It’s hard to believe that month one of the World Race adventure is behind me. This month has had its ups and downs and crazy stories.
My team and I arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa and took a 14 hour bus ride to our ministry in Port St Johns, South Africa. We met Solomon, our ministry host, and we have lived in a boys’ home with about 12 boys who have made a huge impact on our lives. In our first week in Port St Johns, we worked in a school with 12th graders during their winter break; we fed them lunch and just tried to connect with them through games and one-on-one conversations about their future and their relationship with God. It was a great week meeting with them and building those relationships. That weekend we went with Solomon and our boys we had been living with and another ministry from Umkomaas to a village 4 hours away for a camp. It was a great weekend spending time with everyone just furthering those connections.
The following week we went into Umkomaas and partnered with a ministry there called Transkei Life Project. We played games with the kids and took a few to Durban where we hung out with them and conversed one on one by the beach. So fun to see a different ministry. These children were with squatter camp communities.
When we came back to Port St Johns, it was so sweet to be welcomed home by our friends who had become our brothers and treated to a nice hot meal. We had missed our “brothers.” The team loved our time off, but there was something special about coming home. When we returned to our ministry, school was back in session and we started speaking in their chapel, sharing our testimonies, and continuing to bond with the students, pray for them, and just talk to them. Some of the things that the Lord has taught me this month is to just be content in everything. This wasn’t anything new to me, but it’s a good reminder. Living in close quarters with 5 people you just met and are still getting to know and who have opposite personalities than you, and living on 5 USD per day per meal, can be a huge adjustment initially. Learning a language that has a click in it, taking bucket showers, having a stomach virus and needing the bathroom when there is only one in the house that you share with 20 people all contribute to the learning curve. But I am still so excited to wake up early and spend time in the Word and learn something new or receive a reminder and am just excited to get out and hear someone’s story.
One story that touched me involves one of the high school boys named C’yo who was sick on and off while we were there. He went to the doctor for lumps on his throat. One day, we were getting ready for lunch and his mother came to talk to Solomon. She was just heartbroken because she lost her husband recently and is taking care of several kids; she is in pain because of C’yo’s illness and because the doctors don’t know what is going on with him. So we all prayed for her and at the end of it she wiped her tears, gave us hugs, comforted those of us who were crying, and left with a smile on her face.
Unfortunately, we had problems with a local during our entire time in Port St Johns. When things escalated and one of my team members in particular did not feel safe any longer, we made the decision to leave Port St Johns and move to Port Elizabeth to work with a different ministry we knew of for the next 5 days to end our month. We worked in a garden at a school and taught Bible studies.
This month has been refreshing because it has allowed me to get away from hurt back home that I was dealing with at launch and to focus on being present here. It’s been encouraging because between my team members and the connections I’ve built so far and the faith that I’ve seen in them, I’ve been encouraged to stay in the Word and grow in knowledge and in my relationship with the Lord. It’s been great hearing the boys’ stories and seeing their hunger for the Lord. Finally, it’s been amazing because I always love seeing and learning about other cultures, meeting other people, and getting the opportunity to go to other cities to see God’s creation. To visit Port St Johns and find the beauty in the sunset by the water or in the landscape of the red leaves of one of the trees with the backdrop of the mountains or the magnificence of the rocks from the view of the airstrip — I just find it amazing.
Please be in prayer for Port St Johns and Solomon as he continues to do ministry in that town and with the boys. And please continue to be in prayer for myself and my team as we head off to Swaziland to work with orphans for the next month. It’s been an incredible month so far and I’m excited to see what God has in store.
I’m still support raising, if you are feeling called to give please click on the Support Me tab on the tonp. Any amount is greatly appreciated and welcome and is tax deductible. I’m thankful for each and every one of you.
Love
Karlena
