10 Days for Jesus

These past 3 weeks have been some of the most intense of my life. I left my comfortable flat with my own bedroom and quiet escape to live in Africa House (the All Nations base) with almost 60 other people. Was I crazy? I thought so in the beginning when our schedule had us up by 5:30 every morning and we would be going solid all day. But it was the most incredible time! Twelve staff and around 40 participants came together for 10 days to celebrate Jesus. I am continually amazed at how God shows up when you have the mindset of giving Him something and He gives you so much in return.

We all split up into 5 teams and went into four different communities to serve and show people Jesus. Not only did the people in the communities get to see Jesus but all of us got to see Him in a brand new way as well. God broke down walls that surrounded people's hearts, gave us new revelations of who He really is and not what we have made Him to be. Even some of the people who weren't sure what to think about God and Jesus received a revelation that will change their lives forever. Those are just some of the things that He did within those of doing 10 Days, I don't have the time to tell you of all the stories that came out of the communities. We saw people healed, people starting to get off drugs after seeing their friends lives changed, families having peace after having so many months of constant fighting, and people getting jobs to support their families after being out of work for long periods of time. God is amazing!

With everyone getting up at 5:30 every morning to be in devotions by 6am and then having two hours to shower, eat and clean up before someone came to speak with us by 9 was just the struggles we faced in the morning. Believe me over 20 girls using 4 toilets and 4 showers isn't easy. Then the afternoon with packing lunch, cleaning that up and still getting to the communities on time was even more fun. It was really like herding cats trying to get everyone out and into the vehicles. Even then you couldn't make them all stay very long. For my team the afternoon always seemed like the hardest part. I love doing ministry and working with people but my team was the first one ever to work in the community that we did. We were the team to break ground and see what happened. Some would say fun, which it was at times but it was so incredibly hard at times as well. Seeing the trouble every family has was such a shock because it just seemed so much more highlighted than in the other communities that I have worked in. It was so hard to meet people because of the way the community is set up but God really opened up doors for us. We met people, made friends, and saw people experience the joy of the Lord in a new way. God really did pour that joy out on my team as well. Because everyone in 10 Days said they always saw our team laughing and having a good time. It was a gift for sure. We couldn't have survived without it. Evenings were a little better but we still never ran on time. I thanked God everyday that we had someone cooking dinner for us.

Despite all the craziness that almost brought me to tears at times I look back with so much fondness and joy. I miss it in a way. I am enjoying my own room again and being able to sleep until a more normal time but I miss having all the people around me and hearing all the testimonies that came in almost every hour. Even though we came from 7 different countries and who knows how many different cultures we overcame them all through Jesus. We were united in such a strong way! We learned together and from each other. We were all seeking God and He really did show up. Every worship time that we had was powerful none of us wanted to stop. It was out of that overflow that we carried on in the communities and it is out of that also that I want to carry on even now. God met me in such a real way and took such a burden off of me that I can't explain the joy that I have in my heart now. There was a time during a worship session and still are now when I can't help but laugh. My flesh is going 'what is wrong with you' and my spirit is so full of what God is doing and showing me that I really don't care.

So, now when Christmas is only a week away that Spirit of joy is the one I want to work out of. I really do miss my family but God is doing so much here that I am thankful for! I hope that God is blessing you with that Spirit of Joy during this season and may it last all year long. That we may be able to give Jesus a gift all throughout the year for all that He has done for us!

Thanksgiving in South Africa

A South African Thanksgiving! Definitely not your traditional thanksgiving but oh so fun!

There are so many things for me to bet thankful for this year. I was just talking with my house church about how the way you live changes when you live in a state of thanksgiving. Even the hard and challenging times can have a new look on them when you focus on and give thanks for the good that is in your live. So let me list a few of the things I am thankful for in my life:

1. My crazy and amazing flatmates. We have crammed 5 people in a three bedroom apartment and all of us are still alive. We all have a good sense of humour and also know each others space. It is so amazing to have a place that I can call home here in South Africa

2. My All Nations family. I never imagined that I could grow so close to a group of people again. Even during the communication break downs and stressful we really are a big family that knows how to stand by one another and lift each other up.

3. My family in Alaska. That no matter how far away I am they send me little gifts of love and reminding me that I am always in their hearts and definitely keeping them in mine.

Earthshake Conference

Wow, this weekend was slightly hectic but so incredible!!! All Nations had their Earthshake conference for all of us in Cape Town (and a few from Zambia:). We had a speaker from Papua sharing his experiences and a couple from here in South Africa that are pastors over a few churches. They both had such different stories but both were so encouraging for all of us to here. I think the biggest thing for me was to see their simplicity and their absolute love for the people they are working with us. They have so much passion to see lives and countries changed that they will go to huge lengths to see it happen. It is incredible because they are just normal people and if it weren't for Floyd's extensive network we would never have met them. I feel so blessed to work with a group of people that may not be known world wide for what they do but they will be remembered in the communities they work in and they will see 1,000s of people changed and brought closer to God. Hearing the speakers was something that I really needed to hear to encourage me to keep going in what I am doing and even go further. I was really challenged by one thing one of the guys said, that the amount of faith and vision I have is the amount of people I will see come to know Jesus. I want to see people lives turned around and communities transformed but how badly do I want it. How badly do I believe it will happen? Will I keep living my life half for myself or will I say that my life is for these people to see them find God and the purposes He has for them? So, those are the questions that have been plaguing me after this weekend. A lot to think about.

I was also on the team that helped set it up so I am very thankful that I did not fall asleep during any of the sessions. Haha....don't get me wrong, they were very riveting to listen to. Their stories and hearing that they are seeing breakthroughs but there is a point that you reach exhaustion and information overload. So, now I am taking it slow and recovering with laying on my couch. :) Its also a good time to process. So it will be good to rest, recover and get back to work with the new things that are going on in my heart.

10 Days for Jesus

In my last update I told you all that I would fill you in on what projects I am working with. The first one I want to highlight is an outreach called '10 Days for Jesus'. It is an outreach opportunity run every December from the All Nations base in Cape Town. We are starting on the 5^th of December and going until the 16^th. We have people come from all over Southern Africa as well as America and Europe. Our purpose is to set aside 10 Days to give something back to Jesus for what He has given to us. It started with one of my friends having the vision to give Jesus a gift during His birthday month and to inspire young people to give more of their lives everyday to Jesus. So, we have 10 Days of going into the communities, serving people in whatever way we can, living in community, and receiving teaching from different leaders in All Nations. It sounds simple but yet we have seen so many lives transformed. The ones who have had the biggest impact on me are the lives of the people we have discipled in the communities who have made the decision to do 10 Days for Jesus. Last year two of the people from one of the communities we work in decided to join 10 Days for Jesus and from there decided to do Cpx (All Nations' training school). They are now on fire for Jesus and making a change in the places they live. They even have a desire to move up into Africa and become missionaries in other places. It is so exciting for me to see people who are coming from broken backgrounds, have a very little or no support base, no income and still they make a decision to follow Jesus in such a radical way. It definitely challenges my own faith!

Well, this year one of the girls ,Pam, whom I have been discipling has decided to join 10 Days for Jesus. From there she wants to go on to another discipleship program that All Nations partners with called LXp (Leadership Experience). In this picture she is in the center.

I am so excited for her as she grows in her relationship with God and has a growing desire to change communities for Jesus. She does have the challenge of finances as well so please join me in praying for her that everything will be provided for her to do both 10 Days for Jesus as well as LXp.

So, right now I am doing mostly correspondence for 10 Days for Jesus which keeps me busy enough but I am looking forward to the actual outreach time. If any of you want to know more about it or want to join in anyway please let me know. You can also have a look at the page on the All Nations website at http://all-nations.co.za/index.php/opportunities/

In the Moment

Once again a month has gone by and once again I find myself in a place I didn't expect. I love it though even though it means being a bit busier. I came into this month, and still am, learning how to sit and wait on God. He asked me to stop being so works and projects focused and wait on Him. It meant cutting down a lot on going into Red Hill and spending more time listening to what God is saying and going where He wants me to go. It was so hard because my personality wants to be busy and have some king of goal to work towards. It helped some that it wasn't only me going through this. My whole Red Hill team has been going through this. But as we work through this we find it so rewarding. We have found a closer walk with God and much more fruit in the conversations we have and in the time we spend with the people in Red Hill. It may not look like we are starting a movement or getting lots of people saved but we are investing in lives. We are connecting with people's hearts and we are seeing that doing that is what God really cares about. I need to stop focusing on getting lots of things done and be able to show lots of people results. I need to stop and focus and really care about the individuals along the way. That is what is going to be remembered. I may not be remembered generations from now for someone along the way I helped change the course of their life and maybe their family's lives. This sounds so much easier said than done. I still have projects going, on which I will tell you about soon, but it is beginning to have a different heart behind it. Life has a different feel when you go to do something but hold onto it so loosely that if something more important with an individual comes up you drop everything to do what is needed. It may not be the most efficient way of doing things in the western mindset but God willing everything gets done. Focus on the lives in your hand and there will always be time to do projects later. In the moment of a life there is no time like the present.

Change of Seasons

I am not the kind of person who particularly likes change but it is natural in the change of seasons in nature so it should be just as natural in the change of seasons in my life. These past two months have been so hectic with the World Cup going on and all the schools being on 5 weeks of holiday. It is a bittersweet feeling as I see it come to an end. I have enjoyed being so busy and seeing so many things accomplished. In a way I am going to miss it.

With Justice A.C.T.s things will take a different turn as some things slow down after all the hype of the World Cup. Just during these past two months our team of 20 people have personally reached an estimated 14,000 people teaching them about human trafficking and how to protect themselves. That number doesn't even count all the ones reached by the newspapers, radio stations and public service announcements. Through that and the faithful prayers of the body of Christ we have definitely seen how God has protected many people and helped put a stop to many places involved in trafficking. Our job doesn't stop there obviously but it does feel like we are going into a slower pace of life as the hype of the month is over. It is good and now we can focus more specifically on helping the government put into place protective measures and help put more safe house for those rescued.

With Living Hope in Red Hill I have been helping run a 4 week holiday club as well to keep all the kids busy. I see how that has been an incredible blessing because I have no idea what kind of influences the kids would have found to fill their time. It was amazing as well seeing them be so faithful in coming to the Bible clubs and to the sports clinics. It was an incredible opportunity to build relationships with them and to speak into their lives. So many of them come from broken homes and they love the chance to be loved on and have people actually pay attention to them. It can be very hard at times with so many kids eager for attention but I also see it as an opportunity to help these kids see who they really are and who they can grow up to be. So, now even though spending 8 hours a day in Red Hill with over 80 kids was exhausting and stretching, now that it is over I realize that I really miss those kids. Funny how that works isn't it. Oh, well. I will just have to make more time to see them when I go in on normal days. I can't go in without them all calling my name anyway. ;)

So now the season is changing for me when life is not so hectic. Which is nice. :) But some seasons are a little sad to see end. The good times and the good people make it hard to say goodbye. But God gives grace to move on and to look forward to yet more good times with good friends! God only knows what lays in the next season but I am excited. There is a team coming from America for two weeks whom I am working with and who knows what God will do through them. Each season for me has something new it and I am looking forward to what surprise God has next!

World Cup Time

Wow, this past month has been quite hectic. I will try and use that as an excuse for having not updated my blog (haha). As I have said in the past I need to become more deliberate in sharing with you all that is going on in the side of the world as there is SO much. It is really exciting!! The World Cup of soccer is almost here and everyone is amped up about it. Cars have South African flags on them, resturaunts and stores have flags hanging from the ceiling welcoming all the different countries that are coming to play and watch the games. It is really neat to see the local people take so much pride in what their country is hosting. They are proud and eager to show off their home. I am really happy to be here during this time so I pray that it goes over well. This will be South Africa's chance to show the world that they can handle this. So, despite all the hectic programs that I am helping with during this month I am really excited! The energy and excitement are contagious no matter what team you are routing for. So, I will be routing for one of the top 20 teams in the world....the USA!!!
On the other side of the excitement I get see both sides of the World Cup. Working with Justice ACTs does tend to bring out the more sobering side of the crime that big events bring to cities. I see both the petty crime that happens and also the crime directly against human lives. It can be so hard to bear on ones heart as you see the despair that some men and women are in and you think of the countless others that are hidden, waiting to be found. As overwhelming as it feels sometimes, we serve a good God who sees all. Being part of Justice ACTs who is a small team of 13 staff we are blown away by how God has mobilized churches, government, NGOs, law enforcement, and individuals to take part in the cause of fighting human trafficing. In just the last month we have seen thousands of people be trained in what human trafficing is, and be trained on how to fight it. The 13 of us did some of it but it was so encouraging to see others that we have trained from all over the country step up and run with it. We realized that this project was to big to stay in just Cape Town so different ones of us traveled to the cities, found key people to train and put it in their hands to see their areas become Traffic Proof. Working with everyone from government officials to people in the townships I really see how far the enemy's hand reaches but how much bigger God is. We encourage ourselves with victories that may seem few in number but we rejoice over the individuals.
It is the stories of the 5 South African girls rescued from a trafficer in Cape Town, the 21 Thai girls rescued from a trafficer in Johannesburg, and the prostituted women that we have befriended and seen give up their lives on the streets to get proper jobs and regain their life that we rejoice over. These are the lives that I would give my life for and who make it worth living in South Africa. There are more people waiting to be rescued and God sees them. Just as He has already rescued the girls listed above, I rest in the promise that He will rescue all of them. Isaiah 45:3
So, this is just one project that I am helping with during the World Cup time and beyond. I will tell you of the others soon. The others aren't quite as intense. :) But please be keeping us in prayer as we engage in the battle for the lives that the enemy has taken captive. We want to see them rescued and rehabilitated.
If you want to see more about Justice ACTs check out my links next to this blog under the title of 'Who I Work With'. They will lead you to all the different projects that I am involved in and share with you much more extensive stories than I am telling you. ;)

A good testimony

I think one of the greatest joys in life is seeing someone that you have spent hours and hours hanging out with and pouring into really take ownership of their faith. I think that is one of my highlights this month. I had just started getting back in touch with my friends in Red Hill after being gone and I was so amazed by what God does without me even being there. It is so humbling to see how He can use us to plant a seed but us being there all the time is not a requirement to see the seed grow. Okay, I will stop keeping you all in suspense. My story, or rather the story from my friend in Red Hill is about God working through her faith. It was after the Bible study that Pam goes to on Sunday and a friend told her of a lady that was sick and couldn't work. Pam went up to visit her and talked and prayed for her. I thought that alone was amazing because they don't know each other that well and the other lady is Zimbabwean so I don't even know how they communicated. Anyway, Pam prayed with her before she left and the next day returned to see how she was doing. The lady was up doing her chores feeling completely healed. The faith of both of the women was boosted in such a huge way. For them to see how the Holy Spirit works through them and not only through us visitors was a huge thing for them to see. I have been discipling Pam for about a year now and she has been growing so much. But after this miracle from God she is even more on fire. I just pray that she will keep her simple faith as the feelings wear off as well.
So, I hope you are encouraged by my little story. And I hope that you will be able to see fruit coming from the relationships that you have as well. You never know how the tiniest seed that you plant will grow.

Back in Cape Town

I apologize for not blogging in so long. The initial plunge back into a culture not your own is always a bit hard. So, for the past three weeks I have been catching up with people, getting caught up on where ministries are now, and finding my place again in the big picture of things. There have been up and down times. But even through the down times I haven't doubted my coming back here. I will admit there are times when I wish I could go back to somewhere familiar but God has me in such a good place that I haven't come to the point of jumping on the next plane to America. ;)

I think my favorite part of being back has been reconnecting with people and re-finding what God has put in my heart. I walked into Red Hill again and immediately felt at home. The kids all still remembered me and the ladies were ecstatic to see me. I couldn't have asked for a better reception! I also got to see how some of the ladies kept meeting together in Bible studies and prayer meetings on their own initiative. It was then that I realized that no matter how much I love working with people on a surface level I love connecting them to Jesus. I love seeing them find the love of God on their own and all of a sudden it makes no difference if I am there or not. So, I have started the process of thinking and discussing with many people about what project I really need to pour myself into. Don't get me wrong Justice Acts is still very close to my heart. Especially after doing a presentation with them yesterday (which I will describe in more detail later). I am just now figuring out what my role is with them and how I can keep my main focus on discipleship. As I told some of you when I was in Alaska. You can give some one food and shelter but they will still die and be separated from God forever.

Well, now you know what I have been thinking and praying through. I am sorry that I haven't told you a more exciting stories. I will soon, though, I promise. I have many to tell!! But this was for the sake of catching you up on where I am at and why I haven't written in so long. God bless you all.