Mission Outreach Trip Team (MOTT)

Meet my team. These are the warriors which are being sent to Botswana for the (MOTT) (okay I have been blogging about it for quite some time now and if you have no clue what I am talking about, you out to subscribe to get them delivered to your inbox lol)

This is the team in the forefront but there are much much much much more other guys who are driving this boat - people who have really stayed up and planned everything to the tee, our support structure the 2011|Interns (Erica, Kate, Lauren, Anele - sadly enough they won't be going us because the three ladies are setting back to their homeland (States) after a year of service and internship with CRU|UKZN and Anele is gearing and in preparation for staff next year - awesome champion right there!). Driving this team mostly with their prayers is the leadership team from the different campuses - they have been awesome with that. Office work has been done mostly but a part-time staff member of CRU - she has been taking care of our finances and has been doing a great job at it...love it! These 12 people have a trail of supporters who have been praying and giving towards the outreach project, just to humbly acknowledge them.

With exactly 7 days before our departure, we are in awe with the provisions that have been coming in mostly me I have to say - I'm pretty sure all these guys have stories to share on how from trusting the Lord for support to having to crunch their exams so they do not get supplementaries, they have just been given the strength to surface through it all!

{click on the image to enlarge it}

Lets review these two weeks

The past two weeks have been quite a joy ride and opportunity granted, would do them over again and again and again and again ...well you get the picture. Apart from tests which have been back to back as the varsity calendar comes to an end in preparation for the exams, let me bring you up to speed on how my past weeks have been:

• Our weekly meetings on campus with CRU and our students have been nothing but greatly awesome, a platform where we have learnt, been encouraged, rebuked, revived, affirmed, disciple with nothing short of spiritual growth – we just finished off a semester long series on 2 Timothy aptly titled: ‘Last Words’ which are basically the last words of Paul to his assistant Timothy.

• With that insight, getting our 2^nd Annual End of The Year Social (sending-off party for all the interns) organised. Ah man, this has been the most gruelling event I helped in organising – there was so much hardship endured by the organising team on this project (I could just base my whole blog entry on this) ...but I won’t – the Lords provision were all sufficient. The social was a great success and big ups to the Social’s team and everyone who is not part of the organising team that help in bringing it together. The food was awesome, the programme was fantastic, I totally enjoyed myself. Though some students couldn’t make it due to other commitments, those who did come made the social what it was. In anticipation for the coming year, there is so much I feel there is to be revealed to students, to interns, and to staff and those who are to join us. On the side, the new teams on most of our campuses are in place and they are what we call ‘Jesus Freaks!’
• Attended the 24^th Annual SASM (South African Society for Microbiology) Conference with my friend Tom– this being a day before the social event! This revived both our love for research in microbiology specifically looking into using this field in impact communities in a more sustainable fashion. There was a lot learnt on our parts with the presentations strikingly intriguing – obviously UKZN Microbiology rocked the presentations taking 1^st, 2^nd, ad 3^rd position amongst competitors including DUT and MUT. We down like that. The slogan stands –

Love-peace-MICROBIOLOGY

• Straight after that was an all-night pulled with Alyssa in getting the social video done. Man, was that a long one but the finished product was top notch. The video is attached at the end of the blog entry. That same morning FYI had to go grocery shopping with Johan for the social (like I said, I could base the whole entry on the social).

Still in preparation for the Mission Outreach Trip to Botswana, Gaborone at the end of our exams – just a heads up, some students and I including some of the interns from CRU will be heading up to Botswana from the 21^st Nov for a 10-day outreach in that community. Last month was reading a small devotion from ‘The Utmost for His Highest’ by Chambers and what caught my sight was the explanation of what the purpose of missions are and basically for me, what service to the Lord is all about:

“Personal attachment and point of view is one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary enterprise the great danger is that God’s call is effaced (removed) by the needs of the people until human sympathy absolutely overwhelms the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, the conditions so perplexing, that every power of mind falters and fails. We forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary enterprise is not first the elevation of the people, nor the education of the people, nor their needs; but first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ – “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.”

This couldn’t have come at a better time where I am learning off the character of a servant, how to serve, what the Lord desire is from me with what He has honoured as well as blessed me with both for my personal ministry (which I’m still coming to understand), my fellowship with Him and others. These coming few weeks are going to be challenging as most prayer will be directed to the following year.

B's desk

9 minute call

Family blessings have meant more to me than anything I have ever encountered before. With every challenge I have come to faced that has come to be put into implementation, I have seeked my family’s blessings by all means and they have greatly blessed me with every ridiculous outburst, new interest, innovations, exploration. For the recent few months I have been seeking the Lord in dedicating a year of service to the Gospel – it has been a test of faith and by all means a hit of high and low notes where I’d be: “Ye…let’s do this!” and on some other days it was like: “Oh, … hmmm … ye maybe some other times.” But hey recently, I feel like there has been such a great confirmation leading to today and that the Lord has been saying: “Wait til’ you see what I have in store for you”. I have been and I am trusting Him for so much I begin to shiver and think – hey, if it’s your will, lead me to it and I want to fulfill it by all means. 

Roadblock – crrreeeech . . . family blessing! Oh yes, forgot about that. Well today has been quite eventful on that basis. I spoke to my mom explaining to her now my intentions for the coming year and yey, for a second I thought she was like: “ye, go do it son, I’m with you all the way”. 3 minutes into the conversation, I am reminded about the financial burden that she faces and evidently, I really can’t and won’t try to refute that – she had kinda made her plans for me like every parent has: study…graduate…graduation party (if I’m lucky)…work…$$$! She is shocked out of her boots when I tell her that I have included some few plans in her train of thought and that not only am I calling her to ask for her support on this faith adventure but to bless me as well (these are two different things). 8 minutes into the conversation I am in tears (remember this is a guy who has always expected to be blessed by his family). She ends the call, re-assuring that she will call later and I’m then praying for the Lords grace being: “… you didn’t say it would be this difficult, why does it feel like I am dishonoring my mother”. Well the story picks up when I call my aunts (Phindile and Vangile) – to a degree my spiritual mothers (i.o.w. I run to them every time there is fire in the heart). I embrace their understanding and thank God for their impartation and their support and blessing.  I look forward to seeking God to teach me and help me put the puzzle together because I stand on a limb – knowing no direction of the coming months but clinging on to His character. My discipler said to me some few weeks: ‘Its these points in time, where we are trapped in a crevice, having nowhere to go and hide, putting no front that everything is A-okay, just surrendering all - waiting on Him with utter dependence; that He comes and reveals His glory to us’. I am not turning away from anything nor anyone, my heart is still set in the vision than the Lord has cast and I am humbled. That’s all!

Goodbye South Africa . . . Hello Bostwana

Take out the red, green yellow and what you have - Botswana's flag!

It's been in the talks for quite some time and excited have it finalised. 950 km's away from Durban, 360 km's from Soweto.  Gaborone, capital city of Botswana - our landing point . . . Bostwana here we come. The end of the year not only ends in a high as I finish of my undergraduate - which has been a thrilling experience in itself. There is alot of uncertainty to what plans will begin to unfold as the year progresses to the end but I am reassured by Mat 6:34 which says don't worry about tomorrow, let it worry about itself.

Anyway, speaking about Bots, ye, its happening end of November. This summer mission project/outreach will be about 9 days long after my exams are finished at the end of the year and I will be going with about 15 other fellow varsity students and staff of Cru on this project as we will be involved in evangelistic outreaches in the community of Gaborone including working at food stations, VBS (Vacation Bible School) with children, as well as the possibility of doing campus ministry. This is an amazing opportunity to teach and be taught and will certainly deepen my relationship with Him. There is alot which has to be done prior to actually boarding the bus jetting off to Bots with the most important is raising a support  team which will be praying for this project. Furthermore I am raising R3000 which will cover boarding, travel, food, etc. I am in prayer about this and that the Lord will provide. Undoubtably He will, I just need to allow Him to guide me in finding the people which will form part of my Support Team. I want to take this opportunity furthermore to challenge you - challenge you to join my support team by investing R100, R200, R300 or whatever you feel good about supporting me with.

There is a great sense of faith in wanting to do this project mostly because next year could possibly be another year of faithfully praying for support (I kid you not!) but still seeking guidance in that.

If you decide to become a part of my financial support team please let me know as soon as possible. Please email be bmadida@gmail.com or call me on 073 833 3345