Sorry it has been a few days since I last blogged. It is pretty difficult to get Internet where we are but I have a short time now so I will try to catch you up on what has been going on here in South Africa.
Saturday and Sunday were both amazing days. On Saturday we spent the whole day at the squatter camp, ministering to the community. I started out thinking it was going to be a long day since we were so tired but it quickly became a great day. My group started walking down one street and immediately drew a crowd. We then started washing people's clothes, playing with children, and talking to people about Christ. As we walked a little further we started playing soccer with a group of men. It shortly became a conversation about God and their lives. We ended up talking to them for about 2 hours about Christ, and ended up leading them in the prayer of salvation. I had a feeling though that they didn't quite understand everything we were telling them though, but they were very interested in what we were telling them so we invited them to Church on Sunday where we would be singing and talking.
Great news! They all were there! They were so excited when they got to church yesterday and saw that we were all there waiting on them. There were also many others from the squatter camp that we had invited to church and some that we actually led to Christ on the streets of the community. During the church service we had many of our students and adults share their testimonies, the locals led some amazing worship, we lead some worship, and Heath Bromely preached the Gospel to the church. At the end he asked if anyone wanted to accept Christ and those three guys came forward! We were so excited. We talked to them some more and they really understood what they were doing. We then gave them Bibles and showed them some good verses that they should remember, and we encouraged them to continue coming to church there.
Sunday afternoon we went to a Lion Park where we got to see many Lions, fed Giraffes, got bit by Ostriches, and even got to play with baby lions! It was a one in a life time experience and we all loved it. We had a fantastic day and we all felt so blessed to be able to be here and experience everything that we are.
Today we went to the same squatter camp and continued to minister to people, pray for sick, disciple the new converts, and of course, play soccer with kids. It was a great day today as every other day has been. I am going to have to go now because we are about to have our devo around the camp fire outside in the cold. Oh yeah, I don't want to brag to you there in Texas but it feels so good and cold here! lol.
Tomorrow we will be at Kaya Sands where we will be doing the same kind of ministry that we have been but we will be able to minister in the Impact Kids Center as well. Please continue to pray for us as we serve God and spread His Gospel to the world. Talk to you soon.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
2nd night in Africa
We are at the end of our first full day here in Johannesburg and today was amazing and eye opening. We did some training this morning to prepare for what we would see in the squatter camps. Then after lunch we actually went out and went into a squatter camp outside of Johannesburg. When we got there we were all in shock of the conditions that these people were living in. I honestly wouldn't want my dog Rex to have to live in those conditions and there are millions of people that live there. We looked out and as far as we could see there were tin shacks and dirt roads. There wasnt any electricity or running water. It was just heartbreaking to see that people had to live there every day.
Our students did awesome though. They got right in there and started talking to adults and kids about Jesus. Some were more bold than others but by the end of the day everyone figured out what they were good at and thrived in that. We met many people that are so confused about Christianity because they mix it so much with so many other religions. They all have this combination of religions and we just tried to help them understand the truth. Everyone we met though we made sure to lead them and refer them to the Chrisian church that is in their community. We know that we can have an impact but the only way these people will stay in the truth and not be misled again is if they get into that church and hear sound biblical teaching. So that is what we tried to do as much as possible. We are going back to that same community tomorrow to do the same thing, then on Sunday we will be leading that church's worship service. We will leading worship, teaching, and praying with them. Please pray that the people we have met and will meet tomorrow will fill that church on Sunday so they can hear the Gospel. We are praying that many people will come to know Christ on Sunday and I hope you will pray with us for that.
I have to sign off for now but hopefully I will have a chance to blog again very soon. Thanks for all of your prayers.
Our students did awesome though. They got right in there and started talking to adults and kids about Jesus. Some were more bold than others but by the end of the day everyone figured out what they were good at and thrived in that. We met many people that are so confused about Christianity because they mix it so much with so many other religions. They all have this combination of religions and we just tried to help them understand the truth. Everyone we met though we made sure to lead them and refer them to the Chrisian church that is in their community. We know that we can have an impact but the only way these people will stay in the truth and not be misled again is if they get into that church and hear sound biblical teaching. So that is what we tried to do as much as possible. We are going back to that same community tomorrow to do the same thing, then on Sunday we will be leading that church's worship service. We will leading worship, teaching, and praying with them. Please pray that the people we have met and will meet tomorrow will fill that church on Sunday so they can hear the Gospel. We are praying that many people will come to know Christ on Sunday and I hope you will pray with us for that.
I have to sign off for now but hopefully I will have a chance to blog again very soon. Thanks for all of your prayers.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
SA mission trip
Just landed in Washington. 2 hr layover then we are on our way to Johannesburg! The students are already witnessing though. We have had lots of people ask about our shirts and our mission trip and they have already had many opportunities to share Christ. Praise God.
South Africa Mission Trip
made it through security at the airport in Houston. Starting our journey to South Africa. please keep us in your prayers.
If you want to see pix check out my Facebook.
If you want to see pix check out my Facebook.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
15 weeks
Today is my wife's 15th week of pregnancy! I can't wait to be holding our little baby! Juliann just told me that she felt it move for the first time. She said that it feels like popcorn in her stomach. I am a little jelous that she can feel it and I can't but then I thought to myself, with all the pain she has been going through she deserves it for sure. She has been doing such a great job and I know she is going to be an amazing mother. We went shopping last night for baby stuff but we couldn't buy anything yet because we don't know if it is a he or she. Hopefully we will find out the gender this Thursday. I am going to be so happy with whatever God blesses us with. I mean I do have a feeling that it is going to be a boy but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't love to have a little girl. I know that my life will never be the same but I am stoked about that. I am so excited that I will be raising a child to love God and to bring the gospel to the world. I will definitely let God lead me as I lead this child.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Osage Mission Trip- Day 3
Starting out pretty tired and slow, most students weren't to excited about going to their mission sites. But when they got there God started using them and turned the day around quickly. A different group of students went to the house that my group scraped. They started painting and it is already looking better. We are very excited to see the end product. Other groups went to sports camp and kids club. The group at kids club did a great job interacting and playing with the kids. There were a few boys that wanted to cause trouble but our youth guys stood by them and got them to participate just by being an example. Jake was one that really stooD out to me today. He had a kid that really wanted to break the rules, so he was able to play with him outside to calm him down and get him to participate with everyone else.
For church since it was Wednesday night, we went to a small church in Pawhuska where a preacher spoke about the Power of Jesus. It was a huge blessing. Most of our students have never experienced church like that, but once again, Juliann and I felt at home. He was a powerful speaker though and the students were hanging on every word.
For church group time we usually do a recap of the day, but I felt like we should talk about them theme of the day which was forgiving others. I really just wanted to recap and let them know how we are supposed to be different than the world, and forgiving others is one way we do that. Well little did I know that the Holy Spirit was at work. Some of our leaders started sharing some personal experiences they have had where they had to forgive someone. Then the students starting doing the same. Then the students started sharing about how they have been hurt by people and are trying to forgive them. It was a powerful night that some of our students needed. They were able to let some stuff go and now they know that they don't have to do it alone. We prayed for them and spent a few hours talking to some of them individually. These kids have seen so much and some of them have been hurt so bad. I just hope they can find God's comfort in their lives and will grow from their experiences. I know I will continue to pray for each one of them.
For church since it was Wednesday night, we went to a small church in Pawhuska where a preacher spoke about the Power of Jesus. It was a huge blessing. Most of our students have never experienced church like that, but once again, Juliann and I felt at home. He was a powerful speaker though and the students were hanging on every word.
For church group time we usually do a recap of the day, but I felt like we should talk about them theme of the day which was forgiving others. I really just wanted to recap and let them know how we are supposed to be different than the world, and forgiving others is one way we do that. Well little did I know that the Holy Spirit was at work. Some of our leaders started sharing some personal experiences they have had where they had to forgive someone. Then the students starting doing the same. Then the students started sharing about how they have been hurt by people and are trying to forgive them. It was a powerful night that some of our students needed. They were able to let some stuff go and now they know that they don't have to do it alone. We prayed for them and spent a few hours talking to some of them individually. These kids have seen so much and some of them have been hurt so bad. I just hope they can find God's comfort in their lives and will grow from their experiences. I know I will continue to pray for each one of them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)