Week 3 Update

Dear friends,

Another week has gone by already! So much to update you all on but I'm trying to keep my thoughts concise. Last weekend, the team had a cultural excursion to the Rhino and Lion Park. We drove the kombi through the game reserve and saw all kinds of animals (lions, warthogs, buffalo, and more!). They also had an area with lion and tiger cubs that we could pet and play with. The cubs were so sweet. I wanted to take one home with me but I think it exceeds the weight limit for my suitcase. We also got to see the older lions and cheetahs get fed. I won’t go into a lot of detail about that but just know that it was awesome.

Time on campus this week has been really sweet. On Monday, Lindsay and I watched the Louie Giglio "Indescribable" video with a couple of the Amper Daar girls (it’s on YouTube if you’re interested in watching it!). The video talks about God as our Creator and about how the same God who created us created the entire universe. It walks through some of the known universe and the X-structure of the cross in the center of it. One of the girls who watched the video literally was in awe and her jaw dropped to the floor for the majority of the video. After the video she said I feel like we should pray, can we? Our response was OF COURSE. I’m continuously amazed at greatness of our God.

On Wednesday, Evan gave the talk at the Campus Outreach meeting. The topic was "Myth busters: I am a Christian" with the introduction of "Are you believing and living or are you resting in a false assurance?" A lot of difficult topics were addressed. Almost 2.1 billion people around the world claim to be Christians. But the Bible says, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me ‘Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’ (Matthew 7:21-23).” We live in a world that taints what the Bible says Christianity is and what it means to follow Christ. Many of us live under the impression that by going to Church, praying, or doing good things that we are Christians. To further address this misconception and allow us to ask ourselves tough questions, Evan introduced the test of true belief. This test addresses five challenges (which I will briefly summarize): 1. Being complacent in sin (1 John 1:6) vs. a desire for godliness (1 John 1:7); 2. Trusting in yourself (1 John 1:8) vs. trusting only in Christ (1 John 1:9); 3. Loving the world (1 John 2:15-16) vs. love for God (1 John 2:17); 4. Living for yourself vs. living for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14-15); 5. Fruits of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) vs. fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-24). The Campus Outreach meeting raised a lot of really great questions like who/what am I living for? Why am I doing what I am doing? Who’s on the throne of my life? Being a Christian isn’t about cleaning ourselves up to make ourselves look good on the outside—it’s about a relationship with Christ. It’s really humbling to see my need and dependency on Him grow daily.

After the Campus Outreach meeting, we had our Bible study in Amper Daar. The talk at the meeting was a nice transition into our topic for the week, John 3:1-21, the idea of being born again and what that really means. Lindsay also shared her testimony with the girls and about how the Lord has made her a new creation. Tebogo, one of the student leaders, also addressed some questions about the prosperity gospel that had come up with girls over the past week. (There have been a lot of conversations about this in the past week—the Lord has really grown me and Lindsay in boldness through these conversations.) After following up with girls from Bible study and the Campus Outreach meeting, a few of them realized that they are not following Christ and are investigating what it means to surrender their life to Christ.

I need to tell you guys something awesome—a few updates ago we asked for prayer to protect the girls against these false teachers and false doctrines. One of the girls that we have been hanging out with a lot that goes to one of those churches was investigating some things that her pastor said and interpretations that he made from Bible verses and realized that his interpretations weren’t biblical. This is a huge prayer answered! These are just some of the ways that the Lord has been moving on campus. (To the left is a picture of me, Gugu, Lindsay and Lebo hanging out in the dining hall.)

Brief update on this past weekend: went to Soweto, had a kota (mine, pictured below, consisted of a quarter of a loaf of bread with french fries, russian sausage, special meat-still not sure exactly what that is-and every sauce imaginable), tried cow heart, and had an awesome time.

Prayer requests for this week:
-That we would run hard after Christ and be humbled by Him
-That we would have time with girls (students’ exam weeks have begun and their schedules have become more hectic)
-Energy and perseverance
-That the Lord would be working in these girls’ hearts and that He would give them a desire to know Him
-That students would want to come to the Joint Winter Conference and the Lord would knock down any barriers

With love,
Lauren

"The LORD your God is in your midst,a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." -Zephaniah 3:17