Africa #5 ~ Morning in South Africa

An alarm goes off at 6:30.  Brittany jumps out of bed, turns on the light, and does cartwheels up and down the long space between our bunks while singing, "Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory..." Lauren sits up a few minutes later and says, "Good morning, everyone!  The King is enthralled with your beauty!"  Mikaela shakes Lacy and tries to get her to wake up.  There are a few squeals as bare feet hit the cold floor.  Hairbrushes, toothpaste, socks, Bibles, coats.  At 6:50, Gwen and I walk out the door early to run across the field and back before sitting on the cold, hard ground.  A little before 7, the others follow and everyone finds a place to have their quiet time for an hour.  The red sun rises over the hills in the distance.  Some walk through the field, some sit quietly, some dance.   The air puffs out of our mouths in little clouds of steam.  At 7:50, we walk to another building and stand outside, waiting for everyone to arrive.  We say the Declaration of a World-Changer, pray, and, at 8:00, we walk through the sliding glass door single file with hats off, saying good morning and thanking the ladies for breakfast.  We sit down and eat our porridge, oatmeal, or eggs with our daily toast covered in butter and apricot jam.  Each table asks Gurt for more toast and, when we thank him, he says "Pleasure!" in his South African accent.  When breakfast is done, we return to our dorm to grab everything we need for the day.  Water bottles, pens, Bibles, Gospels of John, cameras, hand sanitizer.  At 9:00, we board the bus and head out to Diepsloot, Kya Sand, or Msawawa.  This is morning in South Africa. 

Africa #4 ~ Vessels (South Africa Team)

Twenty-nine teens and young adults showed up in Texas on June 11th (later joined by two more in South Africa).  Most were strangers - only a few of them knew other members of the group.They were from different states, different families, and different walks of life.  Each one came with their own past, insecurities, and expectations.  Why were they together in Texas anyway?  Well, they had a few things in common.  They are all people who have been redeemed, rescued by a holy God.  They all love Jesus and want His name to be made great among the nations. 

The purpose: To bring God glory.

The task: To take the Gospel to those who had never heard in the squatter camps of South Africa.

This is one reason I looked for a missions organization to go with rather than going on a trip with my youth group.  Strangers from across the United States coming together, united in Christ with one faith, one love, one mission is such an amazing image of the body of Christ.  It doesn't matter that some of us were pastors' kids and others' parents don't believe, that some have done drugs and others live in sheltered families, that some live in North Carolina and others are from Alaska.  Each of our stories, personalities, and abilities are a part of the body.  Jesus died for us all and each testimony carries truth and power.

From the very beginning, I asked for prayer that my team would be united and love, trust, and respect each other.  That prayer was answered to a greater degree than I ever hoped.  We came as strangers, but we left a family.  It was obvious that God hand-chose each person on our team.  Of course that would have been true even if we had a horrible experience, but this was incredible.  Looking around, we could tell that each person is called into ministry.  Each person is going to go out and do crazy things for God.

God gave us the grace to be transparent and open with each other.  It didn't happen right away, but when it did, it flung open doors.  Because we knew each others' strengths, sins, fears, desires, etc. we got to see God work in each others' lives.  We were able to encourage one another, hold each other accountable, rejoice in victories, and cry when our hearts were overwhelmed.  Best of all, we got to intercede for one another at the throne.  I can't count the number of times one of us nudged another because God used someone to speak to them.  It was our silent way of saying, "Did you hear that?  We talked about that!  God just spoke to you!  That's so cool!"  The value of being transparent was a big lesson I learned in South Africa.  As James 5:16 says, confessing your sins to one another and praying for each other brings healing.  Sharing your heart brings freedom.  Sin, shame, and hurt fester and grow in the darkness, but they can be healed when brought into the light. 

Now we are apart as we were before.  I miss the intimacy - being constantly surrounded by sisters and brothers who know my heart.  I miss the way Mikaela knows when I need to cry by my voice.  I miss the way Brennen knows how my day is going by the way I walk.  I miss Taylor counting the minutes until lights out for us and Brittany singing "Rise and Shine" while doing cartwheels through the room in the morning.  I miss our songs and raps and serving our glorious God side by side.  It's different now, but that's okay.  We are far apart, but that's another cool thing about being the body of Christ.  Christ is everywhere.  We can still pray for each other.  With modern technology, we can talk to each other any day on the phone or on facebook.  I love that.  

Our team name was Vessels, based on 2 Corinthians 4:7.  Together, we learned to be vessels - to let God work through us, understand that God uses broken vessels, and know that God is glorified by showing Himself strong in our weakness.  We sought each day to be filled by God and to pour out on others.          

Together we stand and say, "My life for the Gospel".  And our Father continues to guide us, work in and through us, and reveal to us what living for the Gospel really means. 

 

V.E.S.S.E.L.S - Very Empowered Souls Sharing Earth's Loving Savior