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!

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/

Crazy Life

I don't honestly have much to report to you. I wish I had a huge praise report to share and encouraging stories of people overcoming. But not anything so exciting yet. To be honest, it has been somewhat of a rough patch for me this past month.
God is moving me into a new season so I am just trying to figure out what that is. This past month has been a lot of orientation for those wanting to serve long term with All Nations. I am praying hard about making a 3 year commitment to work with All Nations here in Cape Town and then maybe farther up north in Africa one day. So, please be praying about that with me. That God will reveal to me if He wants me to commit and if so what He wants me to do.
With that in mind I have been exploring the different passions that God has been putting on my heart and figuring out how to put them all together. I have fallen in love so much with working with the kids and youth in Red Hill, and then I have really loved exploring the Safe House and human trafficking options. I have to ask how you combine all of these? God is revealing it to me slowly and it is a real test of my faith. Being here for 7 months now and the need to know what I would do if I came back next year I am desperate for answers.
Out of this state with so much on my mind I haven't been able to do to much ministry but God does keep me strong. He knows what I need and I know that it is my work to push through the hard times. Even though I am distracted, everytime I take the first step to go up to Red Hill all it takes is the first few moments of seeing my friends and I forget all else. I enjoy so much talking to them, hearing their stories, and playing with the kids that almost anything could hit me and it wouldn't effect me. Strange I know but it is through those times that God is revealing to me what I am doing next.
It is an adventure. One that you don't know where it ends because of all the twists and turns but one you don't want to turn back from. The next turn is scary not knowing where it leads or what it holds but something inside you needs to know so you keep pushing on. I don't know about anyone else but that is the way my life feels.