Mission Trip Report Back Announcement

Family, Friends and Supporters, 

As you may know, we had a great team of twelve people that participated in Beacon of Hope 2014 mission trip. Two of us were in Africa for the whole 5 week trip.  The rest were there for either 2 or 3 weeks.

Here was our itinerary:

Uganda phase July 11 - July 19, 2014,

Kevin, Bianca and Glynn

Zimbabwe phase July 19 - July 29, 2014,

Curtis, Rhonda, Bryan, Kevin, Mitch, Melissa, Bianca, and Glynn

South Africa phase July29 - August 9, 2014,

Curtis, Rhonda, Bryan, Mitch, Melissa, Bianca, John, Caroline, Judy, Mark and Glynn

Zambia phase August 9 - August 16, 2014,

Bianca, Judy, Mark and Glynn

See more pictures and videos at MY PHOTO PAGE

Thank you to all who supported in prayer and financially.

It was an amazing experience and we want to tell you all about it.

We want to invite you to attend or a team trip report, either in person or over phone/web. If you are not able to be there in person we are going to make it possible for you still join in us using Goto Meeting or your phone.

Come in Person

On Sunday, September 14 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM PDT

At Village Church of Irvine 77 Post Street, Irvine.

PLEASE RSVP HERE

Connect via web or phone

 If you are not able to be here in person the RSVP form will give you GotoMeeting or phone information for connecting.

If you have any questions, send an email to info@beaconint.org.

 

Glynn Smith

2014 Trip wrap up

On the last day of our 2013 trip I made contact with Prisca Kabole, who runs an organization called PLAEP (Pro-Life Advancement & Education Project) in Kitwe Zambia.  After taking on the phone for a while it was clear to me that she absolutely wanted to have access to a program like Smart Choices that could be used to mold the lives of young adults.  We agreed immediately that we would include a week in the 2014 trip to go back to Zambia and train some of her volunteer workers.

These are the two trainee teams

 

 

We have just completed that week in Kitwe.  We trained 20 new Smart Choices trainers.  After two days of training on Monday and Tuesday, we observed them teach Smart Choices to 74 kids from one of the nearby extremely underprivileged areas of Kitwe referred to as the “compound.”  All things considered, they did an excellent job.  At the end of the training I cautioned them about running long on their presentations when the switched to using the local language (Bemba) for the benefit of younger students that are not fluent in English.  This is exactly what happened with some of them as they over embellished and repeated themselves. Others          did great sticking to the time allocation for their section.  

 

74 Students graduate Smart Choices in Kitwe

 

Many of these volunteers only have high school diplomas but are teachers at community schools.  A community school is a school established and managed by poor underprivileged communities. The teachers are typically volunteer high school graduates who don’t get paid but have a passion for making sure that these underprivileged kids get some education. If it were not for these community schools most of the kids that attend them would not get an education and would just grow up as street kids probably turning to crime to try and get by.   According to the peer teachers from the community schools they often produce better results than the government schools. The peer teachers explain that this is because to often the trained school teachers are just there to collect a salary whereas the volunteer peer teachers really have a passion to see the underprivileged kids get ahead and be given a chance in life.

 

In general the Smart Choice Volunteers did a great job.  All of the children in the class seemed to get it.  All 74 students on the last day made commitments to abstinence.  After seeing the Jesus film 15 students made commitments to follow up Jesus.  All of the other students claimed to already be Christians.

 

 

Smart Choices teen testiminy

Bryan posted this picture on Facebook along with a comment about the program that we ran at Crossroads Teen Center two weeks ago.

 

 

This led to the following Facebook post by Janet, the Empangeni Smart Choices Team Leader.

 

 

It was a pleasure to have you all. I have a testimony from one of the girls who attended the training, she came to thank me and told me that it saved her from giving her virginity to a boyfriend that had been pressuring her. That week we were there she agreed to give in, but after watching in your face she went and broke up with him and now she is only focusing on studying at the moment.  She will be joining university next year.

This is a great testimony to the purpose of the Beacon of Hope Smart Choices mission.  When we turned the Smart Choices activity in to a mission by going back to South Africa for the second time in 2006,we went back with the attitude that we “we don’t know what we be able to accomplish but we knew that we could not sit back and do nothing.”  Also we had that attitude that if we can impact the life of one young person then it will be all worthwhile.  Know we know for sure that at least one young girls life has been impacted positively in a major way.

 

I’m not implying that this young lady is the only one that has been impacted in this way because we have thousands of testimonials written on the Smart Choices response card from young people who have expressed how the program has impacted them and has changed their attitude and outlook on life.  The whole program is about character development and behavior change to effect the very changes that this young lady chosen to do.

 

In the class that we just finished teaching in Kitwe Zambia, 100% of the kids committed to a path of abstinence until marriage.

 

 

Zambia August 11 August 15 Mark Carey

We have begun our final week in Africa.  We are training people who are a bit older than we usually train. These folks will now become Smart Choices trainers in country. Zambia is the 4th country where we will have permanent trainers equipped to keep the program going.

 

 

They all appear to grasp most of the concepts. I am always amazed how quickly the personalities of each person emerges. Some are so funny, telling jokes and gregarious, while others are more shy and reclusive, all however, displaying the uniqueness that God has built into each life. Many of these folks seem more spiritually grounded than some in past experiences. Our lives are being enriched by having known them.

 

We have now completed two days of our train the trainer program.  For the next three days we will observe how the trainees put into practice what they have learned as they train kids  from a local community school. The schools are currently on vacation but some kids are coming to school for extra class.  They will voluntarily come to a community center for the next three days to give the trainee instructors a group to practice their new found Smart Choices skills.

 

Our contact here is Prisca Kambole, a godly woman who is one of the busiest persons I have ever met.

 

 

She heads up an organization called PLAEP (Pro-Life Advancement and Education Project) which does a variety of community related outreaches. Besides HIV prevention, she does pregnancy counseling and abuse intervention and many other things. Her efforts put most to shame. She has a very positive attitude. She obviously loves people. We will miss her and all we have met here when we leave on Saturday.

Mark Carey August 4-6, 2014

Our Pretoria Accommodations

 

Today we arrive at our first school to begin teaching our first class. As we arrive, the administrator informs us that our first order of the day will be what I call morning vespers. The entire school gathers under a huge metal canopy. There is a cacauphony of sounds, laughing, talking, screaming and various other noises. Altogether there are probably around 900 to1000 students. At the appointed time the school administrator stands on a platform and calls the group to order. Suddenly there is immediate quiet. She announces that it is time for morning prayer.

Our leader Glynn steps up on the platform prays and then gives the school the message about the armor of God and it's relevance to their lives. As his message finishes, we begin singing "This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it" When we have finished the song, 900 kids head off to class, and we head off to our first school to begin teaching. This school is called Winterveldt, and is several miles from where we are.

 

We split up into two teams and begin. For the most part they are very attentive and seem interested. We will teach for three days in the morning, and then in the afternoon go back to the first school and start the program with this new school which is called Smphato.

 

This is now the school where vespers were held. This class has some fairly unruly kids too, and Bianca, Tumelo, Buti, pastor Zodwa, Offense, and I attempt to get the class under some kind of control. We finish the day and thank God for His help. When I arrive home to our beautiful bed and breakfast, I email my wife and ask her to pray for calmness. She does and the next day of teaching goes much better. Slowly the kids begin seeing the concepts, and we begin to see that some of the kids are responding well. By the end of the teaching time many of the students are warming up, and even at the end they are asking to touch our hair. Although we are not able to complete the entire program we know Pastor Zodwa will finish it probably on Monday of the following week, and we feel confident that God will use the Jesus film and our presence to help change kids attitudes and lives for His glory.

Day 17-18, Sat & Sun Aug 2nd & 3rd-Bryan Watanabe

This is the last day for Mitch, Melissa & I. It's been an awesome time in South Africa and Zimbabwe. This year was more fun for me & overall a better experience. Sad that my time is done but looking forward to being with my family again. :)
After breakfast we checked out of the Concord & headed back to the beach. Glynn drive us around Durban than we headed back to the beach & curio shops one more time.
Glynn & Judy were relaxing in the sun, Mitch & Bianca hung out at Mugg & Bean while I went down to the curio shops with Melissa. No one went into the water today, haha.
Around 11am we headed to the airport to catch a quick flight to Johannesburg. The man sitting next to me came on the plane smelling like alcohol. He drank 1.5 beers then he actually passed out. We tried to wake him up when we landed but it didn't work. The employees finally got him to wake up & he joined us on the tram. Everyone in the tram clapped as he got in, it was funny.
Mark Carey (Melissa's dad) met us at Johannesburg to finish out the last 2 weeks of the Smart Choices program. We had a 6hr layover before heading home so we were able to have some hang time with Mark. I know it was nice for him & Melissa for sure.
We all said our goodbyes & the team is now down to 4 to finish in Pretoria & Zambia. I know Glynn, Judy, Mark & Bianca will have fun the next 2 weeks.
Mitch, Melissa & I made it safely to New York after a 15.5 hr flight. Unfortunately there was a mistake and Melissa wasn't booked on the same flight with Mitch & I to LAX. It was a bummer we had to say goodbye at JFK instead of at LAX.
Mitch & I are around 30 min from LAX now. Luckily the flight on JetBlue has wifi so I've been uploading photos on FB & I'm able to finish my final blog post. :)
Looking forward to working more with Beacon of Hope and the Smart Choices program in the future. God is opening some doors for that too. :)

Day 16, Friday Aug 1st-Bryan Watanabe

Today was our last day in Richards Bay as we headed down to Durban after breakfast.
We said our goodbyes to Marjorie & Mavis as they did an awesome job taking care of us @ Zulu Lodge. Very thankful for their hospitality, friendly service & happy personalities.
We drove down to Durban and checked into The Concord to stay the night. It's a building that started out as a home for missionaries, it's a cool place. This past June, The Concord celebrated it's 100 year anniversary. After checking in we drove down to the beach to have ice cream at Milky Lane!!! Then we spent some time walking around Shaka Land to buy some gifts. We still needed more gifts so we spent a couple more hours shopping at all the curio stands! We bought a lot & it was fun bargaining. :)
Had some fun throwing the frisbee with Mitch on the beach while Melissa & Bianca took pics in the water. We decided to take a group pic of our feet in the Indian Ocean, after the pic a bigger wave came in & got us wet more than we expected. It was funny, just ask Melissa! :)
We ate dinner at Mugg & Bean inside the Suncoast casino and then we headed back to the Concord.
It was still early so Mitch, Melissa, Bianca & I went for a walk around the town for some extra hangtime. It was a nice time talking, laughing about our experience this year & any future plans with Beacon of Hope. We definitely saw some interesting people that night. :)
It was the last night in South Africa for Mitch, Melissa & I but fortunately is was nice!

Day 15, Thur July 31st-Bryan Watanabe

Our team didn't have a busy day but unfortunately we said goodbye to Curtis, Rhonda, John & Caroline.
After breakfast we went to 2 meetings at Outlook church. The 1st meeting was with the local board members for Beacon of Hope & Glynn Smith. The 2nd meeting was with the Glynn Smith, local board & the Pastors that lead the teams who teach the Smart Choices programs.
It was nice to be part of the meetings and even have a chance to talk and give some encouraging words for everyone.
After the meetings we all ate lunch at the church and came back to Zulu Lodge to have a quick team discussion about our time. Had a nice time of prayer & laughs before right before Curtis, Rhonda, John & Caroline left.
Now there's only 6 of us left. We all went to Richards Bay Harbor to do some sightseeing & take pictures. It was fun as we took some goofy pics and enjoyed each other's company.
We came back to the lodge for our final night here. This was a great place to stay for the past week, really blessed to have stayed here!

Day 14, Wed July 30th-Bryan Watanabe

Today was our final day of teaching The Smart Choices program in South Africa! It was a lot of fun teaching the last 2 weeks, looking forward to relaxing the last couple days before heading back home on Sat.
I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE AGAIN TODAY!!! Driving in South Africa is a lot of fun & I like driving on the opposite side of the road now. :)
I dropped Mitch, John & Caroline off at their school for the morning session & give out certificates. But on the way to the school we got lost, haha. Took us an extra 30 min to find the school but now I know my way around Esikhawini pretty good now & I got extra practice driving. :)
After dropping them off, Melissa and I met up with Pastor DZ so we could do a survey with students that already went through the program. Had a good time doing that & I also got to meet Pastor DZ's son who attends the school. Next, we dropped off DZ & headed back to meet up with Pastor Kenny so we could go to a school he taught the Smart Choices program and got another survey.
It's very interesting & super helpful reading the surveys because it's already helping us to start thinking of ways to revamp the program & to help clear up any miscommunication/misunderstandingthe students have while going through the program.
Around 3:30pm, Mitch, Melissa, Judy, Glynn, John, Caroline & I went to Cross Roads to meet up with Bianca, Curtis & Rhonda as they were finishing up the Smart Choices program. It was nice to say goodbye to Janet & Bennie. We met Janet last year & she's now the leader of the Smart Choices team in Empangeni. Bennie is the director of Cross Roads which is an after school center for school students.
After that we went to Pastor Clement's to drop off clothes, shoes & gifts for the orphans. All the children are very nice and it was very cool to see all their happy faces. We also went there last year so it was nice to see a lot of the same children again. We played frisbee, took a ton of pics and just played around with them for almost 2 hrs. It was definitely a great way to end our day. We came back to Zulu Lodge, ate dinner then Mitch & I went back to our room to talk, chill & went to bed.
Heading home in 3 days!

Day 13, Tue July 29th-Bryan Watanabe

Today was really awesome! Melissa, Curtis, Rhonda, Bianca & I taught at 2 schools today. Melissa & I also had another survey to do at the school we taught at last year.
At the 1st school we met up with Pastor DZ, Pastor Thulani & Mandla. Luckily, Melissa & I taught with them last year and it was great to be reunited with them!
Class went well, the students were nice & fun.
I had a nice conversation with Mandla and I was happy to hear that he's starting to preach so that's very good news! I'm very excited for him and looking forward to hearing all the great things he'll be doing for his community.
After we finished teaching, we headed to Muntolokudla high school to do the survey. We got to see the main teacher & principal again, it was nice talking to them once again. The students in the class went crazy when they saw me through the window. It was so great to be back & see them again. They all remembered my name and we had a great time talking & taking pics/video! Melissa had a good time reuniting with some of the students she taught last year too. Unfortunately we were only there for around 40 min but it was a blast!
For lunch, Curtis, Rhonda, melissa, Bianca & I headed over to the same McDonald's our team visited last year. I showed the managers a pic from last year too, haha. I wanted the Batman mask in the display case for the kids meal but they said no. After they found out we're from California, Melissa was able to bargain with them & they sold us 2 masks for $2. :)
Needless to say I was stoked, so I took a pic with the manager that sold it.
After lunch we headed to the Cross Roads teen center in Empangeni where we met 2 team members from South Africa to teach. It's actually an after school club so it's cool to see students show up on their own time to learn The Smart Choices program. The class went great & the students were great as well.
After that, we headed back to Zulu Lodge for dinner. After dinner, we headed over to Vususiwa's home & church to bring food, clothes & toys for the orphans. The children are amazingly happy & they were very appreciative of everything they received! The bonus gifts were 2 new frisbees & we had a blast throwing them around. The had a new church built by the house and it's very cool! By Gods grace, all the money had been donated to build it! Visiting the orphans was very special as I met most of them last year. They really are amazing & such a joy to be around!