{"id":383,"date":"2007-12-06T20:51:16","date_gmt":"2007-12-06T20:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/redletters\/2007\/12\/day-2-christmas.html"},"modified":"2007-12-06T20:51:16","modified_gmt":"2007-12-06T20:51:16","slug":"day-2-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/2007\/12\/day-2-christmas.html","title":{"rendered":"Day 2. Christmas on the Beach in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past month, Children’s HopeChest sent Samantha Kerr on a 3-week trip to Uganda, Swaziland, and South Africa. She was able to attend a Christmas celebration with Pastor Frank Harawa and the orphans of the Luganda Community in Durban. We only met Frank about a month ago, and 5 for 50 <\/strong>is proud to partner with him to bring Christmas to about 100 orphans he works with. Here’s Sam’s report:<\/p>\n

Orphaned and vulnerable children from the Luganda Community just south of Durban, South Africa celebrated Christmas this year on the beach. The party was in two parts: Part I began on a Sunday with a presentation and refreshments with sponsors from a local Durban church (Westville Presbyterian). <\/em><\/p>\n

\"Nov_07_142\"<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Part II was held the next day with over 100 children going to the beach to play in the water and sand. The kids crammed in vans (of which I\u2019m sure there was double the number in the van that should have been) and headed to the beach around 9 in the morning. While they were on their way there, Pastor Frank, his wife Patricia, his assistant Simphiewa and myself (Samantha) headed to the grocery store to buy lunch, beach balls and drinks. What an experience to buy 25 rotisserie chickens and over 100 buns. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"Nov_07_154\"<\/em><\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

When we arrived at the beach, the kids were waiting somewhat patiently and Pastor Frank gave them the rules. Then we headed off to the beach. I wish I could replicate the screams of joy as they chased the waves. <\/em><\/p>\n

No snow for Christmas but big white waves and the kids had a great time! One of the girls that attended the party lives in a family house for orphans in Luganda. We\u2019ll call her Ann. Ann is 10 years old and has already experienced more pain than a little girl should. Her mother was shot, her dad died of a stroke and she has been raped several times.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Nov_07_158\"<\/em><\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

When I asked her what she likes about living in the home her reply was \u201cI get to eat every day and have a place to live.\u201d<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

We must continue to fight for these kids. For the Ann\u2019s of the world. Her life is being redeemed. I found myself just thankful that she could play in the water and the sand. To experience a carefree day at the beach\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"Nov_07_164\"<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Please remember to pray for these kids during this Christmas season. To support the 12 days of Christmas, please go to this link and make a gift today.<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past month, Children’s HopeChest sent Samantha Kerr on a 3-week trip to Uganda, Swaziland, and South Africa. She was able to attend a Christmas celebration with Pastor Frank Harawa and the orphans of the Luganda Community in Durban. We only met Frank about a month ago, and 5 for 50 is proud to partner…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-swaziland"],"yoast_head":"\nDay 2. 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A tireless advocate for fatherless children, Davis has spent most of his adult life calling U.S. believers to become the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to the 143 million orphans living around the world. Through those connections, thousands of orphans now have the bright and hopeful future--one that is filled with opportunities and the love of the one true Father. Davis speaks hundreds of times each year at churches and conferences, mobilizing the church to action on behalf of the poor. He is the author of four books. His most recent novel, SCARED is a fictionalized account of his first-hand experiencing living and working with orphans in Swaziland, Africa. Davis' blog is the premier resource for the latest developments in Christian orphan ministry. Davis also currently teaches courses as adjunct professor at George Fox University in Newberg, OR. When not traveling the globe, Davis resides in the mountains of Colorado in the small community of Palmer Lake. He and his wife Emily have seven children, including two adopted daughters from Russia.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/author\/tdavis"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}