Lawton's Update: Week 1

Week one has come to a close in South Africa. It has been incredible!! As a team, we have experienced these crazy emotions of fear, weakness, encouragement, enlightenment, laughter, dependency, and everything else in between. We can literally feel ourselves being stretched and can see the growth that is occurring inside of us on a daily basis. I feel so blessed to be working alongside all of them as we are making our way into the lives of these students. God has proven himself over and over and over and we are being constantly reminded that He is GOOD. I’m learning that this fact is the only real thing I can count and depend on here and I’m clinging to it!

Emily and I have been placed in Skoonveld (pronounced “Skwonfeld”) for ministry. It’s an all girls res (or dorm) that can be compared pretty closely to a giant sorority. There are two third year girls, TK and Beaulah, who have been working through Campus Outreach to do ministry with the first year girls throughout the year and we are really lucky to get to pair with them. MK and Suz, if you’re reading this, they both say hi!!! They’ve introduced us around to so many girls and have helped us get a foot in the door. It’s incredible to see their faithfulness in the res. I know that they’re so busy with school and other responsibilities, but they have completely given their lives to these first year girls (called “Ponkies”) and have done all that they can to love them.

Our strategy for this first week was to meet as many girls as possible and just become friends with them before we go any deeper. We’re looking to bring first years into the ministry in hopes of them developing their faith through their time at UJ. We’ve begun by meeting the girls that Buealah and TK have ministered to (about 30), but will hopefully branch out to new girls next week. It’s pretty easy to talk to them and make friends when they hear we’re Americans. I can’t count the number of times i’ve been asked if I know Usher and Ludacris. I’ve been telling the truth so far, but I might start making up stories soon about how they’re my best friends just for entertainment. We’ve also fielded about a thousand questions about sorority and fraternity life and how close the show “Greek” is to reality. Jersey Shore is another favorite conversation topic.

As much as we tell them about America, though, we are learning 5 times as much about their lives and culture. The girls are so open to sharing about their everyday lives and love to teach us new things. We had a cooking lesson where we learned how to make pap (South African grits) and fried some sort of meat. When we asked the girl what kind of meat it was, she didn’t know, so we got a little nervous and stopped with the questions. I also let some girls order my dinner for me when we went to the Student Center to eat one night. I ended up with a double decker sandwich with about a whole rack of boneless ribs, a fried egg, bacon, cheese, and some other stuff I couldn’t figure out. It’s called a Dagwood. I would recommend it for those who walk/swim to South Africa from Georgia and forget to eat on the way. We’re also figuring out the new slang and when to use it. For every 10 times we attempt to use it in conversation, we usually get it right once. The girls are pretty patient with us, though, and think it’s hilarious. New favorite phrases are Now Now, Cheers, Sharp Sharp, and Slops.

Another great thing about Skoonveld are the bunnies. The res in built as a circle with a grassy courtyard in the middle. A few years ago, one of the girls bought a female pet bunny and let it live in the courtyard. Another girl thought it might be lonely, so she bought it a (boy) friend to live with. There are now about 100 bunnies. I think at one time, when there were fewer, most of them had names. We’ve found out, though, that because there are so many now, they’re all just called Stacy. If ever Emily and I are having a hard time in the res, we can just look out the window and the bunnies always make us laugh. All the Ponkies are required to be on a committee for the year. There is an entire bunny committee that just makes sure the bunnies are fed and happy.

Emily and I are working so well together as ministry partners. She has a great gift of organization and helps keep our time structured and purposeful. She remembers names like a beast and can pronounce them like a legit South African. While I do not have any of these talents, I have the gift of small talk and could carry on a conversation with a wall for 5 hours, so we have ended up being a great team! I’m really looking forward to seeing how God can use us together as His laborers this summer to impact these girls and His Kingdom!

Before our first day on campus, Jeremy gave us a motto for the summer – “No reserves, No retreats, No regrets.” It is so good to remember this as we’re wandering around the halls of the res. It is almost like we’re going into battle every afternoon when get to campus. That’s not to say that it’s not enjoyable, but we definitely feel a sense of urgency and mission as we begin each day and i’m so thankful for it.

We also met an awesome girl outside of Skoonveld one night (all the girls gather on the sidewalk to steal wifi from a building nearby) and talked to her about her experience in the res as a Christian. She said, “When you’re a Christian, either you’re living or you’re dying.” I think this is the most profoud thing i’ve heard in a long time. God does not intend for this life to be spent in a state of spiritual complacency. Life should be filled with constant opportunities to be stretched and grown in order to become closer to and more like Him. This is just another opportunity for us to allow God to grow us spiritually! I don’t remember that all the time, but I’m working on always keeping this in my mind as we’re spending time with girls.

So, thats all i’ve got for now. Thank you for all of your prayers! Keep em coming!

Prayers:

- We would love prayer for all of Skoonveld, but these girls by name: Tebogo, Tshego, Amu, Yolanda, Star, Koketso, Lungiswa, Asiphe, Gomolemo, Nqwabsa, Khosi, Inge. We are praying that these girls and many others would be spiritually interested this summer and would be open to us as we share with them.

- Boldness and Courage for the team

- That we would all be falling even more in love with the Lord through the challenges and successes of daily ministry

- Buealah and TK

- God’s will to be done