Ministry.
A term that, in the states, I defined as scheduled events. I only did ministry when it was scheduled on: Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights, Monday nights, etc. I never looked at my life as being ministry in itself.
Until South Africa. Until Cape Town. Until Ocean View.
A year ago I signed up for the Race thinking I would be doing amazing fulfilling ministry and having a full scheduled day.
Never did I think I’d be living life and that would be the ministry. I never thought I’d be riding on trains and walking down streets in Cape Town just saying hello and hearing about strangers lives. I never thought I’d be experiencing strangers accepting Jesus into their lives. I never thought I’d be praying over lost hearts. I never thought I would love it so much.
In South Africa, my team and I have an awesome ministry involving the kids in the neighborhood we live in, Ocean View. I’d relate Ocean View to an inter-city ghetto, except it’s not inter-city. It involves a lot of the lower income, working class. We hangout and pour into the kids that live around there. December has been a slower month for our Host because the kids are out on summer break, yes summer break. We just live life with the kids and show them the love and grace that the Lord has for them.
When we’re not with the kids, we’re usually in town just exploring, drinking coffee, or eating ice cream. We live in a place that is somewhere you would see on a postcard, It’s almost unreal. I’m not in a place that is anything like how I pictured Africa. I forget I’m actually in Africa a lot of the time because sometimes it seems too good to be true. I’m learning you don’t have to be living in the poorest of poor or in the worst of the worst to be on the World Race. Ministry really is anywhere your feet are. Poverty is different everywhere we’ve been, its been an experience to see all different types of poverty. It’s ranged from a lack of a good living conditions, to a lack of hope in a village, to a lack of children being children and not being the parents to younger ones.
My team and I are becoming more and more aware of our lives being the ministry. Its been so awesome to be living with such an intentional group of gals. Our team is super good at putting ourselves out there and making it known that we want to build relationships with strangers and the people around us. Ministry, for us, has been with strangers, with our host family, with our team, and with the neighborhood kids. Ministry crosses over all levels and borders and doesn’t ever end with anyone.
Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is love. Ministry involves loving yourself and the people around you first. With that, then we’re equipped to go out and make disciples. You can’t love strangers well unless you love yourself and love the people around you, at least that’s what I am learning. When our team is on edge with each other it seems as if our ministry isn’t at its best, but when we are unified as a team, ministry is going awesome.
I’m learning a lot about community living here in ZA, we’re a little closer than we expected to be. We sleep in a cabin out back and we cook our own food in the main house. Living with 6 bold girls and spending most of the day with them in close quarters, is a little bit harder than we expected. We’re learning a lot about dying to ourselves and about giving grace towards each other. Community living involves a lot of things being given up for the well being of the group. It’s learning to drop your unshakable opinion and decide things as one body of Christ. Our team name is WAFF, its an acronym for a couple different things, usually each season our team goes through together it tends to change. Recently we changed it to We Are Forever Family. Our team is a family, we love each other literally unconditionally. I’ve never loved a group of girls more than I love them. They will forever be my family.
xoxo
Vicks
