On October 10th the entire team packed up and drove the three hours to Somerset East, a small town where we would spend the next nine days doing a program called Beat the Drum. Here’s a short description of the program and town.
HISTORY OF BEAT THE DRUM
The horror of so many millions of
souls currently under the curse of AIDS has been seen. The movie “Beat
the Drum” was the catalyst for our response. A multi-faceted approach
was developed that continued with a massive campaign to train young
people in AIDS prevention, mobilizing people, volunteers from Africa
and the US to break up into teams to go into high schools to train the
learners in biblically-based AIDS prevention under a brand new project
called, Beat the Drum.
Why Somerset East?
In early 2008 George
and Michele Mwanza took a team to Somerset East for outreach. They
spent three days prayer walking through the community. Through this
prayer walk God introduced them to many influential leaders and opened
their eyes to the need for change and growth within this small
community. George knew that the town was ready for Beat the Drum it was
just getting influential leaders on board. On Friday May 23rd
six leaders from AIM along with George and Michele went to present Beat
the Drum to different representatives of schools, businesses, and
churches. The response was amazing. God was so evident in that room
that day. They are ready for Beat the Drum to happen tomorrow. God is
telling us that it’s time to move in to Somerset East and open their
eyes and hearts to the ways of our Lord.
Mission
To serve the Somerset East
Community by bringing primarily the message of abstinence through Beat
the Drum project and giving hope through meeting felt needs in the
community.
Purpose
•To educate on HIV/AIDS
•To prevent and STOP HIV/AIDS in the community
•To care for our community
So, we carried out this program, or rather, God carried out this program through us, and amazing things happened as a result! There is so much to say, but I will try to condense it.
We divided up into teams to minister in different locations, which consisted of schools, farms, the community, and an orphanage. I was placed in a team that ministered in Johnson school, a Xhosa-speaking high school. The stories that flowed after the end of each day are too numerous to even count!
Basically, the first day we showed the movie, Beat the Drum. Then, on the following four days, we split into teams of two and taught for an hour in different classrooms about AIDS awareness and prevention and how God in our lives is the key to stopping the AIDS epidemic. Beat the Drum is different than other AIDS awareness programs in that God is an essential part of the program, and abstinence is preached as the only way to truly stop the spread of AIDS. I was paired with another leader and taught a class of 8th graders. I learned that I can teach a class of kids about uncomfortable and awkward subjects and really experienced God leading me and speaking through me! To hear how other people also became empowered by the Spirit and taught these kids and saw amazing results was such a blessing and privilege for me! Kids were getting saved and making commitments to abstinence, all because God chose to use us – a group of unexperienced young adults – and spoke the truth through us! To Him be the glory!
But along with the amazing stories, alot of pain was revealed. My heart breaks to hear of the broken families that so many of these kids come from, and the things that have happened to them. I don’t understand it! My prayer is that our being there brought some healing, and that God will continue to do an awesome work of revolution in Somerset East! We are so privileged to have been a part of this!
Also, here is a link to the official blog page for the Africa Awakening. You can read more blogs of participants and leaders and find more about Beat the Drum and what is happening in J-bay!
http://08africaawakening.myadventures.org/
