Jabulani Africa!

SOUTH AFRICA. SOUTH AFRICA. SOUTH AFRICA.

If you couldn't tell, I am blessed to be able to share about my time in Cape Town, South Africa over spring break. This blog post is definitely a bitter-sweet one. "Bitter" because I deeply wish with all my heart that I was still there, surrounded by the beautiful faces of children and the inspiring LSEs, and of course Mel and Meagan. My heart hurts because I am away from a place and a people I have grown to love in just a short time. And, of course, this post is "sweet" because the Lord gave me and my team a sweet and precious encounter with Him and with each other.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, it will be easier if I explain our trip day by day. Here goes!

 Thursday March 10th- Friday March 11^th- 16 students and 10 adults left for Atlanta to get on a 14 hour plane ride (which was actually fun!) and landed in Johannesburg. From there we took a 2 hour plane ride into Cape Town. When we arrived in Cape Town it was close to midnight on Friday (South Africa is 8 hours ahead of us) and we headed off to the Team House where we met Clynton, our wonderful manager, and got settled in.

Saturday March 12^th- Our team hit the ground running and started the day off with a Women’s and Men’s retreat for Capricorn Community Church (CCC). I had the privilege of meeting 18 amazing women and spent time getting to know them. After spending the day with them, I was amazed by how much they loved the Word of God and could not get enough of it. They wake up every day and truly rely on God… for everything! How many of us could say that? My heart was deeply softened by these ladies and their love for Christ. I was especially touched by a woman named Vanessa. She has 6 children and is truly a woman of the faith. It turns out that meeting Vanessa was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. At the end of the day, Vanessa and I became pray partners for one another. We both wrote down prayer requests and are committed to praying for each other. It is amazing to say that I have someone in South Africa praying for me while I do the same for her! At the end of the day, I was blown away by all God had done so far, and we were only on day 1!

Sunday March 13^th- Our team attended CCC and it was a blessing to see all the women that we had met the day before and meet their families! This was the day I met Vanessa’s family and met her 2^nd to youngest daughter, Amy. All precious Amy had to do was smile and I was hers. That morning, we were in charge of Sunday school for the children. We sang worship songs, played games, and acted out a Bible story. The children of this community stole my heart and gave love unconditionally. There was not a time throughout the whole week when I did not have a child climbing on my back, in my arms, or holding my hand. If only we could love like they do. I terribly miss being able to love on these children and them loving me back. I see their faces every day and long to hold them and pray over them. I am anxious to return and embrace them again!

  Monday March 14^th- We began the morning by taking a tour of Living Hope. John Thomas, founder of Living Hope, stepped out in faith and began this ministry with no money, but we serve a faithful God who has grown this ministry and has used it to impact South Africa for His kingdom. It was amazing to see just how Living Hope operates and to see the fruit of their labor. That afternoon we started working with kids club and teens club. This is a time where kids and teens of the community come and play games, have Bible study, and receive a meal. For many, this meal is the only food they will have that day. It was a blessing to get to love on the children and be a source of encouragement to them. Monday night was also the kick off of CCC Youth Rally! The rally was open up to anyone and was a time of worship, entertainment, sermons, and testimonies. The rally lasted until Wednesday night and truly was my favorite part of the trip. (Don’t worry… I’ll come back to this part!)

 Tuesday March 15^th and Wednesday March 16^th - Both days began with our team going door to door throughout Capricorn and Overcome. Capricorn and Overcome are two impoverish communities in South Africa. Many in this community suffer from HIV/Aids, TB, and other heath diseases. The Life Skill Educators of Living Hope lead us through the community and we were able to go inside people’s homes and educate them on TB and also pray for them.  This was an eye-opening experience and we truly saw things that still break our hearts today. It is one thing to hear about people living in shacks and in dangerous communities, but to see it is another thing. When we are put into situations like these, it is our human instinct to want to fix it. Whether it would be to buy them new clothes or buy them a new house, we want to fix the earthly problems. I came to learn on this trip that if they do not have Christ, they do not have anything and giving them material stuff will not help them eternally. Being able to go into people’s homes and not focus on the things they lacked but on their salvation put a lot of things in perspective for me.

Now Wednesday was a pretty big day. This day I was leading a devotion for our team and giving my testimony at the Youth Rally. Needless to say my spirit was stirring and I felt the Holy Spirit preparing my heart and leading me the entire day. When it was time to give the devotion that afternoon, the Lord clearly laid on my heart to share with my team what the Lord has been doing in my life. This freaked me out like no other because I have only shared this with my family, mentors, and close friend. I couldn't deny Him leading me to share and so I obeyed Him, although I was frightened. Every since Sophomore year, the Lord has been calling me into youth ministry and has really made it clear to me His will this year. It has been an amazing journey to see where the Lord has lead me to and it excites me to even type these words! (I will blog about my call into ministry  next time... trying not to chase too many rabbits :)) Anyways, it was a blessing to be able to share my heart with my team and know that they are praying for me as I pray for them! That night at Youth Rally, the truly felt the Lord speaking through me as a share my testimony. I am so thankful to have been able to share my story to people that I came to love.

Also at Youth Rally that night, I met a 16 year old boy named Basil. We began to talk about his everyday life and I was able to talk to him about his salvation. Basil is a believer but had questions for me and thankfully the Holy Spirit spoke on my behalf and I was able to encourage him to live out the faith. We continued our friendship that week through Youth Rally and teens club and I am beyond thankful to say that we are now Facebook friends and talk about once a week! This sweet boy taught me so much and through talking to him the Lord really confirmed my call into Youth ministry and I am excited to see where the Lord takes me from here. I love Basil very much and am so thankful for our friendship! Wednesday night was the last night we got to be a part of this sweet church and saying goodbye to them was one of the hardest things I have done. When saying “see you later” to Basil, he hugged me and said “God willing we will see each other again” and we both celebrated the fact that if not on this earth, we will in Heaven!

Thursday, March 17^th- This day our team toured Cape Point and went to see Penguins! (No, we didn’t fly to the North Pole. Yes, penguins live in South Africa!) Our last night in South Africa was spent throwing a thank you dinner to the Life Skill Educators who educate people in different communities about basic hygiene, health, medicine, and so on . This was a sweet time of encouragement and camaraderie. These LSEs are the hands and feet of Jesus in South Africa. Again, saying goodbye to them was not easy but I am thankful for the work they are doing there.

 Friday March 18^th- Our team, with saddened hearts for having to leave yet so excited for all that took place, left to come back to the States.  

As you can tell, this week was life changing and will forever be a part of my life. Ever since returning home, South Africa has been on my mind and heart constantly. I miss those precious children, Amy, Basil, and the LSEs. I left my heart in South Africa and know the Lord will call me back there in His time. I wait anxiously for when He will tell me to return, but until that time I will continue to pray for the people I met and that the Lord will continue to shine His light in a very dark place.

It is not every day that you get to be a part of an amazing team and go half way around the world to share the Gospel. I am humbled and beyond grateful that the Lord chose me to do His work there.

Here are a few things the Lord has taught me through this amazing experience and is continuing to teach me-

1. We are called to be burdened for people's salvation. Whether it be across the world or in our own Jerusalem. Providing material comfort should not be our main goal, but providing the comfort of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

2. I rely on so much STUFF throughout my day to day life. Whether it's my cell phone, computer, Twitter, friends, even my church. I am not by any means tearing these things down, but when I began to rely on them for comfort, motivation, or anything that takes the place of Christ, this is when the danger comes. In South Africa, I was stripped away from communication back at home and it truly was just me and the Lord every day. I woke up spending time with Him and felt His spirit leading me every day. Coming home I have notice how He has seemed distance. It finally hit me. No wonder He seems distance! I have put things in His place and put my hope in them. It truly is a learning process to wake up every day and say "Okay Lord. It's just You and me today. No one else. Nothing else." It has been frustrating to not feel His presence at strongly as I did in SA, but He is growing me and teaching me to rely on HIM. 

3. When the Lord calls us to do something, we MUST act... immediately. Don't doubt His calling or what He is asking you to do. Step out in faith and follow hard after Him.

4. The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful church family and youth group. This trip brought all 26 of us so very close and created a special bond between us. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about them. From Scottie dog, to Matt, my sweet sisters, my beloved Senior guys, and precious Junior boys. I find myself throughout the day laughing at funny things that happened. To make sure that I never forget these sweet moments, Anne Grace, Marti and I jotted them down. This is for my team- may us never forget the encounter we had with our Father that week and the bond our Savior gives us. Remember when-

• Scott being left behind ("I think we left God..."-Gordon)
• G.I. Joe
• Dear Diary, it's me, you KNOW, Scott... with the brown hair?
• Trevor angry
• Texas Facts
• Pirate Facts
• Scott answers a lady by saying "Si" thinking they spoke Spanish....
• NUMBER. ONE.
• Tamahaw
• Spades (Scott's jokers)
• Spoons
• Scottie dog... ruff ruff.
• Signs
• Getting locked in our room and Scottie dog breaking the door open
• Fist pump
• TAD.
• Clynton dissing American accents
• ZEBRA!!!!!
• Four square intensity
• Birthday sign that slaps Grace in the face...
• "Is it someone's birthday today?..."
• Scott, Matt, and Holden "leaving their mark" at Cape of Good Hope
• "As in I want to marry him tomorrow? Yea..."
• "Chat me"
• drowning in the shower
• ice cream/ cereal for every meal
• Pakistan
• "Free to look and touch" and "for you almost free"
• "You're ENTRENCHED in my space!"
• "You can call me Holden B....."
• iPad (solitaire)
• chaco tan/burn
• saving Grace from the bolts
• Jabulani!
• Where is the love?
• Mountain hedge hogs
• Grace feeding Mitchell cake
• taking creeper pictures of Matt
• 1st "South Africa" reunion
• "Jesus is my white friend." "I find that offensive..."
• David being taken away by the ocean
• "Junior girl picture!... Oh wait."
• "Junior meeting!"
• Senior boy beach trip

Phew. Sorry for the long entry, but so much happened this week and it was impossible to leave anything out! I hope this has served as encouragement and giving you a glimpse into one life-changing week! To top this big-honkin post off, here are a few pictures that are near and dear to my heart. Many are hanging up in my room and even in my car! I never want to forget those precious faces! 

“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let your light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:5-6).  

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

"Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)

"But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Galatians 6:14)

"For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'' (Romans 10:13-15)

Sing for joy O Africa the Lord your God is risen upon you. Sing for joy O Africa the Lord your God is risen upon you now. Jabulani Jabulani Africa!

bless