Hey Everyone it’s Lindsay…
With our time in ZA coming to an end too quickly, God is
using every moment we have to move in great ways. Lizzie began our day with a morning
devotional about the mercy of God. This
verse caught my attention and as usual, it completely applied to the rest of
the day.
1 Timothy 1:14
“The grace of our Lord
was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in
Jesus Christ.”
His word, along with a reminder that this same grace extends
to the people who have touched our hearts while we’ve been here, helps to make our impending departure a
little more sweet than bitter.
The mood was definitely happier by the time we left
though! Kathleen continued her
counseling training with CHE’s, teaching about how to help people through
traumatic experiences with love and compassion.
I continued walking the CHE’s through the beginning of their very own
Al- Anon recovery group. Yesterday, I
taught them how Al- Anon is a support group for relatives and friends of
problem drinkers. The desperation for
help on the faces of these men and women was obvious. Addiction is a family disease and it is a
problem in almost every home in the townships, but there are zero resources to
help these families. I did what I could
to teach them about the 12 Step Program and how to run a successful meeting in
the short time we had together. I wanted
to do so much more, but I know that God will help these amazing people once we
have gone home. Having their own Al-
Anon meeting in their community is a huge positive step forward, but they will
definitely need all the prayers they can get from us, and you!
While we were in Cape Flats (the area of Cape Town where all
the townships are) the rest of our team was working with the Academy students to
clean up the grounds around the school and the retreat centre. Thank you to Chalane, Meredith, Paul and the
Academy Boys who did the dirty work today!
The Cape Flats team got back just in time for after school
programs with the Academy students. As
usual, both the kids and the Rock Harbor team had a blast! Just before dinner, the team prayed over
another senior student to bless his send
off to the next chapter in his life.
After dinner, we blessed another senior with prayer. These prayer sessions have proven to be
amazing experiences for not just the students, but our team as well.
After the students had their study hour, we joined them in
evening devotionals. Ray started us off
with some amazing worship songs and then Kathleen shared her amazing story of
healing and building faith in God that many of the students could strongly
relate to. We finished with one more
worship song, and then Jared spoke a blessing over all of us. He offered private prayer to any student who
needed it, and a few of us had some amazing experiences meeting with the kids
in their need for prayer. Over the last
couple of weeks, many of them have really opened their hearts and are learning
that prayer is an accessible and real tool to help them work through pain from
the past and in the present.
We ended this blessed and beautiful day in South Africa with
the realization that as much as we are giving to the amazing people here, we
all will be returning home with so much more…
Cheers!
Lindsay
I just caught up on your last couple days in ZA. Amazing! It brings me to tears to hear how you all are impacting the students and the CHE's. Its amazing to hear how many of the students are opening up to the power of prayer to heal. You are all such a gift to that school! I know how it feels to think that you just don't have enough time to bring them all the love and resources they need! For me this was a huge realization that we are just a tool in God's much bigger plan in South Africa. Know that you are helping renew their faith and changing their lives even in the short amount of time you are there! Praying for your hearts and for more opportunity to connect a pray with each of them in these last few days. Let the students know that Morgan from the January team sends her love! I think about them and pray for them all the time!
ReplyDeleteK-dawg!! Your 2 favorite glampers here. In honor of you, we decided to eat outside, with a campfire (ignited by gas), surrounded by trees, dirt, and grass, with the sound of annoying crickets, and under 3 somewhat bright stars (which probably was a plane) WISHING WE WERE THERE WITH YOU!!! The trip sounds amazing and we'll be praying for y'all in your last days that you would be filled with joy, revelation, and a passion to educate us "glamping" Americans how to play a part in The Big God Story in ZA. (I had to enlighten LB what ZA stands for) Get.er.dun!!! DRLB (we realize our initials represent "Dr. Pound" and wish to be referred to this from henthsforth... Or however you say that!) Ps this is our 8th attempt to post this message on the blog... Which probably means you need to hear it! Love you!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like yet another amazing day! I'll be praying for peace and joy as you prepare to say goodbye to these amazing students and this beautiful country tomorrow. Finish strong! Also praying for your long two days of travel ahead. We all can't wait to see you and hear the stories ourselves!
ReplyDeleteI read this in the daily reading and immediately thought of you guys. Hopefully this is comforting to you. So glad some of you got to go to the informal school. Praying for your final moments there.
ReplyDeleteIt’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:7-9 NLT)
"Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad" Song of Songs 4:16
ReplyDeleteThe garden is His and he is the Great and Divine Gardener. All of you have faithfully planted the seeds and watered them. His fragrance has been spread abroad through you. Rest in his promises as you prepare to come home. He will tend to the garden of hearts that you have touched over the last 2 weeks. Well done Good and Faithful Servants!
I can say it has truly been a blessing to read the blog each day and hear about how much God has worked during this trip. I am left with tears and goosebumps hearing how your teams vulnerability and willingness to share has helped the students open up more and more. (Since breaking those cultural barriers to show weakness can be a struggle) Praying that God would create more opportunities for everyone to connect in these last few days. Love on those students as much as you can!! Tell them that Sarah from last summer's trip prays for them and reads their letters all the time. Finish strong!
ReplyDelete