It’s the beginning of Winter here in Africa. The air is cool and crisp- it reminds me of Fall in Colorado. Cloudless skies, leaves wrustling in the breeze and a warm noon sun that turns into a chilly evening. The weather almost fools me into thinking that all is well…not to say things aren’t well, but things here in South Africa are not exactly going smoothly.
The Lord has led our squad to Nelspruit after a two night stay in Johannesburg. We were warmly welcomed, despite an ungodly hour of arrival, to a ministry house run by three Americans. We sat in their kitchen eating grilled cheese sandwiches and listening to stories of how Papa Kent has gone around praying for local businesses and watched how phones begun to ring off the hook…my heart was lifted just listening to a man of God who walks so dependently on the Holy Spirit. We didn’t know it yet, but the one night stay that we thought we were going to have with them would quickly turn into a five night stay…and we couldn’t be in a better place. Papa Kent walks around each morning with his cup of coffee and a huge smile. He’s almost like a proud Dad who is happy to have his kids home for the holidays. He not only greets everyone with a “good morning”, it is also quite possible that you may get a prophetic word to start your day. He delights in interacting with people and is the first to offer any help or assistance he can, whether it be directing us to the closest grocery store or carting us around to clinics and malls. His wife, Shay and a woman who also lives and serves here, Teri, also are so generous with their time and gifts. They have been plumping us up with home cooked dinners each night and amazing breakfast spreads in the morning. ( including Cheerios!!)
The next morning Tonya, Dave and I sat waiting for a woman named Lynne. We were exhausted…we had spent the past two days just trying to get the squad moved the 4 hours to Nelspruit and now we had hit the wall as far as how to get everyone to Mozambique. We needed some help…and perhaps a nap. I have found being a squad leader both wonderful and exhausting at the same time! All three of us are so glad to be in the position we are, but at this point we were out of answers. We realized that we could do nothing more in our own strength, but only God was going to help us move forward. We prayed.
In walks Lynne…a beautiful older woman with silver hair and dark sunglasses on. The minute i saw her i knew i loved her! I could swear that if she weren’t from South Africa, she would most definitly be from Dallas, TX. Dave calls her “Our Redemption” because clearly the Lord brought her to us. Within a couple of hours, which entailed many phone calls, lists and questions…we were well on our way to knowing more details of what next month will look like…but not really on our way to Mozambique. Everyone (the “adults”) joke at the end of our meeting that we will be here until Monday…Tonya, Dave and I look at each other wide eyed- it’s only Thursday!
At this point it is very clear that God is slowing us down. He doesnt want us to go to Mozambique quite yet. Why, we aren’t sure, but in the next few hours we would find out.
Fast forward a few hours and i am sitting on the grass having a quiet time uder the blue sky and i see Dave walking towards me. Over his shoulder i see a woman i don’t recognize. Seeing as how we are in a very secure house, the presense of someone we don’t know isn’t common. Dave leans down and says, “This woman is named Jessica and says that God told her to come to this house and pray for the leaders”. Ummmm, stuff like this doesn’t happen to me. So Tonya, Dave and I sit down with Jessica. She is a South African who now lives in the states and travels often to different countries at the Lord’s leading to pray over nations. Having a loose connection to Kent and Shay, she found their house here in Nelspruit and felt like there was a need for prayer here. She seemingly dropped out of the clear blue sky…We have no idea who she is, or how she really got here, but she is offering prayer and we were definitly in need of it!
The outcome of only about a 30 minute meeting is that us three squad leaders walked away having been given a great revelation of where our squad is spiritually and where we’re going and how to get there. Jessica offered us great insight into how we can deepen the intimacy of the squad. Our heart’s desires have always been to do this…we know that we have all come so far, but we also know that in the second half of this race we must take steps forward into deeper and deeper water with the Lord. (read Ezek 47)
Wow! We were now starting to REALLY understand why the Lord has us here in Nelspruit and what we needed to do as a squad while we are here…we must press in! So the days that followed included a silent morning which included praying for the squad and a specific person, many sweet times of worship, sharing with one another, praying with one another, and confronting one another in love…we have also been to two church services here with a Vineyard Church. We are growing closer…relationships are growing and an atmosphere of family is now the norm. Partnering with the spiritual growth that is happnening…H Squad knows how to have fun too!! We have had two corn hole tournaments (we do not play this in Texas, so it was new to me!), card games abound at every table, and we have even produced a music video of which i’m sure many involved is praying are hoping it doesn’t end up on you-tube 🙂
We are all finally leaving tomorrow, splitting up to our seperate ministry sites. The past five days have been great. Tonya, Dave, and I can feel our individual gifts really complementing each other and making this trio such a strong team. I am realizing my role here more and more, yet know that i also can’t put myself in a box as to limit what God wants to teach me through this position. I adore my squad…i can see Christ in them and can feel friendships developing that will be long lasting.
Please continue to pray for the squad. Lift us up to the Father…for protection, health, brokeness and more revelation of the person of Jesus Christ. I am so exctied to see how God blows us away here in Africa with new levels of His love for us and His children!
