South Africa Mission

Proverbs 27:17

I chose this verse not only because Pastor Tad used it in our fellowship meeting last night, but it also accurately describes the group here in ZA. As our time here has progressed and also as it winds down, we have all found that every single individual brings something different to the table. Not only have we been impacting the lives of the people and youth here, but we have helped each other to grow as Christians. Something that will affect us the rest of our time here on this Earth.

Thursday was a remarkable afternoon. The Lord placed a wonderful Christian woman in our path named Amy that is highly respected in the school where she works, which allowed for her to set up an after school program called the Fun Club. This allowed for the team to come in and share songs, lessons, and fun to the children of the school. Although we won't be able to be there, next Thursday they will hold yet another Fun Club after school and I am sure that God will allow for even more children to show up!

Because of the bad weather we were experiencing on Friday, Pastor Crane decided to reschedule our Game Reserve tour and instead gave us the opportunity to pass out more pamphlets and tracts concerning Agape Baptist Church here in George. This is always a fun time for the groups that go out and have to brave the streets of a foreign land in neighborhoods where every house has a dog as big as a small pony.

In all sincerity this was one of the more essential functions of our group while we here in South Africa. It allowed for all of us to come to the realization that mission work is very long term based relational work. You don't necessarily get the instant edification of seeing a soul come to Christ. Instead you must take a step back and look at it from the perspective that a year or more down the road, the community will know who Pastor Crane is and where his church is located and the church, through the Power of the Lord working through our outreach efforts here, will be able to make a much larger impact in this community. That evening the music groups practiced, the big ball was blown up, and we all prepared mentally and emotionally for another wonderful youth rally. That evening was a special blessing because one of the young men attending decided to place his trust in the Lord Jesus as his Savior! I believe I could speak for the whole group when I say that it was a truly uplifting experience to see another soul come to Him, and even if that was the only one during these two weeks, it was worth it.

Saturday morning we were able to go to a open air market where food and crafts were sold, and even music was played. At noon we drove to a town where we helped Pastor Miles with distribution and promotion of his church there. As Pastor Tad made it clear to us, we were here to promote and help out the local church in any way we can, and that is exactly what we did. We split into groups and headed down roads through townships and through neighborhoods where poverty abounded. After a small break that afternoon, we all were ready for the evening dinner and testimony time at the Crane's household. We cannot thank them enough for their hospitality and kindness they have shown us.

This morning (Sunday), the groups split up yet again, this time going to the opposite churches they went to last weekend. More children attended this time around, and I know that made it seem all the more worth it.

Again we cannot thank you enough for all of your prayers and thoughts and well wishes. God has been doing so much through us and for us and we can put our trust and faith that He always will. I believe we have all grown stronger in our faith in the Lord because of this trip, and will continue to even in our last days and nights here. We all miss you very much and love you even more! Keep a weather eye for us on Wednesday!!