Hello hello from J-bay, South Africa! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve last updated the blog, but that’s certainly not due to any lack of content to report! The days here have been filled with lots of action throughout the last few weeks. I’ll admit that before leaving for South Africa, I may have been a little bit anxious about what ministry might look like amidst an ongoing pandemic, so I’m thankful for this busy schedule even if the days get long. I’m doing well here and really enjoy the people that I have the pleasure of doing life with from day to day. I feel that living amongst such a community, with a common purpose for God’s kingdom, really paints a portrait of the plan for His universal church, and I’m just happy to be a part of it!
As I began to introduce in the last blog, our mornings over the past two weeks have consisted of a pretty incredible bible training program from Veritas College International. Class was held from 8 till noon each morning for a total of 40 hours of training. The time was very engaging between ourselves and our instructor, however, so it seemed to fly right past. The class was led by Tannie (The Afrikaans word for aunt, and respectable prefix for a woman older than yourself) Tertia Kelleman. Tannie Tertia is a South African native, but has been teaching this Veritas College Bible training material in India and Malaysia for the past 20 years. Her knowledge of scripture and desire to help others effectively dig deeper into the Bible is something inspiring. It was clear on the first day of class that the Bible alone was going to be the paramount focus to her training, as should be the focus of any Bible training! Any answers we gave in response to her questions would not be accepted without a scripture reference. The responses, “But why” or “And where do you find that” were heard frequently. It was pretty interesting to see how we tend to answer with rather “Christianese” words that we’ve just grown up to recognize. Searching for resolves to questions by using the authority of the Bible really brings new meaning to those answers, and it’s definitely something I hope to continue working into my faith.
Through the two weeks of Bible training we covered several topics. We began with Bible basics; digging into how and why the Bible came into being along with its narrative timeline. We talked about tools to help lead effective bible studies as well as dynamics of the church. We also got a bit more technical and learned about hermeneutics and how to correctly interpret scripture through its original context by practicing the steps of exegesis on several passages. It was definitely a lot to soak in, and my brain usually felt pretty cooked by noon each day, but I really enjoyed the teachings. Tannie Tertia made things fun and was quite good at provoking our minds to think more deeply at the same time. The training didn’t really seem like the typical world race agenda, but I’m sure thankful for the opportunity to put some time and effort into becoming better equipped for the task at hand.
Tannie Tertia leading us through an exegesis exercise in the Veritas Bible training class
Our afternoons over the past few weeks have continued to be spent helping out at the Beats and Books after school program. The students attending Beats and Books arrive each day after school, Monday through Friday. They alternate schedules to keep capacities within reason, but there are 39 students enrolled in total from first to ninth grade. It can certainly be a handful at times, but since getting to know many of the students better, things are a lot more fun and tend to be more productive at the same time. Helping out can look a bit different each day, but I’ve led bible lesson slots, given and corrected spelling tests, practiced math quizzes, spent time reading with students and other things of the sort. I’m not nearly up to the caliber of my dear mothers years of teaching expertise, but it’s definitely a neat opportunity to try and be a positive encouragement to the students. They’re each little disciples, and the future of God’s kingdom here in J-bay will be impacted by the men and women they grow up to be! I pray that the Lord really uses the Beats and Books program to make a positive, lasting impact on their lives.
Gathered together with the students to introduce ourselves on the first day of Beats and Books
Aside from the Bible training and helping at beats and books, we also took part in some outreach opportunities in the mornings the week before the start of the Veritas Bible training. We did some prayer/evangelism walks around Jeffrey’s Bay, wrote out some scriptures and encouraging words on lollipops to hand out to people in the J-bay mall, and even made the 45 min drive to Port Elizabeth one morning to partner with another church and make some home visits to people within a government housing community.
Outreach in the street can be a stretching thing for me. It can be hard to break the ice with someone new and dive into deep conversations of faith. I’d often prefer to have those conversations with people whom I’ve already built a solid relationship. However, I know that God can use just a brief conversation, a piece of scripture, or an encouraging prayer to make a difference in someone’s life. I witnessed firsthand how people can seem so closed off to begin with, but are left with such a thankful heart after taking the time to lift them up in prayer and give them some encouragement. As part of a larger body in Christ, we certainly need each other to function the way God planned!
Outreach in Port Elizabeth with Michael and Sandile! Sandile initiated some ice breakers with a group of kids and we were able to share the gospel message with them afterwards
I think that mostly covers a bit about everything from the past few weeks. J-bay has really been good to us since our arrival some 5 weeks ago. We’ve enjoyed the community, ministry opportunities and training, but also the fun perks that come with staying in J-bay. We’ve formed a habit of getting a group together in the evening and cruising down to the beach for a game of ultimate frisbee under the lights that shine over the beach, followed by a quick dive into the ocean to cool off. A real missionary struggle huh!?!
Heading into the month of March, things are about to look quite a bit different. Tomorrow morning, March 1, our race team, along with the four ladies from the global team, will be traveling to a very rural location within South Africa called the Transkei. It will be a 7-8 hour drive, and we plan to spend four weeks there working with a few missionaries who are already established in the area. Transkei is located south of the country of Lesotho, with its north end bordering the neighboring country and its southern end reaching the coast. During the time of apartheid racial segregation, the Transkei was one of the areas where local African people were set apart to live. Transkei wasn’t actually absorbed into the eastern cape province of South Africa until 1994. Separated from South African government for so long, there remains very little infrastructure, with schools and medical care lagging behind. People of the Xosa culture make up the majority of the population in the Transkei. Many Xosa people will recognize and acknowledge Jesus, but their culture also hold strong roots in ancestral worship. I think preaching Jesus as the ONLY means for salvation will be key in our ministry there.
Our teams will be accompanied by Oom (The Afrikaans word for uncle) Paul and Tannie Engela. Oom Paul and Tannie Engela are and older couple with several years of mission experience, bringing the gospel to “the bush” of Mozambique. It’s going to be great getting to know them more through the month. Tannie Engela will be the one organizing our meals for the month, and describes herself like a grandmother who regards second helpings of food as a compliment. Other than Tannie Engelas meals, the rest of our beloved creature comforts are about to sail away. The ladies are planning to stay in a house/ some sort of shelter with beds, but Isaac and myself will be pitching our tents for the month to give the ladies some privacy at night. There is no hot water, and I think the only electricity at the house will be solar power. It’s certainly going to be a change of pace, but I’m looking forward to getting out there and roughing it a little bit! Much like Lesotho, it sounds like a lot of walking will be involved to get to the different ministry points. I’m not exactly sure what our days will end up looking like, but it sounds like there are lots of things to get involved with there. They have sports ministries set up, bible studies, kids programs, church services, some gardening work and other maintenance jobs. I’m sure God has a plan for us there, whatever it may be!
I’m planning to leave my phone and computer back at GLA, so I’ll really be off grid for the month, but look forward to no distractions and I think it will really prove to be quite fruitful. I know for sure that I’ll miss the messages from friends and family at home. I’d love nothing more than to be able to give my little niece and nephews some squeezes right now! At the same time, I’m also looking forward to getting out and experiencing a new piece of South Africa in its fullness.
Please remember our team in prayer as we put ourselves out there this month! It will be very much appreciated as I know that comfort zones will definitely be stretched this month. As always, thank you for reading and thank you for being a part of this journey with me! May the Lord bless you and keep you in this next month to come as well!
The Team
