The Website of Miah and Michelle Collins

I’ve been given the job of writing about our unexpected trip to Israel. Firstly, praise God for the amazing opportunity! A group called Global Youth Initiative is a partnership of Christian youth organizations from around the world who share similar priorities such as basing your life and ministry on that of Jesus, the priority of the local church, etc… Anyway, they put on this conference in Israel. There were something like 50 countries represented out of a group of about 280 people. J-Life Africa made up the entire African delegation of 28 from South Africa, Swaziland, Malawi, Zambia, Congo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cameroon, and I think I might have missed one or two. Unfortunately, our guys from Zimbabwe and Kenya had their visas denied (single, African males without bank accounts from troubled countries don’t make great travel candidates).

The rest of us got to Israel safely as we started our 10 day harmony of Jesus’ life touring around Israel. The African group went out on the first afternoon to get our first taste of the Old City. Within 2 weeks of knowing that I was going on this trip I was in Jerusalem, walking through the famous city walls, watching Jews pray at the Western Wall, gazing at the Dome of the Rock and wandering through the city markets. It was unbelievable.

We spent our second night in a Bedouin tent in the Judean Wilderness which has to be one of the most quiet and surreal places on earth. Its just rocks and more rocks, as far as the eye can see. From there we were back in Jerusalem for about a week, then on to the dead sea, along the Jordan River to the Sea of Galilee with a bunch of sites in between, around Galilee, back to Jerusalem and on to Tel Aviv. It was an exhausting trip, having to fit touring, the conference, and extra J-Life Africa visioning meetings nearly every day. But instead of me trying to give you a minute-by-minute reply of our travels I will just note a few things that stuck out to me the most.

Of course it was amazing being with a group of people from all over the world with the same desire and passion as we have. Every now and then, its great to be reminded that this is so much bigger than me or J-Life. I think about our new friends Czech Republic, Costa Rica and Great Britain often.

The day that had the most impact on me was going into Bethlehem where a huge wall is being build to separate the people from the rest of Israel. The graffiti inside depicts the peoples’ frustration. They lack economic freedom and most storefronts are boarded up because of the economic stranglehold that is on them. They also require a special visa just to leave their own city to find work during the day. In Bethlehem we were spoken to by an Arab believer who told us his story of forgiveness and reconciliation and his hope for peace. It was a reminder to pray not for a political agenda but for Christ to be known amongst both Palestinians and Israelis.

Although I won’t go into any detail, the Holocaust Museum. If you’re in Israel, go there.

The Dead Sea was great fun. I also recommend you go there soon as it is shrinking quite rapidly. We also got to see a group of nuns swimming fully clothed in their robes and everything. It was awesome!

The whole area around the Temple Mount is spectacular. While I was there I really wasn’t thinking that the experience was going to change the way I read the Bible like so many people talk about. I always thought that was a little over-dramatic. But at the risk of cliché, seeing the places, the stones, walls, valleys, olive trees and ruins of the places in Scripture really does change something in you.

We walked through Hezekiah’s tunnel which was built 2,700 years as a secret water source into Jerusalem with the threat that the Amelekites would cut off the main water source. Its an incredible piece of architecture.

Israel has military conscription for men and women from the age of 18. Imagine seeing a group of 30 normal teenage girls walking around with machine guns. And there are security entrances everywhere. It’s like being in a big airport.

I recommend flying Egypt Airlines. The plane rides themselves are terrible but they provide you with a free tour of Cairo if you have a long layover. We took full advantage of this on our way back home. Cairo is like no other place I’ve ever been to. There are 27 million people in the city and no such thing as a one story building. There are 6 million cars but I didn’t see one stop sign or street light. Having said that the Nile is magnificent and the Pyramids didn’t disappoint (but that might have been because it was a free trip). I would have loved to have seen more of the Mosques and museums but we’ll have to save that for another time.

Michelle and I benefited from sharing time with the J-Life Africa delegation and getting a real sense of people’s hopes and goals for a future where the Church of Jesus Christ in Africa is passionate about discipling young people. We came back feeling really energized about our ministry as well and better informed about the movement. This little journal seems such an inadequate description of our journeys. I hope you enjoy our few pictures and that they capture a little more colorfully the beauty of those places.

Two weekends ago, I participated in a weekend that J-life uses every year to get the students to think about the reality that many Africans live in everyday. The weekend started by surprising the J-lifers as they thought we were about to go running, and they came out to where we meet to run. Then, Tara proceeded to tell them that they weren’t running, and that they were going to go through a reality weekend. They weren’t permitted to change, grab any pillows, shoes (if they weren’t wearing any), or anything else. They had to stay just as they were. Then they had to turn their cell phones off and leave them in their dorms. Next, we (I decided to go through this with them) each got given a number and after we chose a number, we were told what that number meant. Each number grouped you into a category of people that are very common in South Africa. We had, the rich, the middle class, the farmers, the street kids, HIV infected, the illegal immigrants, and the illiterate unwed mothers. I was an illiterate unwed mother along with 4 other girls. I made a baby out dirt and a plastic bag, and I had to carry it with me the whole weekend. Now, the J-lifers are told that this thing can go on for however long, maybe a week, maybe longer, depending on their attitudes. This is not true, but I think it was essential to get them into the mindset of surviving in the situation. We were given a paper telling us a little bit about our roles. As illitterate unwed mothers, we couldn’t have a Bible, we each got $1 to survive on for each day (the illegal immigrants and the street kids got nothing).
We could treat the street kids and illegals however we wanted. After this, we were given as a group a couple packets of soup mix, and corn flour to make our dinner over the campfire. We had to go and get water from the “bush camp” which was about 2kilometers away, and we had access to one toilet for about 20 girls. No showers. No toothbrushes. We all had to sleep together in the loft where we shared a small foam mattress for every 3 girls. The next morning, we were woken up at 6am and told we had to go to the store in Balfour. Each of us spent 20 cents (in Rand) for the taxi to get to the store. The catch was that in order to get to the “taxi pickup”, we had to walk to the tar road which is about 10 kilometres away. So we walked with our 8 lb babies for about 2.5 hours. The HIV infected group had one person who was supposed to be really sick, and they had to make a stretcher for her out of sticks and rope and carry her the whole way.

Now, this would never have been accepted with American Youth. Walking this far, making them do without showers, and not letting them know when it will end would almost be a law suit waiting to happen. But I am so grateful that I got to go through this here, and that God let me experience this with girls who are so amazing and resourceful.

So, once we got to the market, we pooled our money together and bought the food for the next two days: 3 loaves of bread, peanut butter, jam, 4 cans of baked beans, and 2 packets of soup mix. This was for 5 girls for 6 meals. Although some people might think that this amount is very little for those many meals, we were actually pretty well off. We have peanut butter and jam sandwiches for 2 meals and then soup and beans for dinner. As you can imagine, all of the groups gave a little bit of money to the street kids and illegals to buy some food for the next couple days. One guy, who was from the town we were in, begged off of people he knew for the illegals and got them some hotdogs for free. That was an incredible act of generosity, because this wasn’t even his group that he was begging for.

Most of the rest of the day we spent discussing the statistics of African children and diseases and other set backs that make it almost impossible for Africans to get ahead in life. So, after two and a half days of this, what did I learn? I learned that tiredness and laziness are a common disease among the poor, and it becomes a continuous cycle.  I learned that it’s really not that bad to live without the incredible luxuries of potato chips, chocolates, and soda, in order for some amazing people who are fleeing for their lives and trying to find work to have a tiny bit to eat for the day. Seriously, it’s not that hard. Did I mention how easy and simple that is?

The last meeting was what really hit me. Many people were sharing their testimonies from the weekend and telling people what they had learned. The biggest thing that affected me was that there were 4 guys who told everyone that what we lived through that weekend was what they lived through every day of their lives as children. Wow. Imagine going through something like this, hearing all these pampered rich people complain that they’re hungry or want to shower so bad, and at the same time reliving some of the reality that you went through when you were little! I still have so much to learn about dependency on the Lord and on humility of Jesus. Jesus probably lived on less than $1 a day. And He is the God of the entire Universe in flesh! K, I don’t need to drive this lesson in any more, I know that this is something that you really have to experience because stories, the millions of stories that we here, never give us that same passion or understanding.

I am continuing to respect and learn from these J-lifers and gain wisdom and insight into the South African culture and the struggles and needs of people in this country, both spiritually and physically. I am grateful for this experience and I ask you to pray with me and for me that God will use this experience in my life and never let me forget it. 

Two weekends ago, I participated in a weekend that J-life uses every year to get the students to think about the reality that many Africans live in everyday. The weekend started by surprising the J-lifers as they thought we were about to go running, and they came out to where we meet to run. Then, Tara proceeded to tell them that they weren’t running, and that they were going to go through a reality weekend. They weren’t permitted to change, grab any pillows, shoes (if they weren’t wearing any), or anything else. They had to stay just as they were. Then they had to turn their cell phones off and leave them in their dorms. Next, we (I decided to go through this with them) each got given a number and after we chose a number, we were told what that number meant. Each number grouped you into a category of people that are very common in South Africa. We had, the rich, the middle class, the farmers, the street kids, HIV infected, the illegal immigrants, and the illiterate unwed mothers. I was an illiterate unwed mother along with 4 other girls. I made a baby out dirt and a plastic bag, and I had to carry it with me the whole weekend. Now, the J-lifers are told that this thing can go on for however long, maybe a week, maybe longer, depending on their attitudes. This is not true, but I think it was essential to get them into the mindset of surviving in the situation. We were given a paper telling us a little bit about our roles. As illitterate unwed mothers, we couldn’t have a Bible, we each got $1 to survive on for each day (the illegal immigrants and the street kids got nothing).
We could treat the street kids and illegals however we wanted. After this, we were given as a group a couple packets of soup mix, and corn flour to make our dinner over the campfire. We had to go and get water from the “bush camp” which was about 2kilometers away, and we had access to one toilet for about 20 girls. No showers. No toothbrushes. We all had to sleep together in the loft where we shared a small foam mattress for every 3 girls. The next morning, we were woken up at 6am and told we had to go to the store in Balfour. Each of us spent 20 cents (in Rand) for the taxi to get to the store. The catch was that in order to get to the “taxi pickup”, we had to walk to the tar road which is about 10 kilometres away. So we walked with our 8 lb babies for about 2.5 hours. The HIV infected group had one person who was supposed to be really sick, and they had to make a stretcher for her out of sticks and rope and carry her the whole way.

Now, this would never have been accepted with American Youth. Walking this far, making them do without showers, and not letting them know when it will end would almost be a law suit waiting to happen. But I am so grateful that I got to go through this here, and that God let me experience this with girls who are so amazing and resourceful.

So, once we got to the market, we pooled our money together and bought the food for the next two days: 3 loaves of bread, peanut butter, jam, 4 cans of baked beans, and 2 packets of soup mix. This was for 5 girls for 6 meals. Although some people might think that this amount is very little for those many meals, we were actually pretty well off. We have peanut butter and jam sandwiches for 2 meals and then soup and beans for dinner. As you can imagine, all of the groups gave a little bit of money to the street kids and illegals to buy some food for the next couple days. One guy, who was from the town we were in, begged off of people he knew for the illegals and got them some hotdogs for free. That was an incredible act of generosity, because this wasn’t even his group that he was begging for.

Most of the rest of the day we spent discussing the statistics of African children and diseases and other set backs that make it almost impossible for Africans to get ahead in life. So, after two and a half days of this, what did I learn? I learned that tiredness and laziness are a common disease among the poor, and it becomes a continuous cycle.  I learned that it’s really not that bad to live without the incredible luxuries of potato chips, chocolates, and soda, in order for some amazing people who are fleeing for their lives and trying to find work to have a tiny bit to eat for the day. Seriously, it’s not that hard. Did I mention how easy and simple that is?

The last meeting was what really hit me. Many people were sharing their testimonies from the weekend and telling people what they had learned. The biggest thing that affected me was that there were 4 guys who told everyone that what we lived through that weekend was what they lived through every day of their lives as children. Wow. Imagine going through something like this, hearing all these pampered rich people complain that they’re hungry or want to shower so bad, and at the same time reliving some of the reality that you went through when you were little! I still have so much to learn about dependency on the Lord and on humility of Jesus. Jesus probably lived on less than $1 a day. And He is the God of the entire Universe in flesh! K, I don’t need to drive this lesson in any more, I know that this is something that you really have to experience because stories, the millions of stories that we here, never give us that same passion or understanding.

I am continuing to respect and learn from these J-lifers and gain wisdom and insight into the South African culture and the struggles and needs of people in this country, both spiritually and physically. I am grateful for this experience and I ask you to pray with me and for me that God will use this experience in my life and never let me forget it. 

Well, despite the fact that Michelle has done such a great job at describing all of our adventures so far I thought it would be good for me to take advantage of the reliable internet here in Durban to add a few things from my side.

Our friend Jason Price has started working at the “Norwegian Settlers Church” which is in Port Shepstone, about an hour and a half south of Durban. Despite having a sweet name for a church, they are impacting their community and those around them in such an beautiful way I think its worth me sharing a few things that we saw there. I knew they had an Aids Hospice that is internationally renowned as a model for caring for people with HIV/Aids. What I didn’t know is that the Hospice with 60 beds is on the church property! These middle class people don’t consider their church space too holy to allow sick and dying people to find rest and love there. Although people do die on the premesis, many others, through care and proper treatment, get better enough to return home and continue with their lives. We spoke to the director of the center who told us a story of a young lady who died in her arms early on while she was working there. When someone from the state hospital came later on they could see that she was very heart broken from this death. The hospital worker said to her “You’ll get used to it” and she told us “Two and a half years have passed and I haven’t gotten used to it.”

This church of about 600 people is also home to community centre (which is where Jason works, running a gym, coaching basketball and distributing donated stuff to the needy in the community), a rugby academy (which is associated with the professional team here), and a strong internship program which introduces young guys to all of these things. I was so humbled thinking about the standard that this church was setting for the people in their own congregation and any follower of Christ who comes into contact with them.

A couple weekends ago I got the chance to speak at a camp for a Student Christian Association in Johannesburg. It was great to be able to interact with high school students in this country and just to find out what kind of things they are dealing with. There were about 25 guys and girls at the camp and as I got talking to them I found that about half of them didn’t claim to be Christian at all. I found their honesty to be really refreshing. I think at youth camps in the States it would be taboo to openly say “I’m not a Christian” or “I’m just checking this out.” I left there with a renewed passion to encourage and equip the young people that we are working with at J-Life so that they will be able to speak life into the youth of Africa.

We’ve also been able to relax here in Durban and spend some good time with my folks and old friends. We went to a Sharks rugby game, a local concert and, of course, spent some time on the beautiful Natal beaches. I wish you were here to see it…