Saturday, October 16, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Going Home
The other night our team went downtown Cape Town to do some street ministry and pray for the people who find themselves on the street. We prayed with a homeless man named Michael Jackson, spoke with some young partiers on their way to the clubs and hung out at the mini-bus station where workers were catching the last taxis home. We met a street vendor selling biscuits and chips to buy his way back home to Congo. Like so many other vendors he came down hoping the make lots of money during the World Cup, but found himself on the streets when the opportunity failed to provide the riches he had hoped for. At the end of the night, we found ourselves amongst several parking lot guards and a couple homeless women in a dirty parking lot at the edge of the city. The topic of conversation came to Jesus, and a woman suddenly started to lead us in a beautiful Xhosa praise song to God. I remember looking around the circle of people (the guards, the homeless and our missionary team full of all our different colors and cultures) and thinking how crazy it is that we all found ourselves together in this impromptu worship service to God.
This has, to a large extent, been a picture of my last nine months here in South Africa. I’m always gathering together with a group of crazy diverse people. I often look around and ask myself, “how did I get here?” Ministry is messy, dirty and sometimes I wonder if it will even work at all. But at the end of the day, we always manage to make a somewhat beautiful melody of worship and glory to God.
As I write this blog, I have two more weeks left in South Africa. Most of this time will be spent saying goodbye to my friends here in Cape Town and the people I have met in the communities we serve in. My ministry and relationships with these people have gone through a sort of process since I first started work here. When I first entered the townships I felt a great pity for the people there and horror at the poverty they face and the lack of opportunities they have. Then I phased into a stage of compassion where all I wanted to do was give them as much love and mercy as I could in my weekly times with them. Finally, my love for them grew and they became more than just orphans and AIDS patients and Rastafarians and unemployed refugees from various countries—they became my dear friends. As I say goodbye, I am saying goodbye to brothers and sisters, mothers and nieces and nephews, although our skin color is so different and our way of life so foreign. I am sad to say goodbye and know I am changed by the relationships God has given me with these beautiful people.
I am excited to reach American soil, but I know I will miss Africa as soon as I get there. I will miss driving our van through townships and picking up as many children as will possibly fit and taking them to a nearby field to run and tickle and love on them. I will miss sitting in our kitchen and listening to all the different languages of my ministry mates as we joke and laugh about practically anything. I will miss African worship and the beauty of African skies. I’m realizing that my facebook statuses will be a lot less exciting and that bagging groceries is not as adventures as chopping up a dead mule with a machete and scooping up maggots to compost the drain of our new mission station toilets. But as much as I know God called me to Africa I am confident He is calling me back home.
I’ve learned a lot here. One thing, and certainly not the most important, is how to live on the road for months at a time. I usually traveled really light with one duffel bag, one backpack and a sleeping bag. I’ve learned to leave things behind that I no longer needed or weighed me down and pick other things up as I traveled to different circumstances and locations. This is the best way I can describe my change since coming to Africa. I have let go of things I felt I needed in America and discovered that I really didn’t need them in the first place. I have shaven off a bit of American culture that has disguised itself as Christianity and added a whole new set of lenses with which to view and serve God. It’s God’s brilliant and creative plan to move Christians all around the world so we can learn just how Big He is and How to serve him in a more full all-encompassing way. I came to Africa convinced God wanted me to strengthen the church over here. Now I can look at my African brothers and sisters and tell them they are strengthening the church in America by God sending me here to rub shoulders with them and gain a whole new set of luggage.
These are some things in my suitcase I have left behind: My American need for efficiency and orderliness. The idea that ministry needs a budget. The belief that I must wait for someone else to start something if I want to see change in the world. My sense of entitlement to possessions, a career, three meals and a cup of coffee a day and an abundance of clean water. The idea that success and significance is having a good paying job and owning your own house. The seeming importance of comfort over the radical life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.
These are some things I’ve picked up along the way: A bigger view of God. A bigger understanding of how much God loves the world and desires to see everyone run into His sovereign arms. A realization of how powerful the gospel is—we just utter it and God convinces hearts. A deeper understanding of what makes hearts broken and how to enter into these situations incarnationally like Jesus. A huge love for community, even if your family looks and acts so different from you. An appreciation for the hospitality of other Christians and the blessing of borrowing. A tolerance for endless road trips across entire countries. The ability to run a children’s program when 500 kids show up and you don’t even speak the language. How to lead a mission team of Brazilians and Australians through a township of South Africans, Zimbabweans and Malawians. How to lead a Bible Study with Rastafarians. How to greet others in a half a dozen different languages. How to blow a vuvuzela. How to best eat chicken feet and discover new ways of changing up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. How to live without Starbucks and breakfast burritos. Discovering the fact that I can live just fine on a suitcase of possessions. Discovering the fact that when you sacrifice and give stuff up, God always gives you so much more. He is always the giver. Discovering the fact that you can’t make a difference unless you are different and being a Christian comes with a continual fight against comfort zones. A realization that so much of our spiritual growth is about attitude, surrender and sacrifice and God takes care of the rest. Learning to listen to the Holy Spirit and letting the “God in you” totally take control. Living every day on God’s mission.
Running decisions, actions and attitudes through the lens of God’s Mission. Realizing how amazing and humbling it is to be invited by God on His Mission and finding out that nothing else really matters.
Finally, and this is the question I’ve been getting by a lot of my American friends back home: “What are you gonna do next?” I don’t have all the details for an answer yet, although I’m excited to find out what God has for me in the homeland. I do know these three things: I know that God wants me to do the exact same thing I’ve been doing in Africa—making disciples and living on God’s Mission. It’s a lot harder to love on mission in America, especially when you don’t wake up in a hut each morning. Everything is so comfortable there. But I’m excited to practice and encourage others to do it too. I know I will be going from discipling young Africans to discipling young Americans. My dream is to help raise up more missionaries, more passionate lovers of God who will not take mediocrity as their lot, but will be willing to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth (or the ends of their communities). And, finally, I know God is calling me to invest in Africa for the rest of my life. I want to raise funds to feed hungry children in Malawi. I want to continue to train up other youth leaders where resources are slim. I want to take a team of Americans to villages to love on orphans who are desperate to know love. I want to help make Christ look absolutely beautiful in this world by looking like Him, acting like Him, loving like Him, and teaching other to do the exact same thing. Wouldn’t that change the world?
This has, to a large extent, been a picture of my last nine months here in South Africa. I’m always gathering together with a group of crazy diverse people. I often look around and ask myself, “how did I get here?” Ministry is messy, dirty and sometimes I wonder if it will even work at all. But at the end of the day, we always manage to make a somewhat beautiful melody of worship and glory to God.
As I write this blog, I have two more weeks left in South Africa. Most of this time will be spent saying goodbye to my friends here in Cape Town and the people I have met in the communities we serve in. My ministry and relationships with these people have gone through a sort of process since I first started work here. When I first entered the townships I felt a great pity for the people there and horror at the poverty they face and the lack of opportunities they have. Then I phased into a stage of compassion where all I wanted to do was give them as much love and mercy as I could in my weekly times with them. Finally, my love for them grew and they became more than just orphans and AIDS patients and Rastafarians and unemployed refugees from various countries—they became my dear friends. As I say goodbye, I am saying goodbye to brothers and sisters, mothers and nieces and nephews, although our skin color is so different and our way of life so foreign. I am sad to say goodbye and know I am changed by the relationships God has given me with these beautiful people.
I am excited to reach American soil, but I know I will miss Africa as soon as I get there. I will miss driving our van through townships and picking up as many children as will possibly fit and taking them to a nearby field to run and tickle and love on them. I will miss sitting in our kitchen and listening to all the different languages of my ministry mates as we joke and laugh about practically anything. I will miss African worship and the beauty of African skies. I’m realizing that my facebook statuses will be a lot less exciting and that bagging groceries is not as adventures as chopping up a dead mule with a machete and scooping up maggots to compost the drain of our new mission station toilets. But as much as I know God called me to Africa I am confident He is calling me back home.
I’ve learned a lot here. One thing, and certainly not the most important, is how to live on the road for months at a time. I usually traveled really light with one duffel bag, one backpack and a sleeping bag. I’ve learned to leave things behind that I no longer needed or weighed me down and pick other things up as I traveled to different circumstances and locations. This is the best way I can describe my change since coming to Africa. I have let go of things I felt I needed in America and discovered that I really didn’t need them in the first place. I have shaven off a bit of American culture that has disguised itself as Christianity and added a whole new set of lenses with which to view and serve God. It’s God’s brilliant and creative plan to move Christians all around the world so we can learn just how Big He is and How to serve him in a more full all-encompassing way. I came to Africa convinced God wanted me to strengthen the church over here. Now I can look at my African brothers and sisters and tell them they are strengthening the church in America by God sending me here to rub shoulders with them and gain a whole new set of luggage.
These are some things in my suitcase I have left behind: My American need for efficiency and orderliness. The idea that ministry needs a budget. The belief that I must wait for someone else to start something if I want to see change in the world. My sense of entitlement to possessions, a career, three meals and a cup of coffee a day and an abundance of clean water. The idea that success and significance is having a good paying job and owning your own house. The seeming importance of comfort over the radical life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.
These are some things I’ve picked up along the way: A bigger view of God. A bigger understanding of how much God loves the world and desires to see everyone run into His sovereign arms. A realization of how powerful the gospel is—we just utter it and God convinces hearts. A deeper understanding of what makes hearts broken and how to enter into these situations incarnationally like Jesus. A huge love for community, even if your family looks and acts so different from you. An appreciation for the hospitality of other Christians and the blessing of borrowing. A tolerance for endless road trips across entire countries. The ability to run a children’s program when 500 kids show up and you don’t even speak the language. How to lead a mission team of Brazilians and Australians through a township of South Africans, Zimbabweans and Malawians. How to lead a Bible Study with Rastafarians. How to greet others in a half a dozen different languages. How to blow a vuvuzela. How to best eat chicken feet and discover new ways of changing up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. How to live without Starbucks and breakfast burritos. Discovering the fact that I can live just fine on a suitcase of possessions. Discovering the fact that when you sacrifice and give stuff up, God always gives you so much more. He is always the giver. Discovering the fact that you can’t make a difference unless you are different and being a Christian comes with a continual fight against comfort zones. A realization that so much of our spiritual growth is about attitude, surrender and sacrifice and God takes care of the rest. Learning to listen to the Holy Spirit and letting the “God in you” totally take control. Living every day on God’s mission.
Running decisions, actions and attitudes through the lens of God’s Mission. Realizing how amazing and humbling it is to be invited by God on His Mission and finding out that nothing else really matters.
Finally, and this is the question I’ve been getting by a lot of my American friends back home: “What are you gonna do next?” I don’t have all the details for an answer yet, although I’m excited to find out what God has for me in the homeland. I do know these three things: I know that God wants me to do the exact same thing I’ve been doing in Africa—making disciples and living on God’s Mission. It’s a lot harder to love on mission in America, especially when you don’t wake up in a hut each morning. Everything is so comfortable there. But I’m excited to practice and encourage others to do it too. I know I will be going from discipling young Africans to discipling young Americans. My dream is to help raise up more missionaries, more passionate lovers of God who will not take mediocrity as their lot, but will be willing to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth (or the ends of their communities). And, finally, I know God is calling me to invest in Africa for the rest of my life. I want to raise funds to feed hungry children in Malawi. I want to continue to train up other youth leaders where resources are slim. I want to take a team of Americans to villages to love on orphans who are desperate to know love. I want to help make Christ look absolutely beautiful in this world by looking like Him, acting like Him, loving like Him, and teaching other to do the exact same thing. Wouldn’t that change the world?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Malawi
Hello friends! Here’s an update on our recent trip to Malawi! Malawi is a tiny country a few countries above South Africa. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, but the people there are among the most beautiful people I have ever met. I first came to Malawi on a short-term missions trip when I was 18. It was there that God captured my heart for Africa, and brought me back to this side of the globe so many years later. There were just two of us that went, me and my friend Lucia, and as we flew past Zimbabwe and Mozambique, I kept thinking about the way Jesus sent his disciples out two by two to go into communities and proclaim the Kingdom of God.
And proclaim the Kingdom we did! Our ministry was focused mostly on teaching and preaching. We spoke at churches for the upper class of Malawi and villages where the world’s poor came to hear hope. We taught on weekdays in the city for a service where professionals come on their lunch breaks. We did some street ministry and spoke with beggars and street vendors.
The highlight of the trip was teaching at a multi-denominational youth leader conference in Blantyre, one of Malawi’s major cities. There were youth leaders from all different churches and ministries that came to get training. We taught basic theology, disciple making and leadership principles as well as practical skills to lead a youth group and ministry. It was such a privilege to work with leaders who were so passionate to love and serve God in a country that needs so desperately to hear of His hope.
At the end of the training, we stood in front of many young men and women eager to use what they have learned in their own ministries. Many of the guys plan to start soccer ministry programs for the youth in their villages. Others want to get their youth groups involved in taking care of orphans and widows. This was the first ever youth leadership training to be done in Malawi, so thanks to all the sponsors who gave money to make this happen. I look forward to a future season of God’s love exploding in this country because of these men and women desperate to share Christ’s love.
The villages we visited were the most rural and poverty stricken areas I have ever been to. One village called Chitakale Area really changed me forever. We drove far out on a dirt road to get there. As we came to the open field where we were to share God’s word, we were greeted by so many young children and elderly men and women. There were no mamas around; no men and women that looked like they could be parents. The village leaders explained that many of the children were orphans. HIV/AIDS has taken many of the parents. You see this in a lot of places in Africa, but Malawi is known especially for this. The orphans sleep in the huts of the elderly, but they can’t properly take care of them. The school only goes up to grade 4, then the children have no way of getting further education because the other schools are so far away.
Me and Lucia spent two days in this village loving on and playing with the children and bringing them food. As I sat with the little girls on my lap, I could feel their swollen stomachs and my heart broke knowing they are not getting adequately fed. At the end of the day, it was so hard for me to leave this place. I will be working to raise funds for Chitakale once I return to America. They desperately need daily bread. They need a school built so their children can learn. They need an orphanage. I cannot think of anything better to do than to look after these orphans and widows. God loves these people with a great big father heart. Let’s imitate our father and worship Him by being fathers and mothers to His children. Please let me know if you would like to help me in this endeavor.
God has taught me more in this outreach than any other outreach I’ve been to this year. If I were to write about all of it, this blog would never end. All I can say is God is so faithful and we have reason to rejoice in every circumstance. The people of Malawi teach me to rejoice and I am so humbled to hear them praise God in their suffering. Once again, I come into a country hoping to make a difference and find myself completely changed.
The last thing I wish to share with you is my future plans: I have prayerfully decided to return to America in early October, making my stay in South Africa nine months instead of a year. I am confident that God wants me in America for the next season of my life. I‘m excited to return home, but I know that I will miss serving God in such a unique and beautiful country. The plans once I return? I simply want to do what I have been doing in Africa: Making disciples and living on God’s mission. I am confident He will fill in all the details when the time is right.
I write this blog with gratitude in my heart for all the Americans that have made this ministry year possible. Thank you for walking me through these eight months and encouraging me with prayer, email and support. The investment you have made in South Africa has reaped eternal benefits. I look forward to seeing you all again very soon and hearing about what God has been doing with your wonderful lives.
And proclaim the Kingdom we did! Our ministry was focused mostly on teaching and preaching. We spoke at churches for the upper class of Malawi and villages where the world’s poor came to hear hope. We taught on weekdays in the city for a service where professionals come on their lunch breaks. We did some street ministry and spoke with beggars and street vendors.
The highlight of the trip was teaching at a multi-denominational youth leader conference in Blantyre, one of Malawi’s major cities. There were youth leaders from all different churches and ministries that came to get training. We taught basic theology, disciple making and leadership principles as well as practical skills to lead a youth group and ministry. It was such a privilege to work with leaders who were so passionate to love and serve God in a country that needs so desperately to hear of His hope.
At the end of the training, we stood in front of many young men and women eager to use what they have learned in their own ministries. Many of the guys plan to start soccer ministry programs for the youth in their villages. Others want to get their youth groups involved in taking care of orphans and widows. This was the first ever youth leadership training to be done in Malawi, so thanks to all the sponsors who gave money to make this happen. I look forward to a future season of God’s love exploding in this country because of these men and women desperate to share Christ’s love.
The villages we visited were the most rural and poverty stricken areas I have ever been to. One village called Chitakale Area really changed me forever. We drove far out on a dirt road to get there. As we came to the open field where we were to share God’s word, we were greeted by so many young children and elderly men and women. There were no mamas around; no men and women that looked like they could be parents. The village leaders explained that many of the children were orphans. HIV/AIDS has taken many of the parents. You see this in a lot of places in Africa, but Malawi is known especially for this. The orphans sleep in the huts of the elderly, but they can’t properly take care of them. The school only goes up to grade 4, then the children have no way of getting further education because the other schools are so far away.
Me and Lucia spent two days in this village loving on and playing with the children and bringing them food. As I sat with the little girls on my lap, I could feel their swollen stomachs and my heart broke knowing they are not getting adequately fed. At the end of the day, it was so hard for me to leave this place. I will be working to raise funds for Chitakale once I return to America. They desperately need daily bread. They need a school built so their children can learn. They need an orphanage. I cannot think of anything better to do than to look after these orphans and widows. God loves these people with a great big father heart. Let’s imitate our father and worship Him by being fathers and mothers to His children. Please let me know if you would like to help me in this endeavor.
God has taught me more in this outreach than any other outreach I’ve been to this year. If I were to write about all of it, this blog would never end. All I can say is God is so faithful and we have reason to rejoice in every circumstance. The people of Malawi teach me to rejoice and I am so humbled to hear them praise God in their suffering. Once again, I come into a country hoping to make a difference and find myself completely changed.
The last thing I wish to share with you is my future plans: I have prayerfully decided to return to America in early October, making my stay in South Africa nine months instead of a year. I am confident that God wants me in America for the next season of my life. I‘m excited to return home, but I know that I will miss serving God in such a unique and beautiful country. The plans once I return? I simply want to do what I have been doing in Africa: Making disciples and living on God’s mission. I am confident He will fill in all the details when the time is right.
I write this blog with gratitude in my heart for all the Americans that have made this ministry year possible. Thank you for walking me through these eight months and encouraging me with prayer, email and support. The investment you have made in South Africa has reaped eternal benefits. I look forward to seeing you all again very soon and hearing about what God has been doing with your wonderful lives.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Beat The Drum
Hello friends! Long time no blog post. Things are still kicking on this side of the globe. We just finished an outreach called Beat The Drum up in Transkei. Beat The Drum is an HIV/AIDS awareness and abstinence program that is taught in high schools throughout the continent of Africa. There were 150 of us from various ministries and countries (lots of Americans, South Africans and a few from Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Lesotho) and we taught in four high schools in Lusikisiki.
The students were very shy at first and didn't want to open up and talk. Sex and AIDS is something that is not spoken of very much in these communities, which is a reason why it continues to plague these areas. On the first day my teaching partner, who was from Zimbabwe, shared with the class about how his friends began to die one by one of AIDS. His father also died of AIDS. He was selling paintings in Cape Town, when he met a short term missionary from America who shared a teaching on sexual abstinence. That is how he came to know Christ and became a missionary himself.
We then asked each student to write down their own stories. Reading these stories broke my heart. Many students suffered from sexual abuse and rape. Some were forced to marry when they were only thirteen or fourteen and were trapped in marital bondage away from home. Lots of kids were addicted to sleeping around, but didn't know how to quit. So many had mothers and fathers and relatives who had died of AIDS. Few of these young people have seen what a healthy relationship looks like and it was difficult to teach what has never really been modeled for them.
On the second to the last day, we had a volunteer HIV testing area in each of the schools. My students were super nervous about finding out their status. I held their hands and prayed with them as they nervously waited to get tested. As we waited in line, each one shared with me their dreams for the future. Many wanted to be nurses, social workers, and teachers. Thankfully, every one of my students tested negative. On the last day, many stood up in front of the class and announced that they choose to be abstinent until marriage. They are truly breaking the cycle and becoming part of the solution to this pandemic.
Listening to story after story of sexual brokenness and seeing the effects of AIDS really brought me to a low place. We saw a lot of amazing healing and change in these four schools and the brave young people who represent them, but there are thousands and thousands of schools across the continent of Africa who need to hear this message. There are 12 million AIDS orphans in Africa. Every minute a child dies because of AIDS. The battle is overwhelming. Good thing God is the conqueror and wins in the end. I am learning to rejoice in this fact no matter what evidence is present against it. I am comforted by the fact that God heals and restores like He's breathing. It's what He does. And we can pray. Please pray with me.
This week i am resting and preparing in Tramskei with my friend Lucia. On friday we fly to Malawi! As we travel higher up into Africa, i am seeing more and more brokenness. Please pray that God is close to me during these times. And please pray for the youth leaders we will ministering to and sharing with. I am nothing without the prayer support of Christ's family at home.
The students were very shy at first and didn't want to open up and talk. Sex and AIDS is something that is not spoken of very much in these communities, which is a reason why it continues to plague these areas. On the first day my teaching partner, who was from Zimbabwe, shared with the class about how his friends began to die one by one of AIDS. His father also died of AIDS. He was selling paintings in Cape Town, when he met a short term missionary from America who shared a teaching on sexual abstinence. That is how he came to know Christ and became a missionary himself.
We then asked each student to write down their own stories. Reading these stories broke my heart. Many students suffered from sexual abuse and rape. Some were forced to marry when they were only thirteen or fourteen and were trapped in marital bondage away from home. Lots of kids were addicted to sleeping around, but didn't know how to quit. So many had mothers and fathers and relatives who had died of AIDS. Few of these young people have seen what a healthy relationship looks like and it was difficult to teach what has never really been modeled for them.
On the second to the last day, we had a volunteer HIV testing area in each of the schools. My students were super nervous about finding out their status. I held their hands and prayed with them as they nervously waited to get tested. As we waited in line, each one shared with me their dreams for the future. Many wanted to be nurses, social workers, and teachers. Thankfully, every one of my students tested negative. On the last day, many stood up in front of the class and announced that they choose to be abstinent until marriage. They are truly breaking the cycle and becoming part of the solution to this pandemic.
Listening to story after story of sexual brokenness and seeing the effects of AIDS really brought me to a low place. We saw a lot of amazing healing and change in these four schools and the brave young people who represent them, but there are thousands and thousands of schools across the continent of Africa who need to hear this message. There are 12 million AIDS orphans in Africa. Every minute a child dies because of AIDS. The battle is overwhelming. Good thing God is the conqueror and wins in the end. I am learning to rejoice in this fact no matter what evidence is present against it. I am comforted by the fact that God heals and restores like He's breathing. It's what He does. And we can pray. Please pray with me.
This week i am resting and preparing in Tramskei with my friend Lucia. On friday we fly to Malawi! As we travel higher up into Africa, i am seeing more and more brokenness. Please pray that God is close to me during these times. And please pray for the youth leaders we will ministering to and sharing with. I am nothing without the prayer support of Christ's family at home.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
It's over!
I can’t believe the world cup is over! After months of preparation and four weeks of ministry, we can look back and say with confidence that the world cup was not about soccer. God’s kingdom advanced in South Africa these past few weeks and His Presence saturated the places we stepped into. I feel humbled and privileged and honored and excited that I will never look at God the same way again or underestimate His heart and workings in the world.
I spent the second and third week in Mahvusa, a little village up north. What stood out to me the most about this outreach was the hunger these people have for God. I would be walking down the dirt path and a guy would run up to me with a bible and ask a question about what he was reading. Families would call us into their homes so we could pray over sicknesses and pain. We ran children’s programs each day and the kids would sit and listen to each word that came out of our mouths. Our fireplace at the mission station would fill up each night with young people eager to hear our discipleship teachings. We gave each of the young people a bible and it was awesome to see them passionate about reading the bible for themselves and hearing what God has to say to them. Some mamas accepted Christ for the first time. It was crazy to see it all happen!
While the guys did soccer ministry on the field, we hosted a women’s day for the women in the village. We got together and served tea and cookies and had a teaching. We also spent time praying for each woman as we gave hand massages and washed their feet. The mamas of rural Africa work so hard. From the early morning when they get up they are busy washing, cooking, sweeping and bathing little ones. We wanted to pamper them and serve them the way Jesus would. It was one of those moments I will never forget—looking into each mama’s face and seeing God’s love for them as I washed their dry calloused feet.
We tried to host a big screen viewing of the last Bafana game in the church we partner with. It felt like the whole village showed up! But we couldn’t get the signal to work with our satellite dish and one by one the people complained and went away. We were pretty discouraged. We thought God was going to use world cup to advance His kingdom and we were frustrated that our plans didn’t work. The next morning, we had a children’s program and passed out little yarn dolls as part of a lesson on God’s love for them. It was so cool to see these little children run around the village with these dolls tied on their backs with a sash the way their mamas carry them. It was then God taught me that He doesn’t have to use something as big as world cup to advance His gospel. He doesn’t even have to use us. He can use a little bit of yarn. He can use anything.
We also spent a significant amount of time doing house visitation through the village. On the first day, we tried to go and pray with a woman. She said we couldn’t pray with her because her relative, who lived next door, was a traditional healer and does not approve of anything related to Christianity. We were a little disappointed and prayed silently as we passed by her and the traditional healer’s house. The next day, we received word that the woman had spoken to the healer and he gave her permission to have us over to pray for her. We were excited and the next day, made it a point to visit her home. As we approached, we heard a loud celebration in the traditional healer’s home. There was a graduation ceremony going on for all the people who were becoming witch doctors. Many young people were standing in line to receive the graduation blessing of healing through things like bones and ancestors.
The woman rushed us into her hut so as not to be seen by the healer. Then she brought in her relative that was suffering in her head and stomach. She kept saying over and over “I’m going to die, I’m going to die.” We didn’t know how much of the pain was physical or spiritual. I thought it was funny that, with all the power of the traditional healers in her family and the dozens of witch doctors next door, none could help her get well. The healer had wanted her to be a witch doctor as part of the family tradition, but as we stood by her and spoke with her, she gave her heart to the Lord. We weren’t quite sure what to do. My seminary training never taught me what to do in a situation like this. We decided to sneak her out of the village without the healer’s knowing to a nearby hospital and get her looked at. That night as I lay in bed listening to the sound of drums from the graduation ceremony, I thought about the power of God that far outweighs anything man can think up. Africa is said to be a spiritual continent. It is a place of spiritual warfare. But it is the Holy Spirit that is the real hero. God has been winning and I see and feel that movement every day.
The final week of world cup took me to a township in Cape Town called Phillipi. We ran a program for youth and children in the mornings and helped out at a soup kitchen in the afternoons. Phillipi is the poorest township I have ever been in. As we drove into the township, children came from everywhere crying, “soupie, soupie!” and ran to us with whatever container they could find. As I spent hours passing out soup and bread, I kept thinking of Philippians 2, where Paul talks about Christ, who had everything with God, yet decided to make himself nothing and enter into a human existence unlike mine, but much much lower to show us His love. Maybe he would have showed up in a township like Phillipi. Maybe he would have run around in tattered pants and no shoes crying “soupie, soupie.”
On the last day of world cup, we met with everyone involved in our outreaches to proclaim what God had done. Hundreds of people carrying Christ’s message to ten different spots around South Africa= many amazing stories. I wish I could share them all with you. All I can say is many seeds were sown, chains were broken, faces were turned towards God, and I’m excited to see what happens as God takes those changed lives and continues to build for himself a people who will call on his name.
I spent the second and third week in Mahvusa, a little village up north. What stood out to me the most about this outreach was the hunger these people have for God. I would be walking down the dirt path and a guy would run up to me with a bible and ask a question about what he was reading. Families would call us into their homes so we could pray over sicknesses and pain. We ran children’s programs each day and the kids would sit and listen to each word that came out of our mouths. Our fireplace at the mission station would fill up each night with young people eager to hear our discipleship teachings. We gave each of the young people a bible and it was awesome to see them passionate about reading the bible for themselves and hearing what God has to say to them. Some mamas accepted Christ for the first time. It was crazy to see it all happen!
While the guys did soccer ministry on the field, we hosted a women’s day for the women in the village. We got together and served tea and cookies and had a teaching. We also spent time praying for each woman as we gave hand massages and washed their feet. The mamas of rural Africa work so hard. From the early morning when they get up they are busy washing, cooking, sweeping and bathing little ones. We wanted to pamper them and serve them the way Jesus would. It was one of those moments I will never forget—looking into each mama’s face and seeing God’s love for them as I washed their dry calloused feet.
We tried to host a big screen viewing of the last Bafana game in the church we partner with. It felt like the whole village showed up! But we couldn’t get the signal to work with our satellite dish and one by one the people complained and went away. We were pretty discouraged. We thought God was going to use world cup to advance His kingdom and we were frustrated that our plans didn’t work. The next morning, we had a children’s program and passed out little yarn dolls as part of a lesson on God’s love for them. It was so cool to see these little children run around the village with these dolls tied on their backs with a sash the way their mamas carry them. It was then God taught me that He doesn’t have to use something as big as world cup to advance His gospel. He doesn’t even have to use us. He can use a little bit of yarn. He can use anything.
We also spent a significant amount of time doing house visitation through the village. On the first day, we tried to go and pray with a woman. She said we couldn’t pray with her because her relative, who lived next door, was a traditional healer and does not approve of anything related to Christianity. We were a little disappointed and prayed silently as we passed by her and the traditional healer’s house. The next day, we received word that the woman had spoken to the healer and he gave her permission to have us over to pray for her. We were excited and the next day, made it a point to visit her home. As we approached, we heard a loud celebration in the traditional healer’s home. There was a graduation ceremony going on for all the people who were becoming witch doctors. Many young people were standing in line to receive the graduation blessing of healing through things like bones and ancestors.
The woman rushed us into her hut so as not to be seen by the healer. Then she brought in her relative that was suffering in her head and stomach. She kept saying over and over “I’m going to die, I’m going to die.” We didn’t know how much of the pain was physical or spiritual. I thought it was funny that, with all the power of the traditional healers in her family and the dozens of witch doctors next door, none could help her get well. The healer had wanted her to be a witch doctor as part of the family tradition, but as we stood by her and spoke with her, she gave her heart to the Lord. We weren’t quite sure what to do. My seminary training never taught me what to do in a situation like this. We decided to sneak her out of the village without the healer’s knowing to a nearby hospital and get her looked at. That night as I lay in bed listening to the sound of drums from the graduation ceremony, I thought about the power of God that far outweighs anything man can think up. Africa is said to be a spiritual continent. It is a place of spiritual warfare. But it is the Holy Spirit that is the real hero. God has been winning and I see and feel that movement every day.
The final week of world cup took me to a township in Cape Town called Phillipi. We ran a program for youth and children in the mornings and helped out at a soup kitchen in the afternoons. Phillipi is the poorest township I have ever been in. As we drove into the township, children came from everywhere crying, “soupie, soupie!” and ran to us with whatever container they could find. As I spent hours passing out soup and bread, I kept thinking of Philippians 2, where Paul talks about Christ, who had everything with God, yet decided to make himself nothing and enter into a human existence unlike mine, but much much lower to show us His love. Maybe he would have showed up in a township like Phillipi. Maybe he would have run around in tattered pants and no shoes crying “soupie, soupie.”
On the last day of world cup, we met with everyone involved in our outreaches to proclaim what God had done. Hundreds of people carrying Christ’s message to ten different spots around South Africa= many amazing stories. I wish I could share them all with you. All I can say is many seeds were sown, chains were broken, faces were turned towards God, and I’m excited to see what happens as God takes those changed lives and continues to build for himself a people who will call on his name.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Extra support for youth conferences
Hello friends! I hope you are doing well and are enjoying the world cup from your side of the world. I am a week into an outreach in mahvusa and things are going wonderfully! I will update you guys soon, but i wanted to use this post to tell you about an opportunity i have been given to serve in malawi.
My first outreach to the continent of africa began with a trip to malawi in 2004 to do AIDS education workshops for the young people there. It was that summer that God took a hold of my heart and grew in me a passion to serve him in africa.
I am currently planning on returning to malawi in late august for a week and a half to serve alongside the pastors i have previously worked with. This time, my friend and i will be leading two different youth conferences for the young church leaders of this country. We are very excited about this opportunity and eagerly expect much kingdom growth.
Part of the planning process for this outreach involves raising the appropriate funds to make two youth conferences happen. Since this trip is independent of JAM, i am looking to raise an additional 2,000 US dollars for airfare, accomodations, educational supplies, etc. I am trusting that God will supply and asking if you would like to get involved financially to make this outreach a success.
Checks can be made in my name to my parent's home address:
5446 edgewood lane
paradise ca 95969
my parents have access to my account as this is the easiest way to transfer funds. Thank you so much for your willingness to support! May God bless you as you choose to be faithful to His Kingdom.
My first outreach to the continent of africa began with a trip to malawi in 2004 to do AIDS education workshops for the young people there. It was that summer that God took a hold of my heart and grew in me a passion to serve him in africa.
I am currently planning on returning to malawi in late august for a week and a half to serve alongside the pastors i have previously worked with. This time, my friend and i will be leading two different youth conferences for the young church leaders of this country. We are very excited about this opportunity and eagerly expect much kingdom growth.
Part of the planning process for this outreach involves raising the appropriate funds to make two youth conferences happen. Since this trip is independent of JAM, i am looking to raise an additional 2,000 US dollars for airfare, accomodations, educational supplies, etc. I am trusting that God will supply and asking if you would like to get involved financially to make this outreach a success.
Checks can be made in my name to my parent's home address:
5446 edgewood lane
paradise ca 95969
my parents have access to my account as this is the easiest way to transfer funds. Thank you so much for your willingness to support! May God bless you as you choose to be faithful to His Kingdom.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
World Cup
Hello! We are a week into World Cup time and there are already so many stories! All of our planning and prep is finally being implemented and God is doing incredible things in the process. I wish I had time to write down everything, but for now, all I can say is faces are being turned towards God and it is really cool to witness it. Here are a few stories of the goings on around here:
I’ve spent this first week with a ministry team of 80 people from America, Argentina and some High School students from the suburbs of Cape Town in a township called Imizamu Yethu. We visited homes and prayed with people, led children’s ministry programs and youth soccer programs during the day and hosted big screen showings of the soccer games at night. I come here once a week for only a few hours to minister and it’s been so good to spend an intensive week here with the people.
One of the most significant times of the outreach for me was spending time with the young girls of the township. We spent a day teaching them about sexual abuse and how it is okay to say no and ask for help if they are in bad situations. Some people say that 1 in 4 girls who live in townships are sexually abused by the time they are 14. We explained that God can help heal pains from abuse and make young girls feel new. We also gave each girl a hand made doll to remind them of how unique and hand made they are. It was powerful to be able to speak truth into girls’ lives and watch as they really listened and held each doll as a precious gift. My heart broke to hear some of these girl’s stories. We are hoping to continue to work with these young ones as much as we can.
On the second night of our outreach, a fire broke out in the township. Because of illegal wiring to bring electricity to the shacks, this happens a few times a year, leaving families who already have few possessions with absolutely nothing. This fire took about 15 shacks before firemen were able to put it out. I spent that night talking and praying with the people who lost their homes. I held little kids as they pointed to where their house used to stand. It was a hard night, but a significant night and I really felt God’s Presence there as we prayed with the people. Four of the people who lost their shacks are friends of mine. We go to church together on Sunday nights and drink coffee together. Now they have nothing. They sleep on the ground where their houses used to be and literally have nothing but the clothes on their backs. Poverty always kicks you in the face when you really know and truly love the people who are affected.
The whole next day I helped my friends clear away the rubble from their shacks. They were able to look me in the face and explain how much God has provided for them in the past and will continue to provide their every need like a father provides for his children. There was a sense of peace about them I know only comes from God. Their lives speak a louder gospel than my life ever will.
On Monday night, I was able to go into the city near the stadium and do some street ministry and evangelism. We met with other organizations at a church set up as a home base for groups to come and serve. Before taking off to the streets we all prayed together for the work God was going to do that night. I held hands with believers from Norway, Australia, South Africa, England, Colombia and Argentina as we worshipped and prayed urgently for God to use us that night. I have never felt a more tangible, literal and beautiful picture of Church.
On the streets we prayed and shared the gospel with a lot of workers and tourists. It was such an exciting atmosphere and many people were open to share their lives and receive prayer. Towards the end of the night, I met a young women who was standing alone on a street corner. She was very vague when I asked her questions and I could tell that she had been living on the streets and was most likely a prostitute. It was really hard to talk with her and she refused to open up. Eventually, she let me take her to the church, where we were screening the game and I got her some food. I hooked her up with a pastor who could find her a place to stay and an organization that works with prostitutes and street girls. It is estimated that tens of thousands of girls are being trafficked into the city for world cup to be used for prostitution against their will. Others are coming to prostitute themselves as the only way they know to make money. There are no easy answers and no romanticized way of getting out of situations like this. Speaking with the girl that night, my heart broke for the layers of pain she is carrying in her small body and the overwhelming amount of healing that must take place in her life. But God breaks chains. In His good and perfect way. Her eyes still haunt me and I pray for her often. Please pray for her too. Her name is Lindsey.
Tomorrow, I drive back up Mahvusa, a small village in Limpopo. I will be there for two weeks. Please pray for our time there as we will be doing a lot of discipleship and outreach into an area we have not reached yet. Please also pray for the families who lost their homes in the fire. And for girls like Lindsey who are trapped in Prostitution. And I could use prayer for strength, I am feeling pretty exhausted right now.
I’ve spent this first week with a ministry team of 80 people from America, Argentina and some High School students from the suburbs of Cape Town in a township called Imizamu Yethu. We visited homes and prayed with people, led children’s ministry programs and youth soccer programs during the day and hosted big screen showings of the soccer games at night. I come here once a week for only a few hours to minister and it’s been so good to spend an intensive week here with the people.
One of the most significant times of the outreach for me was spending time with the young girls of the township. We spent a day teaching them about sexual abuse and how it is okay to say no and ask for help if they are in bad situations. Some people say that 1 in 4 girls who live in townships are sexually abused by the time they are 14. We explained that God can help heal pains from abuse and make young girls feel new. We also gave each girl a hand made doll to remind them of how unique and hand made they are. It was powerful to be able to speak truth into girls’ lives and watch as they really listened and held each doll as a precious gift. My heart broke to hear some of these girl’s stories. We are hoping to continue to work with these young ones as much as we can.
On the second night of our outreach, a fire broke out in the township. Because of illegal wiring to bring electricity to the shacks, this happens a few times a year, leaving families who already have few possessions with absolutely nothing. This fire took about 15 shacks before firemen were able to put it out. I spent that night talking and praying with the people who lost their homes. I held little kids as they pointed to where their house used to stand. It was a hard night, but a significant night and I really felt God’s Presence there as we prayed with the people. Four of the people who lost their shacks are friends of mine. We go to church together on Sunday nights and drink coffee together. Now they have nothing. They sleep on the ground where their houses used to be and literally have nothing but the clothes on their backs. Poverty always kicks you in the face when you really know and truly love the people who are affected.
The whole next day I helped my friends clear away the rubble from their shacks. They were able to look me in the face and explain how much God has provided for them in the past and will continue to provide their every need like a father provides for his children. There was a sense of peace about them I know only comes from God. Their lives speak a louder gospel than my life ever will.
On Monday night, I was able to go into the city near the stadium and do some street ministry and evangelism. We met with other organizations at a church set up as a home base for groups to come and serve. Before taking off to the streets we all prayed together for the work God was going to do that night. I held hands with believers from Norway, Australia, South Africa, England, Colombia and Argentina as we worshipped and prayed urgently for God to use us that night. I have never felt a more tangible, literal and beautiful picture of Church.
On the streets we prayed and shared the gospel with a lot of workers and tourists. It was such an exciting atmosphere and many people were open to share their lives and receive prayer. Towards the end of the night, I met a young women who was standing alone on a street corner. She was very vague when I asked her questions and I could tell that she had been living on the streets and was most likely a prostitute. It was really hard to talk with her and she refused to open up. Eventually, she let me take her to the church, where we were screening the game and I got her some food. I hooked her up with a pastor who could find her a place to stay and an organization that works with prostitutes and street girls. It is estimated that tens of thousands of girls are being trafficked into the city for world cup to be used for prostitution against their will. Others are coming to prostitute themselves as the only way they know to make money. There are no easy answers and no romanticized way of getting out of situations like this. Speaking with the girl that night, my heart broke for the layers of pain she is carrying in her small body and the overwhelming amount of healing that must take place in her life. But God breaks chains. In His good and perfect way. Her eyes still haunt me and I pray for her often. Please pray for her too. Her name is Lindsey.
Tomorrow, I drive back up Mahvusa, a small village in Limpopo. I will be there for two weeks. Please pray for our time there as we will be doing a lot of discipleship and outreach into an area we have not reached yet. Please also pray for the families who lost their homes in the fire. And for girls like Lindsey who are trapped in Prostitution. And I could use prayer for strength, I am feeling pretty exhausted right now.
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