I have to say month 10 was one of the best months. It has come to an end and as I think back on what I did, and who I met, I am in awe of God’s goodness.
I lived in a community in the city of Ocean View in Cape Town, South Africa. I lived in a small 2 bedroom house with 7 other people- 3 guys and 4 girls. The first week we were there we did a sports camp with the kids in the neighborhood and ever since we had kids knocking on our door to play. I worked with the older kids, ages 11-14. During our sports camp 13 of them accepted Jesus into their hearts and 8 of them were baptized that same week! I had the opportunity to baptize 2 of the girls. It was a joyful day! The following weeks we were able to pour into these kids more by having a Bible Study with them after school. These kids were always at our house after school. It was their hang out. They felt comfortable there. Even if we weren’t there, they would sit on our doorstep waiting for us to come home.
(Bible Study in our home)
(One of the boys, Neepy, getting baptized by Bradley and Zach)
I saw a transformation in these kids, one in particular. Her name is Keesha She is 14 years old and comes across as a tough girl. She is a tomboy type and told me should likes hanging out with boys rather than girls. She lives with her mother and 2 siblings and her father is not in the picture. She wasn’t very friendly with me at first. I continued to pursue her and sit and talk with her. By the last week she hugged me every time I saw her. She laid her head on my shoulder during Bible study. She didn’t want me to leave.
(Keesha baptized by me and Kaila!!!)
This reminds me of how God pursues us. He never stops trying even if we give him the cold shoulder or try to act tough. He loves us enough to not give up on us. And when we turn to Him, we will learn that he is a loving God and is on our side and wants to be the shoulder we lean on, and to sit with us and never leave.
Many of these kids do not have fathers and we were able to share about their father in heaven who loves them and is pursuing them. No matter what they do or how far they run, He will always love them. We were there to show them the love of Jesus.
There were many boys in this group. 2 are brothers. One of them is in a dance crew and a gang. He is in a gang because it was a sense of family, a place he felt accepted. But the Jesus inside of us gave him a safe place to come to; Jesus inside of us loved him despite where he had been or what he was doing. The last week we were there he said he didn’t want to be in the gang anymore! Praise Jesus!
It was very hard to leave the fun, silly, joyful, real kids. I will never forget them and I pray I can visit them again one day!
Our hosts this month Bradley and Joslyn have huge servants hearts, are selfless, listen to the Holy Spirit. They are obedient to God. He is number one in their lives. They loved us like family. I am incredibly blessed by them. Bradley is a talented soccer player and is using the talents and skills God has given him to bless his community, many schools, and churches while living out what it means to love and follow Jesus. Joslyn is a prayer warrior. She is a mentor for many women, and an amazing, loving mother to her 2 boys. I love this family!
(Bradley and Joslyn)
I love the family I made in Ocean View. I am attached to those kids and it makes it that much harder to leave. As the months have gone on it has been harder and harder to leave places. When you invest so much of yourself into people and see them the way God sees them, you have a love for them that you haven’t had before and it’s hard to leave that behind. I know God will take care of them. They are his children and he loves them more than I do. He is the father to the fatherless.
