La Casa de Cristo African Mission

La Casa's Mission Team: Pastor Jeff Ruby, Cassie Saba, Patsy Saba, Melody Gartrell-Sherman, Dr. Ray Heilman, Carie Heilman, Laurie Gerlach, Debbie Sanneman, Deb Schaffer, Jerry Houston, Herb Fluharty, Christine Fluharty, Ric Leutwyler and Sue Leutwyler.Our team leaders are Ron and Diane Meister, while Craig Culloton is our stateside Ambassador

Friday May 25
By Ric




Friday, 5:00 AM at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. The lines are long but the faces sure aren’t. We’re finally on our way to South Africa.

Patsy decided to make getting there an adventure. The Delta Agents in Phoenix almost didn’t let her on the plane because “she was already on the plane”. They eventually let her join us. Six of seven fire engines joined us on the tarmac (thankfully not for our plane) and we were finally on our way.

Atlanta – Patsy decided to share her adventures. After we separated and stopped for something to eat - Cassie, Deb and Patsy all ventured off to the gate listed on the tickets. Unfortunately, Delta had reassigned the flight to a different gate. Not to worry, they decided to join us in plenty of time for the flight.

Dakar – it’s been sixteen hours since we met at Sky Harbor. Some slept, some wished they could have. We were entertained by a special young man who was eventually “cut off” by the flight attendants. And we all experienced “a first” – as we were treated to “World Health Organization approved insecticide”… inside the plane. Apparently this is required for all flights from Dakar to Johannesburg. And I guess it was a good thing, because we did see mosquitoes flying around us as we waited (on the plane) as they refueled for our next flight.

Johannesburg – twenty six hours now. Patsy strikes again – as it momentarily appears that her, Cassie and Debbie’s luggage has been lost. Not to worry though, they just decided to set it aside to add to Patsy’s adventure. We’re greeted at the airport by Mike and a beautiful African sunset. Then, we load up for the bus ride to Mafikeng.

Mafikeng – we’re here! Only thirty two hours. Everyone is tired, but excited. We all choose a bunk bed, find our pajamas and head to bed.

Adopt-a-Village

The Need
The household of faith in Africa is facing a crisis of enormous proportions. The HIV/AIDS infection rate is spiraling out of control. Hard working village pastors serve their communities with dedication under very trying circumstances. All around them, people are sick and dying, children are orphaned and poverty is rife. As the economically active adult population dies, so the church income dwindles. However, the needs in the church rise exponentially. More and more the phenomena, of African villages populated with only elderly women and children, is being seen. These people need food and clothing. They need love and acceptance. Society needs the children to develop into whole adults. The cycle of death needs to be stopped so that the next generation can live.

The Cause
HIV/AIDS is spreading at an alarming rate; Sub-Saharan Africa having the highest infection rate. There are so many factors that contribute to this that it is difficult to summarize the reasons in one or two sentences. Some of the contributing factors are

• A migrant work force
• Traditional roles of men and women
• Myths and ignorance about the disease
  
  The Solution
  The long term solution to the AIDS crisis is a change in behavior of those who are sexually active. This involves changing heart beliefs and people’s mindset. The church in Africa is working hard at promoting life style changes as the ultimate solution. This, however, is very difficult in the face of millions upon millions of dollars being poured into the “safe sex” campaign which promotes freedom of sexual behavior as long as the participants use a condom. This message is not working. Helping Hands encourages the correct use of condoms as part of the solution, but we believe that a change in lifestyle is the long term solution. The infection rate has spiraled out of control and the innocent are reaping the results. The church universally has one of the greatest opportunities in history to make its presence known and its voice heard. It should not only be the rock stars who say and do the most. History should show that it was the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ that stepped in with a sound solution and that is what made all the difference.
  
  The Helping Hands Model
  Helping Hands has developed a model that has proved to be very successful over the past 15 years of operation. We have developed programs in AIDS prevention, AIDS patient care, Orphan Intervention, Foster Care, Poverty Alleviation, Social Grant Access, After School Study Centers and more. Our Rural Pastors Empowerment Program is aimed at training and equipping village churches to duplicate this model in their churches and communities. It takes about two years to fully implement the model after which time the village church is equipped to run the programs themselves and access funds from government and other agencies to sustain it. The outworking of this will be that the widows and orphans are cared for in their community by their community. They will be given the correct information about how not to be infected with HIV, the children will learn their morals and ethics from the Church, thereby adopting healthy life choices and slowing the pace of the infection rate. At the time of Africa’s greatest need, the Church will be its rock of safety.

Welcome to the Helping Hands In Africa Blog!

Welcome to Helping Hands!

Every day the staff of Helping Hands encounters heartbreaking life stories. Yet, despite this, we are an organization filled with joy. Our mission is to restore hope to those that are hurting. Being the bearer of hope is a joyful task thus, alongside the heartache, we see smiles break through. We see lives changed. We see capacity built and we see people rise up to take responsibility for their communities. We trust that as you visit this blog, it will become obvious to you that Helping Hands is an organization made up of dedicated people who believe they have been born for a time such as this and who have stepped up to the task set before them with determination and thankful hearts.