Beat the Drum

Beat The Drum

Our
team had the opportunity to go to a town called Sommer Set East,
which is about three hours from Jeffrey’s Bay, to run an AIDS
awareness and abstinence program called Beat the Drum. A few days
before we left three other teammates and I were pulled aside and
asked if we would be willing to leave the team and spend the week in
a small town called Pearston. They said it would be a challenge
because we would be under the leadership of people we didn’t know-
without the support of our big team. I anxiously agreed… I had just
been praying that God would give me a challenge and then this
opportunity came up… coincidence? I think not.

So
we headed off for two days of training in Sommer Set and then we
would be heading off with a small team of twelve to Pearston. We had
a vague idea of what exactly we would be doing… we didn’t even know
much of what this program was about but went in ready to work and to
do whatever needed to be done, rather we felt prepared or not.
Training was intense- the first day we reflected on our own brokeness
and God’s sweet redemption. Before the first day was over we had a
time of confession. If there was any sin in our lives that needed to
be brought to the light there was a an opportunity to stand before
the people and share the things that had held us in bondage. I wish I
could express how much beauty there is in brokenness. Many, many
people got up and courageously shared there stories, chains were
being broken, lives were being healed walls were obliterated and
God’s grace was flooding the place. God was purifying us for the week
to come- and to thing that that was just the beginning.

After
seeing the beauty of redemption, feeling the liberation of Christ and
the healing that comes in confession we were excited to see what the
Lord had in store for the day that lied ahead of us. Come Monday
morning we left for the small “town” of Pearston. Upon driving in
and seeing where God has led us one couldn’t help but ask, “Seriously
Lord?”. The town is tiny. One paved main road, the rest dirt, no
post office or bank, and we could probably walk the perimeter of the
town in about fifteen minutes. Tiny. There we were- rather the town
was the size of our pinky finger or not this was where the Lord
brought us and this is where we were going to make the most of the
opportunity given to us.

We
drove up to where we would be staying for the week, The Pearston
Hotel (the only hotel in Pearston) a quaint little place that had
devoted their business solely to us for the week. The hospitality of
this town was astounding- not only did the hotel shut down on our
behalf and free of charge, but the farmers in the village donated all
the food, and more opportunities than we could have imagined opened
up for us to present Beat the Drum.

We
began the week with prayer. We prayed over the hotel and anointed it
with oil then we prayer walked the town… God was stirring
something. Our team was made up of twelve Spirit led people in which
I learned so much from throughout the week; Ilze and Henry, our
leaders, Nico, Isabel, Nolu, Siya, Senatemba, Nita, Ryan, Alene, Leah
and I. Something beautiful was happening.

  We
started only planning to work in the highschool, but God had much
more in mind. Opportunities opened up for us to go to the middle
school, the clinic, the police station and the town hall… our days
were jam packed. We went through the curriculum with the intention of
using it as a tool to bring the gospel and to bring hope and life to
these kids who are in bondage. Throughout the week we showed the
movie that the material is based off of and then we discussed it with
the kids. The first day in the highschool didn’t go so well- the kids
were loud and wouldn’t listen, I felt as though I was not prepared to
teach the material, I got attacked. I felt defeated, but I clung to
the fact that when attack happens, that that means that God is going
to do something mighty. We went throughout the week without a spare
moment… when we had any time we were not planning but praying, it
was the most Spirit led week I’ve ever experienced. We would have a
program to run in fifteen minutes and our leaders would say, ok lets
ask God what He wants us to do… and He would tell us! Now, I know
that God speaks but often I feel like when we try to hear God’s voice
we have to quiet ourselves and pray for weeks before we are still
enough to hear His answer. In Pearston I learned how to be still, and
it was beautiful.

  By
the end of the week we were unsure if what we had done had made any
impact at all. It was our closing session when we saw
the things that God had done. We split the guys and the girls and we
saw life-change before our eyes. Not only did girls take stand for
abstenance but also for Christ. At the end of the night girls came up
and hugged us with tears in their eyes saying, “i’ll never
forget the things that you shared with us.” When we left the
closing session we went back to our hotel and were feeling the
victory of Christ when there was a knock at the door. Our team
leader, Henry, came in the room and said, “Sydney there’s
someone here to see you.” I was at a complete loss… I’m in a
small village in Africa and there’s someone who knows my name and
wants to see me? I came to the door and there was a couple who
introduces themselves as “Kay’s Parents”; Kay was one of
the girls that we had in our eighth grade class throughout the week.
Her parents told me of how our team changed her life and she wanted
our mailing address so that she could write us. How humbling. How
good is God. It was a beautiful moment.

  The next day the four of us from
AIM had arranged to stay through the afternoon. We had the
opportunity to walk throughout the town and as we were doing so we
talked and reflected on all that God had done throughout our week. As
we walked through the Xosa side of the village, at the foothills of
the mountains we were greeted by kids that we had spent the week
with. We had some run up to us with tears in their eyes asking if we
would ever be back and telling us that what we had told them had
impacted their lives forever. We were moved. God brought life to
Pearston.