Our mission is eternal. Isn’t it? This is our third training yet and I can’t believe how much time has flown by! The more we all spend together as a team, the more you can see that we are slowly become one as a community. God slips into the room each time, connecting us all emotionally and knitting us together like we are all strings, tied together at the heart. What a cool feeling.
During this training, Pastor Todd led a devotional exercise cautioning all of us to be aware of how we build in South Africa. I Corinthians 3:10 says “But each one should be careful how he builds.” There were 5 stations set up in our cozy classroom and they each opened us all up emotionally in one way or another.
Station 1 had a long plank with nails dug deeply into its barred wood, and along side it was a box of hammers. We each had to come and “pull” anything out of our lives that is not holy or of God. Most of us just sat and pondered what it was that we needed to extract from our lives that does not give glory to God, before we took the pull.
Station 2 was a load of tape measures all piled on top of one another. We each had to take one, making a commitment to grow in our daily time with Christ. When I saw the time I spend with God each day, in inches, I knew there had to be a change and a commitment.
Station 3 was where we acquired a level. I need a workman’s belt now after this workshop. Here as we took a level, we reflected, asking God to help make Jesus the most important One is our lives. This is the only way to a truly balanced life.
Station 4 was where we had to kneel down and drive our previously pulled nails into the wooden cross, lain before us. Here, as we hammered away, we nailed our full devotion to God and preceded with communion together, giving thanks to Christ for nailing down His life on the cross for us.
Station 5 ended our round about with a reminder. Large pieces of cut up construction paper were shuffled and mixed, and as a team, we had to piece the puzzle back together to see what it said. Working as brothers and sisters in Christ we finished triumphantly. It revealed I Corinthians 3:9 “We are God’s fellow workers.” Amen.
After our wonderful workshop set up by Pastor Todd we all felt open to receive God and let Him in that day during our training. It definitely prepared our hearts for the testimony we were about to hear. Kathi Winter is her name and she more then opened her heart to us. HIV was our topic of the day because, as you must know, it is a disease that spreads like wild fire in South Africa. Many families and their children are largely affected. Kathi is an HIV carrier and proactive educator. She educated us on the disease and how it affects you physically, emotionally and spiritually. It has taken her on a road in which she is closer to God then ever and with that she is willing to be open and honest in order to educate those who need it most. Thank you Kathi.
By the end of that day, you could feel the love in that room. The heat in our cheeks and the hugs all around made it obvious but what was more obvious to each of us was what was happening in us individually. God was stirring in our hearts, making room for those we will come to love, more than life, in South Africa.
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