It has been 3 weeks since I left the United States. Since then I have visited townships, museums, and even attended a Rugby game. I have seen lots of small vehicles and ate many new things (including chicken liver) but the most important time of my day is spent on the campus of the University of Witswaterand, Johannesburg. It is here that I have been blessed to meet many amazing people and built some meaningful friendships. Some of them are involved in the campus ministry I am a part of and others are students in the Residence Halls. Every conversation presents an opportunity to discuss God. Religion is something South Africans like to discuss. I feel that our team is open to talking about any kind of religion, even if we are confident that salvation is through Christ alone. Tonight we met with a student who is Hindu, her name is Ishara, and we chatted for about an hour. During that time we talked about Darshan and the Trinity. By asking about Hindu beliefs we were able to share about Christian beliefs. Darshan is how a Hindu devotee (believer) connects with a divine entity through the eyes of an idol. There is much more that goes into it but the eyes are always the most important part of the idol. In the Bible we are commanded not to make any "carved image" or worship idols. My ministry partner (her name is Kelsey) is a fine arts major with a concentration in Sculptor. I was intrigued when she told me that when she sculpts she has to be hypersenestive to what can be precieved as an idol. I asked her to explain more about that to Ishara. The conversation easily transitioned to the trinity because like Darshan, it is also a difficult concept to grasp in Christianity. During Bible Study this week, there was a student who had a deep, profound understanding of faith and the triune God. Her name was Remo. She brilliantly explained the trinity and I will try to paraphrase her words. Just as the mind, the body and the spirit of a person work in unison and agreement, so God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit work as one because they are ONE God even though they are all different complementary persons of God. WHEW! Anyway we were able to talk about the Triune God of the Bible tonight with Ishara. Hopefully tomorrow we will get the chance to hang out with her again.
Other Highlights from the trip:
We have had the opportunity to meet many students, we hosted a bbq (known as a Braai in South Africa) and over 100 students came! We have had a special opportunity to meet the women's basketball team at Witswaterrand and I hope it will turn into a fruitful ministry!
There have been at least 2 professions of faith and many people attended Bible Studies this week and are asking good questions! Praise the Lord
God is teaching our group a lot about his unchanging attributes through a study of the Old Testament. Our Theme is HIStory, focusing on God's story throughout history that reveals his plan of global redemption through Christ!
Prayer Requests:
That God would graciously allow us to share the gospel with those who do not know Him. There is power in the gospel! (Romans 10:14-15)
There are many Christians that we have had the privledge of getting to know, please pray that God would continue to bless those friendships. That we would have opprotunities to study that Word and pray together.
Pray for health, a few members of our team have fallen ill and many are beginning to feel a constant tiredness/exhaustion.
Finally,
I am so thankful that God has brough us here, it is clear that he is doing work in our hearts. Our aim is to be faithful to his calling to proclaim the good news of Christ. Campus Outreach is a great ministry to be connected to because they believe in the power of discipleship AND establishing believers in the fundamentals of having a relationship with God. This means that ministry takes time because it is important to build relationships. Once we have a relationship with the student then we will talk about Jesus (Who he is and why he came). Through this we come to know God's great power and His gracious love which leads us to worship Him! The greatest joy known to man is found in the worship of the one true God, in the adoration of a God who paid the ultimate price to rescue us from our sin. Check out 1 Thess 5:9-10 :)
This weekend we will help renovate a community center in one of the poorest townships in Johannesburg. We will also attend church there on Sunday. No doubt, tt will be a powerful experience. I will write soon!
We spent 3 days in one of the poorest townships in Johannesburg. During our time there we helped renovate an office space at a non-profit organizations that employees African women and equips them to be financially stable. The women are taught how to make handbags and crochet blankets. The organization is called African Soul. I really enjoyed getting to know the women there and they taught me how to make a bag!
