Greetings Reader,
Here I am. Month seven. A big month on the race for all racers, but especially my squad. Not only is it the half way point, but it’s the change of a new continent and culture as well as the holiday season. Past racers say that month 6 and 7 are the hardest months. Homesickness sets in and to be honest you still have no idea what the future holds beyond the race. I mean in the beginning you didn’t need to have a clue, you had 11 months to experience and figure it out, but that is half gone now. In some ways I don’t feel I’ve gained any ground for what my future holds. That’s okay though. I don’t need all the answers. He is “the light unto our feet” only showing us one step at a time and this step isn’t finished.
So at the beginning of month six we traveled to South Africa after saying goodbye to Asia and our two squad leaders (Kent & Erika… more commonly known as Erikent! I miss you guys already!) So after landing in Africa and spending the night in the airport we all dispersed to travel to our new ministry site. My team as well as one other traveled for 3 full days until we came to the little village of Seronga.
I don’t believe that you could become any more secluded if you tried. Seronga a small village with just about 4,000 people. That seems like a lot, but I assure you it’s not. The nearest grocery store is 2 1/2 hours away by car as well as crossing a fairy over hippo infested waters. Here we partnered with Delta Cross Ministries. It consist of a family of five whose main focus is evangelism and children’s ministry.
To be completely honest I was less than ecstatic to begin evangelism. Going door to door telling people about Jesus never appealed to me. In the states that form of ministry always felt like I was forcing my beliefs on people and we all know that that is NOT the heart of our Savior. He is gentle and loving and waits patiently for you. I’m all about talking about Jesus (I mean how can you not not talk about the most important thing in your life), but I have found that showing people and doing life with them is much more effective. However, the reason for the race is to go and serve, not to necessarily do exactly what you want.
After a week of training and learning how to evangelize successfully to the people of Seronga we were released into the villages in teams of three. The first house we visited we met a man whose name translated in English as “Savior.” That really blew me away. Here we had the thought that we were bringing the Savior Jesus Christ to these people and in reality he was already there. I knew this to be true, but seeing it and hearing it definitely put things in a different perspective. For the whole morning we stayed and talked with Savior and his friend and everyday after we stopped by that house. We never saw Savior again, but we continued to talk to his friend and her family that lived there.
When my team mates or I talked to her about Jesus or even explained bible stories her face lit up with such joy. You see here in Africa there is a longing for truth that we sometimes miss in the states. We can fill up our schedule with events and fill our time with different things that make us believe that we have fulfillment. Here in Seronga, Africa there is literally nothing. There is no sport teams, no TV or video games, no places to go shopping, and very few cars to go out to explore. Seronga is totally excluded so the majority of the villagers fall into unplanned pregnancies, drug and alcohol addiction. It hit me that these people were hungry for truth. The fear that I had brought of being “to much” melted away when I saw that the “to much” I had was so needed.
This young woman was one of many that we met that was desperate for a purpose that reached beyond the life that she saw and to be honest, that is the best place to be. Desperation produces fruit. And even though I won’t be there for the harvest it was such an honor to be apart of the process.
I won’t say that evangelism is my favorite form of ministry or even that I’m good at it, because I assure you that I’m not, but it is by far the most important. The coolest part about it was not only did we get to pour into this wonderful women, but we were able to pour into her whole family as different members came to visit everyday. Through this the children’s ministry exploded and church attendance skyrocketed. God truly blessed our time there and I will be forever grateful.
Please keep Delta Cross Ministries in your prayers as they continue the work without many laborers. “For the harvest is plenty and labors are few.”
Thank you all who have sacrificed for me to be here, it will never go unnoticed.
With Gratitude,
Kirbie Head, World Racer
If you would like to help me continue on this journey please fill free to click the “Support Me” button at the top of the page.
