I could never sum up the amazing contacts I have been able to meet this month. Each place we went were a true blessing. The heart of South Africans is truly powerful and humbling. They are so giving and so faithful. It has been a joy and an privileged to meet with some of these amazing people. Sadly I don’t have the time or energy to write a blog about each of these places. Thankfully a lot of my teammate have! So please read them and look more into the ministries we have met over the past month! I will make a small list of some of the places I have been for you and I would encourage you to look into the power the Lord has in each of these places and pray for them as God continues to do wonderful things in them and through them.
In Johannesburg:
Some days on the race are a true blessing. Divine encounters are always blessing us. God is big and he is doing mighty things. On one of the first few days in South Africa I was able to go down the road and work in the slums. Miracle daycare a name of this beautiful site full of 30 children. I was able to just sit down with them and let them crawl all over me and just play with my hair. Its small things like blonde hair that can truly change a kids life. The smiles were beautiful and we needed no words to communicate. It was just a comforting feeling. It was like sitting back and watching God's joy abounding through the children. It filled my spirit and I am so hungry for more of those encounters.
TLC was a place we were blessed to stay at. Although they are already a contact we were honored to stay with them and pour into their ministry as much as we could. They are a children's home full of many children. Mostly babies from new born until 4 years old. About 50 children of these ages filled the rooms and hallways. They were so cute and so amazing. Zoey one of the daughters of the family ministry was a pure blessing to us. She helped us get around the city and meet contacts. Her family has over 26 children, most of them being adopted. Needless to say there was never a dull moment around the compound.
Brakenhurt’s Methodist Church welcomed us into their church body. It was encouraging to be in an English speaking church again! After meeting with the pastor we realized that this man would be able to connect us with churches and ministries all over the country. His passion and heart for the Lord was so beautiful and pure. The meeting was a blessing and he will be what we call a “mega contact”.
Hendrick: Okay lets me real. This man was a total baller. Madly in love with the Lord and overflowing with joy. He also was a pastor of a church….that I cant even begin to pronounce. His heart for the Lord's people was abounding and the ministries he is involved in are so beautiful. When we say the name “Hendrick” our hearts are just filled with joy and excitement for the future the Race has with this man and all the ministries he is involved in. He also would be what we call a “mega contact”.
One night we were blessed to go serve the homeless. A ministry called Pabollo Ye Batho welcomed us in to come serve along side them. We were blessed to go to 3 locations and serve hot meals to many people. It was one of my favorite nights of the month and a true blessing. I made a friend Michelle and I will be writing a blog about her soon.
Howick:
In a small city God is doing big things. A sweet and amazing family welcomed us in. Carolyn Hancock is one amazing women. She saw the needs in the areas around her and charged in with full force. She has made it possible for many children to get education and nourishment. She works with 4 different schools now and makes sure all the education is provided and the facilities are safe. She has a huge heart to serve those in her community and has created so many programs for the future generations to come. She also helps provide food for each of these children and each Saturday she works in providing a feeding for the locals. This feeding is hands down the best I have ever seen, the most nourishing meal they could ever receive.
Durban:
Children’s homes are very popular in South Africa because many people can’t afford to take care of the children or their health is not stable. It is extremely heartbreaking. Thankfully there is a Christian Organization that works in the KZN district. KZN Social Services is a Christ centered program that has 6 children homes and a few elderly homes. They provide safety for children, food, health care, and a loving environment. They serve hundreds of children and families in this district and truly being God’s hands and feet.
Through Carolyn we found out about Grace Family Church. One morning we were blessed to attend their church. This church is rockin! Most diverse church I have ever attended and a true feeling of being at home. The church is powerful and works along side over 165 ministries around. Praise our Heavenly Father with have a workshop for all of these ministries that upcoming Wednesday! We were honored to go to the “container ministry” workshop and meet with TONS of contacts! Man God is good and we are so blessed to receive the amazing things he is doing. We were also about to go to the Youth group that Friday and spend time with hundreds of students. (Don’t you worry this church also deserves more attention so I will write a blog going more in detail about it)
Often times we use google as our best friend. Thankfully I stumbled into greatness when I was doing a search for human trafficking organizations. I found the amazing and wonderful Rock Church and Red Light Organization. This church has so many amazing organizations they work along side and have inside of their church. They also have one wonderful program called Red Light. Which clearly means stop, stop it now. The heart of the ministry is amazing and it is doing powerful things. They have shut down brothels, helped the government make big arrests, and they have help women be set FREE! Wow God is good.
Sometimes you get the honor and privilege to hang out with amazing people. One mans vision became a reality, Crossroads. Crossroads is a ministry working within 16 schools and the communities around them. 4 churches have been planted in these schools so far and God is being revived. The communities are being blessing and coming to know the Lord. In all of these areas of work children are now able to go to school. Just last year they bought over 1000 pairs of shoes for the kids to have for school. Most of them are affected by HIV and AIDS but through this amazing ministry treatment is becoming available for them.
Thankfully to this last ministry we were able to stay in their beautiful place for free! Ubuntu Youth is an organization started by a girl back in the USA. It is an after school program to help with homework and just pour into the youths lives. I was so blessed to spend an afternoon with the youth and just see God’s amazing love for his people!
There were other meetings but these are the ones I attended. It was a busy but beautiful month. Praise HIM for the many blessings he pours out to us!
