Saturday, August 17, 2019
Taking advantage of this rest day to reflection on everything that happened this week (Week 2).
Monday, we had an office day! At this office we had classes from Rich (the founder of Impact Africa), Nana, and Nikki. They are all so full of wisdom! I enjoyed all of the classes.
Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday all consisted of community outreach a.k.a door-to-door ministry. This ministry took place in informal settlements, also called squatter camps. Squatter Camps consist of families that have left their homes in other countries to find work in South Africa. I’ve never done that type of ministry before, so it was definitely a step out of my comfort zone. On Tuesday, my group spend our morning at 1 home and our afternoon at another home. Our method that we use here is called the 3 As. It stands for Approach, Assist, & Advance. So we did just that. We approached both homes with greetings, assisted with laundry, and then were able to advance the Gospel. I was so amazing at how friendly everyone was & how eager they were for visitors to come inside their homes. Just my group alone was able to witness 7 lives given to Jesus! (I think there were 20 salvations & some healings between all groups!) Such an awesome day! On Wednesday, my group was able to stop at a few houses in the morning, assisting in laundry and dishes, then sharing the Gospel and praying with our new friends. In the afternoon, my group stopped at one home with one woman, a baby, and a few men. While the men worked, we talked to the mama (& of course, I stole the baby ;)) We were able to share stories with the mama & hear hers as well. She was so full of joy! She then told us she was a believer, but she longed for a Bible to read. We gave her the Gospel of John (the ministry we are with provides them), but my squadmate felt Holy Spirit telling her give the mama her Bible. This woman was so excited to have her own copy of the Word. She kept thanking Nicole and hugging her new Bible. We then were able o share our favorite passages of scripture with her. On Thursday, my group visited 1 home in the morning. There were 3 women and 1 baby. Daniel & Erinn helped with laundry and shared stories with one of the women, while I made my way to the other 2 women & the baby. I danced with the baby, then helped peel potatoes (Mom, you would’ve been so proud of my peeled potatoes. :)) I was then able to share my story with the ladies. They both were believers, so I was able to just encourage them. We then all gathered together and Daniel was able to share the Gospel with the women and then we all prayed for each of them. After lunch on Thursday, we made 1 stop. There was a gogo (grandmother), and 2 ladies. We just sat and shared stories. I got a Lesthoto name (Mpho which means gift). A little girl then came in and I got to love on her and rock her to sleep. Daniel and Erinn shared about David and Goliath. Then we were able to remind one of the ladies of her worth. That she was worth more than how she had been being treated. It was a beautiful moment as she began to understand how much Jesus loves her. We were able to give all 3 ladies a copy of the book of John. The gogo was so happy! She was smiling from ear to ear, reading John. She then began to tell Daniel that Jesus loves him and she read us a passage out of John. We went to minister to them, yet the gogo ministered to us!
Friday was a long day, but so rewarding! It started a high school assembly. Calla (my teammate) & I got to share about value and worth to roughly 1,000 students from 8-12th grade. I miss youth ministry at home, so this was right up my alley and I loved every minute of it. I did an illustration with 200 Rand bill (equivalent to $14ish USD, but it’s their biggest bill). I crumpled the bill, stepped on it and then asked if the 200 rand still had value even though it looked messy. They all agreed yes, but they were shocked that I would treat money like that. Calla then shared a part of her testimony with the students. I got to wrap up with a passage from Luke. Luke 12:6-7. I got to remind them of their worth and value in Jesus and how much he loves and cares for them, regardless of their current family, financial, or spiritual situation. After the assembly, our team and another went to Impact Kids preschool. There, we sang and danced with the kids and taught them a new memory verse. Then, we split up into different classrooms. Haley (a teammate) & I took the Zebras class (2-3 year olds). We helped the 2 teachers with crafts, snacks, & play time. After Impact Kids, both teams had 2 kids programs to help with called JK. At both kids programs, we sang, danced, played games, and shared the Gospel.
Overall, we had a fairly busy week, but it was a good one. I can’t believe Month 1 is halfway over. It some ways, it feels like I’ve been in South Africa for an eternity, but in other ways, just a few hours. The Lord has given me so much grace and peace in these last 2 weeks, has been present in every step.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog!
Much love,
AC
