Fill Us Up, Send Us Out

We concluded our four days of training yesterday with a study on cross-cultural ministry. Today, we will begin putting into practice all that we have learned this week. We have split the 30+ young people who have been trained this week into three different teams, each sent into a different township. My group is heading to Daveyton, where we will be doing ministry in a squatter camp (an informal settlement). Justin and Wes will also be helping lead teams heading into Tsakane and a more rural settlement called Grootvlei. Please pray for our safety as we travel today, as well as for our ministry to the people in these townships. Pray that we would be an encouragement to the local church and that hearts would be moved toward Christ as the Lord works through our group. Thanks for praying!

Update

Just a quick update from South Africa. Thank you to those who prayed for Justin. He was able to see a doctor who gave him a shot (you will have to ask him where! :) and also got him started on some antibiotics. He is already feeling much better today. Besides Justin's minor illness, it is a praise and a blessing that our team has been very healthy so far on this trip. Sickness can often be a distraction from the mission on a trip like this, but we have experienced God's hand of protection from sickness as we had long, tiring days of travel, as well as in our adjustment to a new environment and new kinds of food here in SA.

We just finished our first session this morning called "Triple T" (Telling The Truth). We learned that our own personal testimonies can be a powerful tool in sharing the gospel with others, and we were given time to write out our own testimonies and share them with a group. It has been amazing to watch our students really embrace the community here at J-Life, as well as the teaching. I have seen incredible growth in each one of our students in just the first few days here as they are stretched and challenged outside of their comfort zones. And this is just the beginning. Please pray that God would continue to grow our students into maturity as they are stretched each day.

STeM Day 2

Today we woke up at 6:30am for a time of group prayer. It was great to unite our hearts together in prayer with believers from many different cultures and languages. We followed that with a time of personal devotions. We are studying the life and ministry of Christ for the next ten days--really exciting stuff! After devotions, we had a time of worship together as a group and then a group discussion surrounding the Scripture that we read for devotions. (And all of that BEFORE breakfast!). After breakfast, we had our first session of practical training for the short-term mission. We are on a short break now (it is noon here), and then we are heading back for another training session. It's been a very busy morning!

One concern for prayer...Justin has not been feeling well. He often has problems with inflamed tonsils, and he has started feeling an infection coming on. We wanted to take every precaution, so he has gone into town this morning for a doctor's visit and to get some antibiotics. He is really doing fine, but please pray that he stays healthy and strong so that he can continue pouring into our students. Thank you for praying!

Adjusting Well

I'm super impressed with the way our group has adjusted to the new time zone already. We got a great night's sleep (us guys actually slept through our alarms and woke up at 10am!), and after a good shower and breakfast we all felt very refreshed. We went for a nice hike up in the mountains at Camp Eden this afternoon--even in the dry winter it really is beautiful here! As we came back to the campsite, we had the chance to meet several groups of African students who will be joining us for STeM. Our kids seemed to really connect well with the other students. Please pray that we would continue to be unified both as a team and unified with the rest of the students here for STeM. Tonight officially starts STeM training--we are very excited! Stay tuned for more updates, and hopefully I'll be able to put up a picture or two soon. As they say "goodbye" here in South Africa...cheers!

Settling in to South Africa

The last two days of travel went as smooth as could be. We arrived in Johannesburg right on time about 3 hours ago, and we are just now settling in at Camp Eden. There is a 7-hour time difference, so it's currently almost 12:30am in South Africa. It may take our bodies some time to adjust, but we are all hoping for a good night of rest as we are pretty exhausted from two long days of travel. Pray that our adjustment to the new time zone and culture here will be quick--STeM training starts tomorrow afternoon! We are all very excited to be here and excited for what God has in store for us. Thanks to all of you who are keeping us in your prayers! We really appreciate your support!

Preparing Our Hearts

Our trip unofficially began tonight as our complete team met together for the first time in Granger. The focus of the night was to begin building unity as a team and to prepare our hearts for the two weeks of ministry ahead of us. Justin really got us started out on the right foot, as he led us in a time of prayer and confession. We each went off on our own to pray and ask God if there were any barriers or sin issues in our lives that might prohibit His working in and through us on this trip. We then got together with a partner, confessed our sins to one another, and prayed for each other. After confession, then, the natural response was to worship God and thank Him for His forgiveness and the work He did through Christ on the cross. And we did just that, spending an hour or so worshiping God together as a team. What a powerful way to begin this trip. Our hearts are ready, and I'm excited to see what God has in store for this team! Africa, here we come!

Back to South Africa!

It's hard to believe that it's been 18 months since I last stepped foot in South Africa. But, after much preparation and anticipation, I am heading back this week to the country and the continent that has stolen my heart! I'll be leading a team of students and leaders from The Crossing (the school where I taught this year), as well as the youth group from Rona Missionary Church (OH) which I am connected to through my good friend Justin Romine, youth pastor at Rona. We will be partnering in South Africa with J-Life Africa for their annual missions training/practical event called STeM (Short Term equipping Mission). We'll first spend four days at J-Life's training center about an hour outside of Johannesburg, where we will receive training in short-term missions, including the theory behind what we do on short-term missions, as well as practical training in evangelism, sports ministry, etc. We will then be sent out in teams to impoverished townships to partner with the local church there and apply what we have learned in our missions training. After five days of practical ministry, we will travel back to J-Life for one day of debriefing our experience. And, finally, our group will conclude our time in South Africa with a two-day safari in Kruger National Park, where we will have the opportunity to continue reflecting on our trip, all the while enjoying God's beautiful creation!

I couldn't be more excited about this trip, and I can't wait to see how God moves! Please consider partnering in prayer with our group. Here are some ways that you can pray specifically:

• Pray that God will provide safety in our travels (both as we travel to and from South Africa, as well as during our time there).
• Pray for team unity.
  
• Pray for God to open our hearts to what He has for us on this trip.
• Pray that we would encounter God in new ways.
• Pray that God's name be glorified through our service to others around us.
• Pray that lives would be changed.
• Pray that people would see Jesus Christ and be drawn to Him through our lives and our ministry on this trip.
• PRAY THAT GOD WOULD SHOW UP IN BIG WAYS!!!

Thanks so much for your prayers. I will be keeping this blog updated regularly throughout our trip, so feel free to check back in over the next few weeks to see how we're doing. Thanks!

One More Week!

I was never much of a soccer fan growing up, but my world travels have opened my eyes to the fact that on the international stage, soccer is the sport. And for the billions of soccer fans around the world, the World Cup is the event. As you probably know by now, this year the World Cup will be held in South Africa--the first time it has ever been held on the African continent! I'm excited for South Africa to showcase their beautiful country to the rest of the world. And I know this event means a ton to the people down in SA. Some of my friends at J-Life are really getting into the World Cup spirit, too. Check it out!

South African pride at its finest!

On the prowl...

This is probably one of my favorite videos that I took while in South Africa. Unlike the other lion video, which was taken at a lion park (more or less a glorified zoo), this lion was actually spotted out in the wild, in its natural habitat, at Kruger National Park. We actually spotted two lions at the time this video was shot. This lioness was keeping watch and blocking the escape route as another lioness was circling around to make a kill for dinner. Pretty sweet stuff.

Anyway, I think you'll enjoy this video. Notice that the lion is only a few feet from our car, and WE ROLLED THE WINDOW DOWN! Not only that, but at some point in the video I start whistling to provoke the lion. What can I say...I'm a big dumb animal, folks!

And then there were lions...

My buddy, Ted, and I got to spend an afternoon chillin' with some lions on a little mini-safari just outside of Johannesburg. Enjoy the video!

Pictures of the Friendly Giraffe

These pictures will make a lot more sense if you watch the video in the previous post. Enjoy!

More From the Dorito-Loving Giraffe

Recently, I've been having fun going back through my pictures and videos from my time in Africa. You might remember this video of a Dorito-loving giraffe that I posted several months back while I was in South Africa. For your viewing pleasure, here's one more video of Ted and me with the friendly beast.

"For You Are Good, My God"

As promised, here's a video of me jammin' down in South Africa with two good friends, Christian and Chevonne. This is actually a song that I wrote while down there. It's called "For You Are Good, My God," and as far as I know this was the first time that I ever performed a song that I wrote before a live audience. Hope you like it!



Disclaimer #1: The camera work on this video is pretty shaky. Sorry!
Disclaimer #2: Don't worry, I'm aware that my hair is ridiculous in this video!

2010 World Cup

Some of you might know that later this year South Africa will be hosting the FIFA World Cup. Granted, most of you Americans out there probably don't care much about it because they will be playing futbol and not football, but it's a huge deal for South Africa. It's the first time ever that the world cup will be hosted by a country in Africa, and I'm excited that South Africa will have a chance to showcase their beautiful country for the rest of the world to see.

Like I said, I know most Americans couldn't care less about soccer, but believe me, we are the tiny tiny minority in the world when it comes to that. Soccer is the world's sport, and they love it. While in SA this past year, I had the opportunity to go watch South Africa's national team, Bafana Bafana, play against Poland. Just to give you an idea of how much African's love soccer, enjoy this short video clip from the game.

Boris & Finnigan

Probably very few of you faithful readers have heard my sob story about wanting a dog growing up (and being ruthlessly denied by my parents!!!). I'll get over it...someday. Basically, the Cliffnotes version goes something like this.

When I was a little toddler, we had a dog named Duke. My mom didn't like him digging up her flowers or making a mess in our yard, so we got rid of him. From that point forward, for years I begged and pleaded for a dog. It didn't matter what holiday it was, I was asking for a dog.

Christmas - Don't you think Jesus would be happy if we celebrated his birth by caring for a little puppy, Mom and Dad?

Birthday - It's MY birthday; can't I get what I really want for once!?

Halloween - Forget the candy; give me a puppy!

Valentine's Day - Don't you love me? If you loved me, you'd get me a puppy!

Easter - Forget the Easter Bunny! How 'bout an Easter Puppy!?

Hannukah - Jesus was a Jew...I think he wants us to have EIGHT puppies!!!

Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly like that, but you get the point. I spent years of my life wasting my breath, and my parents never caved. If you wonder why I am the way I am today, I blame it all on the emotional trauma I endured from years of puppy deprivation. (It's okay, Mom and Dad, I'll forgive you sooner or later!!!).

Fast forward now to my year in South Africa. I mentioned in the previous post about staying with Uncle Johan and Auntie Brenda. One of the HUGE perks of staying with them was that they had not one, but TWO dogs! They were quite the dynamic duo. Boris was this monstrous Rhodesian Ridgeback who was ready to rip off the head of anyone trying to break into the house, but really was just a sweet dog. Standing on his hind legs, he probably came up close to my chest, though. Just a monster.

His antithesis, then, was little Finnigan. "Finny," as I often called him, was a tiny little Jack Russell, the runt of his litter. He was this crazy little puppy that would get so excited when I came home that he often peed himself--literally! A quick story about Finnigan...

So this little puppy loved to jump up on me, and he was always trying to lick my face. I thought it was cute and everything, and most of the time I let him. Well, what he really liked to do was lick my beard (I know, I know...it's gross), and I could never figure out why. Finally, it was pointed out to me that given my Osama-esque (yes, that's a new adjective) beard, whenever I ate, food was often getting stuck in my beard. So Finnigan wasn't really so interested in my beard as he was the leftovers stuck in my beard! Ha!

Anyway, now that you're all grossed out and wondering if I've got a few screws loose, here are a few pictures of my South African pets:

Posing with Boris and Finnigan on my last day in South Africa. This picture really doesn't do justice to how huge Boris is...

With my little buddy, Finnigan!

Seriously, cutest dog E-VER. Now you know why I let him lick my face...

My South African Parents

Throughout this past year in Africa, I was blessed by so many generous people who just gave, gave, and then gave some more. I was seriously overwhelmed at times by the love I received from people, as well as their spirits of cheerful giving.

Two such people, whom I could never thank enough, are Johan and Brenda Swanepoel--whom I referred to as Uncle Johan and Auntie Brenda, and even sometimes jokingly as "Mom" and "Dad." They literally had an "open door policy" with me, letting me know that any time I needed a place to stay, their door was always open. So after the four months of training ended on the farm, I started taking them up on their offer.

At first, I would usually just come stay with them on weekends. They lived in a town just south of Johannesburg called Vereeniging, about 45 minutes from the farm. My church was in Vereeniging, and the internet access there was about a million times better than on the farm, so it worked out pretty well. But, as the year went on and I began traveling more, I ended up staying with them as often as I could, in between trips. Finally, for the last month or two of my time in South Africa, I moved in with their family. They seriously treated me like a son, which really meant a lot to me being so far away from my friends and family back home. Looking back, I really do feel blessed by the time I was able to spend with them and their family, and I'm thankful to God for bringing them into my life!

My South African parents: Auntie Brenda and Uncle Johan.

Finals Days in SA

Well, I'm finally getting a chance to breathe and just relax in my final week here in SA. After VAC Camp, I drove six hours down to Pietermaritzburg to spend a few days with some good friends, Josh and Jamie Quarandillo and family, as well as an old high school buddy, Andrew Myers, who is interning with the Qs for the next nine months or so. The past few days have been filled with lots of sleep, some reading and journaling, and endless hours of Nintendo Wii sports tournaments with the Q family...just what I needed. Tomorrow, then, I'll head back up north to Vereeniging to stay with my host family here in SA for my last few days, before flying back home on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.

I've got lots more to share about VAC Camp this past week, as well as some of my other experiences and thoughts from this year, but for now I'm just going to try to enjoy my last few days with some people I love, in a country that I have grown to love. Looking forward to reconnecting with many of you soon!

God is Moving

The Spirit is moving here at VAC Camp in ways that I've never seen before. It's insane. We've seen many kids come to know Christ, and many more who have had major breakthroughs and experienced freedom from bondage, a freedom that only Christ can give. Much more to come later, but for now just keep praying. We have one more day left, and I'm excited to see what God has in store for us next!

VAC Camp: Day 1

VAC Camp started yesterday, and nearly 300 young people from the Joburg area showed up at Camp Eden. The theme for camp this week is "Power," and we are diving into a power-filled life in the Spirit that so many Christians seem to be missing these days.

In the opening session last night, I walked through the entire Old Testament with the youth, focusing on the POWER struggle between God and man. Beginning with the first temptation in the garden--"...you will be like God..." (Gen. 3:5)--and the cycle of sin and rebellion that has plagued humanity from that point forward. Still today, I think our greatest temptation is that we want to be God--or at least "god" of our own lives. So we search for this power within ourselves, only to be perpetually frustrated by our inability to live a power-filled life. Only be surrendering and plugging into the power of the Spirit can we truly live power-filled lives. In conclusion, I had everyone pray this simple prayer: "Holy Spirit, show up in my life this week." I'm convinced that God wants to break through in powerful ways in the lives of these young people this week, and I'm convinced He met with us last night!

Please continue praying:

• that God would transform the lives of these young people this week.
• that the Spirit would fill Mthawelanga and me as we continue to share God's Word over the next four days.
  

Re-Orientation and VAC Camp

There's a good chance you won't hear much from me for the next couple weeks. Tomorrow I head back to the J-Life headquarters at Camp Eden for a week-long "re-orientation" (that's what they call it around here--we would say "debrief") with the 2009 J-Life trainees. It should be a great time of reflecting on what God has done in our lives and ministries this year, as well as an awesome time to reconnect with many close friends with whom I went through four months of training at the beginning of the year.

Next Friday, then, begins "VAC Camp." J-Life is hosting about 250 young people from several churches around Johannesburg for a summer camp at Camp Eden, and I'll be one of the speakers at camp this year. I'll be splitting eight sessions with Mthawelanga Nkonzo, a super-gifted worship leader and youth pastor from Johannesburg. He will speak in the morning sessions, while I will speak each evening for four days. Our theme this year is "Power," and we'll be taking a look at what it means to live by the power of the Spirit. I've learned a ton over the past month or so as I've studied this topic, and I'm excited to share what God has laid on my heart for the youth. As VAC Camp approaches, please be praying with me that God would make clear the words He wants me to share to these young people, and that I would simply get out of the way!