Retreat/Faith

Nearly two weeks ago my team and I had gone over to a Staff Retreat for the Durban CCC Staff! It appeared more of a combination of individuals from a high school, a cocktail of juniors with seniors and the executive staff of the school. Certainly, my team was the youngest 'new kids around the block' however it didn't feel like that. We were ushered into the Durban team that had been made of Jon and Marie-Jean Templehoff, Gary and Cheryl Price, Sarie, Pastor Goba, Mpumi and Anele (and Mel who had not been with us due to an operation that took her out a bit). Some of the key points which encircled our retreat was the characteristics of a great team and this was surely a great opportunity to reconnect with God after an entire 2 months of holidays. Indeed it was great getting to know Sarie who grew up in a farm just outside Johannesburg and loves biltong, or Marie-Jean who can spend the entire day cooking or reading a good book, or  Gary an avid golfer and biggest Isidingo fan, Anele who never eats his vegetables and fish. Highlights of the retreat, there was alooooot of candy - I am not a big fan of chocolate (well because my doctor said it messes with my braces...thanx a milliion doc) but that weekend . . . oh man - we were covered in chocolate . . .  for a second I felt like the running tap water is chocolate water : fudge, caramel, coconut coated chocolate, nutty chocolate - YOU NAME IT!

On a different note, this week I have been learning quite much about faith! I love faith! I enjoy seeing what the bible teaches us about faith! What really strikes me about faith in the bible is when Luke writes about Zechariah the Priest in Chapter 1. To read that chapter in context - I am confounded on the amount of faith Zech had. Not in faith that God will bless them with a child but faith in that God's character remains the same. If he lacked faith....would he still have continued to intercede for the people at the temple, serving as one who keeps the incense burning on the alter....would he have bothered? Indeed, though the Lord had not answered his prayers, he still had conducted his priestly duties. The principle for me here is so amazing more especially when doing ministry work. Just because I am still waiting on the Lord for that blue house, does that have to limit me on how I express  Him or reduce the prayer I say over a sick primary school boy in Ntuzuma? Grilling that into my head for the past 5 months, faith is what will keep you intact.

Friday is our students are having a Leadership Meeting at Westville Baptist Church so thats gonna be fun and eager in seeing them all then this Saturday will be heading to Pretoria, Campus Crusade Head Offices for MPD and Intern training. Will also get to meet some of the new interns/stinters in South Africa in different parts of the country and on different campuses and university!

Bafana

Update

There hasn't been any great news this week - though the Lord has been very faithful with the support that has already come in, its very interesting to see how the next support that would come in would do so. I am in Durban currently with family for a week long vacation - just what the Dr' ordered.

Last blog I mentioned that may you please be praying for how the support from my friends in the State was to come in -  finally there is light and it might not be as much of a predicament as it would of come out as to be initially. Penny, the Director of Ukukhanya said she would help out in getting the money into S.A. more especially with minimal bank charges.

I was watching CampRock - The Movie yesterday and there was just this influx of memories of our own Ukukhanya Camp. I really cant wait for next year - its just gonna be so so so super awesome and amazingly satisfying beyond comprehension. I haven't spoken with my team mates the last couple of few days but I am pretty sure that they just as and just awaiting to see the Lord's work when 2012 comes.

Bafana

Botswana Bound

University of Botswana bound

The story behind this cow statue found just outside the newly built library is quite interesting - we learnt that for the building of the institution in 1982, community members, the Batswana, contributed a number of items such as cattle, agricultural products such as grains from farmers as well as cash to reach the R1 million which was required to build the university, making in the oldest higher education institution in  the country of Botswana. 

Here is Trushka playing around with some of the boys from the Naledi Community, a few km's away from the University. Locally known as Old Naledia, this is one of the largest and oldest township found in the country of Botswana - similiar to Soweto for South Africa. The population of this community is mainly constituted of poor residents living on the breadline - these are some of the kids of the community which come to the feeding station after school to their lunch time meal.

Kids enjoying a well prepared meal

One of the creative ways in which the Gospel is shared called the Solarium which is just a collection of random pictures which allows us to engage students in conversation about their lives, where they are going, what they think of God, etc etc. I love this as it allows us to engage  students on a very personal level and furthermore they are more yielding to opening up and speaking on a personal level.

We visited the small and humble Old Naledi Baptist Fellowship 

M.O.G (Men of God lol)

This team has to be on of the best and fantastic guys to fellowship with - there certainly has been a lot of learning and impartation. With high spirited conversation, there is never a dull moment with silence. This team has learnt alot in the couple of 10 days that we have spent together and we would do it again opportunity given!

Pula looks really different to rands - it got some used to before we understood what a Pula is and how to use it.

We were hosted by the Open Baptist Church and this is our rocking mini-van ... apparently I cannot call it a taxi because its not a 16 seater lol none the less, it has air con and for a country like Botswana that is all you need to survive the blazing heat. 

This is the seminary we spent our nights at. With waking up at 6am to start the day which would normally end at 1am, we went through the book of Ephesians.

UniBots main campus looks amazing

The motto of the university is Thuto ke Thebe which is Setswana for Education is a Shield and the Batswana students stand tall in that.

Alyssa learning some Setswana words from the kids from the community

Radio station interview at TrailFm

The girls just finish sharing with some of the students

Anele sharing with a student in the cafferia

Weekend off work we went to see 4 lions and play in water...yay

I saw up to 3 kids who were looking after their siblings - I asked about this and this is the general site - some of the kids are left to look after their younger siblings while the parents are not around and this is normally the entire day

Taffy Chifanuma

I call him 'Fanza'

Playing a Zulu game but kids are oblivious to the language and had to explain the game in my broken Setswana over 5 times but we had fun regardless

Sorry but this kids had to be a victim of our illustration when Enhle and Johan were teaching on 'Heaven'

Enhle teaching the kids with a translate who is the senior project co-ordinator at the feeding station.

The call to Botswana, turning Uni. Botswana and the community of Naledi our mission field at first seemed like a distant plan but when it became reality there was no way, and we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way  but to devote our time to praying and  sharing with the students and community members there. Dumela rra...dumela mma (good day sir...good day ma) is the first thing we were taught as we were going cross culture, the last thing we would have wanted to do is come forth as ‘typical South Africans oblivious to other people’. First day on campus was like learning how to ride a bicycle – as the wheels go forth, there is a need to gear up steadily however start on the first gear – get to know and have a picture of what, for the Batswana, God and religion looks like – and indeed within that day after speaking to just about 5 students, it was easily comprehendible and this is not standing from a judgemental angle... salvation was not understood, imputed righteousness was not understood, personal relationship with God and fellowship with the Holy Spirit – what is that???... Christ died...but why??? It became evident that the basic truths that God is love, man is sinful, we cannot reach God by our works, we are short of the glory of God, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for us to re-instate us in position where we are made right by faith, and we are His people – all that was not discipled into these students and students that we had spoken to mostly did not understand this.

The darkness on that campus was met with the light of God with the end of the trip, the team of 11 students had shared their faith with 146 students and community members, of which 52 committed their lives to Christ (we trust the Lord to continue working in their hearts) and with a physical healing manifesting in live view.

We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

1 John 1: 3

Last night I was reading the ‘Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed’ in Matthew 13. From this trip, one would start praying for the fourth seed which fell in fertile soil and produced a crop hundred times more than that which has been sown but let us not forget the first 3 seeds – what I love is the truth of this passage that ye, though all will hear the same message, the same Gospel, the same Truth – not all will receive it the same – thus it became apparent to my team on how little time we had had but that is the importance of it all – by God’s calling, we are his servants and were we sent we go – the rest we leave to him, the rest we trust that He will rise up a community of labourers, to go forth and carry out the harvest. There were plenty of opportunities granted for us to interact and share our faith with the students of UB on so many different levels – we even received a radio interview on the national campus radio station, TrailFM – having been broadcast all over the University, the country and even Malaysia! How awesome is that!

By the end of our project, we had gained more understanding and wisdom of the Gospel for ourselves, unified in Christ more coming out then going in, witness the supremacy of our Majesty, made more friends than we can count, and grew in our walk! There  is a great sense of praise that has collected in our hearts and will be continually released

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!

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