As always, questions and comments are welcome :)
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Africa #8 ~ Video
I somehow forgot I could post a video here! Now that I remember, here is the video I put together to give all of you a glimpse into everything that happened while I was in South Africa and Zambia for two months. I did show it at my sharing time at CCF and posted it in the facebook group, but I wanted to be sure everyone who wanted to saw it. I hope you enjoy it :)
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Africa #7 ~ Double Blessing
While we were in Texas for training, we were assigned MIG's (ministry groups). Each ministry group must have a MIG leader who is over 18 and at least one guy over the age of 16. Only 5 guys had signed up to go to South Africa, so we had 5 ministry groups and the numbers worked out perfectly.
In South Africa, we did VBS with kids in the squatter camps. Impact Africa has a 5-day curriculum that we used, so each MIG did VBS one day of every week. While in Texas, we had to learn the curriculum for our day. My MIG was assigned Day 2, which is about sin and included a skit of the fall. Naturally, Nazar, our one guy, was Adam. We practiced and practiced and wondered if we were ever going to get it right and practiced and drank some water and practiced. It took a lot of work and a lot of letting go, but it was... okay by the end of training.
During training, we heard that Nazar and his sister Suza might not be able to go to South Africa with us. They were still short on funding and, on top of that, they are originally from Russia and their visas hadn't arrived yet so they could go to South Africa. Much prayer ensued and we contributed to their accounts. Nazar, being the sweet big brother he is, gave all his money to Suza so she could go.
It didn't seem to be enough, though. When we got on the bus and left campus for the airport, Nazar and Suza didn't come with us. Reality didn't really hit until our first full day in South Africa - training for ministry. The MIG's were all supposed to practice their VBS day. Our MIG got together and we realized there was nothing we could do. We had lost our Adam, we needed some serious help, and we didn't understand why God let that happen. Our MIG couldn't even go anywhere without a guy over the age of 16. So, we circled up to pray and as soon as "Jesus!" had escaped our lips, Brennen (our Project Director) said, "Meet your new MIG member!"
Eyes fly open, minds churn, smiles burst out. "This is Adino."
Adino lives in South Africa. His sister is best friends with the daughter of the founder of Impact Africa. You can imagine how glad we were to see him.
We got back to work and figured out how we were going to do our curriculum now that we had another Adam. And it went really well. And the kids loved it. And it was easier than we thought. And it wasn't nearly as scary as we thought. And kids came to know Christ.
But that's not the end.
Nazar and Suza made it to South Africa! A few days after we got there, but they made it. God had a better plan all along and it included stretching our faith. We were devastated when Nazar was taken from us, but then God sent us Adino and gave back Nazar after that. They were our double blessing.
Before Nazar and Suza made it to South Africa
Front: Me, Lacy
Back: Mikaela, Bones (our translator, actually Bonghani), Ellie, Jannell, and Adino
The whole team :)
Front: Me, Ellie, Adino, Jannell, Mikaela, Lacy
Back: Nazar, Bones
I know half of us are wearing the same clothes in both pictures, but they really were completely different days haha :)
In South Africa, we did VBS with kids in the squatter camps. Impact Africa has a 5-day curriculum that we used, so each MIG did VBS one day of every week. While in Texas, we had to learn the curriculum for our day. My MIG was assigned Day 2, which is about sin and included a skit of the fall. Naturally, Nazar, our one guy, was Adam. We practiced and practiced and wondered if we were ever going to get it right and practiced and drank some water and practiced. It took a lot of work and a lot of letting go, but it was... okay by the end of training.
During training, we heard that Nazar and his sister Suza might not be able to go to South Africa with us. They were still short on funding and, on top of that, they are originally from Russia and their visas hadn't arrived yet so they could go to South Africa. Much prayer ensued and we contributed to their accounts. Nazar, being the sweet big brother he is, gave all his money to Suza so she could go.
It didn't seem to be enough, though. When we got on the bus and left campus for the airport, Nazar and Suza didn't come with us. Reality didn't really hit until our first full day in South Africa - training for ministry. The MIG's were all supposed to practice their VBS day. Our MIG got together and we realized there was nothing we could do. We had lost our Adam, we needed some serious help, and we didn't understand why God let that happen. Our MIG couldn't even go anywhere without a guy over the age of 16. So, we circled up to pray and as soon as "Jesus!" had escaped our lips, Brennen (our Project Director) said, "Meet your new MIG member!"
Eyes fly open, minds churn, smiles burst out. "This is Adino."
Adino lives in South Africa. His sister is best friends with the daughter of the founder of Impact Africa. You can imagine how glad we were to see him.
We got back to work and figured out how we were going to do our curriculum now that we had another Adam. And it went really well. And the kids loved it. And it was easier than we thought. And it wasn't nearly as scary as we thought. And kids came to know Christ.
But that's not the end.
Nazar and Suza made it to South Africa! A few days after we got there, but they made it. God had a better plan all along and it included stretching our faith. We were devastated when Nazar was taken from us, but then God sent us Adino and gave back Nazar after that. They were our double blessing.
Before Nazar and Suza made it to South Africa
Front: Me, Lacy
Back: Mikaela, Bones (our translator, actually Bonghani), Ellie, Jannell, and Adino
The whole team :)
Front: Me, Ellie, Adino, Jannell, Mikaela, Lacy
Back: Nazar, Bones
I know half of us are wearing the same clothes in both pictures, but they really were completely different days haha :)
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Africa #6 ~ Lesogo
The post in which I finally tell an actual ministry story.
If you've asked me about Africa, I have most likely told you this story. People often ask about my favorite moment or the most amazing thing that happened while I was in Africa. I have so much trouble picking a favorite anything and stories from my time in Africa are no exception. However, this is the story that usually comes out because it is so very close to my heart. This is not the story of a woman being healed of AIDS or a blind man seeing or of a sangoma being used for God's glory, although those are incredible stories of God's love and power, which should be told. It is a story beautiful in its simplicity. A quiet, unobtrusive story easily overlooked though full of God's workings.
That day, Team VESSELS was ministering in Kya Sand. My MIG (ministry group) had noticed that, when we encountered women who attend church, they often said took their children to church, but their husbands wouldn't go. You see, heavy drinking and gambling is rampant in these squatter camps and many men there think they have to fix themselves before they can go to church. Because the men don't think they belong at church, there is a widely accepted sentiment that "church is for women". During ministry, my MIG encountered many women, but the men were often out drinking, gambling, doing piece jobs (odd jobs), or looking for work.
Before leaving the creche (preschool, run by Impact Africa) for ministry, my MIG decided to pray that God would lead us to men to minister to that day and that he would raise up men in Kya Sand to be spiritual leaders. Then we left and walked through the camp, across the river, and up to the other side of Kya Sand, where we were doing ministry that day.
Surprise! There were No. Women. There were large groups of men everywhere. Before we knew it, the two guys in our group and our translator were sitting with and talking to a big group of these men. GE has a lot of rules about girls approaching men for safety reasons, so we couldn't really talk to anyone. But then two women showed up a few feet away, so we sat down and began to talk to them, but they both got up and walked away without saying much. As they were leaving, six or seven children appeared and we decided to do an impromptu VBS. (This happened with several MIG's while on hut-to-hut ministry - telling the kids a Bible story, presenting the Gospel, playing games, and singing songs wherever a group of children happened to be, whether it was at a soccer pitch, behind a group of shacks, on the side of the road.) Several children decided to follow Jesus, which was very exciting. After the VBS, we decided to pray for the community of Kya Sand and the kids followed and stood with us as we prayed in the street. When we looked up, there was a man walking toward us. One man. We were allowed to talk to one man, just not groups of men. Most of my MIG was on the side of the circle closest to the man and they began to talk to him. I was mostly surrounded by the kids.
As I listened to the conversation unfold, one of the girls who had accepted Christ walked up to me and asked to borrow my Bible. I gave it to her and she started flipping through it, saying, "John... John... John...". I helped her find the book of John and asked, "What chapter?" She said, "14. John 14:6". As I opened to John 14:6, she quoted it to me. "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." When we got there, we read it together and she said, "I don't understand. Will you explain it to me?" Of course I would explain it to her! When I was done, her face lit up and she said, "I get it!". She then offered another reference, which was a parable involving money. We read it together and she again asked me to explain what it meant. As we were finishing our conversation about the parable, my MIG was ready to move and the girl, Lesogo, held my hand and walked with me as I continued to explain. She stayed with me the whole ministry day - walking between shacks, sitting in the road - as we read portions of the Bible and talked about what they meant.
Lesogo is a beautiful 11-year-old girl. Her mother takes her to church every Sunday, but, like most churches in the squatter camps, it is full of false doctrine. The leaders of the church Lesogo went to teach ancestor worship and that there are many ways to be saved, among other false teachings, and only read passages from the Bible that involve money. The whole point of the church seemed to be to make the leaders rich. I took Lesogo through many different parts of the Bible, addressing these topics and emphasizing most of all that Jesus is the only way. I also found out Lesogo had never heard of heaven - had no idea there was something after death. (This was common among the people we met in the squatter camps. Even people who had gone to church their whole lives didn't know about heaven.) Her face lit up every time I explained something to her and, at the end, she said, "I get it! Jesus is the only way! I'm going to tell my parents, my family, and all my friends that Jesus is the only way because I want them to come to heaven with me, too!".
I may never see Lesogo again on this earth, but I pray for her daily and I know my God is faithful and I trust that He will finish the work He has begun in Lesogo's life.
Sadly, I didn't have my camera that day, but here is a picture of my fantastic MIG :)
Me, Ellie, Adino, Nazar, Jannell, Mikaela, Bones (our translator, actually Bonghani), and Lacy
If you've asked me about Africa, I have most likely told you this story. People often ask about my favorite moment or the most amazing thing that happened while I was in Africa. I have so much trouble picking a favorite anything and stories from my time in Africa are no exception. However, this is the story that usually comes out because it is so very close to my heart. This is not the story of a woman being healed of AIDS or a blind man seeing or of a sangoma being used for God's glory, although those are incredible stories of God's love and power, which should be told. It is a story beautiful in its simplicity. A quiet, unobtrusive story easily overlooked though full of God's workings.
That day, Team VESSELS was ministering in Kya Sand. My MIG (ministry group) had noticed that, when we encountered women who attend church, they often said took their children to church, but their husbands wouldn't go. You see, heavy drinking and gambling is rampant in these squatter camps and many men there think they have to fix themselves before they can go to church. Because the men don't think they belong at church, there is a widely accepted sentiment that "church is for women". During ministry, my MIG encountered many women, but the men were often out drinking, gambling, doing piece jobs (odd jobs), or looking for work.
Before leaving the creche (preschool, run by Impact Africa) for ministry, my MIG decided to pray that God would lead us to men to minister to that day and that he would raise up men in Kya Sand to be spiritual leaders. Then we left and walked through the camp, across the river, and up to the other side of Kya Sand, where we were doing ministry that day.
Surprise! There were No. Women. There were large groups of men everywhere. Before we knew it, the two guys in our group and our translator were sitting with and talking to a big group of these men. GE has a lot of rules about girls approaching men for safety reasons, so we couldn't really talk to anyone. But then two women showed up a few feet away, so we sat down and began to talk to them, but they both got up and walked away without saying much. As they were leaving, six or seven children appeared and we decided to do an impromptu VBS. (This happened with several MIG's while on hut-to-hut ministry - telling the kids a Bible story, presenting the Gospel, playing games, and singing songs wherever a group of children happened to be, whether it was at a soccer pitch, behind a group of shacks, on the side of the road.) Several children decided to follow Jesus, which was very exciting. After the VBS, we decided to pray for the community of Kya Sand and the kids followed and stood with us as we prayed in the street. When we looked up, there was a man walking toward us. One man. We were allowed to talk to one man, just not groups of men. Most of my MIG was on the side of the circle closest to the man and they began to talk to him. I was mostly surrounded by the kids.
As I listened to the conversation unfold, one of the girls who had accepted Christ walked up to me and asked to borrow my Bible. I gave it to her and she started flipping through it, saying, "John... John... John...". I helped her find the book of John and asked, "What chapter?" She said, "14. John 14:6". As I opened to John 14:6, she quoted it to me. "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." When we got there, we read it together and she said, "I don't understand. Will you explain it to me?" Of course I would explain it to her! When I was done, her face lit up and she said, "I get it!". She then offered another reference, which was a parable involving money. We read it together and she again asked me to explain what it meant. As we were finishing our conversation about the parable, my MIG was ready to move and the girl, Lesogo, held my hand and walked with me as I continued to explain. She stayed with me the whole ministry day - walking between shacks, sitting in the road - as we read portions of the Bible and talked about what they meant.
Lesogo is a beautiful 11-year-old girl. Her mother takes her to church every Sunday, but, like most churches in the squatter camps, it is full of false doctrine. The leaders of the church Lesogo went to teach ancestor worship and that there are many ways to be saved, among other false teachings, and only read passages from the Bible that involve money. The whole point of the church seemed to be to make the leaders rich. I took Lesogo through many different parts of the Bible, addressing these topics and emphasizing most of all that Jesus is the only way. I also found out Lesogo had never heard of heaven - had no idea there was something after death. (This was common among the people we met in the squatter camps. Even people who had gone to church their whole lives didn't know about heaven.) Her face lit up every time I explained something to her and, at the end, she said, "I get it! Jesus is the only way! I'm going to tell my parents, my family, and all my friends that Jesus is the only way because I want them to come to heaven with me, too!".
I may never see Lesogo again on this earth, but I pray for her daily and I know my God is faithful and I trust that He will finish the work He has begun in Lesogo's life.
Sadly, I didn't have my camera that day, but here is a picture of my fantastic MIG :)
Me, Ellie, Adino, Nazar, Jannell, Mikaela, Bones (our translator, actually Bonghani), and Lacy
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