Ministry in South Africa has been incredible. We’ve been working with Impact Africa going out into squatter camp communities sharing the gospel, praying for people, playing with kids, and just sharing God’s love anyway we can. We’ve only had one full week of ministry so far here, and it’s so crazy to look back on all God has done already. There has been so many things that have impacted me, but one of the biggest things was when I gave my bible to a man named Timothy.
On Monday we went to a squatter camp called Zandspruit to evangelize. We saw some people outside by their house and we asked if we could sit and talk, so they kindly welcomed us and brought us chairs. There was a husband and wife with their little girl, and the brother of the wife named Timothy, who I talked with most of the time. I sat down next to him and one of the first things he asked me was if I had a bible, so I pulled mine out of my backpack. I set it on his lap and he just held it and looked at it for a few moments and said, “I don’t have a bible…I want one.”
Let me pause right there and let you know how attached to my bible I am. My parents gave it to me for Christmas in 2014 so it holds a very special place in my heart. I’ve spent years highlighting and underlining verses and writing notes in it. It’s a study bible, so I loved to read all the articles and footnotes and whatnot. And seriously the day before, I was just thinking about how I’m going to have it my whole life, and how I’m going to read it when I’m old and wrinkly. I love my bible.
So he said that, and I was thinking that maybe I didn’t hear him right because he was a quiet soft spoken guy, so I asked, “Did you say you don’t have a bible?” And he said, “Yes.” I thought about it second, and then told him it was his. It was so cool what he did next. He opened it and went to verses he knew and wanted to study them and know what they meant. So we looked at 7 or 8 verses, and he read them out loud and went deep into what they meant. I could tell he was so hungry for the word and would love and read my bible. We prayed together before we left and I told him he better read it everyday. It was really hard letting it go, and I actually started crying a little bit which I wasn’t expecting. Then I thought back to a conversation Cy and I had one time about him giving his bible to someone. We talked about how even your bible can become an idol in your life if you let it, and that’s almost what happened to me. Also if God calls you to give it to someone who doesn’t have the means to get one, you should be willing to let it go.
When we got back to share testimonies I was reminded of the prayer we prayed before we went out that day. We prayed that the Holy Spirit would lead us to do something that was uncomfortable and unusual for us. And He definitely did. He’s always so faithful to answer prayers.
Don’t worry though, I have a new bible now and it’s actually really nice because its pocket size which makes it really easy to carry around when were out evangelizing.
Here are some more pictures from ministry! 
Thank you so much for the prayers and support everyone! I’m so excited to see what else God had planned for us here.
