One More for the Kingdom

First off....I cannot believe our team has been in Cape Town for a month now...that is absolutely crazy.  This week was, by far, the point in the trip in which I have grown the most.  I have just realized how (even though I never realize it) I have been making little idols of things in my life.  It finally clicked when I was reading this week that God is a jealous God and does not want me to share the attention I need to give Him with other, meaningless things.  I have been asking Him to help me put Him at the absolute center of my life because I know I cannot do it on my own.

We were on the campus of the University of Cape Town this week and had lots of opportunities to share our faith.  Our team was slightly shocked at the difference between the culture of Stellenbosch and UCT, as UCT students were far less open to talking about anything with us....let alone their beliefs.  Well, some students at least.  It is good, though, that UCT was our last campus since it is more comparable to what we will experience on our home college campuses.

Although we did not see a ton of instant results (we knew we probably wouldn't, but would at least plant seeds), there was one incredible experience for me and three other girls.  Tuesday, my sharing partner and I started talking with two girls on the steps of a building.  One was Muslim and one went to Sunday School until she was six, but otherwise grew up in a home that did not practice any religion.  She seemed very interested as we began to share the first three parts of a tool Campus Crusade uses (called the "4 Spiritual Laws") books.  Both girls had to run to class, so we set up a time to meet the next day.  Wednesday, we went back along with another girl from our group and met the Muslim girl and her other Muslim friend (the girl who seemed interested had a physical therapy appointment).  That day we just talked about our religions and really started getting the Muslim girls to question their beliefs...at least how to answer the questions we asked.  So...we set up another meeting to "teach" each other about our beliefs.  Thursday, we went to meet them and were excited to see the girl who had been at the physical therapist the day before (her name is Gina by the way).  By this time, four girls from our group (total) came to the meeting.  We basically shared the Gospel with her twelve times in the next two hours and, as we call it, "word vomitted" on her.  It was encouraging to see how interested she remained that whole time!  We told Gina that she could think about all we had shared with her and meet the next day with questions.  She accepted Christ on our last day at UCT!!!!!!  We were all crying and had never felt so fulfilled before.  It was truly a life-changing experience!!

This week we will be de-briefing and flying home.  Please pray for Gina and her walk with God.  Also pray for our team's safety, health, and growth.  I will write more when I get home!  Thank you!!!

Wild Dynamite

I hope you like my team name for cards:)...that is wild dynamite.  This week has been amazing..again!  Being on campus was such a drastic change from spending time in the townships.  It was a blessing to be able to work on sharing my faith better with the students.  I know it will be super beneficial for bettering my confidence on my own campus.  I experienced various responses from the students...most very open and willing to talk about their beliefs!  We talked with quite a few Christians who were excited to get involved in the new Campus Crusade movement on Stellenbosch University's campus.  We also got to share our faith with a Muslim girl and three different atheist girls who were very open to the idea of becoming Christians.  None of the girls I talked to this past week accepted Christ, but I believe that the seed has been planted and will sprout!  The coolest and definitely most encouraging meeting of this week was on Thursday.  My partners and I stopped and talked with two girls who happened to be a part of a large Christian student group.  They sent out an e-mail for everyone to come to our group meeting on Friday afternoon to everyone in their group, and about an hour later a random girl came to ask us if we were the "American missionaries" from the e-mail.  So coooool!!  We talked with her for an extremely long time and became amazing friends!  I know she will have an amazing part in developing the Campus Crusade group at Stellenbosch!  Please continue to pray for the safety of our team and also good health.  Many of us have come down with variations of colds...some really bad.  Five members of our team had to stay at the compound one day this week (including me) to try to get better...we're still fighting it.  It is still a blast and an incredible experience for my spiritual growth though!!!

Touched by the Township

I have had problems logging in on my blog on some computers, so I appologize for the long delay in communication.  It has been a life-changing experience these past two weeks already.  Our team has been serving in the township of Khatelyshia for a few hours every day.  I have had the chance to help build a greenhouse for a church in the township, which will help with financial support.  Most days, we led a "Holiday Club" (which is the same as Vacation Bible School in the U.S.) and showed God's love to all of the children.  We also made wonderful friendships with the teenage translators that evangelized throughout the community with our team in the afternoons.

The first day of evangelizing in the township really showed me how the Holy Spirit works in powerful, yet humorous, ways.  Our group was walking down the sand road and we were trying to decide which way to go, saying that the Holy Spirit would show us the way (in a kind of joking,  but kind of not way).  Next thing we knew, a large group of women sitting along the side of the road stopped us and wanted us to talk with them.  We shared the Gospel with those women and three of them decided to recieve Christ.  The next day, we were stopped on the road again (only about ten feet from where we were the first day) and four women prayed to recieve Christ.  God works in wonderous ways!  We attended the church in the township on Sunday morning and had a great time singing along to some songs that we only semi-understood.  The people at the church worshiped with all of their hearts and souls.  The only disappointing thing is that we noticed there were not any men in the church.  There were a few teenage boys, but otherwise it was only women and a whole bunch of children.  They were all sooooo excited to see us!!!  The people in the townships truly are the poorest of the poor, but their sense of community and the way they take care of each other is incredible.  We really learned from them and admired the joy that resulted from their relationships.

Tonight we will be going to a church and performing the "Lifehouse Skit."  If you have not seen it, I strongly suggest that you go to youtube.com and look it up; it is super powerful!  We also start outreach on campuses tomorrow and have briefing for that this afternoon.  I can't wait! 

We Have Arrived

We arrived safely in Cape Town after some long flights, but I have loved every minute of this trip so far!  God has blessed us with an amazing group of leaders and students and I feel like I have known everyone for more than four days!  I cannot type long today, but look for new posts on Sundays or Wednesdays to stay updated!  Thank you for all of your support and please PLEASE continue to keep our team and the people of Cape Town in your prayers!!!