Manistry
Last month was “Manistry Month” – which means that all 8 of the men were placed on a team together for the month. We worked in Ocean View, South Africa, near Cape Town. Our ministry partner was Kingdom Sports Ministry. Our host, Bradley, is an incredible man of God. He constantly spoke words of encouragement or motivation into our lives and took the time to personally invest in each of us.
Most mornings we would walk around the streets of Ocean View talking with local men and women. We saw multiple healings and had many divine encounters. One day, we were walking past a lady named Josephine sitting down outside her house. We chatted with her for a while and eventually asked how we could be praying for her. She mentioned that she had severe arthritis pain in both of her knees and could barely walk. We prayed in the name of Jesus and the pain left her knees completely! She started jumping and dancing around! We also found out that her bathroom sink had not been working for a while, but after a trip to the hardware store we were able to fix her sink too!
In the afternoons we played sports with the local kids when they got out of school. We usually played soccer but sometimes mixed in rugby and even American football one day. We also spent some time teaching the kids about the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and how to apply them on the sports field. It a blast running around and playing with the kids. Some days we would walk the kids home, talk to their families and encourage them to continue raising their kids with God at the foundation.
Our month in Cape Town went by really fast. We worked hard and played hard. We got to go to a Cape Town City FC game, do some beautiful hiking, cage dive with great white sharks, explore Table Mountain, and bungee jump off the tallest bungee jumping bridge in the world! It was also a unique opportunity for the 8 of us to grow closer together and dig into what it means to be a Man of God. Our squad leader, Alex, helped facilitate great discussions. This was his last month with us before returning home and he really left it all on the field. Thanks Alex!
Awakening
At the end last month we had “Awakening” – which was a weekend where we met up with another squad currently on the field. We had teachings, worship, prophecy and activation of spiritual gifs. One thing I’m learning is to surrender more to Holy Spirit living inside me and not try to do things by my own power. I’m just a vessel for Holy Spirit to act through. Here’s a cool story about Holy Spirit moving on the Saturday of Awakening:
I first met JP early Saturday morning – just a casual conversation in the bathroom. Then, later that afternoon, me and my squadmate, Paige, went out to evangelize and he was the first person that we saw. He was fishing by himself but was definitely open to talking with us. He had a big tattoo on his chest and he told us it was in memory of his dad. I had asked Holy Sprit for a word of knowledge earlier that day and right then the Holy Sprit told me to ask if his dad had died in a car accident. He DID lose his dad in a car accident about 10 years ago! I told him that I had also lost my dad a few years ago and talked about what it has meant to lean into God as my father. Paige and I ended up talking with JP for about an hour. He had lots of questions about God and was very intrigued by what God was doing in our lives.
Later that evening, during a worship session, I felt Holy Spirit telling me to go invite JP to come, so I did. He told me he would come in a few minutes and meet me outside the building where worship was being held. I waited for him for about 15 minutes and was getting discouraged that he wasn’t going to come. Then, my squadmate, Savannah, happened to walk by and ask me what I was doing. When I explained to her that I was waiting and hoping for my friend JP to come to worship she asked, “Did you pray?” and I admitted that I hadn’t prayed for him to come. We closed our eyes and prayed for JP to come and when we opened our eyes we immediately saw JP walking towards us!
JP and I went inside and joined the rest of the group for worship. After worship, Deon, a native of South Africa, gave a message about the fact that God makes His dwelling inside of believers today. After the message the group sang a few more worship songs, but Deon came to the back to talk to me and JP. JP and Deon talked for a few minutes in Afrikaans. I could tell that JP was opening up to Deon and they were both getting pretty serious and emotional. Then Deon got the attention of the whole group and shared that JP has just accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior! Everyone cheered for JP and continued to worship and praise God. It was an awesome evening to be a part of and it was cool to see how God lined up everything that happened that day for that moment. Thanks to my squadmate Shawn, JP even got his first Bible that night.
Ometepe
Finally, after 60 hours of travel, including a 16-hour layover in NYC, we made it to Central America – Nicaragua to be exact. For the next 2 weeks, my team, Kainoseros, was paired with another team, 7th Heaven. We worked with an orphanage on the island of Ometepe. Most mornings we worked in the plantain fields helping to plant new trees that will provide food for the orphanage. They will also be able to sell the excess plantains for a source of income. Some days we taught English to grades ranging from kindergarten to 9th. Some afternoons we helped with after-school care for the younger students. We also worked on some projects around the orphanage just to keep things running smoothly.
Our time with the kids at the orphanage was brief but they truly made us feel welcomed and invited us back any time. On the last night, they held a sendoff party for us including games, dancing and ice cream. I’ll never forget Helen’s testimony of obedience and God’s faithfulness in her life when she had faith the size of a mustard seed.
All of this brings me to today. We are currently stationed at REAP in Granada, Nicaragua. We have been working with them for about a week now but I don’t want to spoil any details for my mom. Yes, “Parent Vision Trip” is next week which means that the squad’s parents will be making their way to Nicaragua on Monday. We’re all looking forward to spending time catching up with our parents, serving along side them and sharing what God has been teaching us over the last 7 months. See you soon Mom!
Thanks for reading my recap of the past 6 weeks. I’ll try to be better about posting more frequently! Thank you again for the continued prayers and support!
