We're in Africa!

Hello Everyone!!

So we have officially been in Africa 6 days! Its been amazing thus far! The night we arrived, there were a good number of girls from Campus Outreach waiting at our house. They are all so welcoming and full of life. Its amazing to have brothers and sisters around the world all striving for the same goal.

I first want to tell you about the plane ride down here. Our team booked our flight rather late, due to lack of funds, so we were all split up and placed in the middle seats. On the left side of me was a middle aged man who graduated from Yale's divinity school. He had participated in the Peace Corps in Botswana working with AIDS/HIV and was on his way back to continue to develop the programs that he had started. He has also spent time in the Congo and Rwanda doing similar programs. He had so much wisdom to give about life and forming lasting relationships. The guy to the right of me was going home to Zimbabwe after finishing his first year at a private Christian college near Tampa. His father is the long time pastor of a large church in Zimbabwe, fighting to make Christ known amongst all the ancestral worship. He explained the influence of the spirit world in Africa and the role of demons and witches that impact their daily lives. The positive side of this is that when people become Christians, they are more dependent on the Holy Spirit than we often are. Adams plans to bring his education home, where he can then try to fight the corruption that is the causing Zimbabwe to collapse. They too see Christ as the hope of their nation. So overall, it was a blessing from the Lord to learn so much about the culture I was walking into and to have a encouraging few words on the reason we are going to South Africa.

This last weekend we went on our first excursion to the Apartheid museum. At first, I think I left more confused than when I arrived, but after processing and talking to locals I've taken a lot away. The apartheid has left lasting impacts on the many cultures, but progress is continuing to be made despite past hatreds. Later, our team went to McDonald's for lunch, typical. Thankfully, we found it healthier than the ones in the States. That night we went to one of the staff houses (its huge!!) and had a Braai, which is their version of BBQ. So good! Saturday, we watched a soccer game (it was freezing!!) and then later that night our team played their own game of soccer. Hopefully we didn't embarrass ourselves too bad...it was great fun (team bonding) with a gorgeous view of J-burg behind us. Sunday we went to church and found their worship and teaching on Scripture to be true to the Gospel. I think we all left fairly encourage amongst the loving community we found there. Later that day, we experienced the local grocery store (pick 'n pay) and quickly felt like overwhelmed. We are now a "self-sufficient" CCP, meaning we are responsible for our own food and we are now driving ourselves everywhere. The rest of the day was spent resting and enjoying the Sabbath, which was very needed after running around constantly. The culture here isn't too different, other than driving on the other side of the road, which has helped with the transition. However, there are subtle differences. For example: There are 11 recognized languages here, each with their own culture; the time zone; the slang; and hard to pronounce names etc.

Monday-our first day on The University of Johannesburg Kingsway Campus. We spent the morning having close communion with the Lord, focusing on the reason we were here. And after a lunch break and prayer, we left for campus. I am in the res (dorm) called Benjimein (I forgot how to spell it! Ah!) with two other girls (Ashley DeForest and Danielle Devaney). KK, a second year in our res, has been introducing us to several first years. The staff wants us to reach out to as many of the first years as possible, getting to know them and bringing them to the weekly evangelistic meetings (3D). Our end goal is to bring these men and women to the Joint Winter Conference which is a weekend long retreat, very similar to our New Years Conference. At this point, they will meet several other varsity (college) students that are pursuing Christ, and then hopefully get plugged into a discipleship group. Our goal this week is to start big and then pray for the Lord to shut doors in the upcoming weeks. With yesterday being our first day, I've realized how exhausting this will be. However, I am excited to be here, proclaiming the one promise that will not fail us.

Please pray the following for me:

-That the team and myself would be clear communicators of the Gospel.

-The we would enjoy ministry and not see it as a 'job.'

-That I would have extrovert tendencies and not be completely exhausted by spending 8 hours a day on campus.

-That this campus and the lives that we come in contact with would be transformed. We want to see the Lord work in big ways this summer!

-Finally, that we wouldn't just pour out. We want to learn from those who have great faith here and be transformed by their lives. It has been so amazing to see how dependent the staff is on prayer and that they pray expectantly and watchfully.

Thank you all so much for your prayers! We need on them! I can't wait to update you in the next week regrading the ways the Lord has answered our may prayers. I hope all is well back home. Please feel free to email me back with updates of your own and of any encouragement.

Grace and Peace,

Karen