Hello Friends!
As you may already know, I am thrilled to be going back to South Africa this year. I will be going for almost three months! I am both excited and a little intimidated at the idea. It will be my longest time outside of the U.S. ever.
Who am I working with? I will leave as one member of four from Park Street Church to help Hope Prison Ministry. We will serve alongside locals and expats. Park Street has two missionary families in Cape Town that I dearly look forward to being with, as well as many amazing staff and volunteers that I became friends with last year. I will also be working with Auntie Charmaine in Lavender Hill outreach.
What am I doing? Prison ministry and community outreach. The Park Street team and I will be spending two and a half intense weeks in prison ministry. We will be helping facilitate another Restorative Justice program at the same prison we served in last time. If you are unfamiliar with Restorative Justice, you can reference this post my team leader wrote about it. We will also be visiting other prisons for prayer walks, church services, Bible studies, and just to meet and chat with people.
After that phase is over, the rest of my team will head back to the states, and I will move into Lavender Hill to live with Auntie Charmaine for the next two plus months. Lavender Hill is one of the most dangerous areas in South Africa, it is low income and the gangs have far too much influence. There I will be interning under Auntie Charmaine in her community outreach work. In the outreach, with support from others, Auntie Charmaine makes giant batches of food that feed hundreds, she teaches the kids praise music with dance routines, she encourages them to stay in school and clear of the gangs, she takes them to get haircuts and buy school supplies, and so much more. I will be doing what I can to help in the outreach, and soaking in what it means to live somewhere dangerous and broken and love those next to you.
Why am I doing it? Because I saw something powerful last time in the prisons that I want to see again. I saw a hardened gang leader enter class disrupting it with hand gestures to other gangsters and just with his overall aura of contempt and hardness. I also saw him sob in the arms of his mother at the end of the week apologizing for what he put her through. I saw him stand up in front of the guys declaring that he was done with the gang for good and that it was all built on lies. I want to see that again. I also want to see the four guys at my table again to see how they are doing a year after the program. I am working with Auntie Charmaine because I want to see and be part of helping create positive futures for a group of kids that are disadvantaged in many ways. I always had plenty to eat growing up, gangs were more of a joke than a threat to my safety, and my playground wasn't on top of glass covered asphalt. In short, I want to see lives changed. Lives of kids heading nowhere good, and lives of prisoners who have pasts to be dealt with.
When am I going? August to November. Getting our flights booked has proved a little challenging, but we should be flying out the second week of August and I will come back somewhere in the first week of November.
How can you help? With your prayers! By giving financially. By giving me your shoes. By being your encouraging supportive awesome selves!! Prayer requests will be bullet pointed at the bottom. You can give financially at Park Street Church by filling out an envelope designating your gift to South Africa STM - Tatiana Martin and dropping in the communion plate during a Sunday service or leaving it with the receptionist. You can also give online here, just make sure you select "STM South Africa" from the drop down list and put my name as the optional memo. I am still collecting used and new shoes to sell and raise money for Lavender Hill. I will have more information on that tomorrow, but please message me if this is a way you would like to help and want info on.
Cheers!
Tatiana
Prayer Requests:
As you may already know, I am thrilled to be going back to South Africa this year. I will be going for almost three months! I am both excited and a little intimidated at the idea. It will be my longest time outside of the U.S. ever.
 |
| So happy to be returning to this beautiful place |
Who am I working with? I will leave as one member of four from Park Street Church to help Hope Prison Ministry. We will serve alongside locals and expats. Park Street has two missionary families in Cape Town that I dearly look forward to being with, as well as many amazing staff and volunteers that I became friends with last year. I will also be working with Auntie Charmaine in Lavender Hill outreach.
What am I doing? Prison ministry and community outreach. The Park Street team and I will be spending two and a half intense weeks in prison ministry. We will be helping facilitate another Restorative Justice program at the same prison we served in last time. If you are unfamiliar with Restorative Justice, you can reference this post my team leader wrote about it. We will also be visiting other prisons for prayer walks, church services, Bible studies, and just to meet and chat with people.
 |
| During RJ last year, I look forward to catching up with them. |
Why am I doing it? Because I saw something powerful last time in the prisons that I want to see again. I saw a hardened gang leader enter class disrupting it with hand gestures to other gangsters and just with his overall aura of contempt and hardness. I also saw him sob in the arms of his mother at the end of the week apologizing for what he put her through. I saw him stand up in front of the guys declaring that he was done with the gang for good and that it was all built on lies. I want to see that again. I also want to see the four guys at my table again to see how they are doing a year after the program. I am working with Auntie Charmaine because I want to see and be part of helping create positive futures for a group of kids that are disadvantaged in many ways. I always had plenty to eat growing up, gangs were more of a joke than a threat to my safety, and my playground wasn't on top of glass covered asphalt. In short, I want to see lives changed. Lives of kids heading nowhere good, and lives of prisoners who have pasts to be dealt with.
When am I going? August to November. Getting our flights booked has proved a little challenging, but we should be flying out the second week of August and I will come back somewhere in the first week of November.
How can you help? With your prayers! By giving financially. By giving me your shoes. By being your encouraging supportive awesome selves!! Prayer requests will be bullet pointed at the bottom. You can give financially at Park Street Church by filling out an envelope designating your gift to South Africa STM - Tatiana Martin and dropping in the communion plate during a Sunday service or leaving it with the receptionist. You can also give online here, just make sure you select "STM South Africa" from the drop down list and put my name as the optional memo. I am still collecting used and new shoes to sell and raise money for Lavender Hill. I will have more information on that tomorrow, but please message me if this is a way you would like to help and want info on.
Cheers!
Tatiana
Prayer Requests:
- That I will finish out my semester strong. I got a bit behind in homework this time and need to do some catch up in the next two weeks.
- That I will make time to do some language learning and it will stick. I have a friend who connected me with a South African girl here nannying who is willing to meet and help me learn some Afrikaans!
- That I will finish up everything that needs finishing and prepare everything that needs preparing. Three months away is a long time!
- That signing up for online fall classes will go smoothly and I will get all the textbooks and materials I need. Doing college from South Africa is not a challenge I expected to take on, and I am still a bit intimidated at the thought.
- That I would be in a good strong place before I go; spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. Prison ministry was intense and I do not want to go in already burnt out.
