Support Update 2

Hello!

It’s amazing how much can happen in a week! I hope to try to hit the big things of

what has been going on or else this email would last for days. The most important thing to

tell of is how big God is making himself out to be on campus.

After hearing the testimonies of what each ministry team has experienced at the

end of the day, I am challenged to pray for bigger and bigger things for God to do amongst

us. After the first day, I prayed that I would enjoy ministry and not find it completely

draining. He answered.

The next day I asked that the Lord would enable us to go below the surface by

allowing for transparency and vulnerability in the girls. (A quick note about the culture

here: girls don’t mind going deep [well, semi-deep], but that doesn’t necessarily mean that

you have received their trust). This prayer resulted in a conversation with a girl regarding

a depression that she was falling into. As we were about to leave, she admitted that she had

only discussed this rough time with her mom. Later that night, we had our first Bible study

on ‘the woman at the well’ (John 4:7-15). The girls (about 7) were challenged to think of the

broken cisterns in their life. It ended up being a great platform for follow up conversations

on the broken cisterns each girl might have in her life.

Friday exposed a slight challenge as 80% of the girls were preparing to write (take

a test) on Saturday. That night we thought we would have a game night, which ended up

being a complete success, despite our initial lack of hope. We had the South African form

of hot chocolate and popcorn, all while playing games over great laughter. I really feel

that relationships were deepened as a result of that night, as well as new ones that were

formed.

Saturday showed to be restful, which was much needed after running hard all week.

We were able to sleep in a little and then have a nice workout before we went out to our

next event. We all hopped in our minibus and went to a soccer match in Soweto (township)

between two undefeated teams. It will be hard for anything else to top this experience. As

we drove into Soweto, I was overwhelmed with the vast poverty. Questions began to pop

into my head: Is there any hope for these joyful kids running around? Is God’s power really

greater than millions of people addicted to drugs, alcohol and crime? Where do you even

start with a situation like this? After going back into God’s word that and reading in the

psalms about his enduring love and compassion for the poor, I’m convinced that He will

redeem this world and His people. Though this doesn’t discount the daunting task of trying

to help their situation, it keeps me from despairing.

After we parked, we began walking to the soccer stadium to watch the Orlando

Pirates play with the CCP team from Indianapolis. Every corner we turned resulted in

a louder roar coming from the stadium (mostly due to the VuVuZelas)...it also felt like

walking into a Harry Potter Quidditch match (nerdy, I know). The game was super intense,

but we ended up winning! People from the stadium rushed onto the field and danced for

a good ten minutes. They were eventually chased off so that the official ceremony could

begin...fireworks, medals, trouphies, confetti, etc. It was incredible! I haven’t seem that

much pride and celebration in a while. Absolutely incredible. Check the CCP blog soon (next

weekish) for the next video update that has a great recap of the event. We finished the

night off with pizza, bananagrams, and an early night to bed.

Sunday proved to be a restful Sabbath. Pastor Mark (from Australia) preached on

the Prodigal Son via skit, which illuminated the realness of Jesus in each of our lives. We

then went to Pink ‘n Pay for some needed staples, followed by a reguvinating workout

in the high altitude (higher than Colorado). After some good time in the Word and a girls

ministry meeting to prepare us for this week, I’m feeling ready for this upcoming week.

Personal Goals/Prayers:

-I want to see the Lord to do big things (each day gives me more insight as to what to

specifically pray), but I also need the patience to understand that ministry is a process.

-Finding and working with the strengths and weakness amongst our ministry group; also,

that we would function well where our personal sin is not interfering with the work of God.

(Ephesians 4:2-3)

-That the Lord will grant us discernment as to which girls are genuinely interested (despite

what they may say) in finding lasting satisfaction in Christ.

Ministry Goals for CO Johannesburg:

-Invite people to our evangelistic meetings on Wednesdays from 5-6 (11-12 your time).

This past week there were over double the amount of people they usually have. Emily gave

her testimony on the journey that lead her to embrace the existence of God. Jeremy then

gave a talk on the “American dream,” and that running after things other than Jesus will

never fully satisfy.

-COJ wants to keep this momentum going as much as possible to get a large

attendance at the Joint Winter Conference (JWC) on June 24th-26th.

-By the end of the CCP we want the name ‘Campus Outreach’ to mean something to

majoirty of students on campus.

-For our team to be associated with the staff and student leaders on campus so that once

we leave, students will know how to continue to get plugged into community.

-Finally, to make a Muslim friend (a personal fav). This is more of a long-term goal that will

hopefully cause Christianity to progress further up the continent of Africa, instead of Islam

moving down the continent from North Africa