God was at my bank this morning!!

You know when you are going about "your" day and God decides to step in and completely MAKE your whole day!? Well, that was this morning at, of all places- the bank. I had walked in expecting to spend 2 minutes with the teller, when God redirected me to the Customer Service Lady for an hour! During the "bankish" talk, South Africa came up when she saw International Fees on my account, one thing led to another and I was sharing with her about my time in South Africa. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she began to tell me about her 18 year old daughter who is going down a very dangerous path because of anger from events in her childhood. I could hear a voice in my heart telling me to open up to her about my own past and issues that I had faced. She then began telling me even more, right there in the middle of the bank tears in her eyes about her own past. I was able to tell her that God had changed my life and was in the process of healing me, and that I had witnessed many youth experience God's restoration and that there was hope for her daughter too! What is even more crazy is that as she looked down to close my account on her computer she sees my address; we live in the same neighborhood! How funny is God!! Please be praying for "the bank lady and her daughter" and for God to open doors as she gave me her card and has asked that I call her to talk more. Please also be praying as her and her daughter look for treatment centers for her daughter. WARNING: Your next trip to the bank could take an hour and could have eternal results! Let's not get too busy in our own lives to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Back in America and no where to go.....

Hello all!!
I have been back in America for about three and a half weeks. It has been very very busy at my house! During the past three weeks, my older brother has graduated from Samford University and has gotten married, my younger brother has had awards banquets and chorus concerts, and my sister has been to her Prom and is getting ready to graduate this weekend from high school. I have also had a very eventful time getting settled and trying to listen to God about where He is directing me. I had applied and been accepted to Seminary; however, I now do not feel this is where God wants me to continue my education. After much praying, crying, and seeking counsel, I will be taking the next few months to study, take the GRE and apply to Graduate schools in order to get my Masters degree in either Counseling or Social Work. I struggled with this decision, but knew this is what God wanted at 1am last Friday night. He gave me Isaiah 45 to confirm this decision.


Isaiah 45: 2-3 " I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I am Lord, who call you by name, Am the God of Israel."

Isaiah 45: 9 "Woe to Him who strives with His Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork say, 'he has no hands'?"

God has promised to go before me where ever He sends me, even if the path seems "crooked" to me or I see gates and bars ahead (studying for the GRE, applying to competitive schools, attending a secular university). He promises to see me through for HIS glory! I wanted to question, and say "Why, God?" "Why didn't I know this before I applied and was prepared to leave for Seminary", but God gave me verse 9 of Isaiah 45, and He reminded me of Isaiah 55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord." I have come to see that the classes offered at public universities will better equip me to handle the type of issues that have become routine and that I expect to be dealing with in South Africa working with at-risk youth and families in the future. I would ask for your continued prayer while I am making this transition and as I continue to seek God about exactly where He wants me to be for the next couple of years. Thank you all again for walking with me on this journey the past two years. I can't wait to see where God takes me next!! I will continue to update my blog if you would like to follow as I am continuing this journey with God.

Italiano!

Last Wednesday Night, I was given the opportunity to host a dinner for my weekly Home Cell group at my apartment. Home Cells are weekly Bible study groups made up of church members that live in the same general area to get together for a time of study, worship and prayer. My home cell has been my family since I have been in Johannesburg, and I am so very grateful for them. We have about 20 members that meet each Wednesday night; since I live far from the church and the home cell that I attend, I am not able to rotate and host. So, last Wednesday we had an Italian Dinner at my apartment and had a sweet time of fellowship and singing. God showed me how blessed I have been to have such support and love around me these past two years; I could not have asked for a better home cell family.

God has been working the past 2 months, and I would like to share specifically about our time at youth camp this year. Lyndhurst Baptist Church youth traveled 7 hours to Kimberly, South Africa for the Southern Africa Baptist Union Camp. We took about 40 youth to the camp; many other churches were also represented. We experienced much spiritual warfare from the time we got on the buses until we arrived back in Johannesburg beginning with vehicle troubles. The bus broke down several times, and we lost a tire on the way back; the other vehicles in the caravan also experienced car troubles. What should have been a 7 hour trip took 10 hours going and 11 hours coming back. Needless to say, the devil did not want us to go to camp. God moved in many of the youth’s lives while we were there especially in one of the breakout sessions and night services which dealt with sin and transparency. The campers were also given an opportunity to go out into the community and have a time of ministry in one of the nearby townships where they could interact with people and share Christ’s love through sports. This camp will not be remembered by our youth for the “spiritual high” that camps are usually remembered for but for the intense attacks of the devil to discourage and distract. One of our youth was taken to the hospital in a stretcher for a neck injury acquired on the waterslide, and another had an asthma attack.

However the most devastating and biggest attack that the enemy tried to use was deep routed prejudice. Our youth group is made up of black urban youth and the camp leadership was majority white; as you can imagine this made the week interesting and at times very intense as our youth were treated differently. This experience although very disheartening to everyone was a time of learning and sparked a flame in our youth to use their voices for change. The youth learned how to appropriately react to authority and how to go about handling grievances while not reacting violently or out of anger; this was not an easy lesson to learn especially in the heat of the moment. Each of us, youth and leaders at LBC, also began to look at our own views of people who are different than us and allow God to open our hearts to our own personal prejudices.

We are all called to be one body; however even in the churches (and sometimes especially in the church) we claim to be one body, but we are actually several bodies – the white one, the black one, the Indian one, the Chinese one. Granted worship styles may be different, the level of comfort might not suit us, but whatever excuse we might be using or trying to hide behind, I challenge us to look inside our own hearts. We can’t begin to ask others to change their views and prejudices until we have dealt honestly with our own. This isn’t an easy topic to address here in South Africa as racial segregation only ended in 1994; it is a struggle for South African Christians, black and white, to live surrendering deep racial views to Christ allowing Him to shape and chip away all that He disdains while having grown up learning contrary views rooted in culture and perpetuated in families. These views are also prevalent in our own American Christian culture although they might be masked and even so accepted that they are glossed over. What goes through our mind when a group of young black guys who don’t quite dress like us come into our churches? How do we choose the schools where our children attend? Is the “level of education” a mask for separating your children from those who might need the light of Christ that your child and family could portray? How many blessings have we missed out on because we chose to surround ourselves with friends and acquatnances who look, act, talk, and live exactly as we do? I pray that we as the body of Christ live out equality and open our lives up to whoever Christ puts in our path. Can the world see Christ in how we relate to others or are our churches and homes to this day still more segregated than even the world?

Galatians 3:28
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

1 Corinthians 12:12
“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.”

Serving With You in South Africa,
Sarah Maddox

Unforgettable November 2009

This month has been a month in my personal walk with God that I will never forget. It has been one of the hardest months of my life, yet it has been one of the most freeing and rewarding months of my life. God began to show me at the end of October that there were several issues that I had deep within my heart that I had to feel, to express, to deal with, and to let go of. Through every single step and in every moment God was with me in this journey. God spoke to my heart and whispered that He wanted everything in November; HE wanted to BE everything to me this November, and He wanted all of Sarah this month. I surrendered not fully knowing what I was about to walk into but knowing that deep healing from my past needed to take place that had me in bondage for many years, and God was the only One who understood it all. He asked me to let go of everything, and I mean everything for 30 days... ANY involvement with the youth at Lyndhurst Baptist Church, girl's Bible study, caffeine, make up, home cell group, relationships, communication, music, other books.

God taught me that He IS more than enough for me; He IS big enough to heal me. He IS "God" enough!! He showed me what true unconditional love is and what it means to trust. He held my heart very gently as I walked a journey from the very beginning of my life to today looking at issues, circumstances and memories that had become my identity and had affected my relationship with God and how I relate to others. God peeled back layers of hurt, anger, doubt, worry, and fear that I had built up around my heart for many years in an effort to protect anyone from getting too close to me and that I had used as response mechanisms in dealing with my past. I experienced what people mean when they say "minute by minute reliance on God." God was my strength and got me through literally each minute on those very difficult days when everything that I had come to rely on and run to had been taken out from under me. God showed me that He uses everything we go through to bring Him glory and to bring others to himself. I know this will be a continued process for me as I take steps each day toward healing, restoration, freedom, and liberty, but the end of November marked a new beginning for Sarah Maddox because I have found who I am in Christ; I have found freedom in being who He created me to be, and I have learned that He (without anyone or anything else) IS more than enough for me!

Psalm 18:20-24 (The Message)
"God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I'm alert to God's ways; I don't take God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works; I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes."

John 8:36
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

"Definition"

Watching quietly in the background;
Listening silently in the shadow.
Waiting to see it lived;
Longing to see it defined.
I did not have;
But I desperately need to see.

Daddy.
Pa.
Man.
Husband.
Baba.
Father.
You are defining these titles for me.

One can see in your little girl’s eyes, you make her world spin. She fully trusts as she
jumps into your arms…
…she feels the definition of “Daddy.”
Your eldest son still believes you aren’t afraid of anything. He wants to be just like you…
… he sees the definition of “Father.”
You both were arguing as you stepped out of the car, but you gently squeeze her hand as
you walked into the church…
… she experiences the definition of “Husband.”

I wonder what it’s like to have a father.
How different it would be if mommy weren’t alone.
I wonder what it feels like to say “Daddy.”

Since I don’t know, I’m watching you. Yes, You. I am
Watching quietly in the background;
Listening silently in the shadow.
Waiting to see it lived;
Longing to see it defined.
I did not have;
But I desperately need to see.

You aren’t only daddy to the ones you look like.
You aren’t only father to the ones you conceived.

You are building a definition of “Father.”
You are shaping a definition of “Daddy.”
You are modeling a definition of “Husband.”

…What are you defining for Me?

My chains are gone; I've been set free!

I feel God is telling me to open up about some of the personal struggles that I have been going through for the past several months. While being in South Africa I have come face to face with insecurities, temptation, and battles like I never did in the States, but I have also experienced God's grace, love, faithfulness, and healing like never before in my life. He has healed me from bondage that I has been strangling me since I was very young. This has not been an overnight revelation, but four months ago was the turning point. Was I going to allow God to search me (every part of me), deal with issues, and cleanse my heart and life, or was I going to continue running and denying that there was an issue I had to face, ignoring that it was affecting my relationship with my Heavenly Father? Fearfully trusting (if that is possible), I surrendered to God's spiritual operating table.

Since I was in 8th grade I have struggled with my self image; at times it was more extreme than others and it manifested itself in various forms throughout the years. This issue stemmed from many things that I faced when I was younger. However, God made the severity of the issue very clear to me a few months ago and showed me how much this was hurting my relationship with Him. At times this issue manifested itself in the way I was eating (not eating some months or emotionally over eating), at other times it was the way I dressed hiding myself because I did not believe I was good enough or that people would judge me, other times I would pass up opportunities because a voice inside of me was telling me I was not worthy or pretty enough. It not only affected me psychologically and emotionally, but it also affected my relationships with other people. I would keep my distance emotionally, not allowing anyone close for fear they wouldn't love me and that they would hurt me. These are just a few of the areas of my life that this issue had a hold over.

In April, I began seeing an IMB Missionary here in Johannesburg, South Africa who is a counselor. These past few months have been very difficult at times, but God has been SO faithful to me. He has healed me and restored me. He has shown me that I have value and worth to Him and that He loves my unconditionally no matter what. He will never reject me or hurt me; He LOVES me! I have value because of God's love for me. This has been an issue in my life for many years, and I know the process of healing will still take time, surrendering every day, each meal, every moment, every thought, but God is powerful! He is my healer; when we surrender it all to HIM, our hurts, struggles, and fears, He takes it and does a mighty work. When I couldn't; He was able! When I felt rejected; He responded! When I hated myself; He loved me! When I stopped; He began!

Isaiah 49:16 "I have engraved you on the palms of my hands."
Zephaniah 3:17b "I will take great delight in you. I will quiet you with my love. I will rejoice over you with singing."

My journey to the Homelands this weekend...

I went to Pietermaritzberg, South Africa for the weekend with Aunt Joyce, BoyBoy and Precious to visit their family in the rural areas. It's hard to imagine life that side without experiencing it, but it's like Tranquility....let me try to put it into words. In Rural Africa, one might say life is in slow motion; however, I've come to the conclusion that everyone else sprints through life and forgets to take time to soak in the "small" things. We wake up automatically in "Go Mode" - get the kids fed and to the bus, us to work on time; next, we check our messages for the day, o, and book our nail appointment for Saturday afternoon, make some coffee to get through the morning meeting on stock control; during our lunch "break" we take the car to the shop for an oil change while we run into WalMart to get a few things; we grab a Starbucks Mocha Frappachino before heading back to work; we get "off" at 5pm; we rush the kids to football and cheerleading, then the drive through at McDonald's is the next stop before heading home; hopefully while the kids bath and do their homework we can stay awake for our favorite TV show and maybe the news to find out what is actually happening in the world before falling asleep on the couch only to repeat this again and again and again.....sooner or later you wonder where did life go?

See, in the Homelands it's like you get to breathe in God's blessings each moment...you enjoy bathing even though it may take an hour to wash your hair with a cup and a bucket, one appreciates looking at the beauty outside while walking to the store to buy a loaf of bread or a role of toilet paper, you find such joy in seeing a child chase a cow in the backyard and spending time with people you love doing the simplest things like brushing your teeth beneath the stars...

God wants us to appreciate the beauty He created. How do we get to know our Creator if we never take time to even ponder what He has made? (Are we too focused on what WE can make in this life... financially, with our families, careers, churches, our social life.... ) SLOW DOWN and LET GOD!! Take time to fall in love with His creation and make time to spend with Him each day. Every relationship takes effort and energy to build; one has a desire to spend time with that person each day, and an overwhelming and unexplainable love for them. Are you in a relationship with Jesus Christ or are you in a relationship with yourself, your job, your life, your stuff? Find YOUR "Pietermaritzberg" YOUR Homeland where God wants to take you this week and show you His beauty, His rest, His joy, His peace, HIS TRANQUILITY!

August 12 - 22 or 23 or 24 or 25, 2009

My mom and grandmother came to visit SOUTH AFRICA and me :) We had a great time seeing animals at the Pilannesburg Game Park (well....i endured the animals), visiting the people I have fallen in love with , attending Wednesday Night Home Cell and Friday night youth meetings, and relaxing together for a few days. Relaxing means eating alot of food that I hadn't had in over a year like homemade biscuits and gravy, tacos, meatloaf, spinach dip....yum!! We saw a play called Umoja that traces the history of music in South Africa, enjoyed an AUTHENTIC African-American dinner with my South African family one night at my apartment. We visited Alexandra (the township closest to the church where I serve) and spent some time at the orphanage one afternoon. It was such a blessing for them to come and see the faces that I talk about and experience some of my life here in Johannesburg. However, they were very ready to leave by the fourth day of driving to the airport each night trying to get a seat on their plane (they were given buddy passes by a friend...what a blessing!!). Thank you to everyone for your prayers while they were on this journey. Thank you to the individuals and churches who contributed medical supplies for the homeless shelter ministry here in downtown Johannesburg and for the encouraging cards and goodies I continue to receive. My mother and grandmother were such a blessing to me during those 2 weeks! It helps tremendously knowing that my family supports me, loves me and was even willing to come on a 17 hour plane ride to Africa to see what God is doing in my life. I am very grateful! I love you mom and nanny!

What if he walked into your restaurant?

i'm 16 years old, and ive been on the streets for 6 months. My mom and i got into a fight last December; so I left. She wouldn't pay my school fees...well, she can't. She uses all of her money on alcohol! I'm not from Joburg; I live a couple of hours away….well... i use to. i heard there was money and jobs in Jo'burg, but it hasn't turned out how i thought it would be. i'm all alone; my older brother knows where i am, but i don’t have any contact with my mom. See, i go to different shelters or churches to get food during the days and at nights i sleep in the park or wherever i can find a place. There are these two restaurant owners who are nice to me and a couple of the others; they always give us food if we go in and tell them we are hungry. This is my reality as i wake up each morning to people walking by me on their way to work, each afternoon as my stomach begins to ache from hunger, and each night as i look for a place in the park to sleep ….i'm not just a body under a blanket by the bridge...my name is Lawrence.

I have had the opportunity several Wednesday nights to take part in a homeless ministry in downtown Johannesburg. We met Lawrence during our last stop of handing out soup and bread last night. He looked so young and scared; hopeless. He needs HIS love. ....and Lawrence is only ONE....there are sooo many more like him.


When you do it for one of the least of these; you have done it unto Me (Matthew 25:45). Our world would be a different place if Christians began putting action to the faith they claim to have. Don't we have Jesus??? ...why is it people think it is strange when a Christian wants to be out there or on that side of the ocean or on this side of the tracks no matter what the cost... Obedience shouldn't be the exception if we are Christians; it SHOULD be the norm. Wouldn't you rather live with others perplexed by your devotion, than die and have your Savior questioning it? Let's live a radically obedient, irresistibly contagious, and fervently devoted life so that the Lawrences in our world become a priceless soul, someones child (HIS child) that needs to hear about His love and not just a body under a blanket by the bridge!!

Kids Day Camp at LBC

This past week Lyndhurst Baptist Church hosted a Day Camp for children in the community. We had about 50 children come each day; only a few of the children attend the church regularly so this was a great opportunity for outreach into the community. The youth came during their holiday break to lead classes, set up games, help with the crafts, and serve 50 children and 30 workers snacks and lunch. It such was a blessing to see our youth take ownership of this and to use their gifts to love on these children. The theme for the camp was "The Hand of God." The children learned about a different Bible character each day and the attribute of God that was displayed through that character's life. Please continue to be in prayer for the youth as God molds and stretches them into His image.

A Year of BLeSsINgS

A dozen yellow roses, a new Bible Cover, adorable Nikes, alot of baked goodies, 13 boxes of pizza Wednesday night, Mexican dinner Thursday night, a traditional African dinner Saturday night, my very own Strawberry Cheesecake!! ...I am soo amazed, and not because of all this stuff that I was blessed with during this week of celebrating my 23rd birthday, but because of the love I felt and the time I got to spend with the people who are so very special to me!! Thank you for your love each and every day; I always feel at home when I am with you and you have blessed me this past year in more ways than you will ever know or can even imagine. You have embodied 1 Corinthians 13 :7 " (Love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." Thank you for walking with me through everything, supporting me and giving me your unconditional love!

I love you ALL!

Confederation Cup 2009

USA v Italy June 15, 2009

Tshepi, my brother and I were able to attend the USA v. Italy Confederations Cup game! It was quite memorable. Besides the two random guys sitting in front of us waving the American flag, we felt like the only US supporters in the whole stadium. We didn't let that discourage us; we made tshirts and went out in full support! It was very exciting. The US lost this game, but they went on to place 2nd among all the teams in the Confederations Cup....now all eyes are on South Africa as they are also hosting the World Cup in 2010! Saying soccer is big here is definitely an understatement; it's a way of life, and it definitely gets in your blood. Let's go South Africa! Let's go USA!! (...hopefully they won't play each other in 2010)

Kenya: Time Out

For a week at the beginning of June my brother (who had just arrived in South Africa) and I were given the opportunity to go to Nairobi, Kenya. We, along with two others, were responsible for working with the missionary kids (mks) during their annual East African Sectional Meeting at Brackenhurst Conference Center. Brackenhurst is beautiful! We were responsible for the 2 to 5 year olds each day from 8am to 4pm while their parents were attending the various meetings. We played games, did crafts, had Bible stories, enjoyed the playground, and became experts at some Veggie Tales (thank God for movie time). The children were wonderful and such a blessing throughout the week even though some points were challenging. During the evenings and nights I was able to have some precious God and I time; I sat in the coffee shop at Brackenhurst and was able to listen and breathe... Sometimes life in Johannesburg can get very trying emotionally and spiritually and you don't really realize it until you intentionally remove yourself from the situations, make yourself breathe, and just rest in God. That's what this week was for me; even though our "job" was to minister to the missionary children in East Africa; God also ministered to me and gave me a refreshing drink of His peace, love, and His sustaining presence....at the end of the week though I was ready to get back home to Johannesburg.

Bound or Free????

May 22, 2009 10 17am: I enter a room with about 100 others and take a seat for one for the usual Friday worship meetings. Everyone stands and one person from the group begins singing praises to our God; the whole place fills with voices, worship, singing, and praising in a way I have not experienced in a very very long time...if ever! There was freedom in their worship; there was power in that room because of the God they were praising. I begin to look around me (not understanding the language in which they were singing yet still experiencing the powerful moments of praising our God). The passion and love for Christ in this place is overwhelming; they have a reason to sing!!!!!!! The service proceeds with testimonies from over 20 people unashamedly sharing their own personal stories of how God saved them. They are not focusing so much on the past and WHAT they were doing, but concentrating on WHY HE saved them- to tell others- and WHERE they were going. I felt so welcome and at home; no fake "How are you?" or "Glad to see you at worship today", but there was a genuine love that they had for each other ...kind of like an unspoken understanding. I realized it was almost 1pm and the service was nearing it's end. I did not want to leave, but it was time; I couldn't stay and experience this type of worship tomorrow or fellowship with these believers during lunch. It was time for us to leave....see, we were in prison.

What I didn't tell you was that we walked through black revolving steel doors to get to the room which is about the size of a gymnasium. It is cold from the winter that is approaching; the walls are made of steel, and the seating is not your typical nice padded church chairs but beat up wooden benches. The audience is made up of over 100 15 to 23 year old males; however, they are not dressed in the latest Holister top, American Eagle jeans or Fubu hoodies. They all sport the same uniform, a jean jumpsuit and maroon jacket. Yes, you and I would call this a prison; they call it the institution, but I have been thinking.... what would God call this place? Would God call this home??????? There was more spiritual freedom in that place on a Friday morning than most of our churches see on any Sunday; more forgiveness being offered, love being expressed, pain being remembered, gratitude being shown. Why do I have to go to prison to see the most freedom I have ever witnessed before in worship???

....This group of young convicts who had just finished a 16 week course on Jesus and Christianity in prison IS free although you and I may not see it that way.

......would GOD be more likely to call a gated prison with a few growing believers His Home or a steepled church packed with the religiously stagnant ? ...let's wake up church; we have a reason to sing IF you are His child!!!!!

Is it just a batch of cookies?

ahhhh... (that's us yawning). friday night we had a girl's sleepover at my apartment. what happens when you get 13 girls in a confined space with endless pizza, ice cream, music, and movies? memories happen. this weekend we had a great time of just chilling, hanging and having fun. i think alot of times as Christians we overlook the "little" ways that we can show others Christ's love...bake that person some cookies (when was the last time they tasted Christ's love?), open your home up to those kids for the night (you never know what is going on behind the doors of their homes), do that thing that God has been calling YOU to do!!!

I recently read a book called Under the Overpass about a college student who answered God's call to leave his normal American life to live on the streets of America for several months trusting God to meet his every need; during those months he grew in his faith in amazing ways. This quote from that book really spoke to my heart; the author says, "Suddenly I was shocked to realize that I had just driven 20 minutes past the world that needed me to be the Christian I say I am to hear a sermon called, 'Be the Christian you say you are'."

....when are we going to stop just saying we are Christians and actually begin doing what Christ did? - reaching the WORLD with HIS love through OUR actions ...are we too busy to live like Jesus did? what is stopping you from changing the world for Him? ....it begins with that one batch of cookies.

---Someone forwarded me this recently; thank you to whoever it was. God equips those He calls!

Thank God for my shoes.

People don't know how far you've come, they don't know what lies ahead of you, and neither do they know how dissatisfied you get with yourself from time to time. People don't know the troubles that you've had or the price you had to pay to get to where you are. Why should you wish you were in anybody's shoes when you hardly know how they fit? When you've worn your shoes for a while, they take the shape of your feet and align to the way you walk. If you were to wear my shoes, you will not be comfortable in them. So I stopped wishing that I am in someone else shoes because they might not fit; rather I thank God for my shoes, because they fit! I am unique; God is not in the cloning business He makes originals.

Live it all for Him in the shoes He has given you!!!!!!!!

Annual IMB Mission Team Meeting

I must confess. I was not looking forward to being in a week of meetings to hear about the new changes in the International Mission Board (although this was not the whole point of the meeting). However, God changed my bad attitude, and worked in my heart INSPITE of me. Throughout the week, we had times of worship in the mornings and the evenings, and we were able to see and hear reports from around the region about what God was doing in the lives of other missionaries and the people that they serve. The conference center where the meeting was held was about 10 minutes from my apartment, and Johannesburg was decended upon by over 300 other IMB missionaries from around CESA who attended this conference. So, needless to say, the Guest House where I work was, and still currently is, very busy from the traffic coming in and out of Joburg for the meeting. This conference may have been just another annual meeting for many other people, but for me it was very special. God did some amazing things in my heart, and He is currently dealing with me on some issues in my life. I feel I will only know the full the significance of this past week in the near future as He continues to direct me and I process how He is guiding me. I am sorry for being so vague, but I am not exactly sure what God is calling me to do, but I can hear Him leading my heart in the direction of change in some areas and in a specific direction for my future. Please be in prayer for me this week as I process some of the things that were spoken about during the worship sessions and while being in that environment with other people who share the same heart and passion as I. This time was very refreshing and has given me a new outlook towards those I am serving alongside. God also brought more healing to my heart and life from an area in my past; step by step God is molding me, breaking me, healing me, growing me, guiding me. I am yours! I want to be a light for you; take my life and let it be all for you and for your glory! God, you are my Healer, my Redeemer, my Father, my LIFE!

(This is a picture of my team)

Sugar cane fields and a Pet zebra

Earlier this month I, along with two other journeymen, was able to go away for the weekend and visit a missionary family, the Warrens, who work in SWAZILAND. It is a beautful country with many gorgeous mountains and hills; the Warrens minister among the people who live and work on Sugar Cane fields. On Friday when we arrived, we visited the Swazi Candle factory (of course I did a bit of shopping here for some very beautiful hand crafted candles), and Friday night we spent time with the Warren family watching movies and playing Wii (I won Bowling!). On Saturday, we had lunch with Hobbs, the pet zebra at a local country club; we then took time to find our grade school roots and played on the swing set and giant slide. Saturday night the guys grilled out, and we had steak! It was yummy! Sunday morning we were able to attend village church where the Warrens minister; the church is in a woman's living room, and they squeezed about 40 people in there. Please pray for the Warren family and their ministry and the people of Swaziland.

The Freaks, the troubled, the weirdo....What does God see?

Yes, before you ask; this is me. This was Freak Night at youth; if you can't tell I dressed up as a Gothic. We dressed up as anyone or anything that our society labels as a "freak" "weird" "outcast" ... The youth really got into it; some of them dressed up as homeless people, prostitutes, nerds, punks, businessmen; it was quite interesting to say the least! We even had a Freak Fashion Show and awarded the "Best Dressed Freak." That Friday night at youth we talked about seeing everyone through God's eyes. Why do we judge? What does it mean to be "not normal"? There is a story behind the faces, the clothes, the tattoos, the business suits.... but many times we walk right by them ignoring them or even commenting on their appearance writing them off as "weird" never even thinking about praying for that soul who may be hurting and searching for an eternal hope to fill the void they have inside....Next time you go to take a second glance at that person who doesn't fit into YOUR idea of normal why not take that opportunity to pray for them and maybe even take a moment out of your busy day to offer a smile or speak an encouraging word....you never know how your actions could change eternity!