Zulu and Multi Millionaires

Wow outreach is still going better than I even thought it could!

So it turns out that the youth event on Friday isn't going to have just 250 kids... its looking more like 500! The team is super excited and I feel very blessed. I have been praying that God will just use me to speak to them. That none of my thoughts or feelings will be there, that it will just be God. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. From talking to some of the youth kids throughout the week I can confirm that they feel this heaviness too. Just in this past week we have heard of two girls getting raped to the point of hospitalization and a young boy getting jumped.  So heartbreaking. I can feel that Friday is going to be very important... I just pray we don't screw it up!

We were able to see a little bit of Durban on our day off and that was really nice. We went to the Indian Ocean- that makes three oceans that I have been in! I thought that was pretty cool. The water was warm, but no.... I still didn't seen any sharks... But there's always Mozambique! We got to go to uShaka Marine World and hang out for the day. I'm not a huge fan of water slides but I conquered my fear with the help of some peer pressure and actually had a good time.

We were able to do prison ministry the other day and that was a huge eye-opener for me. I thought we would go there and bless them, but God had other plans. Even though we spent the night before learning Zulu Songs to sing to them, they put together skits and a couple of Zulu dances that brought me to tears. The dances really hit me hard and for the first time I felt like I was in Africa! I have been here three months now and it only just hit me then! Haha. Over 35 men stood up and wanted to give their lives to Christ after the message. I feel so honored that God used our team to make an open door for ministry there. Usually it is really hard to get in to the prison, but the directer found favor in us and I don't think we let them down! Praise the LORD (PTL)!!

Yesterday we were supposed to  go to a home for elderly people with Cancer and AIDS.  There was a mix up and we weren't allowed in due to another group already there. Many of the team members were upset, but I just felt like "ok God, then what do you have for us?" We got a phone call yesterday morning asking us to come to a school and help out there so we phoned them back and we were able to go and hang out with over 100 kids during their sports day. I hung out with a bunch of kids waiting to participate in the race. We danced and sang the Zulu songs I learned, but one of the girls I was especially fond of. She was a tiny Hindu girl in a bunch of Christians. I knew she wasn't a Christian by the red band around her wrist that signifies she worships another God. She told me her family wasn't Christian and she didn't know Jesus. Other boys wanted to pray and I told her she could pray with us if she wanted to. We stood there in a circle and she loved it. She held my hand the rest of the day. She pulled me to the side and whispered in my ear, "Um.... are you a multi millionaire?" I giggled and told her that not everyone in America is rich. She had her eyes fixed in mine and I knew she could tell there was something more to me and my team than she could grasp. I'm convinced it was the love from Jesus. She told me that I must come and see her the next time I was in town. It broke my heart as I explained to her that this was the only time we would be there. I whispered in her ear "Always remember Jesus" and she took my hand and promised me she would. I pray for more interactions like this. This was incredible.

We were able to run the prayer meeting at Stanger Baptist Church last night. I gave a brief message on intercessory prayer and Tanya and Katlyn led the prayer. It was a great night and praying through the prayer call of the mosque was very intense. Its hard to explain. I have also been struggling with the mixed messages of my tattoos. I knew coming into other cultures with arm tattoos wouldn't be easy all the time, but some of the things I am dealing with in that area are harder than I thought. When they ask me about them I freeze up. I know what to say, but for some reason when I am confronted with it I can't manage to blurb out what God has spoken to me about my tattoos. Haha I have had mixed feelings about it. They are GREAT for kid's ministry though!

Over all outreach has been incredible. Today we are celebrating my good friend Katlyn's 21st birthday! And its nice to celebrate as a team... as an outreach family.

More to come... This is only the first week!

OUTREACH IS HERE!!

Wow, I cant believe lecture phase came and went so fast! So here we are, night two of outreach and I can feel God moving so much already! We are in a town near Durban called Stanger and we get to work with one of the churches here. The community is almost all Indian people so we have been eating very well! The hospitality of the people we came to serve is absolutely incredible. They have very open hearts and are so hungry for more of the gospel. We partnered up with the church and led the youth meeting tonight. It went very well and we had so much fun! God led me to volunteer to speak at the youth gathering next Friday. I was told there would be about 60-80 young people... Now they are telling us there will be 250 YOUNG PEOPLE!!!!! 250... that's a lot. I am so excited! I realised yesterday that my excitement for sharing Jesus with people has outweighed the fear of public speaking. So please keep me in your prayers!

The crazy part about Stanger is the Muslim mosque. I have never been so exposed to that religion and I have never heard the prayer call of a mosque. It was an eye-opening experience and it left me feeling very heavy. You could hear the prayer call from the youth meeting and I could sense an embarrassment upon the youth. It was strange and truly heartbreaking. I don't think most people back home will understand what I'm really saying and I don't think they will be able to really know with out this experience. I just pray against this heaviness and bondage. I have truly been exposed to the freedom of following Jesus so this was really a hard thing for me. Please, I beg that you don't think I am being judgmental.. I have just experienced a lot in the last three months and this was very emotional for me.

I am so proud of this outreach team! I feel such a unity with us and I pray God will use us as imprints on others. Today went by so fast and I know the rest of outreach will go by just as fast. It scares me! The other teams from my base haven't even left yet! I can't wait till they are out in the world! I know God will be using them as well!

I appreciate all the prayers and I love you all so much!
Blessings!

More than Conquerors.

Wow it’s been too long since I have posted. Since the last time I posted, God has done even more in my life. He is pushing me further in a direction that I never thought possible. He is giving me dreams and ambitions that up until now I thought were impossible. But these last two weeks have really shown me that NO! These are God’s dreams and I can live them out. I need to stop doubting myself and start dreaming bigger.

We spent last week in a town by the coast called Muizenberg. It’s a surfer town and we had lecture at the YWAM base there. The DTS on that base was super nice and I even met a guy who lives in Grass Valley, California! It was really cool. Our speaker was a 27 year old surfer dude from southern California (I can’t believe how many people I have met from California on DTS) named Dave. He was super inspirational and motivating. God really used him and his killer testimony to bring the mission life style alive for us. He challenged us to really search our hearts with God’s help to figure out what our calling is. Dave exposed us to the fact that out of the whole world’s population, 30% is still unreached, meaning they have no access to the gospel  and have never heard of Jesus or His love for people. He also gave us the sobering fact that only 2% of missionaries go to unreached places… That means that 98% of missions, missionaries, and missionary money goes to places that have already been evangelized. It really made me search my own heart and find a calling for my generation. God put Romans chapter 8 on my heart,the section about being MORE THAN CONQUERERS. It’s a beautiful passage that really sparked a fire in Vickey, Hope and my life. We saw the need to take mission teams to these places of the 10/40 window and we would like to call it More than Conquerors… we also really respect the YWAM value “do first, then teach.” We all feel different callings after DTS but we hope that God will make it work together to someday form this awesome dream! We have all these ideas and sparks that I pray I can hold on to when I go home. I know it’s going to be a challenge but I pray every day that God will prepare my heart as well as others to be open to the integration of me being back. Haha… It sounds like I’m crazy but really just my idea of reality has changed and God has really opened my eyes to thing I have never experienced.

This week has been a challenge. We are leaving for outreach in two days so I have just been busy trying to get everything ready to be living out of a borrowed backpack (thanks Mikal) for two months and moving every two weeks. I am really excited for this next step, but I can’t believe the lecture phase is over. I know God has more for me in outreach and after. He’s not done with me yet. I am expecting to see God move on this outreach and I am excited that we are going to get to share our passion for Jesus with others. Our first stop is in Durban, South Africa where upon arrival we will be leading a youth night at one of the churches. I don’t know why but I felt God calling me to bring the message this night. I am scared because I honestly don’t feel a calling for preaching, especially in front of a group of 80 of my peers. Our Lord please have favour (SA Comp spell check…) with me!  Please keep me and the outreach group in your prayers. We want to make a huge positive imprint on people’s lives. We are excited and ready! Here we come!

I also need to just remind myself to really concentrate on my outreach and what God has for me during the rest of my time in Africa. I have been so focused on what He has planned for me after DTS that I really had to step back and remember my work here isn’t done. I have very high expectations for outreach and I can’t wait to update you all. I will try to keep in touch and keep blogging but many of the places we will be going won’t have internet or even electricity. So it might be very minimal. I will be using this time to grow closer to God as I get the honour or sharing His love with others. WOOO! So excited!

Dead to sin... Alive to God

Once again, God sent someone to completely destroy my regular way of thinking about Him and my Christian life. My eyes have been opened even wider to the thought of how life should be and what it is all about..

GOD NEVER INTENDED FOR US TO HAVE THE LAW... HE ALWAYS INTENDED FOR US TO HAVE LIFE.

Cliff was incredible. Up to this point, most of the weeks have been about healing past brokenness for me, but this week was different. It was about revelation. Now, I have had revelation before this week, but not like this. This makes me excited for life! This sets me on fire for Christ. This feeling that I have is now an imprint on my life. THAT is what revelation is about. Amen.

This week also was the end of our farm ministry time. It was heartbreaking having to say goodbye to these kids. Being on your knees and having little girls pray for you, crying and kissing you, wiping away your tears is life changing... I'm not coming back the same. I will never be the same. I didn't want to let them go. One of the boys told me that everything was going to be fine and that I must have a safe journey home. I struggle with the idea of coming home. I know that scares my family as well as myself! I also know that God is calling me back to where I came from. I will have an impact there and believe me... I am coming back with plans! Those kids will always be in my heart. I will never forget them and I pray that I have been apart of God working in them. To look at a 6 year old and see that their level of faith is greater than my own is completely inspiring. I grow more and more hungry to know God each and every day here and I know God has used these kids to fuel the flame He has set in my heart.

I have seen and felt a lot this week and as the days count down smaller and smaller till outreach I grow more and more in Christ. I am expecting to see miricles. I know I will encounter things greater than I can imagine and I have this burning desire to express what I have been shown. I have been praying that God will prepare my heart to the fullest and I feel completely at peace with doing His will. I know I will be put in the right place at the right time and I WILL have an impact on others. I am taking the authority God has given me. I pray that God will give me the words to show my revelation because it has been more powerful than I ever thought possible.

I am excited for life. I am excited to live. I am excited to walk in the forgiveness and love that God has given. And I am excited to share with others. Be blessed. It's as simple as that... So just recieve it.

The Tree of Life!!! Really Adam???

Wow, what a week. Already, after only two days of Cliff's lectures I can see God working in my heart even more. The work of the cross is being brought to life and I can see and feel God moving here in Africa. This is such a refreshing week! I have noticed its really quite a challenge to explain the simplicity of God's love for us. How can something so simple be so complicated to explain?? New revelations this week for sure. I have more processing to do and then maybe I can explain. Just know... God has always forgiven us, Adam and Eve were sent from the garden to protect human kind being lost in eternal life with sin, and it was ALWAYS God's plan for Jesus to be IN us and us IN Him. Amen.

Jesus loves me this I know... For the bible tells me so...
Seriously.. Its THAT simple.

I am still holding on to my faith that God will provide. I was mistaken and thought I got more money from my CHIPIN account then I actually did but today I already received over $100 thanks to some amazing people that God has blessed me with! I only need 90 more people to donate $10 and then I will have my outreach money! So possible. God is good.

I had a revelation today so my first thought, of course, was I need a change. Easiest change? I gave myself a super snazzy hair cut! Love it.

Today is a good day. I am always looking forward to tomorrow now. Thank you God !!!

God and Sexuality? Amen!

I know it has been over a week since I last posted and I am very sorry for that. God has been moving like crazy and keeping me busy with lots of things here in Africa....

This past week we spoke on sexuality. Our speaker was Frans, a super classy South African man with a kick. We looked at a whole lot of different aspects of sexuality from a biblical view including fornication, adultery, homo and heterosexuality, masturbation, how far is too far, and molest. Usually sex isn't something the church talks about so it was very nice to be open in a safe environment to discuss a matter that is in every part of life. Our speaker gave a great testimony and was very funny, making such a sensitive topic for most, into a comfortable and safe subject. It was very refreshing being able to face, trace, erase, and replace sexual brokenness in our lives and together we bonded as a DTS.

The realisation of the lecture phase coming to an end is coming on very strong now. We already lost Carla last week. She had some trouble and wasn't able to finish the lecture phase. We miss her so much in class and in the dorm, but I know God has a different plan for her life. A group of girls, including myself sent her off with goodbye tears and hugs, knowing that the chances of ever seeing her after DTS is very slim. Yes, we bond close but the truth is we all live so far away from each other that only by God's good grace will he bring us together again! Also, today my good friend Godfrey left. He got a job doing ministry on a farm about two hours away from where I am. It's a paying job which is usually hard to get in ministry for obvious reasons. So I had to let him go with ease. Good Luck to them!!!!

This weeks lecture is about the work of the cross. Our speaker is from South Carolina and has a beautiful western accent. Makes me miss home (not that I know many people who talk like that.... if any...). He's a very nice man named Cliff and I enjoy the way he thinks because its a lot like me. He has a lot of passion and explains the simplicity of Christ's love and the Christian life with ease. Love it!

Outreach is coming up fast!! I still need to raise over $1000 dollars but I know God will provide! Today I got over $400 through my chip in account and donations given to my mom! It was a huge blessing. I was starting to panic but I knew God would take care of it! I just pray people will continue to pass the word around to help support and pray for me. My team and I have been preparing our hearts and minds for the things we are going to encounter and it is hard when you are focused on finances. UGH! But with God there is peace... I just have to remember that!

This last weekend was a true blessing. I was able to escape from the base and head to Cape Town to visit the family of a set of beautiful twin girls that are in my DTS, Abby and Gabby. Their parents welcomed Hope and I with open arms and showed us around the town. They blessed us with opportunities to visit parks where they take in animals. I saw lions and cheetahs. I even got to hold an OWL (which is actually viewed as a witchcraft by most South Africans....) haha. I will get the pictures up soon!

Well to sum it up! Everything is still going well! I still love Jesus and I am so grateful for the love He is showing me! Blessings and I still miss everyone!!

Saldanha Weekend Outreach!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of serving a church and community in Saldanha Bay. We arrived there Friday evening and I was still pretty sick. I'm feeling much better now, but getting through the weekend was a challenge. Friday night we had a huge dinner at the pastor's house and his family was so nice and welcoming. We were all divided into groups of about three and distributed into homes of church members for the night. A huge blessing: Saldanha is the town next to Vredenburg where Vickey's grandparents live. So Hope, Vickey and I were able to spend the two nights there. It felt like being home again! Saturday we had some time at the beach and then went to the center of a community. On a dirt lot we set up tables and caution tape to form lines for giving out food. We spent a good long time playing with the children of the community and of course I fell in love with plenty of little babies there! Holding and squeezing the children made my weekend. When I am put in situations like this, I know God has brought me there. I feel completely in the right place at the right time and totally content with life. It's a beautiful thing!

Sunday we went to the church of the pastor who fed us. The transportation broke down so we used the YWAM cars to pick up all the people of the church. So church was very late, but once it got started it was great. A group of us, including me, did a dramatic dance to display the love and relationship of Jesus Christ without words. Its a beautiful dance and I was very excited to be apart of it. After the dance a few of us were asked to share our testimony, including me. It was very nice to speak in front of the congregation and it helps me get better at preaching to crowds of people I don't know. I know I will have to do a lot of this on outreach. It's very nice and I pray that people are touched by the things I say.

After church I spoke to my DTS leader, Doug, and he asked me to come back and staff the next DTS in January. This is VERY exciting to me but also very scary! I would love to come back to Worcester, but I know it will cost money. Ugh I hate money, but if this is a God thing I know he will provide.  I am praying about it a lot. I still want to do a bible core course this fall but that too will cost more money. I am waiting on God for a financial miracle... AMEN! Haha.

This weeks lesson is on sexuality. It has been quite the experience so far and God is really challenging my views on things I haven't thought of. I am excited to watch God work through us and I expect more major breakthroughs from myself and others this week. Our speaker is Frans and he and his wife have been a great team in this teaching. He has used a lot of humor to make this subject more comfortable. Amen! It's  very interesting and I am surprised how much the bible talks about the topic of sex. I had no idea (that's why I need the bible core course!!!). I am enjoying this week though and I am happy to be feeling better.