment.  Their personalities showed through and I loved taking pictures of them.  You could see so much love and compassion in the women’s faces when they smiled.  I just wanted to capture all of that in my pictures of them.

When we started playing soccer there was so much excitement between both of the teams.  It was a surreal experience for me.  To actually be able to play soccer with these kids in South Africa.  I just wanted to soak it all in- it was a once in a life time opportunity.  To see so much poverty around you, then be playing this game right in the middle of it was incredible.  I loved every minute of it all and can only hope to be able to be part of it again.