Winding down...

Here in Durban we are having a bit of a down day, planning for the big retreat with UKZN students this weekend. I'll be co-leading a seminar on prayer so I've spent some of my morning beginning to prepare that. This afternoon is also our last chance for some more shopping or other random stuff before a busy last three days here in Durban. You can pray that all the preparation goes well as we have given everyone one the team some responsibility and very few of us have experience in planning retreats. Tonight we are going to see Prince Caspian, which just debuted here Saturday night.
Yesterday was a bit of a frustrating day. We were back at Ntezuma, one of the townships, but they really didn't have a lot for us to do. I spent most of the day just playing with local kids, which was fun, but not what I expected. I spent a while talking to a lady whose house we worked on at the end of the day. She had a heart-breaking story. She and her sister (23 and 25 respectively) live together in a very small house with their 3 children and one more in the womb (due in August). They lived with their mother until she died in 2003 and since then they have been caring for their younger brother (now 19) and their children with no real source of income and no one to look out for them. The really sad part of the story was that the most I asked about their family I still never once heard of any male figure except their little brother (who has been involved with a gang some in the last few years). They never mentioned their father or the fathers of any of their four children. The townships are simply void of fathers and the effects are evident everywhere. Due to the AIDS crisis and other issues the country is currently 45% age 20 and younger- that is just unbelievable! But when you go into the townships you start doing the math and you see its true. Tons of kids, mothers doing their best to provide, men bumming around in groups and no men in the homes. It's going to be hard to change many of the problems in this country until that begins to change first.
Please continue to pray for our last few days here, the retreat and debrief times. This week will probably be the last of my internet access, but I'll try to put up a total trip review as soon as I'm home to close out the blog. Thanks for continuing to pray!