Today I can’t stop thinking about a sweet little face that has been engraved in my mind from my time in Johannesburg. While visiting one of the orphanages, I spent most of my time with a precious little boy that I will never forget. I’ll never forget his big smile as he repeated after me, “Jesus… loves… me…. Jesus loves me!” I keep thinking about him… about his future… where he’ll end up someday… if he’ll ever be able to fully trust that Someone loves him more than he knows. I don’t know his story of how he ended up there but God knows. God knows his past, He knows what that sweet boy is doing right now, He knows where he’ll be ten years from now. If I could’ve taken him back with me, I would’ve done it in a heartbeat. For now I want to be a prayer warrior for that little one that instantly captured my heart and that God would be working in the hearts of whoever will choose to be his forever family. God has a plan for that boy that he created to be His child. God places the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6) and I know that he is preparing something for that sweet little boy. I can take comfort in knowing that our God’s heart is to show his precious children love and I’m confident that He already has a perfect plan.

PLEASE be in prayer for my former teammates as they are in Phuket, Thailand this month doing bar ministry, reaching prostitutes through an organization called SHE. Here are blogs from 2 of the girls I was with in South Africa about what they’re doing this month:

Sheila's Blog

Ruth's Blog

Pray for them as they face much spiritual warfare in bringing The Light to such a dark place.

I’ve been back from South Africa for a little over a week and have been adjusting to life back in MN. It’s crazy that even though I was only gone for a month, it seems so weird to be back. It’s been good though and I’m excited for what God has in store for this year.

I’ll write a more specifics about my trip another time but for now, here’s a small list of some things I learned/ was reminded of over the course of the month.

·         God doesn’t always call me to do what I WANT to do- ministry doesn’t always look like what I expect it to

·         The importance of community and honoring each other and how that impacts so many things

·         The number of seatbelts in a vehicle is only a suggestion for how many people can actually fit

·         The importance of being real

·         God is so much bigger than I’ve made Him out to be

·         McDonalds always tastes the same- no matter where you go

·         What a genuine relationship and intimacy with the Lord looks like

·         The power and reality of the Holy Spirit

·         The importance of treating people with JUSTICE rather than CHARITY

·         The Lord delights in me

·         How to make a LASTING impact by helping people help themselves

·         The importance of surrendering expectations and being open to be used in ways I don’t understand

·         Laughter is the best medicine J

·         God still speaks and wants me to live each day in tune with the Holy Spirit

·         Being aware of simple things that can be a distraction from purposeful living

·         There are endless opportunities to serve the Lord WHEREVER I go

….. this is only a fraction of what I learned. Each of those has a story behind it and I could probably go on forever. God is so good!

A Glimpse of Life in Joburg

Greetings from South Africa!

It's been 3 1/2 weeks since our team left for South Africa and I feel like I've learned more these past 3 weeks than I have in the past 3 years. I'll do my best to sum up a little of what's happened... Here's a small glimpse:

Team Fuego- my team for the month

Most of our first week was spent getting to know the teams that we're working with and I've learned so much from them about living in community, and truly living radically. In the past 6 months they've been doing ministry in:

India

Nepal

Romania

Moldova

Swaziland &

Mozambique

To be completely honest, when I first got to Johannesburg, I was a little disappointed that I wasn't going to be spending my month in the bush working with kids but I've really grown to love our ministry here and have been learning that God has us here for a purpose. I've been seeing that our view of "ministry" isn't always the same as His. 

     Johannesburg is a unique place. It is one of the biggest cities in Africa and has interesting dynamics since here, the 1st world meets the 3rd world. We've seen this reality as we've been spending a lot of time out in the city. We were initially told we would be working with campus outreach but since schedules were switched around, we've been partnering with the website www.forgood.co.za and helping them with networking. The first few days we were all having a hard time seeing how working with a website could be a ministry but it's opened up doors for us to meet so many passionate people, encourage them in what they are doing to impact their community and volunteer along side them. We've been going all around Johannesburg visiting churches and non-profit organizations in hopes that they will get connected with other churches and organizations to help bring Jesus to South Africa.

    So far, we've been able to go to a township and have a barbecue (or brie) with some of the families there, color with the children, and learn about life in the township.

     We've met with a man who helps provide after-school activities and counseling for the youth in the city in hopes to encourage them to work hard and take ownership of the successes that come from hard work. We visited with 2 American women who work for Oasis Haven, a children's home that partners with adoption agencies, and we were able to hear their heart for the orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa. I was at this "meeting" with 2 other girls on my team and I think it was a conversation that we'll all remember forever. After Oasis Haven, we met with Vincent, a man who works for JAM (Joint Aid Management). JAM was started by a man who visited Mozambique during the civil war and decided to dedicate his life to helping people meet their basic needs. JAM partners with Jesus Alive Gospel Outreach and we met with them this morning. They go into rural areas of Africa and basically hold evangelistic meetings and provide discipleship materials in the dialect of the people group. 

     Monday was Mandela Day and a few of us went with JAM to hand out blankets while others partnered with a church to help clean and do other projects in the community.

     On the weekends, we've been able to find some fun activities in JoBurg. We went to go to a Lion Park where we were able to pet lion cubs and feed a giraffe. Last weekend was filled with shopping at the African Market and going to a Rugby game. During the evenings, we've filled our time with worship, "family" dinners, and conversations of what the Lord is doing in our hearts. 

KK and I at a Rugby Game

    I've loved my first 3 weeks here and have been challenged in ways I never expected. It has been so great seeing how God has prepared divine appointments and listening as He speaks to my heart in ways I've never experienced before. I'm sad to be going home next week but I am so excited to take what I've learned back to my life in MN. 

And We're Off!

     I figured I better update this before I leave since I'm not sure when I'll have internet next. I'll try to update this as often as I can while I'm gone but I'm not sure how often I'll have internet.

     Right now I'm in Atlanta for training camp where there's 19 (18 girls and 1 boy haha) of us who have been getting to know each other and preparing to be immersed in a different culture for a month. I've already learned not to have any expectations. When I applied for this trip, I thought we were going to Eastern Africa. Somehow, over the next few months our trip morphed into a trip to South Africa.
     So tomorrow I'll be headed first to Amsterdam and then onto Johannesburg. From there, the 19 of us will be split into pairs and joining a team that is on The World Race (a program with Adventures in Missions where teams of about 6 people go to 11 countries in 11 months and take part in a different ministry in each place check it out here). My team will be "Team Fuego" and I just got an e-mail yesterday saying that our ministry will be with the university students, but who knows, that might change too! I am super excited to finally be on my way.The Lord has already been stretching me in many ways just through some of the sessions we've been having with our leader, Aly, who just finished her 11 months on the race.

Through all of the changes in the planning of this trip, I've been needing to really surrender my expectations and just know that God's ways are perfect.

 

"This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him."

 II Samuel 22:31

 

Thank you so much to all of you who have supported me, please continue to pray for us as we travel and get adjusted while beginning this new adventure with our King.

"Goodbye"

This past week has been a whirlwind. I've been reminded of how we live our lives from one season to the next. As our circumstances change, it's so comforting to know that HE remains the same.



"Wing Date" with some of the girls on my wing



Bible school ended for the year, so there were many goodbyes to all of the girls on my wing and lots of conversations about where God is taking them next. It’s been cool to see how God has already changed some of their plans, showing that He is the one who directs our paths. The dorm is quiet now but I’m excited to have more commotion again in a few months.

My next goodbye was on Sunday when Jeremy left for North Dakota to work on the oil fields for the summer. Thursday we went on a fun date in St. Paul to celebrate summer and to spend time together before he left. First we went to Harriet Island and walked around and then went to Pazzaluna for dinner.

It was probably one of my favorite dates we’ve been on. On Sunday, Jeremy packed his belongings in the pickup that he just bought and we went to church.

As we were sitting in church, I heard thunder and we left to find that Jeremy’s suitcase had been drenched from the sudden downpour. So we headed to a gas station and put everything in plastic bags.  We went out to lunch, did some quick shopping in Albertville and he was on his way. I sure am gonna miss that boy.



My most recent goodbye took place this morning. One of my dear friends, Heidi, is heading to South Africa for the summer to work alongside my former roommate, Ellen Amdahl, to start a Sunday school program and work with the kids at an after school program. I already miss her and can’t wait to hear all of her stories when she gets back.

 

Ellen, Heidi & me in South Africa 2010



All of these “Goodbye”s make me look forward to all of the “Hello again”s that will take place at the end of summer. Seeing everyone go, makes me excited to go on adventures of my own. My first one starts on Monday… stay tuned for more on that.



My Beloved

In the middle of studying for my School Health and Drug exam tomorrow, while listening to my Kari Jobe Pandora station, I heard this song. I've heard it so many times but today I just really needed to stop and listen to it. Today was one of those days filled with school stress, sickness, frustration, hurtful words and lack of sleep... not a good combination. I tend to put so much of my heart and contentment in the things around me and forget to find my rest in Him. I'm thankful for this midnight reminder of who I am in Him.