Howdy and welcome to my first blog post while in South Africa! I’ve been here in Jeffreys Bay a little over two weeks now which is CRAZY because it feels as if I’ve been here for at least a month. Wifi is pretty challenging to reach, which is the reason for the delay in my posting. The purpose of this post is to give an in depth update on how life is going so far on the field. Thanks y’all for taking the time to read this! Your love and support means the world.
Also I have super exciting news!!!!! I will be serving/doing ministry in the gorgeous town of Jeffreys Bay for the rest of my time here in South Africa 🙂
I am currently sitting in Nina’s, my favorite restaurant that I’ve come across so far in JBay. Since today is a Saturday, we have the day off to explore around town, go to the beach (still feeling extremely blessed we are literally living in a beach town), or any other adventure that sounds enticing.
Our first week of ministry was quite different than what I had in mind. For four days straight, my team, Avodah, joined the men’s team, Abide, to dig a trench for the foundation of a school classroom on the campus where we are currently living. Blistering hands, a sore body, and dirt in my hair and eyes was definitely a new type of ministry that I experienced. Although this wasn’t what I was expecting, I saw the Lord working through and with us each day. Surprisingly, I learned to appreciate and even enjoy the manual labor that we were assigned to do. By the end of the week, I had an amazing realization of just how present God had been throughout the manual labor. How cool is it that we were building not only a foundation for a classroom, but also helping to build a place where students would be learning about Christ and building their foundation with Him. This is exactly what ministry is about. Furthering the kingdom in many different ways. Wow.
After working outside for the week, our squad was given the opportunity to spend 5 days and nights leading camp for 160 incredible students. My team, “The Avengers”, (my kiddos are big Marvel fans lol) included five 12-13 year old boys and three 15-17 year old gals. When we first met, they were a bit shy, but by the second day, we were all very comfortable with each other. Having the opportunity to share God’s Word with these students was such an eye opening experience. Hearing another individual say that they want to begin or strengthen their relationship with the Lord filled me with joy. On the last day of camp, one of the boys on my team said “Shelby, I feel closer to Jesus after this week. Do you feel closer to Him too?”. After telling him that watching him grow in his faith during camp helped me grow in mine as well, he hugged me with the biggest smile plastered on his face. There is no better feeling than how I felt after being a vessel for the Lord. I am constantly amazed by the endless amount of blessings He gives us. I am so excited to recklessly follow Jesus and help others do the same.
Now that I gave y’all the rundown on how ministry has been going, I’ll explain the living conditions, weather, etc. Our house is located on a school campus in Jeffreys Bay. Our Ministry hosts are the kindest people I’ve ever met. They provide a delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner almost every day. After two weeks with them, they already feel like our family. Squad A has been very very blessed to have the living conditions that we have. Not only do we have amazing food, but we also have our own beds to sleep in that are INDOOR (that means no tents during our stay here!!!!), and also warm showers (that means no cold bucket showers). Weather on the other hand has been unpredictable. The current season in JBay is spring so some days are extremely warm and two days later it could feel like winter. Thankfully I have generous squadmates that are willing to share their clothes according to the weather. I am so thankful that God has provided such a comfortable, friendly environment for the first part of the race.
Prayers for the beautiful people of Squad A are appreciated!!!!!
Much love to all of you,
<3 Shelby
