This week putting on Beat the Drum was different than I had anticipated. I did not end up being a group leader, and I did not end up in Somerset East.
The day before leaving for Beat the Drum, I was asked to join 3 of my teammates and 8 others that would be working in a small town called Pearston to do Beat the Drum. We were informed that we would be away from our team in Somerset for the week, but we would be doing all the same things. So, off we went to Pearston, 30 minutes away from Somerset East. It was a town of about 2000 people; it had one paved road, one gas pump, no grocery store, and no bank. We stayed in the hotel for the week. The owner of the hotel closed her business for the entire time that we were there so that we could have it to ourselves. 
Our team of 12 was made up of 4 Americans, 3 Xhosa speaking South Africans, 4 Afrikaans speaking South Africans, and one English speaking Zambian. We made the most of our time in Pearston, especially since we were only there for 4 days trying to do a 5 day curriculum. We taught the Beat the Drum program in a high school to 8, 9, 10 graders, and also at a primary school to 6 and 7 graders. Let me tell you, it was definitely a challenge in the primary school teaching about sex and AIDs to these young kids. They seemed so innocent and like babies. But the reality is that probably a number of them have been sexually abused.
Our time in the high school was really good. I feel like we saw a lot of growth in the kids that we spoke to. I got to do a ton of teaching in the classroom and small group discussion also. The kids wrote letters on the second day to talk about issues they were facing concerning sex and AIDs and asking questions if they wanted to. We saw many, many heartbreaking letters. Many spoke of rape, pregnancy, being HIV positive, parents drinking too much, and feeling completely lost and hopeless. The last night in Pearston, we put on a youth rally for the high school students and many stood before their peers and made commitments to abstain and to lead changed lives.
To also create awareness to the older generation, we showed Beat the Drum in the town hall 2 times during the week. 
And as if this weren’t enough, we also showed a video at the clinic and the police station called In Your Face that spoke of the medical effects of AIDs and STIs. You can image that we had a very full week.
I learned a lot about symbolism during this week because our team leaders, Ilze and Henry, are very much Spirit led people who plan virtually nothing, but move when the Spirit moves. The Lord spoke a word for Pearston this week: LIFE. So, we wanted to do something physical to represent this. The day before we left, we went to the highest part of Pearston behind the Xhosa community and made an altar to the Lord. We each took a stone that represented a stronghold that the enemy has over this town. We released these strongholds, and prayed over the town since we could see everything below. The place where we built the altar was very much anointed because we could see three churches from where we stood. The next physical thing we did was we planted a seed at the high school to represent the growth that is beginning there. We chose to plant it directly between the school sign and an existing cross to represent the unity between Christ and the school. It was very cool.
Wrap your mind around this: we were the first missionaries in Pearston. Isn’t that bizarre? We think that the only people that have never had missionaries are still weaving clothes together from leaves…not the case. There are churches and believers in Pearston, but they are so dry from religion. The Lord is definitely not done with Pearston. He is just beginning. I’m hoping that maybe we’ll have the chance to return sometime soon and put on some kind of ongoing youth program.
I truly wish that each of you could see and experience this petite little town for yourself. In fact, I wish you could see and experience all the things that I have had the opportunity to. I’m blown away by how God works. Africa is like no where else.
That’s all for now. Stay tuned…
