(Well, I guess debrief wasn’t technically a camp but it made the title sound cooler than Debrief, Camp and lots of Camp. Hehe)
Here’s a life update! I’ve honestly been all over the place! I’ve gone from debrief, to camp with our ministry host, to leading a camp of 8th grade students. It has been a whirlwind of excitement and I have been incredibly blessed. I know I’ve said that a lot on this trip but I really mean it. I’ve never felt more filled up and happy. The greatest thing though is I’ve been wearing the same couple outfits for the last week and a half. Yeahhhh haha it was something. Only so much can fit in a day pack… Welcome to the world race!
Debrief was truly amazing in Port Elizabeth. I was so poured into by squad leaders, coaches and my mentor. I had some amazing 1-on-1s with them and I got to process a lot about the first half of the race and gain some new perspectives on how I’ll walk into this second half.
I was very overwhelmed seeing our whole squad. Because we had debrief only an hour away from where we live, it didn’t feel real that we were meeting up with the other teams that live 13 hours away. There were so many people in one house again and I was not ready for it. But luckily after all the silly small talk and comparison of ministries that slightly crept in, we all took a deep breath and it became natural again. It was like getting back together with family and it was amazing. I thrived being with so many people and hearing their sweet stories of the ways the Lord has been growing them this month. So much has happened in only a month— it’s insane. I loved worshiping together as a church again and just spending quality time together doing fun things. We got to walk on the beach a lot, go to Mary Poppins in theaters, eat at some truly delish restaurants, (one restaurant we ate at 3 times because it was sooo good haha) run to the corner store and get ice cream, or even sit around and play cards. I also had good Jesus time as I spent time with the Lord during morning devotionals and for an hour or so after that everyday. It definitely filled me up. Oh!!!! And my friend Nathan got healed of color-blindness!!!! We prayed for him and he can now see the color red. That’s definitely one to document. I’ll never forget the look on his face and the joy and faith that radiated from his eyes. Thank you Jesus.
Then I came back to our home on a Jesus high. But that very day, we were up and leaving again to go to a place about an hour away in the other direction for a “global weekend.” The community of our ministry has 4 big get-togethers a year and we were here for 1 of them. In total we were a group of 180. We got to meet a lot of the staff members of the school that we will be doing ministry with for the next month or so and we also met the new global challenge team! It is a team of students ages 18-30 that basically do the same thing we are doing. They go to 6+ countries for 9 months. But they spend 2 months here training. It was so cool getting connected with people our age that are seeking after the Lord and preparing to travel as missionaries. Because of this, we got to share some of our experiences with them and encourage them. They just got here from all over South Africa a few days ago so it was cool seeing them being a little rattled and uneasy at the beginning and then gaining more peace as they got reassurance from God that they were where they were suppose to be.
We went to this camp, all 180 of us and it was in the mountains and connected to the beach. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen and may honestly ever see. My ministry host has traveled all over the world and she said it is the prettiest place she has ever been. There were rocks all throughout the water with caves and openings and waterfalls streaming down from them after the waves crashed into them. The water was so clear and the sand was white. Also there were green patches and hills in some areas that lead to little rivers or pools of water that connected to the ocean. It was amazing. I loved sitting in the morning up at our campsite watching the huge waves roll in and crash against the rocks. Or at night seeing the sun set on the water. It was purely breathtaking and I connected with the Lord as I sat in awe of his creation.
There were also many nights braai-ing (basically the South African barbecuing, but taken much more seriously) all gathered together cooking our food and chatting for hours, then worshipping after. We also had an AMAZING pastor from Port Elizabeth come and he lead a few sessions for us. He was hilarious and really preached a wordddd. It was powerful and it struck home. Then I took no joke a 4 hour nap! It was the best weekend chatting away with new people, sleeping, getting poured into and relaxing on the beach.
And last but not least, the day after we got home from camp we went to another camp. We had no idea what to expect— we discovered we were going to this camp the night before we went. When we arrived we were given a run down of where we would be staying, some ice breakers we’d be playing with the kids when they arrived and what our job criteria entailed. I instantly felt ill equipped when I found out I’d be the leader sleeping in a room of 16 other 8th grade girls, and being a camp councilor with a group of 8 students. I was terrified but yet excited for the 160 kids as I awaited their arrival.
As soon as they arrived, I was quickly put at ease. This was exactly where I was meant to be. I met my room girls and they asked me a bigillion questions. They looked up to me instantly. Then I met my group and I was so excited to be their leader. They made fun of me a lot because I didn’t know how to pronounce their names and they talked in Africans half the time, maybe talking about me haha. But luckily they grew from there. At the end of the week they respected me so much and loved me very well. They listened to each other speak rather than speaking over each other and they were more focused. Also, they opened up over the week as we discussed what the transition to high school has been like (their high school here is 8th-12th grade) and I got to share some of my high school testimony’s with them. We also had bible studies where we talked about bible stories and how they related to their lives, we went out into the community and helped people and we got to debrief that after, we came up with fun chants and skits to perform in front of the school and we did lots of team bonding activities. By the end of the week I received some of the sweetest feedback that one of the girls fav part of the week was meeting me. Another girl told me she was so thankful I was her team leader and that I have truly inspired her. And a few girls in my room said they were so thankful for my bed time story (psalm 139) and they said they have really looked up to me. This fruit was amazing.
Also, the Holy Spirit was moving in mighty ways throughout the week. One of the leaders of the camp came up to me and was debriefing the day and the Lord gave me words to speak over this man. Before I know it this 40 year old man was standing before me in tears as he was touched by the Lord. 3 people were also laid on my heart throughout the few days and the Lord kept me up till 2 one night as I prayed over them and received a word for them. I shared it with them the next day and things were really was stirring their hearts. It was so cool that the Lord used me! All the Glory goes to Him!!!
I got to know some amazing people my age as we lead together and built some unique relationships. We got to pour into each other, play some volleyball, love on some kids and they even taught us how to sokki (a super fun African dance.) It was truly amazing, and in all honesty probably the best experience on the race thus far.
And now I am home. I have had the day off and it’s been relaxing sleeping in and spending a majority of my time it in a coffee shop. I’m excited to do some painting tomorrow! No idea what or where I’m painting but hey I guess I’ll find out soon enough! Then we have the weekend off, some days with the global challenge team Monday-Wednesday where we will sit in on some of their training (thanks Jesus for that exciting opportunity) and then we will help run a field day next Thursday at the school! I’m excited for the week ahead. Life is pretty good.
But, I do have a big prayer request: please be praying for my teammate Luba. We are missing her lots right now. She just flew back to the States because her brother died Tuesday Night. Be praying for her family please and that she can raise the funds to fly back to the field if she chooses to do so after being home for a few weeks. If you’d like to donate to her so that she can fly back to the field, message me!! Thank you. And if you have any prayer requests please please please message me! I love praying for my people back home. Love y’all! Chow for now (:
