Monday, June 30, 2008

Spiritually Refreshed

I am spiritually refreshed today.

I should make it very clear how unusual a statement that is for me. A earlier entry on this very same blog, written mere months ago, says how I describe myself as more religious than spiritual and how I am OK with that.

But there can be no doubt. I am refreshed in a way that goes far beyond the physical. Let's see if I can explain it in some way that makes sense to you, the reader.

People talk about the spirit a lot here. I have generally listened, pondered and than tried to knock down the idea that I can have any meaningful contact with the spirit within me, let alone the Holy Spirit. It just simply has not been a part of my experience so why go to the trouble of trying if I am already a Christian?

But God has a way of putting things before you in a way you can't ignore. We are doing a unit in our ISOM (Christianity) Class called being Led in the Spirit. A recent lesson in the unit had tons of scriptures talking about the spirit and its role in our lives. If Scripture says it, I can't ignore it so it entered my head. Around this time too I was feeling just a bit sad too. Almost imperceptibly slow I felt like I was becoming more disconnected with the people around me. I felt like I wasn't measuring up, that I couldn't and therefore I was losing interest in trying.
It was a bit disconcerting.

Then last night I played a card game. I never play cards. It was really fun. I felt a lot better. I felt close to the people I played with. It was pretty heady stuff.

Then this morning we had a staff meeting. We have been watching a series by John Bevere mostly about why its so important to forgive rather than be offended. We got into some complicated heady stuff involving salvation which would be impossible to explain here but here's the thing. Rather than walking out confused or frustrated because I couldn't understand something I walked out refreshed. I was confident in my salvation but I knew I needed to pray.

So that's what I did. It was only a few minutes but I just sat down alone on the porch and talked to God for a few minutes. I can't properly retype here what I said but basically I realized I had been in the wrong in many ways and that I needed to let God's salvation refresh me. I hadn't lost salvation but I had disregarded its importance for a while. I had completely ignored any possibility of a spirit-filled life and I was being drained because of it.

I'm not sure what's next. I haven't started praying in tongues or doing mass-healings. But I do know that God is with me and I am willing to hear from him whether that be in a mental way or a spiritual way. Here's to the future.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Random

It's been a while so here's some fun random updates.

Money

My money for my tuition is almost completely in! A couple pledges I received during and after my trip to America will give me less than 200 dollars to raise. Depending on the gifts it could be even less. I've had to be patient and wait on God and pray but he has and is providing. It will be great to officially finish support raising for my internship. To everyone who has prayed and given support thank you.

Painting Hope House.

This will be in my upcoming newsletter (to be sent out in the next week or so, stay tuned) but I wanted to share it with you all on here. A sponsor recently donated paint to the orphanage we visit weekly and this Saturday, instead of chilling on the game reserve and watching DVDs, we went in to paint! We only had one day so it was a bit rushed but we got the entire girl's wing of the building painted. It looks pretty awesome. Hope House is a very nice orphanage though by American standards it perhaps does not quite measure up. In any case it was great to improve the kids living space in a small way and it was cool to get off base and do some more service.

Outreach Staff

Last week we had 16 new Americans arrive for almost 2 months. They are our Outreach staff interns and will be a great help to us as we host many mission teams the next 2 months. Winter(summer for you Americans) is our busiest time so it should get interesting. It's been great getting to know new people and I look forward to working with them in ministry.


So all is well here and South Africa is very awesome, if a bit chillier. I'll let you know exactly how much I have left to raise once I receive my checks. It won't be very much!

Peace and Blessings.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Testimonies From LaunchPad

My trip to America came at a perfect time because the first term of LaunchPad ended right before I left. At the graduation we gave out feedback forms to find out what the students learned and liked in the class. Here are excerpts from what a few students said in the class that my fellow intern, Kaylen, and I taught:

I learned that if I want to live a good life I must follow Jesus. I learned that to live a proper life I must change my mind and my attitude. I have learned about putting aside and being done with my old self. I have seen the Lord Jesus Live through me!


I didn't actually believe in God but this class has made me realize how important Gos is to me. It has taught me to believe in God, have faith and even convince people about God. I now know how to talk to people who are yet to believe that God is there for us and he will stand firm with us to the end.

I have learned about how I can go to God for comfort when I am in need. I have learned how to transform my mind and how not to think badly about others and class has been more like a friend to me because every time I come here I would forget about all the problems I have and all the bad things I come across everyday. Class has taught me that no matter how many times I have wronged God he will still forgive me and that we will always love me. I have taught myself not to think of myself more than others because God loves us equally. God has done good things in my life because without him I would not have learned how to love others and I just LOVE HIM!!


These are just a few students from my class which is one of 7 classes that was taught this past term. God is doing good things in Qwa Qwa and I want to thank you for letting me be a part. Your prayer, financial support, and interest got me here. Thank you so much. Be blessed.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

My crazy trip to America.


So here I sit quite exhausted with my sister's wedding over and I hopping on a plane back to Africa in about 16 hours.
It's been quite a whirlwind of a trip. I arrived in NYC, made my way down to Lynchburg VA for my good friend's wedding, spent a night at the summer camp I have worked at in the past, then went back up to Massachusetts, hung out, and was part of my sister's wedding today.
All in all it was a great time. I drove a car, watched American TV, saw many family and friends and even relaxed a bit. Right now I'm feeling just a bit torn however. I really can't wait to get back to my interns, they are great but also they are who I know. I know they are over there plugging away and I know that I should be over there with them. I know I have about 6 months left in this internship and I look forward to experiencing and finishing them but being back in America is a bit tough.
It is tremendously comfortable here and not just because of mere material things. America is my home, my culture, everything I know is here. Being back made me realize how abroad I really am. It can be disconcerting thinking about the distance. In any case, I should be clear and say again I cannot wait to see my fellow interns. They are fantastic, I feel comfortable around them and I do look forward to getting into my routine again with them.

One last thing is that this week was important because I was going to get my laptop finally fixed. Well, after multiple trips to Circuit City, a fed-ex delivery, and far too much maneuvering with automated phone-lines, here I sit typing on my home desktop, not my still-broken laptop. It is a bit depressing.
All is not lost though. New (hopefully good) discs will arrive on Monday and be sent by my parents to me in South Africa. Receiving them in a week or so I should be able to properly recover my computer. Here is to hoping.

I want to welcome any new readers to my blog that I may have talked to during my visit. I hope you enjoy my entries and feel connected with what I'm doing in Africa.

Finally I must say that my brief trip back showed I have a lovely family (and sister CONGRATS), lovely friends, a lovely God, and even a pretty lovely life. Thanks to all who make it great.

Here's to Peace, Blessings, and Africa!