This month has been very interesting. Half the month was used on launch and traveling and the last 2 weeks I got to do ministry. After our 15 hour plane ride we all arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa. We went to a Christian soccer camp called Eikenoff. Some teams stayed for 2 days and then took a bus to Zambia and Zimbabwe. And the rest of us stayed an extra day and went to a different ministry site, Pop Up, in Pretoria, South Africa. There was nothing for us to do at Eikenoff because the children don’t come to camp until December. My team (Shekinah), Richards’s team, Kelsey’s team, and Ryan's team stayed together at Pop Up. We slept all together in a big conference room using our sleeping pads. Every morning we had to pack up our stuff because they use the room for different things. Russell is the Pop Up staff member who was in charge of taking care of us. He assigned us different jobs that we could serve in for the week. I was assigned to Pop Kids, which is the child care center for children ages 1-5 years. I worked with Jamie, Bethany, and Laine in the 1 year old class. There were about 16 children and 2 teachers. I fell in love with the children right away. Every day I woke up and would be like "Ok we gotta go to work". I was tired at the end of the day, but it was worth it being able to love on those children and speak life over them.
When the weekend came we went to a public park and outreached to people there. Some racers brought guitars and sat on the grass worshipping. The rest of us either worshipped with them or would walk around asking people if they knew Jesus and praying for them. God definitely gave me His boldness as I walked up to people and asked if they knew who Jesus was and if I could pray for them. No one that I encountered got saved that day; however, God heard my prayers and seeds were planted. There was a group of adults and children from a nearby church playing at the park, so we ended up playing with the children and singing songs with them.
The next week we connected with an orphan day care that has 3 different sites. We went to all 3 sites on different days in the week. These children have no parents and live with another family member or guardian. The go to school and then come to this center after school until around 4pm then go home. We played with the children, had lunch with them, sang with them, danced with them, and just loved on them. The children were elementary to high school ages. I was so blessed to be a part of these children’s lives. One boy from one of the centers gave a public thanks to us and said "It is nice to know that people from far away love us". I do love those children and I'm overjoyed thinking about how much more so God loves them.
One day of the week, we all went to a High School called Cornerstone. We got a tour of the school and then there was an assembly for the students. Two racers led worship, then a handful of us shared cardboard testimonies with the students. After that, Richard preached the gospel to the students. God was there. The students then prayed for us before we left.
That is really all I can think of ministry wise that I have done. But God has totally blessed us this month.
On a Sunday, we attended the church service being held in the conference room that we stayed in. I loved worshipping and dancing with them. After the service ended, they sang another song and we all just continued dancing before the Lord.
One day we were able to go to the zoo, which was very enjoyable.
Russell introduced us to a group of men in his cell group. They came and worshipped with us one night. They were so touched by what they saw that God put it in their hearts to bless us. So on a Sunday they treated us all to a Lion and Rhino Park. Which is really like a Safari. We were a few feet away from lions. It was incredible! But my favorite part of the day, and I still can't believe how much these men blessed us, they paid for us to be able to pet baby lions and tigers. My favorite animal is a tiger so that was just unbelievable that I was petting a baby tiger. It was such an amazing day and I am so grateful for that gift.
These men did not stop there though. The next day the invited us to a brie (a BBQ) at this beautiful waterfront estate where one of the men live. We were lakeside and got the opportunity to go tubing in the lake, some went on a boat ride, I went swimming in an Olympic size pool, and they made some meat on the grill for all of us. It was such a relaxing day being with friends. A total blessing.
During the last week, we all bought tickets to go to Passion (a Christian concert/conference). That evening was amazing; Great worship by Chris Tomlin and a great word by Louie Giglio.
Through all of this, my team has gotten to know one another a little bit more. Some of us shared our testimonies and we were able to share with each other what we were going through. Feedback time was a little rocky at first. One night we had a breakthrough and were able to share a little more openly with one another. I love my team. I am so grateful that God placed me in a team with amazing women who are now my sisters. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us.
