Living in community has been one of the best and worst parts about the Race so far. My team and I have become very close and are spurring each other on to growth in Christ. At the same time, living with 8 other guys 24/7 has been tough as we don’t always agree on everything. However, this has been a great opportunity in which we have learned hard love and patience with each other. Every night, we sit down together and talk about life, our relationships with Jesus, and how we can grow more. We call this team time. We often share God-stories during this time and discuss how he has moved in our ministry. These testimonies and stories have helped us to better understand how to relate the gospel in South Africa. For example, the African communities here in Johannesburg are a very spiritual people. We have learned that most have a basic belief that there is a God, but don’t exactly understand who he is. Likewise, most everyone has heard the name of Jesus, but have a skewed perception of what he did. In this, we have found the best way to present the gospel here is through helping them to understand why we need Jesus in our lives. Above that, we strongly desire to just follow where the Holy Spirit leads. If he tells us to say one thing, go to a certain place, or do something wild, we believe it is crucial to walk in obedience. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians, “my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of Spirit and power” (2.4). I believe that we have come up with good ways to portray the news of Christ, but the best and most effective times are when we listen to the Holy Spirit and obey his voice.
