February News from Dan Clarke

Week 1

All of the intern's arrived, there are 10 of us. 3 Brits, 1 Dutch, 1 Zambian, 4 South African's and 1 guy from Japan.
We went to a campsite called “Kimead” and would be based there for the majority of the AIS Training Course. (In the middle of no -where).
As none of us really knew each other before the course began, it all started with an “ice- breaker” / team building few days.
“Boot Camp” is what they called it.
It consisted of a lot of physical and mental tests, with very early morning fitness sessions which began on the blow of the dreaded whistle from Sergeant Heinrich, and also early spiritual sessions before breakfast. Boot Camp also had many other elements – trust games, and 5v5 team competitions. But none of this compared to what lay ahead.

The Wild Camp Night! Up till this point we had shared a dorm with 10 beds in. With warmth, a roof over our heads, solid walls to protect from the potential harsh conditions of the South African Weather.
But this was different. We walked about 3km on a nice sunny afternoon up into the hills to set up our tent to embark on hopefully a nice night below the stars, and so it began, we cooked a big stew, with everything we had brought up with us, meat, veggies, and potatoes. And after a long wait, we enjoyed the food and warm drinks. Around the fire we sat, singing worships songs, a just having a nice time, talking and having fun.
The time hits about 11, and the first few drops of rain fall. We decide to go into the tent and sleep. I got into my nice, warm sleeping bag. Within minutes the rain turned torrential and the unlucky ones who were slow got wet outside. The lightning lit up the whole lands, the thunder was deafening and the wind was destructive. So Leaving at least 10 cm depth puddles everywhere. We tried to sleep but when the water entered our sleeping bags and our whole bodies where soaked, we turn hysterical, and the singing began.
The only way to survive in our horrible condition was to all huddle together for warmth and sing. After nearly 5 hours of signing, we couldn't think of any songs that we hadn't already sung. Impossible to sleep, we decided we had enough, and when the rained lightened we would walk back to base camp in the pitch black. So away we went 3km back to the dorms to warmth and dry beds, leaving our rain beaten possessions behind. Eventually we arrived back, at about 5 in the morning. After only 2 hours sleep, the whistle blew, and another fitness session began. Needless to say, we weren’t in the mood. We had a day to recover, before our training started properly, with sessions on an “Intro to Sports Ministry”, “World View”, “Culture Difference” and so on.

Week 2
We left Kimead and went to stay at a place called “Newcastle” for a week, no not rainy, snowy, cold Newcastle from Northern England, but a town between Jo'berg and Durban. Here we did a coaching course, which taught us how to run life skills sessions that would link to football. On the Saturday and Sunday we ran outreaches in the town to practise what we had been taught. They went well, and despite the boiling sessions in a tin building, it was a good week.

Week 3 + 4
Back we went to Kimead and to the majority of our training. Luckily, this time instead of the dorm, we had 2 little house to live in, 4 in one house and 6 in the other house. It gave us a lot more freedom and our own rooms to sleep in. As well as a lounge to relax, in what rare free time we had. Luckily it had a TV and so I have been able to watch a few football games in the evenings.
The sessions that we studied were:
“Children's Ministry”, “Football Camps”, “Public Speaking”, “Leading People to Christ”, “Prison Ministry”, “Working with Churches”, “Youth Ministry”, “Drama”, “Mentoring and Discipleship”, “Spiritual Gifts and
We had another training outreach at our campsite, the Church I go to in Pretoria ran a weekend away for the Kid's Club to the campsite, and so for one afternoon, we ran a few football sessions and fun games, with them all and had a good time.

At the end of the course, we all went our separate ways, 2 guys went to Cape Town, 2 went to Durban, 2 went to Midrand, 1 to Soweto (Jo'berg) and 3 of us are at Pretoria. So it was pretty sad going to different parts of SA, after building such good relationships over the 4 weeks.

Week 5

Back to Pretoria, and to the last week of my training, TREC (Training, Resourcing and Equipping Coaches). A week of football coaching training, although I had been coaching for the last 4 months before Christmas, due to TREC's being cancelled due to lack of numbers, I have eventually completed TREC 1, after 4 days training, we all got assessed and I passed with Grade 1 (which is the highest mark) :). Although I have done coaching before, I feel it was still a good week, and I also learnt a lot of new training methods too. So it was a worthwhile week.

As for the Week 1- 4, it was very long and tiring, but good fun, and I learnt so much and it will hopefully equip me for the next 6 months and even the rest of me life.

But for now it is nice to be back to my home, and this morning was the first lie in for about 6 weeks, and I love my sleep!
Oh, and If you have been watching TV and have thought you might have seen me in a VISA advert, you are indeed correct in thinking so. Or if you haven’t check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8PUsX75OXg J.

Keep up with the prayers,
Dan

February Photos _word 97-2003