Unsung Hero: Men and women who are dedicated to serving some of the most impoverished populations in the world, yet rarely receive recognition for their dedication and service. These givers may also live with meager conditions but give consistently from an abundance of God’s love. Their names may not be in history books, their acts unknown to the rest of the world, while unrecognized, they shake a generation and move a culture and ultimately build the kingdom.
For our ministry this month, it is our job to find these “unsung heroes” and ministry organizations that meet this same criteria here in Durban, South Africa. The vision of the UH Program is to connect and network with Unsung Heroes in an effort to come alongside them and provide lift to their efforts to further the Kingdom. We are simply searching to find what God is already doing in this city in order to take part in building His kingdom all over the world. With these goals and desires in mind, our time in South Africa has already been incredible, as God’s provision has been so evident for myself and for our team.
Because we do not have a specific ministry host this month, we were in charge of finding our own lodging. After spending quite a bit of time researching and praying for where God wanted us placed for the month, we finally found a hostel that suited our needs. From the minute that we walked into the doors (by the way, it was 4:30 A.M. when we arrived here), they have taken care of us and provided everything that we have needed. Example 1 of God’s provision: After only a few nights of being here, they blessed us tremendously and moved all 6 of us from a one bedroom dorm style room into an apartment-style flat with our own kitchen, bathroom, and living room. Yay, Jesus!
For our first day of ministry, we had planned to begin to research the area to figure out an idea for how the month was going to go, but in typical Godly fashion, the Lord had been planning our time here long before we arrived. Example 2 of God’s provision: As we shared our visions and goals for the month of simply being obedient to God’s will and being Spirit-led in all our decisions, we met a guy who, after sharing about our trip and what we were doing, asked if we would like to visit an organization right down the road that works with street boys. The place that we visited that first day is a drop-in center for street boys and is a part of a larger Christian organization called iCare. ICare’s mission is to get boys off the streets and into stable homes. Our visit was a success as we set up a meeting with their staff for the next day. Since then, we have spent our Mondays volunteering with there, putting on programs for the boys, and visiting their other facilities of a rehabilitation center and boys’ home. Example 3 of God’s provision: iCare fits the definition of an unsung hero, and we will be continuing to work with them to submit them to the offices back in the States.
Example 4 of God’s provision: One of the men on our squad, Jordan, connected us with our friend Moses, a young man from Uganda who has been in Durban working with a church here called Durban Christian Center. From the second you meet Moses, you can tell how much his heart is on fire for the Lord and how much he longs to see the God’s Kingdom reign here in Africa. On our first Saturday in Durban, he took us to an outreach that his church was putting on downtown. The outreach took place in an open-air area where the Gospel was preached and worship was done in a way that I have never experienced before. We were so inspired and grateful to have the opportunity to participate in sharing the word of God in such a bold and passionate way. Since then, Moses has taken us to church with him and brought us to his Lifegroup that has given us so much life and encouragement to continue to press into what the Lord has for us for the rest of the month.
Example 5 of God’s provision (and how He loves to bless us abundantly while letting us have some fun): Remember our friend from the first day that showed us iCare?! Well, he also teaches surf lessons, so we got to go surfing in the Indian Ocean! Also, did I mention that we are only 20 minutes from the beach? Ya, God is good.
As the list could go on and on, this is just a little glimpse of how much God has provided since we have been in South Africa. Like I said in my last post, the Lord has been showing me time and time again how much He loves to give me the desires of my heart, all in His perfect timing.
As I have had to ask myself over the past few weeks, are there any areas of your life that you have yet to relinquish complete control of in fear that God will not provide? I have learned that is our job to surrender, and He always takes care of the rest.
