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From November 2012 to November 12, 2013
"Mike, Kristen, do you know why I eat cake today?"
"Cake?"
"Aih."
"Why is that Precious?"
"Because today I learned that the blind could regain their sight, and because God can do that, I know that He can help me through what I have."
I have known Precious for over a year now and she never ceases to amaze me. Literally this is her story, and it seems unbelievable. If you don't believe me, it's fine, you can come and meet her for yourself and ask her to tell you her story.
She started to come to our Medical Clinic last year to help work there. She would act as a nurse's assistant. She met Emma Schneider and a mission team from Virginia who had two nurses on the team named Ginger and Nichie. They spent time with Precious on and off as she would volunteer with them and they would laugh together often. Precious has such a great African sense of humor, however she does not speak English fluently so I would always say, "Hello" to her in Zulu as I would pass by our clinic on our way into Kya Sands Township to evangelize, which always made her laugh and poke fun at me and we laughed often about it. She also had really sharp and attentive eyes. She could always pick a person out of a group before the group was actually on top of her.
She grew close to Ginger, Nichie, and Emma and one day shared that she had HIV and Aids. It's an incredibly bold thing to do on two accounts because in the first place, in the African culture, HIV and Aids are taboo. The people are very scared of HIV and Aids and often times they ostracize individuals who have it because they don't understand it.
The second reason why was the fact that Precious was a Sangoma (a shaman, or a witchdoctor who seeks power from ancestors) and she knew that our ladies were Christians. But because of the love, care, and relationship she had been building with our team she shared about her condition, confiding in them, and asked for prayer from Ginger! Ginger did an amazing job of ministering to her in that moment and Precious deeply appreciated it.
Time passed and it was a long time before I saw Precious again. We began a new year and began to see her as we passed by her house for Bible Study. I always teased her because she was illegally gambling with all the other ladies on her street, and she laughed about it, but we always invited her to Bible Study. She was still wearing all of her Sangoma charms and still practiced her prayers to ancestors, she had not yet decided to cross the line of faith. She didn't come, but every time we saw each other we laughed.
Then one day, one of our teams visited her from Houston, Texas. She was very very sick and weak from the virus. Kristen Sullivan, one of our interns was ministering to her and Precious was receiving what she was saying. Then Precious asked for me by name. "No, I need to see Mike."
I was kind of shocked. I didn't really think that Precious remembered me, but I was game to see her and was able to go see her the following week.
When I came to her house I had to wait outside as there was a line to see her. In African culture, it's customary for African friends to visit each other when they are sick and it can be offensive if you don't go and see your sick friend. So I waited for my turn to see her.
She was lying on her bed when I entered. She had lost a lot of weight and did not move quickly, except for her eyes, which were still very attentive and focused. She smiled at me and I smiled back. We began to talk but we were actually interrupted by a woman dressed in a red and black wrap with colorful beads all over her, a Sangoma. She was trying to get paid for her services in trying to save Precious from the virus. She was very desperate to be saved from the sickness and I didn't blame her, but I needed to be honest with her.
When the Sangoma had left I turned to my friend, "Precious, do you know that the Sangoma cannot save you?"
She looked at me, but said nothing. I actually began to tear up feeling the despair that she must have felt, but she needed the truth. We spoke for a few hours about what I meant by that and how powerful God was to save her.
I began to visit everyday for a few weeks speaking with her and we even moved one of the Bible Studies to her house for a time. Then it happened.
"Zee" as he likes to be called, another one of our interns, was leading our Bible Study in her house when Precious just interrupted him and literally asked, "What must I do to be saved?" LITERALLY. Zee, did a fantastic job of explaining the Gospel and she gave her life to Christ right then and there. Visiting her again and again, both Kristen and I worked to disciple her and help her understand what it was she was doing.
We shared with her that life may not be easy just because she gave her life to Christ. We even told her that she may not be healed from the virus, but that we wanted her to be and we would ask God for her healing. But the thing that she held onto was something that was beyond this world and it gave her hope and she still has that hope today. This is so true, that I can even see it in her eyes. Something that I had never seen before: joy and peace, but most of all peace. Her eyes had been sharp and attentive, but now when I see her, it's as if they had actually been fearful and strained. Now she has hope.
Since giving her life to the Lord it has not been easy. Her health has risen and fallen as we've prayed with her. Her husband left her, her son was put in jail for stealing a car, causing a four car pile up downtown, and she had wanted her life to end several times. But each time the Lord has provided the answer to what she needs.
When her husband left her, Kristen and I visited her constantly. When her son was put in jail, Denis (one of the young men who I have been making a disciple of and brought into my house) went with her to share his testimony with her son. He gave his life to Christ and she was able to pay bail. She has faced hardship after hardship and come to the brink of herself, but the Lord has carried her beyond what she cannot handle. She is founded in Christ, not in anyone of us and that's the beautiful thing. She has completely left ancestral worship, and I know that she will meet the Savior one day, despite the hardships she faces now.
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The Month of September, 2013
“I came from Diepsloot here in extension 1, and when I attended school in extension 2 I was the school's best drug dealer at age 11.”
Denis and Andile have very similar stories to tell. They were both born in the Squatter Camps of Johannesburg into families where there was no father figure. The hunger for a father figure pushed them toward brotherhoods and into gangs in the communities where they soon climbed their way to the top and their climb exposed them to substance abuse. When they hit rock bottom, addicted, penniless, and suicidal they found Christ. Impact Africa brings in hundreds of short term missionaries every year and we seek to bring hope and truth to men just like Denis and Andile.
One of these teams found Denis in Kya Sands township in 2002 and asked him a simple question, “Where will you go when you die?” Andile came to know the Lord 2 years ago from a similar experience because of short term missionaries in 2011. Both of them joined our Bible Studies in Kya Sands Township listening to the stories of the Bible and translated for other teams; hearing the Gospel over and over again and even teaching it to others in the process.
I took them through a training last month for our High School Ministry. Now we are able to go into Public High Schools in the Squatter Camps under the umbrella of a class every Public High School has. It’s called Life Orientation. This class is filled by various teachers, but never assigned to one particular teacher and the subject is so broad that it is not clearly defined, but generally speaking it is in the vein of ethics and making good choices. So we come into the class room reaching out to teenagers in each community and help them understand what they face everyday and present them with Christian morals, viable ways to reach their own dreams, and ultimately the Gospel.
The key ways we do this is through a multimedia package to captivate the kids, educating them on the dangers of substance abuse and sex before marriage. Every single lesson is a dynamic presentation filled with video clips, multimedia, and testimonies. The really cool part is that we also get to minister to the kids in break times, school holiday events, and even recess (bringing the ministry of reconciliation to the kick ball is one of our favorites).
The response we have received to the classes has been astonishing. Often at the end of class the students will have the option to leave early or stay for further instruction and teaching and every single learner stays, sometimes even chanting, "Movie! Movie! Movie!" Denis and Andile are able to dive deep with boys who are often times regarded as “the ones making trouble at school.” I have watched them make connections with learners that few ever could and speak into their lives exactly what they need to hear to prevent them from taking the same road that Denis and Andile have had to take.
We are able to take these men, who have been our disciples, and put them into positions where they can disciple others and invite them into ministry with us as well. This is not a one time pitch up in these High Schools, but a constant ministry every week.
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Some time in June, 2013
We entered Zandspruit Squatter Camp just next to our good friend, Pastor Sipho's church (Community Christian Church of Zandspruit) and my honestly my stomach was rolling around on my insides. I had battled a stomach ulcer in high school and my symptoms were right in line with what had happened then, but hey we still go out.
So we divided up into our groups for ministry and that day we were hosting the team from Asia and I went with the team leader that day. He was just a little younger than I and full of passion for the Lord. He requested that we go out together so he could see the way that we conduct ministry. So we just walked out of the church parking lot and up the road stopping 3 houses down from the church where several young men were standing. These guys were int their early twenties.
We struck up a conversation and were soon laughing and joking with each other. Their names were Ali and Mpho and they were both from Botswana. Ali (23) was actually my age and Mpho was just one year younger. They had come over to South Africa as singers in a church choir for an Apostolic church that met in a red building just to our left. We asked if they could open it up for us and show us inside and they very graciously did.
The name "Apostolic" in an African setting is very often twisted and mingled with African Traditional Beliefs, normally ancestral worship, consulting witch doctors for magic charms, and following what they call "the Man of God" or "the Woman of God" (these people are viewed to be elevated individuals who must be strictly obeyed and feared even if what they have to say contradicts the Bible).
The church that we were entering was in a very similar state. It was founded by a witch doctor woman of god. She conducted various "spiritual cleansing" rituals for individuals at a price and she did it through power that she gained from the choir singing. Mpho and Ali told us that she demanded that they sing, sometimes for hours and hours at a time without food, sleep, or being able to relieve themselves. Because of this they refused her and just months earlier had sent her back to Botswana. Finding this out, this is where we began to ask more probing questions.
The young men believed that the Bible was true and so I asked them if we could open up and walk through Isaiah chapter 8 which talks about leaving behind all of the old incantations of life, the spells, and the charms in false idols and familiar spirits. When we walked through the chapter both young men’s jaws dropped at different times especially in verses 18-20.
I asked them if they understood where a plant comes from and they both nodded yes. I asked them if they thought that a plant could come from a seed that was cut into pieces and they both shook their heads no. But I explained to them that Christ told us He is the only way to God as He said in John 14:6 and that because of that we can ask Him to come and reign as the Lord and Savior of our lives, to have a relationship with Him. In explaining this Ali asked, “How can I have a relationship with God?” I took him to Romans 10:9, where it says that by confessing to God that Christ is the only chief we will be saved. We were able to pray then and there and Ali gave his life to the Lord! Mpho was still a little skeptical and stand offish, but was not in any way rude and I trust that the Lord is still working in his life.
The very next day we saw Ali at Pastor Sipho’s church and it wouldn’t surprise me if God set up our day in Zandspruit, me having a sore stomach and all (only wanting to walk a few feet), just for Ali and the church there!
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April 19, 2013
This is the second time this year this has happened to me and it’s NOT EASY. BUT IT IS ABSOLUTELY… why I am here.
I have not used any names for purposes that I am sure that you will understand. Before I write this testimony from the field I would like to preface it to help you understand that these are not stories to flaunt around. I did not do a good job in either one of these stories and I was not fully equipped to handle either one of them, however I know that my God is. And that He can use a donkey to speak to a prophet so He can use me and He can use you as well.
I was walking through Kya Sands Township on my way to join up with my Bible Study group for Discipleship when a man called out to me, “Hey Mike!” I get this a lot actually now in Kya, since I’ve spent nearly the last three years as one of 5-7 white people coming through there every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but shamefully I can’t remember every body else’s names. There are 17,000 people living in the span of about 80 acres and I just about have 100 names down… maybe.
So I stopped and said, “Sawubona!” (Literally it means “I see you”).
The man appeared to be in his late 20’s, talked with a little bit of a slur and walked with a limp. I walked over to him as he reached out his hand and I could see that his eyes were blood shot, also not really all that unnatural for a man in Kya Sands on a Friday afternoon. For no reason what so ever I stopped. Normally I would say goodbye and head on to Bible Study, but I didn’t. The man instantly said, “I’m in a deep trouble my friend. I’m in a deep trouble.” This is also not uncommon, seeing as how the average unemployment rate in a Township is close to 80%. So I asked him what was going on.
He had had a stroke and his entire right side of his body was paralyzed, which explained the limp. Since the stroke he has had even less hope of ever finding any kind of job to provide for himself. And just the day before he had lost his mother to sickness and the doctors told him that his mother had instructed them not to give her the medication necessary to keep her alive. Now even for the Squatter Camps this is a really really rough situation because now this man has no community around him because his family had decided to ostracize him because he had nothing to contribute to the family. Community/Family is everything here in Africa. Your strength does not come from your own ability win bread, but your family’s ability to win bread because you will all share it. If you have no family then you are weak because only you are winning bread and if you cannot win bread yourself you are out of luck.
He then told me that he was thinking about ending it all. I sat down next to him, next to his shack and listened to how it had all started with the stroke and only continued on everyday after that. It was really really rough. Finally I asked him about what he had said about ending it all. He stood up and hobbled over to his window opened it up and pulled back the curtain. The inside of his shack was damp and dusty and it only consisted of his bed and a dresser that was covered with an assortment of empty dishes and a burnt down candle. But he wanted me to see what was over his bed. It was a rope hanging from the one of the two by fours on his ceiling that was tied into a very clumsy noose.
I was in shock. I had no idea what to say. I really don’t know if played out on my face, but I just sat there for a minute. I had been praying coherently all the way up until this minute and then I just started talking to God and saying, “Wow, I have no idea what to say in this situation Lord.” I felt ill equipped, out of my league in a battle against the enemy for this guys life right then and right there. He had then said that after his mother’s funeral he would end it.
How are mere words supposed to help in that kind of a situation? How can you give some one their courage, joy, and comfort to fight against suicidal thoughts in the midst of their absolute need to grieve for the loss of their loved ones? I am not trained as a counsellor, and in fact in the States it’s illegal to give counseling as a Pastor without a Counseling Degree.
But three things I do know. I know that there is a God in Heaven who DESPERATELY AND DEEPLY CARES AND HURTS JUST AS MUCH AND HAS NOT ABANDONED THESE SITUATIONS! He sees them, He holds them, and He is still strong enough for each one of them. He has also given us the ministry of reconciliation, bringing people who are separated from him back to Himself. And lastly, even if I don’t know what the exact right thing to say is in that kind of situation I can empathize with someone like that. Is that a cold calloused way of saying, “Oh, I’m so sorry for you. Don’t worry it’ll get better.” No, I don’t believe that it is. Empathizing with someone is not sitting there and telling someone all the reasons why they should feel better. Empathizing is a very special moment where you come to sit with someone in their pain. Hebrews 13:3 says, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”
Some of you are in very real pain as well. I can think of two of you who have shared with me that you have lost someone, a mother, both grandmothers and you weren’t even there to be with them when they died. I hurt with you and I hurt for you. I am praying for you and I love you. And I still know that even though each day tries to steal your joy, crush your courage, and destroy your soul God has never ever left you. He has been with you in each dark night and each new morning.
We cut down the noose that he had made that day and I gave him money for food for the week and I am still visiting him as much as I can. He is doing much better, but it’s really not easy and this is the second time this has happened this month. The other man was in his late 30’s and he was white and had lost everything. We talked in a similar fashion understanding that God loves each one of us enough to shake heaven and earth in the midst of each situation and put someone in front of us to bring us some kind of Hope which will last. That kind of Hope is always found in the Gospel message.
He has taken action in your life and in mine and His love is extravagant. He is wild and untamed, and He isn’t even safe, but HE IS SO RIDICULOUSLY GOOD IT’S UNBELIEVABLE. We burned the noose and I hope that we will find more nooses to burn in everyday life.
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April 4, 2013
Ministry has continued on in my absence and there is an amazing testimony that Cori shared with me that took place in one of our discipleship groups that I wanted to pass along to you all. One of the women told Cori's group, "I am changing my name to 'Ruth.'" This is huge in this culture because when a child is born they are given a name of one of their ancestors and they believe that the baby will take on the spirit of that ancestor. So what she was saying is, "I no longer want to be subject to my ancestors."
Cori then got to explain with joy the truth that when we come to lay everything down before Christ we ARE BORN AGAIN and we are given a new identity in Him. The woman was ecstatic and she is still coming to our groups with a new identity in Christ. We are so excited for these kind of moments and all that takes place with them!
' face, my horrible Sistwana, and why I was there. The man seemed completely uninterested and almost seemed to try to communicate that with the way he lay down on the ground when I came up.
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February 12, 2013
I am always challenged by something that I have heard and quote when I share, "Missions is not an activity on the field, but it is a condition of the heart." Sometimes I realize that I don't make that bar all the time, but when we are intentional about it and keep our heart and mind engaged I can see it come out more and more.
We were walking back into the dusty roads of Diepsloot with kids laughing and running with bicycle tires as big as themselves, surrounded by shacks, and those who were getting ramped up for the night life party scenes. It was a beautifully hot African day and we were coming into Diepsloot with the intent to preach the Gospel. That morning we had held a children's ministry at the soccer field and we needed more translators for the afternoon. So I was getting our ministry groups out into their designated areas where we would saturate the community with the Gospel so that I could jet around and find two more translators who could help us.
As I got my ministry group into their designated area I started off up the hill back toward the school where we had just come from intent on meeting my friend Thato there. I turned a corner thinking double checking my logistical check list in my head and I heard, "uMlungu! (A White Guy!)." There were four perfectly good roughians sitting around a card table with a couple bottles of beer opened wearing all of the ancestral gear and a big sign over their shack that said, "Dr. Raineck Services." "Doctors" in the shacks are normally the word they use for ancestral healers and Sangomas (an herbalist who consults with spirits to try to heal you).
"Come pray for us bra! We need a blessing!"
Regretfully, I had no intention on stopping and sadly I didn't ... then. I waved politely, with all the red flags going off in my head that and I told them that I was heading up the hill. I knew that they would be there when I got back and I even thought about going back a different route thinking through safety, but by the time I had dropped off my friend Thato and our other translator I had forgotten about it. So I turned the corner again and I received the same welcome.
I stopped this time and the four guys walked over to me. They were all just about my age maybe a little younger and smiling from ear to ear. I guess when you're bored in Diepsloot having a mLungu to entertain you is quite the show.
"What would you like me to pray for you for?"
"A blessing bra, I need power for living," I looked at my new found friend Mr. Raineck who was wearing a traditional coronation head piece and was covered in charms and it still makes me smile.
"I would love to pray for you brother, but first let's talk a little bit. Because when we pray we are praying to One God right?"
"Yes" They all nodded vigorously, all smiles.
"Just this tree here" I pointed to a tree that we were standing the shade of. "It was planted with one seed right?"
They all nodded still smiling.
"Did they cut that seed into pieces and put a piece here and put a piece here and another here?" I motioned to the ground pointing in a circle around a small stream that wove it's way down the muddy street. They all shook their heads.
"Well in the same way, how can we take all of our trust as a seed and cut it into pieces and put our trust in Jesus, money, ancestors, and sangoma?"
They laughed and we got into the really good nitty-gritty. Raineck had a white father and a black mother and when Raineck was born his father abandoned him. I shared my testimony with him explaining that even though Raineck was wounded God wanted his whole trust and that He was willing to prove it to him. I explained the Gospel to them through "Lebolla" or "Magadi" which to them, in their culture is a bride price. When a man sees a woman that he wants to be with he goes to the father of that woman and he asks him, "How much is Lebolla?" So then the father of the woman would set a specific price i.e. 13 cows. It's very simple in this culture cows = relationship, no cows = no women. Anyways, the first cow is immediately slaughtered at the wedding and there is feast held.
"That is what Christ did for us! He saw the separation between us and Him and He went to the Father and asked, 'How much is Lebolla for my bride?' And the Father said, 'It will cost You everything.' So He died to bridge the separation between us and Himself! So now we have had Lebolla paid for us to go and be with Him when we die, but in the mean time to we turn to other things? Just like a woman would turn to a different man and cross the man who paid lebolla for her?"
"NO!" They were emphatic and I could tell that they could relate on the issue of Lebolla being four single guys.
I challenged them saying, "Then let's take these charms off, would you like to?" Rainek said, "I would like to, but let's pray first and then I will take them off later."
So we prayed together and the Lord really seemed to be at work in their hearts.
We laughed and talked about Lebolla some more as I informed them that my cultures Lebolla might prove to be a little more expensive than thirteen cows and involved several nice dinners and a big rock. Then they sang and danced for me, in a very odd sort of way.
As I left them they were still talking with each other all the while about what I had said and I'm not sure yet if Rainek took off his charms, but we swapped contact info and I'm sure we will see each other again very soon.
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November, 2012
Pioneer Trip to KwaNdebele:
We spent 3 days and 3 nights up in the village of KwaNdebele with Pioneer Missions from Virginia delving in a variety of ministry opportunities. Everything from Pastor’s Training Conferences to a visit to a Hospice serving the village. All in all the team had an extraordinary time and felt deeply impacted from the ministry. On our final night there, we held a revival service that drew in the people and many of the team members shared their testimonies for the very first time. It was very moving and it touched the hearts of the community so much so that one of the women sitting out in the crowd stood up and walked to the front of the revival meeting and shared her testimony as well agreeing with everything that had been shared and that Jesus is worth everything! It was amazing ministry, with specific encounters and deep ministry.
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October - November, 2012
We were sitting next to a little shop that sold various things from cell phone airtime to bananas and oranges. There were about 12 of us in all and everyone was laughing and talking loudly when I had left, but when I returned not 20 minutes later every head was bowed and every eye closed.
We had been preaching the Gospel in the middle of the Squatter Camp of Kya Sands for the past few days and today was our last time there for this mission team from the States.
I had needed to run some keys out of the camp so I needed to leave my group there while I ran that errand. I knew that the team was capable to carry the ministry, but I didn't expect them to move so quickly when I left them there. So as I returned I was shocked to have the mission team praying over several of the individuals there.
I started to back track a little bit to ensure the quality of the ministry with several of the individuals and just as I finished with one individual one of the team members would turn to me and say, "He's ready to hear the Gospel."
So as the ministry was beginning to slow I turned to the last man who was waiting to hear the Gospel message and sure enough, one of the team members introduced us and said, "He's ready to hear the Gospel!" I slowed the conversation a little bit and found that his name was Louis. Louis had lived in Kya for 3 years and spent most of his time going from piece job to piece job (temp work). He originally spoke Venda (one of the northern province languages). But really one of the first things that caught my eye was a set of bands that were about his hands.
String, really, but here in Africa these strings are not necklaces as much as they are charms. Many of them are believed to possess magical powers to ward of evil spirits or bring good luck. I asked Louis about the ones that he wore and he told me that they were to protect him from people who wanted to fight him.
I explained to him that in Christ we can put all of our hope and trust and that there was no need to rely on the charms of our old life. He listened intently as I explained the power of God.
"Can we take these off then if God is too powerful?" He exclaimed.
"Right now?"
"Yes! Now now!"
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yes," he said sullenly.
"Ok," I said as I pulled out my pocket knife and cut the bands off his wrists.
I was just starting into the new relationship that he could have with Christ when he said, "No, wait wait! Is it just the ones on the wrists that I must walk away from or is it all of them?"
"All of them." I said a bit surprised.
"Then here," he said as he pulled up his shirt and revealed a large one around his waist.
That day Louis dropped everything that he had been trusting in to turn and follow Jesus. He walked out of bondage and into freedom in an instant, believing in fullness that Christ was big enough for him.
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"My name is K-U-D-A," he said. He spoke low and slow, clear that he didn't want any real attention. He probably wasn't used to receiving anyone's undivided attention in a community of over 250,000, populated with frustrated neighbors, crying children, and hungry dogs. He was focused mainly on finding as much enjoyment as he could while sitting under the tree just to his left shading his dark skin from the hot African sun. He wasn't held back from a conversation, nor was he indignant at my attempts to talk, in fact he just seemed indifferent to everything, but probably most of all he just seemed quiet and I liked him for it. I wasn't determined to bulldoze through the conversation with an intense sense of purpose as I normally do when I have nothing in particular to say, so we just talked.
He was from Zimbabwe, and he had lived here in Diepsloot for 2 years. He spent most of his time with his brother, whom he worked with at a local garage.
“I used to work with my father on cars as well,” I said.
“No, you are lying,” he was shocked to hear that a white man actually worked on his own car.
“Yes, lot’s of Americans work on their own cars. In our culture we like to say, ‘I can do it myself.’”
We talked more about why he was here in the park and he said that he hadn’t had work for some time now and was only relaxing here unable to do anything else, but he would like to play soccer if anyone else was playing. I told him about American Football and how it worked.
We laughed about how different our two cultures are and enjoyed each other’s company.
“Do you go to church Kuda?”
“No, there are too many I do not know which one is right.”
“Kuda, can I tell you a story that we have in America to help us understand how we can know which church is right?”
He nodded and so I began...
“A long time ago, here in Africa, there was a very good Shepherd who had many different sheep, whom He loved. He cared so much about His sheep and wanted the very best for them so He always stayed close to them.”
One day, a lion came to steal one of the sheep away, but the Shepherd was there and He struck the lion with a big stick and killed it. Now, the sheep had loved the Shepherd’s open hand which He would use to hold them in, but they had been very afraid of the Shepherd’s stick because sometimes He would use it to push the sheep in the right direction, but suddenly they could see and understand why the Shepherd had His big stick.
On another day, a leopard was hiding on a high ledge and planned to jump down onto one of the sheep, but the shepherd caught the leopard in the air with His big stick and killed it. So the sheep grew to trust the Shepherd, even when He had His big stick. The Shepherd would also sing to the sheep. They loved His song and they grew to know the song very well to the point where some could even begin to sing it back to the Shepherd!
But even though the Shepherd had fought off the lion and the leopard, He had another enemy and this enemy was more clever than the lion or the leopard. He was so clever and he could make himself look like anything he wanted to! So this enemy of the Shepherd watched the way that the Shepherd killed the lion and the leopard and he knew that he was not strong enough to attack the Shepherd or the sheep or he too would die. So he decided that he would wait and try to do something else when the Shepherd would move His sheep on a long journey.
And that time came when the Shepherd began to take His sheep up the mountains to a mountain fortress. As the Shepherd lead them up the mountain singing His special song all the way, the enemy of the shepherd made himself look just like another sheep and he came to those sheep at the back of the herd who were not listening to the Shepherd or His song. Then he began to complain about how hard it was to go up the mountain or how hungry he was and how hard it was to find food and water and so on. Finally he said, “Let’s go down the mountain. It’s easy to go down the mountain and I know just the right place to go to find good, green grass.”
All those sheep who didn’t know the Shepherd well or His song listened to the enemy of the shepherd and they said, “Yes, let’s go down the mountain.” So the enemy of the shepherd deceived many of the sheep away from the Shepherd, but still he wanted more.
So he left those sheep he had deceived and went to the sheep again, but this time he made himself look just like the Shepherd and he called to the sheep, “Let’s go down the mountain! It’s easy to go down the mountain!”
Many of the sheep who were not paying attention said, “Yes, let’s go down!” But those sheep who loved the Shepherd turned to this fake shepherd and sang the song to him. They waited for him to reply back with the song, but he didn’t and they heard it behind them. They knew then that he was not the shepherd and they stayed true.
“Those sheep who were deceived were all hunted down and eaten by the enemy of the shepherd, but those sheep who knew the Shepherd and His song came with Him all the way to the top of the mountain where they were forever safe. Do you understand Kuda?” I asked.
He nodded his head, eyes wide with anticipation.
“Do you know that we are like the sheep and we have a Good Shepherd who is Jesus?”
He nodded again and smiled.
“Do you know that there is an enemy of the Good Shepherd who is trying to deceive us?”
He stopped smiling.
“But,” I continued, “if we know the song of the Good Shepherd we will not be deceived and we will be able to follow our Good Shepherd to the end!”
“What is the song?” He asked.
“The song is the Word of God, the Bible and we can come to know it, so that it will help guide us, even when we cannot see the Shepherd.”
He starting smiling again.
“But Kuda do you know that my people and your people have been deceived in many ways that draw us away from God? My people come to situations out of their control and we trust in our own strength to get through it, just like the cars. We like to say, ‘No, I can do it myself.’ But your people turn to ancestors or sangoma’s (witch doctors) when situations are out of your control.”
He nodded.
“Do you know that we are both wrong?”
He looked at me puzzled, so I continued. “Look at this tree Kuda. Did someone take the seed for this tree and cut it into pieces and put a piece in 3 or 4 different soils?”
I picked up a seed and pulled out my pocket knife and cut it twice to show him what I meant.
He shook his head and said, “No, it wouldn’t grow.”
“Then how can we also cut our trust and put it in 3 or 4 different soils and hope that it might grow, Kuda? Our Good Shepherd, Jesus, is enough and we can trust Him, without any other help from other sources or gods. Yes, sometimes we act, but we should act because we are showing that we trust our Good Shepherd, but never because we trust our own strength.”
He nodded and I said, “The first thing that we can do to act is to believe that He is our Good Shepherd who paid Lebolla (bride price or dowry) for the separation between us and Him. Then because we believe we tell Him that we want Him to be our chief and the only chief. Have you ever done that before Kuda?”
He shook his head.
“Would you like to?”
“Yes.”
So we prayed together and I had the privilege of introducing my new friend Kuda to our old friend and Good Shepherd, the only Chief in whom we can trust, Jesus Christ. In short it was a real honor.
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From November 2012 to November 12, 2013
"Mike, Kristen, do you know why I eat cake today?"
"Cake?"
"Aih."
"Why is that Precious?"
"Because today I learned that the blind could regain their sight, and because God can do that, I know that He can help me through what I have."
I have known Precious for over a year now and she never ceases to amaze me. Literally this is her story, and it seems unbelievable. If you don't believe me, it's fine, you can come and meet her for yourself and ask her to tell you her story.
She started to come to our Medical Clinic last year to help work there. She would act as a nurse's assistant. She met Emma Schneider and a mission team from Virginia who had two nurses on the team named Ginger and Nichie. They spent time with Precious on and off as she would volunteer with them and they would laugh together often. Precious has such a great African sense of humor, however she does not speak English fluently so I would always say, "Hello" to her in Zulu as I would pass by our clinic on our way into Kya Sands Township to evangelize, which always made her laugh and poke fun at me and we laughed often about it. She also had really sharp and attentive eyes. She could always pick a person out of a group before the group was actually on top of her.
She grew close to Ginger, Nichie, and Emma and one day shared that she had HIV and Aids. It's an incredibly bold thing to do on two accounts because in the first place, in the African culture, HIV and Aids are taboo. The people are very scared of HIV and Aids and often times they ostracize individuals who have it because they don't understand it.
The second reason why was the fact that Precious was a Sangoma (a shaman, or a witchdoctor who seeks power from ancestors) and she knew that our ladies were Christians. But because of the love, care, and relationship she had been building with our team she shared about her condition, confiding in them, and asked for prayer from Ginger! Ginger did an amazing job of ministering to her in that moment and Precious deeply appreciated it.
Time passed and it was a long time before I saw Precious again. We began a new year and began to see her as we passed by her house for Bible Study. I always teased her because she was illegally gambling with all the other ladies on her street, and she laughed about it, but we always invited her to Bible Study. She was still wearing all of her Sangoma charms and still practiced her prayers to ancestors, she had not yet decided to cross the line of faith. She didn't come, but every time we saw each other we laughed.
Then one day, one of our teams visited her from Houston, Texas. She was very very sick and weak from the virus. Kristen Sullivan, one of our interns was ministering to her and Precious was receiving what she was saying. Then Precious asked for me by name. "No, I need to see Mike."
I was kind of shocked. I didn't really think that Precious remembered me, but I was game to see her and was able to go see her the following week.
When I came to her house I had to wait outside as there was a line to see her. In African culture, it's customary for African friends to visit each other when they are sick and it can be offensive if you don't go and see your sick friend. So I waited for my turn to see her.
She was lying on her bed when I entered. She had lost a lot of weight and did not move quickly, except for her eyes, which were still very attentive and focused. She smiled at me and I smiled back. We began to talk but we were actually interrupted by a woman dressed in a red and black wrap with colorful beads all over her, a Sangoma. She was trying to get paid for her services in trying to save Precious from the virus. She was very desperate to be saved from the sickness and I didn't blame her, but I needed to be honest with her.
When the Sangoma had left I turned to my friend, "Precious, do you know that the Sangoma cannot save you?"
She looked at me, but said nothing. I actually began to tear up feeling the despair that she must have felt, but she needed the truth. We spoke for a few hours about what I meant by that and how powerful God was to save her.
I began to visit everyday for a few weeks speaking with her and we even moved one of the Bible Studies to her house for a time. Then it happened.
"Zee" as he likes to be called, another one of our interns, was leading our Bible Study in her house when Precious just interrupted him and literally asked, "What must I do to be saved?" LITERALLY. Zee, did a fantastic job of explaining the Gospel and she gave her life to Christ right then and there. Visiting her again and again, both Kristen and I worked to disciple her and help her understand what it was she was doing.
We shared with her that life may not be easy just because she gave her life to Christ. We even told her that she may not be healed from the virus, but that we wanted her to be and we would ask God for her healing. But the thing that she held onto was something that was beyond this world and it gave her hope and she still has that hope today. This is so true, that I can even see it in her eyes. Something that I had never seen before: joy and peace, but most of all peace. Her eyes had been sharp and attentive, but now when I see her, it's as if they had actually been fearful and strained. Now she has hope.
Since giving her life to the Lord it has not been easy. Her health has risen and fallen as we've prayed with her. Her husband left her, her son was put in jail for stealing a car, causing a four car pile up downtown, and she had wanted her life to end several times. But each time the Lord has provided the answer to what she needs.
When her husband left her, Kristen and I visited her constantly. When her son was put in jail, Denis (one of the young men who I have been making a disciple of and brought into my house) went with her to share his testimony with her son. He gave his life to Christ and she was able to pay bail. She has faced hardship after hardship and come to the brink of herself, but the Lord has carried her beyond what she cannot handle. She is founded in Christ, not in anyone of us and that's the beautiful thing. She has completely left ancestral worship, and I know that she will meet the Savior one day, despite the hardships she faces now.
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The Month of September, 2013
“I came from Diepsloot here in extension 1, and when I attended school in extension 2 I was the school's best drug dealer at age 11.”
Denis and Andile have very similar stories to tell. They were both born in the Squatter Camps of Johannesburg into families where there was no father figure. The hunger for a father figure pushed them toward brotherhoods and into gangs in the communities where they soon climbed their way to the top and their climb exposed them to substance abuse. When they hit rock bottom, addicted, penniless, and suicidal they found Christ. Impact Africa brings in hundreds of short term missionaries every year and we seek to bring hope and truth to men just like Denis and Andile.
One of these teams found Denis in Kya Sands township in 2002 and asked him a simple question, “Where will you go when you die?” Andile came to know the Lord 2 years ago from a similar experience because of short term missionaries in 2011. Both of them joined our Bible Studies in Kya Sands Township listening to the stories of the Bible and translated for other teams; hearing the Gospel over and over again and even teaching it to others in the process.
I took them through a training last month for our High School Ministry. Now we are able to go into Public High Schools in the Squatter Camps under the umbrella of a class every Public High School has. It’s called Life Orientation. This class is filled by various teachers, but never assigned to one particular teacher and the subject is so broad that it is not clearly defined, but generally speaking it is in the vein of ethics and making good choices. So we come into the class room reaching out to teenagers in each community and help them understand what they face everyday and present them with Christian morals, viable ways to reach their own dreams, and ultimately the Gospel.
The key ways we do this is through a multimedia package to captivate the kids, educating them on the dangers of substance abuse and sex before marriage. Every single lesson is a dynamic presentation filled with video clips, multimedia, and testimonies. The really cool part is that we also get to minister to the kids in break times, school holiday events, and even recess (bringing the ministry of reconciliation to the kick ball is one of our favorites).
The response we have received to the classes has been astonishing. Often at the end of class the students will have the option to leave early or stay for further instruction and teaching and every single learner stays, sometimes even chanting, "Movie! Movie! Movie!" Denis and Andile are able to dive deep with boys who are often times regarded as “the ones making trouble at school.” I have watched them make connections with learners that few ever could and speak into their lives exactly what they need to hear to prevent them from taking the same road that Denis and Andile have had to take.
We are able to take these men, who have been our disciples, and put them into positions where they can disciple others and invite them into ministry with us as well. This is not a one time pitch up in these High Schools, but a constant ministry every week.
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Some time in June, 2013
We entered Zandspruit Squatter Camp just next to our good friend, Pastor Sipho's church (Community Christian Church of Zandspruit) and my honestly my stomach was rolling around on my insides. I had battled a stomach ulcer in high school and my symptoms were right in line with what had happened then, but hey we still go out.
So we divided up into our groups for ministry and that day we were hosting the team from Asia and I went with the team leader that day. He was just a little younger than I and full of passion for the Lord. He requested that we go out together so he could see the way that we conduct ministry. So we just walked out of the church parking lot and up the road stopping 3 houses down from the church where several young men were standing. These guys were int their early twenties.
We struck up a conversation and were soon laughing and joking with each other. Their names were Ali and Mpho and they were both from Botswana. Ali (23) was actually my age and Mpho was just one year younger. They had come over to South Africa as singers in a church choir for an Apostolic church that met in a red building just to our left. We asked if they could open it up for us and show us inside and they very graciously did.
The name "Apostolic" in an African setting is very often twisted and mingled with African Traditional Beliefs, normally ancestral worship, consulting witch doctors for magic charms, and following what they call "the Man of God" or "the Woman of God" (these people are viewed to be elevated individuals who must be strictly obeyed and feared even if what they have to say contradicts the Bible).
The church that we were entering was in a very similar state. It was founded by a witch doctor woman of god. She conducted various "spiritual cleansing" rituals for individuals at a price and she did it through power that she gained from the choir singing. Mpho and Ali told us that she demanded that they sing, sometimes for hours and hours at a time without food, sleep, or being able to relieve themselves. Because of this they refused her and just months earlier had sent her back to Botswana. Finding this out, this is where we began to ask more probing questions.
The young men believed that the Bible was true and so I asked them if we could open up and walk through Isaiah chapter 8 which talks about leaving behind all of the old incantations of life, the spells, and the charms in false idols and familiar spirits. When we walked through the chapter both young men’s jaws dropped at different times especially in verses 18-20.
I asked them if they understood where a plant comes from and they both nodded yes. I asked them if they thought that a plant could come from a seed that was cut into pieces and they both shook their heads no. But I explained to them that Christ told us He is the only way to God as He said in John 14:6 and that because of that we can ask Him to come and reign as the Lord and Savior of our lives, to have a relationship with Him. In explaining this Ali asked, “How can I have a relationship with God?” I took him to Romans 10:9, where it says that by confessing to God that Christ is the only chief we will be saved. We were able to pray then and there and Ali gave his life to the Lord! Mpho was still a little skeptical and stand offish, but was not in any way rude and I trust that the Lord is still working in his life.
The very next day we saw Ali at Pastor Sipho’s church and it wouldn’t surprise me if God set up our day in Zandspruit, me having a sore stomach and all (only wanting to walk a few feet), just for Ali and the church there!
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April 19, 2013
This is the second time this year this has happened to me and it’s NOT EASY. BUT IT IS ABSOLUTELY… why I am here.
I have not used any names for purposes that I am sure that you will understand. Before I write this testimony from the field I would like to preface it to help you understand that these are not stories to flaunt around. I did not do a good job in either one of these stories and I was not fully equipped to handle either one of them, however I know that my God is. And that He can use a donkey to speak to a prophet so He can use me and He can use you as well.
I was walking through Kya Sands Township on my way to join up with my Bible Study group for Discipleship when a man called out to me, “Hey Mike!” I get this a lot actually now in Kya, since I’ve spent nearly the last three years as one of 5-7 white people coming through there every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but shamefully I can’t remember every body else’s names. There are 17,000 people living in the span of about 80 acres and I just about have 100 names down… maybe.
So I stopped and said, “Sawubona!” (Literally it means “I see you”).
The man appeared to be in his late 20’s, talked with a little bit of a slur and walked with a limp. I walked over to him as he reached out his hand and I could see that his eyes were blood shot, also not really all that unnatural for a man in Kya Sands on a Friday afternoon. For no reason what so ever I stopped. Normally I would say goodbye and head on to Bible Study, but I didn’t. The man instantly said, “I’m in a deep trouble my friend. I’m in a deep trouble.” This is also not uncommon, seeing as how the average unemployment rate in a Township is close to 80%. So I asked him what was going on.
He had had a stroke and his entire right side of his body was paralyzed, which explained the limp. Since the stroke he has had even less hope of ever finding any kind of job to provide for himself. And just the day before he had lost his mother to sickness and the doctors told him that his mother had instructed them not to give her the medication necessary to keep her alive. Now even for the Squatter Camps this is a really really rough situation because now this man has no community around him because his family had decided to ostracize him because he had nothing to contribute to the family. Community/Family is everything here in Africa. Your strength does not come from your own ability win bread, but your family’s ability to win bread because you will all share it. If you have no family then you are weak because only you are winning bread and if you cannot win bread yourself you are out of luck.
He then told me that he was thinking about ending it all. I sat down next to him, next to his shack and listened to how it had all started with the stroke and only continued on everyday after that. It was really really rough. Finally I asked him about what he had said about ending it all. He stood up and hobbled over to his window opened it up and pulled back the curtain. The inside of his shack was damp and dusty and it only consisted of his bed and a dresser that was covered with an assortment of empty dishes and a burnt down candle. But he wanted me to see what was over his bed. It was a rope hanging from the one of the two by fours on his ceiling that was tied into a very clumsy noose.
I was in shock. I had no idea what to say. I really don’t know if played out on my face, but I just sat there for a minute. I had been praying coherently all the way up until this minute and then I just started talking to God and saying, “Wow, I have no idea what to say in this situation Lord.” I felt ill equipped, out of my league in a battle against the enemy for this guys life right then and right there. He had then said that after his mother’s funeral he would end it.
How are mere words supposed to help in that kind of a situation? How can you give some one their courage, joy, and comfort to fight against suicidal thoughts in the midst of their absolute need to grieve for the loss of their loved ones? I am not trained as a counsellor, and in fact in the States it’s illegal to give counseling as a Pastor without a Counseling Degree.
But three things I do know. I know that there is a God in Heaven who DESPERATELY AND DEEPLY CARES AND HURTS JUST AS MUCH AND HAS NOT ABANDONED THESE SITUATIONS! He sees them, He holds them, and He is still strong enough for each one of them. He has also given us the ministry of reconciliation, bringing people who are separated from him back to Himself. And lastly, even if I don’t know what the exact right thing to say is in that kind of situation I can empathize with someone like that. Is that a cold calloused way of saying, “Oh, I’m so sorry for you. Don’t worry it’ll get better.” No, I don’t believe that it is. Empathizing with someone is not sitting there and telling someone all the reasons why they should feel better. Empathizing is a very special moment where you come to sit with someone in their pain. Hebrews 13:3 says, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”
Some of you are in very real pain as well. I can think of two of you who have shared with me that you have lost someone, a mother, both grandmothers and you weren’t even there to be with them when they died. I hurt with you and I hurt for you. I am praying for you and I love you. And I still know that even though each day tries to steal your joy, crush your courage, and destroy your soul God has never ever left you. He has been with you in each dark night and each new morning.
We cut down the noose that he had made that day and I gave him money for food for the week and I am still visiting him as much as I can. He is doing much better, but it’s really not easy and this is the second time this has happened this month. The other man was in his late 30’s and he was white and had lost everything. We talked in a similar fashion understanding that God loves each one of us enough to shake heaven and earth in the midst of each situation and put someone in front of us to bring us some kind of Hope which will last. That kind of Hope is always found in the Gospel message.
He has taken action in your life and in mine and His love is extravagant. He is wild and untamed, and He isn’t even safe, but HE IS SO RIDICULOUSLY GOOD IT’S UNBELIEVABLE. We burned the noose and I hope that we will find more nooses to burn in everyday life.
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April 4, 2013
Ministry has continued on in my absence and there is an amazing testimony that Cori shared with me that took place in one of our discipleship groups that I wanted to pass along to you all. One of the women told Cori's group, "I am changing my name to 'Ruth.'" This is huge in this culture because when a child is born they are given a name of one of their ancestors and they believe that the baby will take on the spirit of that ancestor. So what she was saying is, "I no longer want to be subject to my ancestors."
Cori then got to explain with joy the truth that when we come to lay everything down before Christ we ARE BORN AGAIN and we are given a new identity in Him. The woman was ecstatic and she is still coming to our groups with a new identity in Christ. We are so excited for these kind of moments and all that takes place with them!
' face, my horrible Sistwana, and why I was there. The man seemed completely uninterested and almost seemed to try to communicate that with the way he lay down on the ground when I came up.
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February 12, 2013
I am always challenged by something that I have heard and quote when I share, "Missions is not an activity on the field, but it is a condition of the heart." Sometimes I realize that I don't make that bar all the time, but when we are intentional about it and keep our heart and mind engaged I can see it come out more and more.
We were walking back into the dusty roads of Diepsloot with kids laughing and running with bicycle tires as big as themselves, surrounded by shacks, and those who were getting ramped up for the night life party scenes. It was a beautifully hot African day and we were coming into Diepsloot with the intent to preach the Gospel. That morning we had held a children's ministry at the soccer field and we needed more translators for the afternoon. So I was getting our ministry groups out into their designated areas where we would saturate the community with the Gospel so that I could jet around and find two more translators who could help us.
As I got my ministry group into their designated area I started off up the hill back toward the school where we had just come from intent on meeting my friend Thato there. I turned a corner thinking double checking my logistical check list in my head and I heard, "uMlungu! (A White Guy!)." There were four perfectly good roughians sitting around a card table with a couple bottles of beer opened wearing all of the ancestral gear and a big sign over their shack that said, "Dr. Raineck Services." "Doctors" in the shacks are normally the word they use for ancestral healers and Sangomas (an herbalist who consults with spirits to try to heal you).
"Come pray for us bra! We need a blessing!"
Regretfully, I had no intention on stopping and sadly I didn't ... then. I waved politely, with all the red flags going off in my head that and I told them that I was heading up the hill. I knew that they would be there when I got back and I even thought about going back a different route thinking through safety, but by the time I had dropped off my friend Thato and our other translator I had forgotten about it. So I turned the corner again and I received the same welcome.
I stopped this time and the four guys walked over to me. They were all just about my age maybe a little younger and smiling from ear to ear. I guess when you're bored in Diepsloot having a mLungu to entertain you is quite the show.
"What would you like me to pray for you for?"
"A blessing bra, I need power for living," I looked at my new found friend Mr. Raineck who was wearing a traditional coronation head piece and was covered in charms and it still makes me smile.
"I would love to pray for you brother, but first let's talk a little bit. Because when we pray we are praying to One God right?"
"Yes" They all nodded vigorously, all smiles.
"Just this tree here" I pointed to a tree that we were standing the shade of. "It was planted with one seed right?"
They all nodded still smiling.
"Did they cut that seed into pieces and put a piece here and put a piece here and another here?" I motioned to the ground pointing in a circle around a small stream that wove it's way down the muddy street. They all shook their heads.
"Well in the same way, how can we take all of our trust as a seed and cut it into pieces and put our trust in Jesus, money, ancestors, and sangoma?"
They laughed and we got into the really good nitty-gritty. Raineck had a white father and a black mother and when Raineck was born his father abandoned him. I shared my testimony with him explaining that even though Raineck was wounded God wanted his whole trust and that He was willing to prove it to him. I explained the Gospel to them through "Lebolla" or "Magadi" which to them, in their culture is a bride price. When a man sees a woman that he wants to be with he goes to the father of that woman and he asks him, "How much is Lebolla?" So then the father of the woman would set a specific price i.e. 13 cows. It's very simple in this culture cows = relationship, no cows = no women. Anyways, the first cow is immediately slaughtered at the wedding and there is feast held.
"That is what Christ did for us! He saw the separation between us and Him and He went to the Father and asked, 'How much is Lebolla for my bride?' And the Father said, 'It will cost You everything.' So He died to bridge the separation between us and Himself! So now we have had Lebolla paid for us to go and be with Him when we die, but in the mean time to we turn to other things? Just like a woman would turn to a different man and cross the man who paid lebolla for her?"
"NO!" They were emphatic and I could tell that they could relate on the issue of Lebolla being four single guys.
I challenged them saying, "Then let's take these charms off, would you like to?" Rainek said, "I would like to, but let's pray first and then I will take them off later."
So we prayed together and the Lord really seemed to be at work in their hearts.
We laughed and talked about Lebolla some more as I informed them that my cultures Lebolla might prove to be a little more expensive than thirteen cows and involved several nice dinners and a big rock. Then they sang and danced for me, in a very odd sort of way.
As I left them they were still talking with each other all the while about what I had said and I'm not sure yet if Rainek took off his charms, but we swapped contact info and I'm sure we will see each other again very soon.
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November, 2012
Pioneer Trip to KwaNdebele:
We spent 3 days and 3 nights up in the village of KwaNdebele with Pioneer Missions from Virginia delving in a variety of ministry opportunities. Everything from Pastor’s Training Conferences to a visit to a Hospice serving the village. All in all the team had an extraordinary time and felt deeply impacted from the ministry. On our final night there, we held a revival service that drew in the people and many of the team members shared their testimonies for the very first time. It was very moving and it touched the hearts of the community so much so that one of the women sitting out in the crowd stood up and walked to the front of the revival meeting and shared her testimony as well agreeing with everything that had been shared and that Jesus is worth everything! It was amazing ministry, with specific encounters and deep ministry.
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October - November, 2012
We were sitting next to a little shop that sold various things from cell phone airtime to bananas and oranges. There were about 12 of us in all and everyone was laughing and talking loudly when I had left, but when I returned not 20 minutes later every head was bowed and every eye closed.
We had been preaching the Gospel in the middle of the Squatter Camp of Kya Sands for the past few days and today was our last time there for this mission team from the States.
I had needed to run some keys out of the camp so I needed to leave my group there while I ran that errand. I knew that the team was capable to carry the ministry, but I didn't expect them to move so quickly when I left them there. So as I returned I was shocked to have the mission team praying over several of the individuals there.
I started to back track a little bit to ensure the quality of the ministry with several of the individuals and just as I finished with one individual one of the team members would turn to me and say, "He's ready to hear the Gospel."
So as the ministry was beginning to slow I turned to the last man who was waiting to hear the Gospel message and sure enough, one of the team members introduced us and said, "He's ready to hear the Gospel!" I slowed the conversation a little bit and found that his name was Louis. Louis had lived in Kya for 3 years and spent most of his time going from piece job to piece job (temp work). He originally spoke Venda (one of the northern province languages). But really one of the first things that caught my eye was a set of bands that were about his hands.
String, really, but here in Africa these strings are not necklaces as much as they are charms. Many of them are believed to possess magical powers to ward of evil spirits or bring good luck. I asked Louis about the ones that he wore and he told me that they were to protect him from people who wanted to fight him.
I explained to him that in Christ we can put all of our hope and trust and that there was no need to rely on the charms of our old life. He listened intently as I explained the power of God.
"Can we take these off then if God is too powerful?" He exclaimed.
"Right now?"
"Yes! Now now!"
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yes," he said sullenly.
"Ok," I said as I pulled out my pocket knife and cut the bands off his wrists.
I was just starting into the new relationship that he could have with Christ when he said, "No, wait wait! Is it just the ones on the wrists that I must walk away from or is it all of them?"
"All of them." I said a bit surprised.
"Then here," he said as he pulled up his shirt and revealed a large one around his waist.
That day Louis dropped everything that he had been trusting in to turn and follow Jesus. He walked out of bondage and into freedom in an instant, believing in fullness that Christ was big enough for him.
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September - October, 2012
"My name is K-U-D-A," he said. He spoke low and slow, clear that he didn't want any real attention. He probably wasn't used to receiving anyone's undivided attention in a community of over 250,000, populated with frustrated neighbors, crying children, and hungry dogs. He was focused mainly on finding as much enjoyment as he could while sitting under the tree just to his left shading his dark skin from the hot African sun. He wasn't held back from a conversation, nor was he indignant at my attempts to talk, in fact he just seemed indifferent to everything, but probably most of all he just seemed quiet and I liked him for it. I wasn't determined to bulldoze through the conversation with an intense sense of purpose as I normally do when I have nothing in particular to say, so we just talked.
He was from Zimbabwe, and he had lived here in Diepsloot for 2 years. He spent most of his time with his brother, whom he worked with at a local garage.
“I used to work with my father on cars as well,” I said.
“No, you are lying,” he was shocked to hear that a white man actually worked on his own car.
“Yes, lot’s of Americans work on their own cars. In our culture we like to say, ‘I can do it myself.’”
We talked more about why he was here in the park and he said that he hadn’t had work for some time now and was only relaxing here unable to do anything else, but he would like to play soccer if anyone else was playing. I told him about American Football and how it worked.
We laughed about how different our two cultures are and enjoyed each other’s company.
“Do you go to church Kuda?”
“No, there are too many I do not know which one is right.”
“Kuda, can I tell you a story that we have in America to help us understand how we can know which church is right?”
He nodded and so I began...
“A long time ago, here in Africa, there was a very good Shepherd who had many different sheep, whom He loved. He cared so much about His sheep and wanted the very best for them so He always stayed close to them.”
One day, a lion came to steal one of the sheep away, but the Shepherd was there and He struck the lion with a big stick and killed it. Now, the sheep had loved the Shepherd’s open hand which He would use to hold them in, but they had been very afraid of the Shepherd’s stick because sometimes He would use it to push the sheep in the right direction, but suddenly they could see and understand why the Shepherd had His big stick.
On another day, a leopard was hiding on a high ledge and planned to jump down onto one of the sheep, but the shepherd caught the leopard in the air with His big stick and killed it. So the sheep grew to trust the Shepherd, even when He had His big stick. The Shepherd would also sing to the sheep. They loved His song and they grew to know the song very well to the point where some could even begin to sing it back to the Shepherd!
But even though the Shepherd had fought off the lion and the leopard, He had another enemy and this enemy was more clever than the lion or the leopard. He was so clever and he could make himself look like anything he wanted to! So this enemy of the Shepherd watched the way that the Shepherd killed the lion and the leopard and he knew that he was not strong enough to attack the Shepherd or the sheep or he too would die. So he decided that he would wait and try to do something else when the Shepherd would move His sheep on a long journey.
And that time came when the Shepherd began to take His sheep up the mountains to a mountain fortress. As the Shepherd lead them up the mountain singing His special song all the way, the enemy of the shepherd made himself look just like another sheep and he came to those sheep at the back of the herd who were not listening to the Shepherd or His song. Then he began to complain about how hard it was to go up the mountain or how hungry he was and how hard it was to find food and water and so on. Finally he said, “Let’s go down the mountain. It’s easy to go down the mountain and I know just the right place to go to find good, green grass.”
All those sheep who didn’t know the Shepherd well or His song listened to the enemy of the shepherd and they said, “Yes, let’s go down the mountain.” So the enemy of the shepherd deceived many of the sheep away from the Shepherd, but still he wanted more.
So he left those sheep he had deceived and went to the sheep again, but this time he made himself look just like the Shepherd and he called to the sheep, “Let’s go down the mountain! It’s easy to go down the mountain!”
Many of the sheep who were not paying attention said, “Yes, let’s go down!” But those sheep who loved the Shepherd turned to this fake shepherd and sang the song to him. They waited for him to reply back with the song, but he didn’t and they heard it behind them. They knew then that he was not the shepherd and they stayed true.
“Those sheep who were deceived were all hunted down and eaten by the enemy of the shepherd, but those sheep who knew the Shepherd and His song came with Him all the way to the top of the mountain where they were forever safe. Do you understand Kuda?” I asked.
He nodded his head, eyes wide with anticipation.
“Do you know that we are like the sheep and we have a Good Shepherd who is Jesus?”
He nodded again and smiled.
“Do you know that there is an enemy of the Good Shepherd who is trying to deceive us?”
He stopped smiling.
“But,” I continued, “if we know the song of the Good Shepherd we will not be deceived and we will be able to follow our Good Shepherd to the end!”
“What is the song?” He asked.
“The song is the Word of God, the Bible and we can come to know it, so that it will help guide us, even when we cannot see the Shepherd.”
He starting smiling again.
“But Kuda do you know that my people and your people have been deceived in many ways that draw us away from God? My people come to situations out of their control and we trust in our own strength to get through it, just like the cars. We like to say, ‘No, I can do it myself.’ But your people turn to ancestors or sangoma’s (witch doctors) when situations are out of your control.”
He nodded.
“Do you know that we are both wrong?”
He looked at me puzzled, so I continued. “Look at this tree Kuda. Did someone take the seed for this tree and cut it into pieces and put a piece in 3 or 4 different soils?”
I picked up a seed and pulled out my pocket knife and cut it twice to show him what I meant.
He shook his head and said, “No, it wouldn’t grow.”
“Then how can we also cut our trust and put it in 3 or 4 different soils and hope that it might grow, Kuda? Our Good Shepherd, Jesus, is enough and we can trust Him, without any other help from other sources or gods. Yes, sometimes we act, but we should act because we are showing that we trust our Good Shepherd, but never because we trust our own strength.”
He nodded and I said, “The first thing that we can do to act is to believe that He is our Good Shepherd who paid Lebolla (bride price or dowry) for the separation between us and Him. Then because we believe we tell Him that we want Him to be our chief and the only chief. Have you ever done that before Kuda?”
He shook his head.
“Would you like to?”
“Yes.”
So we prayed together and I had the privilege of introducing my new friend Kuda to our old friend and Good Shepherd, the only Chief in whom we can trust, Jesus Christ. In short it was a real honor.
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August 30, 2012
I have been able to see real tangible impact in the lives of the people in these communities that is long lasting and wholesome. It inspires awe inside of me and such a sense of gratification to see how much influence we carry with these people that we interact with on a weekly basis. But it also challenges the very core of who I am. This knowledge humbles me as a human, and provokes and challenges me to be more and more like Christ in everything I do and say. I have 7 friends who attend my discipleship on Tuesdays and Fridays in Kya Sands who view it as more than just a meeting. They come prepared and eager to learn throwing in questions and getting engaged in discussion. Outside of discipleship they often volunteer their time on our other days in the communities. Even when we haven't given them a call, they are sitting at Impact Kids,waiting for us to arrive. Their personal testimonies are absolutely amazing as well.
Denis: A young man in his mid twenties who loves to dance, play the drums, and minister the Gospel has done nothing with his life but dedicate it to ministry, first with Judah Africa Church (whom we partner with) and now with us.
Temba: A man in his early thirties who has been in search of the truth for all his life just left the occult through our discipleship group in June and now preaches the Gospel with us whenever he is free! I first met him as my English student!
Kidibone: A young single mother who has been coming to our discipleship group for the past 4 months who preaches the Gospel on her own now and holds additional Bible Studies in her home despite persecution from her neighbors!!!
Mama Rosta: An influential leader in Kya Sands who's house we meet at for discipleship had her husband return home to her after two years of absence and she said that she believes it's because of our prayers! Her son also attends our preschool!
And there are several others that we are walking through life with and helping as we can, loving, and being loved by them. It is truly amazing!
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August 5, 2012
During the Summer season I had the privilege of having a room mate named Justin Fichter (a.k.a. "The Brick Wall"). Justin has just turned 17 years old and has an incredible heart for the Gospel and for God's Mission on the Earth and it was absolutely awesome seeing him grow over the course of 2 months.
When he arrived here he was coming from Nigeria, Togo, and Benin where he had just spent a month ministering with a missionary there. Unfortunately he had contracted Malaria while he was there and spent his last week in Nigeria in a hospital loosing 15 pounds, but he was undaunted and in the course of that week read the entire Bible cover to cover.
We spent the two months challenging one another in so many different ways, spurring one another on in the Faith and living life to the fullest. It was awesome. Justin had some incredible ministry opportunities as well.
Here's what he had to say about one occasion:
"While out on ministry one morning, I ran into a man that I met a month ago, whom I shared the gospel with who ended up committing his life to God. He recognized me. I began talking to him again to see how he was doing and he began to tell me about pains that he was having in his leg. His doctor and church couldn't help him, and he was on his way to see a sangoma (African witch doctor) because he thought that he would be able to help him. So I said to him, "Before you go, let me pray for you, because I know that Jesus is more powerful than all of the sangomas in the world." He agreed, so I began to pray. In the middle of my prayer, he stopped me, and said, "Ah! It's better!" I told him, "See, Jesus is more powerful than anything." His excitement was stretched across his face as he turned around and went home pain free.
I was feeling completely inadequate that morning out on ministry and I was feeling like the Lord could do nothing through me that day. But He reminded me that even when I feel useless, God is greater than my feelings and He works through my weaknesses to display His glorious strength."
During the Summer season I had the privilege of having a room mate named Justin Fichter (a.k.a. "The Brick Wall"). Justin has just turned 17 years old and has an incredible heart for the Gospel and for God's Mission on the Earth and it was absolutely awesome seeing him grow over the course of 2 months.
When he arrived here he was coming from Nigeria, Togo, and Benin where he had just spent a month ministering with a missionary there. Unfortunately he had contracted Malaria while he was there and spent his last week in Nigeria in a hospital loosing 15 pounds, but he was undaunted and in the course of that week read the entire Bible cover to cover.
We spent the two months challenging one another in so many different ways, spurring one another on in the Faith and living life to the fullest. It was awesome. Justin had some incredible ministry opportunities as well.
Here's what he had to say about one occasion:
"While out on ministry one morning, I ran into a man that I met a month ago, whom I shared the gospel with who ended up committing his life to God. He recognized me. I began talking to him again to see how he was doing and he began to tell me about pains that he was having in his leg. His doctor and church couldn't help him, and he was on his way to see a sangoma (African witch doctor) because he thought that he would be able to help him. So I said to him, "Before you go, let me pray for you, because I know that Jesus is more powerful than all of the sangomas in the world." He agreed, so I began to pray. In the middle of my prayer, he stopped me, and said, "Ah! It's better!" I told him, "See, Jesus is more powerful than anything." His excitement was stretched across his face as he turned around and went home pain free.
I was feeling completely inadequate that morning out on ministry and I was feeling like the Lord could do nothing through me that day. But He reminded me that even when I feel useless, God is greater than my feelings and He works through my weaknesses to display His glorious strength."
Justin spent his time here well in ministry and putting his shoulder to the plow. He went home with a new vision for his future and I am so excited to see what God does in his life!
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August 20, 2012
With one of the teams that was here we put on a Women's Conference and a Children's Conference and here is a guest blog from Impact Africa's Blog that describes it. If you would like to take a look at some pictures from the event or read more on Impact Africa's Blog you can check it out at www.ImpactAfricaBlog.blogspot.com. Here it is:
The Daughters of Destiny Women's Conference was a huge success and all glory be to God for every woman's heart that was reached through the event. We had 282 women registered for the event and approximately 103 of them committed their lives to Christ for the first time and/or rededicated, 32 were healed, plus many now interested in church and discipleship! Praise the Lord!
While the women were being empowered to walk out in their God-given destiny, their children were enjoying a special time of their own. We were able to host a Children's Conference for all the kids of the mothers in attendance.
The Kids Conference had a central theme of teaching the children about the Armor of God. We had approximately 200 children from the ages of 4 months to 14 years participate in the conference. The kids participated in various team activities such as pudding eating contests, cookie decorating, coloring, crafts, stories and fun games. The Word of God was also sown into their hearts through special sessions about being clothed in the armor of God.
Thank you to all who helped with this event! Children were impacted and the Word of God was sown into their hearts!
“Taste and See that the Lord is Good!!”
This seemed to be the theme shared and felt throughout the 2 day conference specifically for the women of Kya Sands. More than 300 ladies, mostly unchurched, arrived not quite sure what to expect.
They were welcomed with a pretty bag of goodies to be used at the conference. And a beautifully decorated sanctuary! The tent filled quickly with both people and expectancy! Every woman received a special pampering time which opened the door for one on one ministry.
The Speakers shared messages of hope; encouraging the women God is good and they are dear to His heart.
Many ladies came to know God as Father during our time together, others renewed their commitment to Him as Lord of their life, others were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, all were prayed for, pampered, loved on, showered with gifts and renewed in their purpose as a "daughter of destiny".
"I am a different person, I've never felt important or been told I was important as a woman and a mother. I now get up in the morning feeling I have a purpose!" said a Gogo (grandmother).
“I never used to think of myself as worthy but now I feel different (good different) I feel complete now, Do this for others so they can be like me” said Celebration age 22
“I was sitting, I had my tears coming out, as I was receiving the Holy Spirit in my heart.”
“I was healed during the conference”
“I have peace in my heart. I had problems but now I have got the key to my problems.”
The Daughters of Destiny Women's Conference was a huge success and all glory be to God for every woman's heart that was reached through the event. We had 282 women registered for the event and approximately 103 of them committed their lives to Christ for the first time and/or rededicated, 32 were healed, plus many now interested in church and discipleship! Praise the Lord!
While the women were being empowered to walk out in their God-given destiny, their children were enjoying a special time of their own. We were able to host a Children's Conference for all the kids of the mothers in attendance.
The Kids Conference had a central theme of teaching the children about the Armor of God. We had approximately 200 children from the ages of 4 months to 14 years participate in the conference. The kids participated in various team activities such as pudding eating contests, cookie decorating, coloring, crafts, stories and fun games. The Word of God was also sown into their hearts through special sessions about being clothed in the armor of God.
"Therefore put on the full armor of God..." Ephesians 6:13a
Thank you to all who helped with this event! Children were impacted and the Word of God was sown into their hearts!
____________________________________________
July 6, 2012
In April something horrible happened that has changed the way that I view the young boys at our preschool and given me a sense of urgency to love and empower them to be men... even at the ages of 4, 5, and 6. Because they are growing up in squatter camps they are subjected to swearing, smoking, drinking, gambling, beatings, home abuse, and sexually explicit events that they are either witnesses to or victims of, but at their age there isn't any difference between the two. Because of this, they reciprocate what they see, especially if it is something their parents are doing.
In April we found out that one of the girls at our preschool was sexually assaulted and raped. She is 5 years old and the other tragic aspect of the event is that the perpetrator is 10 years old, the brother of one of the other little boys who graduated from our preschool, and they live right next door to each other.
We have been working with both families and with social workers in the process on the road to recovery. Honestly it's not easy and life isn't always rosy, and when it's not we grit our teeth and cling to the Truth of the cross as we reach out to those who are hurting.
"What happens to the bad guy who makes the girls cry?"
"He get's stomped!"
"Who in here is a good prince who will protect the princess?"
"I am!" "Teacher Micah I am!"
But just as we finished and moved on to craft one of the boys turned and slapped one of the girls. I turned to him and said, "What did we just say happens to the bad guy who makes the girls cry?"
The room was silent for a minute and everyone was thinking really hard about it. Suddenly Never looked up at me and paused then turned and looked at the other little boy and punched him.
"HE GET'S STOMPED!"
Now I know that that isn't quite the perfect response, but I was so proud of Never in that moment because he realized that he needed to protect the girls and I would much rather be correcting him by showing him the proper way to protect the girls than from correcting him like we are with the 10 year old boy who made our little girl cry.
There are many other stories with these boys who will grow up to be men and I am so honored that I have an opportunity to love on them during this time. We cannot prevent every act of injustice, but we can prevent many many of them if we would stand up against them, even if in very small ways.
____________________________________________
May 2012
This is a guest blog by another one of our interns here with Impact Africa, Cori Bridgeford, who shares some incredible insight on our work with the young men at Impact Kids. Enjoy:
Do you see Change?
____________________________________________
August 20, 2012
With one of the teams that was here we put on a Women's Conference and a Children's Conference and here is a guest blog from Impact Africa's Blog that describes it. If you would like to take a look at some pictures from the event or read more on Impact Africa's Blog you can check it out at www.ImpactAfricaBlog.blogspot.com. Here it is:
The Daughters of Destiny Women's Conference was a huge success and all glory be to God for every woman's heart that was reached through the event. We had 282 women registered for the event and approximately 103 of them committed their lives to Christ for the first time and/or rededicated, 32 were healed, plus many now interested in church and discipleship! Praise the Lord!
While the women were being empowered to walk out in their God-given destiny, their children were enjoying a special time of their own. We were able to host a Children's Conference for all the kids of the mothers in attendance.
The Kids Conference had a central theme of teaching the children about the Armor of God. We had approximately 200 children from the ages of 4 months to 14 years participate in the conference. The kids participated in various team activities such as pudding eating contests, cookie decorating, coloring, crafts, stories and fun games. The Word of God was also sown into their hearts through special sessions about being clothed in the armor of God.
Thank you to all who helped with this event! Children were impacted and the Word of God was sown into their hearts!
“Taste and See that the Lord is Good!!”
This seemed to be the theme shared and felt throughout the 2 day conference specifically for the women of Kya Sands. More than 300 ladies, mostly unchurched, arrived not quite sure what to expect.
They were welcomed with a pretty bag of goodies to be used at the conference. And a beautifully decorated sanctuary! The tent filled quickly with both people and expectancy! Every woman received a special pampering time which opened the door for one on one ministry.
The Speakers shared messages of hope; encouraging the women God is good and they are dear to His heart.
Many ladies came to know God as Father during our time together, others renewed their commitment to Him as Lord of their life, others were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, all were prayed for, pampered, loved on, showered with gifts and renewed in their purpose as a "daughter of destiny".
"I am a different person, I've never felt important or been told I was important as a woman and a mother. I now get up in the morning feeling I have a purpose!" said a Gogo (grandmother).
“I never used to think of myself as worthy but now I feel different (good different) I feel complete now, Do this for others so they can be like me” said Celebration age 22
“I was sitting, I had my tears coming out, as I was receiving the Holy Spirit in my heart.”
“I was healed during the conference”
“I have peace in my heart. I had problems but now I have got the key to my problems.”
The Daughters of Destiny Women's Conference was a huge success and all glory be to God for every woman's heart that was reached through the event. We had 282 women registered for the event and approximately 103 of them committed their lives to Christ for the first time and/or rededicated, 32 were healed, plus many now interested in church and discipleship! Praise the Lord!
While the women were being empowered to walk out in their God-given destiny, their children were enjoying a special time of their own. We were able to host a Children's Conference for all the kids of the mothers in attendance.
The Kids Conference had a central theme of teaching the children about the Armor of God. We had approximately 200 children from the ages of 4 months to 14 years participate in the conference. The kids participated in various team activities such as pudding eating contests, cookie decorating, coloring, crafts, stories and fun games. The Word of God was also sown into their hearts through special sessions about being clothed in the armor of God.
"Therefore put on the full armor of God..." Ephesians 6:13a
Thank you to all who helped with this event! Children were impacted and the Word of God was sown into their hearts!
____________________________________________
July 6, 2012
In April something horrible happened that has changed the way that I view the young boys at our preschool and given me a sense of urgency to love and empower them to be men... even at the ages of 4, 5, and 6. Because they are growing up in squatter camps they are subjected to swearing, smoking, drinking, gambling, beatings, home abuse, and sexually explicit events that they are either witnesses to or victims of, but at their age there isn't any difference between the two. Because of this, they reciprocate what they see, especially if it is something their parents are doing.
In April we found out that one of the girls at our preschool was sexually assaulted and raped. She is 5 years old and the other tragic aspect of the event is that the perpetrator is 10 years old, the brother of one of the other little boys who graduated from our preschool, and they live right next door to each other.
We have been working with both families and with social workers in the process on the road to recovery. Honestly it's not easy and life isn't always rosy, and when it's not we grit our teeth and cling to the Truth of the cross as we reach out to those who are hurting.
I have come to the realization that I cannot prevent all of these absolutely tragic events from happening, but I know that I have over 40 young boys who know my name and look up to me at our preschool and it has given me a new resolve to teach them how to be men and to treat women with respect, to love their families and friends, and live with a sense of honor. So together, the ministry and teachers, have set about to try to teach them how to be boys who will grow into honorable men.
We started to teach them through correction of "red flag" behavior, which is behavior that suggests that they are reciprocating inappropriate behavior from home, teaching stories similar to all the fairy tales with a good prince who rescues the princess, putting them in the different roles, and giving them responsibilities to help them to understand that they are strong, but that their strength should be put to good use.
The awesome part is that they are responding to it!
Joshua:
Joshua is an incredibly bright boy who desires attention so much and can come across as a little hyper when he does it. He is 5 years old. He was a little too interested in his class mates and interns clothing, particularly the girls. I pulled him aside a few times to talk with him about it and told him that he must not pull on the girls shirts or pull their pants down. He was overly preoccupied with everything but me and I was really discouraged because it didn't seem like he was listening to to me, but then one day when another boy was grabbing one of the girls shirts he ran over and pulled the boy off of her and recited everything that I had told him. I was very proud.
Never:
Never is boy who has an enormous smile, contagious laugh, and when you chase him he always trips laughing because he's so excited that you're giving him your attention that he forgets to look where he's going. I was telling his class a story about a good prince who rescued a princess from an evil man. At the end we reinforced that the boys were like the prince and that they needed to protect the girls in the class from the bad guys. "What happens to the bad guy who makes the girls cry?"
"He get's stomped!"
"Who in here is a good prince who will protect the princess?"
"I am!" "Teacher Micah I am!"
But just as we finished and moved on to craft one of the boys turned and slapped one of the girls. I turned to him and said, "What did we just say happens to the bad guy who makes the girls cry?"
The room was silent for a minute and everyone was thinking really hard about it. Suddenly Never looked up at me and paused then turned and looked at the other little boy and punched him.
"HE GET'S STOMPED!"
Now I know that that isn't quite the perfect response, but I was so proud of Never in that moment because he realized that he needed to protect the girls and I would much rather be correcting him by showing him the proper way to protect the girls than from correcting him like we are with the 10 year old boy who made our little girl cry.
There are many other stories with these boys who will grow up to be men and I am so honored that I have an opportunity to love on them during this time. We cannot prevent every act of injustice, but we can prevent many many of them if we would stand up against them, even if in very small ways.
____________________________________________
May 2012
This is a guest blog by another one of our interns here with Impact Africa, Cori Bridgeford, who shares some incredible insight on our work with the young men at Impact Kids. Enjoy:
Do you see Change?
Thabo is one of the 3 year old students at our school. He is tall for his age and He seems to thrive off of fighting, every 5 minutes there seems to be a kid crying and a teacher talking to Thabo. Thabo has such a deep desire for recognition and love, he is willing to literally fight for it ... and he sadly doesn't know any better.
I was walking to discipleship the other day when Thabo came running up. I think my mouth almost dropped open as he freely gave hugs . . . this was our Thabo!? The kid was obviously different. His eyes were bright and he had a ready smile on his lips. The other kids were calling me "umlungu" which means “white person” and Thabo turns and says, “No, this is teacher Cori!”. A few months ago he couldn't speak any English! As I read to the kids he sat still the entire time and proudly set an example as he loudly replied to my questions regarding the story.
I look at Gontse who is a little warrior boy full of energy and mischief, he now likes to come up and cuddle. Peter who was so timid and frightened now boldly raises his hand in class and is excelling in his learning. I am not saying the kids are perfect, Gontse still spits yogurt at people, Thabo still enjoys a good fight once in a while and Peter can sometimes be unresponsive, but the change is undeniable. I can go on and on, there are so many kids whose lives have been changed in just a few months. It is amazing to see the LORD at work in their lives and we are blessed as a team to be His hands and feet as we love on the lost, the least, and the last.
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April 2, 2012
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Impact ME is an on the field experience of missionary work with a long term mindset. The first time I realized that it wasn't just something to learn from and experience, but that it was something that I was helping with, making a difference, directly influencing other people's lives through the ministry, I was utterly shocked. And it was all because of a little boy named Cooropatse (pronounced Kor-ro-pot-zee).
The first time we met this little boy was at the soccer pitch in Kya Sands Township where we were trying to hold a vbs program. In the midst of us trying to convince him of how much fun he would have with Jesus, he and his brother decided that it would be much more fun to throw rocks at the white people. And from that moment on I knew that I liked him. We sent him home that day only to find that the very next day he was coming to our preschool and that we would spend the entire year as his teachers/playgrounds/playmates.
There he got in all kinds of trouble and often it ended up being my job to correct him. So whenever I pulled him aside, it was always a challenge, but above most things it was a real challenge for him to look me in the eye. So one day when I pulled him aside and was unsuccessful in getting eye contact, or even the acknowledgement of my existence I said, "Cooropatse you are strong, but your strength was not made for this. The reason why I'm here is because I love you." He immediately stopped and looked right at me. He was shocked and ever since then his relationship with me has changed. He and his brother still loved to grab ahold of my beard and pull it down or to spit chewing gum in my face, but he started to respond differently after that day.
At the end of the year he graduated from from our little preschool with his cap and gown on. His parents came out, all excited, even with his little brother and sister.
We were all smiles, but unfortunately after a few days we received a text message simply saying, "Please pray! Cooropatse was hit by a car." Over the next several days we were updated that there were no major broken bones and that he was alright, so we went to pick him up with his father.
When we dropped him off he was very quiet, but we finally got him to smile, and when I got to come back with my mom to visit him, he came running up to the fence of his house beating against the chain links that had been draped with a tarp shouting, "Micah Unakutanda! Unakutanda!" Which simply translates as "Micah I love you! I love you!" Because our team poured into this little boy with the love of Christ, he had been changed and grown so much. And he is only one of the stories that have made me appreciate the fact that God has moved through me, through Katie, through all of our team, even if we are only 21 years old, "young and uneducated men."
Last Thursday was our first day back out in the squatter camps here in Africa and we ran into a man who was tipsy, starting his weekend, and he was agitated, but when I listened to what he had to say I could hear that it was coming from a reservoir of hurt. I realized this man had spent his entire life being told that he was worthless because of his skin color, his education, his background, his tribe, you name it. He was at the end of his wits and I just stood listening. When he finished he asked me one question, "Are you my friend?" Isn't that the question that's on our hearts, when we've vented everything that's inside? Some people say that that is where ministry really starts, with listening to the frustrations and hurts of others.
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I was walking to discipleship the other day when Thabo came running up. I think my mouth almost dropped open as he freely gave hugs . . . this was our Thabo!? The kid was obviously different. His eyes were bright and he had a ready smile on his lips. The other kids were calling me "umlungu" which means “white person” and Thabo turns and says, “No, this is teacher Cori!”. A few months ago he couldn't speak any English! As I read to the kids he sat still the entire time and proudly set an example as he loudly replied to my questions regarding the story.
I look at Gontse who is a little warrior boy full of energy and mischief, he now likes to come up and cuddle. Peter who was so timid and frightened now boldly raises his hand in class and is excelling in his learning. I am not saying the kids are perfect, Gontse still spits yogurt at people, Thabo still enjoys a good fight once in a while and Peter can sometimes be unresponsive, but the change is undeniable. I can go on and on, there are so many kids whose lives have been changed in just a few months. It is amazing to see the LORD at work in their lives and we are blessed as a team to be His hands and feet as we love on the lost, the least, and the last.
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April 2, 2012
It is amazing how God’s plan never ceases to amaze us all. Romans 8:28 rings true over and over again. The week before last was an incredibly rough week full of shocking third world events that jolt me pretty bad, but I got to see God’s hand use them all to glorify Himself and to turn more people to recognizing His Lordship. On Wednesday there was a small “Toy Toy” which is a South African protest in the main squatter camp that we work in called Kya Sands, followed by another this past Monday. These protests can turn violent sometimes, but are actually very common. The protests are usually because the communities are not receiving what they are promised in the South African Bill of Rights and this was one of those protests.
We avoid the roads around the townships on protesting days for safety reasons and after the sun goes down they are usually all through. So on Monday when we had finished our day at the office I dropped the girls off to head over to the gym where I spend time processing by beating my body and making it my slave (1 Cor. 9:27) and working on my online college homework. I decided that I would take the road adjacent to Kya Sands to check up on our school.
So a I joined a group of cars that turned down our familiar road, “Riverbend Road” and headed to the school. When I turned the corner there was still rubbish on the road blocking a clear shot through, which was not a problem for me because I was in the 4x4 Toyota Condor and I could easily mount the shoulder off-roading it. I passed the school and everything looked fine and aside from the rubbish and a few whistles at the Condor which was not uncommon because the Condor is the usual taxi vehicle in Johannesburg everything seemed normal.
I lifted just like any other night and turned in my online homework.
However on my return from the gym I took the same road home and rounded a corner and could make out a massive crowd just in time to whip the Condor back around.
The following day we heard exactly what had happened. Apparently when I had passed by the school the first time something altogether different had happened. Mutsa, my good friend who lives at the school, said that while I had mounted the shoulder I had left behind the other cars who were with me because they were not 4x4 vehicles. Mutsa said that a crowd of people had approached the other cars and began to stone them. Gogo Mariam who works at the school had also said that her son was there trying to stop them and had prevented many from throwing rocks at the Condor saying, “NO! Don’t throw at that one! They help us! They help us!”
On Friday in between the protest on Wednesday and Monday I was driving with one of the families that we have been ministering to the past couple of years and Emma Schneider one of our staff members. We were headed toward the Kya Sands following behind two school buses that were jam packed with kids. I passed both school buses because they had both stopped, but something didn’t seem right about the situation so we turned around and took a closer look. Just as we turned back toward the first bus we could see a girl dressed in a school uniform laying face down on the pavement next to the second bus. Emma took the driver’s seat as I jumped out of the car and joined a woman who was trying to help the girl.
The girl had a steady pulse but was not conscious. A man ran up saying, “I am first aid.” I asked him what we needed to do and he told me to direct the traffic and protect the other children who were jumping off the bus and crying so I turned to the oncoming traffic.
Kids were running around the buses crying while the bus drivers tried to find some kind of order. Emma was helping to get the children back on the bus as I held up traffic doing my best to direct the oncoming cars. And in all of it, it seemed like almost everyone was battling to give in to hysteria. People were pointing fingers at the bus driver then at the government for their poor support the public school system’s commerce. It was all a bit overwhelming.
The ambulance arrived and was able to take the girl to the hospital and the police came getting contact information from people on the scene. After giving them my information I walked up to the gas station adjacent to the whole scene, grabbed a Grape Fanta and sat down on the curb trying to take it all in. To be honest I was in shock at what had just happened.
Emma came and picked me up and we debriefed all that had happened and all of us interns took the rest of the day off debriefing and spending some time in prayer over all of us and the ministry.
The following Saturday we were hosting a multi-site church called Godfirst from all over Johannesburg and we went right back into Kya Sands. As I was helping to keep it organized some of the kids ran up to me and were rambling on and on in an African language that I clearly did not understand. Just as I was about to turn away from them I heard the word “bus” over and over again. I looked at them questioningly. Then another girl ran up to me and said, “Yeah we saw you yesterday trying to help our friend who had fallen out of the bus.”
These both happened in the same week along with two other jarring events that I am still processing through, but they reminded me of Matthew 5:17 which says, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” This is our aim and at times we hit it. You don’t have to be in Africa to love people. I challenge you to step out and love people in the midst of their trials and their crisis, because people are watching you.
"I am here to love the world and the world is ugly, but though it be ugly, I will not shy away. I will allow it's ugliness to strengthen my resolve to love it still more" - Rich Franzen. Being relentless is lacking the ability to relent and possessing a tenacity to face adversity through gritted teeth and tears. I am honored to serve the Lord here in Johannesburg with relentless people who will see God's Kingdom come to this Earth and possess the resolve to back up their claim of doing it.
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February 7, 2012
"Unakutanda!"
Impact ME is an on the field experience of missionary work with a long term mindset. The first time I realized that it wasn't just something to learn from and experience, but that it was something that I was helping with, making a difference, directly influencing other people's lives through the ministry, I was utterly shocked. And it was all because of a little boy named Cooropatse (pronounced Kor-ro-pot-zee).
The first time we met this little boy was at the soccer pitch in Kya Sands Township where we were trying to hold a vbs program. In the midst of us trying to convince him of how much fun he would have with Jesus, he and his brother decided that it would be much more fun to throw rocks at the white people. And from that moment on I knew that I liked him. We sent him home that day only to find that the very next day he was coming to our preschool and that we would spend the entire year as his teachers/playgrounds/playmates.
There he got in all kinds of trouble and often it ended up being my job to correct him. So whenever I pulled him aside, it was always a challenge, but above most things it was a real challenge for him to look me in the eye. So one day when I pulled him aside and was unsuccessful in getting eye contact, or even the acknowledgement of my existence I said, "Cooropatse you are strong, but your strength was not made for this. The reason why I'm here is because I love you." He immediately stopped and looked right at me. He was shocked and ever since then his relationship with me has changed. He and his brother still loved to grab ahold of my beard and pull it down or to spit chewing gum in my face, but he started to respond differently after that day.
At the end of the year he graduated from from our little preschool with his cap and gown on. His parents came out, all excited, even with his little brother and sister.
We were all smiles, but unfortunately after a few days we received a text message simply saying, "Please pray! Cooropatse was hit by a car." Over the next several days we were updated that there were no major broken bones and that he was alright, so we went to pick him up with his father.
When we dropped him off he was very quiet, but we finally got him to smile, and when I got to come back with my mom to visit him, he came running up to the fence of his house beating against the chain links that had been draped with a tarp shouting, "Micah Unakutanda! Unakutanda!" Which simply translates as "Micah I love you! I love you!" Because our team poured into this little boy with the love of Christ, he had been changed and grown so much. And he is only one of the stories that have made me appreciate the fact that God has moved through me, through Katie, through all of our team, even if we are only 21 years old, "young and uneducated men."
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February 7, 2012
"Are you my Friend?"
Last Thursday was our first day back out in the squatter camps here in Africa and we ran into a man who was tipsy, starting his weekend, and he was agitated, but when I listened to what he had to say I could hear that it was coming from a reservoir of hurt. I realized this man had spent his entire life being told that he was worthless because of his skin color, his education, his background, his tribe, you name it. He was at the end of his wits and I just stood listening. When he finished he asked me one question, "Are you my friend?" Isn't that the question that's on our hearts, when we've vented everything that's inside? Some people say that that is where ministry really starts, with listening to the frustrations and hurts of others.
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August 25, 2011
Climax of Ramadan
Over the past 2 weeks we have focused our ministry efforts in a small muslim community called the Oriental Plaza in Downtown Joburg. We chose to focus on Muslim Ministry because it has been Ramadan, their month of fasting. We’ve been there several times before, but only maybe 2 or 3 times. However every time we’ve been there, we’ve been building relationships with shop owners, the homeless, librarians, and mosque leaders.
We went through the Crescent Project approach called Bridges on how to minister to Muslims during the two weeks. The major focus in the training is focussing on the similarities between Islam and Christianity to build bridges instead of the differences which build walls. The approach is so strategic to build relationships, it’s beautiful.
So much of the Quran and Islam actually points to Christ. So we use both Surahs (Quranic writings) and Scripture to move them towards Christ. There is an approach called the “Insider Movement” which is a method of ministering to Muslims using the Quran only to lead Muslims to Christ, however this is not at all what we were doing. In every aspect of our ministry we made it very clear that we were Christians. It has been so rewarding!
Today was the climax of our ministry. As we were wondering down a street I started to notice all of the crippled and lame and I really felt convicted to pray for them. So the first man that I saw was an elderly gentlemen wearing a muslim beanie and a broken arm trying to lift something, I offered to help and pray for his arm that Jesus might heal him and he said yes. As I was praying for him a homeless man came up and waited “in line” for prayer for his foot. So JV and I started praying for him. While JV and I were praying, two women came up and asked Jacob Smith (the director of the internship here) what we were doing and asked for prayer from him and while they were being prayed for another woman came up and waited “in line” for prayer again! It was so cool. We didn’t see any immediate healings, but we were able to encourage them as they were going.
So in that attitude of excitement we went to Mosque. We have had a few difficulties going to Mosque here, once we were refused and another time we were asked to leave, but generally they have been very welcoming. This time we waited outside and as friends were coming out we began to get into some great conversations! We started by talking to one of the two Mulas, who is the teacher of the Quranic school, at the Mosque.
In all of our time there, our most persuasive conversations were probably about the Injeel (the New Testament). In Surah 2:136 it says, “We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to all prophets from the Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them: And we bow to Allah (in Islam).” So breaking this down it says “We believe in Allah.” Well we believe in Allah as well. “Allah” is simply the Arabic word for God, so if we were to disagree in saying that we do not believe in Allah we would be lying and confusing the person we are ministering to because Arabic-speaking churches call God, Allah. “And the revelation given to us,” this is speaking about the Quran. So we can identify the first of the 4 books that they hold as holy and sacred. “And to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses,” this is the Pentateuch, the Torah, or what they call the Tawrat, Genesis to Deuteronomy. “And JESUS,” this is the New Testament, or the Injeel!!!! That means that they believe the New Testament is the Word of God! “We make no difference between one and anther of them.” That means that they believe that the Tawrat (Torah), the Zibur (which is the Psalms of David, referenced in a different Surah), the Injeel (New Testament), and the Quran are all the inspired Word of God, yet many have never read any of the four, including the Quran! Surah 3:2-3 even says, “It is He (Allah) Who sent down to thee, in truth, the Book (the Quran), confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (Torah) and THE GOSPEL!” So from those two verse we can very quickly move the conversation to simple Apologetics, not to attack the Quran or Islam, but by presenting the validity of Scripture and the Truth of Christianity.
The conversation has usually gone as follows:
“Have you ever read the the Injeel?”
“No, it has been corrupted!”
“Astaghfurallah! (pronounced “Estawfer-Allah,” it means “May God forbid you for Blasphemy” or “God forbid!” in English).”
“Why would you say that to me?”
“Well who is more powerful God or man?”
“GOD!”
“Well if God is more powerful, how can man change His word? And if man did change His word in the Tawrat, the Zibur, and the Injeel, what is keeping man from changing the Quran?”
After we went down this conversation with the Mula, he didn’t have an answer for us and unfortunately had to go, but said that he would like to talk to us more on the issue and asked for our numbers hopefully to come and visit us and talk some more. Just as he was leaving the other Mula came and we began to talk with him. His name is Abdullah and talking to this man has broken my heart for the muslim world because of his character. He is calm, quiet, but so consumed with compassion and love for others, and has a real hunger for the Truth. As we talked him through the conversation above we were much more gentle in our approach, matching his tone so as not to offend.
We openly told him, “My friend, we are looking for the truth!” And he got to a point where he was very quiet as we walked through more of the defense of the validity of scripture. You could tell that the wheels were turning, especially when it came to the question, “What is keeping man from corrupting the Quran?”
As he was starting to ponder these things, his neighbor came up and we began to dialogue with him about it all as well. It was a joy!
Abdullah had called a friend who was a scholar and we began to debate over the phone with him. This man was incredibly learned and you could tell that he had been in several debates in front of an audience. He had several large portions of the Bible memorized and brought quite a bit of it into question. We started with the above conversation and we actually went into Christ’s claim to divinity in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” The man denied the claim bringing John 8:28, “I do nothing out of my own power, but speak as the Father taught me.” Asking the question, “How can God say He does nothing on His own power?” So I brought back the message of Hebrews 2:18 which says, “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted,” saying “He became exactly like us in human form so that He can relate to our struggles.” As I said this he interrupted me and changed the subject to bring the validity of scripture into question, bringing semantics by asking about the different accounts. He started with the different accounts of the resurrection morning where Mark 16:2 and John 20:1 differ in Mary coming to the tomb, “when the sun had risen,” and “while it was still dark.” So I brought up the point of perspective saying, “In the same way that we bring different witnesses to a court case and each different witness was a witness to what really happened, each will give us a different account because they all saw it from a different perspective.”
At that we had to go, unfortunately so we all swapped information and in parting we asked if we could pray with Abdullah and a friend of his who had come up to listen in. They agreed to it and we prayed asking that God would reveal truth to us and as we did this JV and I both said multiple times, “In Jesus Name.” When we ended the friend of the Mula asked us to try to start praying for truth, but to leave out, “in Jesus name,” and before we could answer him, the Mula stepped in and said, “No they are ok, and we, we will start to pray in Issa’s (Jesus) name as well!” I was so shocked!!!! This man said that he would start to pray in Jesus name for the Truth to be revealed to him!!!!!!!! We are very excited to see what God does next and look forward to talking with them again soon.
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June 29th, 2011
Ruth’s Freedom
Today we set out to do Jabalane Kids in section 7 of Diepsloot. We pitched up in a small open field next to a cresh (an African preschool/orphanage) that sits just inside the eastern face of the section. I ran through the logistics of the set up and even scouting out future Jabalane Kids sights for later in day. While I was doing it, I crossed the small opening from where the group had started and took notice of a small note on one of the doors simply reading, “Don’t talk to me, talk to my lawyer,” which I found quite odd, but I still noticed it.
I jumped back in with the group and as we were sharing with the kids and the mommies there, we were directed to pray for a friend of the woman who was the caretaker of the cresh. We crossed back over the field and went straight to the same house that had the note on it that I had noticed earlier. Right next to the door was a small pile of blankets and a woman laying on a mat coughing.
As she turned her head away from her pillow saliva and mucus hung from her mouth and her malnourished arms barely moved. We entered her small yard as her friend, the caretaker, wiped her mouth tenderly and when we asked what had happened she spoke with broken english. She said, “Her name Ruth. She had stroke.”
When I looked down at her it wasn’t any wonder why I hadn’t noticed her earlier, she barely moved, she could barely speak. She was asking for prayer, so we prayed for healing, but while we did we all noticed that she was wearing “Sangoma” charms. These are bracelets made by their spiritual guides to protect them from evil spirits or to remind them to pray to ancestors and sometimes they even perform rituals trying to attach the spirit of their ancestors to those charms sacrificing goats, chickens, or large lizards to do so.
So when we finished we immediately began to explain the Gospel. We found out that she had been a Christian since 1995, but that she continued to go to the Sangoma seeking healing from her sicknesses with the stroke and others.
We explained John 14:6 to her telling her that Jesus had clearly stated that He is “the way, the truth, and the life; and no one goes to the Father, but by [Christ].” I used an illustration that I had picked up in Mexico using seeds and how they mirror our faith because we cannot cut a seed and plant it in four or five different places the same way we cannot divide our faith and trust in four or five different things to save us.
The wheels were turning in her head while we were talking with her and we continued to press forward. I explained to her the two women of Proverbs 9, the woman of Wisdom and the woman of Folly, who both invite men to come and drink of their table. One leads to righteousness and a whole life and the other leads to death. I explained that they both invite the same way, seemingly good, but one invited those who passed by to death. From this I explained how we have an enemy, who is the enemy of God and how he deceives us even using power on this Earth to draw us away from God. This explained to her the way that those who practice ancestral worship could become more wealthy and how she could have it so hard.
One of the missionaries in the group, a girl named Kailey, pressed in as well and she flat out challenged Ruth to take off the charms. Ruth refused saying that she was willing and would, but that she was going to go to the Sangoma to get them off. Kailey encouraged her with scripture and then asked again telling her that she didn’t need to go to a Sangoma to have it removed.
And for the first time in my experience of six months of being in South Africa a South African responded to the call to freedom from the Sangoma charms and she said yes. Some of the charms were literal chains that had been there for years and I had to clip with my leather-man. It was so phenomenal.
This is the first time I think I’ve ever seen someone give up an extreme idol so evidently and willingly so suddenly and she rededicated her life to the Lord. We encouraged her and prayed with her again and Kailey gave her her own Bible.
I was so overwhelmed at several points seeing someone respond so willingly and freely giving up years of tradition, years of agreement with a cultural idol that so evidently and symbolically enslaved her. It was amazing.
By the time we left Ruth she was sitting up eating bread and coherently talking with us. It was awesome! We still look forward to praying for her and revisiting her again and again!
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June 6, 2011
Today we went to a new area of the township in Kya Sands that is directly downhill from a city landfill, tucked away under some trees. We were going specifically to minister the Gospel to those in the community and we started off with a woman laughing and talking about Christ. After we spoke with her we moved on a little ways down through the shacks and my team mate Bobbi pointed out three men sitting on a bench. I jumped at the opportunity and started in with what little Zulu I know.
The three men were named Eddy, Willy, and General. We quickly found that we needed another translator because their main dialect was Changaari and even when we came back with another translator we still weren't able to communicate extremely well with them. But as we were talking I started to get really interested in General, even though he wasn't responsive at all, and even seemed disinterested in who we were or what we had to say.
He was a stout man with huge biceps marked by tattoos, a distinct chin, and strong eyes, though he didn't look me in the eye hardly at all. He was wearing a plain t-shirt, a nice pair of slacks, and a traditional bracelet charm which he said was for praying to ancestors. He didn't say too much, and he didn't move very much either. He was an image of controlled strength, even with his eyes diverted to the ground as he sat in the sun. I liked him, enjoyed his presence.
When we inquired about his tattoos he said in the little bit of English he could speak, "Prison." This peaked my curiosity and I pressed in about it. He told us that he and several of his other coworkers had been put in prison on a case of gun smuggling and trading. He had served two years in prison, but was released, and his coworkers were serving a five year term.
Knowing this I was so excited! I had the opportunity to minister the Gospel to this man! When he saw our curiosity and our genuine interest in him as a person he went to fetch a friend who could speak English to really tell the story.
He told us that he worked in construction as an honest man with the two other men who were still in prison now. They had been working a long week and it was coming to payday, so as he went to receive his pay the police rushed at him and arrested him. It turns out that the other two coworkers were really gun smugglers and the police had apprehended a client of theirs who told the police that General was the dealer. He spent two years in prison without a trial, because of a man he had never known accused him of selling illegal weapons and the justice system never looked into it any further.
When we heard the story, it was shocking to say the least, BUT it was a perfect place for the Gospel to be told. So we explained to him the story from the Gospel using his own story.
I told him that we all had a sentence to pay because our sin and that that sentence was an eternal sentence, it would never end. We went straight into the love of God and explained to him that Christ paid that penalty for him because He loved him so much. When he heard this he looked at me.
Unfortunately we were interrupted by another guy who had come up with many many questions about Christianity. Eddy and Willy were long gone and we had to go, but we told General that we would be right back that afternoon and he said that he would be there waiting for us. So we hurried off eager to come back.
When we finished our business we came right back and found General with Eddy and several others. General looked up at us and smiled, he immediately took the bench he was sitting on and pulled it aside. The group he was with started shouting at him in Changaari and Willy even scowled waving his hand at him to leave.
General wasn't phased by it at all. He simply sat and listened to the message. He said that his sister had prayed with him before, but now he wanted to really know God, so we were able to get him connected with a local church and prayed with him, very excited to see that the Lord was using us to water the seed that had been planted in his heart.
I was pumped!
I've been skydiving, white-water-rafting, and cliff jumping, but this was more thrilling to me. It was such an adrenaline rush talking to someone who has a crazy story like that and being able to share the Gospel with them, right in the midst of all of it. It was amazing.
Oh and that exact same day we went back to visit with Emily and she told us with a big smile that after we had prayed with her, all the pain had left her! She gave the credit to Jesus and had given her life to the Lord!!! She is going to the clinic for a check up and looks forward to more of our visits with her.
But just as we left her house another woman named Promise came up to me and told me in very good English, "I need you to pray for me as well."
The harvest is ripe! Disciples are waiting to be made everywhere! The Lord is moving on behave of people and because of people. I love it!
I want to give a quick shout out to all of those who are praying for the Lord's ministry or supporting it through monetary donations, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Little people like me are simply extensions of who you are and the love that we all share in Christ. The Lord is using you mightily, so thank you!
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May 23, 2011
Today was an amazing day of ministry! We went out to conduct surveys but did so much more than that! As we were going different team members were able to minister to people in different ways, but I had some really cool encounters at the end of the day.
The coolest one was with a woman named Emily and Sharon. Emily, a woman in her late 50’s, saw me and as most of the people in the shacks do, she was laughing at this fuzzy-faced mulungu (white kid) trying to speak zulu with a funny American accent. She was so warm and as I came up to her I was going through our regular list of explanation for why we were there who we were, and who we were with. As I told her that I was with Impact Kids, Sharon, a woman in her thirties, poked her head out from behind Emily and said, “Me I want a job!”
We actually get this request quite a bit and we frequently pray with them about it, so I offered to pray with her. This time as the words were leaving my mouth, “I don’t have a job for you” I remembered the verse in Acts 3 which says, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do I have I give to you...” and I really felt strongly that the Lord wanted to work here. So I told her I would pray with her.
So I called two more members of our team over even though we were already well over the time frame we were given. As we entered the home, Emily was quick to direct us to sit down. It was evident that she was delighted to have us there. We sat taking in each other’s company as African’s love to do and then we started.
We asked Sharon if there was anything else that she would like prayer for and she said no, just a job. So we turned to Emily and she looked at us and motioned to her chest and said, “TB.”
Pulmonary tuberculosis, otherwise known as “TB” is a major issue throughout all of Africa because of it’s high rate of HIV and AIDS, in fact one of the things I had to obtain entering the country was a doctor’s note saying that I didn’t have TB.
So we dove into prayer making it clear that were calling on the name of Jesus Christ, first praying for Sharon and then for Emily. I really felt like the Lord was doing something and as we finished, Emily burst out into tears and turned to me and just hugged me, which isn’t a normal action for strangers to do, particularly with the formality of their hand shakes and even the way they hand objects to one another, with more respect than open friendship.
Sharon ran to get her a glass of water and we tarried with her longer really speaking to her about he love of the Father. It was amazing. You could almost feel the Father’s love for this woman.
I am excited to visit her again and see what the Lord is doing and if He is going to heal her, but even if He doesn’t I hope that I am able to be a carrier of His love and hope. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Even as I write that it is obvious that love is the focus, but hope still stands out to me.
When I was in Haiti, I remember a story about an experiment to measure the work of hope in action and whether or not it really makes a difference. In the experiment rats were put into a bin and dropped into a tub of water. They measured the time before the rats drowned and it was 3 minutes. They did the same thing with another group of rats, but just before they drowned, they rescued them and took them out and nurtured them back to health. Then they put the same rats back into the bin and dropped them in the water again. This time the rats held on for 9 minutes. Three times as long as before hoping that someone would rescue them.
Hope is so crucial in all of our lives. Now that story may be somewhat morbid, but it demonstrates the need for hope. That is what we attempt to do everyday. Inject hope into a dark world, because we are the salt of the Earth, a city on a hill. We hope to point others to Christ’s love!
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May 20, 2011
We were walking through Kya Sands Squatter Camp today, conducting our surveys of the needs assessment, and I noticed something very interesting when talking to a man there. He was staggering very badly, but he was talking about how little the government had done for him or for his side of the community. As I was walking through I noticed that it was blatantly obvious that this side of the community had been neglected. There were extremely few water spots, several shebeens (pubs), there had been a fire a couple years back, and it felt worn down, even for a squatter camp. When my translator admitted that it was the rougher side of the squatter camp I got to thinking about the relationship with the local governing forces and that side of the community or the lack there of.
We have been here for three months now. Every Friday we have been at Impact Kids working as volunteer teachers, substitutes, odd jobs around the classrooms, and just generally loving on the kids consistently. At this age it is so crucial for them to understand that they are loved. The girls need to know that they are cherished and that they are lovely. The boys need to know that they have what it takes and that they are strong. Well when we first arrived, many of the kids were definitely troublemakers.
One boy in particular is named Coropatsi. The first time I met this little boy he was throwing rocks at me, and not in a teasing way either. He was intent on causing trouble, but go figure, I found that I kind of like that about him! He was a leader. Every other boy his age seemed to follow his cues.
So one day he tried to get away with pushing a girl down on the trampoline and I wasn’t about to let him get away with that. I pulled him into the storage room (The place the teachers take the kids to punish them, at least I think. I’ve never actually seen what happens when they take the kids there, but don’t worry I didn’t beat the boy) and confronted him directly telling him that he was a leader and that he was strong, but I made it clear that his strength was not made for that. He wouldn’t look at me, but every word I said sunk in and every time we come back to Impact Kids I get to see a young man growing in him. He is still rough around the edges, but he is changing.
The same thing is happening with several of the other children as well! Lithabo, Gamouhelo, Noloholo, Thabezo. Our team is really witnessing the kids attitudes and hearts change and it’s amazing!
So why are these children changing for the better and the rougher side of Kya Sands struggling to find it’s footing? I would say that the secret ingredient is consistent love. It’s actually really not so secret, but when love is absent in a persons life or in a communities life they suffer for it, they try to fix it with illegitimate means, but they are trapped by it. Neglect is just as strong of a message of “I don’t love you” as a back hand is. Love changes things and heals things. Paul said, “If I gain everything in this world and in the next, but have not love, what do I have?” (Paraphrased). There is a song out by IHOP Worship by Luke Wood called “the Law and the Prophets” and in the chorus he says, “If I don’t have love, what have I?”
There is a reason why the Word says that God is Love. There is no stronger statement to describe God’s dynamic relationship with Love.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but REJOICES WITH TRUTH. Love BEARS ALL THINGS, BELIEVES ALL THINGS, HOPES ALL THINGS, ENDURES ALL THINGS. Love NEVER ends (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a).”
But how do we gain more of a heart and a love for people? It’s easy to love a cute laughing little boy, but it’s hard to love a drunk man who just beat up his girlfriend. So how do we love those people?
We cannot see them the way that this world sees them and hates them, we have to stop and see them the way that God sees them.
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May 12, 2011
We finished up the last surveys in Msawawa today and were able to visit two of the people we have been praying with. The first family was that of a “Sangoma.”
A sangoma is a cultural healer, they can be involved in various ancestral practices, but they are very prominently known for their practices and they oppose Christianity. Members of the community readily come to them seeking charms and healings. This sangoma was named Mbatha and actually came to us in public seeking prayer for her baby granddaughter, named Nogutemba. It was amazing to see a woman of her status cry out for help in public, when she was expected to have all the answers for her community.
Nogutemba has been put on a feeding tube because she has been vomiting everything she eats, her whole body has been in pain, unable to straighten her joints, and even having severe breathing problems. She looked very frail and needed medical attention.
We were able to pray with her right there and she was so grateful for it. We explained to her who we were praying to and made sure that she knew it was Jesus. She told us that she would like more prayer and wanted us to visit her again and receive prayer for Nogutemba, so we did.
When we visited her again, she was offering a ceremony with chants and candles for individuals in the community who had sought her out. When she saw us, she stopped what she was doing and lead us to her granddaughter for prayer, so we were able to pray with her again, but Nogutemba actually looked more frail than before. Her breathing had a crackling in it and it was loud as it was very difficult for her to breathe. After praying we left her with an encouraging word of the Father’s love.
Today Mbatha came up to us thrilled because Nogutemba has started the road to recovery! The Sangoma even accredited the healing to the Lord! She recognized that it was the prayers to Jesus that healed Nogutemba who is now eating regularly and is able to breathe again. Mbatha even wants freedom from her old lifestyle, but has said it may take some time and consistent love on our part, which we are so thrilled to give!
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