Death is Part of Life - Part 1

Death is a normal part of life here in South Africa.

Not a month goes by when we don't have 

at least one or all of the weekends of the month 

filled with night vigils and funerals.

Zulu tradition: the deceased person's clothes laid out
and a candle lit beside it.

Eccl.3:1-2

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 
(see end of post for the rest of the passage)

Since I have come to South Africa,

a big part of my ministry has been visitation. 

A select group of people that I visit

are some of the gogos from our church.

I go to be a blessing to them through

 the singing of hymns and the sharing of Scripture.

Every time I leave their homes, I too am blessed.

Visiting with Gogo Zondi

Most of these gogos have nothing.

I was taken back one day when we walked

way down in the valley to visit Gogo Zondi.

Gogo Zondi

She was 103 years old and a joy to be with.

After one of our visits to see her,

she handed me some money.

She said that I must give it to Pastor Don for the church.
(It was 20 rand which is equal to about $2.50.)

Many of the Zulus have the attitude that we should give to them, but here was a lady who had nothing,

but was willing to give to the Lord’s work.

Shortly after that visit, Gogo Zondi passed away.

How I love the area that she lived in.

 This part of Embo is called iBah. 

I always say that if the Lord allows,

I would like to one day live here with the people.

iBah, where Gogo Zondi lived
(See the funeral tent at her home on the side of the hill).

 The long walk to gogo’s house was not the same anymore.

We would no longer be going to see our dear friend.

As we laid her body to rest that day,

I looked around at the many people who were able to come to her funeral to hear the Gospel.

Gogo Zondi's funeral, where she was buried.

There are so many people in iBah who still need to turn from their traditional ancestor worship,

to trusting in the One True and Living God.

Another lady from our church who recently passed away was also from that area.

My dear friend Nelly is without a doubt in Heaven today.

Lodiwe and I would visit her frequently

during her boubts of illness. 

Sadly, two days before Christmas

the Lord took her home to be with Him.

As we mourn her loss,

we also celebrate her love for her Savior. 

During one of our visits to see her, she asked if she could tell us what the Lord had been teaching her lately. 

She opened her Bible to Psalm 23

and read the first few verses :

1.The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.

3  He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

4  Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comforteth me. ~Psalm 23:1-4

Nelly was comforted that she knew the Lord was always with her, even through the valley of the shadow of death.

After one of our Sunday services at church,

a few weeks after that visit,

she came up to me and was praising the Lord about the spiritual growth that she had seen in Londiwe.

 It was such a blessing to hear her say, “Londiwe is no longer a girl she has matured as a woman of God”.

I can’t wait to introduce you to Nelly in Heaven!

My grandma, Anna Mae  Leiphart

As most of you know, my grandmother passed away in November.  It was a difficult time, especially for my mom.  I had a hard time encouraging her from so far away.  Hearing her cry as we talked on the phone about all that transpired during that time, tugged at my heart. 
We praise the Lord that 8 people
 received Christ at her funeral.

The Lord also used her death in another way.

One of the young Zulu woman that I have started discipling is Sindi (pronounced  Seen-dee). 

Her gogo passed away a week after mine.

Sindi's home is the first door on the left.

When I went to share some encouraging words from the Bible with the family, what I said to them meant a lot more because I had also recently suffered the same loss

(but I was not able to be at my “gogo’s” funeral). 

I was however, able to be at Sindi’s gogo’s funeral.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~  ~
I have been working on this post since November.
As I am getting ready to publish this,
 I just found out that my Grandma Frey
has just passed away.
I am praising the Lord for her life and all that she has taught me.

My grandmother, Helen Sarah Frey
(this was taken the day before I left for South Africa)

After my grandfather passed away,
"Gram" lived with my parents.
If you walked by her room in the morning, 
you would see her sitting in her chair reading her Bible.
I will always cherish this memory of her.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

I began this post with the following passage.  

No matter what "season of life"  you are in,

remember the very last verse -

"He will make everything beautiful in His time".

Eccl.3:3-11a 
(see the beginning of this post for the start of this passage)

3  A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4  A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5  A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6  A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7  A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8  A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

9  What profit has he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?

10  I have seen the travail, which God has given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

11 ¶  He has made every thing beautiful in His time:…

Visiting a Zulu Farm

The week before Christmas, I had the opportunity to travel with the Kilmers to take our Zulu pastor and his wife home to see his mama.

We traveled out to “countryside” 

(that is what they call the country),

passing many sugar cane fields along the way.

Pastor Bheki grew up here on this farm.

His mam cooks in this traditional Zulu kitchen.

 She makes everything over a fire.

Our season is  Summer now, 

so it can get very hot cooking in this kitchen.

Karen and I helped cut some butternut and carrots

 for our noon meal.

If you have ever cut uncooked butternut, 

you know it is not an easy task.

It was especially hard to cut with such big knives 

that they gave us.

After we finished the preparations for the meal, Karen and I walked down to a river near their home.

You can see how the amount of rain we were having during rainy season washed out their bridge.

That day, the locals were working on clearing the brush to the right so that they could drive through the shallow 

part of the water to the other side.  Many people were going without bread because of the bridge being washed out.

Bread is the main staple in a Zulu person’s diet.

Gogo Nzama (Pastor Bheki's mama & neices)

Pastor Bheki's brother & friend

Before lunch, we got to snap a picture of Zandile (Pastor Bheki’s wife) as she was cooking.

I also had a chance to talk a little 

with Mama Nzama (Bheki’s mom).

You can see from the pictures that Pastor Bheki

 gets his smile from his mama.

We sat inside Mama Nzama’s living room and ate a delicouse Zulu meal – chicken curry, rice, coleslaw, & butternut squash.  I love their food!

While we ate, Pastor Bheki told us more about his family.

After our meal, everyone gathered 

to hear a message from Pastor Don.  

Most of Pastor Bheki’s family are still unsaved. 

Please continue to pray for them 

and for him and Zandile 

as they minister  at our church in Embo.

My First Christmas in South Africa

In this post, I would like to tell you a little about

 my first Christmas in South Africa.

Living here, is so differant from being in my country home in Pennsylvania.

I loved my house in the little town of Brogue.

The winter snow made it always feel like Christmas.

Here is a look at what I would see around Christmas 

on the property where I lived in Pennsylvania, USA.

snow where I used to live in PA

Below, is just one of the sites I see at Christmas, 

on the property I live on now.

monkeys in my backyard

Big difference, huh.

As the weather in Pennsylvania gets colder,

our weather in South Africa gets hotter.

PA is experiencing Winter weather,

while we are entering Summer.

Here is a look at my gardens on Christmas day.

I have been eating fresh lettuce from them for weeks.

As we approached Christmas day, 

the Lord sent me a few blessings along the way.

Like these flowers given to me by the cashier at a local store.

Like these chimes, from my parents.

They were sent to remind me that they are praying for me.

Oh, the beautiful music they make!

I can hear it all through the house.

Cards and letters from my family and friends back home.

Oh, the delight I get from opening a letter or card from someone. 

It is like having a personal visit.

Each piece of mail is usually read over and over again;

bringing encouragement and sometimes tears.

The Saturday before Christmas, 

Londiwe and I had the opportunity to lead a few girls to the Lord

(I will post the whole story hopefully sometime soon).

Another blessing, was the chance to Skype with some family and friends.

(I don't get to do that too often,

 because my internet at home is too slow,

so this was a treat).

So, you may ask, "What was Christmas like for you?"

First, let me tell you about what Christmas day was like.

cleaning the church

The day before Christmas, 

we did alot of preparation for Christmas day service.

This included cleaning at the church,

shopping for groceries,

and preparing food to share.

On Christmas morning,

our service started at 9am.

The church was so full.

We had alot of visitors

and very good preaching.

After church, we went home and got our food together

to have Christmas meal with some other missionaries.

It was a hot day.

We ate our meal outside,

talked for a while, and then went back to the Kilmers

so the kids could go swimming.

(Yes, swimming on Christmas.)

We shared an evening meal with another missionary family

and had wonderful fellowship.

(We were so full from lunch, that no one had dessert-

cookies, trifle, rice crispy treats,...)

We know, as Christians, that Christmas is not about

 food, decorations, presents, or even family.  

It is about the celebration of the birth of our Saviour.

front door

Even though I "made" my home feel like the Christmas season,

It was not really about all of that.

bedroom

I decorated so I would not miss my family and friends so much,

 during this time of year.

I am so blessed to have so many friends and family members 

who have also trusted in Christ as Saviour.

It is during this time that we can all reflect on God's perfect GIFT.

Even though, I am so far away from home,

I am still safe in my Father's care.

He watches over me and cares for me all through the year.

kitchen all "Christmastized"

Yes, the cards, envelopes, calls, and boxes helped to fill the gap.

I certainly knew I was loved and prayed for.

(The prayers from you all are the most encouraging, 

since I know you have prayed extra hard for me this Christmas - THANK YOU!)

living room w/Nativity wall hanging

Thankfully, the Lord filled my Christmas with so many blessings 

and with busyness serving Him.

It really was a great first Christmas here in South Africa!

Nativity I brought from home (notice the lizard on the left)

I praise God for sending His only Son into the world so that all men might be saved,

including the Zulus!

My Christmas Tree

Quick update

Dear Friends,
 
I know that you anxiously await new posts.  Please know that there are so many things I want to share with you.  The Lord has truly been at work.  Along with ministry, also comes trials.  So, even with the stress of caring for people and the different things a missionary faces on a foreign field, God has and always will remain faithful.

Yes, I have been busy, but I also do not have fast enough internet at my home to keep you updated more often.  Please make that a matter of prayer.  But, also know, that even though you are not hearing from me as frequently as you would like, God ALWAYS hears our prayers.  I pray for each of you and hope that as you pray for me, the Lord will show you how He is specifically answering them.

In His Service,
Gina Frey

Our Ocean Adventure

When Londiwe and I finished our study on the Book of John, 

we decided to do something fun together.

So we went down to the Indian Ocean.

It is only about a 45 minute drive from my house.

Londiwe does not get to see the ocean very often.

Here in South Africa, alot of families, English and Zulu alike, 

will go down to the beach over the holidays.

Remember, our seasons are opposite of yours,

so Christmastime will be Summertime.

We enjoyed: walking along the shore, picking up seashells, exploring the rocks,

having a picnic lunch, and playing in the sand.

After lunch, we spent time in God's Word, 

sharing what He has been teaching us from our personal devotions.

I turned around at one point and there was Londiwe writting in the sand.

What did she write?

She wrote: 

"Gina and Londiwe are one".

What does that mean?

It means that -

1. She sees us as friends, 

which we are

2. She doesn't see a cultural or ethnic barrier between us, 

which is true

3. She feels that she has grown in the Lord,

 which she has

4. She feels like we are both moving on with the same goal -

 to win others to the Lord and help them grow too,

 which is true!

Londiwe could have written anything in the sand, but she chose to write that.

There it was written in the sand for the whole world to see.

While we were there, I noticed that people would stop and watch us.

I mentioned this to another South African missionary.

She said that they were probably confused or wanted to understand what they saw.

They saw a white American young woman laughing, playing, singing,

 and reading Scripture with a young Zulu woman.

The two of us were thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

Although, South Africa has been free from an apartaid rule for some time now,

it is still very much followed.

It is never common to see a white person in the tribal area.

The Zulu people only work for the whites in their homes and buisnesses.

they work as maids, garden workers, truck drivers, 

store cashiers, cleaning ladies,....

Only on a rare occasion will you see a white person with a Zulu.

This was one of those "rare" (and precious) occassions.

I love the ocean, sand, waves - I was surprised by this wave

 while Londiwe was taking my picture.

For me, it was also a good day to get away and enjoy the sunshine and ocean.

While I was growing up, my family would go to Virginia a few times each year.

As an adult, I cherished those times that we could go to the ocean. 

When I was finishing high school, I wanted to be an oceanographer.

So I began studying, but the Lord got ahold of me 

and led me into ministry instead.

It was such a blessing for both of us to get away

 from the normal surroundings of life

and reflect on all that the Lord taught us from the Book of John.

Thanks you for praying for our Bible Study times.

We are now studying the Book of I John.

We meet every Wednesday from 1:30-4:30/5pm.