My feet have crossed many gray water streams, walked in to many shacks, avoided the decomposing rodents, and most importantly brought the Good News to many, many people in the Johannesburg area. My team has visited multiple squatter camps (slums) over the past 4 weeks here in South Africa. And Heaven has gained many new believers into His Kingdom.
We are dropped off, given a street, and told to go share the Gospel! There are days when we are flooded with people surrounding us, umlungus (white person) and days where there isn’t a soul to be seen. As we say hello and ask how they are doing, we ask if can simply come in and chat. Most people are eager to say yes to our invitation. My bottom has sat on 5 gallon buckets, 3 legged chairs, upside down milk crates, and many other items. They find anything to make sure we sit and are comfortable. We talk about where they come from, how long they have stayed in the squatter camps, about family, jobs and once all that dies down, we jump in about church, the bible, and Jesus. We get a wide range of responses- some who know Jesus & can encourage us, others who are stubborn about their thinking about the Truth, some who know His name.. but pray to the bishop or their ancestors, and some who simply have never heard the name of Jesus. We share life, we share the story from Adam & Eve to resurrection, we share scripture that encourage them, we answer questions, and simply love on them in the way they need at that moment.
I never felt pressured or forced to share, but I quickly found myself rising up in boldness and courage to share His word. It began with sharing my favorite passage to then sharing the gospel to then getting the opportunity to lead someone in the salvation prayer. Rebuking fear, emotions, frustrations gave me so much more voice to share His Truth. Here are a few stories that have impacted my time here in South Africa.
I met a 42 year old women in a hospital who is pregnant with her second child. She seemed discouraged and nervous, and although she didn’t open up much about the baby’s father, I jumped in about church and Jesus. And it was then that her eyes opened widely, she began to spill out about her devotion to God, how He changed her life with her first son & adopted daughter, and how good He had been to bring me to her on that day as she was needing some prayer and hope.
I met a 26 year old father at a clinic in a squatter camp. He was one of very few males of over 250 females in the area. I played with his son all while keeping a conversation with him. Fatherlessness is a huge issue in this area. So I began to ask about his life at home. He’s been married 10 years, has a consistent job, used his day off to get his son’s immunizations to go to preschool, and knew the importance of fellowship with fellow believers. I was in amazement at his dedication to his family. What an amazing man. I got the chance to tell him how proud I am of him, how blessed his son and wife are, to pray with him, and bring a smile on his face as he waited over 4 hours to see the doctor.
I met a 15 year old girl who had just moved to a squatter camp and didn’t have completed paperwork to get into the school system. We found her sitting outside her shack in the shade watching kids run around chaotically. She spoke very little English, seemed a little timid surrounded by 3 white females and a native translator. This girl may have not spoken much, but she was so intrigued… she had never heard of Jesus. We got to share about Adam and Eve, about Jesus’s time on earth, His resurrection, and what His grace & love looks like. She gleamed in awe. She quietly answered she wanted Jesus in her life. I got to lead her through the salvation prayer in English while she repeated in Zulu.
These are just a few of the many people that I crossed paths with this month. God absolutely showed up each day. He gave me opportunities so I could be bold and brave and speak life into people. I am so incredibly thankful that I was about to learn how to evangelize and fully rely on Him to share the Gospel. I am able to bring this into the next 8 months on the race as well as the rest of my life. Our God is so so good. He is alive. He is moving. He is opening his arms and He is getting ready to come back!
