Shedding Light

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12

6am. Showers start. Feet shuffle. Coffee begins to brew. Ahhh, the beginning of another new day here in South Africa. The past few days have been some of the most amazing days. Have you ever walked into a room and just felt God's presence? Felt the warmth of His encouragement and the comfort of His love? The whole entire building we teach in is something quite like that. He is there and He is working. God is working through our lives and shedding His light on the little ones here. They know verses before you finish them, they praise His name in worship and they ask you everything they can about your faith. To go to Sweet Home and then to come back here, just having seen where is it that these kids have come from, and to see the way in which they praise the name of our one true God, is just simply breathless. It's just like nothing you have ever experienced before.

Jason: Today was probably one of the most beautiful days here on the farm. The sun rises at about 6:45 am here and it's amazing. Kacie, Parker, Jessica and myself went out to the fire pit with a cup of tea and my camera and just sat and watched the amazing pictures God was painting. Jessica wasn't feeling very well today and the whole team jumped in to help out and cover the classes she was suppose to teach. I have felt so great about the way all the classes have been coming together. I have taught 6 classes in the last 2 days. I am growing attached to a lot of different kids. There is a young boy in grade 9 named Sibu (See-boo) who i have been talking with about his future and he wants to be an engineer. I have talked with one of the teachers here about taking him to the University and going on a tour. I would love to be able to take him while i am here. Also there are a few girls who have opened up to me. Especially after the dinner we had tonight. All of the classes went so well today. Lailanie and I taught a sign language worship class which the kids loved and then I helped Emily with a Worship class. I have been doing a little driving here in S.A. and it is very different. Had to change a little flat tire today, that was fun. TIA (This Is Africa). After all the school and after school activites were done, we were able to take a select group of kids out to dinner to a place called Spur. There were about 10 kids who showed growth, exceptional behavior, and Christ like qualities, which were chosen to go tonight. out to dinner with half of the team. The other half of the team will go next week. The kids don't get to leave the "Farm" very often so it was a treat. Everyone was laughing the whole night. All of the employees at one point got up and did a dance and the entire team got up along with the kids and started dancing all over the restaurant. We just laughed, took pictures, and got to know the kids better throughout the whole night. God had his hand on the Academy Team today.




Kristy: Oh these precious faces! Our day in Sweet Home was indescribable. This is my fourth year returning to Sweet Home, so I have been blessed to see these little ones grow up. My day started in the yard in front of the creche (pre-school) with a bunch of babies. I looked over and noticed that beyond the fence was a familiar face. She spotted me and we both smiled and ran to each other. We held hands threw the fence. My experience this time has been much different because I really remember the kids faces and even a few names from last year. This is huge because there are about 60 little ones who don't speak English, so to learn any of their names is big in itself. Today I brought a book that I had made with pictures from last year's trip in them. I don't know why I had never thought about bringing it to show the kids before. As I turned the pages of the book, I was overjoyed by the kids pointing and saying, "ME!" At one point I started to pull some of the children aside one on one and show them their picture. One older boy, Sive, was looking at the book with me and he pointed to one of the girls in the picture, and told me it was his sister. This little girl was one that I had met last year and remember vividly. She was very sick last year and I remember just holding her and praying for her. I remember it was not just a prayer, but really a cry out to God to heal this little girl. I asked Sive if she was here and before I knew it he was running outside to get her. Soso is her name, and when she saw her picture she just had the biggest smile on her face. I hugged her for a long time and just cried. She is bigger and healthy and happy. Praise God.
Kristy