 |
Amber King, a 2000 graduate of McKenzie High School who
now attends Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas,
enjoys spending time with the children of South Africa
during a mission trip last summer.
By Deborah Turner
dturner@mckeniebanner.com |
Harding University student Amber King, a 2000 graduate
of McKenzie High School and daughter of Jimmy and Tenia
King of McKenzie, fulfilled a couple of objectives last
summer when she traveled to South Africa on one of the
school's Center for World Mission international
campaigns.
The trip held true to the premise espoused by Harding's
International Programs division in the quote by Sir
Francis Bacon: "Travel, in the younger sort, is a part
of education; in the elder, a part of experience."
It also followed the directive of Matthew 19: "Teach all
nations."
For six-and-a-half weeks, from May 17 through July 3,
Amber and eight other Harding students and one faculty
member enjoyed the lush and exotic continent and its
multi-faceted populace.
It was the second mission field for Amber, who on six
occasions had accompanied local Church of Christ
missionaries to Honduras, combining the humanitarian
provision of food, clothing and medicine with the heart
and soul deliverance of love and God's word.
Amber found Africa to be an entirely different
experience from Honduras, the drastically impoverished
Central American country that is just bigger than
Tennessee. She saw more poverty in Honduras and less
resources. Yearly ravaged by hurricanes along its
Caribbean coast, more than half of its people live in
poverty. Religions in the Spanish-speaking country
include Roman Catholicism (97 percent) and protestant (3
percent.)
South Africa, on the tip of the African continent, is
much larger, nearly twice the size of Texas. More than
25 percent of its populace is afflicted with AIDS, with
half the population living in poverty, according to
United States government sources. There are 11 official
languages and at least six others that are unofficial.
Religions range from a variety of Christian sects (79.7
percent), Islam (1.5 percent), other religions (2.3
percent) and unspecified or no religion (16.5 percent.)
"I always wanted to go to Africa," says Amber, who chose
the destination from among some 20 international
campaigns offered at Harding. The mission program is in
addition to six international campuses maintained by the
university in Australia, Chile, England, Greece,
France/Switzerland and Italy.
Games, skits, songs and more were
included in the Bible School studies the Harding
missionaries provided.
She was supported in her effort by the donations of
churches across West Tennessee with most accumulated
from members of the Church of Christ in McKenzie and the
church itself.
The adventure began in Cape Town, where the group worked
with missionaries Mark and Flora Swartz and Ken and Judy
Kendall-Ball at the Vineyard, a Christian resource
center where people can come to learn more about
Christianity as well as partake in community service
programs.
The people of Cape Town represent all the races that are
found in the huge continent. Amber explains they include
black, white and "colored" which is variously described
as Indian/Asian races and those of mixed descent.
At the Vineyard, in addition to manning the soup kitchen
every Thursday, the students immersed themselves in the
community, distributing flyers and World Bible School
forms in the marketplace. That's where Amber recalls a
three-hour conversation with a Muslim vendor took place
as he accused the youths of blasphemy in their handling
of the word of God.
An AIDS graveyard bears silent testimony
to the prevalence of AIDS in Africa, with more than 25
percent of the population afflicted.
The approximately 60-year-old man was quite aggressive
as he questioned how the youths could handle the Bible
with unclean hands, Amber recalls.
"He said he thought I had no respect for my Bible
because I would flip through the Bible without cleaning
my hands," she expounds. "I was just holding it and
flipping through it... but I don't think God wants your
rituals, I think he wants your heart."
Nevertheless, he listened to the students and gave each
of them an apple for listening to his viewpoint as well.
"That was like the first time I'd ever talked to a
Muslim," says Amber, noting that overall the people she
encountered were "very receptive" compared to many in
the United States.
Citizens of Cape Town enjoy a meal
prepared at the Vineyard, a Christian resource center
run by missionaries with whom Amber and nine other
Harding students worked for six-and-a-half weeks last
summer.
"It's like they've been waiting for people to come and
tell them what's missing," she says. "Here, they're so
hardened they don't even want to listen."
At several schools in Cape Town, the missionary students
sang songs and performed skits as well as engaging the
students in discussions about the United States and
their faith in God.
"Africa is probably the most beautiful continent," Amber
declares. In Cape Town, in addition to being awed by the
scenery, including beautiful beaches, she was shocked to
see an animal not generally mentioned among African
wildlife—penguins!
Also thrilling was going sailing with dolphins breaking
the waters while following the boat.
Harding University students scale a
twisted tree in the foreground of a majestic landscape.
Especially because of the ocean breezes, Amber
discovered nighttime temperatures to be colder than she
had anticipated. Layering clothing and buying a coat
helped offset cool evenings in buildings not equipped
with heating.
The group also traveled to Luderitz and Keetmanshoop in
Namibia, where they spoke in several high schools.
"They were shocked when we told them we were not allowed
to have prayer in school. Their principal is the one who
asked us to come speak in their school," she says.
Vacation Bible Schools were one of the most enjoyable
activities the students performed in the two towns.
"That was a big deal to them, they didn't see many
Americans," continues Amber, who was equally impressed
with her hosts.
The missionary-students also enjoyed a visit to the
Etosha Game Park. Not a zoo but a sprawling refuge where
animals roam in a natural setting, Amber says they
encountered every African animal one could imagine,
other than lions, up close and personal from the safety
of their vehicle. Among the animals they saw were
elephants, giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, antelopes,
rhinos and many more. In fact, the 13,838 square mile
preserve is home to 114 mammal species, 340 bird
species, 110 reptile species, 16 amphibian species and
one type of fish. Etosha means "great white place" which
describes the plateau, 25 percent of which is a dry salt
pan. In addition to the pan, the landscape is dominated
by tall grasses and short, scrubby trees.
Even more entertaining, perhaps, was relaxed evenings at
the Moringa waterhole, where animals can be watched from
a huge rock 20 feet above the pond.
"We would sit there for hours," says Amber. "I didn't
know how many different types of antelope there are."
She adds, laughing, after learning to identify the
springbok and oryx, "Now when I watch Lion King I know
what the animals are."
She is also able to laugh—now—about the evening when she
was leaving the waterhole and heard a growl: "I've never
run so fast in my life!"
In Khayelitsha, where poverty was rampant, the students
interacted with the Xhosa people, whose language was
among three in which the students learned to sing. Amber
says that among the Afrikaans language, spoken in Cape
Town, the Xhosa language, and Nama, spoken in Namibia,
Nama is "the coolest" with four different "clicks"
involved in speaking. This is best explained by
listening to the variations, made possible at the UCLA
Web site: hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/Vowelsand
Consonants/vowels/chapter13/nama.html
With Mondays off, the group was able to go horseback
riding and "hang out" with youths attending a youth
retreat in Cape Town.
"Being with them was about the same as if my own youth
group had gone," says Amber. "Pretty much everyone in
Cape Town speaks English."
She stills keeps in contact by email with two people she
met at Cape Town during the unforgettable summer.
"I'd love to spend my summers doing mission," says
Amber, a member of Harding's cross country team who
plans to be an athletic trainer following graduation and
attend physical therapy school.
She acknowledges, however, that six and a half weeks
ended up being quite a long time away from home and
loved ones. She has her eye on going to Switzerland this
summer, this time for a two-week stay.
"I always wanted to go to Switzerland," she smiles. |
|
|
|
