OVC KIDS ARE ON THEIR WAY!!!

This week has been a spiritual awakening for most of the team if not all. I have been in awe of what God has done for the team. He picked out an eclectic group of people to form this team and have made them as close as family could get. Here is Amanda J. and Katrina sharing their time in South Africa.

Happy Saturday everyone! Today is our full day with the OVC kids and I think I speak for everyone in saying we are so excited to play and to just really run crazy with these kids. Yesterday the weather seemed to fit our mood throughout the day. We were all sad to see the Bridges students leave for the weekend so it was fitting that the weather was cloudy, cold, and gloomy, but still totally gorgeous. It’s wonderful that after only 5 days with these students we have become so attached to all of them. Their smiles and laughter are infectious and you can’t help but to be joyful around them.

I personally am always blown away and in awe of all of them when they worship, it’s a different kind of worship I’ve ever experienced with God. I see teenagers singing and praising God being very intentionally. I see and feel the pureness in their words and complete freedom they have and all the thanks to God because I will be forever changed by them. God has shown up here in many mighty ways, I have never felt more close to God.

I do want to brag a little about one of the girls I have been getting to know, her name is Azile she is 17 and she is a phenomenal young woman. She has such strong faith in the Lord and it radiates in everything that she say’s and does. Every time she talks with you she has a smile on her face and usually a joke or two. She is also one of the students on their worship team here at Bridges and man can she sing. God has given her many talents she is an amazing singer, fantastic dancer, and a beast on the drums. I find myself just watching her for long periods of time just in awe of how God is using this young woman to reach so many. Yesterday I sat for an hour watching and listening to her teach and play the drums and dance with the OVC girls and all I could do is sit and thank God for putting her in my life and theirs. There are really no other words to describe how much she has affected my life. She has taken her talents and is using them to further Gods Kingdom and it’s a beautiful sight to see someone so young who knows their gifts and uses them like that. It has helped me connect better with God and trying to use the gifts that he has given me and how I can use them. God is moving and changing us all and as a team for us to grow together is something I think we all didn’t know would happen. I’m looking forward to the next week and what God has to show us, it’s going to be an adventure!

Love and Blessings Amanda J<3

I have grown so close with the Academy kids that, even though they will only be gone the weekend, I almost started crying. I came over here to affect the kids for Christ. I never imagined just how much they would affect me. This one week here has transformed me so much, and I am so grateful that God has blessed me; blessed all of us with such a surprise. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel as overjoyed yesterday, (Friday) after the academy kids left and the Sweet Home kids came. When the Sweet Home children rushed in through our doors, I thought, “What an adorable bunch of babes!” because they were all so small. Boys I much assumed were middle school aged were in their early twenties. A little girl who’s 7 looks like she’s 4, and the youngest, a 5 year old, honestly looks about 3. Last night, the 5 year old (my favorite) shuffled into our room crying because he was hungry. I had the sickening feeling that the small meal we fed them was their first in a while. Though I feel…unsettled, I guess is a word, about the situations of these Sweet Home kids, I have to admit I still see the joy in them that I witnessed in the academy kids. Everyone here, it seems, has a bigger lust for life than the people back home. Regardless of these kids’ situations, I am excited to spend time with them, share the love of Christ, and learn as I have been.

Tata for now,

Katrina