Hope House

On Friday we went to Hope House, an orphanage of about 30 kids. I have been looking forward to meeting these kids all week! When we drove up they came running out to meet us. They were excited to meet us too!
Most of them could speak enough English so that we could get to know each other without a translator. All we did with them this week was introduce ourselves, play, sing songs, a craft, and games. For the rest of the year we will also be teaching them a lesson about God. For the first four weeks it will be about love.

Ministering in Intabazwe

Thursday we did Relationship Evangelism which was going into Intabazwe and visiting houses and building relationships with the people. We only did one house this week and talked to a 19 year old girl named Refilwe. She also had a son, Oratile, who she gets to see on weekends and sometimes during the week. Otherwise he lives with his grandma.
We talked for awhile just getting to know her, and then we asked if she went to church. She said she did sometimes but the pastor was boring. Marc shared that he didn’t like church either when he was a boy, but his parent made him. Soon he realized how much God loved him and liked going to church. Then we told her that God wants a relationship with us.
Alaina asked if she was interested in having a relationship with God, then gave the gospel starting with Adam and Eve. It was really neat. She didn’t make any decision but said she would think about it and we told her we would try to be back next week.
I think it is neat that we get to go into the village and make these friendships and have this time to spend with people. It’s a great way to minister.

Commissioning Night

We Fall Down
At our Commissioning & Braai (African BBQ), we started with worship. The first couple songs I didn’t know or not enough to sing along with so I just listened. Then Marc lead us singing, “We Fall Down.” I felt God whisper to me at that moment and goose bumps were all over my body!
My mind flashed back to my living room at home. I was folding laundry and listening to “We Fall Down” by Chris Tomlin and he also sang it in Setswana. I played that song over and over trying to learn to sing it in Setswana too. I wanted to go to Botswana like Chris did and sing this song to them. Now I’m in South Africa, 400 miles from Botswana, singing “We Fall Down”!

Vision of an Arrow

This isn’t all though, the evening kept getting better. After the message (that was really good) the staff prayed over us. Charlene prayed over me first, she started with something about an arrow. At the end she explained that she kept seeing an arrow. I was this arrow. Arrows always have a target, and when fired they get to their location quickly. God is my archer and He has fired me in the right direction for He never misses. So wherever I’m aimed now, is my target and the place I’m suppose to be! This was very encouraging and I know it will help with God’s leading me next year.

Mary and Martha

June prayed over me too. Before she prayed though she reminded me of the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). She said that this year God has called me to be a Mary, maybe I’ve been a Martha lately. She challenged me to choose to spend time with God in my free times instead of finding something to do. By being a Mary I will sit at Jesus’ feet and not get caught up in serving and being busy. I know I have planned on being a Martha this year as I am in Africa on a mission’s trip to serve and be busy in missions. This didn’t make sense to me at first, why didn’t God want me busy? Why am I to spend so much time with Him? Thinking about it, I realize it doesn’t make sense to go out and minister and become busy for the Lord if I’m not in an intimate relationship with Him. Now I ask myself, “How can I minister without having the Word in my heart with faith, wisdom, and courage to share?” Now I see why spending so much time with God is important for ministry. June said I will see miracles happen when I have this connection with God. I believe it and I’m excited to see what happens in my life and in the lives of others!

Tour of Qwa Qwa

Well today was an exciting day as we planned to tour Qwa Qwa and Intabazwe but had an unexpected accident during our first tour.
We left the mission base for the first time this morning at 9am and headed to Qwa Qwa. On the way we saw lots of farms with crops, cattle, or horses. As we got closer to the city we saw lots of government housing which was little two bedroom brick houses with a medal roof.
First thing we did was get permission to see the native’s memorial. Two natives escorted us and shared their history. They explained all the tools they used and some they still use to this day inside the little museum. I found it fascinating and noticed lots of similarities with how the Native Americans used tools like these as well.
It was a mostly cloudy day and not too hot when Katie, our director, fainted on the rocky ground where we were standing. I don’t know how long but I imagine we were standing there for a long time listening when Katie fell down. She woke up right away but was bleeding badly from her lip and had chipped her tooth. We decided to leave and bring her to a doctor.
While Katie was at the doctor we did our shopping for the week. I expected the city to have big businesses since it has 1.8 million residents; however, most of it looked like more houses. I did see a shell station, KFC, and the small grocery store with a strip of other small shops. We didn’t go to the post office or continue our tour but headed back to the base after finishing our shopping. We were ready to head back anyway.

In Africa!

I have already felt and experienced the blessings God has promised here in Africa!

It is a dream come true for me to be in Africa right now since I have long wanted to be a missionary somewhere far in the world! Back when I realized it would actually happen I thought again and wondered why it had to be far, why not close to home? Well this is God's dream for me as well and whatever reason it is that He wants me on the other side of the world I don't know yet.

South Africa is a very amazing and beautiful place! I live with my roommate, Alaina, in a nice cabin on Thrive Africa's mission base close to Harrismith. We are part of 5 interns willing to work together to teach about God in schools and council youth along with many other mission opportunities Thrive Africa provides!

In the Airplane

I’ve spent the past 5 months getting ready to fly off to South Africa and now that it is truly happening, it’s still hard to believe! I am on my way to South Africa right now.
I have been waiting for this moment almost all my life, the moment when I fly off to somewhere I’ve never been, to see people I’ve never met, to reach the world with God’s love and leave everything else behind. I’ve found it hard to keep focused on that dream. Physically I have kept working hard to earn enough money and continue all other preparations to go to another continent. However my mind has become fearful. I have become afraid of saying good-bye to everyone I know and leaving home. Sometimes I think this fear is pulling me away from God, but now I realize it has only brought me closer to Him. He has made His promise to me in Psalms 41:1-2,

"Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth;..."

Getting Ready for the Journey

Wow! Is surprises me to think that I will be leaving for South Africa in just 5 days. It takes lots of preparation to go to another continent for almost an entire year.
Before I go there is of course, packing. What do I want to bring with me that I will have for a year and what will I leave behind?
One thing I will have to leave behind is my family and friends. That is why before I leave I want to spend as much time with them as possible.
I look forward to arriving in Washington DC and meeting up with the other people traveling to South Africa on the same mission. A few of these people could be my future room mates for the year!
Then we will all arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa and drive down to the mission base. It will be so exiting to drive into the base for the first time!

First Blog

Testing, testing, one, two, three!